[frontispiece: ingeborg the fair] northland heroes by florence holbrook author of "the hiawatha primer" "a book of nature myths" etc. london: george g. harrap & co. ltd. & portsmouth st. kingsway wc and at calcutta and sydney first published january by george g. harrap & co. & portsmouth street, kingsway, london, w.c. reprinted: april ; may ; may ; october ; july preface for centuries the songs of homer, the blind poet of greece, recounting the heroic deeds of great hector and lion-hearted achilles, have delighted the children, young and old, of many lands. but part of our own heritage, and nearer to us in race and time, are these stories of beowulf and frithiof. the records of lives nobly lived are an inspiration to noble living. with the hope that the courage, truth, endurance, reverence, and patriotism shown by these heroes of the northland will arouse interest and emulation, this little book is offered to our children. "the story of frithiof" is based upon holcomb's translation of bishop tegnér's poem, "the saga of frithiof," and the quotations are used by the kind permission of mrs holcomb and the publishers. florence holbrook. contents the story of frithiof in hilding's garden king bele and thorsten framness king helge and frithiof in the country of king ring frithiof's answer in balder's grove the parting frithiof and angantyr the return balder's funeral pile on the sea the viking's code frithiof's return king ring and the stranger the ride on the ice in the forest king ring's death the new king prithiof at his father's grave the reconciliation the story of beowulf the coming of sheaf the young beowulf the harper's story beowulf and his men the warder of the shore beowulf received by hrothgar the contest with grendel the feast of joy grendel's mother the way to the pool beowulf in the pool beowulf's return hrothgar honours beowulf beowulf and hygelac the dragon of the mountain beowulf goes against the dragon wiglaf aids his king the death of beowulf illustrations ingeborg the fair . . . . . . . . . _frontispiece_ king bele and his sons burial mounds viking ship frithiof asking for ingeborg ingeborg at balder's temple frithiof's song into the hall came a man unknown to any there king ring's sleigh the boy on the shield ingeborg given to frithiof the departure of beowulf the landing of beowulf in hrothgar's realm beowulf presenting his gifts to hygelac the dragon pronouncing vocabulary of proper names the story of frithiof in hilding's garden so they grew up in joy and glee, and frithiof was the young oak tree; unfolding in the vale serenely the rose was ingeborg the queenly. in the garden of hilding, the teacher, were two young children. ingeborg was a princess, the daughter of a king of norway. the boy, frithiof, was a viking's son. their fathers, king bele and thorsten, were good friends, and the children were brought up together in the home of hilding, their foster-father and teacher. hilding was very fond of them both. he called the boy frithiof an oak, for he was straight and strong. the little ingeborg he called his rose, she was so rosy and sweet. all day roaming over field and grove the strong lad cared for the little maid. if they came to a swift-flowing brook he would carry her over. when the first spring flowers showed their pretty heads frithiof gathered them for ingeborg. for her he found the red berries and the golden-cheeked apples. in the evening they sat at the feet of their kind teacher and together they learned to read. often they danced on the sward at twilight, when they looked like golden-haired elves in a fairy dance. when frithiof had grown into a sturdy youth he often hunted in the forests. he was so strong that he needed neither spear nor lance. when he met the wild bear they struggled breast to breast. both bear and youth fought bravely, but at last frithiof won. home he went gaily, carrying the great bear-skin, which he gave to ingeborg. she praised his bravery and strength, for every woman loves courage. while frithiof roamed the forest for game, ingeborg, at the loom, wove beautiful tapestries. pictures of sea and grove, blue waters and waving trees, grew under her deft fingers. then she wove warriors on horseback, with their shining shields and their bright red lances. soon the face of the leader was seen; 'twas the face of her brave playmate, frithiof. in the long winter evenings around the fire, ingeborg heard the story of the gods. the light shining upon her fair face made her lovely as one of the goddesses. frithiof thought her hair as golden as freya's treasure. when darkness held the quiet earth they gathered round the welcome hearth, and hilding told them stories old of gods and kings and heroes bold. so frithiof and the lovely ingeborg grew to love each other. but when hilding saw that the viking's son dared to love the daughter of a king, he said: "frithiof, my dear foster-son, in vain are your hopes. ingeborg is a king's daughter. your reason should tell you that you cannot marry her. proud is king bele of his family descended from the great god odin. he will have his daughter marry a prince, not a yeoman. well do i love you; brave and handsome are you and strong as any prince, but you must forget your love for ingeborg." then the brave youth smiled and said: "i am free-born, and never will i yield. i killed the forest chief, and honour is mine for the deed. all power is noble--thor who hurls the thunderbolts is noble, although odin is king of the gods. so free-born men shall never yield though kings are on the throne. in thor's kingdom, where all strength is, worth is king, not lineage. the sword always speaks with power; never will i forget ingeborg, but will fight all the world for her." the free-born man will never yield, he owns the world's unconquered field; where worth and not descent is leader the sword is e'er a valiant pleader. king bele and thorsten the words by an old man spoken should not be slighted in the great palace stood the old king bele and his friend, thorsten the faithful. both had lived brave lives and longed for valhalla, the home of heroes. "the evening of life comes over me," said king bele, "but as death draws nearer, the glory of heaven seems brighter. i have called our sons to the throne room, dear friend, to speak words of warning and help. to-morrow it may be that i shall sleep in death, and it will be too late." [illustration: king bele and his sons] into the throne room came the two princes obedient to their father's command. helge, the elder, was dark and gloomy. halfdan, the younger, fair and gay, came with untroubled heart, thinking only of games and hunting. after these came frithiof, son of thorsten, taller and stronger than the princes. he stood between the brothers, shining in beauty like the sun. "sons of my heart," said the king gently, "my life on earth is ending. rule the kingdom together. while you are united no power can destroy you. let freedom bloom through all the land, and use your power, o helge, as a shield for your people. "the power the king possesses comes from the people, and foolish is the ruler who is cruel and hears not their cry. the great and good king is merciful, and kindness can do more than cruelty. boast not of the greatness of your ancestors. each man uses but one bowstring, and that is his own. who cares for the worth that is buried? the good man is true to his own heart, and thus makes himself great. "a joyous spirit is yours, o halfdan, and it is good. but idle talk is needless and weakens kings. hold fast to your friend and choose the best, but do not give your love and faith to all men. fools win no praise though they be kings, but the wise are loved and honoured by all men, no matter how lowly they may be." then thorsten spake: "not alone, o bele, shall you go to odin. always have we stood together, and death shall not divide us. "hear me, my son, my frithiof, and slight not the words of the old. "first, give the gods high honour, for good or ill, storms come as well as sunshine, by heaven's will. great strength is heaven's dower; but, frithiof, learn that power devoid of wisdom, can little earn. "obey your king. one must be king, and others are happiest when obeying wise directions. the shields of brave men are the best protection for a country against the swords of an enemy, and law is the best defence against treason. young men should listen to advice and should test the strength of friendship by use. "all men will surely perish, with all they prize, but one thing know i, frithiof, which never dies,-- and that is reputation! therefore, ever the noble action strive for, the good endeavour." it was pleasant to hear bele and thorsten talk of their lives together. much they told of the wonderful adventures of their youth, when they travelled to strange lands in their swift-moving boats. they had been friends through good fortune and ill, with hands clasped together and hearts united. in battle they had stood back to back, facing their enemies. if one was threatened by an enemy, the other was on guard and defended his friend. the king spoke much of the bravery of frithiof, and said that his heroic power was better than all royal birth. thorsten in return praised the gifts of helge and halfdan. thus did they give an example of friendship between a king and his man. with the memory of their long friendship king bele urged his sons and frithiof to be friends too. "but hold ye fast together, ye children three, the northland then your conqueror shall never see; for royalty and power, when duly ordered, are like a bright shield golden, by blue steel bordered." then again spoke bele: "these are my last commands. on you, o helge, my eldest son, i place a father's care. guard and love your sister ingeborg. be gentle and guide her with loving words. noble spirits fret under harshness, but loving and gentle manners win all to right and honour. "and now, farewell, my children. together thorsten and i go to the all-father gladly. lay us in mounds close to the waves of the restless gulf singing the song of the sea." [illustration: burial mounds] framness so the old king and his faithful friend were united in death as they had been in life, and were buried on the shore of the loud-singing sea. together by the wish of the people did his sons, helge and halfdan, rule the kingdom. frithiof, the son of thorsten, went to his father's hall, the mighty framness. for twelve miles in all directions stretched his broad acres. the hilltops were covered with birch forests. on the sloping sides grew the golden corn and the tall rye. many blue lakes gleamed like mirrors. streams rippled over the pebbly beds. in the wide valleys herds of oxen and sheep were quietly grazing, and in the stables were twenty-four steeds swift as the whirlwind. in the great hall built of choicest fir more than five hundred warriors gathered at yule-time. a great table of oak, polished and shining, ran through the middle from end to end. the floor was covered with straw, and on the hearth in the centre of the hall a warm and cheerful fire was always burning. on the great nails in the hall hung helmets and coats-of-mail. between them flashed swords and sparkling shields. round the table sat the warriors, and as often as the drinking-horn needed filling fair maidens came with the joyous mead. all this and other vast treasures did frithiof receive from his father, scarce was there found in the northland any with richer possessions, save were he heir to a kingdom, for of kings is the wealth always greatest. though from no king he descended, yet was his mind truly royal, courteous, noble, and kind. daily became he more famous. rich was the house of framness. everywhere plenty and beauty, gleaming jewels, gold and silver, met the eye of the stranger. but three things in framness were most prized by frithiof and his brave men. first of the three was a sword which had descended from father to son. the sword was called angurvadel, grief-wader, and brother of lightning. made in the far east, it had finally come into the hands of viking, the father of thorsten. when viking was a youth of fifteen he heard of a monster ferocious and shaggy, misshapen and higher in stature than man, who came from the wood to the palace of a weak old king. this king had a lovely daughter, and the monster boldly demanded her hand and the kingdom, offering to meet in hand-to-hand combat any who would say him nay. no one dared to meet him, for no one had a weapon that could pierce his hard skull. then came viking gladly to the combat with ironskull, and with one blow of his good sword angurvadel cleft the head of the monster and rescued the maiden. viking gave the sword to his son thorsten, and thorsten gave it to frithiof. the hilt was of hammered gold, covered with mystic red letters. whenever he drew the sword light filled the hall, as when the northern lights gleam or the bright lightning flashes. lost was the warrior who met, on the field of encounter, the blade with its red letters glowing. widely renowned was that sword, and of swords was the chief in the northland. the second prize in framness was the wonderful arm-ring forged by volund, the lame blacksmith. this ring was made of gold and was very heavy, and upon it volund had carved pictures. first he showed the house of the gods, with twelve high castles. in one was the sun rising over the ocean. in the second castle were odin and saga, drinking together from a golden shell. that shell is the ocean gilded by the glow of morning. balder, the beautiful king of summer, was seen, the good, kind god. next was shown the castle of giltner, the home of peace. within was forseti, god of justice, holding the scales. many more pictures were graven on the great ring, showing the conflict between light and darkness. high in the centre was a cluster of rubies bright as the sun in the heavens. this circlet was a family heirloom, for frithiof's mother was a descendant of volund, its maker. [illustration: viking ship] the third of the family treasures was _ellide_, the famous ship, of which this story is told. when viking was returning from the wars he saw a sailor adrift on the billows. noble and tall he seemed, borne on the waves as if he were at home on the sea. he wore a mantle of blue bound by a golden girdle. his hair was sea-green and his beard as white as the foam of the ocean. viking took him home and cared for him right courteously; but soon he sailed away in his broken boat, thanking viking warmly for his kindness. "if i could only leave thee a gift!" said he. "perhaps in the morning the ocean will waft thee a token." the next day viking stood on the shore, when, lo! swiftly over the billows came a dragon ship. there was no leader, no sailor, no steersman. the wonderful ship drew near, the sails were furled by unseen hands and the anchor dropped into the firm sand. viking was speechless with wonder. then he heard the winds murmur softly: "aeger never forgetteth a kindness. he giveth thee this dragon." kingly the gift and beautiful. its throat was ablaze with gold, and bordered with red were its inky black pinions. when they were unfolded, the boat flew in a race with the whirlwind and left far behind the swift eagle. widely renowned was the ship, the chief of all ships of the northland. of chieftains frithiof had many around his hearth. one youth whom he greatly loved was bjorn. frithiof and bjorn were of the same age and dear to each other, brothers in joy and grief. in the days of their boyhood they had mingled their blood, thus becoming brothers in good northern fashion, in peace and in war sworn to help and avenge each other. king helge and frithiof in the spring frithiof sailed in his dragon ship proudly over the billows to the palace of king helge. the kings had met at the mound of their father to give justice to their people. to them came frithiof and proudly he spoke: "ye kings, i choose here from all women your sister, the lovely ingeborg, to be my bride. the good king, your father, wished us to marry, and therefore reared us together in the garden of hilding. my father was of peasant birth, yet his memory will live in the songs of the poets, for he and his father were the bravest of heroes. "full easily could i win a kingdom for myself, but i choose to stay in my own country and serve ye, my kings. "on king bele's grave we are standing now, he hears every word in the grave below, with thee he pleadeth.-- a dead father's counsel a wise son heedeth." [illustration: frithiof asking for ingeborg] but king helge refused frithiof's words with scorn, saying: "our sister was not for a peasant born! kings should strive to win our ingeborg. boast not of your strength--women are won by words and not by force. as for my kingdom, i will defend that myself and do not need your help. if you wish to be my man your place is among my servants." "thy servant! no, never!" cried frithiof. "my father had no master, nor shall i. fly from your silver dwelling to avenge this insult, my good angurvadel! you, at least, are royal. were we not at the grave of thy father, o king, here would i teach thee not to come where my sword can reach." with these words he struck the gold shield of helge, and it fell in halves with a clang to the ground. "well done, my sword! lie still and dream of great deeds to come! now will we go home over the foaming billows." so in anger did the noble frithiof leave the presence of king helge, and return to framness, the house of his fathers. in the country of king ring far in the north lived the good king ring. his words were wise and kind. in his land no war cast its dark shadow and everywhere in his kingdom blossomed fair flowers. justice and right clasped hands, and peace lived with plenty in the golden fields. for thirty years king ring had ruled in the northland. the people loved him well and named him in their evening prayers. his good queen had died, and long had he mourned for her. but the people begged him to marry again. at last the old king said: "king bele often visited me and spake of his fair daughter. her would i choose for my bride. take gold and jewels rare from my coffers. have minstrels go and with their songs win for me the fair ingeborg." in gay company they went to helge's court and asked him for his sister ingeborg. here they remained three days, singing and feasting. on the fourth morning they asked for a reply from king helge for their king. [illustration: ingeborg at balder's temple] in the grove of balder helge offered bird and beast and asked the priest what answer he should give. the priest, frightened by evil omens, replied that ingeborg must not be given to king ring. then helge said nay to the messengers, for men must obey when the gods have spoken. angry were the messengers, and angry was king ring when he was told that helge would not give the lovely ingeborg to be his queen. he struck his bright shield and seized his warlike weapons. over the sea many a dragon ship came hurrying and the plumes of the warriors waved in the breeze. "let us teach the proud helge a lesson," they cried. when king helge heard of the ships and the warriors hurrying over the sea, he said: "long and bloody will be the strife, for king ring is a mighty king. to protect my sister we must place her in the temple of balder the holy." frithiof's answer while king helge gathered his warriors to fight king ring, the angry frithiof was playing chess with his friend bjorn. hilding urged him to forget his anger and go into battle to fight for his king and his country. "the times are evil, dear foster-son," said the good hilding, "and you are all the people's hope." kindly but firmly said the youth: "my resolve is firm. i will not obey helge. he and halfdan may be angry and threaten. they are kings, but i bid defiance to their power and their threats." then said hilding sadly: "is this the reply to my pleading?" frithiof then arises, laying hilding's hand in his, and saying: "my resolve is firm and steady, and my answer you have heard. "go to bele's sons and warn them peasants love not those who scorn them; to their power i bid defiance, their behests will not obey." "in thy chosen way abide thee, for thy wrath i cannot chide thee; odin must be our reliance," hilding said, and went his way. in balder's grove while king bele's sons were preparing for war with king ring, frithiof sought ingeborg in the grove of balder. most beautiful was this temple of the sun-god, and here the sunshine seemed lovelier than in other groves. the flowers glowed in the friendly rays and seemed more beautiful. at night, when evening drew the rosy curtain, the brooks and breezes whispered softly to one another and the stars gleamed like pearls upon the dark blue robe of night. the wonderful boat, _ellide_, sped over the waves sparkling in the moonlight. "glide on, _ellide_, over the deep gulf and bear me swiftly to the grove of balder. i hail thee, moon, with thy pale light streaming over grove and dale. upon the shore i leap with joy and salute thy brown cheek, smiling earth." so spake frithiof as he landed on the shore. the earth seemed friendly, the red and white flowers smiled upon him, and he was happy and free from care. with ingeborg the brave youth knelt at the shrine of balder, the mild, radiant god of the sun whom all gods and men love, and prayed for happiness and peace. they prayed not for princely honours, but for a home near the dark blue sea. then, amid flowers and under the shade of the leafy trees, their lives would be happy and free from envy and care. but they feared the king, the cold and cruel helge. he would never consent to frithiof's request for the hand of ingeborg. if he learned that frithiof had dared to visit ingeborg in balder's grove, his anger would be greater than ever. but ingeborg begged frithiof to go to her brother and to offer his hand in friendship. she could not leave the grove of balder, where helge had placed her for protection during the war with king ring. at last frithiof yielded. he said farewell to ingeborg with sadness in his heart. "like balder are you, ingeborg! like him your hair is golden, and your eyes are blue as his skies, while your soul is as pure as the morning light!" the parting a meeting of all the warriors had been called by king helge. they were to gather at the mound of bele to decide upon the war and upon the fate of ingeborg. the princess had urged frithiof to go and offer his hand to the haughty king and join him in battle. it had been very hard for frithiof to consent, for he felt that helge would not receive him kindly. now in balder's grove ingeborg waited to hear how her lover had fared. sad was she, for she feared her haughty brother, and she knew he would be angry because frithiof and she had met in the temple of the great god balder without his consent. bravely, however, she resolved to meet her fate, and when she saw frithiof returning with angry look she cried: "tell me, frithiof, for i have foreseen the worst and am prepared for all." then frithiof spake: "to the council at bele's mound i went. there, gathered ring after ring, sat the great chiefs of helge's kingdom. upon the judgment seat sat your brother, dark fate upon his brow. near by was halfdan, careless and like a child. to the king i spake: 'thy kingdom is in peril and every strong arm is needed in the war. give me thy sister and i will lend to thee mine arm. let us forget ill-will. here is my hand.' "loud cheered the throng. a thousand swords struck upon a thousand shields and the freemen cried: 'to him give ingeborg! strong his sword and well he deserves our fair lily.' "hilding spoke words of peace and wisdom, and halfdan rose with pleading looks and words. but all in vain. king helge replied:-- "'a peasant's son might gain my sister, but he who profanes a holy temple seems unfit for bele's daughter. say, frithiof, have you not stolen into balder's temple, against our laws, to see my sister? speak yes or no.' "'say no!' shouted the brave men; 'we believe thee, son of thorsten. say no, and ingeborg is thine!' "fear not, o helge,' i replied; 'i would not lie to gain the joy of heaven, and i shall not now to gain thy sister. i have seen ingeborg in balder's temple, but the laws i have not broken.' "more they would not let me say. they looked at me with dread as one accursed. 'though i could order thy death by the laws of our fathers,' said helge, 'yet will i be mild as balder whose sacred dwelling thou hast profaned. across the sea lives angantyr, who tribute owes to us. go thither and when summer comes bring back this tribute, or to every man thou wilt be as one without honour, and outlawed shalt thou be.'" "what did you decide, my frithiof?" "could i choose? must i not get the gold and thus redeem my honour? to-day i will depart and will get for your brother the gold he craves. but we, my ingeborg, will sail in _ellide_ to a friendly land. a little earth from our fathers' graves we'll place upon our ships, and that will be our fatherland. often has my father told of the beautiful islands of greece--fresh groves of green in shining waves. there golden apples glow and blushing grapes hang down from every bough. there will we build a little north, more beautiful than this. happiness stands near to human hearts if they are brave enough to seize it. come, let us go! all is ready, and _ellide_ stretches her shadowy wings for flight." "i cannot go. dear friend, be not angry. i am not free to go, like you. helge is now my father, and on his will i go or stay. i will not steal my happiness. last night i thought about my fate. i must remain obedient to my brother. a child of the northland cannot live in the south. with eyes filled with tears should i look for the bright northern star which stands over our fathers' graves. and you, my frithiof, must not desert the land you were born to guard. let us yield to the voice of duty. let us save our honour though our happiness be lost!" "necessity commands our flight. come, ingeborg!" "what's right and noble, that's necessity." "consider well. is that your last resolve?" "it is my last. but remember that my thought will follow you wherever you may go. when evening comes i will send a greeting, and the fleeting cloud shall bear it unto you." "you have conquered, my ingeborg. a noble mind best teaches what is noble. to-day i yield and leave you. but in the earliest spring i shall return and in open council of the sons of the northland, who alone can give the hand of a princess, will i demand you. farewell till then. for memory wear this arm-ring, the work of volund, graven with heaven's wonders. but the best of wonders is a faithful heart." so, full of hope, did frithiof leave, but ingeborg feared her gloomy brother, knowing well how he hated the noble frithiof. to herself she said: "never will he give me to thee, dear childhood's friend. rather will he wed me to king ring whom he fights. no hope do i see, yet i am glad thy heart can hope. may all the good gods follow thee." frithiof and angantyr over the sea sailed frithiof with his friends in the good ship _ellide_ to the home of the brave earl angantyr. the old man, joyous and light-hearted, one day looked over the sea and saw the white-winged ship bringing the brave heroes. "that is _ellide_ coming, and the hero with firm and steady step is frithiof, son of thorsten. no one in the northland has so brave a brow and so bright a smile." then the sturdy atle sprang up crying: "now will i go and prove what truth there is in the report that frithiof breaks all swords and never sues for peace." when he saw frithiof he cried: "no one comes here but he either fights or flies. if you beg for peace, i shall receive you in friendship and take you to the earl." frithiof replied sharply: "before i cry for peace our good swords must be tested." then flashed his sword-blade, the bright angurvadel. the men fought long and cleft each other's shields, but finally atle's sword was broken and frithiof's sword was king. then said the victor: "i do not wish to slay a swordless foe. if you wish, let us strive as yeomen, man to man, without weapons." so they wrestled breast to breast as two bears trying their strength, or as wave breaking against wave. the firm earth trembled, and the great oaks scarce could endure the shock. but frithiof proved the stronger, and at length brought proud atle to the ground. angrily he said: "if my good sword were at my hand, through thy body would i plunge it, thou black-beard!" "go bring it! who'll prevent thee?" cried the brave atle. "here will i lie if that will content thee. all must valhal see; i, to-day; thou, perhaps, to-morrow!" then frithiof fetched the gleaming angurvadel, but the good sword harmed not the noble foe. frithiof struck the sand with the blade, for he admired the courage of the brave atle. as friends frithiof and atle then entered the palace of angantyr. everything seemed new and beautiful to frithiof. instead of planks well matched, leather embroidered in gold covered the walls. no rough hearthstone littered the centre of the hall, but a marble fireplace was built up against the side. in the windows were fitted panes of glass, and a key secured the door. here were no wooden torches as light of the feast, but waxen candles gleamed brightly in their silver sconces. the roasted stag gracing the table had gold bands on his hoofs, and flowers wreathed his horns. three steps the earl descended, saying to frithiof: "come sit by me, brave son of thorsten." then was thorsten's praise chanted by the singers, and his brave deeds were sung in the old norse tongue. the earl asked much about his friends of long ago. frithiof answered wisely and kindly, and all the warriors cheered him loudly. soon he spoke of the errand that brought him from his own land. angantyr listened kindly but replied: "i never paid tribute to bele and shall not to his sons. if they wish to take it, let them meet us on the strand and see who is best. but thorsten was my friend," continued the earl, and beckoned to his daughter, who sat near him. the beautiful maid hastened to her room and brought back a green silk purse all deftly wrought. the tassels were made of gold and the clasps shone with rubies. angantyr took the treasure and filled it with gold. giving it to frithiof, he said: "this welcome gift is a tribute to you, my friend, but not to king helge. and now i beg you, frithiof, to pass the long winter hours with us, your friends and the friends of your fathers." the return when lovely spring with her blue skies came again, frithiof left his kind host angantyr and sailed over the deep billows. full of joy is one who has travelled far when his bark turns homeward. memory shows the smoke from his mother's hearth-fire and the fountain where his childish feet played. six days frithiof sailed, and on the seventh he saw his loved land. he saluted the cliffs and the forest dancing in the sunlight, but thought of ingeborg. as _ellide_ rounded the headland, frithiof stood at the prow, shading his eyes from the sun and looking for his old home, loved framness. but he looked in vain! of the stately hall ashes alone remained. sadly did the hero thread the blackened ruins. then his faithful dog, bran, ran up to welcome him. a powerful dog was he, and often had he been master of wolves. the milk-white steed with swan-like neck and golden mane came bounding up the valley. both asked for food of frithiof, their master; but he, poorer than they, had nothing to give them. then came hilding, the foster-father with silvery hair. "my message," he said, "i fear will bring you little gladness. scarce had you sailed when king ring came. five shields had he to our one. not long did the battle last. king helge yielded and fled. in his flight he passed framness and fired the lordly dwelling. "ring gave the brothers, helge and halfdan, this choice: to give their sister to him or to lose their throne. the brothers chose, and now ingeborg has gone with old king ring." then frithiof blamed ingeborg for her broken vow and declared he would never believe her again. and yet his heart grieved for her, and he could never forget the friend of his childhood. "you wrong the maid," said old hilding. "as the sea-fowl, when its breast is wounded, dives far away from the eyes of daylight, and, with its life-blood flowing, yet gives no sign of weakness or misery, so ingeborg in the darkness bore her suffering and i only saw her anguish. when the wedding day came, she, pale as death, rode a black steed, following the white-robed maidens and the steel-clad men. "from off the saddle i took the sad maid and went with her to the altar, where she uttered her vows and prayed long to balder. when helge saw your ring on her arm he tore it off with angry words. then i in anger drew my sword, but ingeborg gently said: 'let the all-father judge between him and me.'" "the all-father will judge," calmly replied frithiof, when hilding had told his story; "i, too, will judge. now is the time when the king who sold his sister sits in the temple of balder as priest. him will i seek." balder's funeral pile midnight's sun fell upon the mountain. the beams seemed to threaten fire and war, so blood-red were they. the heavens glowed; it was night contending with day. on balder's altar burned a fire--the emblem of the sun--and priests stood around the wall of the temple, grasping burning brands. near the altar stood king helge, wearing his crown. all at once he heard the war-cry, and the clash of weapons resounded through the forest. "bjorn, stand fast by yonder door!" helge heard the cry and turned pale. well he knew the ringing voice of frithiof. fiercely as autumn winds fell the hero's bitter words:-- "here's the ordered tribute; it came safe through the tempest's rattle; take it; then here by balder's flame, for life or death we'll battle. "shields behind us, our bosoms free, fair the fight be reckoned; as the king the first blow belongs to thee, mind thou, mine's the second." with these words he threw the purse filled with gold in helge's face. the heavy blow stunned the king, and he fainted near the altar. frithiof laughed and called in scorn: "are you then overpowered by a purse of gold? no one shall blame my sword for felling so cowardly a foe, for he deserves not to fall by a brave man's sword." then frithiof put up his sword and turned to the statue of balder that stood near the altar. calm and kind seemed the god. on his arm was the ring given by frithiof to ingeborg but taken from her by helge. "holy balder," spake frithiof, "be not angry with thy servant. well dost thou know that the arm-ring which thou wearest was stolen, and that volund's work was never meant for thee." with these words he strove to take the ring, but arm and ring seemed to have grown together. then he became angry and with a supreme effort he loosened the ring; but the image fell into the flames of the altar. up leaped the fierce fire! bjorn at the door was pale with dread. frithiof with equal anxiety called to him: "open the doors, bjorn, and let the people go. the temple is burning; bring water, yea throw on an oceanful!" the warriors quickly formed a chain from the burning grove to the sea and the water was passed with speed from hand to hand. frithiof sat like the god of rain and gave his orders in a calm, clear voice. long they strove, but in vain. the flames borne on the wings of the wind mounted to the sky. the grove was dry with summer heat and the hungry fire-king revelled midst the quick-burning branches. fiercely leaping from height to height, aiming yet still higher; oh, what wild and terrific light! strong is balder's pyre! soon in smouldering ashes lay grove and temple's adorning; sadly then frithiof turned away-- wept in the light of morning. on the sea after the burning of balder's temple and grove frithiof was very sad at heart. he felt that the sun-god would never forgive him, although he had not intended any wrong. his home, the lovely framness, had been destroyed by the king. ingeborg was kept from him, and the people of his own country shunned him because of his crime against balder. he felt that he had no home, no country, no friends. one refuge he had--the swift-flying ship _ellide_. from her deck he saw the fires still burning in balder's grove. grief filled his heart. "gone is the temple of the white god. in ashes are the groves once never neglected! and i am to blame; anger and haste made me forget time and place, the reverence due in that holy temple!" over the blue sea where wild waves sing, _ellide_ flew. frithiof felt at home in the tempest on the rocking ship--this was his northland, these on board were his only friends. the sea knows no king, and helge's wrath could not reach him on its waves. but lo! from a hiding-place in the high rocks king helge sends out ten dragon ships. the warriors with frithiof rejoice and laugh at the king, for bjorn had, unknown to all, leaped into the sea and bored holes in the boat-keels. down sank the ships and many men were drowned, but helge escaped. in wrath the king drew his bow, but it broke. then frithiof aimed his lance. "a death bird have i here, false king! but my lance refuses to drink thy coward blood. it is too good for food so craven!" so speaking frithiof seized his oars--huge blades of fir, and swiftly moved away. where foam-crest swimmeth _ellide_ skimmeth on joyous wings; but frithiof sings: "thou front of creation, exalted north! i have no station on thy green earth. thy lineage sharing my pride doth swell, thou home of daring! farewell, farewell!" and that you also may sing frithiof's song, the last verse is given with the music. [illustration: frithiof's song] the viking's code over the foaming sea frithiof sailed, seeking strange lands and adventures. like a falcon in search of its prey flew the good boat, _ellide_, over the waves. to the champions on board frithiof gave this law of the viking:-- make no tent on thy ship, never sleep in a house, for a foe within doors you may view; on his shield sleeps the viking; his sword in his hand, and his tent is the heavenly blue. when the storm rageth fierce, hoist the sail to the top-- o how merry the storm-king appears; let her drive! let her drive! better founder than strike, for who strikes is a slave to his fears. if a merchant sail by, you must shelter his ship, but the weak will not tribute withhold; you are king of the waves, he a slave to his gains; and your steel is as good as his gold. let your goods be divided by lot or by dice, how it falls you may never complain; but the sea-king himself takes no part in the lots--he considers the honour his gain. if a viking-ship come, there is grappling and strife, and the fight 'neath the shields will rejoice; if you yield but a pace you are parted from us; 'tis the law, you may act by your choice. if you win, be content: he who, praying for peace, yields his sword, is no longer a foe! prayer's a valhalla-child, hear the suppliant voice; he's a coward who answereth no. wounds are viking's reward, and the pride of the man on whose breast or whose forehead they stand; let them bleed on unbound till the close of the day, if you wish to be one of our band. frithiof's return such was the law of the vikings which frithiof gave to his men. day by day his name became more renowned through foreign lands. no viking was brave as frithiof, and none had braver followers. when the conflict came, his spirit rose like an eagle refreshed for its flight. a smile was on his face and his voice rang clear above the noise of the battle. after many conquests he sailed to greece. in her beautiful seas he found many green islands. on the shores were green groves and temples gleaming with pillars. here it seemed peace must have its home. the murmuring fountains and the sweet songs of the birds made music in the groves. but in the midst of all this beauty frithiof thought of his home in the north. there was the friend of his youth, the fair ingeborg. there were the grave-mounds of his fathers. around the groves and shrines of his country gathered the memories of his early years, and no matter how lovely any other land might be, his heart returned to his home land. "three years have passed since i saw the northland, the land of heroes. how i long to see those loved shores once more! the tree that i planted on the grave-mound of my father--can it be that it lives now? why do i linger in distant waves, taking tribute and conquering in war? my soul despises the glittering gold, and enough have i of renown. "there's a flag on the mast and it points to the north, in the north is the land i hold dear; i will follow the course of the heavenly winds, and back to the northland i'll steer." to his foster-brother frithiof said: "bjorn, i am weary of riding the sea. my heart longs for the firm earth of the northland, and her lofty mountains are calling to me. tired am i of this life on the sea and too long have i wandered an exile from home." "frithiof, why do you complain?" asked bjorn. "freedom and joy flourish best on the sea. when i am old i too will turn to the green-growing land with the grass for my pillow. but now i'll fight with a free hand and enjoy the freedom of the billows." so the dragon ship sailed for far northern waters. the ice closed in around them and frithiof declared he would not spend the winter on the desolate shore. he would go as a stranger to the palace of king ring and see ingeborg once more. "good!" exclaimed bjorn. "right glad will i be to fight the king and to let him feel a viking's power. we will fire the palace of the greybeard and carry his queen away with us; or, if you wish, challenge him to a fight on the ice." "no!" replied frithiof; "no fight have i with king ring. his is not the fault. but peace would i bear to them both and say farewell to ingeborg. when spring returns you see frithiof here." "you may be prevented from returning, frithiof; go not alone!" said bjorn. but frithiof had no fear and laughed at the warnings of bjorn. alone he went with his good sword to the country of the old king ring. king ring and the stranger in the kingdom of the north reigned king ring. old was he now and white-haired, but noble and brave. at the merry yuletime he held a great feast in the royal hall. high on the throne of state he sat, and beside him was his fair young queen, the gentle ingeborg. into the spacious hall came a man unknown to any there. a bear-skin covered him from head to foot. he leaned heavily upon a staff, but even then he was taller than any warrior in the hall. he chose for rest a seat upon the bench beside the door. this is now the poor man's place and has always been. some of the young men laughed at the beggar dressed in the skin of the wild bear and pointed the finger at him. [illustration: into the hall came a man unknown to any there] the stranger's eyes flashed and all felt his anger. quickly he seized one of the young men by the belt and shook him so that all were suddenly silent in the hall. "what causes such commotion?" cried the angry monarch. "who dares disturb our peace? old man, come here and answer. what is your name, your place, your errand?" the old man replied: "many questions you ask, o king, but every one will i answer. my name belongs to me alone and i'll not give it. my birth-place was misfortune and all i possess is want. i have come hither from the wolf so fierce and gaunt. in youth i bestrode a dragon on the blue waters, but now i am old and feeble and must live upon the land. as to my errand, i came to see your wisdom, renowned far and near. when your men met me rudely i seized one of them by the girdle and hurled him to the ground. for that forgive me, though the man is safe and sound." "your words are wisely chosen," said king ring. "the aged should be honoured; come, sit here by me. you are no beggar, i know. throw off your disguise and appear in your true form. disguise is a foe to pleasure, and pleasure should rule at yule-tide." then the guest dropped the bear-skin. instead of an old man bent with care, there stood a handsome youth with long golden locks. his mantle was of azure velvet and his girdle was of silver finely worked. around his arm clung a heavy golden circlet and at his side gleamed the great battle-sword. when the queen looked at the guest she knew him as frithiof, but mentioned not his name. it was the right of a guest to claim hospitality without giving his name, and frithiof had claimed this guest-right. the horn sounded a shrill blast in the hall and all was still. the hour for vows was coming and the boar was now brought in. his four knees were bent beneath him on the great silver dish; in his mouth was an apple, and there were wreaths about his neck. king ring, his grey locks flowing, arose and straightway now the boar's head gently touching, he thus declared his vow: "i swear to conquer frithiof, the champion in war, so help me, frey and odin, and likewise mighty thor." then with a smile defiant uprose the stranger tall a look of wrath heroic spread o'er his features all-- he smote with sword the table till through the hall it rang and up from oaken benches the steel-clad warriors sprang. "and now, sir king, please listen while i my vow shall tell-- young frithiof is my kinsman, and so i know him well; 'gainst all the world i'll shield him, i give you here in word, so help me now my norn, and likewise my good sword!" the king laughed at this bold defiance. "right daring, methinks your speech," he said, "but in the northland palace all fair words are free." then turning to the queen he bade her fill a horn of wine, the very best. "i hope that he'll remain our guest through the winter," he concluded. the queen then took the great goblet and filled it with wine. with trembling hand she gave it to the guest. he accepted the horn with a bow of reverence and drank the wine at a draught in honour of the fair queen who gave it. then the skald, the singer of the royal court, touched the strings of his harp and sang a song of love and glory. as he sang he moved the warriors' hearts to pity or roused them to anger and revenge at his will. such is the wonderful power of music and poetry. he sang of the home in valhal, where brave heroes go after death, and all hearts were filled with a desire to be brave and noble that they might deserve a place in heaven when their work on earth was finished. so with mirth and song, with stories of the great heroes of their race, king ring and his court kept the merry yule-tide in his castle. the ride on the ice king ring had set forth a banquet for his queen in a palace far over the lake. the ice on the lake was glistening in the sun, and the king ordered his sleigh and his swiftest horse. "do not go on the ice," urged the stranger; "it may break, and the water below is deep and cold." then the old king laughed. "a king," said he, "is not easily drowned. if any one is afraid let him go round!" the scornful laugh of the king angered the bold stranger, and he frowned. soon, however, he bound his good skates to his feet. the servants meantime had brought out the sleigh-horse, strong and free, and his nostrils flamed as he breathed the bright, cold air. "on," cried the king; "on, my brave steed and show if you are of famed sleipner's brood!" [illustration: king ring's sleigh] as swift was his speed as a storm at sea. the queen grew fearful as the mighty steed flew on, but the king had no fear and paid no heed to the queen's cries. the stranger skated, now fast, now slow, passing ingeborg and the king whenever he wished. he made letters and figures on the sparkling ice, writing often the name of the queen. onward swiftly they glided across the lake, but the treacherous ice-maidens were hiding below. suddenly they made a hole in the silvery ice and caught the sleigh of the king with its precious load. the queen turned pale and called for help. like a whirlwind came the skater, strong and brave. he buried his skate in the ice and clasped the flowing mane of the steed with a grasp of iron. with one strong swing of his arm he brought horse and sleigh to the firm ice. "well done!" said king ring; "that was a noble stroke. not frithiof, the strong, could have done better!" then they all returned to the palace, rejoicing in the safety of the good king and queen. in the forest through the long winter the stranger remained at the court of the king. the time passed merrily in skating, sleighing, and in other manly sports. in the evening all gathered in the great hall and listened to the songs of the skalds or related the deeds of heroes. the coming of spring rejoiced all hearts. the songs of the birds, the new leaves on the trees, the warmer rays of the sun, all gave joy to those who had passed through the long cold winter. the ice-bound rivulets melted and ran merrily to the ocean; the buds began to unfold, and the earth seemed born anew, filled with love and hope and courage. the king had planned a great hunt for the court. men and women, courtiers and servants, awaited the signal to start. the steeds impatiently pawed the ground; the clanging of bows and the rattling of quivers were heard on every side. the hooded falcons, eager to escape, uttered wild shrieks that echoed on the hills. at last the queen appeared, like a star in the spring's clear sky, and the hunting troop was ready. hark! through hills and valleys sounds the horn! the falcon, loosened, flies straight up into the heaven's blue, and the wild animals of the forest fly in terror to their cavern homes. off rush the hunters on their eager steeds. the aged king rides no more on the wild hunt, though in years gone by he was one of the best to follow wild game. frithiof is with the king, for he, too, does not wish to join the hunters. sad thoughts trouble him, and he wishes he had never left his beloved boat. on the sea he had no time for brooding over his sad fate, but here, with the king and ingeborg, he is always remembering happier days. as the two entered the forest they came upon a lonely place, dark and restful. here the king halted and said: "see how lovely, fresh, and deep is this forest. here will i rest me, for i desire to sleep." but frithiof urged him not to sleep in the dark, damp forest. "hard and chilly is the ground, o king! let me take you back to the palace." "like the other gods, sleep cometh unexpected," said the king; "and here will i sleep." when frithiof saw that the king was determined, he took off his mantle and spread it beneath a tree. the king in trusting friendship leaned his head against the stranger's knee. soon he slept as the hero sleeps after the battle, or as the infant sleeps cradled in its mother's arms. as he slumbered, hark! from the branch of a tree a coal-black bird sings: "frithiof, now thou mayest slay thine enemy, the old king. human eyes do not behold thee!" but a snow-white bird sings: "though no human eye behold thee, odin sees and hears each word. wouldst thou be a coward and slay an old man now defenceless and sleeping! the hero-crown is not won by such a deed." so sang the birds. frithiof, snatching up his battle-blade, flung it far from him into the gloomy glade. the black bird flew away into the dark underworld. the snow-white bird, singing sweetly as a harp tone, mounted towards the sun. suddenly the old man awoke: "sleep is sweet beneath a tree, guarded by a brave man's weapon. but where is your sword? what has parted you who have never before been parted?" "it is not hard to find a sword," replied frithiof. "sharp is its tongue, o king, and it never speaks for peace. i think it is haunted by an evil spirit." "i have not slept, o youth, but have been proving you. man or sword a wise man testeth ere in them he can confide. you are frithiof. i have known it since first you entered my hall," said the old king. "why did you enter my home in disguise? honour, frithiof, sits not nameless, the rude guest of hospitality. we had heard of a frithiof whom both men and gods revere. soon, i thought, will he come against my home with his famous sword, bold and brave. but you came clad in tatters, a beggar's staff in your hand. "but cast not down your eyelids. i have proved you and forgiven. i have pitied and forgotten. all life is a struggle, hardest in youth. you are young and i am old. soon shall i rest in the grave. therefore, o youth, take my kingdom and my queen. be my son and let us forget our quarrel." "i came not as a thief," said frithiof sadly, "but only to see ingeborg for the last time. too long have i stayed as your guest. the gods will not forgive me. balder the good loves all mankind but me. northland has cast me out, and no more shall i seek for peace on the earth so green and sweet. to ocean's billows will i go, out upon my good ship far as the stars can guide me and far as the stormy billows can bear me. "let me hear the rolling thunder, let me hear the lightning's voice; when it thunders all around me, frithiof's heart will then rejoice clang of shields and rain of arrows! let the sea the battle fill; purified, i'll then fall gladly, reconciled to heaven's will." king ring's death on a lovely day in spring when the rays of the sun seemed more golden than usual, frithiof entered the hall of king ring to take leave of his host. the king and ingeborg his queen sat upon their chairs of state, both pale and sad. frithiof listened to a song of parting recited by the king's harper. then he said: "o king! the billows now bathe my ship, the flying steed, the sea-horse that is longing to leave the shore. gladly will they follow him who is fleeing from his well-beloved land." to the queen frithiof said: "again i give you this arm-ring, o ingeborg! receive it in memory of our youth, and never let it leave you. i go, and never will you see me again. no more shall i behold the smoke rising upward from northland. for the ocean is my fatherland and shall be my grave." "well know i that death is nigh," now said king ring. "all men must die, and i shall not moan like a coward. no one can by complaining change what the fates have decreed. but if you will stay, my sorrow you will lighten. take my queen, reign over the land and guard the crown. long have i reigned in the northland, loved and respected. though i longed for peace, yet have i broken shields in war both by sea and land without turning pale. vainly have i sought for peace amid slaughter. now the mild daughter of heaven beckons me hence to valhal. "bring for my drinking the horn with wine flowing; skoal to thy honour, thou land of my birth! minds deeply thinking, harvest fields growing-- peaceful exploits have i loved on the earth." speaking thus bravely, the king pressed the hand of his queen and of his son. frithiof's also he clasped with love. then, closing his eyelids gently, the royal spirit of king ring sank with a sigh to all-father's breast. the new king king ring sits in his barrow, buckler on arm and battle-sword by his side. his war-horse stands at the cairn pawing the earth and chafing as though impatient to start on the long journey. thus sang the harper of the departed hero: "great king ring has gone on his last journey. he rides over bifrost, the rainbow bridge that leads to valhal. the bridge bends with his weight. wide open the doors of valhal to welcome him, and hands reach out to lead him within the doors. "'odin himself, king of the gods, calls for the beaker to be brought. frey wreathes the king's head with garlands of grain ears, and frigg places therein the bluest of her blossoms. broge, the singer of the gods, tunes his golden harp and sings a song of welcome. silent is valhal as he sings:-- "'dear to us is this hero king, for he held his shield as a shelter for peace. always did forseti, goddess of justice and peace, have an honoured place in his kingdom. generous, too, was the king, always strewing beauty and blessing far and near. to heroes he gave gifts without measure; sadness he comforted and suffering he relieved. "'welcome, thou wise winner of valhal! long will you be loved and honoured in the northland. you are loved by the gods, a friend from the earth.'" so sang the harper in the palace of the king whom he loved. when the news spread over the country that king ring was dead, the peasants and warriors from hill and dale, from meadow and farm, cried: "we must choose a king to fill his place." the peasant took from the wall his steel sword and tried its edge with his practised finger to prove its sharpness. his boys admired their father's blade and tried to lift it, but it was too heavy for one, and two struggled to lift it from the floor. the peasant's daughter scoured the helmet to make it clean and bright, and laughed to see her face shining from the silvery sheen of its polished surface. when the peasant had bound his good sword to his side and put on his shining helmet, he took his round shield and started with his friends to the gathering-place. hail! iron man, so strong and sound, thou peasant good! renown and powers which nations wield from thee they draw. in war thou art thy country's shield, in peace its law. with sounding of arms and shields the peasants met under heaven's blue sky in the fair, pleasant fields. upon the great stone in the centre of the assembly stood the noble frithiof. with him was the little prince, son of king ring, a slender, noble lad with long golden hair. when the men saw the two, there rose the cry on every hand, "too small is the king's son to rule our land and to lead our wars. frithiof shall be our king!" but frithiof raised up the little boy on his shield and cried: "ye northmen, behold your hope, your king, your joy! from odin is he descended, and he is brave at heart, as much at home 'mid shield and spear as fish are in the sea. "i swear my lance and sword to set round land and throne, and with the father's coronet to crown the son." [illustration: the boy on the shield] while frithiof was urging the northmen to choose the son of ring for their king, the boy sat on the high shield as if it were a throne. no fear had he, but he faced them all as the eaglet faces the sun. at last he grew impatient and leaped to the ground; fearless and proud he stood, like the royal prince he was. then all rejoiced at his courage: "we of the north, we choose thee, thou shield-borne youth, to be our king. be like thy father, brave and good. for frithiof, thy loyal friend, he shall be thy guardian and guide thy youth. you, frithiof, shall marry the queen. we give her to you for your bride." but frithiof frowned and said: "to-day you are here to make choice of your king,--not of my bride. to the temple of balder i must go to repair the wrong i have done, if perchance i can do this. "against me balder's anger sore doth still abide; he took, he only can restore my cherished bride." then frithiof kissed the youthful monarch on the brow in farewell, and, turning from the assembly, he silently and slowly passed from view. frithiof at his father's grave from the home of king ring frithiof fared to seek his father's grave in his own loved land. as he neared the shore, he looked upon it with joy. how brightly the sun shone, smiling like a friend as its soft rays touched the branches of the forest! the dewdrops reflected the light as perfectly as the great ocean. the mountains were aglow with crimson light as the sun slowly sank in the west. on every side frithiof saw the well-known places he loved as a child. the same sweet beauty graced the valleys, the same birds were filling the woods with song. he visited the stream in which he strove as a swimmer bold, and he found the birch trees with their white bark, on which he had carved his name so long ago. all seemed unchanged. but when he looked for framness, that royal home of his father, he found it not. and balder's shrine was gone; both destroyed by fire and sword. no more the pious pilgrim came to balder's grove, for wild beasts roamed where once the sacred temple stood. although frithiof had suffered so long, his grief was even stronger than before, when he saw the ruined temple. he repaired next day to the grave of his father, the brave thorsten, where he prayed to the gods:-- "is there no way by which i may obtain pardon for my offence? will the blue-eyed god, kind balder, refuse forgiveness when man pardons man who asks for pardon? command any sacrifice and i will perform it. no evil will had i in the burning of thy shrine. tis the only stain upon my shield. i pray thee, remove it and make my shield spotless. cannot an upright life repair a moment's fault? "here is my father's grave. he has gone where there are no tears, and he rejoices in the company of noble heroes. o father, hear my prayer! not for renown in war i pray, but for forgiveness. take my plea to heaven. no rest have noble minds if unforgiven. will you not send me some message, some token, some sign that you hear and answer my prayer? the waves are resounding on the shore; can you not speak through them? the storm flies by, bounding on swift pinions; will you not whisper to me in the storm?--no answer?" as frithiof prayed, the storm passed by. the sun sank in golden splendour. over hill and dale the glowing clouds floated in many lovely circles. then came a wondrous vision to his longing eyes. in the clouds appeared a temple of gold surrounded by groves of emerald trees. the gold and marble gleamed with divine lustre never seen by man. slowly it sank to earth but did not disappear. it stood in beauty where before the temple of balder had stood. its broad walls were of silver, and each pillar seemed cut of deep blue steel. the altar was carved of a single precious stone. the ceiling seemed like the blue sky with twinkling golden stars, and there sat the gods of valhal in all their splendour. frithiof gazed in wonder and in praise. "now i know your answer, my father. i will build a new shrine to balder the good, more glorious than the one destroyed by fire. how glad i am to atone for my warlike act by peaceful deeds! the gods will pardon those who sue meekly for forgiveness. now with joy can i look at the stars and welcome the northern lights. to-night i shall sleep upon my shield and dream how heaven forgets the faults its mercy hath forgiven." the reconciliation after seeing this vision of the lovely temple, frithiof, greatly cheered, worked long to build one as beautiful as his vision. at last it was finished, a noble work. it stood high up on the mountain cliff, and its image was mirrored in the ocean beneath. about this glorious temple stretched a grove of noble trees, their branches green against the sky. here could be heard the songs of birds, but no sound of discord. all was harmony. as frithiof stood admiring the temple, he saw twelve virgins clad in silver gauze, with roses in their hair, enter the temple and approach the altar of balder. about the altar they danced lightly as breezes about a fountain, or elves amid the waving grass while dewdrops glisten there. as frithiof looked, all hate and vengeance faded from his heart as ice melts from the cliff before the sun of springtime. all was quiet,--peace and joy seemed to possess his soul. he felt love for all nature and longed to be at peace with all god's creatures. then came into the temple the most high priest of balder. kind was his face, and frithiof reverenced the noble man of peace. "son frithiof, welcome to this grove and temple. i have long expected thee. weary with travel and longing for home, the strong man at last returns from his wanderings. "dost thou remember when thy heart was joyous as the birds are when summer night winds gently rock the fragrant blossoms? then balder was growing in thy pure soul. but always with the good balder there grows up in every human soul his brother hoder, the evil one, the child of night. "no one can suffer for thy sins,--no one can atone for the living but themselves. one offering canst thou give, more dear to the gods than the smoke of victims. this is the sacrifice of thine own vengeance, the hate in thy untamed heart. "canst thou not forgive, o youth? be reconciled with thyself and thy foes, and then will balder be reconciled with thee. "thou hatest bele's sons because pride of birth was theirs and they would not give thee ingeborg, their sister. strange it is but true, that no one is proud of his own merit, but only of his fortune. art thou not proud of thy heroic deeds, of thy great strength? but who gave thee this strength? is it thy merit or odin's gift? censure not another's pride, lest thine own be condemned. king helge now is fallen." "fallen!" exclaimed frithiof; "king helge is fallen?" "yes, my frithiof. thou must know that while thou wert building this temple, helge was far away, marching among the finnish mountains. on a lonely crag of the mountains was an ancient shrine. he wished to enter, but the gate was closed and the key fast in the lock. helge was angry, and, grasping the doorposts, he shook them with all his might. all at once with horrid crash the rotten pillars gave way, and a great image standing on the doorposts fell upon him, and crushed him to earth. thus he died. "now halfdan sits alone upon the throne of his father. to him offer thy hand. the god balder demands this offering. if thou refuse, in vain has this temple been built, and vain are thy prayers for forgiveness." [illustration: ingeborg given to frithiof] as the noble priest thus advised, king halfdan entered the temple, but stood apart in silence. frithiof at once loosed his breast-plate and placed the bright shield against the altar. to halfdan he offered his hand, saying, "in such a strife the noblest first offers his hand for peace." king halfdan met his friend half-way, and their hands, long separated, met in a strong clasp. then the priest in solemn voice proclaimed frithiof forgiven for his crime against balder, the loving god, and purified from his guilt. scarce had the words been spoken when ingeborg entered, attired in bridal robes and mantle of ermine. she walked among her maids as the moon glides in the heavenly azure attended by the radiant stars. with tears in her lovely eyes she turned to her brother; but halfdan clasped her hand in frithiof's, and thus gave his sister, the fair ingeborg, to the friend of their childhood, her best beloved, the noble frithiof. the story of beowulf the coming of sheaf once upon a time, many, many years ago, a boat came sailing over the sea to denmark. in it were shields and rings of gold, banners of bright colours, bracelets, drinking-cups, and helmets. with sails gaily spread the breezes bore the boat gently over the deep blue sea. no sailor was seen at the oars. "what can it be?" cried the people as they came to the shore, wondering; "is it a ship of earth, or have the gods sent it?" they asked one another many questions, but knew not what to think. nearer and nearer came the beautiful boat; bright shone the coloured sails and golden armour. many were the treasures borne therein, but loveliest and most precious was--a little baby boy! he smiled at the man who found him, and lifted up his tiny hands as if asking to be taken. "a prince!" cried the people; "we have found our prince! the gods have sent us a king to rule over us and to conquer our enemies." for at that time the danes had no king, and were glad to see the beautiful child who so strangely came to their shores. the ship with all its treasures was carefully guarded, and the boy, who was called sheaf, was brought up as a prince. in due time he became king and fought many battles and won many victories over the robbers on land and sea. over many noble thanes did sheaf, the king, rule; all obeyed him and paid tribute to him. nor did god withhold from him a son to comfort the people. the boy was strong and handsome and gave great joy to the heart of his father. over many lands shone the glory of the young prince. so shall a young hero act that when he is old all his friends shall praise him. he shall fight for his people and by praiseworthy deeds shall he flourish. now when the time came for sheaf to die, he asked his companions to bear him to the shore. there stood the brave ship with gleaming prow and widespread sails, eager to go. sad and yet glad at heart were the heroes who bore the king to the death-boat--glad to honour a brave king, and sad that he must leave them. on the king's bosom they placed treasures of gold and silver; rings, shining stones, cloth of gold, shields, and drinking-cups. indeed, he took away treasures as many as he brought with him when, years before, he had come, a tiny child, to the country of the danes. out into the mist sailed the proud ship with its precious load never to return. no man saw it again, and whither it went none can tell. the young beowulf the sons and grandsons of the great sheaf ruled the country of the danes until the time of hrothgar. hrothgar was king of the danes when beowulf, the hero of our story, was a prince in the country of the goths. the young beowulf grew up in the court of his uncle, hygelac, king of the goths. fond of all games and manly sports was he, and he learned to throw the heavy hammer, to shoot, to row, to swim, and to ride. running, wrestling, and hunting were daily exercises of the young men, and beowulf could excel them all in every trial of skill. soon the men at court called beowulf their leader, and they loved and honoured him. although beowulf had won many victories at home, and his people knew him to be brave and strong, yet he longed to do some great deed which should make his name known over other lands. the time came when he had his wish and when all his strength and courage were tested. for a harper from the land of the danes came to the court of hygelac and told a sad story. the harper's story "in the land of the danes lives hrothgar, a great and wise king; but sadness clouds his brow and tears dim his eyes. years ago all was joy and glory. hrothgar had conquered all his foes and made them friends. much wealth had he added to his country's treasures, and many warriors gathered round him, glad to hail him leader and king. "hrothgar loved peace more than war and was glad when the earls were his friends, and he said: 'i will build a great hall, a house of joy for all my friends. this shall be larger than any hall earth has seen. here i will bring all my war treasures. the walls shall be hung with banners of bright colours and decked with shields and swords. tables shall be spread and guests shall always be welcomed.' "the great king spoke, and many workmen gathered to build the hall. large and strong it rose, a wonder for all the people. the king named the hall heorot, and here was every one made welcome. the mead-cup was passed, the king gave presents of shining rings, and joy and laughter filled the hall. "gleemen sang of the goodness of the king, the beauty and grace of the queen, and the bravery of the danes. one singer told of the beginning of all things; how the all-father wrought the earth, the beautiful plain, which the water embraces. he sang of how god placed the sun and moon in the heavens for light to dwellers on the land; how he adorned the earth with grass and leaves and made all creatures that go quickly to and fro. "but alas! now all this joy is changed to sorrow. no longer does the gleeman strike the harp and fill the hall with music. no merry laugh is heard, but all is dark and still. king hrothgar sits upon his kingly seat, silent and sad. "you marvel what can bring grief to the great king and his merry thanes? in all the broad lands there is but one who does not wish long life and joy to the king. this is grendel. no man is he, but a monster whose heart is filled with wickedness. laughter and happiness are strangers to him, and he hates all beauty and goodness. "far in a lake, dark, poisonous, and surrounded by a marsh, does grendel live. when he heard the songs and sounds of joy in the great hall, he smiled grimly to think how he would turn their joy to gloom, their songs to groans. so, in the darkness, from his horrid home the monster crept up to the wondrous hall. there slept the warriors, little dreaming of evil. a score and ten the monster slew, then strode away, howling defiance to the king. "when the sleeping thanes awoke and found their comrades slain, sad were they all at heart. night after night the monster came and slew, and fear seized every heart. in all homes were cries of grief for the dead, and men knew not where to go for safety. "this is the woe of the danes, for none can battle with a monster of the deep. no one has ever seen this ugly shape, for he comes always in the darkness and when no one looks for him. everywhere has the great king sought help, but none can be found. hrothgar sits weeping for his brave comrades in the hall he built for their comfort and joy." beowulf and his men when the harper had ceased, the hall was still. all voices were hushed for they grieved at the sorrow of the good hrothgar. then the brave beowulf cried out: "give me leave, o king! let me go to hrothgar and free his land from this monster so wicked and fearsome." the other thanes applauded his words and cried: "take us with you!" but hygelac, the great king, said wisely: "brave men go to war with care and after deep thought. not easy is the way over the sea; not easy is the contest with the evil grendel. but to fight for a good cause and to nobly win or nobly die is the best a man can do. proud is my heart when i see so many brave men ready to overcome the evil monster or to die fighting, but all may not venture. go, my cousin and my thane," he said to beowulf, "and make thy name famous in all places where honour is loved." [illustration: the departure of beowulf] beowulf thanked his king and chose fourteen of his bravest warriors to go with him. they prepared the strong ship and found a pilot who knew the road the swans take, and who could safely guide the boat. the warriors made their weapons bright and carried them to the ship. the men shoved the boat from the shore. the sails were raised, and, driven by the wind, the boat flew over the foamy waves. on the second day the voyagers saw the shining ocean-shore. the sea-farer was at the end of the watery way. quickly the men stepped out upon the plain. they tied the sea-wood, shook their shirts of mail, and thanked god that to them the wave paths had been easy. the warder of the shore a warder of hrothgar, guarding the seashore, saw these warlike men and wondered why they came. shaking his spear, he cried: "who are you? why come you over the seas in a giant ship, bearing arms into our land? haste to make known whence is your coming!" then beowulf answered: "we are of the goths; hygelac is our king. my father was a noble chief. all wise men through the earth remember him. we have come in kindness to your lord and to defend him. for we have heard that a foul fiend spreads terror through your land and in the darkness slays your thanes. we would overcome this foe to joy." [illustration: the landing of beowulf in hrothgar's realm] then the warder spake: "a warrior wise should know the difference between words and works. but i perceive that you are a friendly band. i will bid my fellows guard your ship against every foe, and then i will direct you." so with their guide the warlike men hastened until they saw the shining roof of the great hall. their ringed armour rang as they walked. at last the warriors came to the entrance of the hall. here, on a bench, they sat until some one should bid them welcome. soon came the warder of the hall, a princely chief. "whence bear you the stout spears and war-shields? great men and proud you seem, and methinks you plan great deeds." then the proud lord, the leader, spoke: "beowulf is my name. i will relate my errand to your prince if he will grant that we may greet him." replied the dane: "i will seek the king and tell him of your coming." quickly he came to hrothgar, sitting with his wise men, and told him of the strangers, praising the hardy warriors. kindly spoke the king: "glad am i that beowulf and his brave goths have come thus to our shores. for i have heard he has the strength of thirty in his hand-grip. him god in his great mercy has sent to us. hasten, bid them come in! tell them that they are welcome guests to the danes." beowulf received by hrothgar when the king's message had been told, beowulf and all his men entered the hall. proud and warlike he stood before the king. "hrothgar, hail! kinsman to hygelac am i and daring deeds have i done. now i have heard that this brave hall of yours stands empty and silent when night shuts out the day, because of grendel's warfare. so i have come with my good friends to help you. deny me not one prayer: that i alone with my brave thanes fight with grendel. this monster fights not with weapons, i have heard. then i also will bear neither sword nor shield, but with my strong hands will i seize him. if grendel conquers me in the battle, he will carry me off; so no care need you take of my body, but send to hygelac my armour." at the brave, strong words of the young beowulf the heart of the old king rejoiced. "i welcome you to my home. come, now, let us sit at the feast and listen to the songs of brave deeds," said the king. then the mead-cup was passed, the gleeman sang, and there was joy in the hall. one man in the hall did not rejoice; there was envy in his heart, for he did not wish any other man on earth to have more glory than himself. so he said: "are you the beowulf who strove with breca in the wide sea in swimming? for seven nights you strove, but he had more strength and overcame you in the race. surely if you dare to fight with grendel, worse things will befall you." then spoke beowulf: "much do you speak of breca. now i speak the truth. more strength on the sea have i than any other man. five days were we together. then the cold winds and waves drove us apart. many a water monster tried to kill me, but sank to the bottom of the sea with a blow from my powerful hands. nine of these water nixies i killed. i have never heard of a harder fight, yet from all these dangers i escaped. i have never been told that you have gone through such terrible fights. although your wit be good, i must say in truth that never had so many princes of hrothgar's court fallen under grendel's stroke, if your courage were as fierce as your tongue. grendel fears not the danes, but kills for pleasure. now a goth shall offer him toil and battle. afterwards, all who wish may go to the mead-hall and rejoice." all the danes applauded beowulf's bold words, for they did not like the jealous prince who had taunted him. the queen, lovely and gracious, bore the mead-cup to the king, and then to their guest. in kind words she greeted him: "glad am i and grateful to god that i may trust in you for comfort against our sorrow." then replied beowulf, for battle eager: "i alone shall work your people's safety or bow in death. i shall perform deeds of noble valour or my last day in this mead-hall await." these words pleased both goths and danes, and applause filled the hall. when darkness came on, the company arose and greeted one another. hrothgar to beowulf said: "never before, since i could raise hand to shield, have i given to any man the dane's festive hall to guard save now to thee. have now and hold the best of houses; keep watch against our foe. all things shall be yours if you escape with life from the battle of this night." the contest with grendel hrothgar then departed with all his warriors. and beowulf spoke to his men: "i do not think myself less in warlike strength than grendel; so i will not use the sword or shield, but we two shall fight to-night without weapons, and god shall give the glory to whom glory belongs." around him lay the warriors, sadly thinking they would never see their homes across the sea again, for so many before that night had been slain by the cruel grendel. at last they slept, all but one. the mighty beowulf in angry mood awaited the battle. now truly it is shown that mighty god rules the race of men. over the moor came the shadow-walker stalking. he strode under the clouds until he saw the golden hall of men. this was not the first time he had come to the hall of hrothgar. on the door he rushed. he opened the wide mouth and trod on the floor. when he saw the men sleeping on the benches he laughed, thinking how he would take life from the body of every one there. the shadowy form came nearer and nearer. at last he stretched out his great hand to take beowulf, but with all his strength the brave warrior seized the arm of the monster. then did the heart of grendel fill with fear. fearful was his mind, but not for that could he escape the sooner. then stood beowulf upright and firmly grasped grendel. very angry were both. the wonder was that the great hall did not fall to the ground. but it was made fast within and without with iron bands, and naught but fire could destroy it. then the noise grew greater. the danes who had heard it were terrified; never had such horrid noise filled the air, for beowulf, the strongest of men, held grendel fast. not for anything would he let the dreadful one escape that day. the warriors sought to help their leader, but he would not use any weapon. with his hands, with his bare hands, he held fast the fearful foe. on the shoulder of grendel was a horrid wound, and beowulf tore the arm from the body. well knew the monster then that his life's end had come. glad was beowulf that his strength had aided the danes, had freed the great hall, and had healed the deep sorrow which had been theirs for so many years. the feast of joy there was in the morning many a warrior in the gift hall. from far and near over distant ways they came to behold the wonder, the arm of grendel the joy-killer. away to the dark water, his home, had he gone with his death-wound. all the warriors rode in gladness to the great hall. there was told the bravery of beowulf. no other was so great, so worthy of honour, as he. hrothgar, also, they praised as a good king and famous in war. all the danes and the goths were happy that the terror of the land had been destroyed. care was removed from their hearts. they were filled with joy and turned to games and sports. some let their beautiful horses run in contest over the fair roads. some who knew the famous stories of heroes told them to eager listeners. laughter, song, and merry voices were heard once more in the hall. soon one of the singers began a song in honour of this new deed, the victory of beowulf. then over the meadow came the great king with many knights famed for their brave deeds. with them also walked the fair queen and a company of maidens. when hrothgar entered the gold-crowned hall and saw the great hand and arm of grendel, he said: "now let us give to the all-father thanks! wonder after wonder can god work. this one brave warrior has, through god's might, performed a deed which the danes could not. happy is the mother of such a son! now, beowulf, as a dear son will i hold you in my heart. nothing shall you want which i have power to give you. you have done a deed which will make your glory live through every age." then replied beowulf; "with great good-will we fought the fight. i seized the enemy quickly with hard hands and hoped to lay him on his death-bed. but i have his hand and arm, and he will surely die, for pain has him in its deadly grip." hrothgar now gave the order that the hall should be adorned for the feast of joy. men and women worked to make all clean and whole. beautiful banners, a wonder to all who beheld them, decked the walls. when all was ready, the king himself came to the feast in honour of beowulf. never had a larger or a nobler company sat in the gift hall. merry at heart were they all, and they had a merry feast. then hrothgar gave to beowulf a golden banner in reward of victory; a sword, a cup, and a helmet he gave, four beautiful and wonderful gifts. these were most precious gifts, of which beowulf need not be ashamed. then hrothgar, the shield of warriors, eight warlike steeds brought into the hall as gifts to beowulf. on one of the horses was the war-seat the king himself used when going to battle. so with steeds and treasures did the king of the danes reward the brave prince. to every man with the hero did the king give a precious gift. then the song of praise was heard. "the wise god rules all, therefore is understanding everywhere best; wise forethought is best." when the song was ended, the queen took the mead-cup to the king, saying: "accept this cup, my beloved lord; be thou happy, good friend of men, and to the goths speak with kind words as one should do. be cheerful to thy guests and mindful of gifts. the bright hall is made safe; be happy with thy sons and friends." then the gracious queen said to beowulf: "receive as a gift this collar, dear prince. thou hast done that which men will praise throughout all time. be noble and happy! be brave and gentle in deeds. here in this hall is every man to each other true and to his lord faithful. the thanes unite to praise thee!" then the queen went to her seat, and all the court united in praise of beowulf, who had driven grendel from the great hall. after the merry feast, all left the hall except a few warriors who slept rejoicing, thinking all their warfare was over. grendel's mother but grendel's mother did not close her eyes in sleep. when her son came home with his death-blow, great was the sorrow and anger in her heart. she would punish the danes and the goths for her son's death. in the middle of the night she crept to the hall where the danes were sleeping, free from all fear. one she seized,--a brave man and dear to the king. then rose a great cry in the hall when grendel's mother saw her son's well-known hand and arm. she seized it and bore it away to the dark lake, together with the body of the warrior. soon hrothgar was told of the fresh calamity, and he grieved at the death of his friend, the brave warrior whom grendel's mother had taken away. when beowulf came to the hall, hrothgar cried out: "speak not to me of rest or joy! sorrow has come again. my best friend in war and peace is dead! the dread monster has killed him. two shadows on the moor have my men seen; one, grendel, is the figure of a man, and the other is like a woman. they dwell in the secret land where the wolf howls and the winds sweep; where the flood flows under the earth. about a mile away is this lake over which the dark trees bend. every night can fire be seen over this waste of water. no one knows how deep the lake is. the noisy winds raise the black waves until the air grows gloomy and the heavens shed tears. you know not this dreadful place. if you dare seek it and come back from the strife, i will give you money and treasures of gold." the way to the pool then the brave beowulf replied: "better is it for every one to avenge his friend than that he greatly mourn. each of us must await the end of his life. let them who can, work high deeds of honour. let us go quickly to seek grendel's mother. i promise you she shall not escape; neither in the sea nor in the bosom of the earth, in the mountain wood nor in the ocean's ground." then was the heart of the old king glad to hear these brave words. horses were brought out and troops of men set forth towards the home of the dreadful shadows. the road was narrow and dark, an unknown way. soon they saw the mountain-trees leaning over the rock, a joyous wood. the water below was dark and gloomy. many strange creatures could be seen moving in the deep pool. now beowulf clad himself in his war-gear. the coat of rings was about his breast so that no grip could injure his life. on his head he wore a bright helmet wrought with strength so that no battle-axe could break it. then a prince of hrothgar gave him a famous sword named hrunting. this was one of the old treasures. never in battle had it failed those who dared to go in ways of terror. this was not the first time that it had done brave deeds. then said beowulf: "now, o king, i am ready for my journey. bear in mind what you have said--if i for your need should lose my life, that you would be to me as a father. if, then, war takes me off, be a friend to my comrades. send to hygelac the treasures you have given to me, so that he may know that i found a good king in you. now with the good sword hrunting will i seek out the foe." with these words beowulf leaped into the lake. beowulf in the pool all that day he sank into the water before he beheld the ground-bed of the pool. then he saw the fierce creature who for a hundred years had held the floods. eagerly she seized him and bore him to her dwelling. many a sea-monster broke through his warlike coat. at last the warrior found himself in a great room where the waters did not enter. then a fierce light shone brightly upon him, and by its gleam he saw the sea-wolf. with a loud cry he struck her with his good broad sword, but it would not bite or injure her. this was the first time its power had failed. beowulf remembered his former deeds of bravery and threw down his useless sword to use the strength of his hands alone. he seized the sea-creature and made her bow to the earth, but fiercely she grasped the brave warrior and overthrew him so that he was like to perish. him she would have slain, but his good coat withstood her sword. the ruler of the skies was his friend, for on the wall was a great sword so heavy that other men could not use it. this sword beowulf seized gladly. angrily he struck the sea-wolf, and the sword passed through her neck. down on the ground she sank. the warrior rejoiced in his work. he looked through the great dwelling and saw grendel lying lifeless. with a strong blow beowulf cut off the head of the monster, but the hot blood melted the sword and nothing was left but the hilt. the blade melted away as ice melts when the father, who has power over the seasons, unbinds the bands of the frost-king. the men at the shore, watching, saw the water all coloured with blood, and feared their great leader was dead. the king and noble danes spoke of the brave hero with praise and sorrow. when noon came, they went back to the great hall sadly, thinking beowulf the daring had been slain by the fearful monster. beowulf's return but the goths stayed by the shore, though little hoping to see their dear lord again. but soon the water cleared and they saw their brave leader swimming toward them with the head of grendel and the hilt of the great sword. then they went to him, thanking god. the stout band of thanes rejoiced that their lord had returned. forth they went on the narrow road, rejoicing. four of the strong men bore the heavy head of grendel. beowulf proudly led his brave men. the prince of the thanes entered the great hall, with glory crowned, to greet hrothgar. the warriors bore the great head of grendel into the hall before the king and his men. "behold, o king!" said beowulf, "the head of the sea-monster! i hardly with life came from the battle under the water. had not god helped me, i had not conquered. the good sword hrunting could not harm my foe, but the ruler of men guided me to see on the wall an old strong sword, and with it i slew her. then i cut off the head of the monster grendel. in his hot blood was the good sword melted, and i brought only the hilt away. i now promise thee that in heorot all may sleep safe from harm, for i have slain thy foes, grendel and his mother, and have given peace to thy land and people." then did beowulf give the sword-hilt to hrothgar. the good king said: "thy glory is exalted, friend beowulf, over every nation. long shall thou be a comfort to thy people and a help to the warriors. now is the flower of thy might. long may it be before thy strength departs in fire's clutch, or rage of flood, or arrow's flight, or age or blindness takes thee. go now to thy seat at the feast as a guest of honour." hrothgar honours beowulf then beowulf went to the seat of honour in great joy, and all were merry. the helm of night grew dark; the warriors left their seats. they greeted beowulf and wished him well to rest. in the gold-roofed hall well slept the prince until the black raven saw the coming of the bright sun. at the first light the goths hastened to the good ship, eager to be gone to their homes. when all were ready, beowulf said: "o king, we seafarers wish to seek our homes. here have we been kindly treated. if there is more that i can do, o lord of men, i shall always be ready. if when far away i hear that foes surround thee, i shall come to help thee with many warriors. well i know that my king, hygelac, will send me to thy aid." then hrothgar spoke: "into thy mind has the wise god sent these kind words. never have i heard wiser words from one so young. thou art strong and wise, and i think that if death should take hygelac, the people would wish thee for their king. so well hast thou borne thyself that there shall be peace between the danes and goths, and many a gift i shall send to thee over the great sea." then hrothgar gave to beowulf rich gifts and bade him seek his home in safety. the good king wept when he said good-bye, for he loved the noble youth and was sad to have him go away over the deep sea. beowulf was glad and proud of the king's praise. he set sail from the land of hrothgar, and often he and his men admired the rich gifts of the great and good king. beowulf and hygelac over ocean-stream went the brave youths and soon saw the shores of the goths, their homeland. beowulf and his men brought the ship high up on the shore lest the billow's force might wreck it. then beowulf ordered them to carry the noble gifts of hrothgar. near the sea-wall was the home of hygelac. the bright sun, the candle of the world, was shining when the brave beowulf and his men went to greet their king. hygelac was glad to see their safe returning, and said: "tell me, friend beowulf, how the danes treated you. long have i feared for you, knowing you would meet grendel, the deadly foe of men." beowulf answered: "right well did hrothgar greet me and gave me a seat in his hall next his own son. all the people were gay, and never have i seen a grander hall or greater cheer. oft the sweet queen left her seat and spoke to the young warriors, giving one and another a wreath. oft their young daughter bore the mead-cup to her father's friends. "so all the day we spent in song and story. at night the beast grendel came. first he seized and slew one of my kindred, and then sought me. but i seized his right hand and would not let go my hold. long we fought, and at last he fled, in the night, to his home in the black waters. but his hand and arm were torn from him, and from this wound he died. "much praise and many gifts i had from the old king, when he learned that the cruel grendel must die. but the next night grendel's mother crept up to the hall and seized one of the king's good friends. sad were we all when morning came. the king with tears begged me to hunt out the wicked creature, and i plunged into the dark waters. fierce was the fight, but at last i won, and never will hrothgar's hall be sad again at the loss of brave warriors. "then hrothgar gave me rich gifts which i bring to you, my king. with gladness i bring them, for because of you are my pleasures long." as beowulf spoke, his men brought in the banner, the shield, the battle-sword, and the helmet. they also brought four fiery steeds with rich trappings, fit for a king. all these did beowulf give to his friend, the king hygelac. to the queen he gave the lovely collar hrothgar's queen had given to him, beautiful and rare with jewels. he also gave her three black horses with saddles bright. [illustration: beowulf presenting his gifts to hygelac] the king and queen rejoiced in the precious gifts and in the love of this brave warrior. to beowulf the king gave a sword of wonder, the best treasure he had, adorned with gold. also he gave him many, many rings of gold and a beautiful palace. so there was love between the king and the brave hero. the dragon of the mountain after many years, when the king and his son had perished in the wars, the goths chose beowulf for their king. no better king could they have, and for many years he ruled over them. he was a wise king and brave. the people loved him much. then a strange story came to his ears: that far away in a dark cave lived a terrible dragon. the way to his lair was rough and steep. in this cave was much treasure, and the dragon was guarding it. many men had gathered the treasures in this cave. swords, helmets, and shields, and rings were hidden there in time of war, so that the enemy could not find them. for many years these treasures were collecting there. at last a dragon came, a fierce creature, and for three hundred winters he had kept watch with his fiery eyes. at last a man found the cave filled with the treasures. the dragon was asleep, so the man took a golden cup and bore it home to his lord. thus the secret of the hoard became known. when the fearful dragon awoke and found that one of his treasures had been taken, he was very angry. fire came from his nostrils and from his wicked mouth. he would find the man who had done this thing. then the dragon began to burn all the houses round. nothing living was left. ruin and death were in his path. then he darted back to the dark cave. he trusted in its darkness, but in vain. beowulf goes against the dragon when beowulf heard that his men were driven from their burning homes, his heart was hot with anger. he ordered a war-board of iron made, for well he knew that forest-wood could not help him against fire. all the foes of the kingdom beowulf had turned to friends, and for many years had ruled the goths in peace and joy. but now he must go against the fearful dragon who was guarding the hoard of treasures. the man who had taken the cup showed them the path, for he alone knew the way. when they came to the mound near the great sea-waves, beowulf said farewell to his warriors. for him alone was the fight with the enemy of his people, the fire-breathing dragon. [illustration: the dragon] sad was the hero at heart, for he knew this was his last fight. "i have dared many battles in my youth, and i will now, as safe guardian of my people, seek out this wicked creature in his earth-hall." beowulf then greeted each of his men, saying: "i would not bear a weapon against this dragon, but would fight him as i did grendel, only i must expect hot fire. await me near this mound. this is a battle for me, not for you or for any other man. i shall obtain the gold, or war shall conquer me, your lord." then the bold king, trusting in his good sword, went forth to battle, with his helmet and his shield. when he came to the mound by the sea he saw an arch of stone, and a stream flowing from the mound. the water was boiling hot and he could not get near the hoard unburned. then the brave war-lord shouted to the dragon. first came forth from the mountain the hot breath of the dreadful monster. the earth shook and flames burst forth. the good king drew his sword and waited. when the dragon came, beowulf strode at it with his sword, and fierce was the conflict. the hero knew that he would fall in the battle, but he would kill the dragon first. it is a brave man who enters such a deadly contest. beowulf's men had sought safety, but one of them felt that he must help his lord in this hour of deadly battle. he said: "now beowulf, our great lord, has need of us. although he is the greatest of warriors and wishes to do this brave deed alone, yet he has need of our swords! let us help our warlike leader. for me, i well know that beowulf shall not fall alone." wiglaf aids his king then the noble wiglaf went to his lord and said: "dear beowulf, once did you say that never would your greatness sink. but in this great deed i shall help." after these words the dragon came forth in great anger. the fiery flames burned the broad wooden shield of wiglaf. then the young, brave hero fought from behind the great iron shield of his leader, beowulf. now this warlike king called to mind the glorious deeds of his youth. with all his strength he struck with his sword, but it broke in his hand. then rushed out for the third time the deadly dragon and wound himself about his kingly foe. to help the king in his great need did wiglaf strike the dreadful foe. the king drew his deadly knife and together they destroyed the fiery creature. then both rejoiced. but now the wound in the breast of beowulf began to burn. wiglaf brought water to help the king. then beowulf spoke: "my joy in earth has gone. i have ruled this people fifty winters. all kings are my friends. never have i spoken falsely, and for this i have joy to-day. go quickly, dear wiglaf, and find the treasures guarded by the great dragon, that i may behold all the jewels, the precious gems for which we fought." many wonders did wiglaf find and bring to the eyes of his dying king: jewels, helmets, rings, shields, swords rich with gold and jewels. most beautiful was a banner of cloth of gold so bright that it made the dark cave light. the death of beowulf when beowulf saw these things of wonderful beauty, he said: "i thank the father of the gods, for all; because i have been able to kill the great dragon and give my life for my people. no longer may i stay here. tell my brave warriors to make a mound near the sea, so high that sailors may see it from afar and call it beowulf's mound." then from his neck the bold-hearted prince took a golden ring and gave it to the young warrior. to him also he gave his helmet and shield and bade him use them well. "thou art the last of our race. all my kinsmen fate has swept away. i shall follow them." these were the last words from the heart of the hero. when the thanes came to where wiglaf sat by his dead lord, the young warrior said: "the great prince who gave you rings, and shields, and homes, could not boast of you when need came. he alone conquered the beast. i could help him little, but yet i did what i could to help the good king. death is better for every one than a life of reproach." then he told them of the wish of beowulf and bade them prepare the mound by the shore of the noisy sea. many, many warriors came to see the great king. much they loved him and admired his great strength. much they mourned for him and tears fell. all day they sat by the sea and spoke no word. they looked with dread at their great foe. fifty feet long it stretched on the ground. at last the warriors threw the great dragon into the sea, never again to be seen by men. then wiglaf took the warriors into the dark cave to see the treasures hoarded there. for a thousand years had gold and gems and jewelled armour been gathered there. now there were more treasures than man could count. the goths were amazed to see such treasures, but they wished not to take them for their own. they heaped high the mountain-pines for a funeral pile. to this they carried the precious treasures of the cave. here they placed the king, so dearly loved. then the greatest of the warriors kindled the pine trees high. the roaring flames arose; sounds of weeping were heard. sad they waited until all was destroyed by the flames. then they began the mound in honour of their lord. ten days they worked, and built the mound so high that sea-farers far away could see it and say, "there is the mound of the good beowulf, the king of the goths." and his people said: "our beowulf was of all kings the mildest, the noblest of men, the gentlest to his people and most worthy of praise." [illustration: pronouncing vocabulary of proper names] [transcriber's note: the printed book's only clue about authorship is in the notes. all other information comes from the norwegian edition. original author: snorri sturluson (generally spelled snorre sturlason in norwegian). modern ( ) norwegian translation: gustav storm. english translation (based on modern norwegian, not on original): ethel harriet hearn. the html version of this e-text includes illustrations, also taken from the norwegian edition.] the sagas of olaf tryggvason and of harald the tyrant (harald haardraade) london williams and norgate mcmxi the places of notes in the text are indicated thus §. the relative matter will be found at the end of the book in due order as to page and line. [footnote markers shown in brackets [§] were missing from the printed text and have been supplied by the transcriber.] the saga of olaf tryggvason, cmlxviii-m now it befell in the days of king tryggvi olafson that the woman he had wedded was astrid & she was the daughter of eirik biodaskalli, a wealthy man who dwelt at oprostad. when the downfall of tryggvi had been accomplished, astrid fled away bearing with her what chattels she might. and with her went her foster-father thorolf louse-beard, who never left her, whereas other trusty men, loyal to her, fared hither and thither to gather tidings of her foes or to spy out where they might lurk. now astrid being great with child of king tryggvi caused herself to be transported to an islet on a lake & there took shelter with but few of her company. in due time she bare a man-child, and at his baptism he was called olaf after his father's father. all that summer did she abide there in hiding. but when the nights grew as long as they were dark and the weather waxed cold, she set forth once more and with her fared thorolf and the others of her train. only by night could they venture in those parts of the country that were inhabited being in fear lest they should be seen of men or meet with them. in time, at even, came they to the homestead of eirik of oprostad. and since they were journeying by stealth, astrid sent a messenger to the goodman of the house, who bade them to be led to an outhouse & there had set before them the best of cheer. thence, when astrid had abided for a while, her followers went unto their homes, but she remained there & with her to bear her company were two women, her babe olaf, thorolf louse-beard and his son thorgills who was six winters old. they rested in that place until the winter was done. ¶ after they had made an end to slaying tryggvi olafson, harald grey-cloak and gudrod his brother hied them to the homesteads that had been his. but ere they came thither astrid had fled & of her learned they no tidings save a rumour that she was with child of king tryggvi. in the autumn fared they to the north, as has been related beforetime, and when they were face to face with their mother gunnhild, told they her all that had befallen them on their journey. closely did she question them concerning astrid, and they imparted to her what they had heard. but because the sons of gunnhild were that same autumn and the next winter at strife with earl hakon, as hath already ere now been set forth, made they no search for astrid and her son. ¶ when the spring was come, gunnhild despatched spies to the uplands, and even as far as vik, to get news of astrid. and when the spies returned it was with the tidings that she was with her father eirik & there most like was she rearing the son that she had borne to king tryggvi that was dead. forthwith gunnhild chose messengers and equipped them handsomely both with weapons and wearing apparel: thirty men chose she, and their leader was hakon, a man of influence and a friend to herself. she bade them make their way to oprostad to eirik and from thence take the son of tryggvi and bring him unto herself. thereupon the messengers set out on their way, but when they were come nigh to oprostad learned the friends of eirik concerning their journey and went one evening unto him with the tidings. straightway when night had fallen, eirik bade astrid make ready to leave, furnished her with sure guides, & set her eastwards with her face towards sweden, to his friend hakon the old, who was a man in the exercise of potent sway. they adventured when the night was not far spent, & next day, towards even, were they come to a country-side called skaun, and seeing there a homestead thither went they craving lodging for the night. of their names they made a secret & their garb was but meanly. the yeoman who abode in the place was called biorn venom-sore, a wealthy man was he but withal churlish, and he drave them away, & they came that same evening to another homestead which was called vizkar. thorstein was the yeoman who dwelt there & he gave them shelter and good cheer for the night, and there they slept in good beds. ¶ next day betimes came hakon with the men of gunnhild to oprostad and asked for astrid and her son, but eirik said that she was not there, so hakon and his men ransacked the homestead and bided till late even toward sundown, and gat them some tidings of astrid's road. then rode they forth the same day and came almost as night fell to the house of biorn venom-sore in skaun, and there took harbour. then hakon asked biorn if he had aught to tell concerning astrid; and he said that some wayfarers had come there during the day and had asked for a night's lodging, 'i sent them away, and it is likely they sought a refuge elsewhere in the neighbourhood.' now a workman that had been of the household of thorstein, being on his way to pass out from the forest, that same even happened to chance on the homestead of biorn and learned that guests were tarrying, & further of what fashion was their errand; and all this he forthwith sped back to tell to thorstein the yeoman. so while there was still a third of the night unspent, thorstein aroused his guests and bade them begone, urging them harshly to bestir themselves. when they had passed a little way from the house then did thorstein open unto them that the emissaries from gunnhild were hard by at the house of biorn seeking for them. they besought him for succour, and he set them on their way with a guide & some food, and their guide led them into the forest where there was a lake & an islet overgrown with reeds. they were able to wade out unto the islet & thereon hid they themselves among the reeds. early on the morrow hakon rode out from the homestead of biorn over the countryside, asking withersoever he went for astrid. when he was come unto the house of thorstein demanded he if they had thither been and thorstein said that certain folk had fared thither & had gone on at daybreak eastwards through the forest. then did hakon bid thorstein come with him because he was skilled in the knowledge of the tracks and hiding-places: and thorstein set forth. but when they were come to the forest led he them away from where astrid was. the whole of that day did they go seeking for them, but found them not. then they came back on their road & related unto gunnhild what had befallen. astrid & her followers went forth on their way till they were come unto sweden to the home of hakon the old, and there astrid and her son dwelt a long while, and it was well with them. ¶ gunnhild, she that was mother to the king, hearing that astrid & her son olaf were in sweden, once more sent forth hakon and a brave following with him, this time eastward to eirik king of sweden, with goodly gifts and fair words. the messengers were made welcome and given good entertainment, and thereafter hakon made known his errand to the king, saying that gunnhild had sent craving the king's help so that he might take olaf back with him to norway: 'gunnhild will foster him,' quoth he. then did the king give him men to go with him, and they rode to the house of hakon the old, and there hakon offered with fair words to take olaf with him. hakon the old returned a friendly answer and said that it must so happen that the mother of the child should decide about his going, but astrid would in nowise suffer the boy to fare forth with them. so the messengers went their way & brought back the answer unto king eirik and they made them ready to return home; but once more prayed they the king to grant them help to bear off the boy whether hakon the old were willing or not. so the king yet again gave them a company of men & the messengers returned to hakon the old and demanded that the boy be allowed to fare forth with them, but as hakon was unwilling that this should be, resorted they to big words and threats of violence, and bore themselves wrathfully. then did a thrall spring forward whose name was bristle, and would have smitten hakon but that he & they that were of his company withdrew hastily so that in nowise might they be beaten of the thrall: and back fared they to norway and recounted to gunnhild all the happenings of their journey & likewise that they had seen olaf tryggvason. ¶ now astrid had a brother, the son of eirik biodaskalli, whose name was sigurd: long had he been remote from the land, sojourning in the realm of garda (western russia) with king valdamar,§ by whom was he held in great honour. now astrid conceived the desire that she should hie unto this her brother sigurd. therefore hakon the old furnished her with trusty followers & handsome equipment after the best manner. and she journeyed in the company of certain merchants. it was for the space of two winters she had abode with hakon the old, and olaf was now three winters old. it came to pass as they were heading eastwards across the sea some vikings fell upon them, men of eistland (esthonia) and took possession both of folk and goods, and some of the folk they killed & some they shared among themselves as thralls. thus was olaf withdrawn from his mother and passed into the custody of one klerkon, an eistlander. together with him were committed thorolf and thorgills. klerkon deemed thorolf too old for a thrall, and that he would be of no use, therefore slew he him, but took the boys with him and sold them to a man, hight klerk, for a good he-goat. a third man bought olaf, and gave for him a good tunic or cloak. the man was named reas, his wife rekon, & their son rekoni. there tarried olaf long and it fared well with him, and always was he mightily beloved by the churl. six winters did olaf sojourn thus in eistland. ¶ sigurd eirikson had come unto eistland as an emissary of valdamar king of holmgard (novgarod) to collect the tribute belonging to the king & he travelled as a man of wealth with many folk much beladen in his train. now it chanced that in the marketplace his eye lit on a certain fine boy whom he knew could not be of the country, & asking him his name gat for answer that he was called olaf and his father tryggvi olafson and his mother astrid, the daughter of eirik biodaskalli. thus did sigurd learn that olaf was son unto his very own sister, and he asked him after what manner he had come to that place: and olaf told him all that had befallen him. sigurd bade him come with him to the peasant reas, and when they were come to the churl paid he him what price was covenanted between them for the boys and bare them with him to holmgard. but never a word did he relate of the lineage of olaf, yet held he him in high favour. ¶ it was that one day in the marketplace lingered olaf tryggvason when there was a gathering of many people. and it chanced that amongst them, spied he klerkon who had slain his fosterfather thorolf louse-beard. now olaf had a small axe in his hand, and he drave it into the head of klerkon so that it went right down into his brain: forthwith ran he home to his lodging and told his kinsman sigurd thereof. straightway did sigurd take olaf to the house of the queen, and to her made known what had befallen. her name was allogia, and sigurd prayed for her grace to protect the lad. the queen beheld the boy and said that one so young and so well favoured must not be slain, and proclaimed her readiness to summon men fully armed. now it fell in holmgard that so great was the respect paid unto peace that it was lawful to slay any man who himself had slain another who was uncondemned; and therefore in accordance with their law and custom the people made assemblage together to take into custody the person of the boy. then were they told that he was in the house of the queen in the midst of an armed band; and this was also brought to the ears of the king. he made him ready to go over to these armed men & give them his commission not to fight, and forthwith did he, the king, adjudge the geld-levy, the fine thereof being paid down by the queen. thereafter did olaf abide in the house of the queen and waxed to find much favour in her eyes. ¶ now it was the law in garda that men of royal blood should not dwell there save with the consent of the king, therefore sigurd made known unto the queen from what stock olaf was descended and in what manner he had come thither, saying that because of dissensions he could not prudently be in his own country, and he prayed her to speak with the king upon this matter. then did she approach the king beseeching him that he would help this son of a king even because so hard a fate had befallen him: & the outcome of her prayers was that the king pledged her his word and taking olaf under his protection treated him with honour, as it was seemly the son of a king should be held in honour. olaf was nine winters old when he came to garda, & nine more winters dwelt he with king valdamar. olaf was exceeding fair & tall to look upon and of mighty stature & of great strength withal. and in prowess in sports, so it is told, was he the best of all the norsemen. ¶ earl hakon sigurdson abode with the danish king, harald gormson, during the winter after he had fled from norway before the sons of gunnhild. now hakon had so much on his mind that winter that he took to his bed, and often lay wakeful, eating & drinking only so much as would maintain the strength in his body. then secretly sent he his men northwards to throndhjem to his friends there, & counselled them that they should slay king erling if it might be that they could compass that deed; adding furthermore that he himself would fare back to his realm in summer-time. that winter they that were of throndhjem slew erling, as is aforewrit. betwixt hakon and gold harald was there a friendship close as that of brothers that have been laid in the same cradle and harald would lay bare his thoughts unto hakon. harald confessed he desired to settle on the land and no more live on his ship of war, and he questioned hakon if he thought harald would share his kingdom with him were he to demand the half. 'methinks,' quoth hakon, 'that the danish king will not refuse thee justice; but thou wilt know more concerning this matter if thou speakest thereon to the king; methinks thou wilt not get the realm save thou demandest it.' shortly after this talk spake gold harald to king harald when they were in company with many mighty men, good friends unto them both. gold harald then demanded that he should halve the kingdom with him, in accordance with the rights which his birth and lineage gave him there in denmark. at this demand waxed harald very wroth, & sware that no man had ever besought his father, gorm, that he should become king of half of what pertained unto denmark, nor yet of his father horda-knut (hardicanute), nor again of sigurd snake-i'-the-eye, nor of ragnar lodbrok; & so great was his fury that none dared parley with him. [illustration] ¶ thence came it that his own position was now even less than before to the liking of gold harald, for no kingdom had he any more than aforetime; while to this was added the wrath of the king. so went he to his friend hakon and made wail of his plight unto him, and besought of him good counsel, if he had such to give him, as to how he might become possessed of the realm; and he said he was minded to seek his kingdom by force of arms. then hakon bade him not breathe word of this to anyone lest it should become known: 'it might cost thee thy life,' he said. 'bethink thee diligently what thy strength is, for he who would risk so great a venture must be high-hearted and dauntless, shirking neither the good nor the evil, so that to which he hath set his hand may come to pass. all unworthy is it to take up great issues and afterwards to lay them down again with dishonour.' then did gold harald answer: 'to such purpose will i take up this claim, that i will not even spare these my own hands from slaying the king himself if occasion serve, should he refuse me this kingdom which is mine by right.' and therewith ended they their commune. after this came king harald to hakon, and they fell to talking together & the king told the earl of gold harald's claim to the kingdom, and with what answer he had rebuked him, declaring that he would by no means diminish his own kingdom, 'but if gold harald hold fast to this his claim; then see i nothing for it save that i should put him to the death for in him have i but little faith if he will not surrender this desire.' the earl made answer: 'methinks harald hath set out on this matter with such earnestness that he is not like to set it aside; and that if it should come to a rising in the land, there would be many that would flock unto his standard and the main of them because of the love they had borne to his father. it would bring thee the greatest ill-chance shouldst thou slay thy kinsman, for in such case all men would deem him blameless. nor will i counsel thee to become a lesser king than was gorm thy father; he also very much increased his realm, but in no wise diminished it.' then said the king: 'what then is thy counsel, hakon? wouldst thou that i should divide my kingdom, and have this unrest off my mind?' 'our meeting will be again ere many suns set,' answered earl hakon. 'i will first ponder over this difficult matter, and thereafter give thee an answer.' then did the king depart and with him all the men that were of his company. ¶ thereafter came it to pass that earl hakon betook himself once more to pondering and plotting, and permitted but few of his men to be in the house with him. some days later came harald again to the earl, and they communed together, and the king asked of the earl if he had thought deeply upon that matter whereon they had discoursed when they were last face to face. 'on that matter,' quoth the earl, 'have i lain sleepless both by night and day ever since, and i deem it the wisest counsel that thou shouldst hold and rule the kingdom that thy father had and that thou didst inherit after him, but that thou shouldst get for thy kinsman harald another kingdom wherein he may have all honour.' 'what kingdom is that?' inquired the king, 'that i may lightly give to harald, keeping the danish kingdom whole the while?' the earl made answer, 'it is norway. the kings who rule there are hated by all the folk of their land, & every man wishes them ill, as is but meet.' then mused the king aloud: 'norway is a great land, and the folk are a hardy folk; it beseems me to be a land ill chosen whereon to fall with a foreign host. thus did it happen to us when hakon defended the land; many men were slain to us but no victory did we achieve. moreover harald eirikson is my foster-son and hath sat on my knee.' then saith the earl: 'long have i known that thou hast given help to the sons of gunnhild; yet with naught but ill have they requited thee. we will take norway more easily than by fighting for her with all the hosts of denmark. send thou to thy foster-son harald, and bid him receive from thee the lands and fiefs which they had aforetime here in denmark. appoint a tryst with him; then can gold harald in a short while win himself a kingdom in norway from king harald grey-cloak.' then answered the king that it would be called of foul intent to betray his foster-son. 'the danes, i trow, will account it a better deed to slay a norwegian viking than one who is a brother's son and a dane,' answereth the earl; & thereafter talked they on this matter until they were in full accord. ¶ yet again came gold harald to speak with hakon, and the earl made known to him that he had so championed his cause and to such good purpose that there was hope that a kingdom might now be making ready for him in norway. 'let us,' said he, 'hold fast by our compact. i shall be able to afford thee great support in norway. get thou first that kingdom. king harald is now very old & hath but one son, a bastard, whom he loveth but little.' to such measure did the earl open up the matter to gold harald that the younger man was in full accord with him thereon; and thereafter did they all three take lengthy counsel, to wit, the king, the earl, and gold harald full oft. then sent the danish king his men north into norway even to harald grey-cloak, and they were right well furnished for their journey, and were made welcome with much cheer and in all courtesy were received by king harald. they related the tidings that earl hakon was in denmark, and was lying sick unto death and well-nigh witless; and the further tidings that harald the danish king bade harald grey-cloak to him to take such fiefs as he and his brothers had held aforetime in denmark, and to that purpose bade he harald come to him in jutland. harald grey-cloak laid the matter before gunnhild and other counsellors and their views were not all of one accord, some fearing that this journey was not without peril by reason of the men that were set over against them to be dealt with; but the greater number were desirous that he should go by reason of the great famine that was at this time in norway whereby the kings could scarce feed their men. and it was at this season that the fjord near-by which the kings most oft abode gat its name of harding. in denmark, as men had marked, the harvest had been at least of goodly measure, so that men thought to get thence what they required should king harald have fief & dominion there. it was agreed therefore ere the emissaries departed whence they had come, that when summer was at hand harald should hie to the danish king, and pronounce his adhesion to the conditions king harald proffered. ¶ so in due course when the summer sun shone in the long hours of night fared forth harald grey-cloak towards denmark in three longships, & one of these was steered by arinbiorn, the 'hersir'§ of the fjords.§ king harald sailed from vik over to limfjord and took port at hals, where it was told him that the danish king was expected in a brief space. now when king harald heard of this, hastened he to make sail thither with nine ships, the which had been whiles mustered and set in readiness to take the sea. earl hakon had likewise armed his men & he also was about to set forth after the manner of a viking; at his word twelve ships, and they large ones, set their sails. when gold harald had fared forth, earl hakon spake to the king, saying, 'methinks we are like to row to war and yet pay the war-fine[§] to boot. gold harald will now slay harald grey-cloak and thereafter take himself a kingdom in norway. thinkest thou that he will be loyal to thee when thou givest him so much power? thus said he in my presence last winter that he would slay thee could he but find occasion to do so. now will i bring norway under thy sway and slay gold harald, if thou wilt promise easy absolution at thy hands for the deed. then will i be thine earl, and bind myself by oath that with thy might to be my aid i will bring norway under subjection under thee, and thereafter hold lands under thy dominion & pay thee tribute. then wilt thou be a greater king than thy father was, inasmuch as thou shalt hold sway over two great peoples.' thus was this covenanted betwixt the king and the earl; and hakon set out with his men to seek gold harald. ¶ gold harald came to hals in limfjord, and forthwith offered battle to harald grey-cloak; and harald, albeit to him were fewer men, went ashore, made him ready for battle & set his host in array. but or ever the onset took place harald grey-cloak spoke cheering words to his men, bade them draw their swords, and rushing first into the fray smote on either side. thus saith glum geirason in grey-cloak's lay: 'brave words spake the swordsman, he that dared to dye the grass sward of battle with the blood of the foe; and when harald bade his men ply the swords in the strife, his manly words did them mightily encourage.' ¶ there fell harald grey-cloak. thus saith glum geirason: 'the bearer of the shield, he that clave longest to the ship, in death lay stretched on the broad marge of limfjord; on the sands at hals fell the bounteous chieftain; it was his glib-tongued kinsman that wrought the deed.' ¶ there fell with king harald the greater number of his men; there, likewise, fell arinbiorn the 'hersir.' fifteen winters had passed since the fall of hakon, he that was foster-son to adalstein, and thirteen since the fall of sigurd the earl of ladir. the priest ari thorgilson saith that earl hakon was for thirteen winters ruler of his heritage in throndhjem before the death of harald grey-cloak; & that during the last six winters of harald grey-cloak's life, saith ari, the sons of gunnhild and hakon fought against one another, & in turn fled the country. ¶ earl hakon and gold harald met not long after the fall of harald grey-cloak, & straightway earl hakon joined battle with gold harald. therein hakon gained the victory; moreover harald was taken prisoner, and hakon had him hanged upon the gallows. thereafter fared hakon to the danish king, and easily made his peace with him for the slaying of his kinsman gold harald. king harald then called out a host from the whole of his kingdom and sailed with six hundred ships, and there went with him earl hakon and harald the grenlander, who was a son of king gudrod, and many other great men who had fled from their free lands in norway before the sons of gunnhild. the danish king set his fleet in sail up from the south to vik, and when he was come to tunsberg great numbers flocked to him. and king harald gave the whole of the host which had come to him in norway into the hands of earl hakon, making him ruler over rogoland and hordaland, sogn, the fjords, south more, raumsdal, and north more. these seven counties gave he to earl hakon to rule over, with the same rights as harald fair-hair had given to his sons; only with this difference, that not only was hakon there as well as in throndhjem to have all the king's manors and land-dues, but he was moreover to use the king's money and estates according to his needs should there be war in the land. to harald the grenlander gave king harald vingulmark, vestfold, and agdir as far as lidandisness (the naze) with the title of king, and gave him dominion thereof with all such rights as his kin had had aforetime, & as harald fair-hair had given to his sons. harald the grenlander was in these days eighteen winters old, & became thereafter a famous man. then did harald the danish king hie him home with all the might of his danish host. ¶ earl hakon fared with his men northward along the coast, and when gunnhild and her sons heard these tidings gathered they together an host, but found obstacles to enrolling men at arms. so they took the same resolution as before, to wit to sail westward across the main with such men as would go with them, and thus fared they to the orkneys and tarried there a while. thorfinn skull-cleaver's sons were now earls there-- hlodvir, arnvid, liot, and skuli. forthwith did earl hakon subdue all the land and that winter abode he in throndhjem. of this speaketh einar jingle-scale in the vellekla: 'the earl that on his noble brow a silken fillet binds counties seven hath he enthralled with their chattels, lands, and hinds.' now when earl hakon in the summer-time fared northward along the coast, & the people there made their submission to him, issued he proclamation that all temples and blood-offerings should be maintained throughout his dominions; and it was done accordingly. thus it is said in the vellekla: 'seeing that he was wise the folk-leader commanded that be sacred kept the temple-lands of thor and other gods. home to glory across the billows did the shield-bearer steer the ship, it was the gods that led him. 'and the men-loving Æsirs gloat on the offerings whereby the shield-bearer is made of more account. bountifully doth the earth give forth her sustenance when its lord builds temples for the gods.' all that is northward to vik lies under the heel of the earl; wide is the sway that he holds, mightily waxed by victories.' [illustration] ¶ that self-same first winter wherein king hakon ruled over norway came the herring up along the coast, and before that in the autumn had the corn grown wheresoever it had been sown; in the spring men gat themselves seed-corn and the greater number of the peasants sowed their fields, and soon there was promise of a good harvest. ¶ king ragnfrod, son unto gunnhild, and gudrod, he that was another son to her, these two were now the only sons of eirik and gunnhild who were still alive. thus saith glum geirason in grey-cloak's lay: 'half is my hope of wealth downfallen since the strife, the strife in which the life of the chief was lost, the death of harald weigheth me down, albeit his brethren twain have good things promised me, and to them all men look for their welfare.' ¶ now when ragnfrod had abode one winter in the orkneys made he him ready in the spring and thence shaped a course eastward to norway, & with him were a chosen company in large ships. and when he was come to norway learned he tidings how earl hakon was in throndhjem, forthwith did he steer northward round stad & laid waste south more; and some folks submitted to him as oft befalleth when warrior bands go through a country-- those that they meet with seek help, each one wheresoever it seemeth likeliest to be gotten. when it was told to earl hakon that there was war in the south within more, caused he war-arrows to be sharpened and he equipped himself in haste & set sail down the fjord. moreover an easy matter was it for him to bring folk around his standard. earl hakon and ragnfrod sighted one another off the northernmost part of south more, & straightway hakon gave battle, he that had most men but withal smaller ships. hard was the struggle & therein waxed hakon luckless; men fought from the prows and sterns, as the custom was in those times. now there was a current in the sound, and all the ships were driven into shore, so the earl bade his folk rest on their oars, and drift to land at such place where he should deem it best to land; and when the ships grounded, the earl and all his host sallied forth and haled them up on the beach, so that their foemen might not drag them forth again. then did the earl array his men on the banks, and shouted defiance to ragnfrod to land, but they that were with ragnfrod lay-to farther out, and though for a while they shot at one another, would ragnfrod in no wise come ashore, and thereafter they parted. ragnfrod sailed with his fleet southward to stad, for he feared him that the land hosts might assemble and flock to earl hakon. but that earl waged war no more for unto his mind the difference betwixt the ships was over-great. in the autumn fared he north to throndhjem, & there abode during the winter. king ragnfrod therefore held all the land south of stad: the fjords, sogn, hordaland, and rogaland. many men were at his beck throughout that winter, and when the spring-tide came called he a muster and gat him many more. moreover sent he far & wide over all these counties to gather together men and ships and what other stores whereof he had need. ¶ when spring was come earl hakon summoned men from out the very north of the country; many gat he from halogaland, & naumdal, so that right from byrda to stad came men to him from all the sea-boards. he reared a host from all the districts of throndhjem, and likewise from raumsdal. it was said that he had men from four counties; with him fared seven earls, and in their train were an exceeding large company. thus it is said in the vellekla: 'thereafter, full of lust for slaughter, did the defender of the folk of more bring from the north a tale of men to sogn. from counties four called forth that warrior hosts, seeing in them sure help for all his folk. to the war-gathering on the longships swiftly, to meet their warrior chieftain, hie lords of the land in number seven. all norway trembled at the warrior host; beyond the capes were borne unnumbered fallen.' ¶ then earl hakon set sail with the whole of this host southward past stad; and when it came to his ears that king ragnfrod with his host had entered into the sognfjord thither led he his men and there encountered him. thereafter having brought his ships to land chose he out a battle-field whereon to fight king ragnfrod. thus saith the vellekla: 'now did the chieftain meet in second battle the slayer of the vandals, and fell slaughter followed. the prows were set to land, and the ships steered even to the marches of the shires at the bidding of the warrior.' ¶ and it came to pass that both sides did dress their battle and fought amazing fierce, but in men had earl hakon the super-abundance and the issue was to him. this was at thinganes, where sogn and hordaland meet. king ragnfrod fled from his ships, and of his folk there fell three hundred men. thus it is said in the vellekla: 'fierce was the strife before three hundred were pressed beneath the claws of the carrion bird by the host of the warrior chief: o'er the heads of the sea-dwellers, thence could the conquering chief stride-- aye, and the deed was glorious.' ¶ after this battle did king ragnfrod hie him away from norway and earl hakon brought peace to the land; he gave licence that the great host which had been with him in the summer should fare back northward, but he himself abode hard by there where he gained the victory, not whiles only that autumn but also throughout the winter that came after. ¶ earl hakon took to wife a woman named thora, who was exceeding fair. the daughter was she of skagi skoptison, a man possessed of much wealth. their sons were svein and heming, & their daughter was bergliot, who thereafter was wedded to einar tamberskelfir. earl hakon was over much given to women, and by them had many children. one of his daughters was called ragnhild, and he gave her in marriage to skopti skagason, the brother of thora. the earl so loved thora that her kinsmen became dearer to him than all other men, and skopti his son-in-law had more influence with him than any other of his kindred. to him gave the earl large fiefs in more; & it was covenanted betwixt them that whensoever the fleet of the earl was at sea skopti was to bring his ship alongside the earl's, and for none other was it to be lawful to lay his ship between their ships. ¶ now it happened one summer when earl hakon was with his ships on the main that thorleif the meek was master of one of them, & eirik, the son of the earl, he being then some ten or eleven winters old, was aboard. of an evening when they were come into haven, eirik would not have it otherwise save that the ship whereon he was must be closest to the ship pertaining to the person of the earl. now when they made sail south to more there came likewise skopti, he that was son-in-law to the earl, with his long-ship well manned. skopti, as his men were rowing towards the fleet, called out to thorleif to leave the haven and let him lie-to there, but eirik sprang up & answered back bidding skopti hie him to another berth. now earl hakon hearing that his son deemed himself too mighty to make way for skopti, straightway called out to thorleif bidding him leave the berth, or he would make it the worse for them, to wit, that he would have them beaten. so thorleif when he heard this shouted to his men to slip their cables, and this they did according to his word; then did skopti lie-to in the berth he was wont to have, nearest the earl's ship. now skopti was called tidings skopti, & this had come about seeing that it had been agreed that when they were together he was to make known to the earl all the tidings, or if it so happened that the earl had heard them first then it was he that would tell the tidings to skopti. now in the winter that was after all that hath been before but now related, was eirik with his foster-father thorleif, but even so soon as the earlier spring-tide was he given a company of men. thorleif moreover gave him a fifteen-benched ship with all the gear, tilts, and victuals that were needful. eirik thence sailed from the fjord, and so south to more. now it befell that tidings skopti was also at sea between his homesteads, & he too in a fifteen-benched craft; eirik forthwith bore straight down on him and offered battle, and in the issue thereof fell skopti, but eirik gave quarter to such of his men who were not slain. thus saith eyolf dadaskald, in the banda lay: 'late in the day, on the ski of the sea-king, with combatants equal, fared the youth 'gainst the "hersir," him the stout-hearted. there 'neath the hand that a bloody blade wielded fell tidings skopti. (the feeder of wolves was food for the ravens.)' ¶ with that sailed eirik south along the coast to denmark, and adventured to king harald gormson, abiding with him the winter; but the spring thereafter the danish king sent eirik north, & bestowed on him the title earl & therewith vingulmark§ and raumariki, to be beneath his sway even under the self-same tenure as had tribute-paying kings aforetime been in fief and tribute. ¶ in the days that were to come after waxed earl eirik, and men knew him as a mighty chieftain. all this while abode olaf tryggvason in garda, at the court of king valdamar, where he had much honour & enjoyed the faithful love of the queen. king valdamar made him lord of the host which he sent out for the defence of his country, and for him fought olaf divers battles and proved himself to be an able captain, and himself maintained a large host of warriors on the fiefs allotted to him by the king. of no niggardly disposition, olaf was ever openhanded to the men that were with him and who for this self-same reason held him in affection; but as oft times happens when men who are not of the country are exalted to power, or are so greatly honoured that they take the lead of the men of the land, many there were who envied him the love he had of the king, & even so much the more that of the queen. spake many men of that matter to the king, charging him to beware lest he should make olaf over great: 'for a man of the kind might be harmful to thee, would he lend himself to such a deed as to make thee and thy realms suffer, so crafty & beloved of men is he; nor wot we what he & the queen have thus oft whereon to commune one with the other.' ¶ now it was in those days generally the custom among great kings for the queen to possess half the court and to maintain it at her own charge, and for this purpose levied she her taxes and dues, in amount as much as she stood in need therefor. in this wise was it also with king valdamar. the queen held no less splendid a court than pertained to the king, and vied they one with the other as to which might procure men of prowess, each having it at heart to possess such men for themselves. now it happened that the king gave heed unto words of this fashion, which men spake unto him, & he waxed silent and with countenance aloof from olaf. and olaf marking it well spake thereof to the queen, and opened to her likewise how that it was the desire of his heart to journey even unto the north. his kin, said he, had held dominion there in days of yore, & therefore he thought it likeliest that he would there obtain the more advancement. so the queen bade him farewell, saying that wheresoever he might chance to tarry there would all deem him a man of prowess. olaf thereafter made him ready for his journey, went aboard his ship, and stood out into the eystrasalt (the baltic). thence sailing west came he to borgundarholm (bornholm) and made thereon a landing and harried all in the isle. the men of the land came together and did battle with him, but olaf gat the victory and much booty. ¶ now while olaf lay-to off borgundarholm, there was rough weather with a gale raging at sea, that their ships began to drag their anchors, for which reason did they set sail south to the coast of vindland (wendland)§ on which shore were good havens, whereon ships might ride at peace. there did they tarry for long whiles. the king of vindland was named burizlaf,§ & the three daughters to him were geira, gunnhild, and astrid. now at the place where there came ashore olaf and his men did geira hold rule & dominion, and under her he that exercised most authority was one hight dixin. when it became known that strange men had come to the country who behaved themselves in seemly fashion & abode there in peace, dixin hied to them with a message from queen geira bidding them sojourn in her land during the winter, seeing the summer was near spent, the weather threatening ill, & the storms waxing great. and being come thither dixin saw on the instant that the captain of these men was one notable both for descent and appearance. therefore recounted he to them that the queen invited them to her with messages of friendship, & olaf nothing loath did her bidding and went to queen geira as her guest. it came to pass that they twain thought both so well one of another that olaf made ado to woo queen geira, and so it befell that winter that olaf took geira to wife, & gat he the rule of the realm with her. thereof spake halfrod the troublous-skald in the lay he made about olaf the king: 'the chieftain at holm let the sharp-edged swords be dyed blood-red eastward too in garda, nor can this be in any manner concealed.' ¶ now hakon, he that ruled over norway, paid no tribute, the reason whereof being that the king of denmark had made assignment to him of all the taxes to which the king had a right in norway, by reason of the trouble & costs the earl was put to in defending the land against the sons of gunnhild. ¶ now it befell in those days that the emperor otta§ was in saxland (north germany), & word sent he to harald, king of denmark, that he and the people that were his must be baptized & accept the true faith, or else, swore the emperor that he would march upon him with an host. so the king of denmark admonished those that defended the land that they should be ready at his call, danavirki§ caused he to be well maintained, and his war ships were manned; thereafter sent the king to earl hakon commanding him that he must come to him early in the spring-tide with even as many men as he might muster. so at the first song of the birds earl hakon levied an host from all parts of his dominions, and many men were enrolled to him; this host bade he take ship to denmark and with them sailed he himself to meet the king of denmark, and by him was received in right seemly fashion. with the king were there at that hour many another lord proffering help, so that all told gathered he together an host waxing exceeding large. ¶ now, as hath already been set forth, olaf sojourned that winter in vindland, & in the months thereof went he to those districts thereof which had formerly obeyed the rule of queen geira, but had now ventured to throw off allegiance & the payment of taxes. these did olaf harry, slaying many men, burning the homes of some, and taking much booty; then having rendered these realms subject unto himself turned he him back again to his stronghold. so soon as the spring-tide was come, did olaf make ready his ships and put out to sea, sailing across to skani (scania) where he went ashore. the people of those parts assembled and fought against him; but olaf was victorious and gat much plunder. thence sailed he eastward to the island of gotland, and took a merchant craft owned by men from jamtaland who rendered a stout defence, but in such wise did the struggle end that olaf cleared the ship, slew many men, & took possession of all the goods that were on board. a third battle fought he in gotland; there likewise the day was to his strength and much spoil was to his hand. thus saith halfrod the troublous-skald: 'the foeman of the shrines slew merchants of jamtaland and men of vindland in battle as in days of youth had been his wont. to those that lived in scotland was the lord of "hersirs" the bane. is it not told that the giver of gold loved to fight in skani?' ¶ therefore gathered the emperor otta a mighty host; men he had from saxland (north germany), frankland (france), and frisland, whiles out of vindland, likewise king burizlaf§ contributed a large host. with the array went the king himself and his son-in-law olaf tryggvason. to the emperor was a great body of horsemen, and so much the more a greater body of foot-folk. from holtsetaland (holstein) likewise came to him a large host. as it is said in the vellekla: 'so it befell likewise that the steeds of the sea southward ran 'neath the deft riders to denmark, and the lord of the hordmen, becoifed with the helmet, chief of the dofrar folk, sought the lords of the dane-realm. and the bountiful king of the dark forest lands would in winter-tide test the warrior come from the north, what time that doughty fighter gat from his chief a message bidding him defend the wall against the foes of denmark. little gladsome was it to go against their hosts; albeit the shield-bearer did cause great destruction, and the sea-hero incited to battle when the warriors came from frisland with franks and vandals.' ¶ now earl hakon set companies above all the gates of the fortification, but the greater part of his host sent he along the walls to defend the places where the onslaught was hottest, and many fell of the emperor's host, but nothing did they win of the wall. so then the emperor turned him away, and no longer made trial there. thus it is said in the vellekla: 'spear-points were broken when in that war game shield clashed against shield and the foe gave not way; the steerer of the sea-steeds turned saxons fleeing thence, and the chief 'fended the rampart 'gainst the foe.' ¶ after this battle went back earl hakon even unto his ships and would have homeward sailed unto norway, but that he could get no wind, so accordingly he lay out in limfjord. ¶ now turned the emperor otta his host so that they faced around & hied them to the gulf of sle (sleswick), whereat gathered he together a large host and took his men across to jutland. when the intelligence thereof came to the ears of the king of denmark fared he forth against the emperor with his host, and a great battle was fought betwixt them. the issue was to the emperor, and thereon the king of denmark fled away to limfjord & took ship out to marsey. then did emissaries journey betwixt him and the emperor, and a truce was covenanted, also that they twain should commune face to face. in marsey, then, did the emperor otta and the danish king confront one the other, & there a saintly bishop,§ poppo by name, preached the faith before harald, and to show the truth thereof bare he glowing iron in his hand, and harald testified that the hand of the holy man was unscarred by the heated iron. thereafter was harald himself baptized with the whole of the danish host that were with him. ere this had harald the king, albeit that he abode the nonce in marsey, summoned earl hakon to his aid, and the earl had just come to the island when the king let himself be christened. so the king sent a message to the earl to come to him, and when the earl was come thither compelled him also that he should be baptized. after this manner was the earl made a christian, and all his men with him. thereafter did the king appoint him priests and other learned men,§ and commanded him to cause all the people of norway to be baptized into the faith and with this they parted. thereafter earl hakon put out to sea to await a favourable wind, and when a breeze sprang up, lo! without more ado set he all the learned men to wade even unto the shore and upon that wind himself stood out to sea. the wind was from the west, and the earl sailed eastward through eyrasund (Öresund) pillaging whatsoever lands he sighted, & thereafter came east unto the skani side, plundering and harrying wherever he put ashore. now as he was sailing his course off the skerries of east gautland put he ashore and offered up a great sacrifice, and whiles this was solemnized came two ravens flying up, loudly croaking, & for this reason deemed the earl that odin had accepted his sacrifice, and that good fortune would favour him in his battles. even so burned he all his ships and came ashore with every man of all his host, and carried war throughout the land. against him was arrayed earl ottar, he that held rule over gautland, and they fought a great battle wherein was earl hakon victorious, & he slew earl ottar together with a great number of his host. earl hakon then marched hither & thither carrying war through both the gautlands, until he was come unto norway, & then took he the road right to the north, to throndhjem. it is of this that the vellekla speaketh: 'the foeman of those who fled consulted the gods on the plain, and gat answer fret[§] from that the day was propitious to battle; there the war-leader saw how mighty were the corse-ribs; the gods of the temple would thin lives in gautland. a sword-thing held the earl there where no man afore him with shield on arm had durst to harry; no one ere this so far inland had borne that shield of gold; all gautland had he o'errun. with heaps of the fallen the warriors piled the plain the kith of the Æsirs conquered, odin took the slain; can there be doubt that the gods govern the fall of kings? ye strong powers, i pray, make great the sway of hakon.' [illustration] ¶ after that he had parted in all goodly friendship from the danish king, fared emperor otta back to his realm of saxland; men say that he held svein the son of harald at the font, & that the child bore the name of otta svein. harald, the danish king, held by the christian faith even to the day of his death. king burizlaf, after these things, betook himself back to wendland, & together with him in his company went his son-in-law king olaf tryggvason. of the battle aforesaid telleth hallfrod the troublous-skald in olaf's lay: 'the ruler of war ships hewed and smote asunder warriors even in denmark to the south of hedeby.' ¶ it was the space of three winters that olaf tryggvason abode in wendland, even until geira his wife fell ill of a sickness, whereof she died, and so great a sorrow was this to olaf that he no longer had pleasure in living in wendland. therefore getting him ships of war once more went he forth plundering and harrying, first in saxland, then in frisland, and he even fared as far as flanders. thus saith hallfrod the troublous-skald: 'oft did the son of tryggvi smite to the death the saxon and left maimed corses food for the wolves, and for their drink did that lord, beloved of his host, give the brown blood of many a frisian. mighty sea-kings hewed in flanders corses asunder, the prince to the ravens gave the flesh of walloons as supper.' ¶ thereafter did olaf tryggvason sail for england, and ravaged apace & afar in that country; right north did he sail to nordimbraland (northumberland) and there harried; thence fared he farther to the northward even to scotland where he plundered and pillaged far and wide. from thence sailed he again to the hebrides, the where he fought more than once, and afterwards sailed a course south to man & fought there. far and wide did he plunder in ireland and then sailed he to bretland (wales) and pillaged there, & in kumraland (cumberland) did he likewise. then he sailed to frankland (france) where he harried the people, & from thence came back again, being minded to return to england, but came to those islands which are called scilly in the western part of the english main. thus saith hallfrod the troublous-skald: 'the unsparing young king plundered the englishmen, the feeder of spear-showers made murder in northumbria, the war-loving feeder of wolves laid waste to scotia, the giver of gold fared with up-lifted sword in man. the bearer of the elm-bow brought death to the hosts of the isle of erin, for fame yearned the lord; four winters did the king smite the dwellers in wales, and northumbrians hewed he ere the greed of the chough was appeased.' ¶ four winters did olaf tryggvason fare on viking cruises from the time of his leaving wendland even until his coming to the isles of scilly. ¶ now when olaf tryggvason was lying off the isles of scilly he heard tell that there was a soothsayer thereon, and that he foretold the future and spake of things not yet come to pass, and many folk believed that things ofttimes happened according as this man had spoken. now olaf being minded to make assay of his cunning sent to him the finest and fairest of his men, in apparel as brave as might be, bidding him say that he was the king, for olaf had become famous in all lands in that he was comelier and bolder and stronger than all other men. since he had left garda, howsoever, he had used no more of his name than to call himself oli, and had told people that he was of the realm of garda. now when the messenger came to the soothsayer and said he was the king, gat he for answer: 'king art thou not, but my counsel to thee is that thou be loyal to thy king,' & never a word more deigned the seer to utter. then went the messenger back and told olaf this thing, and the king had no longer any doubt that this man was verily a soothsayer, and his wish to meet with him, now that he had heard such an answer, waxed greater than heretofore. so olaf went to him & communed with him, & asked him to prophesy about his future, whether or not he would win himself a kingdom or other good fortune. then answered the prophet with saintly prophecy: 'thou wilt be a glorious king, & do glorious deeds, to faith & christening wilt thou bring many men, and thou wilt help thereby both thyself & many others. but to the end that thou shalt not doubt about this mine answer take this for a token: hard by thy ships shalt thou meet with guile & with foemen, & thou shalt do battle; and of thy men some shall fall and thou thyself shalt be wounded. from that wound wilt thou be nigh unto death and be borne on a shield to thy ship; yet of thy hurt shalt thou be whole within a sennight and shall shortly thereafter accept christianity.' then olaf went down to the ships, & verily did meet with the warlike men who would slay him & his followers, & their combat ended even as the hermit had foretold, to wit, in such manner that olaf was indeed borne out to his ship on a shield & likewise was whole again after a sennight. then olaf felt assured in his mind that it was the truth that this seer had told him, and that of a truth was he a wise soothsayer, whencesoever might he have his gift of prophecy. so olaf a second time went unto him and held much talk with him, and questioned him closely as to whence he gat the wisdom to foretell what was to come. and the hermit saith that the god of the men that were baptized himself causeth him to know all that he wisheth. then recounted he to olaf the mighty works of god, & after these persuasions olaf assented unto christianity, & it befell that he was there baptized, & all the men that were with him. in that place abode he a long time and learned the true faith, and in his train bore away with him priests & other learned men. ¶ from the isles of scilly olaf hied in the autumn to england, and there lay he in a certain haven & lived in peace, for england was a christian land & now was he likewise a christian man. [illustration] ¶ now there went throughout the land a summons to a certain thing, that all men should come to the thing, & when there was assemblage thither came to it a queen whose name was gyda.[§] she was the sister of olav kvaran who was king of dublin, which is in ireland, and she had been married to a powerful earl in england who was now dead, but after him she yet ruled his dominion. now there was a man in her dominions whose name was alwin, a mighty champion & 'holmgangsman.'§ alwin had wooed gyda, but she had made answer that she herself would make choice whom she would have among the men of her dominion, and forasmuch as she would choose herself a husband was this thing convened. thereto likewise came alwin decked out in his best raiment, and many others were there apparelled also in their best. now olaf too was come thither, & he was clad in his bad-weather raiment, wearing a cloak exceeding rough; and he stood with his followers somewhat aloof from the others. gyda walked hither & thither among the men, gazing at each one favoured in her eyes; but when she was come to where olaf held his ground looked she searchingly up into his face and asked of what manner of man was he. then did he make answer that he was oli, and said: 'i am not of the country born nor bred.' saith gyda: 'wilt thou have me? even upon that then will i choose thee.' 'i will not say nay to it,' quoth he, and asked her name and lineage. 'i am,' said she, 'a king's daughter of ireland, but i was wedded into this country, to an earl who held dominion here. since the time that he died have i ruled the land; divers men have wooed me, but none that i would wed, & my name is gyda.' youthful was she and fair, and olaf and she communed over this matter even until they became of one accord, and thereafter was olaf betrothed to gyda. this was but sour in the mouth of alwin, but there was a custom in england that when two contended about a matter they should meet in single combat, and alwin therefore bade olaf tryggvason fight with him on this matter. the time and place were appointed, & on either side were there chosen twelve men. then when they were met said olaf unto his men that they were to do even as he did, and a great axe had he in his hand. now as alwin was minded to drive his sword into him olaf struck it out of his hand, & at the second stroke alwin himself so that he fell to the ground. then did olaf bind him fast, & in this manner also was treatment meted out to the men that were with alwin, to wit, to be beaten and bound, and thereafter were taken home to olaf's lodging. then did he bid alwin depart from out the land & nevermore therein set foot again, and thereafter olaf took possession of all his lands. [illustration] ¶ so it came to pass that olaf wedded gyda & abode for the most part in england, but sometimes in ireland. once when olaf was out on a foray, it fell that it was needful that they should foray ashore for provisions, and accordingly went his men to land and drove down a number of cattle to the shore. then came a peasant after them & prayed olaf give him back his cows, & olaf bade him take his cows could he find them; 'but let him not delay our journey.' the peasant had with him a big cattle-dog. this dog sent he into the herd of neat whereof were being driven many hundreds, and the animal hither and thither ran among the drove, singling out as many cows as the peasant said he owned, and all of them were marked in the same manner. now knowing that the dog had chosen rightly it seemed to them that this was passing clever, and so olaf asked of the peasant whether he would give him the dog. 'willingly,' answered he, and olaf in exchange therefor gave him a gold ring, and the promise of his friendship. that dog was named vigi, and it was the best of all dogs; olaf had pleasure in him for a long time thereafter. ¶ now it came to the ears of the king of denmark, even to him hight harald gormson, that earl hakon had cast aside christianity & had pillaged in the country pertaining to the king of denmark who thereon gathered together an host, & thereafter fared to norway. and when he was come to the realm over which earl hakon had rule harried he there, laying bare all the land. then led he his host to the islets which are called solunder. five homesteads alone stood unburned in lardal, in sogn, and all the folk of the valley were fled to the mountains and forests, taking with them such of their chattels as they might carry. thereafter the danish king was minded to take his hosts to iceland to avenge the mockery of the icelanders, for it happened that they had made malicious verses about him. now a law had been made in iceland to the end that for every soul in the country one lampoon should be made on the danish king, and the reason therefor was to this wise, to wit, that a ship pertaining to men of iceland had stranded on the coast of denmark & the danes had taken all the cargo thereon, calling it flotsam. the man who had had the chief concern in this matter was one birger, the king's steward. jests were made both on him and on the king, and this is one of them: 'when the fight-wonted harald rode the sea-steed from the south in the shape of faxe, the slayer of vandals as wax became altogether as impotent. birger by guardian sprites outcast in mare's shape met him as all men did behold.' ¶ now king harald bade a warlock betake him to iceland in one or other guise, that he might bring him back tidings of the country. and the warlock set forth in the shape of a whale, and when he was come thither to iceland he went along the north side of the coast, and he saw that all the mountains and hills were full of guardian spirits, some large & others small. when he was arrived at vapnafjord there went he up and was like to have gone ashore when, lo! a great dragon came down from the valley, & in its company many serpents, toads, and vipers, and these beasts belched venom at him. so swam he away westward all alongside the land even the whole way until he was come to the mouth of the eyjafjord, & after he had turned up this fjord towards him there came a bird so large that its wings reached the hills on either side, and with it were a number of other birds, both large and tiny. so away fared he thence, & westward along by the land to breidafjord, and there went he up the fjord, but a great bull came towards him bellowing after a fashion that was most horrible, & in its company were a swarm of kindred spirits. then went he away from there and swam past reykjanes and was about to go up on vikarseid, but a hill giant came towards him with a staff in his hand, and this giant carried his head higher than the hills, and with him were many other giants. then swam he eastward all the way along the coast: 'there is nothing,' quoth he, 'save sand and wilderness and great breakers outside; and so broad is the sea betwixt the lands,' said he, 'that it is all unmeet for long-ships.' ¶ now in those days brod-helgi dwelt in vapnafjord, eyolf valgerdson in eyjafjord, thord gelli in breidafjord and thorod the priest in olfus. ¶ then put the king of denmark his fleet about, standing south along the coast, and thereafter sailed back to denmark. hakon the earl caused all the habitations that had been devastated to be builded up again, & nevermore thereafter paid he any tribute to the king of denmark. ¶ now it came to pass that svein-- he who was afterwards called two-beard-- demanded a kingdom of his father king harald, & as before so again it befell that king harald would not part denmark in twain, nor let any other man, no matter of what blood he was, have dominion therein. so svein assembled a fleet of war & gave out that he was about to go on a viking cruise, and when the whole of his fleet was come together, & palnatoki of the jomsborg vikings was also come to his aid, svein made for zealand, and went into isafjord. there king harald his father was lying, likewise, with his ships, for he was preparing to sail to war, & svein fell upon him, & a great battle ensued; but many men flocked to king harald and svein had to give way before great odds and flee. there nevertheless did harald receive such hurt that he died, and thereafter svein was hailed as king of denmark. in those days jomsborg in wendland was ruled by earl sigvaldi; he was the son of strut-harald who had ruled skani, and sigvaldi's brothers were heming and thorkel the tall. at that time bui the burly of borgundarholm & his brother sigurd were likewise chiefs among the jomsborg vikings, and with them, too, was vagn, who was the son of aki and thorgunna and the sister's son of bui and sigurd. now sigvaldi the earl had made king svein prisoner and had taken him to jomsborg in wendland, and had constrained him to make peace with the wendish king burizlaf. it was to earl sigvaldi to settle the conditions of agreement between them-- sigvaldi had then to wife astrid the daughter of king burizlaf-- and if peace were not made, said the earl, he would deliver king svein into the hands of the wends. then the king knowing full well that they would torture him even to the death was content that the earl should be peacemaker, & the earl adjudged matters in such fashion that king svein was to have the daughter of king burizlaf to wife, and king burizlaf the sister of king svein, tyra, that was daughter to harald. moreover it was covenanted that the two kings were to have each his own dominion, and there was to be lasting peace between the countries. then did king svein journey home to denmark with his wife gunnhild; their sons were harald and knut the great (canute). and in those days made the danes great boast that they would sail with a host to norway even against earl hakon. ¶ now because king svein was going to take his succession after his father harald, made he a great funeral feast, to which were bidden all the chiefs of his kingdom. not long before this strut-harald of skani had died, and also veseti of borgundarholm, who was the father of bui & sigurd. the king therefore sent word to the jomsborg vikings bidding earl sigvaldi and bui, and their brothers, to come thither and seal their inheritance by drinking grave-ale in memory of their fathers at the feast which the king himself was about to give. and to this feast accordingly went the jomsborg vikings with all the stoutest of their folk; forty ships had they from wendland & twenty from skani, & a great number of people were assembled together. on the first day of the feast, before king svein stepped into his father's high seat, he drank the cup of memory to him, vowing therewith that before three months were over he would go to england with his hosts & slay king ethelred, or drive him from the country. now all those who were at the feast were obliged to drink that cup of memory, and for the chiefs of the jomsborg vikings the largest horns were filled, and withal with the strongest ale. when this cup of memory had been drunk to the dregs then were all men to drink to the memory of christ; and ever to the jomsborg vikings were brought the fullest horns & the strongest drink. the third cup was to st. michael, and this was drunk by all; and thereafter sigvaldi drank to his father's memory, & made a vow that before three winters were passed he would go to norway and slay eirik, or drive him from the land. then did his brother thorkel the tall swear that he would fare with sigvaldi, and never shun battle as long as sigvaldi was fighting there; and bui the burly said that he too would go with them to norway, and not flee before earl hakon in battle. then did vagn eirikson swear that he also would accompany him, & not return before he had slain thorkel leira and lain abed with his daughter ingibiorg. many other lords made vows anent sundry matters, & all men drank the heirship ale. when the morrow was come and the jomsborg vikings had slept as long as they were minded, they deemed that they had spoken big words enough & met together to take counsel as to how and when they should proceed with their cruise, and then they covenanted to array their ships and men as speedily as might be. now this matter was rumoured of far and wide in the lands. ¶ earl eirik, the son of earl hakon, was at that season in raumariki, & hearing of these tidings straightway mustered the folk and set forth to the uplands, and then made his way northwards across the mountains to throndhjem, to his father earl hakon. of this speaketh thord kolbeinson in eirik's lay: 'in good sooth from the south came fearsome tales of war, peasants even fear to fight; and the captain of the ship learned that the long-ships of the danes along their rollers were run out seawards.' ¶ earl hakon and earl eirik caused war-arrows to be sent throughout the whole of the district around throndhjem, and sent messengers to south-more, north-more, and raumsdal; likewise sent they northward to naumdal and halogaland, and when this was accomplished had they called out their full muster of men and ships. thus saith eirik's lay: 'many a long-ship and bark and great keel (how the skald's praise grows apace) the shield-bearer caused to be run into the sea (off-shore was the muster goodly) so that the warrior could defend the lands of his fathers.' ¶ earl hakon went forthwith south to more, to reconnoitre and collect men, while earl eirik assembled his host & took it southwards. ¶ the jomsborg vikings brought their hosts to limfjord and thence sailed out to sea; sixty ships had they, and they took them across to agdir whence without tarrying shaped they a course northward to the dominion of earl hakon. they sailed off the coast, plundering & burning wheresoever they went. now there was a certain man named geirmund who was sailing in a light boat & had but few men with him, & he came to more where he found earl hakon, & going in before the earl as he sate at meat told him that there was an host to the southward which was come from denmark. the earl asked if he knew this in good sooth, and geirmund, holding up one of his arms from which the hand had been severed, said that that was the token that a host was in the land. then did the earl question him closely concerning this host, & geirmund said that it was the jomsborg vikings, & that they had slain many men and plundered far & wide: 'nevertheless they are travelling speedily and hard. methinks it will not be long before they are here.' so then the earl rowed up all the fjords, inwards along one shore and outwards along the other faring night and day, and he sent scouts on to the upper way across the isthmus,§ & south in the fjords, & likewise north where eirik was now with his host. it is of this that eirik's lay telleth: 'war-wise was the earl who had long-ships on the main heading with lofty prows against sigvaldi, mayhap many an oar shook, but the seamen who rent the sea with strong oar-blades feared not death.' ¶ earl hakon took his host southwards as speedily as ever he was able. ¶ sailing northwards with his fleet earl sigvaldi rounded stad, and first put in over against hereya. here, although the vikings fell in with the folk of the country, never could they get from them the truth as to the whereabouts of the earl. whithersoever they went the vikings pillaged, & in the island of hod they ran up ashore & plundered the people, taking back with them to their ships both folk and cattle, though all men capable of bearing arms they slew. now as they were going down again to their ships an old man approached them-- for he was walking nigh to the men of bui-- and unto them said he, 'not as warriors go ye here, driving neat and calves down to the shore; better prey would it be for ye to take the bear since ye have come so nigh his lair.' 'what saith the carle?' they cry, 'can ye tell us aught of earl hakon?' the peasant made answer: 'yesterday he sailed to hiorundarfjord having with him one or two ships, or three at most, & at that time he had not heard aught of ye.' forthwith ran bui & his men to their ships, leaving all their booty behind, & bui called out saying: 'let us make the most of having got this news, so that we may be the ones nighest to the victory.' and when they had mounted up into their ships straightway rowed they out north of the isle of hod, and then rounding that island into the fjord. ¶ earl hakon and his son earl eirik were lying in hallsvik, with their hosts and one hundred and fifty ships. now they had heard by this time that the jomsborg vikings were lying-to off hod, and the earls accordingly rowed northward to seek them, and when they were come to the place which is called hiorungavag met they one with another. both sides then set themselves in array for battle. in the midst of his host was the banner of earl sigvaldi and over against this earl hakon took up his position; earl sigvaldi had twenty ships, and earl hakon sixty. in earl hakon's following were the chiefs thorir hart of halogaland, and styrkar of gimsar. as for the battle array, one wing consisted of the twenty ships belonging to bui the burly and his brother sigurd. against these earl eirik hakonson placed sixty ships, with him being the chiefs gudbrand the white from the uplands & thorkel leira from vik. in the other wing of the array was vagn akason with twenty ships, and against him with sixty ships was svein hakonson with skeggi of uphaug in yriar, and rognvald from ervik in stad. in eirik's lay it is told of thus: 'and the sea-ships to battle sped towards the danish ships, the sea-host sailed the coast along: from before the vikings cleared the earl away many at more the ships drifted amid war-slain heaps.' and thus saith eyvind in the halogaland tale: 'hardly was it a tryst of joy in that day's dawning for the foemen of yngvi frey, when the land-rulers guided the long-ships across the waste, and the sword-elf from the south-land thrust the sea-steeds against their hosts.' ¶ then the fleets were brought together and there ensued the grimmest of battles, and many were slain on both sides, albeit the host of hakon was it which fared the worst, for the jomsborg vikings fought stoutly both with boldness & dexterity, shooting clean through the shields. so great in number were the missiles which struck earl hakon that his shirt of mail became all rent and useless so that he threw it from him. of this speaketh tind halkelson: 'the kirtle which gold bedecked women wrought for the earl (the sparks from the sword wax brighter) could no longer be borne; then the mailed hero from off him cast the king's shirt (ready were the steeds of the sea). asunder, on the sand, blown from the earl by the wind was the ring-weaved shirt of sorli (thereof bore he the marks).' ¶ now the ships of the jomsborg vikings were both larger, and higher in the gunwale, than were those of earl hakon, but nevertheless were they boldly beset from both sides. vagn akason pressed the ships of svein hakonson so hard that svein let his men backwater & came nigh to fleeing, whereupon earl eirik came up into his place & thrust himself into the battle against vagn, and vagn backed his ship, and the craft lay again as they had lain at first. then eirik returned to his own battle, where his men were now going astern, and bui having cut himself free from his lashings was about to follow the fugitives. eirik then laid his ship alongside the ship of bui, & a sharp hand to hand struggle took place, and two or three of the ships of eirik set on the one ship whereon was bui. then a storm came on, and there fell hailstones so heavy that one stone alone weighed an ounce. then did sigvaldi cut his ship adrift & went about, with the intention of fleeing; vagn akason cried out to him bidding him stay, but never a moment would sigvaldi heed give to what he said, so vagn sent a javelin after him, and smote the man who held the tiller. earl sigvaldi rowed out of the battle with thirty-five ships and left twenty-five behind him. then did earl hakon bring his ship round to the other side of that of bui, and short respite then had the men of bui between the blows. now there was an anvil with a sharp end standing on the forecastle of the ship that pertained to bui, and the reason thereof was that some man had made use thereof when welding the hilt of his sword, and vigfus the son of vigaglums, who was a man of great strength, took up the anvil & throwing it with both hands, drave it into the head of aslak holmskalli, so that the snout thereof entered his brain. no weapon hitherto had scathed aslak, though he had been laying about him on either side. he was the foster-son of bui, and his forecastle man. yet another of the men to bui was havard the hewer; even stronger was he, and a man of great valour. during this struggle the men of eirik went up aboard bui's ship, & made aft to the poop, towards bui, and thorstein midlang struck him full across the nose, cleaving asunder the nose-piece of his helmet, and leaving a great wound. bui then smote thorstein in the side in such a manner that he cut the man right athwart his middle, and then seizing two chests of gold he shouted: 'overboard all the men of bui,' and plunged into the sea with the chests, and many of his men likewise sprang overboard, though others fell on the ship, for little avail was it to ask for quarter. the ship was now cleared from stem to stern, and the other craft were likewise cleared one after the other. ¶ after this earl eirik brought his ships alongside that of vagn, and from the latter met with right stout resistance; in the end however the ship was cleared, and vagn and thirty men taken prisoners. bound were they & taken on land, and thorkel leira went up to them and spoke thus: 'vagn, thou didst vow to slay me, but me seemeth it is i who am more like to slay thee.' now it happened that vagn and his men were all sitting on the felled trunks of a mighty tree, and thorkel had a big axe, & with it he struck at the man who was sitting farthest off on the trunk. vagn and his men were so bound that a rope was passed round their feet, but their hands were free. then said one of them, 'i have in my hand a cloak-clasp, and into the earth will i thrust it if i wot anything after my head is off'-- and his head was struck off, and down fell the clasp from his hand. hard by sat a fair man with goodly hair and he swept his hair forward over his face, saying as he stretched forth his neck: 'make not my hair bloody.' a certain man took the hair in his hand and held it fast, and thorkel swang the axe so as to strike, but the viking drew back his head suddenly & he who was holding his hair moved forward with him, and lo, the axe came down on both his hands and took them off, thereafter cleaving the earth. then earl eirik came up and asked: 'who is that fine man?' 'sigurd the lads call me,' said he, 'and i am thought to be a son to bui: not yet are all the vikings of jomsborg dead.' 'thou must of a surety be a true son to bui; wilt thou have quarter?' 'that dependeth upon who is the bidder thereof,' said sigurd. 'he offereth it who hath power to give it, to wit earl eirik.' 'then will i take it,' and loosed was he from the rope. then said thorkel leira: 'though thou grantest quarter, earl, to all these men, yet never shall vagn akason depart hence alive,' & so saying he ran forward with uplifted axe. just then the viking skadi tripped in the rope, and dropped before thorkel's feet, and thorkel fell flat over him, and vagn seizing the axe dealt thorkel his death-blow. then said the earl: 'wilt thou have quarter?' 'yea will i,' said he, 'if we all are given quarter.' 'loose them from the rope,' said the earl, and so it was done accordingly. eighteen of these men were slain, but to twelve was quarter granted. ¶ now earl hakon & many of his men with him were sitting on a log. suddenly there twanged a bowstring from bui's ship, but the arrow struck gizur of valders, a feudatory who was sitting by the earl & was clad in brave apparel, & forthwith went sundry of hakon's men out to the ship and found on it havard the hewer kneeling by the bulwarks, for his feet had been smitten off him. a bow had he in his hand and when they were come out to the ship, as aforesaid, havard asked: 'who fell off the tree-trunk?' 'one named gizur,' they say. 'then was my luck lesser than i wished.' 'ill-luck enough,' say they, 'and more hurt shalt thou not do,' & therewith they slew him. after these things the dead were searched, and the booty brought together for division; five and twenty ships belonging to the jomsborg vikings were thus cleared of booty. tind saith as follows: 'he, feeder of ravens, (their swords did smite their thighs) against the friends of the wends long did struggle, until he who shields destroyed had five and twenty ships laid waste.' ¶ thereafter were the hosts dispersed. earl hakon betook him to throndhjem, taking it full ill that eirik had given vagn akason quarter. men say that during this battle earl hakon made sacrifice of his son erling in order to gain the victory, and afterwards the hailstorm came, and that then the slaughtering changed over out of the hands of the jomsborgers. after the battle earl eirik went to the uplands, and from there east to his dominions, and with him went vagn akason. thereafter eirik gave the daughter of thorkel leira-- ingibiorg was her name-- in marriage to vagn, & a goodly long-ship to boot, well furnished in all things appertaining thereto, & a crew did he get him for the ship, and they parted in all friendship. vagn thence fared southward home to denmark, and became thereafter a famous man. many men of might are descended from him. ¶ now it hath been heretofore related how harald the grenlander was king of vestfold, and how asta, the daughter of gudbrand kula had he taken to wife. one summer when he was out laying waste the countries to the eastward, came he to sweden where olaf the swede was king in those days. olaf was the son of eirik the victorious and of sigrid the daughter of skogla-tosti. sigrid was now a widow and to her pertained many great manors in sweden. when she heard that her foster-brother harald the grenlander had come ashore not far from where at that time she was abiding, sent she messengers to him, bidding him to a feast which she was making ready to give. thereat was harald glad, and fared to astrid with a great following of men. and a goodly feast was it withal: the king and the queen sat in the high-seat and in the evening drank both together, and among the men flowed the ale freely. at night when the king went to his rest his bed had on it a costly coverlet, and was hung with precious cloths; in that house there were but few men. and the king having unclad him, & gotten into bed, the queen came hither to him and poured out a cup, and pressed him hard to drink; right kind was she to him withal. now the king was exceeding drunken, and the queen likewise. then fell the king asleep, and sigrid went away to her bed. now the queen was a very wise woman, and far seeing in many things. the next morning flowed the drink ever apace, but as ofttimes cometh to pass when men have drunk heavily, even so the more wary of drink are most of them on the morrow. yet was the queen merry, and she and harald spake much together, and as their talk ran on, the queen said that she deemed her lands & kingdom in sweden to be of no less worth than his in norway. now at this manner of talking the king waxed moody, and found but little pleasure in anything thereafter, and heavy at heart he made him ready to go; yet was the queen exceeding merry, gave him great gifts, & accompanied him on his way. ¶ so back to norway fared he that autumn, & abode at home during that winter, but little enough pleasure gat he the while. the summer thereafter went he eastward with his host, and shaped his course for sweden. word sent he to sigrid that he desired to meet her, & she rode down to him, & they talked together; then without more ado he asked her whether she would have him for mate, to which sigrid made answer that to do such a thing would indeed be foolish, seeing that he is well married already, and better for him might not be. harald confessed asta to be a good wife and brave, 'but of such noble blood as mine is she not withal.' then answered sigrid. 'maybe thou art of higher lineage than she, yet nevertheless it beseemeth to me that with her is the happiness of ye both.' and after that few were the words spoken between them before the queen rode away. ¶ then was king harald sick at heart, & he made him ready to ride inland to see queen sigrid yet once more. many of his men counselled him therefrom, but none the less went he with a great following to the house of which sigrid was lady. that same evening there came thither from the east, from gardariki (western russia), another king-- vissavald§ was his name, & he likewise came to woo sigrid the queen. the kings & all their retinue were given seats in a large & ancient chamber; & ancient also were the furnishings of this room, but drink more than enough went round that evening, so strong indeed that all became drunken, and both the head-guard, and the outer-guard fell asleep. then, during the night-- and all this was caused by queen sigrid-- were they fallen upon with fire and sword; both the chamber & the men who were therein were burned, & of those who came out from it not one was allowed to go alive. quoth sigrid on this matter, that she would teach small kings from other lands to woo her; & thereafter she was called sigrid the scheming. ¶ it was the winter before these things befell that the battle with the jomsborg vikings was fought in hiorungavag. now while harald was gone inland, one hrani was left in charge of the ships and men; but when the news came that harald had been done to death, fared they thence forthwith, & going back to norway recounted the tidings. and to asta went hrani & told her all things concerning their voyage, & likewise the errand that had urged king harald to queen sigrid. when she heard these tidings asta went straightway to the uplands to her father, and right welcome was she made, but exceeding wrathful were they both at the base design which had been toward in sweden, & with harald that he had been minded to leave her in loneliness. asta, the daughter of gudbrand, brought forth a son even there in the summer; this boy was called olaf at his baptism, & hrani poured the water over him. at the outset was the child reared by gudbrand & asta his mother. ¶ earl hakon ruled the whole coast of norway; sixteen counties had he under his sway, and forasmuch as harald fairhair had prescribed that an earl should be over every county, and that prescription had endured for long, there were under him sixteen earls. thus it is said in the vellekla: 'where else know we the government (on this the hosts may ponder) of one land-ruler over the lands of sixteen earls? unto the four corners of heaven rises the rumour of the doughty deeds of the belauded chieftain.' ¶ during the rule of earl hakon the increase was good in the land, & peace was there within it among the peasantry. well-beloved, too, was the earl among them for the greater part of his life, but as his years waxed old it happened that his intercourse with women became unseemly, and to such a pass came this that the earl would cause the daughters of powerful men to be brought unto him, when he would lie with them for a week or twain, and then send them back to their homes. this manner of acting brought him to great enmity with the kinsmen of these women, and the peasantry fell to murmuring, as is the wont of the folk of throndhjem when things are not to their liking. ¶ now there came to the ears of earl hakon the fame of a man overseas westward who called himself oli, & whom men held for a king; and he misdoubted from the talk of certain folk that this man must be of the lineage of the norwegian kings. he was told, indeed, that oli called himself gerdish (i.e., of garda) by race, but the earl had heard that tryggvi olafson had had a son who had been taken eastward to garda (western russia), and had been brought up there at the court of king valdamar, and that his name was olaf. often had the earl sought information about this man, and he misdoubted that he it was who had now come to the western countries. now to hakon the earl was a great friend, one thorir klakka, who was known far and wide, for he had sailed long whiles as a viking, and at others as a merchant. so west across the sea earl hakon now despatched this man, bidding him fare to dublin as a merchant, as many were wont to fare in those days. it was laid on thorir that he should ascertain of what manner of man was this oli, and should he hear of a truth he was olaf tryggvason, or of the lineage of the kings of norway, then was thorir, if it might be, to ensnare him into the power of the earl. ¶ so thorir gat him west to dublin, and enquiring there for tidings of oli learned that he was with his brother-in-law king olaf kvaran.§ thereafter thorir brought it to pass that he gat speech of oli, and when they had talked often and long (for thorir was a very smooth-tongued man) fell oli to asking about the upland kings: which of them were still alive and what dominions pertained to them. likewise asked he concerning the earl, and if he were much beloved in the country. thorir answered: 'the earl is so mighty a man that no one durst speak but as he wills, nevertheless the reason of this is that we have none other to look to. verily know i the minds of many mighty men, & of the people likewise, & that they would be eager & ready were a king of the lineage of harald fair-hair to come to the realm. of this, however, is there no likelihood inasmuch as it has been well proven how little it availeth to contend against earl hakon.' and when they had talked much together on this matter, revealed olaf unto thorir his name & lineage, & craved counsel of him whether the peasantry would have him for their king should he fare over to norway. with eagerness sought thorir to urge him on to make this journey, praising him and his prowess most exceedingly. then did olaf conceive a great desire to be gone to the realm of his kin; and sailed he thereafter from the west with five ships, going first to the hebrides; & together with him went thorir. later sailed he to the orkneys where earl sigurd, the son of hlodvir, was lying in asmundarvag (osmundwall) in rognvaldzey (south ronaldsey) in a long-ship for he was about to sail over to katanes (caithness). then did king olaf sail his folk from the west & put into haven in the island because pettlanzfjord (pentland firth) was not navigable. when the king heard that the earl was lying there summoned he him to talk with him, and earl sigurd having come to the king not long did they talk ere the king olaf said that the earl and all the folk of the land must let themselves be baptized or they would straightway be put to death; and the king said he would carry fire & sword through the isles, and lay waste the land if the folk thereof did not allow themselves to be christened. so the earl being thus beset chose to accept baptism, and was baptized there and then with all his men. thereafter swore the earl an oath that he would become the king's man, & give him his son for a hostage-- his name was whelp or hound-- and olaf took him home with him to norway. ¶ olaf then sailed eastward out to sea, and when he left the main, went in to the isle of most, where he went on land in norway for the first time. he caused a mass to be said in his tent, & on the self-same spot was a church afterward builded. now thorir klakka told the king that their wisest course was to keep secret his identity, and to let not the slightest rumour about him get abroad, and to travel as speedily as might be so as to fall upon the earl while he was still unawares. even so did king olaf, faring northward day and night according to the set of the wind, & he let not the people know of his journey, nor who it was that was sailing. when he was come north to agdanes gat he tidings that earl hakon was within the fjord, & moreover that he was at variance with the peasantry. now when thorir heard tell of this quite otherwise was it from what he had expected, for after the battle of the jomsborg vikings all men in norway were full friendly with earl hakon by reason of the victory he had won, & which had saved the land from war; but now so ill had things befallen that here was the earl at strife with the peasantry, & that with a great chief come into the land. ¶ at this time hakon the earl was a guest at medalhus in gaulardal, his ships lying off vigg the while. now there was a certain orm lyrgia, a wealthy yeoman who lived at bynes, and he had to wife gudrun the daughter of bergthor of lundar, & so fair a woman was this gudrun that she was called the 'sun of lundar.' and on such an errand as this, namely to bring unto him orm's wife, did earl hakon send his thralls. the men coming thither to bynes made known their errand, but orm bade them first go out & sup, & before they had well eaten there had come to him many men whom he had sent for from the neighbouring homesteads. then said orm that he would in nowise suffer gudrun to go with the thralls; and gudrun herself bade the thralls go tell the earl that never would she go to him save he sent thora of rimul,§ a wealthy lady and one of the earl's sweethearts, to fetch her. then the thralls said that they would come once again in such a manner that both master and mistress would repent them of this business, & uttering grievous threats they gat them gone. now in all four directions of the countryside did orm send out war-arrows, and with them word that all men should rise against hakon the earl to slay him. moreover he let haldor of skerdingsted be told, and forthwith haldor also made despatch of the war-arrow. not long before this had the earl taken the wife of a man named bryniolf, and from that piece of work had arisen a great pother, and something nigh the assembling together of an host. so after receiving the message aforesaid all the people hastened together and made their way to medalhus, but to the earl coming news of their motions thereon left he the house together with his men and went to a deep valley which is now called jarlsdal (the earl's valley), and therein they hid themselves. the day thereafter kept the earl watch on the peasant host. the peasants had encompassed all the footways, though they were mostly of a mind that the earl had made off to his ships. these were now commanded by his son erling, a young man of singular promise. when night fell sent the earl his men away from him, bidding them take to the forest tracks out to orkadal, 'no one will harm ye if i am nowhere nigh,' he said. 'send also word to erling to go out of the fjord so that we may meet in more. i shall find a means to hide me from the peasants.' then the earl departed and a thrall of his named kark bore him company. ice was there on the gaul river, but the earl set his horse at it & they came through, with the loss of his cloak, to a cave which has since been called jarlshellir (the earl's cave), and therein slept they soundly. when kark awakened recounted he unto the earl a dream he had dreamt: how a man black & ill to behold had come nigh the cave, and he was afeared would enter it, and this man had told him that 'ulli' was dead. then said the earl, 'erling must have been slain.' for the second time thormod kark slept and he cried out in his sleep, and when he awoke told his dream, namely that he had seen the self-same man coming down again, & he had bidden kark tell the earl that now all the sounds were closed. and kark telling earl hakon his dream said he thought it might betoken a short life for him. thereafter they arose and went to the homestead of rimul, whence sent the earl kark to thora bidding her come privily to him. this did she in haste, and made the earl right welcome, and he craved of her hiding were it but for a few nights even until dispersed should be the peasants. 'here is it that thou wilt be sought by them,' said she, 'and search will they make both within and without, throughout the whole of this my homestead, for many there are that wot over well how that i would fain help thee all that i might. howbeit one place is there wherein would i never seek for such a man as thou, and that is in the swine-sty.' so thither hied they and said the earl: 'here then will we hide us, for it behoves us that first of all must we give heed to our own lives.' thereupon dug the thrall a large ditch in the sty & carried away the earth, and afterwards placed wood across it. and thora brought unto the earl tidings that olaf tryggvason was come up the fjord, and that he had slain the earl's son erling. right so went the earl into the trench, & kark with him, and thora dragged wood athwart it, and swept earth and muck over it, and drave the swine thereon. now the swine-sty was under a certain big rock. [illustration] ¶ with five long-ships shaped olaf tryggvason his course into the fjord, & erling, the son of earl hakon with his three ships rowed him out to meet him. or ever the ships drew nigh one to another erling and his men knew that this was war, and then in lieu of coming to a meeting with olaf did they make head for the land. now olaf when he had seen the long-ships rowing down the fjord towards him thought to himself that this would be earl hakon, and thereon gave the word of command to row ahead as hard as might be. the men of erling even so soon as they were come nigh unto the shore leapt they in haste overboard & made for land. thither after them were come the ships of olaf and he himself saw swimming a man exceeding fair to look upon, and thereon seized he the tiller and threw it even unto this man, and the tiller smote the head of erling, he that was son of the earl, so that his skull was cloven, yea even to the brain. thus came it to pass that erling lost his life. there slew the men of olaf many, but even so did a few make good their escape; others again made they prisoners, & giving them quarter gat tidings from them. thus learnt olaf that the peasants had driven away earl hakon, that he was fleeing before them, and that all the folk that were his were scattered. thereafter did the peasants come unto olaf, and as all liked one another passing well forthwith entered they into fellowship. the peasants hailed him for their king, and they covenanted together to seek earl hakon, & to make search up into gaulardal where if peradventure he was to be found in any of the houses there, deemed they it likeliest would he be at rimul since all men knew for why. thora was the dearest friend to him in that valley. so thither went they, and sought the earl both without and within but of him could they find no trace; and olaf summoned the people together out in the yard, and standing on the rock which was beside the swine-sty spake unto them, and the words that he uttered were that he would reward with riches and honour the man who would work mischief to earl hakon. this speech was heard both by the earl and kark. now by them in the sty had they a light there with them, and the earl said: 'why art thou so pale, yet withal as black as earth? is it in thy heart, kark, that thou shouldst betray me?' 'nay,' said kark, 'we two were born on the self-same night, and long space will there not be twixt the hour of our deaths.' towards evening went king olaf away, & when it was night kark slept, and the earl kept watch, but kark was troubled in his sleep. then the earl awakened him & asked him whereof he dreamt, and he said: 'i was now even at ladir, and olaf tryggvason placed a gold ornament about my neck.' the earl answered: 'a blood-red ring will it be that olaf tryggvason will lay about thy neck, shouldst thou meet with him. beware now, and betray me not, & thou shalt be treated well by me as heretofore.' then stay they both sleepless each watching the other, as it might be, but nigh daybreak fell the earl asleep and was troubled at once, so troubled that he drew his heels up under him & his head likewise under him, and made as though he would rise up, calling aloud and in a fearsome way. then grew kark afeard & filled with horror, so it came to pass that he drew a large knife from his belt and plunged it into the throat of the earl cutting him from ear to ear. thus was encompassed the death of earl hakon. then cut kark off the head of the earl and hasted him away with it, and the day following came he with it to ladir unto king olaf, and there told he him all that had befallen them on their flight, as hath already been set forth. afterwards king olaf let kark be taken away thence, & his head be sundered from his trunk. ¶ thereafter to nidarholm went king olaf and likewise went many of the peasantry, and with them bare they the heads of earl hakon and kark. in those days it was the custom to use this island as a place whereon might be slain thieves & criminals, and on it stood a gallows. and the king caused that on this gallows should be exposed the heads of earl hakon and kark. then went thither the whole of the host, and shouted up at them and cast stones, and said that they went to hell each in goodly company, ever one rascal with another. thereafter did they send men up to gaulardal, & after they had dragged thence the body of earl hakon did they burn it. so great strength was there now in the enmity that was borne against earl hakon by the folk that were of throndhjem that no one durst breathe his name save as the 'bad earl,' and for long afterwards was he called after this fashion. nevertheless it is but justice to bear testimony of earl hakon that he was well worthy to be a chief, firstly by the lineage whereof he was descended, then for his wisdom and the insight with which he used the power that pertained to him, his boldness in battle, and withal his goodhap in gaining victories and slaying his foemen. thus saith thorleif raudfelldarson: 'hakon! no earl more glorious 'neath the moon's highway: in strife and battle hath the warrior honour won, chieftains mine to odin hast thou sent, (food for ravens were their corses) therefore wide be thy rule!' ¶ the most generous of men was earl hakon, yet even to such a chief befell so great mishap on his dying-day. and this was brought about by the coming of the time when blood-offerings & the men of blood-offerings were doomed, & in their stead were found the true faith and righteous worship. ¶ in general thing at throndhjem was olaf tryggvason chosen to be king of the land, even as harald fair-hair had been king. indeed the folk rose up, & the crowds would hear of nought else but that olaf tryggvason should be king; and olaf went throughout the country conquering it, & all men in norway vowed allegiance to him. even the lords of the uplands and vik who had before held their lands from the danish king now became men unto olaf and held their lands from him. then in the first winter & the summer thereafter fared he through the country. earl eirik hakonson, and svein his brother, & others of their kith and friendship fled from the land, & going eastward to sweden, even unto king olaf the swede, were by him well received. thus saith thord kolbeinson: 'foemen of robbers! swiftly can fate cause change, brief space 'fore the treason of men did hakon to death, and to the land erewhile taken by the fighter in battle came now the son of tryggvi, faring from the west. more in his mind had eirik against his lord and king than can now be spoken of, as might be thought of him. in wrath sought the earl counsel of the king of the swedes (stubborn are the folk of throndhjem, ne'er one will flee).' ¶ now the name of a certain man from vik was lodin, and he possessed much wealth and was come of a goodly lineage. often fared he as a merchant, but upon occasion as a viking. now it befell one summer that lodin, to whom appertained the ship, wherein was a fair cargo, did set sail eastward with merchandise that was his, and after making estland spent he the summer there in the places where the fairs were held. now the while a fair happeneth are many kinds of goods thither brought to it for sale, & likewise come many thralls, and among them as it befell in this wise one day saw lodin a woman, who when he looked on her perceived he her to be astrid, the daughter of eirik whom king tryggvi had had to wife. now indeed was she unlike what she had been when he had aforetime seen her, for pale was she, and wasted, and poorly clad; but went he up to her & asked her about herself, and she answered: 'sad is it to relate that have i been sold for a slave, & yet again am i brought hither for sale.' thereafter did they recognize one another, & astrid knew well all about him and she besought him to buy her & take her back to her kin. 'i will make a bargain with thee on this matter,' said he, 'i will bear thee home with me to norway if thou wilt wed me.' so astrid being in such dire straits and knowing him full well to be a man that was brave & had many possessions, yea and moreover goodly lineage, plighted she him her troth so that she might be set free. thus it came to pass that lodin bought astrid, and bare her away home even unto norway, and wedded her there with the goodwill of her kinsfolk. the children she bare to him were thorkel nefia, ingirid, and ingigerd; while the daughters of astrid by king tryggvi were ingibiorg and astrid. the sons of eirik biodaskalli were sigurd carles-head, jostein, and thorkel dydril; all these were noble & wealthy, and to them pertained manors in the east of the country. two brothers that dwelt in vik, thorgeir & hyrning as they were named, took to wife the daughters of astrid and lodin. [illustration] ¶ after the danish king, harald gormson, had embraced the faith of christ made he proclamation throughout his dominions that all men must allow themselves to be baptized, and must turn to the true faith. he himself followed hard on the bidding, making use of force and chastisement when naught else could prevail. he sent to norway with a great host two earls that were called urgutherjot and brimiskiar;§ the mission to them was that they should proclaim christianity throughout the land & the same also in vik which had done direct homage unto harald himself. folk made they submissive readily enough, and many country folk were thereon baptized. howsoever it came to pass that after the death of harald speedily went his son svein two-beard to war in saxland, frisland, and at last also in england, and then those of norway who had received christianity returned to sacrifices, as in the old times aforesaid in the north country. but olaf tryggvason after that he was king in norway dwelt he for long in the summer at vik, where he was made welcome with great show of affection; and to that place came also many of his kindred, & others who were allied to him, and many that had been good friends with his father. then did olaf summon to him his uncle, & his step-father lodin, & his step-brothers thorgeirr and hyrning, and laying the matter before them besought them most earnestly to undertake with him, and thereafter with all their might support the spreading of the message of christianity, for this message it was his wish to carry throughout the whole of his dominions. and, said he, that he would have it his way or die, 'i will make all of ye great and powerful men, for it is upon ye that chiefly do i rely inasmuch as ye are to me kith & brethren.' so all were agreed to do what he bade them and support him in that which he desired, and to have fellowship with all those that were of a mind to follow their counsel. then did king olaf proclaim that he would invite all men in his realm to become christians, and those who had agreed this aforetime straightway did his bidding, & as they were the most powerful of those present, all the others did according to their example. thereafter were all folk baptized in the eastern part of vik, & then went the king to the northern parts thereof and invited all men to receive christianity; and those who said nay chastised he severely, slaying some, and maiming some, and driving away others from the land. so it came to pass that the people of the whole of that kingdom whereover his father king tryggvi had ruled aforetime, and likewise that which his kinsman harald the grenlander had possessed, received christianity according to the bidding of king olaf. wherefore in that summer and in the winter thereafter were the people of the whole of vik made christian. ¶ early in the spring-time was king olaf astir, and leaving vik went he north-west to agdir and whithersoever he went summoned he the peasants to a thing, and bade all men let themselves be baptized. and forasmuch as none of the peasantry durst rise up against the king, the people were baptized withersoever he went, and the men embraced christianity. ¶ bold men and many were there in hordaland who were come of the kin of horda kari. to him had been born four sons: firstly, thorleif the wise, secondly, ogmund who was the father of thorolf skialg, the father of erling of soli; thirdly, thord the father of klyp the 'hersir' (he that slew sigurd sleva gunnhildson) and fourthly, olmod the father of aksel who was the father of aslak fitiar-skalli. this stock was greatest and bravest in hordaland. ¶ now when these kinsmen heard the disquieting tidings that the king was coming from the east along the coast, and with him a large host who forced all men that they should break the old laws of the old gods, and imposed penalties with sore chastisements on all those who spake not to his liking, agreed they to meet together to take counsel upon their plans for well knew they the king would soon be upon them; it was therefore agreed among them that they would one & all be present at the gula-thing, and there should they meet olaf tryggvason. ¶ even so soon as he was come to rogaland did olaf summon a thing, & thereto came the peasantry in great numbers and fully armed. and being come together made they speeches and held consultations among themselves, & chose three men who were the most eloquent among them to answer back the king at the thing. moreover were they to speak against him and make it known that they would not suffer their laws to be broken even were it the king who ordained the same. now when the peasants were assembled at the thing & the thing was opened, rose up king olaf and spake, talking at the outset smooth and fair albeit it was manifest in his talking that it was his will that they should accept christianity. and after he had done with fair words he fell to vowing that those who spoke against him and would not do his bidding would bring upon themselves his wrath & chastisement and hard entreatment howsoever he might bring it about. now when the king had made an end to speaking there stood up one of the yeomen who was the most eloquent & who had been chosen as the first to make answer to king olaf. but when he was about to speak was he taken with such a coughing & choking that he could not get forth a word, and down sat he again. sorely as it had gone with the first yet nevertheless rose another man to his feet to take up the answer, but when he began to talk so greatly did he stammer that never a word could he get forth. then all who were present fell to laughing, so that the yeoman sat himself down again. then stood the third man up with intent to speak against king olaf, but so hoarse was he and husky that no man could hear what he said, so down he sat likewise. there being now none of the chosen yeomen left to speak against the king, and no one else would answer him, the resistance that had been projected came to naught. in the end therefore were all agreed to do the king's bidding, and all the thing folk were christened there and then or ever the king departed from them. ¶ king olaf proceeded to the gula-thing accompanied by his men, for the peasants had sent unto the king saying that there they would answer him on this matter. but when both parties were come to the thing the king made known that it was his wish first to have speech with the chiefs of the land, so when all were assembled there he set forth his purpose in being present, which was to impose baptism upon them. then spake olmod the old and said: 'we kinsmen have taken counsel together on this matter, and of one consent are we thereon. if thou, king, thinkest to force us kinsmen to such a thing as the breaking of our laws, and wilt bend us to thy will, then will we defy thee by all means in our power, & fate must decide whoso shall get the mastery. but if thou, o king, wilt advance us kinsfolk somewhat then thou mayst bring it so well about that we shall turn to thee in hearty obedience.' quoth the king, 'what is that which ye demand that shall bring about good peace betwixt us?' then said olmod, 'firstly is it thou shalt give thy sister, astrid, in marriage to our kinsman erling skialgson, whom we now account the likeliest young man of norway.' the king said that to his mind this was a fair request and that it would be a good marriage seeing that erling was of a great family, and withal goodly to look upon, but nevertheless said he, must astrid herself have a word in the matter. thereafter did the king speak with his sister on the subject, and she answered and said, 'little it availeth me that i am a king's daughter and a king's sister if i am to wed a man without a princely name, rather will i tarry a few winters for another suitor,' and therewith ended their talking for the time being. ¶ now after these things king olaf caused the feathers to be plucked from off a hawk appertaining to astrid his sister, and thereafter he sent the bird to her. then said astrid, 'wrathful is my brother now,' & going to her brother, who bade her welcome, she spake unto him that he the king should give her in marriage as it seemeth best to him. 'methought,' said olaf, 'that i had power enough in this land to make whatsoever man i would a man of title and dignity.' so then the king summoned olmod and erling and all their kinsmen to him to talk with them anent this matter, and in such wise did their talking end that astrid was betrothed to erling. thereafter the king called together a thing, & offered the peasants christianity, and though all their kinsfolk were with them in this matter yet were olmod & erling the most zealous of all men in forwarding the king's cause. no one had any longer the courage to raise his voice against the wish of the king, and thereupon were the people all baptized and became christian. now the marriage of erling skialgson took place in the summer and many folks came together to be witness of it; thither likewise came king olaf. on this occasion did the king offer to give erling an earldom, but erling spake & said: '"hersirs" have my kinsmen been and no higher title will i have than they; but this will i take from thy hands, king, namely that thou makest me to be the greatest in the land of that name.' so in accord with this did the king give him his promise, and when they parted bestowed on his brother-in-law erling that land which is north of the sogn-sea and lies eastward as far as lidandisnes,§ on the same pact as harald fair-hair had given land to his sons, of which an account has been afore writ in fair scrip. ¶ then in the autumn after these things had come to pass, the king called together a thing of four counties, & the meeting took place in the north, at stad on dragseid. thither came folk from sogn, the firths, south-more and raumsdal. king olaf himself fared to it with a mighty following of men that he took with him from the east of the country, and likewise men who had come to him from rogaland and hordaland. then when he was come to the thing offered he to those that were gathered together christianity even as he had done at other places, and forasmuch as he had with him a very great host men were afeared of him. then did he give them for choice one of two things, either to accept christianity and let themselves be baptized, or to be prepared to do battle with him. so the peasants foreseeing no chance of fighting against the king save with ill-hap, accepted the first choice he had offered them & embraced christianity. then fared olaf with his men to north-more, and that country likewise made he christian; thereafter sailed he in to ladir & caused the temple there to be pulled down & took all the adornments & property from the temple and from the god. a great gold ring which earl hakon had caused to be wrought took he moreover from the door thereof, & then after he had done these things caused he the temple to be burned. ¶ now when the peasants came to hear of what the king had done sent they war-arrows throughout the countryside, calling out an host & were about to rise against the king, but meantime sailed he out of the fjord with his men, and thereafter headed northward off-shore. now it was the intent of olaf to fare north to halogaland in order thither to bring christianity; but when he was come as far north as to biarney gat he news from halogaland that they had an host under arms, and were minded to defend their land against the king. the chiefs of this host were harek of tiotta, thorir hart of vogar, and eyvind rent-cheek. so olaf learning this, even as aforesaid, turned his ships about & sailed southward off the coast. when he was come as far south as to stad fared he more slowly, but nevertheless at the beginning of winter had he covered all the distance eastward to vik. ¶ now the queen of sweden, whom men called the haughty, was at that time living at one or other of her manors, and betwixt king olaf and her fared there that winter emissaries who sought her hand in the name of the king. queen sigrid received the offer in a friendly spirit, and in due time was their troth plighted. king olaf sent queen sigrid the great ring of gold which he had taken from off the door of the temple at ladir, and it was deemed a most noble gift. now touching the matter of this marriage a meeting was to take place the following spring by the gota river, on the marches of the country. while this ring which king olaf had sent to queen sigrid was being praised so exceedingly were the queen's smiths, brothers, with her; & it befell that they took the ring, and weighed it in their hands, & then spake a word together privily. at this the queen summoned them to her, and asked of them why made they such mock of the ring, but they denied that they were doing such a thing. then said she that she insisted upon knowing what it was they had discovered; & thereupon they told her that there was falsehood in the ring. then did the queen let the ring be broken asunder, and copper was found to be inside it. thereon was the queen wroth, and said that olaf might play her false in more things than this one. ¶ that same winter went king olaf up into ringariki and introduced christianity there. now it had befallen that asta, the daughter of gudbrand, was speedily wedded after the death of harald the grenlander to a man named sigurd sow,§ who was king of ringariki. sigurd was the son of sigurd o' the copse who again was son to harald fair-hair. dwelling with asta at that time was olaf her son by harald the grenlander, for he was being reared at the house of his step-father sigurd sow. when king olaf tryggvason went to ringariki to introduce christianity, sigurd let himself be christened together with asta his wife, & olaf her son,§ & for the latter stood olaf tryggvason sponsor; the babe was at that time three winters old. king olaf then fared southward again to vik, and abode there the winter, & this was the third winter that he was king of norway. ¶ early in the spring fared king olaf eastward to konungahella (the king's rock) to the tryst with queen sigrid, and when they were met, talked they one with the other over the matter which had been set afoot in the winter, to wit, that they should wed one another. right hopeful did the matter seem to them, until king olaf spake & said that sigrid must accept christening and the true faith. then did the queen make answer: 'depart from the faith that i have held aforetime, and which my kindred held before me will i never: yet will i not account it against thee shouldst thou believe on whatsoever god may seem best to thy mind.' then olaf waxed exceedingly wroth and made answer hastily: 'heathen as a dog art thou-- why should i wed thee?' and smote her in the face with the glove he was holding in his hand. then stood he up on his feet & she arose likewise, and sigrid said, 'this might be thy undoing.' thereafter were they parted, the king going northward to vik, and the queen east to sweden. [illustration] ¶ thence king olaf fared to tunsberg & having come thither held he a thing and gave out thereat that all men who were known and proven to be dealers in witchcraft and spellwork, or were wizards, should depart out of the land. thereafter did the king cause the countryside thereabouts be searched for such men, & commanded them to be brought unto him. and when they were come to him a man there was among them called eyvind well-spring, who was the grandson of rognovald straight-legs, the son of king harald fair-hair. now eyvind was a wizard & well versed in witchcraft. king olaf caused all these men to be assembled in a certain hall, which had been made ready for them in goodly wise, and therein feasted he them & gave them much strong drink, and when they were all drunken caused he the chamber to be set on fire. thus it came about that all the folk who were therein were burned except eyvind well-spring who saved himself by climbing through the smoke-hole. eyvind having made off and sped far on his way, fell in with men who were going to the king, and he bade these men tell olaf that he, eyvind, had gotten away from out of the fire, and never again would he come into the king's hands; and that moreover would he pursue his arts even as he had done before. when these men were come to king olaf they told of eyvind according as he had bidden them, and ill-pleased enough was the king that eyvind was not dead. ¶ when spring was come king olaf left vik and went the round of his manors, and sent he word throughout vik that come the summer would he call out an host and with it fare northward in the land. thereafter went he north (west) to agdir, and when lent was drawing to an end sailed northward to rogoland, and arrived on easter eve§ at ogvaldsnes in the isle of kormt, where an easter festival had been made ready for him. nigh upon three hundred men had he with him. that same night eyvind well-spring came unto the isle in a long-ship fully manned, and the crew aboard her were all wizards and other folk versed in magic. eyvind and his band went up ashore from their ship and set to work on their wizardry. such thick fog & darkness did eyvind bring about that deemed he it would be impossible for the king and his folk to see them; but no sooner were they come nigh to the house at ogvaldsnes than lo! it there became broad daylight. mightily different was this from the desire that eyvind had conceived, for the darkness which he had wrought by magic enveloped him and his folk so that never a bit more could they see with their eyes than with the napes of their necks, and even round and round went they in a ring. now the king's watchmen saw the wizards as they were moving about, and not knowing what kind of men they might be had the king aroused, and the king & his men got up and clad themselves. when king olaf saw eyvind & his folk, bade he his men take their arms and go out to discover what manner of men might these be. now the king's folk recognizing eyvind laid hands on him and the whole band, and brought them into the presence of the king. then did eyvind relate all that had befallen him on his journey. the king thereafter had them all taken out to a rock which was covered by the sea at high-tide and there let them be bound. thus eyvind & the others came by their end. afterwards was that rock called skrattasker. ¶ now it is told that while the king was on this visit at ogvaldsnes that there came thither one evening an old man; he was one-eyed and wore a slouch hat, but very wise was he in his speech and of all lands could he tell. this man managed to have speech of the king, & the king found much entertainment in his conversation and questioned him closely on many subjects, & the guest made ready answer to all that he asked him, wherefore sat the king till late in the night conversing with him. the king asked if he wotted who ogvald was, whom the ness & homesteads were named after, & the guest answered that ogvald was a king and a great warrior who made sacrifice above all to a cow, and took the cow with him whithersoever he went, for wholesome did he deem it to drink ever of her milk. king ogvald fought with that king who is hight varin, & fell in the combat. he was buried in a barrow not far from the house, and a stone was set up which is still standing. in a place not far from thence was the cow buried, likewise in a barrow. such things as this told he of kings; and other ancient tidings withal. now after they had sat thus till late in the night, the bishop reminded the king that it was time for them to rest, & the king did according as the bishop had said. but when the king was unclad and had laid him in his bed, the guest sat himself on the step thereof, and again talked for long with the king; and ever when he had told of one matter did the king long for more. then spake the bishop to the king saying that it was time for sleep, and the king settled himself for sleep according as the bishop had said & the guest gat him gone, but soon thereafter the king awakened, and asked after his guest, & bade him be called unto him, but nowhere was the guest to be found. on the morrow early the king summoned his cook to him and he who had charge of the drink withal, and asked them if any unknown man had come in to them; & they answered that as they were making ready the food a man had come to them & said that they were boiling but scurvy meat for the king's table, & therewith he gave them two mighty fat sides of neat & these they boiled with the other flesh. then commanded the king that all that food should be destroyed, saying that this had not been any man but rather odin himself, whom heathen men had long believed on, but, said he, never should odin beguile them.[§] ¶ now when summer was come called king olaf together a large host from the east of the country and with it sailed he northward to throndhjem, going in first to nidaros. thereafter sent he round the whole of the fjord bidding men assemble at a thing, and there gathered at frosta a thing of eight counties. now the peasants, be it said, had turned this thing summons into a war-arrow,[§] and to the assembly came men from the whole of the district of throndhjem, so that when the king arrived at the thing, thither likewise was come the peasant host fully armed. the thing being established, the king addressed the people and bade them accept christianity, but when he had been speaking but a little while the peasants called out to him, & bade him be silent or otherwise, said they, would they rise against him and drive him away. 'thus did we,' said they, 'with hakon adalstein's foster-son when he commanded a thing of the kind, and hold we thee in no more respect than held we him.' then did king olaf seeing the ire of the peasants, and moreover knowing full well that they had so large an host, change his manner of address and made as if he were agreed with them and spake to them thus: 'it is my wish that we should be friends again, in such good accord as we were aforetime. thither will i go wheresoever ye hold your greatest blood-offering, & witness your worship; then will we all take counsel together as to what manner of worship we will have, and be then all of one mind thereon.' now when the king spake thus mildly to the peasants, grew they softened in temper, and all the converse went peaceably and in seemly fashion, and at the end was it determined that there should be a midsummer sacrifice at maerin, and that thither all the chiefs and wealthy peasants should go as the custom was, and that thither likewise king olaf was to go. ¶ now there was a certain wealthy yeoman whose name was skeggi (iron beard, called they him) who dwelt at uphaug in yriar, and he it was who first spake up against the king at the thing, and the cause thereof was because he was the spokesman of the peasantry against christianity. but in the manner aforesaid was the thing brought to an end, and the peasants went to their homes, and the king across to ladir. ¶ at this time was king olaf lying with his ships in the nid (thirty ships had he, and his folk were of great prowess) but the king himself was ofttimes at ladir, being kept company by his body-guard. now when the time appointed for the blood-offering at maerin was drawing nigh held king olaf a mighty feast at ladir; thither there came to it chieftains and other wealthy peasants from strind & from places up in gauldal, in accordance with the bidding of king olaf. when all things were ready and the guests come, there was held on the first evening a large banquet, and the cups thereat were often charged & men became drunk; that night slept all men there in peace. on the morrow early, after the king was clad, ordered he mass to be said, and when the mass was ended his men sounded their horns for a house-thing, and the thing being established rose the king to his feet and spake, saying: 'a thing held we at frosta, and thereat i bade the peasantry let themselves be christened; but they in their turn bade me attend a blood-offering with them, even as the foster-son to king hakon adalstein had attended one. and there was accord betwixt us inasmuch as it was determined that we should meet at maerin & make a great blood-offering. but if i am to turn to sacrificing with you, then will i cause to be made the greatest sacrifice that can be, namely, the sacrifice of men. nor will i choose as gifts for the gods thralls and evil-doers, but the noblest men, and by this token name i orm lygra of medalhus, styrkar of gimsar, kar of gryting, asbiorn thorbergson of varnes, orm of lyxa, and haldor of skerdingsted.' added to these named he five other men who were of the noblest there; all these, said he, should be sacrificed for peace and a good year, & he commanded that they should be seized forthwith. then the peasants seeing that they were not numerous enough to withstand the king begged for grace and gave the whole matter into his hands, whereupon it was agreed that all those who were come thither should let themselves be baptized, & swear an oath unto the king to hold fast the true faith, and have naught further to do with sacrificing. all these men kept the king at his feast until they gave their sons or brothers or other near kin to be hostages. ¶ then fared king olaf with all his men in to throndhjem; and when he was come to maerin found he there assembled all the chiefs that were of throndhjem; those who were most zealous to withstand the christian faith. with them were all the wealthy yeomen who had hitherto upheld blood-offerings in this place, a right goodly gathering of men, even as it had been aforetime at the frosta-thing. the king having required that the thing should meet, both sides betook themselves to it, and they were fully armed. then when the thing was established the king spake and offered the men christianity, & iron-beard answered on behalf of the peasants and said that now even as before would they not suffer the king to break their laws: 'we desire, king, that thou makest sacrifice, even as other kings in the land have done before thee.' greatly was this speaking applauded by the peasants, & they shouted that everything must be according unto the words of skeggi. then made the king answer that he would go to the temple and witness their worship when they were sacrificing, and at this were the peasants well pleased, and both sides betook themselves thither accordingly. ¶ now with king olaf when he entered into the temple were a certain few of his men & a certain few of the peasants. when the king was come unto the place of the gods where sat thor, all adorned with gold and silver, then did king olaf lift up a gold-wrought pike which he had in his hand and smote thor so that he fell from off his altar, & thereupon the king's men ran up & cast down all the other gods from their altars. while they were within the temple was iron-beard slain before the entrance-door thereof, and this deed was done by the men of the king. then when the king came forth again to his folk, bade he the peasants choose one of two conditions: and these twain conditions were either that they should accept the faith of christ, or in default thereof do battle with him. now iron-beard having been slain was there no man to raise the banner against the king, so then was that condition accepted which meant going over unto the king & doing that which he had commanded. then caused king olaf all the folk who were present to be baptized, and from them took hostages that they would cleave to the new faith that was given them. thereafter sent the king his men round to all the different parts of throndhjem, and durst no man utter a word against the faith of christ. ¶ then went king olaf with his men to nidaros, and on the banks of the river nid caused houses to be built, and appointed that on the spot should arise a merchant-town. he gave men sites on which to build them houses, & his own king's-house built he above scipa-krok.§ in the autumn caused he to be brought thither such goods as were necessary for a sojourn there during the wintertide; and with him were a great company of men. ¶ after the death of iron-beard was his body borne out to yriar; and he lies in the skeggi barrow at austratt.§ king olaf summoned a meeting of the kith of iron-beard and forasmuch as his folk had slain this man offered he to pay atonement for the deed, but there were many brave men to make answer on behalf of iron-beard. now iron-beard had a daughter whose name was gudrun, and in the end was it agreed betwixt those concerned that the king should wed this gudrun. when the marriage time was come went they both of them into one bed, king olaf and gudrun, and the first night as they were lying together no sooner had the king fallen asleep than gudrun drew forth a knife, and was about to thrust it into the king, when he awoke and wresting the knife from her cried out to his men to tell them what had befallen. gudrun & all the men who had accompanied her then took their apparel and gat them gone in haste; & never afterwards did gudrun lie in the same bed with king olaf. ¶ that same autumn king olaf caused a great long-ship to be built on the sands at the mouth of the nid; a cutter was she, and at work on the building thereof were many smiths. at the beginning of winter she was completed, and there were in her thirty holds, & the prow and stern were lofty withal, yet was she not broad of beam. that ship called he the 'crane.' [illustration] ¶ now when king olaf had been two winters in norway there came to dwell with him a saxon priest whose name was thangbrand; violent was he & murderous, but a goodly clerk withal and an active man. so headstrong was he, howsoever, that the king would not keep him with him, but sent him to iceland to make that country christian. thangbrand was given a merchant ship, & of his voyage it may be related that he fared to iceland, and reached the eastern fjords in southern alptafjord, & the winter thereafter abode with hall at sida. thangbrand preached christianity in the islands and hall and his folk and many other chiefs let themselves be baptized according to his word; but there were many others who spake against the new faith. thorvald and vetrlidi the skald made lampoons about thangbrand, but he slew them both. thangbrand abode three winters in iceland, and was the slayer of three men or ever he departed thence. ¶ a certain man was there named sigurd & another who was called hawk; they were halogalanders, and oft-times made voyages for the conveyance of merchandise. one summer fared they to england. when they were returned to norway sailed they northward along the coast, & in north more fell in with the fleet of king olaf. now when the king was told that some heathen men, skippers, from halogaland were there, summoned he them to him & asked them if they would allow themselves to be baptized, and thereto answered they nay. thereafter did the king talk to them after diverse fashions, but it availed nothing; then he vowed that death or maiming should be their lot, but they obeyed him none the more for that. then did he cause them to be put in irons, and kept them in durance for a while, and in fetters were they, and the king talked often with them, but naught prevailed. then one night made they off, and no one knew anything about them, or in what manner they had gotten away; but in the autumn were they arrived north, at harek of tiotta's, and right welcome were they made. there dwelt they throughout the winter & were well entertained in all fairness & hospitality. ¶ one fair day in spring it befell that harek was at home on his farm and with him were but few men. now the time hung heavy on his hands, and sigurd spake to him & asked if they should not row out a little way, and so pass the time, and this liked harek well. so betook they themselves to the shore, and did hale down a six-oared boat, & sigurd from the boat-house fetched him a sail and the gear appertaining to the boat, and moreover shipped he the rudder. sigurd and his brother were fully armed, as was their wont to be when they were at home with the goodman, and the twain were strong men. now or ever they gat them into the boat did they throw into it some boxes of butter and a basket of bread, and between them bare they a large cask of ale down to the craft. this done did they all row from land, & having come away from the island hoist the sail, & harek did steer, & away bore they speedily from the island. then did the brothers go astern to where harek was sitting. saith sigurd to harek the yeoman: 'choose thou now betwixt several things: one of them is to let us brothers have the upper hand on this cruise, & another is to let us bind thee, & the third is that we can slay thee.' then harek seeing in what a plight he was, inasmuch as he could not measure strength with more than one of the brothers even were he and they matched as to arms, chose what seemed to him the best of a poor business which was to let them do as pleased the twain. so swore he to them an oath and on that gave them a promise, and after that sigurd was possessed of the tiller and did steer south along the coast on a fair breeze, and withal of a mighty care were the brothers not to fall in with other craft. they paused not on their cruise ere they came to throndhjem and to nidaros, and at that last place found they king olaf. then did the king summon harek to talk with him, and thereupon offered him that he should embrace the good faith of christ, but harek would have naught of it. on this matter spake for many days the king and harek, sometimes in the presence of many men, sometimes alone; but never were they come of one mind. so at the last said the king to harek: 'home shalt thou go, and on these counts no harm will i do thee at present: firstly seeing that there is kinship betwixt us, and again lest thou mightest say that i had gotten thee by guile, but know ye of a truth that i be minded to come north in the summertime, & visit distress on ye halogalanders, and then shall ye wot if i can chastise those which accept not the faith which is of christ.' right pleased was harek that he could get away from thence so speedily; to him gave king olaf a good ship rowing ten or twelve oars a side, and caused it to be well found with all things needful & of the best; thirty men did he send forth with harek, stout fellows & all equipped of the best. ¶ thus harek of tiotta sped from the town with all the haste that might be, whereas hawk and sigurd remained with the king, and the twain were both baptized. harek continued on his way until he was come home to tiotta, & from thence sent he word to his friend eyvind rent-cheek that harek of tiotta had spoken with king olaf, but had not let himself be cowed into accepting the new god; & moreover harek caused eyvind to be told that king olaf was minded to bring an host against them come summer-tide & that they must act warily, and harek bade eyvind come to him as soon as ever might be. when this message was brought to eyvind, quoth he that it behoved them greatly to take such steps as would prevent the king from getting the upper hand of them, and he hied him away with all speed in a light skiff with but few men aboard it. when he was arrived at tiotta harek bade him welcome, and straightway went they, harek and eyvind, to talk together on the other side of the house-yard, but hardly had they speech of one another than they were fallen on by men of king olaf, for so it was that these men had followed harek northward. eyvind was taken captive and led to their ship, and thereafter fared they away with him, and no pause did they make in their voyage or ever they were come to throndhjem to find king olaf in nidaros. eyvind was then haled before the king who offered him baptism in like manner as he had offered other men baptism, but to this eyvind answered, 'nay.' then with fair words the king bade him be baptized and gave him many good reasons therefor, & the bishop spake after the same fashion as the king, none the less would eyvind in no wise suffer himself to be persuaded. then did the king offer him gifts, and the dues and rights of broad lands, but eyvind put all these away from him. then did the king threaten him with torture even unto death, but never did eyvind weaken his resistance. thereafter caused the king to be brought in a bowl filled with glowing coals, and had it set on the belly of eyvind, and not long was it ere his belly burst asunder. then spake eyvind: 'take away the bowl from off me for i would fain speak some words before i die,' and accordingly it was done. then the king asked: 'wilt thou now, eyvind, believe on christ?' 'no,' answered he. 'i am not such as can be baptized, i am a spirit quickened in the human body by the magic of the lapps for before that had my father and mother never a child.' then died eyvind who was the most skilled of wizards. [illustration] ¶ in the spring which followed on these happenings did king olaf cause his ships and men to be made ready for war, taking for his own ship the 'crane,' and there was mustered a large and goodly host. all things being now ready shaped he a course from out the fjord, and bringing his fleet north past byrda fared northward to halogaland. wheresoever he landed, summoned he a thing, & at it offered the people baptism in the true faith. now against this had no man the boldness to speak, therefore came it to pass that whithersoever he fared were all that were of those lands baptized. king olaf visited tiotta and was the guest of harek, who was baptized at that hour together with all the folk that were about him. when the king departed thence harek bestowed on him great gifts and became his man, and from the king received the dignity of bailiff with the dues and rights appertaining unto a lord of the land. ¶ raud the strong was the name of a peasant who abode at godey in that fjord which is named salpti (salten). raud was a man of much wealth and at his beck were many house-carles; a powerful man was he withal, for a large company of lapps were ready to follow him to war whensoever he needed them. raud was zealous as a maker of blood-offerings, and skilled also in witchcraft; even so was he furthermore a warm friend to that man about whom it has been writ before, to wit, thorir hart, & even like unto him was he also a mighty chief. now when it came to the ears of these men that olaf was abroad with an host northward even in halogaland, they too their men mustered, launching out ships, and assembling an host. to raud appertained a great dragon-ship with golden heads thereto, a ship of thirty benches, and broad was she of beam for her length, and had likewise thorir hart also a ship of good size. southward sailed they their fleet purposing to meet king olaf, and when they were fallen in with him gave they battle, and fierce was the fight thereof. soon men began to fall plenteously, but so much the more was this the case among the host of the halogalanders; their ships were cleared and thereupon came fear & terror over them, & raud rowed his dragon out to sea and hoisted the sail thereof. a breeze had he wherever he was minded to go, and this came of his powers of magic; but to cut short the tale of the cruise of raud is briefly to relate that home sailed he even unto godey. for land made thorir hart in all haste and his folk fled their ships, but king olaf pursued after them & put them to the sword. moreover then as ever when such doings were afoot was the king himself foremost among his men. he saw whither thorir ran (and thorir was exceeding fleet of foot) and thither went the king after him, followed by his dog vigi. and the king called out: 'vigi, catch the hart,' and vigi sprang ahead after thorir and straightway leapt up at him. then thorir had perforce to stop and the king threw a javelin after him, but thorir struck the dog with his sword & wounded it sore, and at the same moment the king's javelin flew under thorir's hand and went through him & out at the other side, and thus ended thorir his life; but vigi was borne wounded to the ships. to all those who asked it and were willing to accept baptism gave king olaf quarter. ¶ thence sailed king olaf with his host northward along the coast, baptizing all folk withersoever he went, & being come north to salpti was he minded to go up the fjord & seek raud. foul weather howsoever set in with a gale blowing fiercely down the fjord, and though the king lay there nigh upon a week the same wind blew ever the while from the land, though without the fjord was there a fresh and favourable breeze for to sail north along the coast. therefore it came to pass that the king set sail and fared all the way northward to amd, and there the folk became christians. after that went he about, and when he was come south again to salpti he found a gale blowing down the fjord and driving spray into his countenance. there lay the king even a few more nights, but the weather waxing no better inquired he then of bishop sigurd whether or not he wotted of some remedy against the fiendcraft. ¶ so thereupon took bishop sigurd all the appurtenances that belonged unto the holy mass, and walked he forward therewith even to the prow of the king's ship. there was a candle lit & was incense carried forward & thereafter was ye holy rood set at the prow. the gospel was read and also many prayers, and the bishop sprinkled holy water over the whole of the ship. thereafter bade he the crew unship the tilts and row up the fjord, and the king commanded that the other ships should row after them. no sooner had the crew of the 'crane' fallen to their oars, & she the ship was set well up to the fjord, than felt they that there was no more wind against them, & in her wake was free sea and calm; but on both sides of her flew the spray & it drave so that no man could perceive the mountains on either side of the fjord. so it fared that one ship rowed after the other in the calm, and thus pursued they one another the whole livelong day, & throughout the night thereafter; and a little before dawn came they to godey, and brought-to off the house of raud, and there found his great dragon lying off-shore. forthwith went king olaf to the house with his men and made for the upper chamber wherein raud was sleeping, and his folk burst open the door and ran in. then was raud taken and bound, but of the other men who were therein some were killed & others taken prisoners. thereafter the king's men went to the room wherein slept the house-carles of raud, and some of them were then slain and some bound & some beaten. then caused the king raud to be led before him & offered him baptism. 'take from thee thy possessions i then will not,' quoth the king, 'but will the rather be thy friend, an thou wilt show thyself worthy of my friendship.' against this did raud loudly raise his voice, saying that never would he believe on christ, and blaspheming god. then did the king wax wroth, and swore that raud should suffer the worst of deaths, and the king commanded that he be taken and bound with his back to a pole and that a bit of wood be placed betwixt his teeth so that his mouth might be open, and caused an adder to be taken and set in his mouth, but the adder would in no wise enter therein but writhed away when raud blew upon it. then did the king cause the adder to be taken & put in a hollow stick of angelica and set in the mouth of raud (albeit some say that the king let his horn be taken & put into the mouth of raud, and that the adder was placed in this and pushed down with a red-hot rod of iron), and then the adder slid into the mouth of raud, and thereafter down his throat, and cut its way out through his side. after this manner ended the life of raud. then did the king take thence very great wealth in gold & silver and other chattels, weapons, & divers kinds of valuable things. the king caused all the fellows that had been with raud to be baptized save those who, not suffering this, were slain or tortured. then king olaf took the dragon that had pertained unto raud and himself was her steersman, and a much larger and finer ship was she than the 'crane': forward she was fashioned with a dragon's head and aft with a crook§ ending in like manner as the tail of a dragon, & both the prow & the whole of the stern were overlaid with gold. now the king called this ship the 'serpent,' for when the sail was hoisted aloft was it like unto the wings of a dragon, and this was the fairest ship in all norway. the islands whereon raud had lived were called gilling and haering, but together were they styled godey, & the godey current (godöström) lies over to the north, betwixt them and the mainland. all that lived around this fjord did king olaf convert unto christianity, and then went he southward along the coast, and there happened much on that cruise which is set forth in many legends about a giant and evil spirits which attacked his men & sometimes himself, but rather will we write of facts even such as the conversion of norway & of those other lands whither he bore christianity. that same autumn did the king lead his host to throndhjem, bringing-to at nidaros, and there making ready for a winter sojourn. ¶ and now will i next write what there is to tell of the men of iceland. ¶ that same autumn there came to nidaros from iceland kiartan, the son of olaf hoskuldson and the grandson, on his mother's side, of eigil skallagrimson, who hath been called the likeliest man of those born in iceland. there was also halldor the son of gudmund of modruvellir, and kolbein the son of thord frey's-priest, the brother of burning-flosi, and fourthly sverting the son of runolf the priest. these were all heathen, as were many others: some powerful, and others not so powerful. there came also from iceland noble men who had accepted the true faith from thangbrand, and one that was of these was gizur the white, the son of teit ketilbiarnson, whose mother was alof, the daughter of bodvar viking-karason the 'hersir.' bodvar's brother was sigurd the father of eirik biodaskalli, the father of astrid, who was the mother of king olaf. another icelander was named hialti skeggiason, and he had to wife vilborg the daughter of gizur the white; hialti was a christian, and king olaf received with pleasure gizur and his son-in-law hialti, and with the king did they abide. those of the icelanders, however, who were captains of the ships and were heathens to boot, sought to sail away even so soon as the king was come to town, for it was told them that the king constrained all men to embrace the faith of christ. it so befell natheless that the wind was set against them, & drave them back off nidarholm. the captains of the ships were hight thorarin nefiolfson, hallfrod the skald, the son of ottar, brand the bountiful and thorleik brandson. now it being told to king olaf that some of the icelanders, and they heathens, were hard by with their ships and were about to flee the town, he sent to them and forbade them to sail, but commanded them instead to come and lie off the town, and this they did but unloaded not their ships. ¶ then came the holy season of michaelmas,§ and the king caused the feast to be well kept and a solemn mass was said. thereat were the icelanders witnesses and hearkened to the fair singing and the ringing of bells. when they were come back to their ships each of them said what he had thought of the christian men's ways & kiartan praised them, but most of the others mocked at them, & it befell that the king heard of this, for as the saying goes, 'many are the king's ears.' then forthwith that self-same day sent he an emissary to kiartan, and bade him come unto him, & kiartan went unto him with but few men, and the king bade him welcome. now kiartan was one of the biggest and fairest of men, with a great gift of speech. when they had parleyed a while did the king make proffer to kiartan that he should embrace the true faith, and kiartan made answer unto him that he would not say nay to this if he might thus gain the friendship of the king, whereupon swore the king to him & pledged him his hearty friendship, & after this fashion was a compact struck between them. on the morrow was kiartan baptized, and with him bolli thorleikson his kinsman, and all their fellows. kiartan and bolli were the guests of the king as long as they went in white weeds,§ and the king was of kindly countenance toward them. ¶ it befell one day that king olaf was walking in the street when some men came toward him, and he who was walking foremost greeted the king. the king asked of the man his name, and the latter said he was hight hallfrod. then said the king, 'art thou a skald?' 'i can make verses,' said he. then the king answered: 'thou wilt accept baptism as i trow and thereafter be my man?' quoth hallfrod: 'there must be a bargain on that matter if i am to suffer myself to be baptized, to wit, that thou, king, holdest me thyself at the font, for from no man else will i take it.' 'so be it,' said the king, & so hallfrod was baptized and the king held him himself at the font. thereafter the king asked hallfrod: 'wilt thou be my man?' & hallfrod made answer: 'i was of earl hakon's body-guard; and now will i not be the liege-man of thee or of any other chief unless thou givest me thy word that such a thing shall never befall as that thou shouldst drive me away from thee.' 'from all that is told me of thee, hallfrod,' said the king, 'thou art neither so wise nor so meek but that thou mightest not do a thing which i could in no wise suffer.' 'slay me then,' said hallfrod. the king said, 'thou art a troublesome skald, but my man shalt thou be all the same.' hallfrod answered: 'what wilt thou give me, king, as a name-gift if i am to be called "troublous-skald"?' then did the king give him a sword, but it had no scabbard; and the king said, 'make now a stave about the sword, & let "sword" be in every line.' hallfrod sang: 'one sword alone of all swords hath made me now sword-wealthy; for the swinger of swords will there now be swords in plenty. no lack of swords will there be, --worthy of three swords am i-- lord of the land were but the sheath of that sword to be mine.' 'there is not sword in every line,' quoth the king. then answered hallfrod: 'but there are three in one line.' 'so be it,' said the king. then did the king give him the scabbard. now from that which is told in the lays of hallfrod have we much knowledge & testimony concerning king olaf tryggvason. ¶ that same autumn came back thangbrand the priest from iceland to king olaf and related to him how that his journey had borne no fruit, 'for,' said he, 'the icelanders made lampoons about me and some wished to slay me, and to my mind it cannot be expected that that country will ever be made christian.' at these words king olaf waxed so hasty and wrathful that he summoned to him forthwith all the icelanders in the town, and commanded that self-same hour that they should all be slain; but kiartan and gissur and hialti and those that were of them who had made profession of the faith of christ entered into his presence & said: 'we trow, o king, that thou wilt not go from thy word, for thou hast said that no man may make thee so wrathful but shall he have thy forgiveness an he will be baptized and abjure heathendom. now will all the icelanders who are here suffer themselves to be baptized, & we can well devise a means whereby christianity may gain an entrance into iceland. the sons of many mighty men of iceland are here present, & their fathers will, we trow, lend their aid in this matter. but thangbrand there, as here, ever went about masterful and manslaying, and the people there would not endure it of him.' now the king lent an ear to these speeches, and all the men of iceland who were there were baptized. ¶ of all men of norway of whom record hath come down to us was king olaf in every wise the one most skilful in manly exercises; stronger was he & more active than any other man, and many are the tales that have been written on this matter. one of these recounts how that he climbed the smalshorn, and made fast his shield on the topmost peak; and another is of how he brought succour to one of his own body-guard who had climbed aforehand up the mountain and was come into such a plight that he could neither get up nor down, so that the king helped him by going unto him & bearing him down under his arm to the level land. king olaf would walk from oar to oar, on the outer side of the ship while his men were rowing the 'serpent', and with such ease could he play with three daggers that one was ever in the air and always caught he it by the hilt; with either hand could he strike equally well, and two javelins could he throw at one time. of all men was king olaf the lightest-hearted & of a very merry disposition; kindly was he withal & lowly-hearted; very eager in all enterprises, great in his bounty, & the foremost among those who surrounded him. above all others was he brave in battle, but very grim when he was angered, and on his foes laid he heavy penalties; some he with fire burned, some maimed he & caused to be cast down from high rocks. for these things was he beloved by his friends, but dreaded by his foes; his furtherance was manifold for the reason that some did his will from love and friendship, and others again from fear. ¶ leif, the son of eirik the red, he that was the first to settle in greenland, came even that summer over from that land unto norway; and king olaf sought he and from him accepted christianity, & abode even with king olaf the winter thereafter. ¶ now it came to pass that gudrod, he that was the son of eirik blood-axe and gunnhild, had over in the lands to the west done whatsoever he listed and broken the laws of god and of man ever since that time when fled he from his own country before the face of earl hakon. but in this summer, of the which somewhat has already been writ, even at the time when olaf tryggvason had held sway for four winters over norway, came gudrod to norway with many ships of war, thither having sailed from england. when he deemed himself to be nigh to norway, turned he his course southward along the coast where he bethought him that he might least chance to fall in with king olaf and thus sailed he to vik. hardly was he come ashore than began he to plunder the people and bring them into subjection under himself, and of them demanded that they should take him as their king. and when the country-folk saw that a warlike host was come upon them craved they ever for grace and peace, & said to the king that they would send the summons for a thing throughout the district, and were willing to submit to him rather than suffer at the hands of this his host, & it was agreed that there should be a truce even for so long a space as sat the thing. then did the king demand of them that they should provide provender for his men so long as they were waiting for the meeting of the thing; but the yeomen chose rather that the king and his followers should be their guests for all the time he might need to be so, & the king agreed even to this, that should he travel that country through with some of the men that were with him and they the guests of the yeomen, ever the while others kept guard over his ships. but when the brothers-in-law of king olaf, even the brothers hyrning & thorgeir learned of these happenings furnished they folk & gathered to themselves ships and sailed northward (west) in vik, and by night were come to the place where lodged king gudrod, & there fell they upon him and upon his men with fire and sword. so fell king gudrod and the greater number of his men; while of those that abode on the ships were some slain but others escaped and fled far and wide. and this gudrod was the last of all the sons of eirik and gunnhild; all were now dead. ¶ the winter after that king olaf was come from halogaland, caused he to be built under the cliffs at ladir a great ship: a ship far mightier than any other ship of that land, and the stocks whereon she was built are still to be seen. of this ship was thorberg the master-smith, but with him were many others at work, some felling trees, some shaping them, some hammering nails, & some carrying timber. all the material was of the choicest, and the ship was both long and broad, built with great beams, and the bulwarks thereof were high. now when the outer sheathing was being put on, some errand of necessity carried thorberg thence unto his homestead, and there he tarried a great while. when he came back the ship was fully sheathed, and the king went in the evening, and thorberg with him, even to see how all things had been done; and men said never before had been seen a long-ship so big or so fine. then went the king back even unto his town, but early on the morrow came he once more to his ship and thorberg accompanied him, and they found that the smiths were gone forward, standing there, all of them, without working. the king asked wherefore were they doing nothing, & they made answer that the ship had been spoiled; that a man must have gone from stem to stern hacking her with an axe even the whole length of the gunwale. then went the king and witnessed with his own eyes the truth thereof, and straightway said he, & sware thereon, that die should that man once the king wot whosoever he was who from envy had spoiled the ship, 'but he who can tell me this thing shall have great reward.' then said thorberg, 'i can tell thee, king, who it is that hath wrought this.' 'i cannot indeed expect of another that he should so well as thee get to wot of this matter & tell me thereof.' 'i will tell thee, king,' quoth he, 'who hath done it: i did it.' then answered the king, 'thou shalt make it good, so that all shall be as well as it was before; and thy life shall be on it.' thereafter went thorberg to the ship and chopped the gunwale in such wise that all the notches were pared away, and the king said then, and all the others likewise, that now the ship was even so goodlier by far on that side on which thorberg had cut the notches. so then the king bade him fashion both sides alike, & gave him land even for so doing, and thus was thorberg master-smith on the ship, even until she was finished. a dragon-ship was she & wrought after the same fashion as the 'serpent' which the king had brought with him from halogaland; but was the new ship much larger in all respects, built with the greater care, & called he her the 'long serpent,' and the other the 'short serpent.' on the 'long serpent' were there four-and-thirty benches of oars. dight were her head and the crook all over with gold, and the bulwarks thereof were as high as on sea-faring ships. this was the ship which was ye best equipped, and the cost thereof was the most money of any ship that ever hath been built in norway. ¶ now after the death of earl hakon, did earl eirik hakonson and his brothers, & many others of their kinsmen depart out of the country. earl eirik went east to sweden, and he and his men were well received by king olaf, the king of the swedes, who bestowed sanctuary on the earl and great grants withal, so that in the land could he well maintain himself and his men. of this speaketh thord kolbeinson: 'foeman of robbers! swiftly can fate effect change brief space ere the treason of men did hakon to death, and to the land that erewhile in fight had that warrior conquered came now the son of tryggvi when fared he from the west.' ¶ from norway passed many men over unto earl eirik, to wit, all those that king olaf had caused to flee the land; and as the outcome thereof did eirik think good to procure himself ships & to go plundering so that he might get wealth for himself and for his men. first sailed eirik to gotland, and lay off that island a long time in summer-tide & waylaid he viking craft or merchant-ships even as they were sailing to land, and when he listed went he ashore and harried far and wide in the parts bordering on the sea. thus in the banda lay it is said: 'in spear-storms many was the earl thereafter victor: and did we not learn aforetime that eirik won the land? in those days when the chiefs on gotland's shores went warring, doughty, and peace-making by their might. more in his mind had eirik against lord and king than spoken word revealed, as from him might be looked for. wrathfully sought the earl counsel of the swedish king, stubborn were the men of throndhjem, ne'er a one would flee.' ¶ later sailed earl eirik southward to wendland, and there chanced he to fall in with some viking ships off staur, and so joined he battle with them; to him was the victory and there were the vikings slain. thus saith the banda lay: 'the steerer of the prow-steed let lie at staur the heads of fallen warriors, thereafter joy of battle inflamed the earl. at the corses of the viking the ravens tore after that dire meeting of swords nigh the sands of the shore.' ¶ sailed thence earl eirik back to sweden in the autumn and abode there a second winter; but in the spring made he ready his host and thereafter sailed eastward; & when he was come to the realm of king valdamar fell he to plundering & slaying folk, burning whithersoever he went, and laying bare the land. then coming to aldeigiaborg§ laid he siege unto it even until he had taken it, and then put he there many folk to the sword and utterly destroyed the town, and thereafter spread he war far and wide in garda. thus saith the banda lay: 'the chieftain fared forth to devastate with fire, yea and with sword (so waxed the sword-storm), the lands of valdamar. aldeigia brok'st thou, lord, when east thou cam'st to garda well wot we how grim was the fight twixt the hosts.' ¶ for five summers together waged earl eirik this warfare, and when he left the realm of garda he went fighting over the whole of adalsysla & eysysla;§ there took he four viking boats from danish men and slew all that were on the ships. it is thus spoken of in the banda lay: 'i heard where the swinger of the sword did battle once more in the isle-sound. eirik wins the land; the bounteous lord four viking boats from dane-folk took doughty and peacemaking. there where warriors hied to town, hadst thou, war-hero! strife with goths. joy of battle filled the earl thereafter. the battle-shield he bore aloft to all the lands, and gently fared he not, over the country he rules.' ¶ then eirik the earl fared to denmark when he had abode one winter in sweden, and coming unto the danish king svein two-beard, wooed he his daughter gyda and this marriage was agreed upon. accordingly eirik took gyda to wife and one winter later a son was born to them whom they called hakon. mainly abode eirik the winters through in denmark, but whiles also in sweden, but in the summers sailed he the seas over even as became a viking. ¶ svein two-beard, the danish king, had gunnhild, the daughter of the wendish king burizlaf, to wife; and in the days whereof now is the record writ happed it that queen gunnhild fell sick and died;§ and a while thereafter wedded king svein, sigrid the haughty, she that was daughter to skogul-tosti and mother to oscar the swede. and from the marriage arose a friendship betwixt the brothers-in-law, and betwixt them and earl eirik hakonson. [illustration] ¶ now the wendish king burizlaf did make complaint to his son-in-law, earl sigvaldi, because the pact had been broken which sigvaldi had made between king burizlaf and king svein: to wit, that king burizlaf should have tyri haraldsdottir, king svein's sister, to wife; for this marriage had never come about, inasmuch as tyri had said shortly 'nay' to wedding a heathen and an old man to boot. king burizlaf now sent word unto the earl that he would demand the fulfilment of the pact, & bade the earl go to denmark & bring queen tyri to him. then did earl sigvaldi hie him on his journey, and laid he the matter before the danish king; and by his fair words came he even so far that into his hands gave king svein his sister tyri. with her went certain women to bear her company & do her service, & her foster-father, whose name was ozur agason, a wealthy man; & sundry other men withal. it was agreed between the king & the earl that tyri should have the estates in wendland which had belonged to queen gunnhild, and that she should be given other great lands in dowry. tyri wept sorely and departed very much against her will; but natheless when she and the earl were come to wendland was she wedded, & so king burizlaf had queen tyri to wife. but ever so long as she was among heathens would she take neither meat nor drink from them, and in this wise was it for a sennight. then right so one night fled away queen tyri and ozur in the darkness unto the forests; and of this their journey it is briefest to recount that they attained denmark, but there durst tyri by no means remain inasmuch as her brother king svein would, an he knew where she lay, have sent her back again to wendland. so faring ever by stealth went they to norway, and tyri made no stay until she was come to king olaf, who made her welcome, and gave them high entertainment. to the king tyri told of her troubles, and begged counsel of him and sanctuary in his kingdom. now tyri had a smooth tongue in her head, and the king liked her converse well; moreover he saw that she was passing fair, & it entered into his mind that this would be a good marriage, and he turned the talking thereunto and asked her whether she would not have him to husband. but with her fortunes at the pass at which they now lay seemed it a hard thing to her to judge; yet on the other hand plainly perceived she how good a marriage it would be to wed with so famous a king, and therefore entreated she him that he should make decision on the matter for her. thereafter, when this thing had been duly discussed, took king olaf queen tyri in wedlock; and they were abed in the autumn when king olaf was come north from halogaland. that winter abode king olaf and queen tyri in nidaros. now in the spring-time thereafter oft-times did tyri make plaint to king olaf, and cried bitterly thereover, because albeit had she such great possessions in wendland yet had she none in this country, and that she should have such deemed she but seemly for a queen; & thinking that by fair words would she get her own prayed she him on this matter, and said that so great was the friendship between king burizlaf & olaf that even so soon as they should meet would the king give olaf all he asked for. but when the friends to king olaf came to know after what fashion was the manner of talking of tyri with one consent gave they all counsel to him to refrain from such a course. one day early in the spring, so it is said, as the king was walking in the street came a man towards him from the market-place bearing many sticks of angelica, which same were wondrous big, seeing that it was early in the spring-tide. and the king took a large stick of angelica in his hand & went home therewith to the lodging of queen tyri. now tyri sat a-weeping in her hall even as the king came in, but he said to her: 'here is a great stalk of angelica for thee.' aside thrust tyri it with her hand, and said: 'greater gifts gave harald gormson to me, but lesser feared he than thou dost to leave his land and seek his own, and the token thereof is that fared he hither to norway and laid waste the greater part of this land and took to himself all taxes and dues; but durst thou not fare through the danish realm for fear of my brother king svein.' then up sprang king olaf at these words, & called out loudly, and swore withal: 'never will i go in fear of thy brother king svein, and whensoever we meet shall he be the one to give way.' [illustration] ¶ not long after these things summoned king olaf a thing in the town, and made known to all the people that in the summer would he send an host out of the country, and that it was his will to levy ships & men from each county, & therewith did he make it known how many ships he should require from the fjord there. then sent he messengers inland both northwards and southwards, and along the coast on the outside of the islands and inside them along the land, and called men to arms. thereafter did king olaf launch the 'long serpent' & all his other ships great & small; and the 'long serpent' he himself steered, and when men were taken for a crew, with so much care was choice made that on the 'long serpent' was there no man older than sixty nor younger than twenty. all were chosen with the utmost care for their strength and courage, & the first taken were king olaf's body-guard, for composed it was of the stoutest & boldest men both from home and abroad. ¶ wolf the red was the name of the man who bore the banner of king olaf, and his place was in the prow of the 'serpent'; there likewise were kolbiorn the marshal, thorstein ox-foot and vikar of tiundaland, the brother of arnliot gellini. of the forecastle in the prow were vak raumason of the river, bersi the strong, on the archer of jamtaland, thrond the stout from thelemark and othyrmi his brother; and the halogalanders thrond squint-eye, ogmund sande, lodvir the long, from saltvik, and harek the keen. from inner throndhjem were there ketil the tall, thorfin eisli, and havard and his brothers from orkadal. those manning the forehold were biorn of studla, thorgrim tiodolfson of hvin, asbiorn & orm, thord of niardalang, thorstein the white of oprostad, anor of more, hallstein and hawk from the fjords, eyvind snak, bergthor bestil, hallkel of fialir, olaf the boy, arnfin of sogn, sigurd bild, einar the hordalander and fin, ketil the rogalander, and griotgard the quick. in the main-hold were einar tamberskelfir, deemed by the others less able than they for then was he but eighteen winters old, hallstein hlifarson, thorolf, ivar smetta, and orm skoganef. many other men of valour were there on the 'serpent' though we cannot name them; eight were there to a half-berth, and chosen man by man. it was a common saying that the crew of the 'serpent' was for goodliness, strength, and boldness, as much above other men as the 'serpent' herself was above other ships. thorkel nefia, own brother to the king, steered the 'short serpent,' and thorkel dydril and jostein, they that were uncles to him on the side of his mother, commanded the 'crane'; right well manned were these twain ships. moreover had king olaf eleven great ships from throndhjem, ships of twenty benches, two smaller ships and victuallers. ¶ when king olaf had completed the equipping of his fleet at nidaros, appointed he men throughout the whole of the district of throndhjem to be stewards collecting revenue, and annalists. he then sent to iceland gizur the white & hialti skeggison to convert that country to christianity, and sent he with them that priest whose name is thormod and other consecrated men, but kept back with him as hostages the four men of iceland they that he deemed to be of greatest mark, to wit, kiartan olafson, halldor gudmundson, kolbein thordson and sverting runolfson; and it is said of the journey of gizur & hialti that they were come unto iceland or ever the meeting of the althing & were present at the thing, and thereat was baptism legalized in iceland and that summer all folk were brought into the true fold. ¶ the same spring likewise sent king olaf leif eirikson to greenland to convert the people, and fared he thither that summer. on the main found he the crew of a ship who were lying helpless on a wreck, and thereafter he discovered vineland the good,§ yet came he the same summer to greenland; and with him had he a priest and teachers, and he took up his abode at brattalid with his father eirik. thereafter did men call him leif the lucky; but eirik, his father, said that the one thing was a set-off to the other: on the one hand was the saving of the ship's crew by leif & on the other the bringing to greenland of that 'juggler,' to wit, the priest. ¶ then took king olaf his host southward following the coast, and many of his friends flocked to him, mighty men, who were bravely furnished for an expedition with the king. the first man of these was own brother-in-law to himself, erling skialgson with his large 'skeid'§ wherein were thirty benches, and right well manned was she withal. there came also to him his brothers-in-law hyrning and thorgeir, each steering a large ship. many other mighty men accompanied him, so that when he left the country had he thirty long-ships. king olaf sailed south through eyrasund, off the coasts of denmark, and in due course came he to wendland. there appointed he a tryst with king burizlaf, and the kings met and spake together of the possessions claimed of king olaf, and all the talk between them went in kindly wise and the claims whereof king olaf deemed himself to have rights there were fully ordered. abode he there a long while during the summer, and saw many of his friends. ¶ as hath been related ere this, king svein two-beard had wedded sigrid the haughty, & sigrid was king olaf's greatest foe, the reason therefor being how king olaf had broken his troth with her, as has been afore set in fair script, and how he had smote her on the face. sigrid incited king svein to do battle with king olaf tryggvason, saying pretext enough was it that he had wedded the own sister to svein, she tyri, without his leave: 'and never would thy forefathers have suffered such a thing.' such words as these had queen sigrid ever on her lips, and so far went she with her persuasions that king svein was full willing to do battle with olaf. so early in spring-tide sent king svein men east to sweden, to olaf the swedish king, he that was his step-son, & to earl eirik, to tell them that olaf king of norway had his fleet abroad, and thought of faring to wendland come summer; another message took they likewise, namely that the swedish king and the earl should call out their hosts and go to meet king svein, and that then altogether they should get their battle over against king olaf. now the king of sweden and eirik the earl were ready and eager for this venture, so mustered they a large fleet in sweden, and with the ships thereof went south to denmark and came thither at the time when king olaf had already sailed east. of this speaketh halldor in the song he made about earl eirik: 'crusher of kings who battles loved, from out of sweden called, to southern battle fared he forth, even with great hosts of men, the wound-bird on the sea gat food while waiting, each and every warrior was fain to follow eirik.' ¶ so the king of the swedes and earl eirik shaped a course to meet the danish king, and when all the fleets were come together was there a host greater than one man could number. ¶ when king svein sent for that fleet, sent he moreover earl sigvaldi to wendland to spy on the expedition of king olaf, and to lay such a lure that king svein and the others might assuredly fall in with king olaf. so earl sigvaldi set forth and went to wendland and jomsborg, and met king olaf tryggvason. now had they much friendly conversation one with the other, and the earl came greatly to love the king, mainly on account of their former kinship, for astrid, she that was wife unto the earl, even the daughter of king burizlaf, was very friendly with king olaf, for the reason that the latter had had her sister geira to wife. now sigvaldi was a wise man, & one ready at expedients, & when he and king olaf took counsel together, found he many and divers pretexts for delaying the journey of the king to the westward; but the men of king olaf murmured thereat and were loudly displeased, and longed much to get them hence home, for, said they, 'clear are we to sail & fair is the wind.' learned sigvaldi now privily from denmark that the king of the danes and the king of the swedes & eirik the earl were met together, and were even about to set sail to the eastward off the coast of wendland; likewise that it had been convened betwixt them that they in wait for king olaf should lie off that isle which is called svold;§ & that moreover he, the earl, was after some fashion to contrive that king olaf be found of them. ¶ and now went about a rumour in wendland that svein, the king of the danes, also had an host abroad, & soon tongues wagged to the tune that well would it like svein, the king of the danes, to meet with king olaf; but said earl sigvaldi unto the king: 'no plan is it of king svein to attack thee with the danish host alone, seeing how great an host of thine own thou hast; but if ye suspect that war may be at hand then will i and my men go with thee, and aforetime was it deemed good help when the jomsborg vikings bore a chief company: i will go with thee even with eleven ships well-found.' to this did the king answer yea, and because at that time was there blowing a gentle breeze but favourable, commanded he that the fleet should get under way, & that the horns be blown for their departing. then the men hoisted sail; and the small ships were those that made the better way, & out to sea sailed they. now kept the earl close by the king's ship, shouting to those on board, and bidding the king follow him: 'well wot i,' he said, 'which sounds are deepest betwixt the isles, & this be fraught with care seeing how big are thy ships.' so sailed the earl first with his ships, eleven ships had he, & sailed the king after him with his large ships, eleven likewise had he, but sailed all the rest of the fleet ahead and out to sea. now it came to pass as earl sigvaldi was making vold came rowing off a skiff, and those therein told unto the earl how that the fleet of the king of the danes lay in the haven even right over ahead of their way. so the earl ordered sails to be lowered, and rowed they in under that island. thus saith halldor the unchristened: 'with ships one more than seventy came the lord of eynafylki from the south; his sword he dyed in warfare when the earl the ships of skani called out to battle. quickly then the peace was broken 'twixt the men.' ¶ now it will be marked that, according unto the bard, were the ships of king olaf & earl sigvaldi seventy-one in number what time sailed they from the south. ¶ now lying there were svein, the king of the danes, olaf the king of the swedes, and earl eirik, with all the might of their fleet, and fair weather was with them with bright sunshine. went up to the islet all the chieftains with a large company of men, and spied they thence that a many ships were sailing together out at sea. and they beheld a large ship and brave sailing, and said both the kings: 'there goes a great ship, passing fair, none other can this be save only the "long serpent."' then made earl eirik answer, saying: 'that is not the "long serpent."' and it was as he opined, for this ship belonged to eindrid of gimsar. a while later saw they yet another ship sailing, much greater than the first, and then spake king svein: 'afeard is olaf tryggvason, for he dareth not sail with the head upon his ship.' then said earl eirik: 'that is not the king's ship; that ship and the sail thereof know i, for the sail is a striped one; erling skialgson it is who hath command thereof. let them sail on! better is it for us that this ship should be lacking from olaf's fleet, so well appointed is it.' a while later saw they and recognized the ships of sigvaldi the earl, and one of them also was great. then spake king svein and bade them go to their ships; for, said he, there sails the 'long serpent'; but earl eirik called out, 'many more ships and fine ones have they besides the 'long serpent,' let us bide a while.' then many of the men fell to talking, & they said: 'eirik the earl will not fight to avenge his father. shame, shame is it, & throughout all the land will it be heard, if we lie here with so great a fleet & let king olaf sail out to sea on our very flank.' but after they had been talking thus a while saw they that four more ships came sailing by, and one of these was a dragon, large indeed, and bedecked with gold. then rose up king svein and said: 'high shall the "serpent" carry me this eve; and i will steer her.' many of the men called out that the 'serpent' was a mighty great ship and beautiful to look upon, and a glorious work had it been to build such a craft. then earl eirik said so loud that sundry heard him: 'e'en had king olaf no larger ship than this, king svein would with the danish host alone never wrest it from him.' then went the men to their ships and took the tilts from off them; whilst the chiefs were talking among themselves of that which is writ above saw they sailing along three very large ships, and a fourth ship last of all, and that was the 'long serpent.' now of those large ships which had sailed past before, and had been deemed by the men to be the 'long serpent,' the first was the 'crane' and the last the 'short serpent.' but when they beheld the 'long serpent,' and none gainsaid this, then wotted all that now indeed was olaf tryggvason sailing by. then went they to their ships, and made ready to row to the onset. now a compact had been struck between the chiefs, king svein, king olaf, and earl eirik, that to each one of them should be given a third part of norway if it befell that king olaf was slain; moreover he who first boarded the 'long serpent' was for his own to have all the booty taken therefrom, and each of them was to have what ships he himself cleared. earl eirik had a very large long-ship which he was wont to use on his viking cruises; a beard was there on the higher part of both prow and stern, and thick plates of iron going from thence all the breadth of the beard right down to the water-line. ¶ now when earl sigvaldi & his men headed in towards the islet, observed closely thorkel dydril of the 'crane' and the captains of the other ships sailing with him, what he was doing, and they too lowered sail, and rowing after him, called out to him to know why thus he was faring. the earl answered that he was going to bide the coming of king olaf, for most like did it seem that war was at hand. so then they likewise let their ships lie-to until such time as thorkel leira with the 'short serpent' was come up and with him too the three other ships which were following him, and the same tidings were told unto them; then they also lowered sail, laid-to and bided the coming of king olaf. but when the king sailed out towards the isle, then rowed out into the sound the whole of the hostile fleet even for to meet him; and his men witnessing this same prayed the king sail his way, and not engage in battle with so large an host. but king olaf stood up on the poop, and shouted with a loud voice: 'let no men of mine lower sail or think of fleeing; never have i fled in battle. may god look to my life, for never will i turn to flight.' and it was done even as the king said. thus saith hallfrod: 'fain would i name those words, which olaf's warriors tell us the lord deed-mighty spake there, to his men before the battle. the warlike king forbade his champions to think of flight, and how they live, the words the loved one of the people spoke.' ¶ so were sounded the horns for the assembling of the ships; and the king's ship was in the midst of the fleet, with the 'short serpent' on one side and the 'crane' on the other. now when they were about to lash together the prow of the 'long serpent' and stern of the 'short serpent,' the king observed what was being done, and he cried out bidding them lay the big ship more forward, & not let her be astern of all the ships in the fleet. thereon answered ulf the red: 'if we are to lay the "serpent" as much longer ahead as she is longer than other ships hard will the day's work be behind the gunwales.' said the king: 'i knew not that i had a forecastle man who was both red and afraid,' ulf made answer back, 'turn not thou thy back there on the poop more than i turn mine when i guard the prow.' now the king had a bow in his hand, and placing an arrow on the string thereof he turned him towards ulf; then cried ulf, 'shoot another way, king, thither where it is needed more greatly; what i do, i do for thee.' ¶ king olaf towered high on the poop of the 'serpent,' and easy was it to know him from other men. a golden shield had he, and a gold-wrought helmet, & a short red kirtle over his shirt of mail. now when king olaf saw that the fleets were dividing and banners were being set up before the chiefs, asked he: 'who is the captain of that host which is right over against us?' it was told him that it was king svein two-beard with the host of the danes. then answered he: 'afraid are we not of those blenchers, no heart is there in the danes. but what chief is behind those banners yonder on our right?' it was told him that there was king olaf, with the swedish host. 'better were it for the swedes to stay at home and lick the blood from their bowls than to board the "serpent" under thy weapons.' 'but whose are the ships lying out yonder on the larboard of the danes?' 'they pertain,' came the answer, 'to eirik hakonson.' then answered king olaf, 'good reason, methinketh, hath he to meet us, and from that fleet may we await the fiercest of fights, seeing that they too are of norway even as we ourselves.' ¶ thereafter separated the kings one from another for the onset. king svein laid his ship against the 'long serpent'; and king olaf the swede lay-to farther out & grappled from the prow the outermost ship of king olaf tryggvason; and over against the other side lay earl eirik. and even so there ensued a dire and strenuous conflict. albeit did sigvaldi, the earl, let his ships fall astern and took he no part in the battle. thus saith skuli thorsteinnson, he that himself was with earl eirik that day: 'the frisian wolf i followed (and in my youth gat honour) with sigvaldi, there where the spears whistled (now wax i old); when bloody swords we bore there off the mouth of the svold in the south, in the battle-storm, and met the hero of wars.' and hallfrod too saith of these tidings: 'methinks full much was missed (many to flight did turn them), that chief who spurred the fight was among the men of throndhjem. the valiant king alone 'gainst the two kings did fight, (glorious to tell it now) and for a third too the earl.' ¶ the battle to them all waxed very fierce & bloody; the forecastle men of the 'long serpent' & the 'short serpent' and the 'crane' threw anchors and grapplers on to the ships of king svein, and thus could they attack them from above so that they cleared every ship unto which they could cling and thereto hold fast. king svein and those of his company who could escape made what way they could to other of his ships and thereon drew thence out of bow-shot, and so it came to pass that it fared with this fleet even as king olaf tryggvason had foretold. then olaf, he that was king of the swedes, brought his ships up into the self-same places left by those of svein, but natheless hardly was he come nigh to the big ships than it went with him the same as with the others; even so that lost he many men and some of his ships, and thereafter he too drew back. but earl eirik laid his bearded ship alongside the outermost ship of king olaf & with fierceness cleared it, and straightway cut it adrift from its lashings; then went he alongside the one that was next, and with it fought until that too was cleared. then fell the crews to escaping from the lesser ships on to those that were larger; but cut the earl every ship from its lashings even as soon as it was cleared, & thereon came up once more from all sides danes and swedes into the battle over against the ships of king olaf. eirik the earl lay ever alongside one or other ship fighting thus in hand to hand fight, and as the men fell on his ship, danes and swedes, other true men took their place. thus saith halldor: 'of sharp swords the brunt o'er the "long serpent" went; there golden spears did clash and the men fought long, in battle of foemen went forth to the south men of sweden against him, and danish swordsmen doughty.' ¶ then waxed the battle very fierce, and men fell thick and fast, and so at the end befell it that all the ships that pertained unto king olaf were cleared save and except the 'long serpent,' & by that time all those of his folk who were still able to bear arms were come aboard of her. then did earl eirik bring his bearded ship alongside the 'serpent' and thereon ensued a fight with man at sword's length from man. thus saith halldor: 'into so hard a trap fell now the "long serpent" (the shields were cut asunder, together clashed the swords), and when the axe-bearer laid his bearded ship high bulwarked beside the "serpent," the earl did victory win at holm.' ¶ earl eirik took his stand in the forehold of his ship encompassed by a wall of shields, & his men fought both with trenchant arms, and by the thrusting of spears, and by the throwing of everything that could be used as a weapon, though some shot with the bow or threw javelins with the hand. from all sides had the war-ships been brought up around the 'serpent,' and so great was the shower of weapons which fell on her, and so thickly flew the arrows and javelins from all sides, that men could but hardly ward off the missiles with their shields. the men that were with king olaf had ere now waxed so furious that they had climbed up on to the bulwarks to the end that they might reach their foemen with their swords and slay them; but many of their foes would not come so nigh alongside the 'serpent' that they could be beguiled into close combat, whereas a many of the folk of olaf being unmindful that they were not fighting on a level field themselves fell overboard and so sank down together with their weapons. thus saith hallfrod: 'from the "serpent" sank they down, wounded in the fight; give way or flee they would not, resisting to the last. though glorious the king may be who steers the "serpent" such men as these will long be lacking where'er she strideth.' ¶ it happened that in the narrow-hold of the "serpent," shooting with his bow and arrow more fiercely than any other man that was on the ship, stood einar tambarskelfir. now it was against earl eirik that einar had his direct venture, and struck he the top of the tiller-head, over above the head of the earl, sending in his arrow with such force that it penetrated to the very binding of the shaft. the earl looked at it, and asked if it was known who was shooting thus; then on the instant einar shot another arrow which went so nigh unto the earl that it passed betwixt his side and his arm, and so far through the staying-board that the barb stood out on the other side thereof. then spake the earl to that man whose name some say was fin, but as others have it was of finnish§ kith and kin. exceeding apt was he as an archer, so spake eirik unto him saying: 'shoot thou yonder big man in the narrow-hold,' & even as he said the words did the arrow of fin strike the bow of einar just as he was drawing it for the third time. then was the bow broken in twain, & olaf said, 'what brake there so loudly?' & einar made answer: 'norway from thy hand, o king.' 'so great a breaking asunder hath not happened yet, i trow,' quoth the king; 'take my bow and shoot therewith,' and saying so threw he him his own bow, and einar taking it strained it even beyond the arrow-head. 'too weak,' said he, 'too weak is the prince's bow,' and throwing it back again to the king took he his shield and sword, and fell to hand-fighting. ¶ king olaf being himself on the poop of the 'serpent,' full oft that day shot with his bow, but upon occasion made he use of javelins, and ever threw two at once. then as time wore on saw he, as his glance sped along the ship, that albeit his men swung ever their swords and smote full fast, yet nevertheless their swords were cutting but ill, and he cried out loudly to them: 'are ye wielding your swords carelessly since, as i see, they do not cut?' one of the men made answer: 'our swords are blunt and very much notched.' then went the king down into the fore-hold, and setting up the lid of the high-seat took from out of the chest beneath many sharp swords and gave them out to his men, and when he thrust down his right arm into the chest it was seen that blood was running from under his mail-shirt, and no man at that hour wot in what part he had been wounded. ¶ even the stoutest defence on the 'long serpent,' and that the most deadly, was put up by those stout men that were in the fore-hold and in the prow and stern, for truly were they picked men, and the bulwarks in those places were higher than in other parts of the ship. even so soon as ever the men amidships began to fall, and only a few of those about the mast were left standing on their feet, made eirik an attempt to board the 'serpent,' and up came he on to her, himself the fifteenth man. then was it that hyrning, he that was own brother-in-law of olaf, set over against eirik with a band of followers and the mightiest fight of all waged they then, and the end thereof was of such a fashion that had the earl himself to draw back even unto his own ship; and of the men that adventured with him on to the 'serpent' were some wounded and most others slain. ¶ and thereafter was there yet again a hard struggle, & many men fell on board the 'serpent'; & as the crew who held the defence of her began to thin tried earl eirik to board her for the second time, but again met he with valiant opposition. when the fore-castle men on the 'serpent' saw this went they aft and safeguarded the ship over against the earl, & made a stubborn defence. but so many were the men who were fallen on the 'serpent' that were the bulwarks perforce in many places empty, and the men of the earl now came aboard her on every side; then were those men who were still standing to arms and having the guardianship of the ship forced to fall back aft, even unto the place where the king was standing. thus saith halldor the unchristened, telling how earl eirik cheered on his men: 'astern across the thwarts shrank the men of olaf valiant the lord cheers on his hot-headed followers, when the warriors had closed all issue to the doughty king the clash of weapons turned towards the wend-slayer.' ¶ now it came to pass that kolbiorn the marshal went up on to the poop even to the king, and greatly did they resemble one another in apparel and weapons; and kolbiorn was also a right big and comely man. yet once again ensued there a fight full fierce in the fore-hold, but because that there were now come up on to the 'serpent' even as many men of the earl as the ship would hold, and seeing that his ships were lying on all sides around the 'serpent,' & moreover few folk left on her for defence against so strong a host, fell the main of the men of olaf very shortly thereafter, albeit were they men both strong and stout of heart. then did king olaf himself, and kolbiorn, leap over-board each on his own side. now the men of the earl had put out small boats & were busy slaying those that took to the sea, and when the king leapt overboard would they have taken him captive and brought him before earl eirik, had not king olaf held up his shield above him and dived headlong into the deep. kolbiorn, on the other part, thrust his shield under him and thus protected himself against the javelins which were being thrown up from the boats beneath, but he fell into the sea in such wise that his shield was beneath him & therefore could he in no wise dive so swiftly, & so was he taken & haled up into a boat. then the foe deeming him to be the king brought him before the earl, but when the earl discovered that it was not king olaf but kolbiorn, gave he the latter quarter. at this moment did all they of the king's folk who were still alive leap overboard from the 'serpent'; and hallfrod saith that thorkel nefia, he that was brother to the king, leapt last of all overboard: 'stroke-doughty thorkel saw the "crane," yea, and the "serpents" twain floating deserted; boldly had he fought e'er the wearer of the arm-rings, stout-hearted in combat, into the sea plunged, and by swimming saved his life.' ¶ now hath it been afore fair written that earl sigvaldi joined forces with king olaf in wendland; ten ships had the earl and withal an eleventh whereon astrid, she that was daughter to the king and wife to sigvaldi, had her men. when king olaf leapt overboard all the hosts shouted cries of victory, and then did the earl and his men unship their oars & row to the fight. of this speaketh halldor the unchristened: 'from far and near the wendmen's craft to battle hastened; the lean sword-clashers clanged with iron mouths; din of swords at sea was there (wolves' fare the eagle tore), the lads' dear leader strove ere many from him fled.' ¶ now rowed away the wendland cutter, whereon were astrid's men, back to wendland, and straightway did many men say that king olaf must have drawn off his shirt of mail in the water, dived down away from the long-ship, and thereafter swum even to the wendland cutter and so been brought to shore by the folk of astrid. and many are the tales which have been told by certain men of the journeyings of king olaf; nevertheless in this wise speaketh hallfrod: 'i wot not whether he who stilled the raven's hunger should of me be praised as of the living or the dead, since of a truth his men tell either tale (bootless of himself to question) though wounded was he surely.' but howsoever this may have been, never more returned king olaf tryggvason to his realm of norway; yet in this wise speaketh hallfrod the troublous-skald: 'he who the tidings told that the lord was living had long for tryggvi's trusted son a fighter been. 'tis said the king from out the steel-storm came; alas, 'tis worse than this, methinks, for of truth all facts are lacking.' and this again: 'when the land-host with men in numbers towards the holder's war-wont king did fare, it scarce could be (so heard i) that the king belovéd could with life escape (folk seemed not truth to tell) from out the battle. some men e'en tell this skald that wounded is the king, though from the spear-storm saved and eastwards gone. but tidings from the south now tell the slaying of the king in the great fight (endure no more can i the wavering talk of men).' ¶ with the victory that he encompassed did earl eirik hakonson gain even the 'long serpent' and much booty, and steered he the 'serpent' far out of the battle. thus said halldor: 'thither the "serpent" had borne him, the helmeted chieftain, to the great sword-play, (then were the ships dight). but south, in the din of the battle, gladly the earl took the "serpent" (heming's high-born brother in blood did dye the swords).' ¶ now svein the son of earl hakon even at this time was betrothed to holmfrid the daughter of olaf king of sweden. when olaf the swedish king, svein the danish king and earl eirik divided the realm of norway between them, then had olaf the swedish king four counties, to wit, throndhjem, the two mores & raumsdal; and eastward to him pertained raumariki from the gaut (göta) river to svinasund. this dominion did king olaf make over to earl svein on the self-same conditions as the tribute paying kings or earls had held their lands aforetime from superior kings. earl eirik gat five counties in throndhjem, also halogaland and naumdalen, the fjords & fialir, sogn and hardaland & rogaland, and agdir from the north right to lidandesnes (the naze). thus saith thord kolbeinson: 'i wist that save for erling (bounteous chief whom i praise) erewhile the "hersirs" mostly were friends unto the earls; the battle ended the land all southward from agdir to veiga, or farther north, was subject made to eirik. under the lord the land prospered; & this 'twas good should be. his duty he thought it to hold o'er the northmen his hand. now hath died svein the king south of us, so the tale goes (the strength of most doth fail, and waste are his manors for grief).' ¶ svein the king of the danes was now once more the possessor of vik, which had been his aforetime; to earl eirik he gave raumariki and hedemark, to be held as a fief. svein hakonson, he that was the finest man that men have ever looked on, received earldom from olaf the swede. eirik and earl svein were alike baptized into and made profession of the true faith, but even so long as they ruled over norway gave they licence to every man that he should please himself about what creed he would cleave to, & moreover maintained they the old laws honourably and likewise all the customs of the land; therefore were they justly men who were well-beloved and good rulers. now in all matters having concern in the ruling of the realm of the twain brothers was earl eirik ever the more prominent. the saga of harald the tyrant, mxxx-mlxvi it befell in the days of the fall of king olaf that harald, the son of sigurd sow, the stepbrother of king olaf the saint, bore his share in the great battle of stiklastad. even there it befell harald that he was smote down, but he gained the life of his body by flight with others that bore him company. thus saith thiodolf: 'nigh the hill, a battle-storm i heard drive toward the king, but the burner of the bulgars§ his brother well supported. unwillingly from fallen olaf was the prince sundered, and his head he hid; then was he twelve winters with added three thereto in age.' ¶ it was rognvald brusason who bare harald out of the battle, and brought him to a certain peasant who lived in the forest, and that in a glade far from the haunts of man; and here was harald leeched until he was whole of his wound. thereafter fared forth the son of that peasant eastward with him across the kjol (kiolen), & as far as they were able to do so followed they forest tracks in lieu of the common way. now in no wise wist the son of the peasant with what manner of man he was faring, & as they were riding through the wastes of the forest sang harald thus wise: 'from forest now to forest wend i my way with honour scant; who wists but in the future wide fame may not be mine?' ¶ and thus fared he eastward through jamtaland & helsingland, and in due course was he come even to sweden; there did he link his fortune with that of rognvald brusason and many others of the men of king olaf that were yet alive after the mighty battle. ¶ now in the spring thereafter gat they ships for themselves and in the summer fared eastward to garda, where abode they the winter through with king jarizleif. thus saith bolverk: 'the sword's blade, king, thou dried'st when thou fared'st from the strife. to the raven gav'st thou to eat; the wolf howled on the wooded heights. but the year thereafter and thou wert east in gard, o doughty fighter, ne'er have i heard of a leader of hosts more famed than thou wert.' king jarizleif made harald & his men welcome right kindly, and even so became harald captain of the land defence of the king & with him was joined eilif, the son of earl rognvald. thus saith thiodolf: 'where eilif was, alike they acted, those chieftains twain in wedge-like phalanx. chased were the east wends into a corner narrow, not easy for the laesirs§ was the law of the host.' ¶ some winters abode harald in the realm of garda, & fared forth for the most part eastward; then went he a journey to greece, and in his company was a mighty following, and at that time likewise went he to miklagard (constantinople). saith bolverk: 'the chilly shower drave forward the ship's swart prows; and barks all bravely armoured their sails bore by the coast-side. the metal towers of miklagard the prince saw from the prows; fair-bosomed ships were borne to the walls of the city.' at that time there ruled over greece queen zoe the wealthy and with her michael katalaktus. when harald was come even unto miklagard in the hardiness that was of his blood enterprised he service of the queen, and even so did the men that were with him. forthwith that same autumn took he ship on certain galleys with warriors who were adventuring on to the greek sea. in those days was one named gyrgir§ chief of the hosts, and he was also a kinsman to the queen. now it came to pass that harald had not abode longtime with the host ere the vaerings§ became much drawn to him, so that he and they adventured all together in a body whensoever there was fighting, and the end thereof was that harald was chosen captain of all the vaerings. gyrgir and his hosts coasted in all directions among the greek islands, and greatly plundered the corsairs. ¶ once it befell when they were faring overland, and were of a mind to pass the night in the woods, that the vaerings were the first to come to the place where it was intended they should lie, and chose they for their tents even such position as was best and lay highest, for the country thereabout was boggy, and no sooner came the rain than was it ill living there over against where the land was low. then came gyrgir, & when he saw where the vaerings had pitched their tents bade he them begone and pitch them in another place, since saith he, that he himself would have his tent even there. but thus spake harald: 'when ye are the first to come to the place for the camp then shall ye make choice of your place for the night, and it will behove us to pitch our tents elsewhere, even in whatever spot is open to us. so do ye now likewise; pitch ye your tents where ye will in any other spot that pertaineth. methought was it the right of the vaerings here in greece to be masters of their own matter & free in all things before all men, and that was it to the king and queen only they owed obedience.' on this bandied they words with so great heat that both sides fell to arming themselves, & right nigh came they to fighting, but ere that were the wisest men came up and they parted them. they said it was more in reason that these men should be of one mind on the matter, and a just decision made thereon betwixt them, so that never more might strife arise out of this cause. so then was agreed a meeting between them, & the best and wisest men were present thereat; and at that meeting was it counselled in such manner that all were of one mind, to wit, that lots should be borne in a cloth and cast between greek and vaering as to who should be the first to ride or row, or berth them in haven, or choose a spot for their tents; both of them henceforth to rest content with whatever the lot decreed. thereafter was this done, and the lots were marked; then said harald to gyrgir; 'let me now see how thou markest thy lot, to the intent that we may not both mark them in the same fashion.' so harald looked and thereafter marked his lot and threw it into the cloth, and gyrgir did likewise; but the man who was to draw the lot took up one between his fingers, and lifting his hand said: 'these shall first ride and row and berth them in haven and choose them tent-places.' then did harald seize the lot with his hand and throw it out into the sea, and when he had so done he said: 'that was our lot.' gyrgir said: 'why didst thou not let more men see it?' 'look you,' answered harald, 'on that lot which is left, & i wot well thereon will you know your own mark.' then looked they at the lot, and all knew the mark to be that of gyrgir. so was it adjudged that the vaerings should have the choice in all those matters about which there had been strife. sundry things befell likewise on which saw they not eye to eye, but ever it ended in such a fashion that harald had his way. ¶ plundering & pillaging whithersoever they went fared together both hosts during the summer, but when a battle was imminent would harald cause his men to hold aloof therefrom, or at least over against that part where was the fight most open. ever said he that he would take good care that he did not lose those that were of his company; but when a fight chanced and he with his men only were opposed to an enemy so fierce was he in battle that either must he win the day or die. for this reason oft-times it befell that when harald was captain of the men the victory fell to him, whereas gyrgir won naught. now when the warriors saw how oft did this come to pass, said they one to the other that their cause would have better advancement an harald were alone captain of the host; and blamed they the leader of the band, saying that he and his men were but bootless. to this gyrgir made answer that the vaerings would not yield him support, & bade them begone, whiles he fared with the rest of the host to be successful as far as in them lay. even so, thereon went harald from the host, and with him likewise the vaerings and the latin men, but gyrgir kept the host of the greeks. then came to pass that which all had awaited, to wit, that harald ever gained the victory & the plunder. thereupon fared the greeks home to miklagard save only the young men who desired to win riches for themselves, and they gathered round harald and took him for their leader. then went he with his host westward to northern africa, which the vaerings called serkland,§ and there he gained addition to his host. in serkland won he eighty walled towns, some thereof surrendered to him, whereas others took he by might. thereafter went he to sikiley (sicily). thus saith thiodolf: 'towns ten times eight in serkland, say i, then were taken, the young hater of red-glowing gold rushed into the peril. before the fighter went to rouse with clashing shields the hilds, were they long the serk-men's foe, on the plains of sicily.' thus saith illugi, the skald from bryn: 'harald under michael strove for south-lands with his sword the son of budli, as 'twas said showed friendship by his fellowship.'[§] ¶ now it came to pass that at this season was michael king of greece. many winters abode he in africa, and to himself acquired goods and chattels in plenty, gold likewise and all manner of precious things; but all the wealth which he took and thereof had not need for his maintenance sent he by his trusty men to holmgard (novgarod), to be bestowed into the hands and care of king jarizleif. exceeding wealth did he collect together there, as was like to be, forasmuch as he was pillaging in that part of the world the which is richest in gold and costly things. and so much did he accomplish withal that, as has been writ before, took he as many as eighty towns. ¶ and being come to sikiley did harald lay waste on that isle, and set he his host over against a large town in which were many people. so strong were the walls thereof that he feared it were doubtful an he could brake them down. now the townsfolk had enough of victuals and other commodities which were required to withstand a siege, so hit harald on the craft of bidding his fowlers to catch small birds, which had nests in the town & flew out during the day to seek food. on the backs of these birds caused he to be tied shavings of red pine-wood on which had he poured melted wax and brimstone; fire thereto was set, and the birds even so soon as they were loose, flew with one accord at once to the town with the intent to seek their young and to hie them to their own nests which were under the roofs. and these roofs were thatched with reeds or straw. then the fire from the birds spread to the eaves, and though each bird bore but a little burden of fire nevertheless in a brief space was kindled a great fire, for many birds bore fire to the roofs that were of the town. thereafter there burned one house after the other until the town itself was all aflame, and all the people came out therefrom and begged for grace. yea was this that same folk that for many a day had talked proudly and with mocking despite of the greek host and the chief thereof. harald gave quarter to all men who craved it, and thereafter held authority over this town. ¶ another town was there to which harald went with his host, & right well peopled was it and strong withal, so much so indeed that it could not be thought that he would be able to make assault thereon. flat land and hard lay round about the walls thereof, so harald set his men to dig a trench from the place whence a brook flowed, & that in a deep gulley wherein men from the town could not spy. the earth of the trench threw they out into the water and let the stream bear it away; and in this work they continued even both by night and by day with fresh shifts after a spell. after this fashion did the host advance on the town day by day; and the townsmen flocked to the battlements & both sides shot at one another, but by night did all betake themselves to sleep. now when harald wot that this hole that was in the earth was so long that it must have come under and past the walls of the town bade he his men arm themselves, & towards dawn went they into the trench, and when they came to the end thereof dug they up above their heads until they came to stones set in lime; and this was the floor of a stone hall. anon they brake up the floor and ascended into the hall, and there sat many of the townsmen eating and drinking, and great was the mischance of these good men for they were taken unawares. the vaerings went about with drawn swords, and straightway killed some of them though others fled, to wit, those who could get out. some of the vaerings sought after these townsmen while others went to the gates to set them open, and by this way in marched the host that pertained unto harald. then did the townsfolk flee, though many prayed for mercy, and mercy did all receive who gave themselves up. in this way was it that harald was possessed of the town, and therewith acquired exceeding wealth. ¶ the third town to which they came was the one that of all of the island had waxed largest and strongest, and to it pertained most importance both by reason of the wealth and the number within its walls. even about this town lay great ditches, and the vaerings marked that they could not win it by craft after such fashion as they had possessed themselves of the other towns aforesaid. and so it came to pass that long lay they before the town yet did they accomplish nothing, and the townsfolk seeing this waxed even bolder, and set up their array on the walls, & anon opened the gates of the town and called to the vaerings, egging them on & bidding them enter; and they mocked at them for lack of boldness, averring that for fighting were they no better than so many hens. harald bade his men behave themselves as though they wist not after what fashion were such things said: 'nought shall we accomplish,' said he, 'even if we storm the town; they will fling their weapons down under their feet upon us; and albeit an entrance we perchance effect with sundry of our folk, yet is the foe strong enough to shut them in, and shut the others out at their pleasure for they have put watches at all the gates of the town. no less mock will we make of them, however, and we will flaunt in their faces that we have no fear of them. our men shall go forth on the plain as near the town as may be, having care nevertheless lest they come within bowshot, and weaponless must they go & hold sports one with another so that the townsfolk may wot that we care naught for their array.' after this fashion did they behave themselves for sundry days. ¶ now of the icelanders that were with harald at this time is it recorded that halldor the son of snorri the priest-- he it was who took this chronicle back to his own land-- and in the second place ulf the son of uspak, the son of usvif the wise, were the twain of them very strong & valiant men and much cherished of harald. the pair were alike foremost in the sports on the plain. when things had thus happened for these sundry days, were the townsfolk minded to show even greater arrogance, & discarding their weapons mounted they up on to the walls and defiantly set open the gates of the town. now the vaerings seeing this betook themselves one day to their sports in such fashion that the swords that pertained to them were concealed beneath their cloaks and their helms beneath their hats. and after they had vied with one another awhile saw they that the townsfolk in no fashion entertained suspicion, thereon drawing their swords ran they forward to the gates. when the townsmen saw this advanced they bravely to meet them, standing fully armed, and thereon ensued a dire fight within the gates. to the vaering folk pertained neither shield nor buckler, & in default thereof wrapped they their cloaks round their left arm; some were wounded, some killed, & all were hard pressed. harald & the men with him who were in the camp hastened to their succour, but by then were the townsfolk come up on to the walls from whence they shot at & stoned those coming thitherwards. yet more fierce grew the fight, & those within the gates bethought them help came at a slower gait than they could desire. scarce was harald come to the gates ere was slain his banner-bearer; then said he: 'halldor, do thou take up the banner!' halldor picked up the banner-staff, but he spoke unwisely: 'who will bear thy banner for thee when thou followest it so faint-heartedly as thou hast done now this while past?' these were words more of anger than of truth, for harald stood the stoutest among men. then hied they them into the gate, and great were the strokes given; but the outcome thereof was such wise that the victory was to harald and he stormed the gates. sore smote was halldor, a deep wound gat he in the countenance, and to him was it a blemish all the days of his life.§ ¶ the fourth town whereunto harald was come together with his host was the stoutest of all those whereof we have yet told. so strong was it that they wist there was no hope that it could be taken by assault, and thereon beset they the town even by getting a ring around it so that no victuals could be taken therein. now it chanced when harald had been before it a while, fell he sick and betook himself to his bed; & he caused his tent be placed away from other tents so that he might have the ease that he should not hear the noise and disquiet of the host. backwards & forwards to him oft fared his men, craving his counsel, and this was noted of the townsfolk who argued rightly that something had befallen the vaerings, and thereon set they spies to discover what it might be. when the spies were come back even into the town brought they intelligence that the chief of the vaerings lay sick, & for that cause had they not advanced on the town. as time waxed big grew the strength of harald small, and his men became sorrowful and were heavy of heart. now of all this had the townsfolk full knowledge. to such a pass came it that the sickness pressed harald hard and his death was told throughout the whole host. then went the vaerings to speak with the townsmen, telling them of the death of their chief, & praying the priests to grant him a tomb in the town. now when the townsfolk heard these tidings many were there, rulers of monasteries or of other big churches in the town, who wished much, each one of them, to have the body for his church, for well wotted each that it would bring them great offerings; so the whole multitude of the priests clad themselves in their vestments and walked forth out of the town in procession well favoured and solemn, bearing shrines and holy relics. but made the vaerings also a mighty funeral train; covered with a costly pall was the coffin borne aloft, and above this again were held many banners, & after the coffin in this wise had been borne in through the town-gates was it set down right athwart them in front of the opening thereof. then did the vaerings blow a war-blast from all their trumpets, & drew their swords, and the whole host of the vaerings rushed out of their tents fully armed, and ran towards the town shouting and crying. the monks & other priests who had been walking in this funeral train vying with one another to be the foremost to go out and receive the offering, now vied twofold as speedily to be the farthest off, for the vaerings slew every one who was nearest to them be he clerk or layman. after this fashion did they go about the whole of the town, putting the men to the sword and pillaging the churches, whence snatched they exceeding great wealth. ¶ many summers fared harald in warfare after this fashion alike in serkland and sikiley. thereafter led he his host back to miklagard, and abode there a short space ere set he again forth on a journey to jorsalaheim (palestine).§ there he left behind him all the gold he had gotten as payment from the greek king, & the same did all the vaerings who went on the journey with him. it is told that altogether harald fought eighteen battles on these journeys. thus saith thiodolf: 'all men know that harald eighteen battles grim hath fought, oft hath the peace of the chieftain been broken; the gray eagle's sharp claws in blood didst thou dye, king, ever was the wolf filled ere thou fared'st homeward.' ¶ harald with his men had now betaken themselves to jorsalaland (palestine) and thence to jorsalaborg (jerusalem), and whithersoever he went in jorsalaland were all the towns and castles surrendered unto him; thus saith stuf, who had himself heard the king recount these things: 'the blade-bold smiting warrior to subjection brought jerusalem. the smiling land was captive to him and the greeks, and by their might, unburned withal, came the country under the warrior's dictate.' ¶ here it is recounted that this land came unburned and unscathed into harald's power. thereafter fared he to the jordan and bathed himself therein, as is the way with other pilgrims. on the sepulchre of the lord, the holy cross, and other holy relics in jorsalaland bestowed harald great benefactions. then did he make safe all the road to the jordan, slaying robbers and other disturbers of the peace. thus saith stuf: 'by counsel and wrathful words the king of the agdir folk withstood on the banks of the jordan the treason of men, but for true trespass had folk to pay dearly; ill from the prince suffered they. (in christ's eternal house).' ¶ after these things fared he back to miklagard. ¶ now when harald was returned to miklagard from jorsalaland was he minded to go to the north, even unto his own heritage; for it had come to his ears that the son of his brother, to wit, magnus olafson, was now king of norway and of denmark, and therefor gave he warning to quit his service with the king of greece; but when queen zoe came to hear thereof waxed she very wrath & made dire complaint against harald, averring that he had gone dishonestly to work with the wealth of the greek king which had been taken in warfare what time harald had been chief of the host. now there was a damsel both young and fair, whose name was maria, and she was the daughter of the brother to queen zoe.[§] afore had harald sought the hand of this maid in marriage, and by the queen had his suit been refused. it has been told here in the north by vaerings, who were then serving in miklagard, that among those who should wot well of the affair was it averred that queen zoe desired to have harald for her own husband, & therein lay the cause of all that which befell when harald desired to leave miklagard, though mayhap otherwise was given out before all folk. at that time was constantine monomachus king of the greeks, and together with queen zoe ruled he the kingdom. wherefore was it on these counts that the king of the greeks caused harald to be seized and cast into prison. ¶ but as harald was drawing nigh unto the prison there appeared unto him the holy king olaf and bade him be of good cheer for that he would come to his aid; & there in the street was afterwards builded a chapel, and was it consecrated to king olaf, & that chapel has stood there unto this very day.§ now after such fashion was the prison builded that it had a high tower, & this was open at the top. into the prison thereof was harald thrown, and together with him were halldor and ulf. the night thereafter came a wealthy woman to the uppermost part of the prison, whither she had ascended by means of ladders, and with her were two serving-men and to either let they down a rope by which they drew the prisoners up. this woman had one time been healed by the holy king olaf, and now had he appeared to her and laid upon her the injunction that she should release his brother from out of prison.thereon hied harald him to the vaerings who with one accord rose to their feet when they beheld him, and acclaimed him welcome. thereafter fell the whole of the host to arms and betook themselves to the place where the king was sleeping, and taking him captive thrust they out both his eyes. thus saith thorarin skeggison in his lay: 'the bold prince gold obtained, but the throned king of greece gat blindness, and thereafter went with scars most grievous.' thus likewise saith thiodolf the skald: 'the waster of wolves' sorrow let the eyes twain of the throned king be put out; the prince of the agdir folk on the eastern king laid a grisly mark whereby was he horribly blinded.' in the twain of these lays concerning harald, & also in many other songs, recorded is it how that he himself put out the eyes of the greek king; but in lieu of thus singing, had they known it to be truer, full well might they have named a duke or count or some other nobleman. but harald himself and the other men that were with him themselves boasted of this deed.§ ¶ that same night went harald and his men to the chamber wherein maria lay sleeping, & by force bare her away. then betaking themselves to where their galleys rode took they twain of them and anon rowed into siavidarsund,§ but when they were come thither found they that the iron chain was stretched right athwart the inlet, and so harald commanded his men to fall to their oars on both the galleys, & those who were not rowing were all to run aft, and each one to have in his hand his own baggage-bag. in this fashion they ran the galleys on to the chain, and as soon as they were fast and the speed was stayed commanded he all his men to run forward. then that galley whereon was harald plunged forward, and after it had swayed on the chain slid from off it; but the other brake as it rode the chain, and many were drowned, albeit some were taken up out of the water. after this fashion did harald escape from miklagard, & thence fared he forth into the black sea. but ere he sailed from land he set the maid ashore, & gave her trusty followers to take her back to miklagard; and he bade her ask her kinswoman zoe how much power she had over him, or if her power had been able to hinder him from getting the maiden. thereafter sailed harald northward to ellipalta§ and thence fared all over the east-realm.§ on this journey made harald certain merry verses which together number sixteen, & all have the same refrain: this is one of them: 'past sicily, far out, forged the ship; proudly she strode and ably 'neath our feet never before had norseman come so far amain, yet saith the maid of the gold-rings in garda that she scorns me.' ¶ by this, allusion made he to ellisif, the daughter of king jarizleif of holmgard. ¶ when harald was come to holmgard did king jarizleif receive him with exceeding great kindness, and there abode he the winter through; at that time, moreover, took he into his own keeping all the gold and various other precious goods which he had sent thither out of miklagard. so much wealth was indeed collected together, that no one there in the north had seen so great an amount before in the ownership of one man. on three occasions[§] the while he was in miklagard had harald ta'en his share in the spoiling of palaces, for it was a law that every time a greek king died the vaerings should have palace-spoil; at that hour might they go through all the palaces of the king, wherein his hoards of wealth were garnered, and take at will as much as ever they could lay hands on. ¶ that winter gave king jarizleif to harald his daughter in wedlock, her name was elizabeth but norwegians called her ellisif. to this stuf the blind is witness in the following: 'the alliance that he wished gat the prince of the agdirs; gold amain won the friend of the men, and to boot the king's daughter.' ¶ so it came to pass that ere long there arose some discord betwixt magnus and harald, and then were many men so evil-minded that they wrought bad blood betwixt the kings. ¶ now after the departure of harald in the manner aforesaid, svein ulfson went on sleeping. later made he close inquiry anent the journey of harald; and when he came to know that harald and magnus had entered into covenant, and had now an host one with the other, steered he a course eastward alongside the coast of skani and abode there with his host, until it came to his ears in wintertime that magnus and harald had fared northward even to norway with their hosts. thereupon shaped svein a course southward (west) to denmark, and that winter took he possession by force of all the dues of the king. ¶ so soon as the spring was come king magnus and king harald called out a muster from all norway. now it befell once upon a time that both the kings were lying in the self-same haven, and the day thereafter harald being the first to be ready sailed forthwith, and in the evening hove he to in the haven wherein he and magnus had covenanted to lie that night; and brought he his ship into the king's berth, and hoisted his tilts. king magnus, he that had later in the day sailed forth, found also that haven, but when he was come perceived he that the men of harald had by then gotten their tilts up; & saw he furthermore that harald was lying in the berth of the king and that there was he minded to lie. even so soon as his men had struck sail said king magnus unto them: 'now shall my men take their places by the bulwarks and fall to their oars, and the others shall undo their weapons and arm themselves, and if harald and his men gainsay us and will not make way, then will we fight them.' when king harald saw that king magnus was minded to give battle spake he to his men and said: 'cut the hawsers and let us put off; wroth is now kinsman magnus.' so said so done; and the ships of harald were hove out of berth, and king magnus put his ships into their place. when this had been accomplished went king harald with sundry of his men up on to the ship of king magnus, & the king greeted him well and bade him welcome. then said king harald: 'i thought that we were come among friends; but just now i misdoubted that thou wouldst let this be the case; but true it is that children are petulent & i will not account it otherwise than that this was a childish deed.' then said king magnus: 'it was a kin-deed, not a child's-deed; i can in good sooth remember what i gave and what i refused, but an it were allowed that this little matter were now done in our despite another would soon arise. in all things will we keep the covenant that we made, but thou on thy part must fulfil that which was agreed upon.' then said king harald: 'there is also an old custom which hath it that the wisest giveth way,' & therewith went he back even to his own ship. in such like dealings betwixt the kings was it difficult to hold the balance; the men to king magnus swore even that he was in the right, but those who were dullards deemed that harald had been slighted. the men that were of king harald's following said it were well and right that magnus should have the berth had the two kings come thither at the same time, but that king harald could not be called upon to leave the berth wherein he were lying afore; and they declared that harald had acted well and wisely, but those who wished to make the worst of things said that king magnus desired to break the covenant, and that he had done king harald wrong and injustice. soon unwise men were talking so much about quarrels of this kind that discord arose between the kings, and many things befell which the kings took each after his own fashion albeit thereof is but little set down in writing. ¶ so king magnus & king harald brought their fleet down to denmark, and when svein heard thereof fled he away to skani. the two kings abode long in denmark that summer, and brought the land into subjection; the autumn to them was in jutland. there one night, when king magnus lay abed, dreamt he that he himself stood there where his father king olaf the saint abode, & thought he that his father spake with him: 'which wilt thou choose, my son, to fare with me, or become of all kings the mightiest & live long, but to commit sin so great that thou wilt scarcely or never be able to atone for it?' and he bethought that he answered, 'i desire that thou choosest for me.' then the king seemed to answer: 'thou shalt fare even with me.' king magnus told his men of this dream. a little while later fell he ill of a sickness, and lay at a place called sudatorp,§ and when he was nigh unto death sent he his brother§ thorir to svein ulfson bidding the latter afford thorir what help he might need, and with this message king magnus also made it known that when his days should be ended it was his wish to have svein to have dominion over the realm of denmark, saying that it was meet that harald should rule over norway and svein over denmark. thereafter died king magnus the good, & all folk mourned his death. thus saith od kikina-skald: 'full many a tear did men shed when the mild king was borne to the grave. heavy the burden for those that he had benefited with gold, sore were the hearts of the house carles, their tears held they not back, and oft-times in sorrow now are his people down-cast.' ¶ when he heard these tidings summoned king harald his host to a thing, and opened unto them a scheme whereof the purport was to fare forth to the vebiorg thing, and cause himself there to be acclaimed king of denmark. thence would he conquer his country, for he accounted denmark his own heritage in succession to his kinsman magnus in like manner as with the kingdom of norway. and for this purpose bade he his men give him their assistance, for then, said he, the norwegians would be masters of the danes for all time. then up and spake einar thamberskelfir, and said, rather was it his duty to convey his foster-son king magnus to the grave and to the latter's father king olaf, than to fight in a foreign land, or to covet ye might and dominion of another king; therefore concluded he his speaking by saying that better he deemed it to follow king magnus dead than any other king living. afterwards caused he the corpse to be ta'en and laid out in solemn state so that all might see it arrayed on board the king's own ship. thereafter all the men of throndhjem and the norwegians made them ready to return home with the body of king magnus & the war-host was disbanded. then did king harald perceive that by so much was it his wisest policy to fare back even unto norway and first of all things to make that country his own, and thereafter wax in power. so harald hied him thither with the whole of his host thus unto norway, and even so soon as he was come thither held he a thing of the men of the land, and caused himself to be acknowledged king over the whole country; he fared right from the east, from vik, and was acclaimed king by every folkland in norway. ¶ einar thamberskelfir journeyed to norway with the corpse of king magnus; with him fared all the host of the throndhjem folk; & they took the body to nidaros where it was buried in the chapel of saint clement wherein was then the shrine of the sainted king olaf. king magnus had been of middle height, with a countenance ruddy and frank, fair-haired was he, and eloquent; quick to think, strong to decide, bounteous to give; withal a mighty man of war and very valiant to boot; of all kings was he the most beloved, & praised was he alike by friend and foe. ¶ that autumn also was svein ulfson in skani & was minded to fare eastward to the realm of sweden; moreover thought he that he would lay down the title of king which he had taken to himself in denmark. peradventure as he was mounting his horse rode certain men up to him & told unto him the tidings that king magnus was dead, and how that all the host of norway had quitted clean from denmark. to this made svein hasty answer & said: 'i call god to witness that never hereafter will i flee the realm of denmark even so long as i live.' therewithal mounted he his horse & rode southwards in skani, & to him were forthwith many folk gathered. that winter conquered he the whole of denmark, & all the danes took him for their king. thorir, the brother of king magnus, came to svein with the message of king magnus, as has been afore writ, & svein received thorir with good countenance; tarried he long with svein and it was well with him. ¶ after the death of king magnus olafson, had king harald sigurdson possession of the whole realm of norway. and when he had ruled over norway for one winter, & the spring was again incomen mustered he men from out of all the land, one half of the general host in men & ships, & thence sailed south to jutland where he harried & burned even very widely; that same summer hove he to in godnarfjord. at that time made king harald this verse: 'while the linen-white woman her song chants to her goodman, the anchor of the oaken ship we drop in godnarfjord.' then spake he to thiodolf, and bade him add thereunto; and he sang: 'next summer (foretell i) the anchor more southward shall hold the ship with its fluke; deeper shall we cast it.' and bolverk in his lay mentions that harald fared to denmark the summer following on king magnus's death: 'from that fair land the year thereafter a muster called'st thou out; when thou ploughed'st the seas with sea-steeds full splendid. on darksome billow lay the dragons precious, and uneasy the host thereof saw off land laden were the war-ships of the danes.' ¶ it was at that time that they burned the homestead of thorkel geyser. he was a great chief, natheless were his daughters led bounden to the ships: the winter before had they shown themselves very scornful of harald & had made mock of his war cruise to denmark, & from cheese had they cut out anchors and said that most like these would well suffice to hold the ships of the king of norway. then was this chanted: 'now from their whey cheeses cut the maids of denmark rings for anchors, and this gibe annoyance gave the king. now see i maidens many in the morn reach the king's ships in fetters heavy: fewer laugh now.' ¶ it is related that the look-out man who had observed the fleet of king harald's cried out to the daughters of thorkel geyser, 'ye geyser daughters said that harald would never come to denmark.' quoth one of them, 'that was yesterday.' ¶ at a very high price did thorkel ransom his daughters. thus saith grani: 'of tears her eyes were never dry; this wrong-headed woman in the thick horn-woods. the lord of norway the fleeing foe to the shore drave; for his daughters wealth amain had to pay their father.' ¶ the whole of the summer did king harald harry in the realm of the danes & gat to himself much plunder, natheless did he not there abide but fared he back to norway in the autumn, and there tarried the winter through. ¶ that same winter, which was even that one after the death of king magnus, did king harald take to wife thora, the daughter of thorberg arnason. to them were born two sons, the elder of whom was magnus, the younger olaf. king harald and queen ellisif had two daughters; one of these was named maria, and the other ingigerd. when that following spring was come, and of that spring have we writ afore, did king harald muster his host and again fared forth to denmark in the summer & harried there, & the same did he now one summer after the other. thus saith stuf the skald: 'falster was wasted, and to its folk mischance befell (so i heard). the raven his fill ate, but rapine feared the danes each year.' ¶ ever since the death of king magnus had king svein ruled the whole of the danish realm; remained he at peace during the winters, but by summer went he out with his host & did threaten to journey north with the danish host, and there do no less harm than harald had done in denmark. in the winter king svein offered to meet king harald in the river, and there fight together to the last, or else come to agreement; and thereafter, during that winter, were both one and other of them busied arming their ships, so that in the summer to come might one half of the general host be abroad. it was in that summer that there came from iceland thorleik svein ulfson; he had heard to wit, when he was north in norway, that king harald had fared south to the river against king svein. then did thorleik chant this: ''tis awaited that in spear-storm on the sea-king's path the doughty men of inner throndhjem will meet the hardy king. god only can bring it to pass that one of them there taketh life or land of the other; little wots svein of concord.' and furthermore he chanted this: 'harald the harsh who beareth oft a red shield off the land, is guiding on budli's ways§ the broad long-ships from the north. but southward o'er the seas, doth come the warlike svein in animals gold-mouthed, masted, and painted in colours fair.' ¶ to the appointed trysting-place came king harald with his host, and there heard that king svein was to the south and lying off zealand with his fleet. then did king harald part his host, sending the greater number of the peasant-host back, but retaining to himself his body-guard & friends and feudatories, also that part of the peasant-host which had been mustered nighest to the danes. they fared south (west) to jutland, southward of vendilskagi, & thereafter still south past thioda, & went everywhere with the war-shield aloft. thus saith stuf the skald: 'fled thioda folk from meeting with the king, bold was he the stately dealer of blows. harald's soul in heaven.'§ ¶ they fared southward all the way to heidaby, and when they were come thither seized they that town and burned it. then a man that was thrall to king harald wrought this: 'burnt from one end to another was the whole of heidaby; ruthless treatment this, methinks; our work, i trow, arouses grief in svein. in the town spent i last night: ere the eighth hour the flames shot up from the houses.' ¶ likewise thorleik telleth in his poem that he heard that no battle befell at the river: 'among the king's followers each asks who doth not wot it how 'twas that the prince avenger to heidaby did hie him, when harald from the east with ships sped early, without reason, to the royal town. in sooth destruction ne'er should have been done.' ¶ after this fared harald northward and with him had he sixty ships, the greater number were large & well laden with what plunder had been taken in the summer. but as they were faring northward and past thioda came down king svein from the land with a large host; & he proffered king harald to come ashore & do battle. now king harald had less than half as many men as svein and so he bade svein fight with him at sea. thus saith thorleik the fair: 'svein, even he who was born to success in midgard, called on the mighty king in fight on land to meet him; but harald shy of failing would liefer fight, quoth he, aboardship, since the bold king held the land.' ¶ thereafter sailed harald northward past vendilskagi; but the wind was against them & they brought-to under lesey where they remained the night. then were the ships encompassed with a thick sea-fog, but when it was morning, & the sun rose, beheld they on the other side of the sea what seemed to them like burning fires. and king harald being informed thereof gazed thereat, & said straightway: 'strike the ships' tilts, and let the men fall to their oars. the danish host hath come after us. the darkness hath lifted, i ween, there where they are, and the sun is shining on their dragon-heads the which are overlaid with gold.' and it was even as harald said for behold there was come svein, the danish king, with a mighty host. both the fleets now rowed with all speed, but the danish ships were lighter under oars, the norwegian ships being both water-logged and heavy laden. so the danes drew on apace. then did harald perceive that this would never serve his purpose. now his dragon was faring astern of all his other ships, and he commanded that some timber should be thrown overboard and apparel with other wares be placed thereon, and as the water was calm these things drifted with the current. when the danes saw these goods drifting along on the sea those who were rowing ahead swerved aside after them, for they deemed it easier to take the goods as they were floating loose on the water than to seek them on board the norwegian ships, and in this manner did their ships linger. when king svein overtook them in his ship bade he them proceed, and said shame was it that with an host as large as his they could not take the norwegians, to whom was but few men, and get the fellows into their power. then began the danes to row the harder again, and when king harald saw that they were making way bade he his men lighten their ships by throwing overboard malt and wheat and swine-flesh, even to chopping open their kegs of drink, and for a while these aids availed them well. then did king harald command that the war-hurdles should be taken, also casks, and empty barrels, and be cast overboard and on them and in them were placed prisoners of war. now when king svein saw all of these floating together on the sea he ordered that the men should be rescued, and accordingly was this done. while his men were occupied in this their task, grew greater the distance between the fleets, and when the danes were again about the chase had the norwegians already made good their escape. thus saith thorleik the fair: 'i heard tell in what manner svein the eastmen put to flight at sea, how the other king quick-minded gat him gone; all the plunder of the thrond-folk's king on the jutland sea was floating; and sundry ships lost he withal.' ¶ under lesey, did king svein withdraw his fleet, and there found he seven norwegian ships, but aboard them were only peasants and men who had been mustered for war. when king svein took them begged they for quarter and offered money in ransom. thus saith thorleik the fair: 'for grace did harald's friends stout-hearted pray the king, and they few laid down their arms; the peasants ready-witted refused to fight thereafter, speaking because their lives out they wished to live.' ¶ anent king harald be it said that he was masterful and a strong ruler in his own land, a very sage man withal, & it be common talk that there was never a chief in the northlands so wise or ready in resource as he. a great warrior also, and very valiant, stronger, & defter with weapons than any other man; but all this have we recorded before. nevertheless the greater number of his doughty deeds go unrecorded, and this in part by reason of our lack of knowledge thereof, & in part by reason that we will not put in books tales for which there is no witness, even though in our hearing have such things been told. it beseemeth us better that something may be added hereafter than that much should need to be taken herefrom. about king harald are many tales set forth in lays which the icelandic men made to him or to his sons, & for this reason was he a firm friend to them. a firm friend also was he to all our countrymen, and once when there was a great famine in iceland permitted king harald four of his ships to carry meal to that island, and decreed that six bushels thereof should not cost more than a hundred ells of homespun; furthermore allowed he those that were stricken by poverty to leave if so be that they could find themselves in victuals the voyage thro' over to the main, and by these means was the land saved and the harvest thereof bettered. king harald set up a bell for the church which was builded with timber sent hither by the sainted king olaf, and raised on a site nigh by where the althing takes place. such memories have we here of king harald & of many other great gifts which he granted to men that sought them. halldor snorrason and ulf uspakson, whereof we have afore wrote, hied them to norway even into the service of king harald. in manifold parts were they opposite one from the other. halldor was very big & strong and handsome, and king harald bore witness regarding him that he was among those of his men who altered least in unawaited circumstances: whether such might be peril or tidings of joy, or through things that might occur when danger was toward; never was he more pleased nor less pleased, never did he sleep more nor less; nor took meat & drink otherwise than as was his wont. halldor was a silent man & harsh, speaking bluntly, also was he stubborn and unmeek; and this was not to the liking of the king since he had many other bold and willing men. halldor abode with the king but a short time and then fared back to iceland, and made to himself a home at hiardarholt, abiding there till he was aged and become an old man. ¶ in great love dwelt ulf uspakson with king harald; a very wise man was he, eloquent, strong, large-hearted, & resourceful. king harald created him his marshal and gave him in wedlock jorun the daughter of thorberg whose daughter, to wit thora, was wife to king harald. the children of ulf and jorun were joan the strong of rasvold, & brigida, the mother of sheep-wolf, who was the father of peter burden-swain§ who again was the father of ulf fly and of the other brothers and sisters of this latter. the son of joan the strong was erling, he that was the father of archbishop eystein and his brothers. king harald gave ulf the marshal the rights of a feudatory and a grant of twelve marks with more than half a folkland in throndhjem; this according to stein herdison in the lay of ulf. ¶ now it came to pass that king magnus olafson had caused the church of saint olaf§ to be builded in nidaros on the self-same spot whereon his father's body had rested for a night, and this spot was then above the town; there too builded he the king's-house. the church was not finished when the king died. harald completed that which was lacking to the church, and in the yard thereof laid he the foundation of a stone hall, but this was not ready before he set to work to build the church of saint mary up on the sand-bank, nigh the spot where the holy body of the king lay buried that first winter after his death. it was a great minster and so firmly was it builded with lime that it scarce could be broken when archbishop eystein had it pulled down. in the church of saint olaf were preserved ye relics of king olaf§ whiles the church of st. mary was abuilding. king harald builded a king's-house below the church of mary, by the river, where it now stands; & the hall which he had builded before, dedicated he to the church of saint gregory.§ ¶ a certain man there was named ivar the white, who was a bold feudatory; his seat lay in the uplands, and himself was a grandson of earl hakon the great. in appearance was ivar exceeding comely. the son of ivar was named hakon, and it hath been said of him that he surpassed all the men in norway at that time for strength and courage & ability; he was much in warfare in his youth & made great advancement for himself, and later was he a very famous man. ¶ einar thamberskelfir was the most powerful of the feudatories in throndhjem; little friendship throve there betwixt himself & harald, natheless retained he the land-dues which had pertained to him during the lifetime of magnus. einar was an exceedingly wealthy man; he was wedded to bergliot daughter of earl hakon, as hath been writ before. eindrid, their son, was now full-grown, and had to wife sigrid the daughter of ketil calf and of gunhild, the niece of king harald through her mother. eindrid inherited fairness and beauty from the kindred of his mother, to wit, earl hakon and his sons; and from his father, einar, gat he height and strength and the craft which einar had above all other men; a very hearty man was eindrid withal. ¶ orm was the name of a certain earl in the uplands, and his mother was ragnhild the daughter of earl hakon the great. this orm was a very excellent man. in those days aslak erlingson lived eastward at soli in jadar; he had to wife sigrid the daughter of earl svein hakonson. gunhild, another daughter to earl svein, was wedded to the danish king svein ulfson. this anent the offspring in norway of earl hakon at that time, and moreover anent many other bold men; all of the line of earl hakon were more comely than other folk and the most of them were very able men, but all were brave. ¶ king harald loved power, & this grew according as he took root in the land; to so great an extent did it wax that in the case of most men it bootless was to speak against him, or to bring forward other matters than those which were to his mind. thus saith thiodolf the skald: 'the men of the war-wont chieftain all humble have to sit or stand there in such place as the stern king desireth; before the filler of ravens bend many men, and few there are indeed who will not do in all things whate'er the king may bid.' ¶ ever was einar thamberskelfir the chief leader of the throndhjem peasantry, and their spokesman at the thing when the king proceeded against them. well acquainted was he with the laws; nor, with all the peasantry at his back, was he lacking in boldness to carry through his cause at the things, even though the king himself might be present. now this made the king exceeding wroth, and at last were matters at such a pass that they disputed together with contentious words, einar swearing that the peasants would not brook the lawlessness of the king if he should break the common law of the land. after this fashion did they fall out on sundry occasions. then einar started to have many men round him when he was at home, and many more when he came to town and the king was present. on one occasion when he fared in to town had he with him many folk, eight or nine long-ships, and nigh upon five hundred men;§ and coming to town he went ashore with this fellowship, and king harald who by hap was in the outer gallery of his house, stood and looked on as the men to einar flocked up from their ships, and it is said that harald thereupon chanted this: 'here see i speeding up with his great following einar thamberskelfir; yea, he who cleaveth the waves. that lord full strong is minded a princely throne to fill; at the heels of an earl house-carles but few will follow. he who the sword makes red will beguile us of our land if einar kisseth not the thin mouth of the axe.' ¶ some days that while tarried einar in the town. now it came to pass that one day a folk-mote was held, for it had befallen that a thief had been taken in the town, and it was at this mote that he was to be brought to trial, & the king himself was present. aforetime had the man been in the service of einar who had favoured him more than a little. now of this matter was einar told, and deemed he that the king would not be the more prone to liberate the man because he, einar, set store by him, so accordingly bade he his men arm themselves and in force to proceed to the mote, and then took einar the man away by dint of sheer strength. thereafter mediated the friends of either in the matter, & the end thereof came that it was agreed that a tryst should be appointed and that the king & einar should meet one another. there was a council-chamber in the king's-house down by the river,§ and into this chamber entered the king and with him therein were but few men; the others left he standing without in the courtyard. now the king had had a shutter placed over the smoke-hole, & there was but a little opening. then did einar come into the courtyard with his men, and said he to his son eindrid: 'remain thou out here with the men, and then will there be no danger for me.' wherefore did eindrid take up his station without the door of the council-chamber. now when einar was entered into this room said he: 'dark is it in the king's council-chamber,' and even at that moment fell men upon him and some stabbed him & some hewed at him, and when eindrid heard the tumult drew he his sword and rushed into the chamber whereon forthwith was he felled beside his father. then did the king's men run towards the chamber and before the door thereof, but the peasants were all at a loss because now to them pertained no leader; yet did they urge one another on saying that it were shame not to avenge their chief, but for all that did they naught, & made no essay to fight. then went the king out to his men, set them in array, & caused his banner to be unfurled, but made he no onset & thereafter bade he all his men go out to his ship, then rowed they down the river and so out on the fjord. now apace was brought the intelligence of the death of eindrid to bergliot his wife for she was in the lodging that she and einar inhabited in the town. thence went she up unto the king's-house where was gathered the peasant host and them incited she to fight inasmuch as in her lay, but at that same moment rowed the king down the river, then quoth bergliot: 'now lack we my kinsman hakon ivarson; ne'er would the murderers of eindrid be rowing there adown the river were hakon on its banks.' thereafter caused bergliot the bodies of einar & eindrid be laid out, and they were buried in the church of saint olaf hard by the tomb of king magnus olafson. after the fall of einar became king harald so greatly hated for his share in that foul deed, that the feudatories and peasants only held back from fighting with him because to them pertained no leader to raise the banner for them. [illustration] ¶ now dwelling at austrat in iriar was fin arnison, feudatory of king harald. fin was married with bergliot, the daughter of halfdan the son of sigurd sow, & halfdan was the brother of king olaf and king harald. thora, wife to king harald, was the daughter of the brother of fin arnison; sworn friends to the king were fin and his brethren. certain summers had fin been in viking warfare westward and on those quests he & guthorm gunhildson§ & hakon ivarson had sailed in company. so fared king harald down the throndhjem fjord and out to austrat, where he was well received, and thereafter communed they together, fin and he, & took counsel one with the other as to the outcome concerning what had but then befallen, to wit the slaying of einar and his son, and then of that murmuring and turmoil the which the throndhjem folk were raising over against the king. fin answered hastily: 'wrong art thou on every count; whatsoever thou doest thou doest ill & thereafter art thou so afeared that thou knowest no whither to turn.' the king rejoined laughing: 'kinsman-in-law, i will send thee in to town & thou shalt make it up betwixt the peasants and me; & if that business cometh to naught then shalt thou fare to the uplands, & good feeling again cause with ivar hakonson & so bring it about that he goeth not to war against me.' fin answered: 'what will be my reward an i go on this fool's errand, for alike throndhjem folk and upland folk are so hostile to thee that no messenger of thine could fare to them save at his own risk.' the king answered: 'go thou on this errand, kinsman-in-law, for well wot i an any man could bring us to a reconciliation it would be thee, & ask thyself of us what boon thou wilt have therefor.' 'keep thou thy word, and i will choose the boon; i choose peace for my brother calf and removal of his outlawry, and the restoring unto him of all his possessions; and furthermore i ask that he shall have all his appointments and all the power that he had or ever he left the land.' and the king said yea to all whatever fin asked of him, & they twain before witnesses took one another by the hand thereon. thereafter said fin: 'but what am i to proffer hakon so that he may promise thee peace, for he it is who hath the upper hand of those kinsmen'? the king said: 'first shalt thou find out what hakon is like to demand so that reconciliation may be brought about, and thereafter must thou forward my cause as best thou canst; but should the worst come to the worst, then deny him nothing save & except the kingship itself.' ¶ then went king harald southward to more where mustered he men, and a great number was gathered unto him. ¶ so fin arnison fared into the town & took with him his house-carles to the number of some eighty men, and being come to the town held he a thing with the townsmen. now fin spoke long and wisely at this thing, bidding townsman and peasant take any other course rather than live in hatred with his king or drive him away; & he reminded them how much ill they had been brought to suffer when they had acted in this wise aforetime, towards the sainted king olaf. he said, moreover, that the king would atone for these murders in such manner as the best & wisest men might adjudge; and the outcome of the speech of fin was that the men gave their word to let the matter rest until the return of the messengers despatched by bergliot to hakon ivarson in the uplands. thereafter fared fin out to orkadal with the men who had accompanied him to town, and further up to the dofrafjal and eastward (south) across those mountains; and firstly went he to see his kinsman-in-law earl orm (the earl was wedded to sigrid the daughter to fin) & to him disclosed his errand. ¶ when this was done, appointed they a tryst with hakon ivarson, & when they were met did fin before hakon lay his errand in accordance with the behest of king harald. but on the instant was it seen from the speech of hakon that he deemed himself bound to avenge the slaying of his kinsman eindrid; and said he, moreover, that he had received word from throndhjem that there would come to him forces sufficient for an uprising against the king. ¶ then did fin open unto hakon what a difference would lie, and how much the more to his own vantage, were he, in lieu of risking battle against a king to whom he was already bounden by service, to accept from that king honour as great as he himself might demand. fin said that hakon might be unvictorious; 'and then wouldst thou have forfeited both wealth and peace; and if thou wert victorious over the king then wouldst thou be dubbed a traitor.' the earl also supported this speaking of fin. when hakon had given the matter thought, made he known to them what was in his mind, & said: 'i will accept reconciliation from king harald if he will give me in wedlock his kinswoman ragnhild, the daughter of magnus olafson, with such a dowry as is seemly for her, and as she herself may desire.' then fin answered that he would promise the fulfilment of this request on behalf of king harald, & therewith was the matter ratified between them. thereafter fared fin back north to throndhjem, and all the disquiet and turmoil was set at rest; and so in the end kept the king his kingdom in peace within the land, for now the whole of that league came to naught which the kinsfolk of eindrid had set against king harald. [illustration] ¶ now when the time was come that hakon was to demand the fulfilment of the contract, fared he to see king harald; and when they began talking of the matter together, said the king to him that he on his side would keep to everything that had been covenanted twixt hakon and fin: 'thou shalt speak with ragnhild herself, hakon,' said the king, 'and ask her consent to this match, but i would not advise thee, or any other, to wed ragnhild save with her consent.' thereafter went hakon unto ragnhild and asked her hand, and she answered: 'indeed feel i that my father, king hakon, is dead, since i am to be given to a peasant, fine man though thou art and of mighty prowess. were king magnus alive would he never yoke me with any mate less than a king, nor can it be awaited now that i will wed a man without princely rank.' now after this went hakon to king harald & opened unto him of the colour of the speech of ragnhild, & withal to his memory again commended the agreement betwixt himself and fin; and fin was there present, & sundry others who could also bear witness to what was pledged betwixt him and fin. then of them all demanded hakon to bear him out in regard to the agreement that the king should give ragnhild such dowry as was to her mind: 'since she will not wed an unprincely man then canst thou give me an earldom; lineage have i, and according to what folk say certain other qualities therewith that may well give me title to be an earl.' then said the king: 'when king olaf, my brother, & king magnus, his son, ruled the kingdom, one earl did they allow to be in the country at a time; this likewise hath been my plan since i have been king, & therefore will i not take away from orm the dignity which i have already given him.' then saw hakon that his cause had not been forwarded and he liked it but ill, and fin was likewise exceeding wrath that the king had not kept his word, and thereafter they parted. hakon fared straightway from the country in a well-found long-ship, and southward steered a course for denmark where he betook him to his kinsman-in-law, king svein. the king received him with great pleasure & gave him large grants in denmark and made he hakon also captain of his coast defences, which were against vikings, who oft-times harried in the danish realm, and wends, and courlanders, and other folk coming from the east. therefore at sea, on his ships, dwelt hakon in winter as well as in summer. ¶ asmund was the name of a certain man who was said to be nephew§ & foster-son to king svein, a very able man was he, and well-beloved by the king. but when asmund grew to man's estate soon showed he himself of an unruly complexion & a manslayer; and the king being ill-pleased thereat sent him away, but gave him a company of men and a goodly feof whereof could he full well find support. now no sooner had asmund accepted the money of the king than gathered he many men to him, and thereafter, since the money the king had granted him sufficed in no sort for his charges, seized he many possessions of the king. for this ill conduct, when the king heard thereof, summoned he asmund to him, and when they met told him that obeyed would he be, that he must enter his body-guard & no longer have his own company of men. when asmund had been a time with the king, became he ill-content, & one night ran he away and rejoined his company, and thereafter wrought even more evil than aforetime. then it befell once upon a time when the king was riding in his dominions, that he came nigh unto the place where then abode asmund and he despatched men to take him by force, and that done the king had him put in irons and kept him thus for a while to see if he would not grow meeker. but when asmund was let loose from his irons forthwith ran he the more away, & raised men and war-ships, and fell to harrying both at home and abroad, & much war-work did he, slaying many folk, and pillaging far and wide. those men that were the sufferers from his raids went to the king and made plaint before him, and he rejoined: 'why say ye this to me, why do ye not fare to hakon ivarson? he is now the warden of my coasts, and is put there to punish vikings and keep the peace for ye peasants. it was told me that hakon was a bold man and brave, but methinks that now is he never to be found where he deemeth danger to be toward.' these words from the king, and many added to them, came to the ears of hakon, & thereon went hakon & his men in search of asmund, & they were met on their ships, wherefore hakon forthwith gave battle. a hard & great struggle was it; hakon boarded asmund's ship and cleared it, and at the last he and asmund themselves dealt blows one at another with their weapons & thus fell asmund. thereafter hakon smote off his head, & then betook him with all speed to king svein whom he found sitting at table. hakon advanced before the table and laid the head thereon, in front of the king, and asked of him whether he recognized it. never a word did the king answer, but he was blood-red to behold. thereafter went hakon away. a little later sent the king men to him, to bid him leave his service, & he said: 'no hurt will i do him, but it is not for us to be the keeper of all our kinsmen.' ¶ then when all these things were accomplished did hakon quit denmark & thence fared forth to the north of norway, to his demesne. by that time was his kinsman, earl orm, dead. the friends and kindred to hakon were rejoiced over his coming, and many a bold man set to work to make peace betwixt him & the king, & in the end were they reconciled, to wit, both king harald and hakon; and hakon was given ragnhild, the king's daughter, in marriage, & king harald gave him orm's earldom and such rule as had been orm's aforetime. hakon swore fealty to the king, and likewise to afford him such service as he was bounden to give him. ¶ since he had fared from norway had calf arnison been living after the fashion of a viking westward, but the winters through oft-times abode he in orkneyja (the orkneys) with his kinsman-in-law, earl thorfin. fin arnison sent to his brother calf to tell him concerning the covenant which he and king harald had encompassed, the purport whereof being ye outlawry of calf himself, to wit, that it should be once more lawful to him to dwell in his own land, and possess his estates, and such land dues as he had held aforetime from king magnus. when calf received this message, forthwith made he him ready to quit, and sailed he east to norway, and firstly sought he his brother fin. thereafter fin craved a truce for calf, and then were they confronted, the king and calf, & entered into a covenant like unto the agreement to which the king & fin had arrived on this matter. thereon gave calf his hand, and bound himself on the same terms as he had bound himself to king magnus aforetime, that he would do all such works as king harald desired or deemed would be for the strengthening of his kingdom. then was calf re-endowed with all his possessions, and the land-dues which had been his in former days. ¶ next summer called out king harald an host and fared to denmark where he harried during the summer. but when he was come south to fion (funen) found he a large host assembled against him, so bade the king his men leave their ships and arm themselves in order to make a landing; and parted he his host and gave to calf arnison command over one company thereof, and bade them go the first ashore and told them where to take up their station; himself, said he, would go up after them, and come to their assistance. calf and his men went ashore, and anon a band of men set upon them, and calf forthwith gave battle. not long was the combat, for calf was overborne by odds and fled with his folk. the danes pursued them, slaying many of the norwegians, and likewise calf arnison. when king harald with his company were come ashore soon found they the slain, more especially the corse of calf, and this was borne down to the ships, but the king pursued his march inland where he harried and slew many men. thus saith arnor: 'the edge so sharp in fion he reddened, and the fire rushed o'er the dwelling; fewer folk were there thereafter in fion.' ¶ after this conceived fin arnison enmity against harald for the slaying of his brother calf, for said he that the king had purposely compassed the death of calf; and furthermore that it was befooling of him himself, to wit, this luring of calf west across the seas into the power of king harald, and into putting faith in him. when these words were spread abroad spake many men their mind that fin had been simple when he had deemed that calf could trust in the good faith of king harald, for it was known that the king bore malice for deeds of smaller consequence than those calf had committed against his person. now let the king every man talk on this matter as he listed: he made neither confirmation nor yet contradiction of whatsoever they said, and it was in his own words alone that men did discover satisfaction at what had happened. king harald chanted this song: 'now of men eleven and two have i the bane been, we incite to battle and full many a slaying i remember. that mind which is with treason fraught seeks to tame men by falseness; men say 'tis little that it takes such a balance to disturb.' ¶ so much to heart did fin arnison take the death of his brother that he quitted the land and came south to denmark, and going unto king svein was well received by him. the king & he spake long together privily, & at the end thereof was it known how fin was minded then and there to take service with king svein and become his man. to him gave svein the title or earl and therewith halland to govern, and there fin tarried to safeguard the coast against the norwegians. ¶ now ketil calf & gunhild had a son whose name was guthorm of ringanes. on his mother's side was he the nephew of king olaf and king harald, able was he withal & early come to manhood. guthorm was oft with king harald who to him was of very friendly countenance, and over harald had guthorm much influence for he was a wise man & well-beloved of all. guthorm sailed often on viking cruises to the lands in the west, and had disposition over many men. his peace-land & place of abode in winter was dublin in ireland, where he was a sworn friend of king margad.§ ¶ the summer thereafter king margad and guthorm with him fared to bretland (wales) in order to harry there, and thence took they much wealth which they had pillaged. after having done thus, lay they to in anglesey sound so that they might part their plunder, but when all the silver, and great was the quantity, was carried before the king and he beheld it, then desired he to keep all for himself, and seemed now to set scant store by his friendship with guthorm. guthorm liked ill enough that he and his men should be scotched of their share of the booty; & still less pleased was he when the king said he might choose betwixt two things; 'either to submit to our will, or do battle with us, and he who gets the victory to have the money; and thou moreover shalt depart from thy ships and i will take them.' now on either hand the task seemed severe; guthorm deemed it unseemly that he should without rime or reason give up his ships & money, but natheless was it ill fighting over against a king to whom was an host so large as that which followed margad. grave also was the disparity betwixt the crews thereof, inasmuch as to the king were sixteen long-ships & to guthorm only five. so guthorm prayed the king grant him three nights' truce in the which to confer with his men on this matter, for thought he that he could soften the king within this time, and aided by the pleading of his men could set the matter on a better footing with the king, but never a bit did he get what he asked for. this was on the eve of st. olafmas.§ so guthorm chose to die, the stout fellow he was, or win the day, rather than suffer the shame and disgrace and mockery of having lost so vast a deal. and called he upon god and the sainted king olaf, his kinsman, praying for their help and support, and vowing to bestow on that holy man's house a tithe of all the plunder which would fall to them an they gained the victory. thereafter did he array his host, and rank it against the greater host, and he advanced on them and fought with them, and by god's help and that of the holy king olaf did he gain the victory. there fell king margad, and every man who was with him, young & old. after this glorious victory guthorm returned home joyfully with all the wealth he had gotten from the strife; & from the silver which had changed hands every tenth penny was set aside for the sainted king olaf even as guthorm had vowed. a vast deal of money was there so that from the silver caused guthorm to be made a rood of his own stature, or of that of the captain of his ship, and that holy symbol is seven ells in height. this cross did guthorm give to the church of the holy st. olaf, & there§ has it remained ever since in testimony of ye victory of guthorm and the miracle of ye sainted king olaf. ¶ now there was in denmark a count who was evil & envious, and he had a norwegian serving-woman and the stock of her was from throndhjem. she worshipped the holy king olaf, and put staunch faith in his sanctity; but the count misdoubted all that had been told him of the miracles of that holy man, & affirmed that naught were they but rumour and talk, and laughed to scorn all the praise and worship which the folk of the land accorded the good king. but now was drawing nigh the day whereon the gentle king laid down his life, a day which all norwegians kept, but which this unwise count refused to hallow; & he bade his serving-woman fire the oven and bake on that day. and deeming from the mood of the count that he would soon avenge himself on her an she did not obey him in all that he had bidden her do, went she all unwillingly and laid fire under the oven, and made much plaint while she worked, & called on king olaf, saying that she would never believe more on him if he did not by some token or other avenge this unseemliness. and now shall ye hear of a meet chastisement & true miracle: it befell forthwith, in the self-same moment, that the count became blind in both eyes and that the bread which she had baked was turned into stone. some of the stones have been brought to the church of the holy king olaf, and also to many other places. st. olafmas has ever been kept holy in denmark since that happening. [illustration] ¶ westward in valland (france) was there a man who was so malformed that he was a cripple, and crawled he ever on his knees and knuckles. one day when he was abroad, on a road, he fell asleep & dreamt that a man all glorious without came to him and asked whither was he bound, and the cripple answered with the name of a certain town. then the man all glorious said: 'fare thee rather to st. olaf's church in london, and there wilt thou be healed.' thereafter awakened the cripple and straightway fared in search of st. olaf's church, and after a while was come to london bridge & there asked of the townsmen whether they could direct him to st. olaf's church; but for answer gat he that there were too many churches for them to know to what man each of them was dedicated. a while later came up a man & asked him whither was he bound, and he told him whither he was bound, and that man said afterwards: 'we will both go to st. olaf's church, for i know the way thither.' so then crossed they the bridge, and went to the street which led to st. olaf's church. when they were come to the gates of the churchyard the man stepped over the threshold which is between the gates, but the cripple rolled over it, and lo, straightway rose he up a whole man. when he looked round his comrade was gone. ¶ king harald founded a merchant town eastward in oslo,§ and often tarried there for it had broad countrysides round about, and was a place suited for the ingathering of victuals; likewise was it well situated for the defence of the land against the danes, & also for onsets on denmark which harald was wont to make even at such times when he had a large host at his beck. one summer fared king harald with some light ships and but few men and set he sail south for viken; but on a fair wind springing up, crossed he the sea to jutland where he began to harry. the men of the land, however, collected themselves together & defended their country, so then sailed king harald on to limfjord and went up that fjord. now limfjord is so fashioned in shape that going up it is like entering into a narrow river-groove, but as thou goest on up the fjord it becometh like a great sea. harald harried there on both shores, but beheld the danes everywhere assembled in numbers. king harald brought-to his ships alongside an island which was small & thereon were no buildings; and when they went in search of water they found none, and told it unto the king. then he did send men to see if no adder could be found on the isle, & when one had been found they brought it to the king and he had the adder taken to the fire so that it might be warmed and teased thereby, and become right thirsty. thereafter a twine was bound to its tail and the adder was let loose, and it crawled away and the twine was unwound from the ball, and they followed after the adder until it struck into the earth. then the king bade them dig for water, and they dug for it, and there found water in abundance. ¶ from his spies learned king harald the intelligence that king svein was come with a large fleet of ships to the mouth of the fjord, and that he was making way but slowly, for his ships could only pass in one at a time. king harald took his ships up limfjord, and over against where it is broadest it is called lusbreid. now from the creek within is there a narrow neck of land westward (north) leading to the sea, and thither did the men to harald row in the evening; after nightfall, when it was dark, they cleared the ships & haled them right over this isthmus, and before daylight all was accomplished and the ships once more ready for sea. then shaped he the course northward past jutland, and they sang: 'from danish grip did harald slip.' ¶ at that time said the king that he would come to denmark once again, & would bring with him more men & larger ships. after these things fared they northward to throndhjem. ¶ that winter abode king harald in nidaros, & at this time caused he a ship to be builded out on the islands, and it was a bussa-ship§ made after the model of the long serpent and wrought every way as carefully as might be. at her bows was a dragon-head and at her stern a crook, and the ......§ were all overlaid with gold. on her were thirty-five benches, and broad was she of beam in comparison therewith. very fair to behold was she. the king caused all the appurtenances of the ship to be chosen with exceeding great care, both the sail, the running tackle, the anchor and the cables. that winter king harald sent word southward to denmark to king svein, bidding him come in spring from the south to the river, to a meeting with him, & saying that they would then fight to the end that one or other of their countries should change hands, & the victor become master of both kingdoms. ¶ that winter called out king harald a host, a general host, from all norway, and by spring-tide had been assembled together a mighty array of men. then launched the king his great ship on the river nid, and after that was accomplished caused he the dragon-head be placed thereon. then sang thiodolf the skald: 'fair maid, forward is the ship guided, from river to main. mark where off the land there lieth the long hull of the dragon. the mane of the serpent yellow-green glints on the deck, the prows were burnt-gold as from off the slip she glided.' ¶ thereafter fitted king harald out the ship and his men for a cruise, and all being made ready, stood he down the river, and right well answered she to the oars. thus saith thiodolf: 'saturday the prince casts off the long land tilts, there where the widows proud the serpent watch, as she glideth from the town. west from the nid thereafter the king doth steer, into the sea drop the oars of his men. move can they, the king's lads, the straight oars in the water. the widows stand and wonder at the oar-strokes so swift, the thole knows hurt when seventy oars do move her i' the water ere the war-folk on the sea their oars do strain. northmen the serpent row (nailed is she) out on the billow-stream icy; 'tis eagles' wings that we behold.' ¶ southward sailed king harald with his host alongside the land, so that he might call out a general muster of men and ships. but when they were come eastward, and were off vik, arose a strong contrary wind wherefore was the fleet obliged to stand in for harbour, making such havens as were to be found in the skerries as well as those in the fjords. quoth thiodolf: 'lee have the shaven hulls of the ships under the woods, the king's war-host towards land doth lean with its prow beams. the land-folk in the skerries, within the creeks, do lie; the ships white-mailèd hide under the land-necks.' ¶ now in the tempest which fell upon them the great ship had need of good anchor tackle, and thus saith thiodolf: 'prow foremost the prince cleft high fences of the sea; the ropes of the king's ship are strainèd to the utmost; the wind is unfriendly against the anchor-iron out-hollowed, grit and wind-squalls ugly chafe at the anchor flukes.' ¶ as soon as there was come to him a fair wind, took king harald the host east to the river, and thither came towards nightfall. thus saith thiodolf: 'now drave king harald hotly the war-ships towards the river, at nightfall norway's king anigh the marches is. a thing the king now holds at thumla, there where svein will meet to war if so be the danes shirk not the tryst.' ¶ when the danes learned that the hosts of the norwegians were come, all those that were able to do so fled away. the norwegians likewise learnt that the danish king had his host out, and was lying south off funen and the small-isles; but when king harald saw that king svein would not come to meet him as had been agreed, nor do battle with him, then did he after the same fashion as before & let the peasant host return to norway; but manned he one hundred and fifty§ ships, & with these steered a course alongside halland. there he plundered widely; and he put in also to lofufjord with his host, and going up onto the land harried there likewise. somewhile later came king svein to the encounter with the danish host, and to him was a tale of three hundred§ ships. when the norwegians saw this fleet bade king harald a blast be blown to summon his host together, & many spake saying that they ought to flee, & that it was unavailing for them to fight, but the king answered thus: 'we will fall one atop of the other rather than flee!' thus saith stein herdason: 'said the chief high-minded, what now he awaited. here (said the king) he had all hope of peace lost. rather than yield, cried the king, should each man fall one on the top of the other. their arms then took the men.' ¶ then let king harald his ships be cleared for action, and brought his great dragon forward into the very midst of the host. thus saith thiodolf: 'the giver of kindly gifts who oft to the wolf gave food, his dragon-ship put forward midmost in the war-host.' ¶ this ship was well fitted out, and had a large crew. and again saith thiodolf: 'the peace wishing king his ranks bade bind fast the war-shields on the ships' sides; the prince's friends well ordered stand methinks. the leader of manly deeds, the doughty dragon closed, outside the niz, with shields, and one o'erlapped the other.' ¶ ulf the marshal brought his ship up alongside the royal ship, & bade her men place her well forward. stein herdason was on ulf's ship, and he chanted thus: 'ulf, the marshal of the king, cheered us all on to battle; the spears trembled when the ships were rowed to the fight. and, no doubt, the wise king's valiant friend did bid his men his ship advance beside the prince's; the lads obeyed.' ¶ stationed farthest out on one of the arms was ivar hakonson; under him had he many and the men to him were well equipped. farthest out on the other arm were the chiefs of throndhjem, and to them likewise was a large and goodly host. ¶ and king svein likewise ranged his host, and his ship laid he over against ye ship of harald, in the midst of the host, and nighest to him was earl fin, and next to him again the danes ranked all of their host that was bravest and best equipped. thereafter either side lashed their ships together in the midmost part of the fleet, but the hosts being so large it befell that there was a great number of ships faring loose, and so each captain placed his ship as far forward as he had courage for; but that was exceeding varied. now though the odds were so great yet nevertheless had either side a vast host, and in his to king svein pertained as many as seven earls. thus saith stein herdason: 'the "hersirs'" valiant lord a risk did take him, with ships fifty and a hundred he waited for the danes. next was it that the ruler dear who dwells in leidra§ the sea cleft thither with three hundred sea-steeds.' ¶ even so soon as he had made ready his ships, commanded king harald the war-blast to be sounded, and after this was done, rowed his men ahead. stein herdason saith: 'before the river's mouth, damage did harald svein. hard withstanding made he; harald asked not for peace. the king's sword-swinging lads forward off halland rowed, and yonder on the sea caused wounds with blood to stream.' ¶ then did either side join combat, and the struggle waxed very fierce. either king lustily cheered on his men, as saith stein herdason: 'eager for war the good shield-bearers bade their lads to shoot and hew (but short the space was 'twixt the hosts). both stones & arrows streamed when the sword shook from it, the light blood, depriving of life the men of either host.' ¶ it was late in the day when battle was joined and the combatants fought the whole night; king harald himself shot for long with his bow. thiodolf saith thus: 'elm-bow did the upland king draw all the night; shrewd ruler of the land sent arrows 'gainst the white shields; barbs bloody harmed the peasants, and the king's arrows fast in the shields did lodge (the spear-shots grew apace).' ¶ earl hakon & the men of his company did not lash their ships together, but rowed against the danish keels that were faring loose, and every ship that they grappled did they clear. when the danes noted this same did every man move his ship away from the spot whither the earl was faring, but went he after them even as they withdrew, and wellnigh to fleeing were they. but then came a boat rowing towards the earl's ship, and those in it shouted & said that the other arm of ye battle array of king harald had given way, and that many of their men had fallen there, so then rowed the earl away thither and fierce was his onset, so that the danes again caused their ships to fall astern. thus did the earl fare the whole of that night, rowing round outside the combatants, and laying about him wheresoever it was required; & whithersoever he went he was in no fashion to be withstood. during the waning part of the night was there a general fight among the danes; this was after king harald & his band had boarded the own ship to king svein, and so utterly cleared it that all his men were slain save and except those that leapt into the sea. thus saith arnor earl's-skald: 'svein courageous went not from off his ship without good cause (that is my mind); hard was the fight for the helmets wasted, and empty did his craft float ere the eloquent friend of the jutes fled from his dead chosen fighters.' ¶ after the banner of king svein had fallen & the ships to him had been cleared, fled away all his men save those who were slain, & they that fled sprang into the deep from those ships that were lashed together or climbed on to other ships that were faring loose, but all of the men of king svein who were able to do so rowed off. full many men fell there. and there, where the kings themselves had fought & the greater number of the ships had been lashed one to another, lay over seventy of the ships of that king; thus saith thiodolf: 'bold king of the sogn-folk, (so 'tis sung) ships seven times ten of men and arms from svein's fleet cleared away.' ¶ king harald after the danes rowed hard and put them to rout, but no easy task was it, for so little sea-room was there betwixt the keels that motion was well-nigh not possible. earl fin would in no wise consent to flee and was taken captive; he could not see well. this is what thiodolf saith: 'to six danish earls a guerdon hast thou to give for one single victory, (they whet the heat of battle). in the midst of the ranks fin arnason was taken battle-strong, stout-hearted; ne'er would he think to flee.' ¶ earl hakon tarried behind with his ship, while the king and the rest were pursuing after the fugitives, for the earl could not get his ship away from the spot where she was lying. just at that time rowed up a man in a boat to the ship and brought-to at the poop; a big man was he with a broad-brimmed hat; 'where is the earl?' quoth he up to the ship. 'in the forehold,' answered they him back, 'binding the wound of a man who is bleeding.' the earl viewed the man with the hat and asked what might his name be, to which he made answer: 'vandrad§ is here, speak to me, earl.' then looked the earl over the gunwale at him. then said the boatman: 'i will receive my life of thee if thou wilt give it me.' then the earl rose up and called to two of his men, either of whom was dear to him, and said: 'get into the boat and set vandrad ashore; go with him to my friend karl the peasant, and tell him for a token to give vandrad the horse which i gave to him yesterday, and to give him his own saddle, and his son for a guide.' then stepped they into the boat & took the oars, & vandrad steered. this was hard nigh to the dawn of day, and there was much movement among the ships, craft both large and small, some rowing to land, others to sea. vandrad steered there where thought he there was most sea-room betwixt the craft, & whensoever any of the norwegian ships rowed nigh them said the earl's men who they were, & then all let them go as they listed. vandrad steered along the shore & did not put to land ere they had come past the place where there was a great throng of ships. ¶ thereafter walked they to the homestead of karl at about the hour when the light began to wax, and so went they into the living-room, and beheld karl but now clad. to him told the men from the earl on what mission had they come, and karl said that first must they eat, & caused food to be set before them, & himself fetched them water for hand-washing. then came the housewife into the chamber and straightway said she: 'wondrous is it that we gat no sleep nor rest all night through, for the tumult and noise.' karl answered: 'knowest thou not that the kings fought together yesternight?' she asked: 'who won?' karl answered: 'the norwegians won.' 'belike our king hath fled again,' said she. karl replied: 'in a bad way are we with our king for he is both halt & craven.' then spake vandrad: 'the king is not craven, but neither he is victorious.' now vandrad was the last to wash his hands, and when he took the towel he dried himself in the midst thereof; but the housewife seized it and pulled it from him, saying: 'little good canst thou do; 'tis the way of common folk to wet all the towel at once.' vandrad answered: 'i shall yet come thither where i may dry myself midmost in the towel.' then sat they at meat for a while but afterwards went out, and there was the horse standing ready, and that son of karl who was to bear vandrad company sat another horse, and together rode they forth to the forest. but the men from the earl went back to their boat, & rowed out again to their ship. ¶ harald and his men pursued the fugitives a short way, and thereafter returned to those ships which had been deserted. and then searched they the slain, finding in the king's ship a number of dead men; yet not among them was the body of king svein; natheless was it deemed certain that he must have fallen. king harald let the corses of his men be laid out, or the wounds bound up of them that required it. then caused he the bodies of the men of svein to be borne ashore, & sent word to the peasants that they should bury them; thereafter caused he the plunder to be divided, and abode for a while there at that spot. and there learnt he the tidings that king svein was come to zealand, and that all of his host which had not been routed in battle had rejoined him, and to him likewise were come many other men, and that to him therefore was assembled a mighty large host. ¶ now as ye have heard tell afore, was earl fin arnason captured in the battle, and before the king was he led. king harald was then exceeding joyful, and said he, 'here meet we twain, fin, though lastwhiles in norway; scarce hath the danish court stood by thee! an ill piece of work will the norwegians have to drag thee, blind man, after them, and keep thee alive.' then answered back the earl: 'many ill things have the norwegians now to do, & the worst of these is thy bidding.' then said king harald: 'wilt thou have grace, though grace deservest thou not?' the earl answered: 'not from thee, hound!' the king said: 'dost desire that thy kinsman magnus should give thee grace?' magnus, the son of king harald, was captain of a ship at that time. then said the earl: 'what hath that whelp to do with the meting out of grace?' thereat laughed the king, for he deemed it good sport to bait him, and said he: 'wilt thou accept thy life from the hand of thora, thy kinswoman?' then the earl said: 'is she here?' 'she is here,' said the king. then did fin utter the scurvy words which were remembered long thereafter, and all were witness of how wroth he was since he could not still his words: 'it is not to be wondered at that thou hast bitten well since the mare is with thee.' to earl fin was given quarter, and king harald kept him with him for a time, but fin was somewhat unjoyful, and unmeek in his words. then king harald said: 'i see thou wilt not be friends with me nor with my kindred, so i will give thee leave to fare to svein, thy king.' the earl answered: 'that will i accept, and the sooner i fare hence the more grateful i shall be.' thereafter the king let fin be taken even to the land, where was he made welcome by the hallanders. thence sailed king harald north with his host to norway, faring first to oslo, and in that place gave leave to all his men who desired it to go even to their own homes. ¶ it is said that king svein abode that winter in denmark, and held his state as before. and in the winter sent he men northward to halland to fetch karl the peasant to him, and likewise karl's wife; and when they were come and he had summoned karl unto him he asked him if he had seen him before. karl answered: 'i know thee now, king, and i knew thee then even so soon as i saw thee, and it is under god that the little help which i was able to afford thee was of use.' the king answered: 'for all the days i have yet to live i have to reward thee. now firstly will i give thee whatever homestead in zealand thou art minded to have, and i will furthermore make thee a great man an thou wottest how to act.' karl thanked the king well for his words, and said that there was still a favour he would pray of him. and the king asked what that might be. karl said: 'i would ask this thing, king, that thou lettest me take my wife with me.' the king answered: 'i will not promise thee this thing, for i will get thee a much better & wiser wife; but thy wife may keep the small homestead ye have already; on that she can live.' and the king gave karl a large & noble stead & gat him a good marriage. this was known and told far and wide, yea even as far north as norway. ¶ the winter following on the battle of the niz king harald spent in oslo. and when the host came up from the south in autumn many tales and legends went abroad of the autumn outside the niz river, & everyone who had been there deemed he had something to tell. once it happened that some men were sitting drinking in a small chamber, & full of talk were they, talking of the battle of the niz, and of whom might have derived the greatest renown therefrom. all were agreed on one issue, however, and that was that no other had been such a man there as earl hakon: he it was who had shown greatest prowess, who was the boldest under arms, and the ablest, and the most fortunate, and whatsoever he did was that which availed most, & to him was accounted the victory. now harald was without, in the courtyard, speaking with some of his men, and thereafter went he before the doorway of the chamber and said: 'every man now would like to be named hakon,' and therewith went his way. ¶ earl hakon fared to the uplands in autumn, even to his dominions, and there tarried throughout the winter. right well beloved was he of the upland folk. now once it befell, when spring was drawing nigh, that some men were sitting drinking, & their talk was yet again of the battle of the niz; and men lauded greatly earl hakon, but a few praised others no less. when they had been talking thus a while a man answered: 'mayhap other men besides earl hakon fought boldly outside the niz, yet nevertheless methinks no one can have had the luck he had.' they said it was no doubt his greatest luck that he had routed many of the danes. the same man answered: 'luckiest for him was it that he gave king svein his life.' another answered him: 'thou wottest not what thou art saying.' he answered: 'yea, i wot full well, for he who set the king ashore told me himself.' thus it befell, as oft is said, that 'many are the king's ears.' these things were told to the king straightway, and the king had many horses taken and rode forthwith away in the night with two hundred men,§ and rode he the whole of that night and the following day. then there came towards them on horseback certain men who were making for the town with meal and malt. now faring with the king was one gamal, & he rode up to one of the peasants who was a friend of his and spoke privily with him. gamal said: 'money will i give thee, an thou wilt ride furiously by hidden ways such as thou wottest to be shortest to earl hakon: tell him that the king will slay him, for the king wotteth that the earl helped king svein to land outside the niz.' and the matter being covenanted between them rode the peasant hard, and came even to the earl who was sitting drinking and had not gone to his rest. but when the peasant made known his errand, rose the earl forthwith and all his folk; and the earl caused his chattels to be removed from the house during the night. when the king arrived thither tarried he there the night, but hakon the earl had ridden his way. and in time came he east to the realm of sweden, to king steinkel, and abode with him the summer. king harald then turned him back to town. in the summer the king fared north to throndhjem and abode there, but in the autumn fared eastward again to vik. ¶ earl hakon went back in the summer to the uplands, so soon as he learned that the king had fared northward, and there dwelt he until such time as the king came south again. thereafter fared the earl eastward to vermaland and tarried there long in the winter; and king steinkel gave the earl rule and dominion over that part of the land. when winter was wearing to an end, fared he westward to kaumariki, and took with him many men whom the gauts and vermalanders had given him. and he took thence his land-dues and the taxes which he had a right to demand, & thereafter fared he back east to gautland and dwelt there the spring. king harald abode the winter in oslo, and sent his men to the uplands to gather taxes and land-dues and the king's fines; but the uplanders said that they would not pay to him all dues which it behoved them to pay into the hands of earl hakon even so long as he was alive and had not forfeited life or dominions; & no land-dues did the king therefrom obtain that winter. ¶ now betwixt norway and denmark there were sent that winter messengers and messages, for both norwegians and danes alike desired to make peace and agreement either with other, and they prayed their kings to do the same. the sending of these messages appeared prone to bring about concord, for in the end a peace-meeting was agreed upon in the river betwixt king harald and king svein. when spring-tide was come both kings called out many men and ships for this journey. saith a skald in a poem: 'leader of arméd men, he who the ground engirdles from eyrasund northward shuts with his long-ship's prows the land (the haven spurned he). gleaming with gold the stems cut the waves keenly; onward of halland west, with host aboard, and the keels thrilling. harald firm-oathed! oft hast thou the earth engirdled with thy ships; svein, too, through the sound sailed the king to meet. praise-dight filler of ravens, who every bay doth close, hath out a teeming host of danes, from the south all.' ¶ it is said here that these kings kept to their agreement, to wit, that there should be a meeting betwixt them; and that both came to the marches. it is set forth thus below: 'shrewd leader of arméd men to trysting south once more thou sailst as all danes wished (no lesser was thy purpose). svein now to the northward fares the land-marches nigh, the tryst to keep with harald-- windy was the weather off the land.' ¶ when the kings were come face to face the one with other forthwith betwixt them was broached ye matter of peace; and no sooner was this opened than many men made plaint of the harm they had suffered through war-fare, rapine, and the slaying of men. and long talked they about this, as is said hereafter: 'the yeomen shrewd such words do say aloud that when the men meet, an' angered are mostly the others. far seemeth concord to lie from men who on all things quarrel (the chiefs' arrogance waxeth). with danger fraught will be wrath of the princes be if peace be agreed on, those who are peace-makers in scales must weigh all things. seemly for kings to say what e'er the host liketh; bad will would it cause were the yeomen's state worsened.' ¶ then the best men and the wisest conferred together, and peace was made betwixt the kings, in such wise that king harald was to have norway & king svein denmark as far as the marches which had aforetime divided the kingdoms; neither was to make redress to other; there where the land had been pillaged the matter was to be passed over; and he who had taken plunder was to keep it. this peace was to ensue even so long as the twain were kings; the covenant was bounden with oaths, & thereafter gave the kings one another hostages; even as is said hereafter: 'thus have i heard it said that svein and harald both (god works it) gladly gave hostages one to other. let them so keep their vows (all ended was with witness) and the whole peace so fully that the folk break it not.' ¶ king harald tarried in vik during the summer, and sent men to the uplands to collect the dues & taxes he had there; but the peasants in plain words said that they would bide the coming of earl hakon, until such time as he should come to them. earl hakon was then up in gautland with a large host. when summer was wearing to a close sailed king harald south to konungahella (king's rock), and he took all the light craft whereon he could lay hands & went up the river, and at the falls thereof had the boats haled across land and so put onto lake wenern. thereafter rowed he east across the lake where he asked tidings of earl hakon. now when the earl gat news of the journey of the king, came he down from the country and made endeavour to prevent the king from harrying, for to earl hakon was a large host which the gauts had given him. king harald laid his boats up the mouth of a river, and thereafter made a landing, but left some of his men behind to watch the craft. and the king himself and some of his men rode on horseback, but many more went afoot. their way led them through a wood, & thereafter a bog lay before them on which were small bushes, then after that a copse, and when they were come up to the copse sighted they the host of the earl; and a bog there was betwixt them and it. then both hosts arrayed themselves, & king harald commanded his men to sit up on the hillside: 'let us first tempt them to make an onset; hakon hath no mind to wait,' said he. the weather was frosty with some driving snow, and the men to harald sat under their shields. now the gauts had taken little apparel on them and were starved with the cold, but the earl bade them bide until the king should make an onset and they could all stand alike in height. earl hakon had the banner which had been that of king magnus olafson. now the head-man to the gauts was one hight thorvid, and he was mounted on a horse the reins of which were tied to a stake standing in the bog. he spake & said: 'god knows we have a large host here and many stout men; let not king steinkell hear that we are not helping this good earl well. i wist that if the norwegians make onset against us we shall stand firm, but if the young men falter & bide not, then do not let us run farther than thither to the brook, and if the young men again falter, which i wot will not befall, then do not let us run farther than thither to the hill.' at that moment ran up the host of the norwegians shouting their war-cry and beating their shields, & then the host of the gauts likewise began to shout, and the horse to the head-man pulled so hard at its rein, being afrighted at the host-cry, that the stake came up & flew past the head of the chief, wherefore he shouted: 'such a mischance as thou shootest, northmen,' and therewith galloped away. king harald had ere this said to his men: 'though we make din and shouting about us, yet let us not go down the hill or ever they come hither to us,' and they did according as he had said. as soon as the war-cry was heard, caused the earl his banner to be borne forward, and when they were come under the hill rushed the king's men down upon them, and some of the men to the earl fell forthwith and some fled; but the norwegians drave not them that fled very far, for it was late in the day. there took they the banner of earl hakon, and as much of weapons and apparel as they could lay hands on. and the king let both the banners be borne in front of him when he fared down the hill; and his men spake one with another as to whether or no earl hakon might be fallen. now when it came to faring through the wood they had to ride in single train, and behold a certain man rode straight across their way, and thrust a spear through him that bore the banner to the king, and seizing the stave thereof rode he off another way in the wood with the banner. when the king was told of this cried he: 'the earl lives! give me my mail-shirt!' and rode he in the night to his ships. now said many men that the earl had avenged himself. then chanted thiodolf: 'steinkell's host who to the warlike earl should help yield (that brought the king to pass) to hell, i ween, have fared. but those who would better the matter say, hakon fled because the hope of help therefrom but ill had proven.' ¶ king harald spent what was left of the night on his ship. in the morn, when it was light saw men that ice had formed round the ships so thick that it was feasible to walk round about them. then bade the king his men hew the ice and release his ships into the lake, and so went the men and set to work to hew the ice. king harald's son magnus steered the ship which lay lowest in the river-mouth and nighest out to the lake. now when the men had almost chopped the ice away a certain man ran out on it to the place where they were about to hew, and thereafter fell to chopping as if he were mad and raving. then said a man: 'now is it again as often before, no one is so good at giving a helping hand as hall kodransbane; behold now, how he is hewing the ice.' but the man of magnus's ship who was hight thormod eindridison, when he heard the name of 'kodransbane,' ran to hall and gave him his death-blow. kodran was the son of gudmund elyolfson, and valgerd that was sister to gudmund was the mother of jurunn, thormod's mother. thormod was a winter old when kodran was slain, and never had he set eyes on hall utryggson before this time. by this, then, the ice was broken away even so far as the lake and magnus brought his ship out, & got under way forthwith, and sailed west across the lake; but the king's ship which was the uppermost in the channel came out the last. now hall had been of the fellowship of the king and was very dear to him, and the king was exceeding wroth, so that when he came latest into haven he found that magnus had already helped the murderer to the forest, though he offered atonement for him, would he have gone against magnus and his folk, had not the friends of both brought about their appeasement. ¶ king harald fared up to raumariki this winter, and to him was a large host. and he bore cases against the peasants for the keeping back from him of dues and taxes, and for inciting his enemies to strife against him. and some of the peasants caused he to be taken, and some he maimed and others killed and others he deprived of all their possessions. those who could get away fled, but the king burned the countrysides wide about and laid them waste. thus saith thiodolf: 'waster of isle-dwellers hard hands laid on raumfolk, steadily on the ranks of harald went, as i trow. fire did requite them; but the chief commanded, and high flames poor peasants to obedience led.' ¶ after this fared king harald up to heidmark and there burned, and did no less war-work than has been writ afore. from thence fared he to ringariki, there burned, and went everywhere with the war-shield aloft. thus saith thiodolf: 'burned were the fell folk's steads, roofwards the red fire flamed. hit did the lord of chiefs the heiners with hard stones. for their lives the sufferers craved; so great a hurt the flames the men of ringariki wrought or ever the fire was stayed.' ¶ after this gave the peasants the whole matter into the hands of the king. ¶ after the death of king magnus were spent fifteen winters ere the battle of the niz, and after that two winters or ever harald and svein made peace. thus saith thiodolf: 'the prince of the hords (brought peace the third year was made) the strife to an end; on the strand steel hit the shields.' ¶ after this peace-making endured the war of the king with the uplanders three half-years. thus saith thiodolf: 'hard of the king's work 'tis in seemly wise to speak when to have idle ploughs the upland men he taught. the chieftain wise hath honour won these three half-years which ever will be minded.' ¶ edward, the son of ethelred, was king of england after his brother hordaknut; he was hight edward 'the good' and right good he was. the mother to king edward was queen emma, the daughter of richard, the rouen-earl; and her brother was earl robert, the mother of william the bastard, who was at that time duke of rouen in normandy. king edward was wedded to queen gyda,§ the daughter of earl godwin & he was the son of wolfnoth. the brothers to gyda were: the eldest earl tosti, the second earl morcar, the third earl walthiof, the fourth earl svein, and fifthly harald. now harald was the youngest and was brought up at the court of king edward and was his foster-son, and the king loved him very greatly and eyed him ever as his own son, for the king was childless. ¶ it befell one summer that harald the son of godwin had to go a journey to bretland (wales) and fared he on a ship, but after they had set sail sprang up a contrary wind & they were driven out to sea.[§] they made land westward in normandy after undergoing a perilous storm. and putting into the town of rouen found they there earl william, who received harald and his travelling companions joyfully, and harald tarried there in good cheer for long during the autumn, for the tempests continued to blow and it was not weather for sailing out at sea. as winter was approaching spoke the earl and harald together concerning the dwelling of harald there throughout the winter. now harald sat in the high-seat on one side of the earl and on the other side of him sat the earl's wife, and fairer was she than any other woman whom men had seen. harald and she would hold converse together all the time that the cups were going round, and when the earl retired to rest, as he did betimes, harald would sit long talking with the wife to the earl, and so fared things for a long time during the winter. once when they were talking together said she: 'now hath the earl spoken with me hereon, and asked what it is we twain ever talk about, and now is he wroth.' harald answered: 'we will forthwith let him know all our conversations.' the day thereafter harald called the earl to speak with him, & went they to the council-chamber where were also the earl's wife and their councillors. then harald spoke the first and said: 'this must i inform thee, earl, that there is more in my coming hither than i have revealed to thee: i desire to ask the hand of thy daughter, and have oft-times spoken of this my wish to her mother, and she hath given me her word to support me in this matter with thee.' when harald had made known his desire, all those who were present received the news with gladness and supported it with the earl, and this matter was brought to end by the maid being betrothed to harald; but since she was young some winters' delay were agreed upon before the time of bridal. ¶ when spring came, equipped harald his ship and sailed away, and he and the earl parted in full friendship. and harald fared to england, to king edward, and returned no more to valland to claim the marriage. king edward ruled over england for twenty-four winters, & died a straw death in london, none janurii ( th january); he was interred in st. paul's church§ and the english call him sainted. the sons of earl godwin in those days were the most powerful men in england. tosti had been made captain over the host of the king, and warden of the land when the king began to wax old; and he had been placed over all other earls. his brother harald was ever within the court the next man to the king in all service, & his duty had been to guard the treasure of the king.§ it is recorded by men that as the king was approaching to his end was harald near by, and few other men, and harald leant over the king and said: 'i call all of ye to witness that the king gave me but now the kingdom, and all might in england.' then was the king borne dead from out his bed. that same day there was a meeting of lords and the taking of a king was discussed, and harald then let his witnesses testify that king edward on his death-day had given him the kingdom. this meeting ended in such fashion that harald was hailed as king & consecrated with royal consecration in st. paul's church on the th day;§ when all lords and folk swore fealty to him. but when his brother, earl tosti, heard what had befallen, liked he it no whit, for thought he himself to be equally near the king. 'i desire,' quoth he, 'that the lords of the land choose him for king whom they deem best fitted therefor.' and such like words went between the brothers. king harald declared that he would not give up the kingdom for he had been throned in that city which had been the king's, and had been thereafter anointed and consecrated with royal consecration; with him also sided the multitude, and he had moreover all the treasure of the dead king. ¶ now when king harald became aware that his brother tosti desired to oust him from the kingdom believed he but ill in him, for tosti was a very wise man and a great warrior, and was full friendly, to boot, with the lords of the land. so harald deprived him from command of the host, and of all the power he had had aforetime more than other earls§ there in the land. and earl tosti, who by no means would suffer himself to be the serving-man to his brother, fared away with his men, and so south to flanders across the sea, and tarried there a while before faring to friesland & thence to denmark, to his kinsman king svein. earl ulf the father to king svein and gyda that was mother to tosti, were brother and sister. the earl craved the aid of king svein and men for his assistance, and king svein bade him come to him & told him that he should have an earl's realm in denmark, such as would make him a seemly chief in that country. the earl answered thus: 'my desire is to fare back to england, to my heritage; but if i am given no assistance for that purpose from thee, king, then would i liefer make a pact to afford thee all the support i can procure in england, an thou wilt take the danish hosts thither and conquer the land, even as thy mother's brother knut (canute) conquered it.' the king answered: 'so much less a man am i than my kinsman king knut that i have hard work to hold the danish realm against the norwegians. knut the old gat his danish kingdom by inheritance but won england by warfare and strife, yet nevertheless at one time seemed he like to lose his life thereby. norway gat he without battle. now would i liefer keep within compass according to my smaller conditions than assay to rival the success of my kinsman knut.' then said tosti the earl: 'lesser is my errand hither than i had thought for; i deemed not that thou, a bold man, wouldst let me go in need. it may be that i am seeking friendship where it is not meet to seek it. but natheless it may hap that i find a chief who is less afeared of great ventures than thou art, king.' thereafter they parted, the king and the earl, and were not very well of one accord. ¶ tosti the earl now turned him another way: he fared onward to norway, to king harald who was in vik, and when they met the earl made he known his mission to the king, recounting to him all concerning his journey since he had left england. and he craved help of the king so that he might regain his dominions in england. but the king said as followeth: that the norwegians had no wish to fare to england and harry with an english chief over them; 'folk deem,' said he, 'that the english are not full trustworthy.' the earl answered: 'i wonder if it is sooth, that which i have heard men say in england, to wit, that thy kinsman king magnus despatched men to king edward, with the message that he, magnus, owned england with no less right than denmark, that he inherited it from hordaknut (hardicanute) and that the pact was ratified by their oaths?' the king answered: 'why did he not have it if he owned it?' the earl said: 'why hast thou not denmark even as king magnus had it before thee?' the king answered: 'little have the danes to plume themselves on above us norwegians, for many a hole have we burnt in those kinsmen of thine.' then said the earl: 'though thou wilt not tell me yet can i, nevertheless, tell thee how it was king magnus took possession of denmark, to wit, was it because the lords of the land there helped him, but thou gat it not because all the people of the land were against thee. king magnus fought not to gain england because all the people desired to have edward for their king. if thou wishest to conquer england then can i bring it about that many of the lords there will be thy friends and supporters, for nothing lack i against my brother harald save the name of king. all men know that there has never been born in the northlands a warrior such as thou art. astonished am i that thou who foughtest fifteen winters for denmark will not take england which is lying at thy hand.' king harald pondered with care over what the earl had said to him, and well wot he that in great measure had he said sooth; and added thereto conceived he the wish to conquer that kingdom. thereafter the king and the earl talked long & oft together, & in the end covenanted they an agreement that come the summer they would fare to england and conquer the country. king harald sent round the whole of norway calling out a levy, one half of the general war-muster. now all this was much spoken of by men, and many were the guesses as to how things would go on the faring. some reckoned & counted up all deeds of valour, swearing how naught would be impossible of king harald, but said others that england would be difficult to conquer inasmuch as the people were exceeding numerous, & those warriors who were called the thingmanna-host§ so doughty that one of them was better than two of harald's best men. thus answered ulf the marshal: 'never would the marshals of the king (uncompelling ever gat i riches) turn them to the king's stern-hold noble woman, an twain should be pressed back by one thingman (other than that when young i learned me).' ¶ that spring ulf the marshal died, & harald when he stood by his grave said ere he quitted it: 'here lies he that was ever the most faithful & the most dutiful to his lord.' to flanders also sailed earl tosti in springtide so that he should meet the men the which had followed him from england, with those others also who were to join him from england and likewise from flanders. ¶ the host to king harald was gathered together in solundir§ and when all things were made ready and he was about to set sail from nidaros went he to the shrine of king olaf, and thrusting his hands into the sanctuary cut he off the hair and the nails pertaining to the saint, and thereafter turned he the key once of the shrine and then threw that same key into the nid; and since that time forsooth hath the shrine of the holy king olaf never been opened. five and thirty winters had been encompassed since his fall, and five and thirty years had he lived in the world. then king harald and the men that were with him gat them a course southward to meet his host; or ever that time it was a mighty force that met together, and it is told among men that to king harald were nigh upon two hundred§ keels, besides victualling ships and smaller craft. when they were lying off solundir a certain man named gyrd, who was on the own ship to the king, dreamed a dream, and to him it seemed as though he stood on that same ship and beheld up on the isle a great troll-woman, & in one hand held she a short sword and in the other a trough. and to him also did it appear that he was looking at all the other ships, and on the prow to each was perched a fowl of the air, and all of those same fowl were either eagles or ravens. the troll-woman sang: 'king from the east in sooth to battle inciteth many a warrior westward, (joyful am i therefor); there may the raven find for itself food on the ships (it knows enow there is); with thee will i ever fare.' ¶ now a certain man hight thord abode on one of the ships nigh to the own ship of the king, and on a night dreamed he that he saw the fleet to king harald faring landward, and he seemed to wot that to england were they coming. then he saw on the land a vast host of men & both hosts were making them ready for battle, and for each were many banners held on high. before the host of the men of the land rode a swarth troll-woman, sitting on a wolf, and the wolf had the body of a man in its mouth, & blood flowed from the corners thereof. and when it had eaten the man she threw yet another into its mouth, and thereafter threw she one man after another, but notwithstanding made it scant ado at swallowing them all. and so she sang: 'the troll makes the red shield gleam when war comes nigh. bride of the giant-brood mishap to the king foretells. the quean with the jaws flings flesh of fallen warriors; raging the wolf's mouth she dyes red with blood.' ¶ furthermore it befell that king harald dreamed one night and in his vision lo he was in nidaros, and there met he his brother, king olaf, who chanted a verse to him: 'the burly king in many fights with honour conquered. i gat (because at home i stayed) a holy fall to earth. still of this i fear me that death is nigh thee, king; the greedy wolves thou fill'st; ne'er was this caused by god.' ¶ men spake low of many other dreams and omens of divers kinds, and the bulk of them were of ill import. or ever king harald left throndhjem caused he his son magnus to be accepted as king, and made he him ruler over the kingdom of norway. thora, the daughter of thorberg, also remained behind, but queen ellisif fared forth with king harald and with them likewise her daughters mary and ingigerd; olaf the son to king harald also fared with him from the land. ¶ when king harald was ready, and a favourable wind had sprung up, sailed he out to sea & came to land at the shetlands, but some of his ships went on to the orkneys. king harald lay at these isles a while or ever set he sail for the orkneys, & from these latter took he with him many men & the earls paal and erling, twain sons to thorfin the earl, but behind him left he there queen ellisif & their daughters mary & ingigerd. thereafter sailed he southward alongside scotland, & then alongside england, and went ashore there where it is called cleveland. and being come on land forthwith harried he the countryside, bringing it into subjection under him, & withal encountering no resistance. thereafter went king harald into scarborough, & fought there with the men of the town, and he went up on to the cliff there and ordered a vast bonfire to be made and a light thereto put, and when it was ablaze, his men took large forks and with them rolled it down into the town, and then one house after the other began to burn, so that there was naught for the townsmen to do save to surrender. there slew the norwegians many men, and took all the goods whereon they could lay hands. no choice had then the englishmen, an they wished to keep their lives, save to make submission to king harald. wheresoever he fared brought he the land into subjection, and he continued on his way southward off the coast with the whole of his host, bringing-to at holderness, and there a band came against him, and king harald did battle with them and gained the day. ¶ now having come thus far on his journey king harald fared south to the humber and went up that river and lay in it beside the banks. at that time there were up in jerirk (york) earl morcar and his brother earl walthiof and with them was a vast host. king harald was lying in the ouse when the host of the earls swooped down against him. and king harald went ashore and set to arraying his host, and one arm of the array was ranked on the banks of the river, whereas the other stretched up inland over towards a certain dyke, and a deep marsh was there, both broad, and full of water. the earls bade the whole multitude of their array slink down alongside the river. now the banner to the king was nigh unto the river and there the ranks were serried, but near the dyke were they more scattered, and the men thereof also the least trustworthy. the earls then came down along by the dyke, and that arm of the battle-array of the norwegians which faced the dyke gave way, and thereon the english pushed forward after them and deemed that the norwegians would flee. therefore did the banner of morcar fare forward. ¶ but when king harald saw that the array of the english had descended alongside the dyke and was coming right toward them, then commanded he the war-blast to be sounded, and eagerly encouraged his men, and let the banner 'land-waster' be carried forward; and even so fierce was their advance on the english, that all were repulsed and there fell a many men in the host of the earls. this host was even soon routed, and some fled up beside the river and some down, but the most of the folk ran right out into the dyke, and there the fallen lay so thick that the norwegians could walk dry-shod across the marsh. there too fell earl morcar.§ thus saith stein herdason: 'many in the river sank (the sunken men were drowned); all round about young morcar of yore lay many a lad. to flight the chieftain put them; the host to swiftest running olaf the mighty is.'§ ¶ the song that followeth was wrought by stein herdason about olaf ye son to king harald, and he saith, the which also we wot of that olaf was in the battle with his father. this is told likewise in 'haraldsstikka:' 'there the dead lay down in the marsh walthiof's fighters weapon-bitten, so that they might the war-wonted horsemen there wend their way on corses only.' ¶ earl walthiof and those men that contrived to make their escape from out the battle fled even up to the town of york, and there it was that the greatest slaughter took place. this battle was on the wednesday§ or ever st. matthew's day. ¶ earl tosti had come west (south) from flanders to king harald, and being even come to england joined himself with the earl so that he had his part in all three battles. and now things came to pass even as he had told harald at their meeting they would come to pass, to wit, that a number of men would flock to them in england, and these were both kinsmen and friends to tosti; and their company added greatly to the strength of the king. after the battle whereof we have but now heard related, all the men of the countryside hailed king harald, albeit some few fled. and now set king harald forth to take the city, and placed he his host by stanford bridge,§ but for the reason that the king had won so fair a victory over great lords and overwhelming odds were the people dismayed & deemed it hopeless to withstand him. then took the citizens council together, & they were of one mind to send word to the king giving themselves and likewise the town into his power. this same was proffered even at such time that on the sunday[§] fared king harald and his men to the city, and there they held a council of war without the walls, and the citizens came out and were present at the council. then did all the folk promise obedience to king harald; and gave him as hostages the sons of great men even according as tosti chose, for the earl knew all men in this town; and in the evening fared the king to his ships elated with the victory he had won and withal was very joyful. it was furthermore covenanted there should be held a thing in the city§ early on that monday when would king harald appoint governors and grant fiefs and rights. now that self-same evening, after the sun had gone down, approached king harald godwinson with a vast host the city from the south, and rode he into the city by the will and consent of all the citizens. then were men posted at all the gates, and at all the roads, so that to the norwegians there might get no tidings of what had befallen, and this host passed the night within the walls. ¶ on the monday,[§] when harald sigurdson had eaten his fill at dinner, ordered he a blast to be sounded for a landing. and thereon made he ready his host and parted them, some to fare and some to tarry; and of each company he let two men go up for every one left behind. and tosti the earl prepared him to go up with his company, but to guard his ship there tarried behind olaf own son to the king, paal and erling the orkney earls, and eystein blackcock, the son of thorberg arnason, who was in those days the man of most renown and withal dearest to the king of all feudatories, & king harald had at that time promised him the hand of his daughter maria. very fine was the weather with warm sunshine, and wherefore because of this left the men their shirts of mail behind them and went with their shields and helms and spears, with their swords girded on; and many had likewise bows and arrows, and withal were they very merry. but as they advanced on the city, behold a great host rode out towards them and they saw the smoke of horses, and here and there fair shields and white coats of mail. then halted the king his host and summoned earl tosti to him, and asked what manner of host this was like to be. and the earl answered and said that he deemed it might be strife, yet nevertheless it might be that they were some of his kinsmen who were seeking for protection & friendship, & would promise the king their support and fealty in return. then the king said that they would first of all keep quiet and learn more particulars anent this host. so they did this, & the host waxed greater the nearer it came, and everywhere was it like a sheet of ice to behold, so white was the gleaming of the weapons. ¶ then king harald sigurdson spake and said: 'let us now take goodly & wise counsel together, for it cannot be hidden that this forebodes strife, and most like it is the king himself.' to which the earl answered: 'our first course is to turn back and go our swiftest to the ships that we may fetch folk and weapons, and thereafter offer what resistance we can; or even might we also let the ships protect us and then no power would the horsemen have over us.' then said king harald: 'another counsel will i choose, namely to send three bold fellows on our swiftest horses and let them ride hotly a'pace and impart to our men what hath befallen; then will they the sooner come to our aid, and a right sharp combat shall the englishmen fight or ever we suffer defeat.' the earl answered and said that the king should decide in this matter as in all else: 'no manner of desire had he either to flee.' then caused the king his banner 'land-waster' to be borne aloft, and fridrek was the man hight who bore the banner. ¶ after these things arrayed king harald his host. and he let the muster be long and not dense, and then after doing this doubled he both the arms thereof backward so that they reached together and made a wide ring thick and even on all sides without, shield by shield, and the same within likewise; and the king's company was without the ring and there too was his banner. in another spot was earl tosti with his company, and another banner had he, and the men to him were all picked men. now the array was made in this fashion because the king wist that the horsemen§ were wont to ride forward in a mass & thereupon fall back. now said the king that his company should advance whithersoever it were most needed, 'but our archers shall also be with us, and those who stand farthest forward will set their spear handles in the earth and point their spears at the breasts of the riders if they should ride us down, and those who stand in the next row will thrust their spears into the chests of the horses.' ¶ it was with an exceeding vast host that king harald godwinson had come thither, a host of both horse and foot-folk. around his array rode king harald sigurdson having a wary eye to see how it had been ranked, and he bestrode a black piebald horse. now the horse fell under him but the king arose in haste & said: 'falling when faring betokens fortune.' then said harald, the king of the english, to those norwegians who were with him: 'knowest thou the big man yonder who fell from his horse, the man with the blue kirtle and the fair helme?' 'that is the king,' said they. 'a big man and of masterful appearance, yet belike his luck is over,' answered the english king. ¶ twenty horsemen rode forward from the thingmanna host before the battle-array of the norwegians; and they were wholly clad in chain-mail and their horses like unto them. then said one horseman: 'is earl tosti in the host?' to which was made answer: 'there is no hiding it, ye can find him there.' then said the horseman: 'harald, thy brother, sent thee a greeting, and word therewith that thou shouldst have grace & the whole of northumberland; and rather than thou shouldst not go over to him will he give thee a third share of the whole of his kingdom.' then answered the earl: 'that is a very different message from the strife and scorn of the winter: had it been offered then many a man would still be alive who is now dead, & more firmly too would the kingdom stand in england. now if i should accept these terms, what would he offer king harald sigurdson for his pains?' 'he hath said something of what he would grant him in england, seven feet of room or as much longer as he is taller than other men,' made answer that rider. 'fare thee now to king harald and bid him make ready for battle,' said the earl, 'other shall be said among norwegians than that earl tosti quitteth king harald sigurdson for the fellowship of his foemen when he hath to fight in england. nay, let us all rather be of one mind: to die with honour or to win england by conquest.' then did the horseman ride away, and king harald sigurdson asked of the earl, 'who was that long-tongued man, yonder?' 'that was king harald godwinson,' said the earl. 'too long was this kept from us,' said king harald sigurdson, 'they were come so nigh unto our host, that nought would this harald have known how to tell of the death of our men.' 'true it is,' said the earl, 'that such a chief went right unwarily, and that it might have been as thou sayest; i saw that he wished to offer me grace and much dominion, but that i should be his slayer an i said who he was. rather would i that he should be my slayer than i his.' then said king harald sigurdson: 'a little man was he, but firm in his stirrups.' it is said that king harald chanted this verse: 'forward go we in folk array without our mail under blue blades; the helmets shine, no mail have i; on the ships yonder our garb doth lie.' ¶ now the mail-shirt to harald was hight 'emma,' and it was so long that it reached down even unto the midst of his foot, and so strong that no weapon had ever lodged fast in it. then said king harald sigurdson: 'that was ill wrought; i must make another, a better verse in its place,' and then he chanted this: 'ne'er do we in battle creep behind our shields, the clash of weapons fearing (e'en so the word-fast woman bade me). of yore the necklet-wearer bade me carry high my head in battle, where sword and shield do meet.' and thiodolf likewise sang thus: 'never, if e'en the prince himself to earth should fall, (as god wills so goeth it) will i flee from the heirs of the chief. the sun shines not better on these than these twain shine. avengers of harald are resourceful hawks full grown.' ¶ and now they fall to battle, and the english ride onward toward the norwegians, but the resistance is stubborn, and because of the shots it is not easy for the english to ride against the norwegians, and so they ride round about them in a ring. at first the battle is altogether even, that is so long as the norwegians hold their array, but the english charge them & then if they have done no hurt ride aback, and when the norwegians see this, namely that the english seem to ride on them without spirit, set they themselves upon them and would have pursued them, but behold no sooner is the wall of shields broken than the english ride towards them from all directions bringing spears and shots to bear on them. and king harald sigurdson seeing this goeth forth into the brunt of the battle, even there where the hardest struggle is taking place, and many men falling from both hosts. king harald sigurdson waxeth so fierce that he runneth forward right out from the array, & heweth with both hands, & hath neither helme, nor shield holden before him. all those who are nighest to him draw aback, and far are the english from fleeing. thus saith arnor earl's-skald: 'in battle swift the chief's heart ne'er did quake, and the strong king the greatest courage showed 'mid the helmes' thunder, there, where in the hersirs' chief the hosts saw this, that by his bloody sword the men to death were wounded.' ¶ now it happened that king harald sigurdson was wounded by an arrow in the throat, and this was his death-wound. he fell with the whole of that company which was advancing with him, save those that drew back; and these held stoutly to the banner. yet a conflict full as hard was foughten after tosti the earl had taken his place under the king's banner. then both the hosts fell to arraying themselves for the second time, and an exceeding long truce was there in the battle. thereof sang thiodolf: 'mishap hath fallen on us, (in peril is now the host); in vain hath harald brought us this journey from the east. the chieftain shrewd's life-passage so hath ended that we now (the king bepraised his life lost) row in peril of our lives.' ¶ but ere the combatants again joined issue offered harald godwinson his brother tosti grace, and he likewise offered grace to the other men surviving from the norwegian host; but the norwegians shouted out that they would rather fall one above the other, than accept quarter from the english. and thereon shouted they their war-cry, & then the battle began for the second time. thus saith arnor earl's-skald: 'in an hour of misfortune the king austere gat death; the arrows gold-inwoven spared not the robbers' foe. gentle and bounteous king-- his friends choose all to fall round their host-wonted chief rather than quarter seek.' ¶ now it befell that eystein blackcock came up just at that moment from the ships with his company, and they were in full armour, and eystein gat him hold of the king's banner 'land-waster,' and for the third time the men fell to battle; exceeding sharp was it and the english lost men full heavily and were on the point of fleeing. that fray was called 'blackcock's brunt.' eystein's men had hastened so furiously from the ships that at first, or ever they were come to the combat, they were weary and scarce fit for battle, but afterwards so raging were they that they defended themselves as long as they could stand upright. at the last cast they from off them their mail-shirts, and then was it easy for the english to find a vulnerable spot on them; but some who were unwounded yet died from their haste and fury. nearly all the great men among the norwegians fell at that time. this befell late in the day. as was to be looked for not all men fared alike in fortune, many fled & many who thus made their escape met differing fates. mirk was it in the evening ere the slaughtering was brought to an end. ¶ among those who escaped was styrkar, the marshal of king harald sigurdson, & this befell from his getting him a horse and thereon riding away. now a wind sprang up in the evening and the weather waxed somewhat cold, and styrkar had no other apparel than his shirt, a helme on his head, and a naked sword in his hand. and he waxed cold as his weariness wore off. then a certain waincarle came driving towards him, and this man had a lined coat. styrkar said unto him: 'wilt thou sell thy jacket, peasant?' 'not to thee,' quoth he, 'thou art a norwegian, as i wist by thy tongue.' 'an i am a norwegian what wilt thou do then?' said styrkar. 'i would slay thee; but alack i have no weapon to do it with,' the peasant replied. 'if thou canst not slay me, peasant, i will make trial if i cannot slay thee,' and therewith styrkar swung his sword and brought it down on the man's neck so that his head was cut off; and then took he the fur coat and springing on to his horse rode down to the shore. ¶ now tidings were borne to the rouen earl, william the bastard, of the death of king edward his kinsman, & furthermore was it told how harald godwinson had been acclaimed as king of england and had been consecrated thereto. now william deemed he had a better right to that kingdom than harald, to wit by reason of the kinship betwixt him & king edward, and withal furthermore inasmuch as he deemed it but fair to avenge himself on harald for the slight of that broken betrothal with his own daughter. for all these self-same reasons, then, assembled william an host together in normandy, and a multitude of men were mustered, with a goodly sufficiency of ships. and on the day that he rode from the city unto his ships, when he had mounted up on to his horse, his wife went to him & would have spoken with him, but when he saw this he thrust at her with his heel, setting his spur in her breast so that it penetrated deep therein, and she fell and straightway died.§ but the earl rode to his ships and fared with his host over to england. at that time was his brother otta with him. when the earl came to england plundered he there, & brought the land into subjection under him wheresoever he went. earl william was bigger and stronger than other men, a good horseman, the greatest of warriors, and very cruel; a very wise man was he withal, but accounted in no wise trustworthy. ¶ king harald godwinson gave olaf, the son of king harald sigurdson, permission to fare his way, and in like fashion treated he those men of the host who had been with the king and had not fallen. king harald then turned southward with his host, for he had learned that william bastard was faring northward through england, & was conquering the country. there were with harald godwinson at that time his brethren svein,§ gyrd, and walthiof. king harald and earl william met in the south of england at hastings and a great battle befell there. in it were slain king harald and his brother earl gyrd, & a great part of their host. nineteen nights was it after the fall of king harald sigurdson,§ earl walthiof, own brother to harald, made good his escape by flight, and at even fell in with a band of william's men; whereupon earl walthiof set fire to the forest and burned them all up. thus saith thorkel skallson in walthiof's lay: 'an hundred king's own court-men the warrior had burned in hottest fire (to the men an eve of singeing was it). 'tis said that the men 'neath the wolf's claw must lie; gray steed of the troll-quean gave victuals to the swords.' ¶ thereon caused william himself to be proclaimed king of england, and thereafter sent he to earl walthiof proffering him peace & appointing a truce so that a meeting might take place betwixt them. the earl fared to it with but few men, and when he was come on the heath north of the castle bridge two of the king's bailiffs advanced upon him with a band of men, and when they had taken him they put him in chains; thereafter he was beheaded.§ the english call him sainted. thus saith thorkel: ''tis doubtless that manly walthiof by william (he who from the south across the chill main came) is bewrayed in his trusting. sooth is that long 'twill be ere ends the slaying of men in england (swift was my master. no prince like him doth live).' ¶ afterwards lived william as king of england for one and twenty winters, and ever since have his descendants ruled as kings of england. ¶ now olaf the son to king harald sigurdson took his men and fared away from england, sailing forth from ravenseer whence they came in autumn to the orkneys, & there learned they the tidings that maria the daughter of king harald sigurdson had died of a sudden death on the self-same day and in that same hour as her father king harald had perished. olaf tarried in the orkneys the winter through but the summer thereafter fared he east to norway, and was made king there together with his brother magnus. queen ellisif journeyed eastward with her step-son olaf and her daughter ingigerd. skuli also, he who was afterwards called king's-fosterer, & his brother ketil crook, likewise fared overseas with olaf. the twain of them were doughty men, and noble in england, and both were very sage and well-beloved by the king. ketil crook fared northward to halogaland and king olaf gat him a good marriage, and from him are descended many great men. skuli, king's-fosterer, was a wise and strong man, very fair to behold; he became captain of king olaf's body-guard, lent his counsel at the things, and ruled with the king in all governances of the land. king olaf desired to give skuli a province in norway, whichever he was minded to have, with all the incomes and dues that the king held disposition over, but skuli thanked him for this offer and said that he would liefer ask for other things because should there be a change of kings perchance the gift would be taken back: 'i will,' said he, 'accept certain domains which lie nigh to the towns, where ye, sire, are wont to be, and where the yule feasts are held.' so king olaf gave him his word thereon, and made over to him lands in the east at konungahella, and at oslo, at tunsberg, at borg, at bergen, and in the north at nidaros. they were nigh upon the best estates at each place, and they have ever since been the possessions of men of the lineage of skuli. king olaf married skuli to his kinswoman gudrun nefsteinsdotir, whose mother was ingirid the daughter of king sigurd sow and his wife asta. asta was own sister of king olaf the saint & of king harald. the son of skuli and gudrun was asolf of reini who was wedded to thora the daughter of skopti ogmundson. the son of asolf and thora was guthorm of reini, the father of bard, the father of king ingi and duke skuli. ¶ on a winter after the fall of king harald was his body transported from england to nidaros and interred there in the church of st. mary, that selfsame church the which he himself had caused to be builded. it was allowed by all that king harald had exceeded other men in wisdom & resourcefulness, both when he had been fain to act swiftly or had debated long, either for himself or others. the most valiant of all men was he, and victorious withal, even as hath been set forth this while: 'the waster of zealand's dwellers in boldness ne'er was lacking; mind ruleth half of victory, and soothly harald proveth it.' ¶ king harald was stately and goodly to behold, fair hair and a fair beard had he, and a long moustache; of his eyebrows the one was somewhat higher than the other, & he had large hands and feet, but either shapely. five ells was he in stature. towards his foes was he cruel, and when withstood revengeful. thus saith thiodolf: 'sage harald doth arrogance in his thanes chastise; methinks the king's men bear but that which they mete out. such burdens bear they as for themselves they care to have (the law is used for each against the other); thus doth harald change revenge.' ¶ king harald vastly loved power & all worldly advantages, but towards his friends, even to those whom he liked well, was he very bountiful. thiodolf telleth us as followeth: 'of ships'-battle the awakener for my work a mark bestowed; to praise vouchsafeth he each one who proveth him thereof worthy.' ¶ king harald was fifty years of age when he fell. we have no tales of count regarding his up-growing, or ever he was fifteen winters old and was at stiklastad, in the battle, with his brother king olaf. thereafter lived he for five and thirty years, and during all that time had ever turmoil and strife. king harald never fled from any battle, but oft-times sought he expedients when the odds of war were against him. all men who followed him in battle or warfare avowed that when he found himself hard pressed or was obliged to make a swift resolution, he chose that course which afterwards all men saw to be the likeliest to avail. ¶ halldor, the son of bryniolf the camel, hight likewise the old, was a wise man and a great lord, and thus spake he when he heard the conversation of men in respect to the very different natures of king olaf the saint and his brother king harald. 'i was with both brothers,' said he, 'and high in favour, and i wotted the natures of both: never did i find two men so alike at heart. both were very wise and valiant men, loving possessions and power, masterful, not lowly-hearted, overbearing, haughty, and quick to chastise. king olaf constrained the people of the land to christianity and the true faith, but punished harshly those who turned a deaf ear to his commands. the chiefs of the land who would not suffer his even-handed dispensation of justice rose up against him and slew him in his own land, and it is for that reason he is called saintly. but king harald harried for renown and dominion, bringing under his yoke all people that he could bring under it, and he fell in the land of other kings. both these brothers in normal life were men of religion and had regard for their honour; they were likewise travelled & vigorous in mind, & it is from such-like qualities that they waxed so far-famed.' ¶ king magnus haraldson ruled norway the first winter after the fall of king harald, but thereafter ruled he the land for two winters together with his brother king olaf, and there were then two kings together, magnus having dominion in the northern half of the land & olaf in the eastern half. king magnus had a son who was hight hakon & his foster-father was steig-thorir; a youth of promise was he. ¶ after the death of king harald sigurdson, svein, the danish king, gave out that peace was at an end betwixt norwegians and danes, for the pact was made to endure only as long as both kings lived. so then were men mustered in both realms; king harald's sons called out a general-host and ships from norway, and king svein fared northward with the host of the danes. and so it was that messengers were thereafter despatched betwixt the kings with offers of peace, and the norwegians said that they would either keep to the covenant which had been made aforetime or fight. for that reason the following verse was sung: 'with threats and words of peace olaf his land defended, so that no one from the king durst claim a right thereto.' and thus saith stein herdason in the lay of olaf: 'his heritage 'gainst svein the warlike king defended in that merchant town where resteth (great is he) the saintly king.' ¶ but a compact was come to betwixt the kings at the time of this mustering, & peace ensued in the lands. king magnus was afterwards stricken with a sickness, the rift-worm sickness, and when he had lain abed for some time died he at nidaros, and there was buried. he was a king right well-beloved of all the people. notes these notes, with few exceptions, are taken from professor gustav storm's norwegian version of the heimskringla, from which this translation of the saga of olaf tryggvason and of harald hardrad (harald the tyrant) is made. ethel h. hearn. [transcriber's note: for this e-text, the word or phrase referenced in the note is shown in {braces} before the page-and-line citation. moved markers are individually noted. "translator" refers to the english translation (the present text).] {king valdamar} page , line . vladimir the great of russia ( - ) became grand duke of novgorod in . [marker printed after "high favour" on following page.] {'hersir'} page , line . the head of a 'her,' _i.e._, a hundred families. the territory inhabited by them was called a 'herath.' the 'hersir' seems to have combined the offices of commander in time of war, and religious head of his tribe. --translator. {the fjords} _ibid._ nordfiord and söndfiord. {war-fine} page , line . those who absented themselves when the ships were called out for war, or who came to a wrong place of meeting, or at a wrong time, were compelled to pay a war-fine. {vingulmark} page , line . this is not in accord with page , line , in which vingulmark is mentioned as being given to harald the grenlander. perhaps the error is on the page aforesaid, as on page , line , harald is described as king of vestfold only. {vindland (wendland)} page , line . the present north germany, from eastern holstein to eastern prussia. [marker printed after "good havens" on next line.] {burizlaf} page , line . _i.e._, boleslaw. by 'burislav,' as mentioned here, must not be understood boleslaw i of poland ( - ), but his father miesco or mieczyslaw ( - ). {emperor otta} page , line . the emperor otta is the emperor otho ii ( - ). his march on denmark did not take place in as snorri calculates, but late in the autumn of . nor was the emperor's object the conversion of king harald, for the latter had accepted christianity about -- but to bring denmark under his own vassalage. {danavirki} page , line . the danavirki, or danish wall, began in the east at the head of the slefjord, and extended to the west only as far as the træaa, the tributary river of the isthmus, and not to the sea. [marker printed after "his call" earlier in sentence.] {likewise king burizlaf} page , line . it is not historical that burislaw (or miesco) accompanied the emperor to the danish wall; nor was olaf tryggvason, who was not full grown in , with him. {saintly bishop} page , line . as early as vidkund of corvey, in his chronicle of that year, mentions poppo's miracle and its effect in causing harald to embrace christianity. the incident must be ascribed to about the year . {other learned men} page , line . 'learned men' means men trained in the learning of the church, that is to say, belonging to the priesthood. {gat answer fret} page , line . 'go to fret' (?) means to consult the gods by means of the so-called 'blotspaan,' or sacrificial shavings. these, and pieces of wood (perhaps inscribed with runes) were disposed in a particular manner, for the purpose of gaining information from the gods as to the future. {gyda} page , line . gyda was the daughter of olaf kvaran, and not his sister. olaf kvaran died an old man in . [correct line reference is .] {holmgangsman} page , line . 'holmgang' so called in norway because the two combatants retired alone to a holm or uninhabited islet to fight. --translator. {across the isthmus} page , line . mandseidet in stadland. {vissavald} page , line . the russian name wsevolod. {king olaf kvaran} page , line . according to english sources olaf was lying with his fleet off southampton during the winter of - . he received instruction there in christianity from english bishops, and was confirmed in the spring of , on which occasion king ethelred was his sponsor. he returned home to his country early in the summer. {rimul} page , line . rimul now the farm of romol (guldalen) on the west side of the gula river, opposite melhus. {urgutherjot and brimiskiar, page bottom.} _note missing._ {eastward as far as lidandisnes} page , line . the 'sogn-sea' formed the boundary between sogn and hordaland so that the territory given to erling was hordaland, rogaland, and the western part of agder, as far as the naze. {sigurd sow} page , line . so-called because he 'rooted in the soil,' _i.e._, practised agriculture. {olaf her son} page , line . this is not historical. olaf the saint was not christened until he was full grown. according to the oldest sources he was baptized in rouen by archbishop robert, the brother of duke richard. {easter eve} page , line . april , . {never should odin beguile them} page , line . olaf, like all christians at that time, thought odin to be an evil spirit. {war-arrow} page , line . a war-arrow was furnished with a cord or twist of withy at one end, and was intended to summon all men armed to a thing. {scipa-krok} page , line . 'ship-corner,' a little creek of the river nid, at the end of the present strand gade in trondhjem. {the skeggi barrow at austratt} page , line . this barrow, skjeggehaugen, existed at the beginning of the nineteenth century; it was situated to the south of the farm of 'Östraat' (austrat). {aft with a crook} page , line . _svirar_: what these were is not known; they must have been at the stern of the ship. {michaelmas} page , line . september , . {white weeds} page , line . _i.e._, in christening raiment, which was worn for a week after baptism. {aldeigiaborg} page , line . the town of ladoga; it was situated at that time on the river volkhov which debouches into the lake of ladoga. {adalsysla & eysysla} page , line . the island of Ösel was named in old-norse ey-sysla (island district) and the mainland opposite adal-sysla (chief district), and the whole of estland (or esthonia) together sysla. {queen gunnhild fell sick and died} page , line . this is incorrect. gunnhild was put away by king svein and sent home to wendland; after the death of svein in her sons had her brought back to denmark. {vineland the good} page , line . north america, probably nova scotia. {skeid} page , line . a particular kind of long-ship without a 'head' at the prow. {svold} page , line . svold is not an island as snorri thought, but a haven or creek in the mouth of a river somewhat west of rügen. {finnish} page , line . _i.e._, lappish. --translator. {the burner of the bulgars} page , line . harald hardrad, or harald the tyrant was in the service of the greek emperor in the year , and took part in the pillaging of the rebellious bulgarians. the account of this was not known to snorri who lived so much later, but thiodolf had heard of it. {laesirs} page , line . an unknown people, perhaps 'lechers,' _i.e._, poles. {gyrgir} page , line . georgios maniakes, the brave commander of the greeks in the valley of the euphrates - , and in sicily in - . {vaerings} page , line . mercenaries, chiefly the northern inhabitants of russia and of greece. {serkland} page , line . snorri here confuses 'serkland' in asia with africa. harald was taking part in the wars in syria and armenia in the years - , before going in with the greek army to sicily. {the son of budli, as 'twas said / showed friendship by his fellowship} page , lines and . these two lines refer to atli the king of the huns, who according to the legend invited his brothers-in-law (gunnar and hogn) to a feast in order to betray them. {all the days of his life} page , line . snorri sturlason was descended from halldor in the fifth degree. {jorsalaheim (palestine)} page , line . the greek emperor concluded a peace with the calif of egypt in which enabled the emperor to build churches near the holy sepulchre. craftsmen were despatched thither for this purpose by the emperor, and among the troops sent to protect them was harald hardrad, or harald the tyrant. {the daughter of the brother to queen zoe} page , line . zoe never had a brother, so the relationship, at all events, is inaccurate. {that chapel has stood there unto this very day} page , line . no such chapel has ever been known to exist in constantinople. {this deed} page , line . it is a fact that harald was one of those who blinded the 'greek king' michael kalafates. the latter was accepted as the son of zoe and became emperor together with her in . after deposing her (april , ) he was himself deposed, and was blinded in the street by his body-guard, in which harald was serving as 'spatharokandidat' (colonel). michael is in this case confused with his successor constantine. {siavidarsund} page , line . siavidarsund (_i.e._, 'the sound with the sea-wood') is the present golden horn; the heavy iron chain, which was stretched across its extremity, in times of dispute rested on wooden floats. {ellipalta} page , line . the mouth of the dnieper in the black sea. {east-realm} page , line . east-realm, _i.e._, russia, or its eastern provinces. {three occasions} page , line . if this is correct harald must have gone to constantinople before , as there was a change of monarch in , , and . {sudatorp} page , line . in south jutland, west of aabenraa. magnus died in zealand. his successor svein (who was also named magnus) died at sudatorp. {brother} page , line . _i.e._, half-brother (alfhild's son, not olaf's). {budli's ways} page , line . budli's, or the sea-king's way-- the sea. {harald's soul in heaven} page , line . this line with line on page and one omitted from the foregoing verse form together a kind of refrain which runs as follows: "may it dwell where it listeth-- in christ's eternal house-- harald's soul in heaven." {peter burden-swain} page , line . so named because upon a certain occasion he carried king sigurd slembe at a thing. {the church of saint olaf} page , line . ruins of the church of saint olaf are to be found under the present town hall on the northern side of kongens gade, in trondhjem. {relics of king olaf} page , line . they were moved thither from st. clement's church. [marker printed at end of sentence.] {church of saint gregory} page , line . this church was west of the church of saint olaf, on the north side of the present kongens gade, where the savings bank now stands. {eight or nine long-ships, and nigh upon five hundred men} page , line . that is to say, . {the king's-house down by the river} page , line . 'the king's-house down by the river' was the new king's-house which harald had built east of the church of saint mary. {guthorm gunhildson} page , line . the son of ketil calf and gunnhild (mentioned on page ). {said to be nephew} page , line . asmund's father was biorn ulfson, the brother of harald (died ). {king margad} page , line . margad (in irish eachmargach) rognvaldson was the king of dublin in - and - . {st. olafmas} page , line . july , . {there} page , line . _i.e._ in the cathedral. {oslo} page , line . on the site of part of the present city of christiania. {bussa-ship} page , line . a '_bussa_' was a particular kind of large ship, broad in the beam, especially a war-ship. {......} page , line . _svirar_, see note on page , line . {one hundred and fifty} page , line . that is to say, . {three hundred} page , line . ships. {leidra} page , line . later leire, near roskilde in zealand. {vandrad} page , line . _i.e._, one who is in distress. {two hundred men} page , line . that is to say, . {queen gyda} page , line . her name was eadgitha; gyda was her mother's name. the sons of earl godwin were harald, tosti, svein (died ), and gyrd. harald was the _eldest_ son. morcar, or morkere, and walthiof were not earl godwin's sons; morcar was the son of Ælfrik of mercia, and from was earl of northumberland; walthiof was the son of the danish earl siward of northumberland (died ). {driven out to sea} page , line . at ponthieu, where the count took him prisoner. william released him and had him brought to rouen. it is not historical that harald held undue intercourse with william's wife. william made use of harald's compulsory sojourn to make him swear allegiance to him, and affiance him to his daughter. {st. paul's church} page , line . unhistorical. the church referred to is st. paul's in london, but edward died and was buried at winchester, where harald was likewise crowned. {to guard the treasure of the king} page , line . this is unhistorical. tosti had been earl of northumberland since , but was driven away by the northumbrians in october and fled to flanders, so that he was not in england at the time of edward's death. harald was earl of wessex and the most powerful man in the land. {the th day} page , line . _i.e._, the thirteenth day of christmas, january . {more than other earls} page , line . not historical, see page , line . {thingmanna-host} page , line . the name of king canute's danish guard, instituted . {solundir} page , line . the sulen islands outside sognefjord. {two hundred} page , line . that is to say, . {earl morcar} page , line . unhistorical. morkere, or morcar, escaped later and joined harald the son of (earl) godwin. {olaf the mighty is} page , line . part of the refrain which runs as follows: 'olaf the mighty is-- the very greatest chief-- born under the sun.' {the wednesday} page , line . september ( ). {stanford bridge} page , line . now stamford bridge across the derwent. snorri thought that stamford was situated nearer york than it really is. {the sunday} page , line . september . {a thing in the city} page , line . this is incorrect. the thing was to be held at stamford bridge and harald was to be given there hostages from the whole of yorkshire. it was for this reason that the battle occurred there. {the monday} page , line . september ( ). {the horsemen} page , line . legends referring to the battle of hastings (october , ) are incorporated in this and the following narrative. it was the norwegians who fought on horseback, and who used the expedient of pretended flight against the english, and not the reverse: the latter had no horse. {she fell and straightway died} page , line . quite unhistorical. {svein} page , line . svein was killed in . {the fall of king harald sigurdson} page , line . october , . {thereafter he was beheaded} page , line . walthiof submitted to william immediately after the battle, and became in earl of northumberland. in he took part in a plot against william and, although he made a timely confession of it, was beheaded outside winchester in . [marker printed after following sentence.] * * * * * * * * * * * * * * errors and anomalies "whithersoever" _occasionally printed "withersoever"_ ye relics of king olaf _text unchanged_ no power would the horsemen have over us _text reads "norsemen"_ hyphenated words: to the war-gathering on the longships _hyphen missing in original; normal form is "long-ships"_ when the fore-castle men on the 'serpent' saw this leap over-board each on his own side _hyphens in original; normal forms are "forecastle" and "overboard"_ punctuation: thorstein the white of oprostad, _text has period (full stop) for comma_ after the death of king harald sigurdson, _text has hyphen for comma_ and choose them tent-places.' _close quote missing_ the harvard classics edited by charles w. eliot lld. epic and saga the song of roland the destruction of dÁ derga's hostel with introductions and notes volume the song of roland translated by john o'hagan _introductory note_ _in the year a.d., charles the great, king of the franks, returned from a military expedition into spain, whither he had been led by opportunities offered through dissensions among the saracens who then dominated that country. on the th of august, while his army was marching through the passes of the pyrenees, his rear-guard was attacked and annihilated by the basque inhabitants of the mountains, in the valley of roncesvaux about this disaster many popular songs, it is supposed, soon sprang up; and the chief hero whom they celebrated was hrodland, count of the marches of brittany. there are indications that the earliest of these songs arose among the breton followers of hrodland or roland; but they spread to maine, to anjou, to normandy, until the theme became national. by the latter part of the eleventh century, when the form of the "song of roland" which we possess was probably composed, the historical germ of the story had almost disappeared under the mass of legendary accretion. charlemagne, who was a man of thirty-six at the time of the actual roncesvaux incident, has become in the poem an old man with a flowing white beard, credited with endless conquests; the basques have disappeared, and the saracens have taken their place; the defeat is accounted for by the invention of the treachery of ganelon; the expedition of - has become a campaign of seven years; roland is made the nephew of charlemagne, leader of the twelve peers, and is provided with a faithful friend oliver, and a betrothed, alda. the poem is the first of the great french heroic poems known as "chansons de geste." it is written in stanzas of various length, bound together by the vowel-rhyme known as assonance. it is not possible to reproduce effectively this device in english, and the author of the present translation has adopted what is perhaps the nearest equivalent--the romantic measure of coleridge and scott. simple almost to bareness in style, without subtlety or high imagination, the song of roland is yet not without grandeur; and its patriotic ardor gives it a place as the earliest of the truly national poems of the modern world._ the song of roland part i the treason of ganelon saragossa. the council of king marsil i the king our emperor carlemaine, hath been for seven full years in spain. from highland to sea hath he won the land; city was none might his arm withstand; keep and castle alike went down-- save saragossa, the mountain town. the king marsilius holds the place, who loveth not god, nor seeks his grace: he prays to apollin, and serves mahound; but he saved him not from the fate he found. ii in saragossa king marsil made his council-seat in the orchard shade, on a stair of marble of azure hue. there his courtiers round him drew; while there stood, the king before, twenty thousand men and more. thus to his dukes and his counts he said, "hear ye, my lords, we are sore bested. the emperor karl of gentle france hither hath come for our dire mischance. nor host to meet him in battle line, nor power to shatter his power, is mine. speak, my sages; your counsel lend: my doom of shame and death forefend." but of all the heathens none spake word save blancandrin, val fonde's lord. iii blancandrin was a heathen wise, knightly and valiant of enterprise, sage in counsel his lord to aid; and he said to the king, "be not dismayed: proffer to karl, the haughty and high, lowly friendship and fealty; ample largess lay at his feet, bear and lion and greyhound fleet. seven hundred camels his tribute be, a thousand hawks that have moulted free. let full four hundred mules be told, laden with silver enow and gold for fifty waggons to bear away; so shall his soldiers receive their pay. say, too long hath he warred in spain,-- let him turn to france--to his aix--again. at saint michael's feast you will thither speed, bend your heart to the christian creed, and his liegeman be in duty and deed. hostages he may demand ten or twenty at your hand. we will send him the sons whom our wives have nursed; were death to follow, mine own the first. better by far that they there should die than be driven all from our land to fly, flung to dishonor and beggary." iv "yea," said blancandrin, "by this right hand, and my floating beard by the free wind fanned, ye shall see the host of the franks disband and hie them back into france their land; each to his home as beseemeth well, and karl unto aix--to his own chapelle. he will hold high feast on saint michael's day and the time of your tryst shall pass away. tale nor tidings of us shall be; fiery and sudden, i know, is he: he will smite off the heads of our hostages all: better, i say, that their heads should fall than we the fair land of spain forego, and our lives be laden with shame and woe." "yea," said the heathens, "it may be so." v king marsil's council is over that day, and he called to him clarin of balaguet, estramarin, and eudropin his peer, bade garlon and priamon both draw near, machiner and his uncle maheu--with these joïmer and malbien from overseas, blancandrin for spokesman,--of all his men he hath summoned there the most felon ten. "go ye to carlemaine," spake their liege,-- "at cordres city he sits in siege,-- while olive branches in hand ye press, token of peace and of lowliness. win him to make fair treaty with me, silver and gold shall your guerdon be, land and lordship in ample fee." "nay," said the heathens, "enough have we." vi so did king marsil his council end. "lords," he said, "on my errand wend; while olive branches in hand ye bring, say from me unto karl the king, for sake of his god let him pity show; and ere ever a month shall come and go, with a thousand faithful of my race, i will follow swiftly upon his trace, freely receive his christian law, and his liegemen be in love and awe. hostages asks he? it shall be done." blancandrin answered, "your peace is won." vii then king marsil bade be dight ten fair mules of snowy white, erst from the king of sicily brought their trappings with silver and gold inwrought-- gold the bridle, and silver the selle. on these are the messengers mounted well; and they ride with olive boughs in hand, to seek the lord of the frankish land. well let him watch; he shall be trepanned. at cordres. carlemaine's council viii king karl is jocund and gay of mood, he hath cordres city at last subdued; its shattered walls and turrets fell by catapult and mangonel; not a heathen did there remain but confessed him christian or else was slain. the emperor sits in an orchard wide, roland and olivier by his side: samson the duke, and anseis proud; geoffrey of anjou, whose arm was vowed the royal gonfalon to rear; gerein, and his fellow in arms, gerier; with them many a gallant lance, full fifteen thousand of gentle france. the cavaliers sit upon carpets white, playing at tables for their delight: the older and sager sit at the chess, the bachelors fence with a light address. seated underneath a pine, close beside an eglantine, upon a throne of beaten gold, the lord of ample france behold; white his hair and beard were seen, fair of body, and proud of mien, who sought him needed not ask, i ween. the ten alight before his feet, and him in all observance greet. ix blancandrin first his errand gave, and he said to the king, "may god you save, the god of glory, to whom you bend! marsil, our king, doth his greeting send. much hath he mused on the law of grace, much of his wealth at your feet will place-- bears and lions, and dogs of chase, seven hundred camels that bend the knee, a thousand hawks that have moulted free, four hundred mules, with silver and gold which fifty wains might scantly hold, so shall you have of the red bezants to pay the soldiers of gentle france. overlong have you dwelt in spain,-- to aix, your city, return again. the lord i serve will thither come, accept the law of christendom, with clasped hands your liegeman be, and hold his realm of you in fee." the emperor raised his hands on high, bent and bethought him silently. x the emperor bent his head full low; never hasty of speech i trow; leisurely came his words, and slow, lofty his look as he raised his head: "thou hast spoken well," at length he said. "king marsil was ever my deadly foe, and of all these words, so fair in show, how may i the fulfilment know?" "hostages will you?" the heathen cried, "ten or twenty, or more beside. i will send my son, were his death at hand, with the best and noblest of all our land; and when you sit in your palace halls, and the feast of st. michael of peril falls, unto the waters will come our king, which god commanded for you to spring; there in the laver of christ be laved." "yea!" said karl, "he may yet be saved." xi fair and bright did the evening fall: the ten white mules were stabled in stall; on the sward was a fair pavilion dressed, to give to the saracens cheer of the best; servitors twelve at their bidding bide, and they rest all night until morning tide. the emperor rose with the day-dawn clear, failed not matins and mass to hear, then betook him beneath a pine, summoned his barons by word and sign: as his franks advise will his choice incline. xii under a pine is the emperor gone, and his barons to council come forth anon: archbishop turpin, duke ogier bold with his nephew henry was richard the old, gascony's gallant count acelin, tybalt of rheims, and milo his kin, gerein and his brother in arms, gerier, count roland and his faithful fere, the gentle and valiant olivier: more than a thousand franks of france and ganelon came, of woful chance; by him was the deed of treason done. so was the fatal consult begun. xiii "lords my barons," the emperor said, "king marsil to me hath his envoys sped. he proffers treasure surpassing bounds, bears and lions, and leashèd hounds; seven hundred camels that bend the knee; a thousand hawks that have moulted free; four hundred mules with arab gold, which fifty wains might scantly hold. but he saith to france must i wend my way: he will follow to aix with brief delay, bend his heart unto christ's belief, and hold his marches of me in fief; yet i know not what in his heart may lie." "beware! beware!" was the franks' outcry. xiv scarce his speech did the emperor close, when in high displeasure count roland rose, fronted his uncle upon the spot, and said, "this marsil, believe him not: seven full years have we warred in spain; commibles and noples for you have i ta'en, tudela and sebilie, cities twain; valtierra i won, and the land of pine, and balaguet fell to this arm of mine. king marsil hath ever a traitor been: he sent of his heathens, at first fifteen. bearing each one on olive bough, speaking the self-same words as now. into council with your franks you went, lightly they flattered your heart's intent; two of your barons to him you sent,-- they were basan and basil, the brother knights: he smote off their heads on haltoia's heights. war, i say!--end as you well began, unto saragossa lead on your van; were the siege to last your lifetime through, avenge the nobles this felon slew." xv the emperor bent him and mused within, twisted his beard upon lip and chin, answered his nephew nor good nor ill; and the franks, save ganelon, all were still: hastily to his feet he sprang, haughtily his words outrang:-- "by me or others be not misled,-- look to your own good ends," he said. "since now king marsil his faith assures, that, with hands together clasped in yours, he will henceforth your vassal be, receive the christian law as we, and hold his realm of you in fee, whoso would treaty like this deny, recks not, sire, by what death we die: good never came from counsel of pride,-- list to the wise, and let madmen bide." xvi then his form duke naimes upreared, white of hair and hoary of beard. better vassal in court was none. "you have hearkened," he said, "unto ganelon. well hath count ganelon made reply; wise are his words, if you bide thereby. king marsil is beaten and broken in war; you have captured his castles anear and far, with your engines shattered his walls amain, his cities burned, his soldiers slain: respite and ruth if he now implore, sin it were to molest him more. let his hostages vouch for the faith he plights, and send him one of your christian knights. 'twere time this war to an ending came." "well saith the duke!" the franks exclaim. xvii "lords my barons, who then were best in saragossa to do our hest?" "i," said naimes, "of your royal grace, yield me in token your glove and mace." "nay--my sagest of men art thou: by my beard upon lip and chin i vow thou shalt never depart so far from me: sit thee down till i summon thee." xviii "lords my barons, whom send we, then, to saragossa, the saracen den?" "i," said roland, "will blithely go." "nay," said olivier; "nay, not so. all too fiery of mood thou art; thou wouldst play, i fear me, a perilous part. i go myself, if the king but will." "i command," said karl, "that ye both be still. neither shall be on this errand bound, nor one of the twelve--my peers around; so by my blanching beard i swear." the franks are abashed and silent there. xix turpin of rheims from amid the ranks said: "look, my liege, on your faithful franks: seven full years have they held this land, with pain and peril on every hand. to me be the mace and the glove consigned; i will go this saracen lord to find, and freely forth will i speak my mind." the emperor answered in angry plight, "sit thee down on that carpet white; speak not till i thy speech invite." xx "my cavaliers," he began anew, "choose of my marches a baron true, before king marsil my best to do." "be it, then," said roland, "my stepsire gan, in vain ye seek for a meeter man." the franks exclaim, "he is worth the trust, so it please the king it is right and just." count ganelon then was with anguish wrung, his mantle of fur from his neck he flung, stood all stark in his silken vest, and his grey eyes gleamed with a fierce unrest fair of body and large of limb, all in wonderment gazed on him. "thou madman," thus he to roland cried, "what may this rage against me betide? i am thy stepsire, as all men know, and thou doom'st me on hest like this to go; but so god my safe return bestow, i promise to work thee scathe and strife long as thou breathest the breath of life." "pride and folly!" said roland, then. "am i known to wreck of the threats of men? but this is work for the sagest head. so it please the king, i will go instead." xxi "in _my_ stead?--never, of mine accord. thou art not my vassal nor i thy lord. since karl commands me his hest to fill, unto saragossa ride forth i will; yet i fear me to wreak some deed of ill, thereby to slake this passion's might." roland listened, and laughed outright. xxii at roland's laughter count ganelon's pain was as though his bosom were cleft in twain. he turned to his stepson as one distraught: "i do not love thee," he said, "in aught; thou hast false judgment against me wrought. o righteous emperor, here i stand to execute your high command." xxiii "unto saragossa i needs must go;-- who goeth may never return, i know;-- yet withal, your sister is spouse of mine, and our son--no fairer of mortal line-- baldwin bids to be goodly knight; i leave him my honors and fiefs of right. guard him--no more shall he greet my sight" saith karl, "thou art over tender of heart. since i command it, thou shalt depart." xxiv "fair sir gan," the emperor spake, "this my message to marsil take: he shall make confession of christ's belief, and i yield him, full half of spain in fief; in the other half shall count roland reign. if he choose not the terms i now ordain, i will march unto saragossa's gate, besiege and capture the city straight, take and bind him both hands and feet, lead him to aix, to my royal seat, there to be tried and judged and slain, dying a death of disgrace and pain. i have sealed the scroll of my command. deliver it into the heathen's hand." xxv "gan," said the emperor, "draw thou near: take my glove and my bâton here; on thee did the choice of thy fellows fall." "sire, 'twas roland who wrought it all. i shall not love him while life may last, nor olivier his comrade fast, nor the peers who cherish and prize him so,-- gage of defiance to all i throw." saith karl, "thine anger hath too much sway. since i ordain it, thou must obey." "i go, but warranty none have i that i may not like basil and basan die." xxvi the emperor reached him his right-hand glove; gan for his office had scanty love; as he bent him forward, it fell to ground: "god, what is this?" said the franks around; "evil will come of this quest we fear." "my lords," said ganelon, "ye shall hear." xxvii "sire," he said, "let me wend my way; since go i must, what boots delay?" said the king, "in jesus' name and mine!" and his right hand sained him with holy sign. then he to ganelon's grasp did yield his royal mace and missive sealed. xxviii home to his hostel is ganelon gone, his choicest of harness and arms to don; on his charger taschebrun to mount and ride, with his good sword murgleis girt at side. on his feet are fastened the spurs of gold, and his uncle guinemer doth his stirrup hold. then might ye look upon cavaliers a-many round him who spake in tears. "sir," they said, "what a woful day! long were you ranked in the king's array, a noble vassal as none gainsay. for him who doomed you to journey hence carlemagne's self shall be scant defence; foul was the thought in count roland's mind, when you and he are so high affined. sir," they said, "let us with you wend." "nay," said ganelon, "god forefend. liefer alone to my death i go, than such brave bachelors perish so. sirs, ye return into france the fair; greeting from me to my lady bear, to my friend and peer sir pinabel, and to baldwin, my son, whom ye all know well,-- cherish him, own him your lord of right." he hath passed on his journey and left their sight. the embassy and crime of ganelon xxix ganelon rides under olives high, and comes the saracen envoys nigh. blancandrin lingers until they meet, and in cunning converse each other greet. the saracen thus began their parle: "what a man, what a wondrous man is karl! apulia--calabria--all subdued, unto england crossed he the salt sea rude, won for saint peter his tribute fee; but what in our marches maketh he?" ganelon said, "he is great of heart, never man shall fill so mighty a part." xxx said blancandrin, "your franks are high of fame, but your dukes and counts are sore to blame. such counsel to their lord they give, nor he nor others in peace may live." ganelon answered, "i know of none, save roland, who thus to his shame hath done. last morn the emperor sat in the shade, his nephew came in his mail arrayed,-- he had plundered carcassonne just before, and a vermeil apple in hand he bore: 'sire,' he said, 'to your feet i bring the crown of every earthly king.' disaster is sure such pride to blast; he setteth his life on a daily cast. were he slain, we all should have peace at last." xxxi "ruthless is roland," blancandrin spake, "who every race would recreant make. and on all possessions of men would seize; but in whom doth he trust for feats like these?" "the franks! the franks!" count ganelon cried; "they love him, and never desert his side; for he lavisheth gifts that seldom fail, gold and silver in countless tale, mules and chargers, and silks and mail, the king himself may have spoil at call. from hence to the east he will conquer all." xxxii thus blancandrin and ganelon rode, till each on other his faith bestowed that roland should be by practice slain, and so they journeyed by path and plain, till in saragossa they bridle drew, there alighted beneath a yew. in a pine-tree's shadow a throne was set; alexandrian silk was the coverlet: there the monarch of spain they found, with twenty thousand saracens round, yet from them came nor breath nor sound; all for the tidings they strained to hear, as they saw blancandrin and ganelon near. xxxiii blancandrin stepped before marsil's throne, ganelon's hand was in his own. "mahound you save," to the king he said, "and apollin, whose holy law we dread! fairly your errand to karl was done; but other answer made he none, save that his hands to heaven he raised, save that a space his god he praised; he sends a baron of his court, knight of france, and of high report, of him your tidings of peace receive." "let him speak," said marsil, "we yield him leave." xxxiv gan had bethought him, and mused with art; well was he skilled to play his part; and he said to marsil, "may god you save, the god of glory, whose grace we crave! thus saith the noble carlemaine: you shall make in christ confession plain. and he gives you in fief full half of spain; the other half shall be roland's share (right haughty partner, he yields you there); and should you slight the terms i bear, he will come and gird saragossa round, you shall be taken by force and bound, led unto aix, to his royal seat, there to perish by judgment meet, dying a villainous death of shame." over king marsil a horror came; he grasped his javelin, plumed with gold, in act to smite, were he not controlled. xxxv king marsil's cheek the hue hath left, and his right hand grasped his weapon's heft. when ganelon saw it, his sword he drew finger lengths from the scabbard two. "sword," he said, "thou art clear and bright; i have borne thee long in my fellows' sight, mine emperor never shall say of me, that i perished afar, in a strange countrie, ere thou in the blood of their best wert dyed." "dispart the mellay," the heathens cried. xxxvi the noblest saracens thronged amain, seated the king on his throne again, and the algalif said, "'twas a sorry prank, raising your weapon to slay the frank. it was yours to hearken in silence there." "sir," said gan, "i may meetly bear, but for all the wealth of your land arrayed, for all the gold that god hath made, would i not live and leave unsaid, what karl, the mightiest king below, sends, through me, to his mortal foe." his mantle of fur, that was round him twined, with silk of alexandria lined, down at blancandrin's feet he cast, but still he held by his good sword fast, grasping the hilt by its golden ball. "a noble knight," say the heathens all. xxxvii ganelon came to the king once more. "your anger," he said, "misserves you sore. as the princely carlemaine saith, i say, you shall the christian law obey. and half of spain you shall hold in fee, the other half shall count roland's be, (and a haughty partner 'tis yours to see). reject the treaty i here propose, round saragossa his lines will close; you shall be bound in fetters strong, led to his city of aix along. nor steed nor palfrey shall you bestride, nor mule nor jennet be yours to ride; on a sorry sumpter you shall be cast, and your head by doom stricken off at last. so is the emperor's mandate traced,"-- and the scroll in the heathen's hand he placed. xxxviii discolored with ire was king marsil's hue; the seal he brake and to earth he threw, read of the scroll the tenor clear. "so karl the emperor writes me here. bids me remember his wrath and pain for sake of basan and basil slain, whose necks i smote on haltoia's hill; yet, if my life i would ransom still, mine uncle the algalif must i send, or love between us were else at end." then outspake jurfalez, marsil's son: "this is but madness of ganelon. for crime so deadly his life shall pay; justice be mine on his head this day." ganelon heard him, and waved his blade, while his back against a pine he stayed. xxxix into his orchard king marsil stepped. his nobles round him their station kept: there was jurfalez, his son and heir, blancandrin of the hoary hair, the algalif, truest of all his kin. said blancandrin, "summon the christian in; his troth he pledged me upon our side." "go," said marsil, "be thou his guide." blancandrin led him, hand-in-hand, before king marsil's face to stand. then was the villainous treason planned. xl "fair sir ganelon," spake the king, "i did a rash and despighteous thing, raising against thee mine arm to smite. richly will i the wrong requite. see these sables whose worth were told at full five hundred pounds of gold: thine shall they be ere the coming day." "i may not," said gan, "your grace gainsay. god in his pleasure will you repay." xli "trust me i love thee, sir gan, and fain would i hear thee discourse of carlemaine. he is old, methinks, exceedingly old; and full two hundred years hath told; with toil his body spent and worn, so many blows on his buckler borne, so many a haughty king laid low, when will he weary of warring so?" "such is not carlemaine," gan replied; "man never knew him, nor stood beside, but will say how noble a lord is he, princely and valiant in high degree. never could words of mine express his honor, his bounty, his gentleness, 'twas god who graced him with gifts so high. ere i leave his vassalage i will die." xlii the heathen said, "i marvel sore of carlemaine, so old and hoar, who counts i ween two hundred years, hath borne such strokes of blades and spears, so many lands hath overrun, so many mighty kings undone, when will he tire of war and strife?" "not while his nephew breathes in life beneath the cope of heaven this day such vassal leads not king's array. gallant and sage is olivier, and all the twelve, to karl so dear, with twenty thousand franks in van, he feareth not the face of man." xliii "strange," said marsil, "seems to me, karl, so white with eld is he, twice a hundred years, men say, since his birth have passed away. all his wars in many lands, all the strokes of trenchant brands, all the kings despoiled and slain,-- when will he from war refrain?" "not till roland breathes no more, for from hence to eastern shore, where is chief with him may vie? olivier his comrades by, and the peers, of karl the pride, twenty thousand franks beside, vanguard of his host, and flower: karl may mock at mortal power." xliv "i tell thee, sir gan, that a power is mine; fairer did never in armor shine, four hundred thousand cavaliers, with the franks of karl to measure spears." "fling such folly," said gan, "away; sorely your heathen would rue the day. proffer the emperor ample prize, a sight to dazzle the frankish eyes; send him hostages full of score, so returns he to france once more. but his rear will tarry behind the host; there, i trow, will be roland's post-- there will sir olivier remain. hearken to me, and the counts lie slain; the pride of karl shall be crushed that day, and his wars be ended with you for aye." xlv "speak, then, and tell me, sir ganelon, how may roland to death be done?" "through cizra's pass will the emperor wind, but his rear will linger in march behind; roland and olivier there shall be, with twenty thousand in company. muster your battle against them then, a hundred thousand heathen men. till worn and spent be the frankish bands, though your bravest perish beneath their hands. for another battle your powers be massed, roland will sink, overcome at last. there were a feat of arms indeed, and your life from peril thenceforth be freed." xlvi "for whoso roland to death shall bring, from karl his good right arm will wring, the marvellous host will melt away, no more shall he muster a like array, and the mighty land will in peace repose." king marsil heard him to the close; then kissed him on the neck, and bade his royal treasures be displayed. xlvii what said they more? why tell the rest? said marsil, "fastest bound is best; come, swear me here to roland's fall." "your will," said gan, "be mine in all." he swore on the relics in the hilt of his sword murgleis, and crowned his guilt. xlviii a stool was there of ivory wrought. king marsil bade a book be brought, wherein was all the law contained mahound and termagaunt ordained. the saracen hath sworn thereby, if roland in the rear-guard lie, with all his men-at-arms to go, and combat till the count lay low. sir gan repeated, "be it so." xlix king marsil's foster-father came, a heathen, valdabrun by name. he spake to gan with laughter clear. "my sword, that never found its peer,-- a thousand pieces would not buy the riches in the hilt that lie,-- to you i give in guerdon free; your aid in roland's fall to see, let but the rear-guard be his place." "i trust," said gan, "to do you grace." then each kissed other on the face. l next broke with jocund laughter in, another heathen, climorin. to gan he said, "accept my helm, the best and trustiest in the realm, conditioned that your aid we claim to bring the marchman unto shame." "be it," said ganelon, "as you list." and then on cheek and mouth they kissed. li now bramimonde, king marsil's queen, to ganelon came with gentle mien. "i love thee well, sir count," she spake, "for my lord the king and his nobles' sake. see these clasps for a lady's wrist, of gold, and jacinth, and amethyst, that all the jewels of rome outshine; never your emperor owned so fine; these by the queen to your spouse are sent." the gems within his boot he pent. lii then did the king on his treasurer call, "my gifts for karl, are they ready all?" "yea, sire, seven hundred camels' load of gold and silver well bestowed, and twenty hostages thereby, the noblest underneath the sky." liii on ganelon's shoulder king marsil leant. "thou art sage," he said, "and of gallant bent; but by all thy holiest law deems dear, let not thy thought from our purpose veer. ten mules' burthen i give to thee of gold, the finest of araby; nor ever year henceforth shall pass but it brings thee riches in equal mass. take the keys of my city gates, take the treasure that karl awaits-- render them all; but oh, decide that roland in the rear-guard bide; so may i find him by pass or height, as i swear to meet him in mortal fight." cried gan, "meseemeth too long we stay," sprang on his charger and rode away. liv the emperor homeward hath turned his face, to gailne city he marched apace, (by roland erst in ruins strown-- deserted thence it lay and lone, until a hundred years had flown). here waits he, word of gan to gain with tribute of the land of spain; and here, at earliest break of day, came gan where the encampment lay. lv the emperor rose with the day dawn clear, failed not matins and mass to hear, sate at his tent on the fair green sward, roland and olivier nigh their lord, duke naimes and all his peers of fame. gan the felon, the perjured, came-- false was the treacherous tale he gave,-- and these his words, "may god you save! i bear you saragossa's keys, vast the treasure i bring with these, and twenty hostages; guard them well, the noble marsil bids me tell-- not on him shall your anger fall, if i fetch not the algalif here withal; for mine eyes beheld, beneath their ken, three hundred thousand armèd men, with sword and casque and coat of mail, put forth with him on the sea to sail, all for hate of the christian creed, which they would neither hold nor heed. they had not floated a league but four, when a tempest down on their galleys bore drowned they lie to be seen no more. if the algalif were but living wight, he had stood this morn before your sight. sire, for the saracen king i say, ere ever a month shall pass away, on into france he will follow free, bend to our christian law the knee, homage swear for his spanish land, and hold the realm at your command." "now praise to god," the emperor said, "and thanks, my ganelon, well you sped." a thousand clarions then resound, the sumpter-mules are girt on ground, for france, for france the franks are bound. lvi karl the great hath wasted spain, her cities sacked, her castles ta'en; but now "my wars are done," he cried, "and home to gentle france we ride." count roland plants his standard high upon a peak against the sky; the franks around encamping lie. alas! the heathen host the while, through valley deep and dark defile, are riding on the chistians' track, all armed in steel from breast to back; their lances poised, their helmets laced, their falchions glittering from the waist, their bucklers from the shoulder swung, and so they ride the steeps among, till, in a forest on the height, they rest to wait the morning light, four hundred thousand crouching there. o god! the franks are unaware. lvii the day declined, night darkling crept, and karl, the mighty emperor, slept. he dreamt a dream: he seemed to stand in cizra's pass, with lance in hand. count ganelon came athwart, and lo, he wrenched the aspen spear him fro, brandished and shook it aloft with might, till it brake in pieces before his sight; high towards heaven the splinters flew; karl awoke not, he dreamed anew. lviii in his second dream he seemed to dwell in his palace of aix, at his own chapelle. a bear seized grimly his right arm on, and bit the flesh to the very bone. anon a leopard from arden wood, fiercely flew at him where he stood. when lo! from his hall, with leap and bound, sprang to the rescue a gallant hound. first from the bear the ear he tore, then on the leopard his fangs he bore. the franks exclaim, "'tis a stirring fray, but who the victor none may say." karl awoke not--he slept alway. lix the night wore by, the day dawn glowed, proudly the emperor rose and rode, keenly and oft his host he scanned. "lords, my barons, survey this land, see the passes so straight and steep: to whom shall i trust the rear to keep?" "to my stepson roland:" count gan replied. "knight like him have you none beside." the emperor heard him with moody brow. "a living demon," he said, "art thou; some mortal rage hath thy soul possessed. to head my vanguard, who then were best?" "ogier," he answered, "the gallant dane, braver baron will none remain." lx roland, when thus the choice he saw, spake, full knightly, by knightly law: "sir stepsire, well may i hold thee dear, that thou hast named me to guard the rear; karl shall lose not, if i take heed, charger, or palfrey, or mule or steed, hackney or sumpter that groom may lead; the reason else our swords shall tell." "it is sooth," said gan, "and i know it well." lxi fiercely once more count roland turned to speak the scorn that in him burned. "ha! deem'st thou, dastard, of dastard race, that i shall drop the glove in place, as in sight of karl thou didst the mace?" lxii then of his uncle he made demand: "yield me the bow that you hold in hand; never of me shall the tale be told, as of ganelon erst, that it failed my hold." sadly the emperor bowed his head, with working finger his beard he spread, tears in his own despite he shed. lxiii but soon duke naimes doth by him stand-- no better vassal in all his band. "you have seen and heard it all, o sire, count roland waxeth much in ire. on him the choice for the rear-guard fell, and where is baron could speed so well? yield him the bow that your arm hath bent, and let good succor to him be lent." the emperor reached it forth, and lo! he gave, and roland received, the bow. lxiv "fair sir nephew, i tell thee free. half of my host will i leave with thee." "god be my judge," was the count's reply, "if ever i thus my race belie. but twenty thousand with me shall rest, bravest of all your franks and best; the mountain passes in safety tread, while i breathe in life you have nought to dread." lxv count roland sprang to a hill-top's height, and donned his peerless armor bright; laced his helm, for a baron made; girt durindana, gold-hilted blade; around his neck he hung the shield, with flowers emblazoned was the field; nor steed but veillantif will ride; and he grasped his lance with its pennon's pride. white was the pennon, with rim of gold; low to the handle the fringes rolled. who are his lovers men now may see; and the franks exclaim, "we will follow thee." lxvi roland hath mounted his charger on; sir olivier to his side hath gone; gerein and his fellow in arms, gerier; otho the count, and berengier, samson, and with him anseis old, gerard of roussillon, the bold. thither the gascon engelier sped; "i go," said turpin, "i pledge my head;" "and i with thee," count walter said; "i am roland's man, to his service bound." so twenty thousand knights were found. lxvii roland beckoned count walter then. "take of our franks a thousand men; sweep the heights and the passes clear, that the emperor's host may have nought to fear." "i go," said walter, "at your behest," and a thousand franks around him pressed. they ranged the heights and passes through, nor for evil tidings backward drew, until seven hundred swords outflew. the lord of belferna's land, that day, king almaris met him in deadly fray. lxviii through roncesvalles the march began; ogier, the baron, led the van; for them was neither doubt nor fear, since roland rested to guard the rear, with twenty thousand in full array: theirs the battle--be god their stay. gan knows all; in his felon heart scarce hath he courage to play his part. lxix high were the peaks, and the valleys deep, the mountains wondrous dark and steep; sadly the franks through the passes wound, full fifteen leagues did their tread resound. to their own great land they are drawing nigh, and they look on the fields of gascony. they think of their homes and their manors there, their gentle spouses and damsels fair. is none but for pity the tear lets fall; but the anguish of karl is beyond them all. his sister's son at the gates of spain smites on his heart, and he weeps amain. lxx on the spanish marches the twelve abide, with twice ten thousand franks beside. fear to die have they none, nor care: but karl returns into france the fair; beneath his mantle his face he hides. naimes, the duke, at his bridle rides. "say, sire, what grief doth your heart oppress?" "to ask," he said, "brings worse distress; i cannot but weep for heaviness. by gan the ruin of france is wrought. in an angel's vision, last night, methought he wrested forth from my hand the spear: 'twas he gave roland to guard the rear. god! should i lose him, my nephew dear, whom i left on a foreign soil behind, his peer on earth i shall never find!" lxxi karl the great cannot choose but weep, for him hath his host compassion deep; and for roland, a marvellous boding dread. it was gan, the felon, this treason bred; he hath heathen gifts of silver and gold, costly raiment, and silken fold, horses and camels, and mules and steeds.-- but lo! king marsil the mandate speeds, to his dukes, his counts, and his vassals all, to each almasour and amiral. and so, before three suns had set, four hundred thousand in muster met. through saragossa the tabors sound; on the loftiest turret they raise mahound: before him the pagans bend and pray, then mount and fiercely ride away, across cerdagna, by vale and height, till stream the banners of france in sight, where the peers of carlemaine proudly stand, and the shock of battle is hard at hand. lxxii up to king marsil his nephew rode, with a mule for steed, and a staff for goad: free and joyous his accents fell, "fair sir king, i have served you well. so let my toils and my perils tell. i have fought and vanquished for you in field. one good boon for my service yield,-- be it mine on roland to strike the blow; at point of lance will i lay him low; and so mohammed to aid me deign, free will i sweep the soil of spain, from the gorge of aspra to dourestan, till karl grows weary such wars to plan. then for your life have you won repose." king marsil on him his glove bestows. lxxiii his nephew, while the glove he pressed, proudly once more the king addressed. "sire, you have crowned my dearest vow; name me eleven of your barons now, in battle against the twelve to bide." falsaron first to the call replied; brother to marsil, the king, was he; "fair sir nephew, i go with thee; in mortal combat we front, to-day, the rear-guard of the grand array. foredoomed to die by our spears are they." lxxiv king corsablis the next drew nigh, miscreant monarch of barbary; yet he spake like vassal staunch and bold-- blench would he not for all god's gold. the third, malprimis, of brigal's breed, more fleet of foot than the fleetest steed, before king marsil he raised his cry, "on unto roncesvalles i: in mine encounter shall roland die." lxxv an emir of balaguet came in place, proud of body, and fair of face; since first he sprang on steed to ride, to wear his harness was all his pride; for feats of prowess great laud he won; were he christian, nobler baron none. to marsil came he, and cried aloud, "unto roncesvalles mine arm is vowed; may i meet with roland and olivier, or the twelve together, their doom is near. the franks shall perish in scathe and scorn; karl the great, who is old and worn, weary shall grow his hosts to lead, and the land of spain be for ever freed." king marsil's thanks were his gracious meed. lxxvi a mauritanian almasour (breathed not in spain such a felon moor) stepped unto marsil, with braggart boast: "unto roncesvalles i lead my host, full twenty thousand, with lance and shield. let me meet with roland upon the field, lifelong tears for him karl shall yield." lxxvii turgis, count of tortosa came. lord of the city, he bears its name. scathe to the christian to him is best, and in marsil's presence he joined the rest. to the king he said, "be fearless found; peter of rome cannot mate mahound. if we serve him truly, we win this day; unto roncesvalles i ride straightway. no power shall roland from slaughter save: see the length of my peerless glaive, that with durindana to cross i go, and who the victor, ye then shall know. sorrow and shame old karl shall share, crown on earth never more shall wear." lxxviii lord of valtierra was escremis; saracen he, and the region his; he cried to marsil, amid the throng, "unto roncesvalles i spur along, the pride of roland in dust to tread, nor shall he carry from thence his head; nor olivier who leads the band. and of all the twelve is the doom at hand. the franks shall perish, and france be lorn, and karl of his bravest vassals shorn." lxxix estorgan next to marsil hied, with estramarin his mate beside. hireling traitors and felons they. aloud cried marsil, "my lords, away unto roncesvalles, the pass to gain, of my people's captains ye shall be twain." "sire, full welcome to us the call, on roland and olivier we fall. none the twelve from their death shall screen, the swords we carry are bright and keen; we will dye them red with the hot blood's vent the franks shall perish and karl lament. we will yield all france as your tribute meet. come, that the vision your eyes may greet; the emperor's self shall be at your feet." lxxx with speed came margaris--lord was he of the land of sibilie to the sea; beloved of dames for his beauty's sake, was none but joy in his look would take, the goodliest knight of heathenesse,-- and he cried to the king over all the press, "sire, let nothing your heart dismay; i will roland in roncesvalles slay, nor thence shall olivier scathless come, the peers await but their martyrdom. the emir of primis bestowed this blade; look on its hilt, with gold inlaid: it shall crimsoned be with the red blood's trace: death to the franks, and to france disgrace! karl the old, with his beard so white, shall have pain and sorrow both day and night; france shall be ours ere a year go by; at saint denys' bourg shall our leaguer lie." king marsil bent him reverently. lxxxi chernubles is there, from the valley black, his long hair makes on the earth its track; a load, when it lists him, he bears in play, which four mules' burthen would well outweigh. men say, in the land where he was born nor shineth sun, nor springeth corn, nor falleth rain, nor droppeth dew; the very stones are of sable hue. 'tis the home of demons, as some assert. and he cried, "my good sword have i girt, in roncesvalles to dye it red. let roland but in my pathway tread, trust ye to me that i strike him dead, his durindana beat down with mine. the franks shall perish and france decline." thus were mustered king marsil's peers, with a hundred thousand heathen spears. in haste to press to the battle on, in a pine-tree forest their arms they don. lxxxii they don their hauberks of saracen mould, wrought for the most with a triple fold; in saragossa their helms were made; steel of vienne was each girded blade; valentia lances and targets bright, pennons of azure and red and white. they leave their sumpters and mules aside, leap on their chargers and serried ride. bright was the sunshine and fair the day; their arms resplendent gave back the ray. then sound a thousand clarions clear, till the franks the mighty clangor hear, "sir comrade," said olivier, "i trow there is battle at hand with the saracen foe." "god grant," said roland, "it may be so. here our post for our king we hold; for his lord the vassal bears heat and cold, toil and peril endures for him, risks in his service both life and limb. for mighty blows let our arms be strung, lest songs of scorn be against us sung. with the christian is good, with the heathen ill: no dastard part shall ye see me fill." part ii the prelude of the great battle roncesvalles lxxxiii olivier clomb to a mountain height, glanced through the valley that stretched to right; he saw advancing the saracen men, and thus to roland he spake agen: "what sights and sounds from the spanish side, white gleaming hauberks and helms in pride? in deadliest wrath our franks shall be! ganelon wrought this perfidy; it was he who doomed us to hold the rear." "hush," said roland; "o olivier, no word be said of my stepsire here." [footnote : the stanzas of the translation not found in the oxford ms., but taken from the stanzas inserted from other versions by m. gautier, are, as regards part ii, the following: stanzas , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , .] lxxxiv sir olivier to the peak hath clomb, looks far on the realm of spain therefrom; he sees the saracen power arrayed,-- helmets gleaming with gold inlaid, shields and hauberks in serried row, spears with pennons that from them flow. he may not reckon the mighty mass, so far their numbers his thought surpass. all in bewilderment and dismay, down from the mountain he takes his way, comes to the franks the tale to say. lxxxv "i have seen the paynim," said olivier. "never on earth did such host appear: a hundred thousand with targets bright, with helmets laced and hauberks white, erect and shining their lances tall; such battle as waits you did ne'er befall. my lords of france, be god your stay, that you be not vanquished in field to-day." "accursed," say the franks, "be they who fly none shall blench from the fear to die." roland's pride lxxxvi "in mighty strength are the heathen crew," olivier said, "and our franks are few; my comrade, roland, sound on your horn; karl will hear and his host return." "i were mad," said roland, "to do such deed; lost in france were my glory's meed. my durindana shall smite full hard, and her hilt be red to the golden guard. the heathen felons shall find their fate; their death, i swear, in the pass they wait." lxxxvii "o roland, sound on your ivory horn, to the ear of karl shall the blast be borne: he will bid his legions backward bend, and all his barons their aid will lend." "now god forbid it, for very shame, that for me my kindred were stained with blame, or that gentle france to such vileness fell: this good sword that hath served me well, my durindana such strokes shall deal, that with blood encrimsoned shall be the steel. by their evil star are the felons led; they shall all be numbered among the dead." lxxxviii "roland, roland, yet wind one blast! karl will hear ere the gorge be passed, and the franks return on their path full fast." "i will not sound on mine ivory horn: it shall never be spoken of me in scorn, that for heathen felons one blast i blew; i may not dishonor my lineage true. but i will strike, ere this fight be o'er, a thousand strokes and seven hundred more, and my durindana shall drip with gore. our franks will bear them like vassals brave the saracens flock but to find a grave." lxxxix "i deem of neither reproach nor stain. i have seen the saracen host of spain, over plain and valley and mountain spread, and the regions hidden beneath their tread. countless the swarm of the foe, and we a marvellous little company." roland answered him, "all the more my spirit within me burns therefore. god and his angels of heaven defend that france through me from her glory bend. death were better than fame laid low. our emperor loveth a downright blow." xc roland is daring and olivier wise, both of marvellous high emprise; on their chargers mounted, and girt in mail, to the death in battle they will not quail. brave are the counts, and their words are high, and the pagans are fiercely riding nigh. "see, roland, see them, how close they are, the saracen foemen, and karl how far! thou didst disdain on thy horn to blow. were the king but here we were spared this woe. look up through aspra's dread defile, where standeth our doomed rear-guard the while; they will do their last brave feat this day, no more to mingle in mortal fray." "hush!" said roland, "the craven tale-- foul fall who carries a heart so pale; foot to foot shall we hold the place, and rain our buffets and blows apace." xci when roland felt that the battle came, lion or leopard to him were tame; he shouted aloud to his franks, and then called to his gentle compeer agen. "my friend, my comrade, my olivier, the emperor left us his bravest here; twice ten thousand he set apart, and he knew among them no dastard heart. for his lord the vassal must bear the stress of the winter's cold and the sun's excess-- peril his flesh and his blood thereby: strike thou with thy good lance-point and i, with durindana, the matchless glaive which the king himself to my keeping gave, that he who wears it when i lie cold may say 'twas the sword of a vassal bold." xcii archbishop turpin, above the rest, spurred his steed to a jutting crest. his sermon thus to the franks he spake:-- "lords, we are here for our monarch's sake; hold we for him, though our death should come; fight for the succor of christendom. the battle approaches--ye know it well, for ye see the ranks of the infidel. cry _mea culpa_, and lowly kneel; i will assoil you, your souls to heal. in death ye are holy martyrs crowned." the franks alighted, and knelt on ground; in god's high name the host he blessed, and for penance gave them--to smite their best. xciii the franks arose from bended knee, assoiled, and from their sins set free; the archbishop blessed them fervently: then each one sprang on his bounding barb, armed and laced in knightly garb, apparelled all for the battle line. at last said roland, "companion mine, too well the treason is now displayed, how ganelon hath our band betrayed. to him the gifts and the treasures fell; but our emperor will avenge us well. king marsil deemeth us bought and sold; the price shall be with our good swords told." xciv roland rideth the passes through, on veillantif, his charger true; girt in his harness that shone full fair, and baron-like his lance he bare. the steel erect in the sunshine gleamed, with the snow-white pennon that from it streamed; the golden fringes beat on his hand. joyous of visage was he, and bland, exceeding beautiful of frame; and his warriors hailed him with glad acclaim. proudly he looked on the heathen ranks, humbly and sweetly upon his franks. courteously spake he, in words of grace-- "ride, my barons, at gentle pace. the saracens here to their slaughter toil: reap we, to-day, a glorious spoil, never fell to monarch of france the like." at his word, the hosts are in act to strike. xcv said olivier, "idle is speech, i trow; thou didst disdain on thy horn to blow. succor of karl is far apart; our strait he knows not, the noble heart: not to him nor his host be blame; therefore, barons, in god's good name, press ye onward, and strike your best, make your stand on this field to rest; think but of blows, both to give and take, never the watchword of karl forsake." then from the franks resounded high-- "_montjoie!_" whoever had heard that cry would hold remembrance of chivalry. then ride they--how proudly, o god, they ride!-- with rowels dashed in their coursers' side. fearless, too, are their paynim foes. frank and saracen, thus they close. the mellay xcvi king marsil's nephew, aelroth his name, vaunting in front of the battle came, words of scorn on our franks he cast: "felon franks, ye are met at last, by your chosen guardian betrayed and sold, by your king left madly the pass to hold. this day shall france of her fame be shorn, and from karl the mighty his right arm torn." roland heard him in wrath and pain!-- he spurred his steed, he slacked the rein, drave at the heathen with might and main, shattered his shield and his hauberk broke, right to the breast-bone went the stroke; pierced him, spine and marrow through, and the felon's soul from his body flew. a moment reeled he upon his horse, then all heavily dropped the corse; wrenched was his neck as on earth he fell, yet would roland scorn with scorn repel. "thou dastard! never hath karl been mad, nor love for treason or traitors had. to guard the passes he left us here, like a noble king and chevalier. nor shall france this day her fame forego. strike in, my barons; the foremost blow dealt in the fight doth to us belong: we have the right and these dogs the wrong." xcvii a duke was there, named falsaron, of the land of dathan and abiron; brother to marsil, the king, was he; more miscreant felon ye might not see. huge of forehead, his eyes between, a span of a full half-foot, i ween. bitter sorrow was his, to mark his nephew before him lie slain and stark. hastily came he from forth the press, raising the war-cry of heathenesse. braggart words from his lips were tost: "this day the honour of france is lost." hotly sir olivier's anger stirs; he pricked his steed with golden spurs, fairly dealt him a baron's blow, and hurled him dead from the saddle-bow. buckler and mail were reft and rent, and the pennon's flaps to his heart's blood went. he saw the miscreant stretched on earth: "caitiff, thy threats are of little worth. on, franks! the felons before us fall; _montjoie!_" 'tis the emperor's battle-call. xcviii a king was there of a strange countrie, king corsablis of barbary; before the saracen van he cried, "right well may we in this battle bide; puny the host of the franks i deem, and those that front us, of vile esteem. not one by succor of karl shall fly; the day hath dawned that shall see them die." archbishop turpin hath heard him well; no mortal hates he with hate so fell: he pricked with spurs of the fine gold wrought, and in deadly passage the heathen sought; shield and corselet were pierced and riven, and the lance's point through his body driven; to and fro, at the mighty thrust, he reeled, and then fell stark in dust. turpin looked on him, stretched on ground. "loud thou liest, thou heathen hound! king karl is ever our pride and stay; nor one of the franks shall blench this day, but your comrades here on the field shall lie; i bring you tidings: ye all shall die. strike, franks! remember your chivalry; first blows are ours, high god be praised!" once more the cry, "_montjoie!_" he raised. xcix gerein to malprimis of brigal sped, whose good shield stood him no whit in stead; its knob of crystal was cleft in twain, and one half fell on the battle plain. right through the hauberk, and through the skin, he drave the lance to the flesh within; prone and sudden the heathen fell, and satan carried his soul to hell. c anon, his comrade in arms, gerier, spurred at the emir with levelled spear; severed his shield and his mail apart,-- the lance went through them, to pierce his heart. dead on the field at the blow he lay. olivier said, "'tis a stirring fray." ci at the almasour's shield duke samson rode-- with blazon of flowers and gold it glowed; but nor shield nor cuirass availed to save, when through heart and lungs the lance he drave. dead lies he, weep him who list or no. the archbishop said, "'tis a baron's blow." cii anseis cast his bridle free; at turgis, tortosa's lord, rode he: above the centre his shield he smote, brake his mail with its double coat, speeding the lance with a stroke so true, that the iron traversed his body through. so lay he lifeless, at point of spear. said roland, "struck like a cavalier." ciii engelier, gascon of bordeaux, on his courser's mane let the bridle flow; smote escremis, from valtierra sprung, shattered the shield from his neck that swung; on through his hauberk's vental pressed, and betwixt his shoulders pierced his breast. forth from the saddle he cast him dead. "so shall ye perish all," he said. civ the heathen estorgan was otho's aim: right in front of his shield he came; rent its colors of red and white, pierced the joints of his harness bright, flung him dead from his bridle rein. said otho, "thus shall ye all be slain." cv berengier smote estramarin, planting his lance his heart within, through shivered shield and hauberk torn. the saracen to earth was borne amid a thousand of his train. thus ten of the heathen twelve are slain; but two are left alive i wis-- chernubles and count margaris. cvi count margaris was a valiant knight, stalwart of body, and lithe and light: he spurred his steed unto olivier, brake his shield at the golden sphere, pushed the lance till it touched his side; god of his grace made it harmless glide. margaris rideth unhurt withal, sounding his trumpet, his men to call. cvii mingled and marvellous grows the fray, and in roland's heart is no dismay. he fought with lance while his good lance stood; fifteen encounters have strained its wood. at the last it brake; then he grasped in hand his durindana, his naked brand. he smote chernubles' helm upon, where, in the centre, carbuncles shone: down through his coif and his fell of hair, betwixt his eyes came the falchion bare, down through his plated harness fine, down through the saracen's chest and chine, down through the saddle with gold inlaid, till sank in the living horse the blade, severed the spine where no joint was found, and horse and rider lay dead on ground. "caitiff, thou earnest in evil hour; to save thee passeth mohammed's power. never to miscreants like to thee shall come the guerdon of victory." cviii count roland rideth the battle through, with durindana, to cleave and hew; havoc fell of the foe he made, saracen corse upon corse was laid, the field all flowed with the bright blood shed; roland, to corselet and arm, was red-- red his steed to the neck and flank. nor is olivier niggard of blows as frank; nor to one of the peers be blame this day, for the franks are fiery to smite and slay. "well fought," said turpin, "our barons true!" and he raised the war-cry, "_montjoie!_" anew. cix through the storm of battle rides olivier, his weapon, the butt of his broken spear, down upon malseron's shield he beat, where flowers and gold emblazoned meet, dashing his eyes from forth his head: low at his feet were the brains bespread, and the heathen lies with seven hundred dead! estorgus and turgin next he slew, till the shaft he wielded in splinters flew. "comrade!" said roland, "what makest thou? is it time to fight with a truncheon now? steel and iron such strife may claim; where is thy sword, hauteclere by name, with its crystal pommel and golden guard?" "of time to draw it i stood debarred, such stress was on me of smiting hard." cx then drew sir olivier forth his blade, as had his comrade roland prayed. he proved it in knightly wise straightway, on the heathen justin of val ferrée. at a stroke he severed his head in two, cleft him body and harness through; down through the gold-incrusted selle, to the horse's chine, the falchion fell: dead on the sward lay man and steed. said roland, "my brother, henceforth, indeed! the emperor loves us for such brave blows!" around them the cry of "_montjoie!_" arose. cxi gerein his sorel rides; gerier is mounted on his own pass-deer: the reins they slacken, and prick full well against the saracen timozel. one smites his cuirass, and one his shield, break in his body the spears they wield; they cast him dead on the fallow mould. i know not, nor yet to mine ear was told. which of the twain was more swift and bold. then espreveris, borel's son, by engelier unto death was done. archbishop turpin slew siglorel, the wizard, who erst had been in hell, by jupiter thither in magic led. "well have we 'scaped," the archbishop said: "crushed is the caitiff," count roland replies, "olivier, brother, such strokes i prize!" cxii furious waxeth the fight, and strange; frank and heathen their blows exchange; while these defend, and those assail, and their lances broken and bloody fail. ensign and pennon are rent and cleft, and the franks of their fairest youth bereft, who will look on mother or spouse no more, or the host that waiteth the gorge before. karl the mighty may weep and wail; what skilleth sorrow, if succour fail? an evil service was gan's that day, when to saragossa he bent his way, his faith and kindred to betray. but a doom thereafter awaited him-- amerced in aix, of life and limb, with thirty of his kin beside, to whom was hope of grace denied. cxiii king almaris with his band, the while, wound through a marvellous strait defile, where doth count walter the heights maintain and the passes that lie at the gates of spain. "gan, the traitor, hath made of us," said walter, "a bargain full dolorous." cxiv king almaris to the mount hath clomb, with sixty thousand of heathendom. in deadly wrath on the franks they fall, and with furious onset smite them all: routed, scattered, or slain they lie. then rose the wrath of count walter high; his sword he drew, his helm he laced, slowly in front of the line he paced, and with evil greeting his foeman faced. cxv right on his foemen doth walter ride, and the heathen assail him on every side; broken down was his shield of might, bruised and pierced was his hauberk white; four lances at once did his body wound: no longer bore he--four times he swooned; he turned perforce from the field aside, slowly adown the mount he hied, and aloud to roland for succour cried. cxvi wild and fierce is the battle still: roland and olivier fight their fill; the archbishop dealeth a thousand blows nor knoweth one of the peers repose; the franks are fighting commingled all, and the foe in hundreds and thousands fall; choice have they none but to flee or die, leaving their lives despighteously. yet the franks are reft of their chivalry, who will see nor parent nor kindred fond, nor karl who waits them the pass beyond. cxvii now a wondrous storm o'er france hath passed, with thunder-stroke and whirlwind's blast; rain unmeasured, and hail, there came, sharp and sudden the lightning's flame; and an earthquake ran--the sooth i say, from besançon city to wissant bay; from saint michael's mount to thy shrine, cologne, house unrifted was there none. and a darkness spread in the noontide high-- no light, save gleams from the cloven sky. on all who saw came a mighty fear. they said, "the end of the world is near." alas, they spake but with idle breath,-- 'tis the great lament for roland's death. cxviii dread are the omens and fierce the storm, over france the signs and wonders swarm: from noonday on to the vesper hour, night and darkness alone have power; nor sun nor moon one ray doth shed, who sees it ranks him among the dead. well may they suffer such pain and woe, when roland, captain of all, lies low. never on earth hath his fellow been, to slay the heathen or realms to win. cxix stern and stubborn is the fight; staunch are the franks with the sword to smite; nor is there one but whose blade is red, "_montjoie!_" is ever their war-cry dread. through the land they ride in hot pursuit, and the heathens feel 'tis a fierce dispute. cxx in wrath and anguish, the heathen race turn in flight from the field their face; the franks as hotly behind them strain. then might ye look on a cumbered plain: saracens stretched on the green grass bare, helms and hauberks that shone full fair, standards riven and arms undone: so by the franks was the battle won. the foremost battle that then befell-- o god, what sorrow remains to tell! cxxi with heart and prowess the franks have stood; slain was the heathen multitude; of a hundred thousand survive not two: the archbishop crieth, "o staunch and true! written it is in the frankish geste, that our emperor's vassals shall bear them best." to seek their dead through the field they press, and their eyes drop tears of tenderness: their hearts are turned to their kindred dear. marsil the while with his host is near. cxxii distraught was roland with wrath and pain; distraught were the twelve of carlemaine-- with deadly strokes the franks have striven, and the saracen horde to the slaughter given; of a hundred thousand escaped but one-- king margaris fled from the field alone; but no disgrace in his flight he bore-- wounded was he by lances four. to the side of spain did he take his way, to tell king marsil what chanced that day. cxxiii alone king margaris left the field, with broken spear and piercèd shield, scarce half a foot from the knob remained, and his brand of steel with blood was stained; on his body were four lance wounds to see: were he christian, what a baron he! he sped to marsil his tale to tell; swift at the feet of the king he fell: "ride, sire, on to the field forthright, you will find the franks in an evil plight; full half and more of their host lies slain, and sore enfeebled who yet remain; nor arms have they in their utmost need: to crush them now were an easy deed," marsil listened with heart aflame. onward in search of the franks he came. cxxiv king marsil on through the valley sped, with the mighty host he has marshallèd. twice ten battalions the king arrayed: helmets shone, with their gems displayed, bucklers and braided hauberks bound, seven thousand trumpets the onset sound; dread was the clangor afar to hear. said roland, "my brother, my olivier, gan the traitor our death hath sworn, nor may his treason be now forborne. to our emperor vengeance may well belong,-- to us the battle fierce and strong; never hath mortal beheld the like. with my durindana i trust to strike; and thou, my comrade, with thy hauteclere: we have borne them gallantly otherwhere. so many fields 'twas ours to gain, they shall sing against us no scornful strain." cxxv as the franks the heathen power descried, filling the champaign from side to side, loud unto roland they made their call, and to olivier and their captains all, spake the archbishop as him became: "o barons, think not one thought of shame; fly not, for sake of our god i pray. that on you be chaunted no evil lay. better by far on the field to die; for in sooth i deem that our end is nigh. but in holy paradise ye shall meet, and with the innocents be your seat." the franks exult his words to hear, and the cry "_montjoie!_" resoundeth clear. cxxvi king marsil on the hill-top bides, while grandonie with his legion rides. he nails his flag with three nails of gold: "ride ye onwards, my barons bold." then loud a thousand clarions rang. and the franks exclaimed as they heard the clang-- "o god, our father, what cometh on! woe that we ever saw ganelon: foully, by treason, he us betrayed." gallantly then the archbishop said, "soldiers and lieges of god are ye, and in paradise shall your guerdon be. to lie on its holy flowerets fair, dastard never shall enter there." say the franks, "we will win it every one." the archbishop bestoweth his benison. proudly mounted they at his word, and, like lions chafed, at the heathen spurred. cxxvii thus doth king marsil divide his men: he keeps around him battalions ten. as the franks the other ten descry, "what dark disaster," they said, "is nigh? what doom shall now our peers betide?" archbishop turpin full well replied. "my cavaliers, of god the friends, your crown of glory to-day he sends, to rest on the flowers of paradise, that never were won by cowardice." the franks made answer, "no cravens we, nor shall we gainsay god's decree; against the enemy yet we hold,-- few may we be, but staunch and bold." their spurs against the foe they set, frank and paynim--once more they met. cxxviii a heathen of saragossa came. full half the city was his to claim. it was climorin: hollow of heart was he, he had plighted with gan in perfidy, what time each other on mouth they kissed, and he gave him his helm and amethyst. he would bring fair france from her glory down and from the emperor wrest his crown. he sate upon barbamouche, his steed, than hawk or swallow more swift in speed. pricked with the spur, and the rein let flow, to strike at the gascon of bordeaux, whom shield nor cuirass availed to save. within his harness the point he drave, the sharp steel on through his body passed, dead on the field was the gascon cast. said climorin, "easy to lay them low: strike in, my pagans, give blow for blow." for their champion slain, the franks cry woe. cxxix sir roland called unto olivier, "sir comrade, dead lieth engelier; braver knight had we none than he." "god grant," he answered, "revenge to me." his spurs of gold to his horse he laid, grasping hauteclere with his bloody blade. climorin smote he, with stroke so fell, slain at the blow was the infidel. whose soul the enemy bore away. then turned he, alphaien, the duke, to slay; from escababi the head he shore, and arabs seven to the earth he bore. saith roland, "my comrade is much in wrath; won great laud by my side he hath; us such prowess to karl endears. fight on, fight ever, my cavaliers." cxxx then came the saracen valdabrun, of whom king marsil was foster-son. four hundred galleys he owned at sea, and of all the mariners lord was he. jerusalem erst he had falsely won, profaned the temple of solomon, slaying the patriarch at the fount. 'twas he who in plight unto gan the count, his sword with a thousand coins bestowed. gramimond named he the steed he rode, swifter than ever was falcon's flight; well did he prick with the sharp spurs bright, to strike duke samson, the fearless knight. buckler and cuirass at once he rent, and his pennon's flaps through his body sent; dead he cast him, with levelled spear. "strike, ye heathens; their doom is near." the franks cry woe for their cavalier. cxxxi when roland was ware of samson slain, well may you weet of his bitter pain. with bloody spur he his steed impelled, while durindana aloft he held, the sword more costly than purest gold; and he smote, with passion uncontrolled, on the heathen's helm, with its jewelled crown,-- through head, and cuirass, and body down, and the saddle embossed with gold, till sank the griding steel in the charger's flank; blame or praise him, the twain he slew. "a fearful stroke!" said the heathen crew. "i shall never love you," count roland cried, "with you are falsehood and evil pride." cxxxii from afric's shore, of afric's brood, malquiant, son of king malcus stood; wrought of the beaten gold, his vest flamed to the sun over all the rest. saut-perdu hath he named his horse, fleeter than ever was steed in course; he smote anseis upon the shield, cleft its vermeil and azure field, severed the joints of his hauberk good, in his body planted both steel and wood. dead he lieth, his day is o'er, and the franks the loss of their peer deplore. cxxxiii turpin rideth the press among; never such priest the mass had sung, nor who hath such feats of his body done. "god send thee," he said, "his malison! for the knight thou slewest my heart is sore." he sets the spur to his steed once more, smites the shield in toledo made, and the heathen low on the sward is laid. cxxxiv forth came the saracen grandonie, bestriding his charger marmorie; he was son unto cappadocia's king, and his steed was fleeter than bird on wing. he let the rein on his neck decline, and spurred him hard against count gerein, shattered the vermeil shield he bore, and his armor of proof all open tore; in went the pennon, so fierce the shock, and he cast him, dead, on a lofty rock; then he slew his comrade in arms, gerier, guy of saint anton and berengier. next lay the great duke astor prone. the lord of valence upon the rhone. among the heathen great joy he cast. say the franks, lamenting, "we perish fast." cxxxv count roland graspeth his bloody sword: well hath he heard how the franks deplored; his heart is burning within his breast. "god's malediction upon thee rest! right dearly shalt thou this blood repay." his war-horse springs to the spur straightway, and they come together--go down who may. cxxxvi a gallant captain was grandonie, great in arms and in chivalry. never, till then, had he roland seen, but well he knew him by form and mien, by the stately bearing and glance of pride, and a fear was on him he might not hide. fain would he fly, but it skills not here; roland smote him with stroke so sheer, that it cleft the nasal his helm beneath, slitting nostril and mouth and teeth, cleft his body and mail of plate, and the gilded saddle whereon he sate, deep the back of the charger through: beyond all succor the twain he slew. from the spanish ranks a wail arose, and the franks exult in their champion's blows. cxxxvii the battle is wondrous yet, and dire, and the franks are cleaving in deadly ire; wrists and ribs and chines afresh, and vestures, in to the living flesh; on the green grass streaming the bright blood ran, "o mighty country, mahound thee ban! for thy sons are strong over might of man." and one and all unto marsil cried, "hither, o king, to our succor ride." cxxxviii marvellous yet is the fight around, the franks are thrusting with spears embrowned; and great the carnage there to ken, slain and wounded and bleeding men, flung, each by other, on back or face. hold no more can the heathen race. they turn and fly from the field apace; the franks as hotly pursue in chase. cxxxix knightly the deeds by roland done, respite or rest for his franks is none; hard they ride on the heathen rear, at trot or gallop in full career. with crimson blood are their bodies stained, and their brands of steel are snapped or strained; and when the weapons their hands forsake, then unto trumpet and horn they take. serried they charge, in power and pride; and the saracens cry--"may ill betide the hour we came on this fatal track!" so on our host do they turn the back, the christians cleaving them as they fled, till to marsil stretcheth the line of dead. cxl king marsil looks on his legions strown, he bids the clarion blast be blown, with all his host he onward speeds: abîme the heathen his vanguard leads. no felon worse in the host than he, black of hue as a shrivelled pea; he believes not in holy mary's son; full many an evil deed hath done. treason and murder he prizeth more than all the gold of galicia's shore; men never knew him to laugh nor jest, but brave and daring among the best-- endeared to the felon king therefor; and the dragon flag of his race he bore. the archbishop loathed him--full well he might,-- and as he saw him he yearned to smite, to himself he speaketh, low and quick, "this heathen seems much a heretic; i go to slay him, or else to die, for i love not dastards or dastardy." cxli the archbishop began the fight once more; he rode the steed he had won of yore, when in denmark grossaille the king he slew. fleet the charger, and fair to view: his feet were small and fashioned fine, long the flank, and high the chine, chest and croup full amply spread, with taper ear and tawny head, and snow-white tail and yellow mane: to seek his peer on earth were vain. the archbishop spurred him in fiery haste, and, on the moment abîme he faced, came down on the wondrous shield the blow, the shield with amethysts all aglow, carbuncle and topaz, each priceless stone; 'twas once the emir galafir's own; a demon gave it in metas vale; but when turpin smote it might nought avail-- from side to side did his weapon trace, and he flung him dead in an open space. say the franks, "such deeds beseem the brave. well the archbishop his cross can save." cxlii count roland olivier bespake: "sir comrade, dost thou my thought partake? a braver breathes not this day on earth than our archbishop in knightly worth. how nobly smites he with lance and blade!" saith olivier, "yea, let us yield him aid;" and the franks once more the fight essayed. stern and deadly resound the blows. for the christians, alas, 'tis a tale of woes! cxliii the franks of france of their arms are reft, three hundred blades alone are left. the glittering helms they smite and shred, and cleave asunder full many a head; through riven helm and hauberk rent, maim head and foot and lineament. "disfigured are we," the heathens cry. "who guards him not hath but choice to die." right unto marsil their way they take. "help, o king, for your people's sake!" king marsil heard their cry at hand, "mahound destroy thee, o mighty land; thy race came hither to crush mine own. what cities wasted and overthrown, doth karl of the hoary head possess! rome and apulia his power confess, constantinople and saxony; yet better die by the franks than flee. on, saracens! recreant heart be none; if roland live, we are all foredone." cxliv then with the lance did the heathens smite on shield and gleaming helmet bright; of steel and iron arose the clang, towards heaven the flames and sparkles sprang; brains and blood on the champaign flowed; but on roland's heart is a dreary load, to see his vassals lie cold in death; his gentle france he remembereth, and his uncle, the good king carlemaine; and the spirit within him groans for pain. cxlv count roland entered within the prease, and smote full deadly without surcease; while durindana aloft he held, hauberk and helm he pierced and quelled, intrenching body and hand and head. the saracens lie by the hundred dead, and the heathen host is discomfited. cxlvi valiantly olivier, otherwhere, brandished on high his sword hauteclere-- save durindana, of swords the best. to the battle proudly he him addressed. his arms with the crimson blood were dyed. "god, what a vassal!" count roland cried. "o gentle baron, so true and leal, this day shall set on our love the seal! the emperor cometh to find us dead, for ever parted and severèd. france never looked on such woful day; nor breathes a frank but for us will pray,-- from the cloister cells shall the orisons rise, and our souls find rest in paradise." olivier heard him, amid the throng, spurred his steed to his side along. saith each to other, "be near me still; we will die together, if god so will." cxlvii roland and olivier then are seen to lash and hew with their falchions keen; with his lance the archbishop thrusts and slays, and the numbers slain we may well appraise; in charter and writ is the tale expressed-- beyond four thousand, saith the geste. in four encounters they sped them well: dire and grievous the fifth befell. the cavaliers of the franks are slain all but sixty, who yet remain; god preserved them, that ere they die, they may sell their lives full hardily. the horn cxlviii as roland gazed on his slaughtered men, he bespake his gentle compeer agen: "ah, dear companion, may god thee shield! behold, our bravest lie dead on field! well may we weep for france the fair, of her noble barons despoiled and bare. had he been with us, our king and friend! speak, my brother, thy counsel lend,-- how unto karl shall we tidings send?" olivier answered, "i wist not how. liefer death than be recreant now." cxlix "i will sound," said roland, "upon my horn, karl, as he passeth the gorge, to warn. the franks, i know, will return apace." said olivier, "nay, it were foul disgrace on your noble kindred to wreak such wrong; they would bear the stain their lifetime long. erewhile i sought it, and sued in vain; but to sound thy horn thou wouldst not deign. not now shall mine assent be won, nor shall i say it is knightly done. lo! both your arms are streaming red." "in sooth," said roland, "good strokes i sped." cl said roland, "our battle goes hard, i fear; i will sound my horn that karl may hear." "'twere a deed unknightly," said olivier; "thou didst disdain when i sought and prayed: saved had we been with our karl to aid; unto him and his host no blame shall be: by this my beard, might i hope to see my gentle sister alda's face, thou shouldst never hold her in thine embrace." cli "ah, why on me doth thine anger fall?" "roland, 'tis thou who hast wrought it all. valor and madness are scarce allied,-- better discretion than daring pride. all of thy folly our franks lie slain, nor shall render service to karl again, as i implored thee, if thou hadst done, the king had come and the field were won; marsil captive, or slain, i trow. thy daring, roland, hath wrought our woe. no service more unto karl we pay, that first of men till the judgment day; thou shalt die, and france dishonored be ended our loyal company-- a woful parting this eve shall see." clii archbishop turpin their strife hath heard, his steed with the spurs of gold he spurred, and thus rebuked them, riding near: "sir roland, and thou, sir olivier, contend not, in god's great name, i crave. not now availeth the horn to save; and yet behoves you to wind its call,-- karl will come to avenge our fall, nor hence the foemen in joyance wend. the franks will all from their steeds descend; when they find us slain and martyred here, they will raise our bodies on mule and bier, and, while in pity aloud they weep, lay us in hallowed earth to sleep; nor wolf nor boar on our limbs shall feed." said roland, "yea, 'tis a goodly rede." cliii then to his lips the horn he drew, and full and lustily he blew. the mountain peaks soared high around; thirty leagues was borne the sound. karl hath heard it, and all his band. "our men have battle," he said, "on hand." ganelon rose in front and cried, "if another spake, i would say he lied." cliv with deadly travail, in stress and pain, count roland sounded the mighty strain. forth from his mouth the bright blood sprang, and his temples burst for the very pang. on and onward was borne the blast, till karl hath heard as the gorge he passed, and naimes and all his men of war. "it is roland's horn," said the emperor, "and, save in battle, he had not blown." "battle," said ganelon, "is there none. old are you grown--all white and hoar; such words bespeak you a child once more. have you, then, forgotten roland's pride, which i marvel god should so long abide, how he captured noples without your hest? forth from the city the heathen pressed, to your vassal roland they battle gave,-- he slew them all with the trenchant glaive, then turned the waters upon the plain, that trace of blood might none remain. he would sound all day for a single hare: 'tis a jest with him and his fellows there; for who would battle against him dare? ride onward--wherefore this chill delay? your mighty land is yet far away." clv on roland's mouth is the bloody stain, burst asunder his temple's vein; his horn he soundeth in anguish drear; king karl and the franks around him hear. said karl, "that horn is long of breath." said naimes, "'tis roland who travaileth. there is battle yonder by mine avow. he who betrayed him deceives you now. arm, sire; ring forth your rallying cry, and stand your noble household by; for you hear your roland in jeopardy." clvi the king commands to sound the alarm. to the trumpet the franks alight and arm; with casque and corselet and gilded brand, buckler and stalwart lance in hand, pennons of crimson and white and blue, the barons leap on their steeds anew, and onward spur the passes through; nor is there one but to other saith, "could we reach but roland before his death, blows would we strike for him grim and great." ah! what availeth!--'tis all too late. clvii the evening passed into brightening dawn. against the sun their harness shone; from helm and hauberk glanced the rays, and their painted bucklers seemed all ablaze. the emperor rode in wrath apart. the franks were moody and sad of heart; was none but dropped the bitter tear, for they thought of roland with deadly fear.-- then bade the emperor take and bind count gan, and had him in scorn consigned to besgun, chief of his kitchen train. "hold me this felon," he said, "in chain." then full a hundred round him pressed, of the kitchen varlets the worst and best; his beard upon lip and chin they tore, cuffs of the fist each dealt him four, roundly they beat him with rods and staves; then around his neck those kitchen knaves flung a fetterlock fast and strong, as ye lead a bear in a chain along; on a beast of burthen the count they cast, till they yield him back to karl at last. clviii dark, vast, and high the summits soar, the waters down through the valleys pour. the trumpets sound in front and rear, and to roland's horn make answer clear. the emperor rideth in wrathful mood, the franks in grievous solicitude; nor one among them can stint to weep, beseeching god that he roland keep, till they stand beside him upon the field, to the death together their arms to wield. ah, timeless succor, and all in vain! too long they tarried, too late they strain. clix onward king karl in his anger goes; down on his harness his white beard flows. the barons of france spur hard behind; but on all there presseth one grief of mind-- that they stand not beside count roland then, as he fronts the power of the saracen. were he hurt in fight, who would then survive? yet three score barons around him strive. and what a sixty! nor chief nor king had ever such gallant following. clx roland looketh to hill and plain, he sees the lines of his warriors slain, and he weeps like a noble cavalier, "barons of france, god hold you dear, and take you to paradise's bowers, where your souls may lie on the holy flowers; braver vassals on earth were none, so many kingdoms for karl ye won; years a-many your ranks i led, and for end like this were ye nurturèd. land of france, thou art soothly fair; to-day thou liest bereaved and bare; it was all for me your lives you gave, and i was helpless to shield or save. may the great god save you who cannot lie. olivier, brother, i stand thee by; i die of grief, if i 'scape unslain: in, brother, in to the fight again." clxi once more pressed roland within the fight, his durindana he grasped with might; faldron of pui did he cleave in two, and twenty-four of their bravest slew. never was man on such vengeance bound; and, as flee the roe-deer before the hound, so in face of roland the heathen flee. saith turpin, "right well this liketh me. such prowess a cavalier befits, who harness wears, and on charger sits; in battle shall he be strong and great, or i prize him not at four deniers' rate; let him else be monk in a cloister cell, his daily prayers for our souls to tell." cries roland, "smite them, and do not spare." down once more on the foe they bear, but the christian ranks grow thinned and rare. clxii who knoweth ransom is none for him, maketh in battle resistance grim; the franks like wrathful lions strike, but king marsil beareth him baron-like; he bestrideth his charger, gaignon hight, and he pricketh him hard, sir beuve to smite, the lord of beaune and of dijon town, through shield and cuirass, he struck him down: dead past succor of man he lay. ivon and ivor did marsil slay; gerard of roussillon beside. not far was roland, and loud he cried, "be thou forever in god's disgrace, who hast slain my fellows before my face, before we part thou shalt blows essay, and learn the name of my sword to-day." down, at the word, came the trenchant brand, and from marsil severed his good right hand: with another stroke, the head he won of the fair-haired jurfalez, marsil's son. "help us, mahound!" say the heathen train, "may our gods avenge us on carlemaine! such daring felons he hither sent, who will hold the field till their lives be spent." "let us flee and save us," cry one and all, unto flight a hundred thousand fall, nor can aught the fugitives recall. clxiii but what availeth? though marsil fly, his uncle, the algalif, still is nigh; lord of carthagena is he, of alferna's shore and garmalie, and of ethiopia, accursed land: the black battalions at his command, with nostrils huge and flattened ears, outnumber fifty thousand spears; and on they ride in haste and ire, shouting their heathen war-cry dire. "at last," said roland, "the hour is come, here receive we our martyrdom; yet strike with your burnished brands--accursed who sells not his life right dearly first; in life or death be your thought the same, that gentle france be not brought to shame. when the emperor hither his steps hath bent, and he sees the saracens' chastisement, fifteen of their dead against our one, he will breathe on our souls his benison." death of olivier clxiv when roland saw the abhorrèd race, than blackest ink more black in face, who have nothing white but the teeth alone, "now," he said, "it is truly shown, that the hour of our death is close at hand. fight, my franks, 'tis my last command." said olivier, "shame is the laggard's due." and at his word they engage anew. clxv when the heathen saw that the franks were few, heart and strength from the sight they drew; they said, "the emperor hath the worse." the algalif sat on a sorrel horse; he pricked with spurs of the gold refined, smote olivier in the back behind. on through his harness the lance he pressed, till the steel came out at the baron's breast. "thou hast it!" the algalif, vaunting, cried, "ye were sent by karl in an evil tide. of his wrongs against us he shall not boast; in thee alone i avenge our host." clxvi olivier felt the deadly wound, yet he grasped hauteclere, with its steel embrowned; he smote on the algalif's crest of gold,-- gem and flowers to the earth were rolled; clave his head to the teeth below, and struck him dead with the single blow. "all evil, caitiff, thy soul pursue. full well our emperor's loss i knew; but for thee--thou goest not hence to boast to wife or dame on thy natal coast, of one denier from the emperor won, or of scathe to me or to others done." then roland's aid he called upon. clxvii olivier knoweth him hurt to death; the more to vengeance he hasteneth; knightly as ever his arms he bore, staves of lances and shields he shore; sides and shoulders and hands and feet,-- whose eyes soever the sight would greet, how the saracens all disfigured lie, corpse upon corpse, each other by, would think upon gallant deeds; nor yet doth he the war-cry of karl forget-- "_montjoie!_" he shouted, shrill and clear; then called he roland, his friend and peer, "sir, my comrade, anear me ride; this day of dolor shall us divide." clxviii roland looked olivier in the face,-- ghastly paleness was there to trace; forth from his wound did the bright blood flow, and rain in showers to the earth below. "o god!" said roland, "is this the end of all thy prowess, my gentle friend? nor know i whither to bear me now: on earth shall never be such as thou. ah, gentle france, thou art overthrown, reft of thy bravest, despoiled and lone; the emperor's loss is full indeed!" at the word he fainted upon his steed. clxix see roland there on his charger swooned, olivier smitten with his death wound. his eyes from bleeding are dimmed and dark, nor mortal, near or far, can mark; and when his comrade beside him pressed, fiercely he smote on his golden crest; down to the nasal the helm he shred, but passed no further, nor pierced his head. roland marvelled at such a blow, and thus bespake him soft and low: "hast thou done it, my comrade, wittingly? roland who loves thee so dear, am i, thou hast no quarrel with me to seek?" olivier answered, "i hear thee speak, but i see thee not. god seeth thee. have i struck thee, brother? forgive it me." "i am not hurt, o olivier; and in sight of god, i forgive thee here." then each to other his head has laid, and in love like this was their parting made. clxx olivier feeleth his throe begin; his eyes are turning his head within, sight and hearing alike are gone. he alights and couches the earth upon; his _mea culpa_ aloud he cries, and his hands in prayer unto god arise, that he grant him paradise to share, that he bless king karl and france the fair, his brother roland o'er all mankind; then sank his heart, and his head declined, stretched at length on the earth he lay,-- so passed sir olivier away. roland was left to weep alone: man so woful hath ne'er been known. clxxi when roland saw that life had fled, and with face to earth his comrade dead, he thus bewept him, soft and still: "ah, friend, thy prowess wrought thee ill! so many days and years gone by we lived together, thou and i: and thou hast never done me wrong, nor i to thee, our lifetime long. since thou art dead, to live is pain." he swooned on veillantif again, yet may not unto earth be cast, his golden stirrups held him fast. clxxii when passed away had roland's swoon, with sense restored, he saw full soon what ruin lay beneath his view. his franks have perished all save two-- the archbishop and walter of hum alone. from the mountain-side hath walter flown, where he met in battle the bands of spain, and the heathen won and his men were slain in his own despite to the vale he came; called unto roland, his aid to claim. "ah, count! brave gentleman, gallant peer! where art thou? with thee i know not fear. i am walter, who vanquished maelgut of yore, nephew to drouin, the old and hoar. for knightly deeds i was once thy friend. i fought the saracen to the end; my lance is shivered, my shield is cleft, of my broken mail are but fragments left. i bear in my body eight thrusts of spear; i die, but i sold my life right dear." count roland heard as he spake the word, pricked his steed, and anear him spurred. clxxiii "walter," said roland, "thou hadst affray with the saracen foe on the heights to-day. thou wert wont a valorous knight to be: a thousand horsemen gave i thee; render them back, for my need is sore." "alas, thou seest them never more! stretched they lie on the dolorous ground, where myriad saracen swarms we found,-- armenians, turks, and the giant brood of balisa, famous for hardihood, bestriding their arab coursers fleet, such host in battle 'twas ours to meet; nor vaunting thence shall the heathen go,-- full sixty thousand on earth lie low. with our brands of steel we avenged us well, but every frank by the foeman fell. my hauberk plates are riven wide, and i bear such wounds in flank and side, that from every part the bright blood flows, and feebler ever my body grows. i am dying fast, i am well aware: thy liegeman i, and claim thy care. if i fled perforce, thou wilt forgive, and yield me succor while thou dost live." roland sweated with wrath and pain, tore the skirts of his vest in twain, bound walter's every bleeding vein. clxxiv in roland's sorrow his wrath arose, hotly he struck at the heathen foes, nor left he one of a score alive; walter slew six, the archbishop five. the heathens cry, "what a felon three! look to it, lords, that they shall not flee. dastard is he who confronts them not; craven, who lets them depart this spot." their cries and shoutings begin once more, and from every side on the franks they pour. clxxv count roland in sooth is a noble peer; count walter, a valorous cavalier; the archbishop, in battle proved and tried, each struck as if knight there were none beside. from their steeds a thousand saracens leap, yet forty thousand their saddles keep; i trow they dare not approach them near, but they hurl against them lance and spear, pike and javelin, shaft and dart. walter is slain as the missiles part; the archbishop's shield in pieces shred, riven his helm, and pierced his head; his corselet of steel they rent and tore, wounded his body with lances four; his steed beneath him dropped withal: what woe to see the archbishop fall! clxxvi when turpin felt him flung to ground, and four lance wounds within him found, he swiftly rose, the dauntless man, to roland looked, and nigh him ran. spake but, "i am not overthrown-- brave warrior yields with life alone." he drew almace's burnished steel, a thousand ruthless blows to deal. in after time, the emperor said he found four hundred round him spread,-- some wounded, others cleft in twain; some lying headless on the plain. so giles the saint, who saw it, tells, for whom high god wrought miracles. in laon cell the scroll he wrote; he little weets who knows it not. clxxvii count roland combateth nobly yet, his body burning and bathed in sweat; in his brow a mighty pain, since first, when his horn he sounded, his temple burst; but he yearns of karl's approach to know, and lifts his horn once more--but oh, how faint and feeble a note to blow! the emperor listened, and stood full still. "my lords," he said, "we are faring ill. this day is roland my nephew's last; like dying man he winds that blast. on! who would aid, for life must press. sound every trump our ranks possess." peal sixty thousand clarions high, the hills re-echo, the vales reply. it is now no jest for the heathen band. "karl!" they cry, "it is karl at hand!" clxxviii they said, "'tis the emperor's advance, we hear the trumpets resound of france. if he assail us, hope in vain; if roland live, 'tis war again, and we lose for aye the land of spain." four hundred in arms together drew, the bravest of the heathen crew; with serried power they on him press, and dire in sooth is the count's distress. clxxix when roland saw his coming foes, all proud and stern his spirit rose; alive he shall never be brought to yield: veillantif spurred he across the field, with golden spurs he pricked him well, to break the ranks of the infidel; archbishop turpin by his side. "let us flee, and save us," the heathen cried; "these are the trumpets of france we hear-- it is karl, the mighty emperor, near." clxxx count roland never hath loved the base, nor the proud of heart, nor the dastard race,-- nor knight, but if he were vassal good,-- and he spake to turpin, as there he stood; "on foot are you, on horseback i; for your love i halt, and stand you by. together for good and ill we hold; i will not leave you for man of mould. we will pay the heathen their onset back, nor shall durindana of blows be slack." "base," said turpin, "who spares to smite: when the emperor comes, he will all requite." clxxxi the heathens said, "we were born to shame. this day for our disaster came: our lords and leaders in battle lost, and karl at hand with his marshalled host; we hear the trumpets of france ring out, and the cry '_montjoie!_' their rallying shout. roland's pride is of such a height, not to be vanquished by mortal wight; hurl we our missiles, and hold aloof." and the word they spake, they put in proof,-- they flung, with all their strength and craft, javelin, barb, and plumèd shaft. roland's buckler was torn and frayed, his cuirass broken and disarrayed, yet entrance none to his flesh they made. from thirty wounds veillantif bled, beneath his rider they cast him, dead; then from the field have the heathen flown: roland remaineth, on foot, alone. the last benediction of the archbishop clxxxii the heathens fly in rage and dread; to the land of spain have their footsteps sped; nor can count roland make pursuit-- slain is his steed, and he rests afoot; to succor turpin he turned in haste, the golden helm from his head unlaced, ungirt the corselet from his breast, in stripes divided his silken vest; the archbishop's wounds hath he staunched and bound, his arms around him softly wound; on the green sward gently his body laid, and, with tender greeting, thus him prayed: "for a little space, let me take farewell; our dear companions, who round us fell, i go to seek; if i haply find, i will place them at thy feet reclined." "go," said turpin; "the field is thine-- to god the glory, 'tis thine and mine." clxxxiii alone seeks roland the field of fight, he searcheth vale, he searcheth height. ivon and ivor he found, laid low, and the gascon engelier of bordeaux, gerein and his fellow in arms, gerier; otho he found, and berengier; samson the duke, and anseis bold, gerard of roussillon, the old. their bodies, one after one, he bore, and laid them turpin's feet before. the archbishop saw them stretched arow, nor can he hinder the tears that flow; in benediction his hands he spread: "alas! for your doom, my lords," he said, "that god in mercy your souls may give, on the flowers of paradise to live; mine own death comes, with anguish sore that i see mine emperor never more." clxxxiv once more to the field doth roland wend, till he findeth olivier his friend; the lifeless form to his heart he strained, bore him back with what strength remained, on a buckler laid him, beside the rest, the archbishop assoiled them all, and blessed. their dole and pity anew find vent, and roland maketh his fond lament: "my olivier, my chosen one, thou wert the noble duke renier's son, lord of the march unto rivier vale. to shiver lance and shatter mail, the brave in council to guide and cheer, to smite the miscreant foe with fear,-- was never on earth such cavalier." clxxxv dead around him his peers to see, and the man he loved so tenderly, fast the tears of count roland ran, his visage discolored became, and wan, he swooned for sorrow beyond control. "alas," said turpin, "how great thy dole!" clxxxvi to look on roland swooning there, surpassed all sorrow he ever bare; he stretched his hand, the horn he took,-- through roncesvailes there flowed a brook,-- a draught to roland he thought to bring; but his steps were feeble and tottering, spent his strength, from waste of blood,-- he struggled on for scarce a rood, when sank his heart, and drooped his frame, and his mortal anguish on him came. clxxxvii roland revived from his swoon again; on his feet he rose, but in deadly pain; he looked on high, and he looked below, till, a space his other companions fro, he beheld the baron, stretched on sward, the archbishop, vicar of god our lord. _mea culpa_ was turpin's cry, while he raised his hands to heaven on high, imploring paradise to gain. so died the soldier of carlemaine,-- with word or weapon, to preach or fight, a champion ever of christian right, and a deadly foe of the infidel. god's benediction within him dwell! clxxxviii when roland saw him stark on earth (his very vitals were bursting forth, and his brain was oozing from out his head), he took the fair white hands outspread, crossed and clasped them upon his breast, and thus his plaint to the dead addressed,-- so did his country's law ordain:-- "ah, gentleman of noble strain, i trust thee unto god the true, whose service never man shall do with more devoted heart and mind: to guard the faith, to win mankind, from the apostles' days till now, such prophet never rose as thou. nor pain or torment thy soul await, but of paradise the open gate." the death of roland clxxix roland feeleth his death is near, his brain is oozing by either ear. for his peers he prayed--god keep them well; invoked the angel gabriel. that none reproach him, his horn he clasped; his other hand durindana grasped; then, far as quarrel from crossbow sent, across the march of spain he went, where, on a mound, two trees between, four flights of marble steps were seen; backward he fell, on the field to lie; and he swooned anon, for the end was nigh. cxc high were the mountains and high the trees, bright shone the marble terraces; on the green grass roland hath swooned away. a saracen spied him where he lay: stretched with the rest he had feigned him dead, his face and body with blood bespread. to his feet he sprang, and in haste he hied,-- he was fair and strong and of courage tried, in pride and wrath he was overbold,-- and on roland, body and arms, laid hold. "the nephew of karl is overthrown! to araby bear i this sword, mine own." he stooped to grasp it, but as he drew, roland returned to his sense anew. cxci he saw the saracen seize his sword; his eyes he oped, and he spake one word-- "thou art not one of our band, i trow," and he clutched the horn he would ne'er forego; on the golden crest he smote him full, shattering steel and bone and skull, forth from his head his eyes he beat, and cast him lifeless before his feet. "miscreant, makest thou then so free, as, right or wrong, to lay hold on me? who hears it will deem thee a madman born; behold the mouth of mine ivory horn broken for thee, and the gems and gold around its rim to earth are rolled." cxcii roland feeleth his eyesight reft, yet he stands erect with what strength is left; from his bloodless cheek is the hue dispelled, but his durindana all bare he held. in front a dark brown rock arose-- he smote upon it ten grievous blows. grated the steel as it struck the flint, yet it brake not, nor bore its edge one dint. "mary, mother, be thou mine aid! ah, durindana, my ill-starred blade, i may no longer thy guardian be! what fields of battle i won with thee! what realms and regions 'twas ours to gain, now the lordship of carlemaine! never shalt thou possessor know who would turn from face of mortal foe; a gallant vassal so long thee bore, such as france the free shall know no more." cxciii he smote anew on the marble stair. it grated, but breach nor notch was there. when roland found that it would not break, thus began he his plaint to make. "ah, durindana, how fair and bright thou sparklest, flaming against the light! when karl in maurienne valley lay, god sent his angel from heaven to say-- 'this sword shall a valorous captain's be,' and he girt it, the gentle king, on me. with it i vanquished poitou and maine, provence i conquered and aquitaine; i conquered normandy the free, anjou, and the marches of brittany; romagna i won, and lombardy, bavaria, flanders from side to side, and burgundy, and poland wide; constantinople affiance vowed, and the saxon soil to his bidding bowed; scotia, and wales, and ireland's plain, of england made he his own domain. what mighty regions i won of old, for the hoary-headed karl to hold! but there presses on me a grievous pain, lest thou in heathen hands remain. o god our father, keep france from stain!" cxciv his strokes once more on the brown rock fell, and the steel was bent past words to tell; yet it brake not, nor was notched the grain, erect it leaped to the sky again. when he failed at the last to break his blade, his lamentation he inly made. "oh, fair and holy, my peerless sword, what relics lie in thy pommel stored! tooth of saint peter, saint basil's blood, hair of saint denis beside them strewed, fragment of holy mary's vest. 'twere shame that thou with the heathen rest; thee should the hand of a christian serve one who would never in battle swerve. what regions won i with thee of yore, the empire now of karl the hoar! rich and mighty is he therefore." cxcv that death was on him he knew full well; down from his head to his heart it fell. on the grass beneath a pine-tree's shade, with face to earth, his form he laid, beneath him placed he his horn and sword, and turned his face to the heathen horde. thus hath he done the sooth to show, that karl and his warriors all may know, that the gentle count a conqueror died. _mea culpa_ full oft he cried; and, for all his sins, unto god above, in sign of penance, he raised his glove. cxcvi roland feeleth his hour at hand; on a knoll he lies towards the spanish land. with one hand beats he upon his breast: "in thy sight, o god, be my sins confessed. from my hour of birth, both the great and small, down to this day, i repent of all." as his glove he raises to god on high, angels of heaven descend him nigh. cxcvii beneath a pine was his resting-place, to the land of spain hath he turned his face, on his memory rose full many a thought-- of the lands he won and the fields he fought; of his gentle france, of his kin and line; of his nursing father, king karl benign;-- he may not the tear and sob control, nor yet forgets he his parting soul. to god's compassion he makes his cry: "o father true, who canst not lie, who didst lazarus raise unto life agen, and daniel shield in the lions' den; shield my soul from its peril, due for the sins i sinned my lifetime through." he did his right-hand glove uplift-- saint gabriel took from his hand the gift; then drooped his head upon his breast, and with claspèd hands he went to rest. god from on high sent down to him one of his angel cherubim-- saint michael of peril of the sea, saint gabriel in company-- from heaven they came for that soul of price, and they bore it with them to paradise. part iii the reprisals the chastisement of the saracens cxcviii dead is roland; his soul with god. while to roncesvalles the emperor rode, where neither path nor track he found, nor open space nor rood of ground, but was strewn with frank or heathen slain, "where art thou, roland?" he cried in pain: "the archbishop where, and olivier, gerein and his brother in arms, gerier? count otho where, and berengier, ivon and ivor, so dear to me; and engelier of gascony; samson the duke, and anseis the bold; gerard, of roussillon, the old; my peers, the twelve whom i left behind?" in vain!--no answer may he find. "o god," he cried, "what grief is mine that i was not in front of this battle line!" for very wrath his beard he tore, his knights and barons weeping sore; aswoon full fifty thousand fall: duke naimes hath pity and dole for all. cxcix nor knight nor baron was there to see but wept full fast, and bitterly; for son and brother their tears descend, for lord and liege, for kin and friend; aswoon all numberless they fell, but naimes did gallantly and well. he spake the first to the emperor-- "look onward, sire, two leagues before, see the dust from the ways arise,-- there the strength of the heathen lies. ride on; avenge you for this dark day." "o god," said karl, "they are far away! yet for right and honor, the sooth ye say. fair france's flower they have torn from me." to otun and gebouin beckoned he, to tybalt of rheims, and milo the count. "guard the battle-field, vale, and mount-- leave the dead as ye see them lie; watch, that nor lion nor beast come nigh, nor on them varlet or squire lay hand; none shall touch them, 'tis my command, till with god's good grace we return again." they answered lowly, in loving strain, "great lord, fair sire, we will do your hest," and a thousand warriors with them rest. cc the emperor bade his clarions ring, marched with his host the noble king. they came at last on the heathens' trace, and all together pursued in chase; but the king of the falling eve was ware: he alighted down in a meadow fair, knelt on the earth unto god to pray that he make the sun in his course delay, retard the night, and prolong the day. then his wonted angel who with him spake, swiftly to karl did answer make, "ride on! light shall not thee forego; god seeth the flower of france laid low; thy vengeance wreak on the felon crew." the emperor sprang to his steed anew. cci god wrought for karl a miracle: in his place in heaven the sun stood still. the heathens fled, the franks pursued, and in val tenèbres beside them stood; towards saragossa the rout they drave, and deadly were the strokes they gave. they barred against them path and road; in front the water of ebro flowed: strong was the current, deep and large, was neither shallop, nor boat, nor barge. with a cry to their idol termagaunt, the heathens plunge, but with scanty vaunt. encumbered with their armor's weight, sank the most to the bottom, straight; others floated adown the stream; and the luckiest drank their fill, i deem: all were in marvellous anguish drowned. cry the franks, "in roland your fate ye found." ccii as he sees the doom of the heathen host, slain are some and drowned the most, (great spoil have won the christian knights), the gentle king from his steed alights, and kneels, his thanks unto god to pour: the sun had set as he rose once more. "it is time to rest," the emperor cried, "and to roncesvalles 'twere late to ride. our steeds are weary and spent with pain; strip them of saddle and bridle-rein, free let them browse on the verdant mead." "sire," say the franks, "it were well indeed." cciii the emperor hath his quarters ta'en, and the franks alight in the vacant plain; the saddles from their steeds they strip, and the bridle-reins from their heads they slip; they set them free on the green grass fair, nor can they render them other care. on the ground the weary warriors slept; watch nor vigil that night they kept. cciv in the mead the emperor made his bed, with his mighty spear beside his head, nor will he doff his arms to-night, but lies in his broidered hauberk white. laced is his helm, with gold inlaid, girt on joyeuse, the peerless blade, which changes thirty times a day the brightness of its varying ray. nor may the lance unspoken be which pierced our saviour on the tree; karl hath its point--so god him graced-- within his golden hilt enchased. and for this honor and boon of heaven, the name joyeuse to the sword was given; the franks may hold it in memory. thence came "_montjoie_," their battle-cry, and thence no race with them may vie. ccv clear was the night, and the fair moon shone. but grief weighed heavy king karl upon; he thought of roland and olivier, of his franks and every gallant peer, whom he left to perish in roncesvale, nor can he stint but to weep and wail, imploring god their souls to bless,-- till, overcome with long distress, he slumbers at last for heaviness. the franks are sleeping throughout the meads; nor rest on foot can the weary steeds-- they crop the herb as they stretch them prone.-- much hath he learned who hath sorrow known. ccvi the emperor slumbered like man forespent, while god his angel gabriel sent the couch of carlemaine to guard. all night the angel kept watch and ward, and in a vision to karl presaged a coming battle against him waged. 'twas shown in fearful augury; the king looked upward to the sky-- there saw he lightning, and hail, and storm, wind and tempest in fearful form. a dread apparel of fire and flame, down at once on his host they came. their ashen lances the flames enfold, and their bucklers in to the knobs of gold; grated the steel of helm and mail. yet other perils the franks assail, and his cavaliers are in deadly strait. bears and lions to rend them wait, wiverns, snakes and fiends of fire, more than a thousand griffins dire; enfuried at the host they fly. "help us, karl!" was the franks' outcry, ruth and sorrow the king beset; fain would he aid, but was sternly let. a lion came from the forest path, proud and daring, and fierce in wrath; forward sprang he the king to grasp, and each seized other with deadly clasp; but who shall conquer or who shall fall, none knoweth. nor woke the king withal. ccvii another vision came him o'er: he was in france, his land, once more; in aix, upon his palace stair, and held in double chain a bear. when thirty more from arden ran, each spake with voice of living man: "release him, sire!" aloud they call; "our kinsman shall not rest in thrall. to succor him our arms are bound." then from the palace leaped a hound, on the mightiest of the bears he pressed, upon the sward, before the rest. the wondrous fight king karl may see, but knows not who shall victor be. these did the angel to karl display; but the emperor slept till dawning day. ccviii at morning-tide when day-dawn broke, the emperor from his slumber woke. his holy guardian, gabriel, with hand uplifted sained him well. the king aside his armor laid, and his warriors all were disarrayed. then mount they, and in haste they ride, through lengthening path and highway wide until they see the doleful sight in roncesvalles, the field of fight. ccix unto roncesvalles king karl hath sped, and his tears are falling above the dead; "ride, my barons, at gentle pace,-- i will go before, a little space, for my nephew's sake, whom i fain would find. it was once in aix, i recall to mind, when we met at the yearly festal-tide,-- my cavaliers in vaunting vied of stricken fields and joustings proud,-- i heard my roland declare aloud, in foreign land would he never fall but in front of his peers and his warriors all, he would lie with head to the foeman's shore, and make his end like a conqueror." then far as man a staff might fling, clomb to a rising knoll the king. ccx as the king in quest of roland speeds, the flowers and grass throughout the meads he sees all red with our baron's blood, and his tears of pity break forth in flood. he upward climbs, till, beneath two trees, the dints upon the rock he sees. of roland's corse he was then aware; stretched it lay on the green grass bare. no marvel sorrow the king oppressed; he alighted down, and in haste he pressed, took the body his arms between, and fainted: dire his grief i ween. ccxi as did reviving sense begin, naimes, the duke, and count acelin, the noble geoffrey of anjou, and his brother henry nigh him drew. they made a pine-tree's trunk his stay; but he looked to earth where his nephew lay, and thus all gently made his dole: "my friend, my roland, god guard thy soul! never on earth such knight hath been, fields of battle to fight and win. my pride and glory, alas, are gone!" he endured no longer; he swooned anon. ccxii as karl the king revived once more, his hands were held by barons four. he saw his nephew, cold and wan; stark his frame, but his hue was gone; his eyes turned inward, dark and dim; and karl in love lamented him: "dear roland, god thy spirit rest in paradise, amongst his blest! in evil hour thou soughtest spain: no day shall dawn but sees my pain, and me of strength and pride bereft. no champion of mine honor left; without a friend beneath the sky; and though my kindred still be nigh, is none like thee their ranks among." with both his hands his beard he wrung. the franks bewailed in unison; a hundred thousand wept like one. ccxiii "dear roland, i return again to laon, to mine own domain; where men will come from many a land, and seek count roland at my hand. a bitter tale must i unfold-- 'in spanish earth he lieth cold,' a joyless realm henceforth i hold, and weep with daily tears untold." ccxiv "dear roland, beautiful and brave, all men of me will tidings crave, when i return to la chapelle. oh, what a tale is mine to tell! that low my glorious nephew lies. now will the saxon foeman rise; bulgar and hun in arms will come, apulia's power, the might of rome, palermitan and afric bands, and men from fierce and distant lands. to sorrow sorrow must succeed; my hosts to battle who shall lead, when the mighty captain is overthrown?' ah! france deserted now, and lone. come, death, before such grief i bear." once more his beard and hoary hair began he with his hands to tear; a hundred thousand fainted there. ccxv "dear roland, and was this thy fate? may paradise thy soul await. who slew thee wrought fair france's bane: i cannot live, so deep my pain. for me my kindred lie undone; and would to holy mary's son, ere i at cizra's gorge alight, my soul may take its parting flight: my spirit would with theirs abide; my body rest their dust beside." with sobs his hoary beard he tore. "alas!" said naimes, "for the emperor." ccxvi "sir emperor," geoffrey of anjou said, "be not by sorrow so sore misled. let us seek our comrades throughout the plain, who fell by the hands of the men of spain; and let their bodies on biers be borne." "yea," said the emperor. "sound your horn." ccxvii now doth count geoffrey his bugle sound, and the franks from their steeds alight to ground as they their dead companions find, they lay them low on biers reclined; nor prayers of bishop or abbot ceased, of monk or canon, or tonsured priest. the dead they blessed in god's great name, set myrrh and frankincense aflame. their incense to the dead they gave, then laid them, as beseemed the brave-- what could they more?--in honored grave. ccxviii but the king kept watch o'er roland's bier o'er turpin and sir olivier. he bade their bodies opened be, took the hearts of the barons three, swathed them in silken cerements light, laid them in urns of the marble white. their bodies did the franks enfold in skins of deer, around them rolled; laved them with spices and with wine, till the king to milo gave his sign, to tybalt, otun, and gebouin; their bodies three on biers they set, each in its silken coverlet. * * * * * ccxix to saragossa did marsil flee. he alighted beneath an olive tree, and sadly to his serfs he gave his helm, his cuirass, and his glaive, then flung him on the herbage green; came nigh him bramimonde his queen. shorn from his wrist was his right hand good; he swooned for pain and waste of blood. the queen, in anguish, wept and cried, with twenty thousand by her side. king karl and gentle france they cursed; then on their gods their anger burst. unto apollin's crypt they ran, and with revilings thus began: "ah, evil-hearted god, to bring such dark dishonor on our king. thy servants ill dost thou repay." his crown and wand they wrench away, they bind him to a pillar fast, and then his form to earth they cast, his limbs with staves they bruise and break: from termagaunt his gem they take: mohammed to a trench they bear, for dogs and boars to tread and tear. ccxx within his vaulted hall they bore king marsil, when his swoon was o'er; the hall with colored writings stained. and loud the queen in anguish plained, the while she tore her streaming hair, "ah, saragossa, reft and bare, thou seest thy noble king o'erthrown! such felony our gods have shown, who failed in fight his aids to be. the emir comes--a dastard he, unless he will that race essay, who proudly fling their lives away. their emperor of the hoary beard, in valor's desperation reared, will never fly for mortal foe. till he be slain, how deep my woe[ ]!" [footnote : here intervenes the episode of the great battle fought between charlemagne and baligant, emir of babylon, who had come, with a mighty army, to the succor of king marsil his vassal. this episode has been suspected of being a later interpolation. the translation is resumed at the end of the battle, after the emir had been slain by charlemagne's own hand, and when the franks enter saragossa in pursuit of the saracens.] * * * * * ccxxi fierce is the heat and thick the dust. the franks the flying arabs thrust. to saragossa speeds their flight. the queen ascends a turret's height. the clerks and canons on her wait, of that false law god holds in hate. order or tonsure have they none. and when she thus beheld undone the arab power, all disarrayed, aloud she cried, "mahound us aid! my king! defeated is our race, the emir slain in foul disgrace." king marsil turns him to the wall, and weeps--his visage darkened all. he dies for grief--in sin he dies, his wretched soul the demon's prize. ccxxii dead lay the heathens, or turned to flight, and karl was victor in the fight. down saragossa's wall he brake-- defence he knew was none to make. and as the city lay subdued, the hoary king all proudly stood, there rested his victorious powers. the queen hath yielded up the towers-- ten great towers and fifty small. well strives he whom god aids withal. ccxxiii day passed; the shades of night drew on, and moon and stars refulgent shone. now karl is saragossa's lord, and a thousand franks, by the king's award, roam the city, to search and see where mosque or synagogue may be. with axe and mallet of steel in hand, they let nor idol nor image stand; the shrines of sorcery down they hew, for karl hath faith in god the true, and will him righteous service do. the bishops have the water blessed, the heathen to the font are pressed. if any karl's command gainsay, he has him hanged or burned straightway. so a hundred thousand to christ are won; but bramimonde the queen alone shall unto france be captive brought, and in love be her conversion wrought. ccxxiv night passed, and came the daylight hours, karl garrisoned the city's towers; he left a thousand valiant knights, to sentinel their emperor's rights. then all his franks ascend their steeds, while bramimonde in bonds he leads, to work her good his sole intent. and so, in pride and strength, they went; they passed narbonne in gallant show, and reached thy stately walls, bordeaux. there, on saint severin's altar high, karl placed count roland's horn to lie, with mangons filled, and coins of gold, as pilgrims to this hour behold. across garonne he bent his way, in ships within the stream that lay, and brought his nephew unto blaye, with his noble comrade, olivier, and turpin sage, the gallant peer. of the marble white their tombs were made; in saint roman's shrine are the baron's laid, whom the franks to god and his saints commend and karl by hill and vale doth wend, nor stays till aix is reached, and there alighteth on his marble stair. when sits he in his palace hall, he sends around to his judges all, from frisia, saxony, loraine, from burgundy and allemaine, from normandy, brittaine, poitou: the realm of france he searches through, and summons every sagest man. the plea of ganelon then began. ccxxv from spain the emperor made retreat, to aix in france, his kingly seat; and thither, to his halls, there came, alda, the fair and gentle dame. "where is my roland, sire," she cried, "who vowed to take me for his bride?" o'er karl the flood of sorrow swept; he tore his beard and loud he wept. "dear sister, gentle friend," he said, "thou seekest one who lieth dead: i plight to thee my son instead,-- louis, who lord of my realm shall be." "strange," she said, "seems this to me. god and his angels forbid that i should live on earth if roland die." pale grew her cheek--she sank amain, down at the feet of carlemaine. so died she. god receive her soul! the franks bewail her in grief and dole. ccxxvi so to her death went alda fair. the king but deemed she fainted there. while dropped his tears of pity warm, he took her hands and raised her form. upon his shoulder drooped her head, and karl was ware that she was dead. when thus he saw that life was o'er, he summoned noble ladies four. within a cloister was she borne; they watched beside her until morn; beneath a shrine her limbs were laid;-- such honor karl to alda paid. ccxxvii the emperor sitteth in aix again, with gan, the felon, in iron chain, the very palace walls beside, by serfs unto a stake was tied. they bound his hands with leathern thong, beat him with staves and cordage strong; nor hath he earned a better fee. and there in pain awaits his plea. ccxxviii 'tis written in the ancient geste, how karl hath summoned east and west. at la chapelle assembled they; high was the feast and great the day-- saint sylvester's, the legend ran. the plea and judgment then began of ganelon, who the treason wrought, now face to face with his emperor brought. ccxxix "lords, my barons," said karl the king, "on gan be righteous reckoning: he followed in my host to spain; through him ten thousand franks lie slain and slain was he, my sister's son, whom never more ye look upon, with olivier the sage and bold, and all my peers, betrayed for gold." "shame befall me," said gan, "if i now or ever the deed deny; foully he wronged me in wealth and land, and i his death and ruin planned: therein, i say, was treason none." they said, "we will advise thereon." ccxxx count gan to the emperor's presence came, fresh of hue and lithe of frame, with a baron's mien, were his heart but true. on his judges round his glance he threw, and on thirty kinsmen by his side, and thus, with mighty voice, he cried: "hear me, barons, for love of god. in the emperor's host was i abroad-- well i served him, and loyally, but his nephew, roland, hated me: he doomed my doom of death and woe, that i to marsil's court should go. my craft, the danger put aside, but roland loudly i defied, with olivier, and all their crew, as karl, and these his barons, knew. vengeance, not treason, have i wrought." "thereon," they answered, "take we thought." ccxxxi when ganelon saw the plea begin, he mustered thirty of his kin, with one revered by all the rest-- pinabel of sorrence's crest. well can his tongue his cause unfold, and a vassal brave his arms to hold. "thine aid," said ganelon, "i claim; to rescue me from death and shame." said pinabel, "rescued shalt thou be. let any frank thy death decree, and, wheresoe'er the king deems meet, i will him body to body greet, give him the lie with my brand of steel." ganelon sank at his feet to kneel. ccxxxii come frank and norman to council in, bavarian, saxon, and poitevin, with all the barons of teuton blood; but the men of auvergne are mild of mood-- their hearts are swayed unto pinabel. saith each to other, "pause we well. let us leave this plea, and the king implore to set count ganelon free once more. henceforth to serve him in love and faith: count roland lieth cold in death: not all the gold beneath the sky can give him back to mortal eye; such battle would but madness be." they all applauded his decree, save thierry--geoffrey's brother he. ccxxxiii the barons came the king before. "fair sire, we all thy grace implore, that gan be suffered free to go, his faith and love henceforth to show. oh, let him live--a noble he. your roland you shall never see: no wealth of gold may him recall." karl answered, "ye are felons all." ccxxxiv when karl saw all forsake him now, dark grew his face and drooped his brow. he said, "of men most wretched i!" stepped forth thierry speedily, duke geoffrey's brother, a noble knight, spare of body, and lithe and light, dark his hair and his hue withal, nor low of stature, nor over tall: to karl, in courteous wise, he said, "fair sire, be not disheartenèd. i have served you truly, and, in the name of my lineage, i this quarrel claim. if roland wronged sir gan in aught, your service had his safeguard wrought. ganelon bore him like caitiff base, a perjured traitor before your face. i adjudge him to die on the gallows tree; flung to the hounds let his carcase be, the doom of treason and felony. let kin of his but say i lie, and with this girded sword will i my plighted word in fight maintain." "well spoken," cry the franks amain. ccxxxv sir pinabel stood before karl in place, vast of body and swift of pace,-- small hope hath he whom his sword may smite. "sire, it is yours to decide the right, bid this clamor around to pause. thierry hath dared to adjudge the cause; he lieth. battle thereon i do." and forth his right-hand glove he drew. but the emperor said, "in bail to me shall thirty of his kinsmen be; i yield him pledges on my side: be they guarded well till the right be tried." when thierry saw the fight shall be, to karl his right glove reacheth he; the emperor gave his pledges o'er. and set in place were benches four-- thereon the champions take their seat, and all is ranged in order meet,-- the preparations ogier speeds,-- and both demand their arms and steeds. ccxxxvi but yet, ere lay they lance in rest, they make their shrift, are sained and blessed; they hear the mass, the host receive, great gifts to church and cloister leave. they stand before the emperor's face; the spurs upon their feet they lace; gird on their corselets, strong and light; close on their heads the helmets bright. the golden hilts at belt are hung; their quartered shields from shoulder swung. in hand the mighty spears they lift, then spring they on their chargers swift. a hundred thousand cavaliers the while for thierry drop their tears; they pity him for roland's sake. god knows what end the strife will take. ccxxxvii at aix is a wide and grassy plain, where met in battle the barons twain. both of valorous knighthood are, their chargers swift and apt for war. they prick them hard with slackened rein; drive each at other with might and main. their bucklers are in fragments flung, their hauberks rent, their girths unstrung; with saddles turned, they earthward rolled. a hundred thousand in tears behold. ccxxxviii both cavaliers to earth are gone, both rise and leap on foot anon. strong is pinabel, swift and light; each striketh other, unhorsed they fight; with golden-hilted swords, they deal fiery strokes on the helms of steel. trenchant and fierce is their every blow. the franks look on in wondrous woe. "o god," saith karl, "thy judgment show." ccxxxix "yield thee, thierry," said pinabel. "in love and faith will i serve thee well, and all my wealth to thy feet will bring, win ganelon's pardon from the king." "never," thierry in scorn replied, "shall thought so base in my bosom bide! god betwixt us this day decide." ccxl "ah, pinabel!" so thierry spake, "thou art a baron of stalwart make, thy knighthood known to every peer,-- come, let us cease this battle here. with karl thy concord shall be won, but on ganelon be justice done; of him henceforth let speech be none." "no," said pinabel; "god forefend! my kinsman i to the last defend; nor will i blench for mortal face,-- far better death than such disgrace." began they with their glaves anew the gold-encrusted helms to hew; towards heaven the fiery sparkles flew. they shall not be disjoined again, nor end the strife till one be slain. ccxli pinabel, lord of sorrence's keep, smote thierry's helm with stroke so deep the very fire that from it came hath set the prairie round in flame; the edge of steel did his forehead trace adown the middle of his face; his hauberk to the centre clave. god deigned thierry from death to save. ccxlii when thierry felt him wounded so, for his bright blood flowed on the grass below, he smote on pinabel's helmet brown, cut and clave to the nasal down; dashed his brains from forth his head, and, with stroke of prowess, cast him dead. thus, at a blow, was the battle won: "god," say the franks, "hath this marvel done." ccxliii when thierry thus was conqueror, he came the emperor karl before. full fifty barons were in his train, duke naimes, and ogier the noble dane, geoffrey of anjou and william of blaye. karl clasped him in his arms straightway with skin of sable he wiped his face; then cast it from him, and, in its place, bade him in fresh attire be drest. his armor gently the knights divest; on an arab mule they make him ride: so returns he, in joy and pride. to the open plain of aix they come, where the kin of ganelon wait their doom. ccxliv karl his dukes and his counts addressed: "say, what of those who in bondage rest-- who came count ganelon's plea to aid, and for pinabel were bailsmen made?" "one and all let them die the death." and the king to basbrun, his provost, saith "go, hang them all on the gallows tree. by my beard i swear, so white to see, if one escape, thou shalt surely die." "mine be the task," he made reply. a hundred men-at-arms are there: the thirty to their doom they bear. the traitor shall his guilt atone, with blood of others and his own. ccxlv the men of bavaria and allemaine, norman and breton return again, and with all the franks aloud they cry, that gan a traitor's death shall die. they bade be brought four stallions fleet; bound to them ganelon, hands and feet: wild and swift was each savage steed, and a mare was standing within the mead; four grooms impelled the coursers on,-- a fearful ending for ganelon. his every nerve was stretched and torn, and the limbs of his body apart were borne; the bright blood, springing from every vein, left on the herbage green its stain. he died a felon and recreant: never shall traitor his treason vaunt. ccxlvi now was the emperor's vengeance done, and he called to the bishops of france anon with those of bavaria and allemaine. "a noble captive is in my train. she hath hearkened to sermon and homily, and a true believer in christ will be; baptize her so that her soul have grace." they say, "let ladies of noble race, at her christening, be her sponsors vowed." and so there gathered a mighty crowd. at the baths of aix was the wondrous scene-- there baptized they the spanish queen; julienne they have named her name. in faith and truth unto christ she came. ccxlvii when the emperor's justice was satisfied, his mighty wrath did awhile subside. queen bramimonde was a christian made, the day passed on into night's dark shade; as the king in his vaulted chamber lay, saint gabriel came from god to say, "karl, thou shalt summon thine empire's host, and march in haste to bira's coast; unto impha city relief to bring, and succor vivian, the christian king. the heathens in siege have the town essayed and the shattered christians invoke thine aid." fain would karl such task decline. "god! what a life of toil is mine!" he wept; his hoary beard he wrung. * * * * * so ends the lay turoldus sung. the destruction of dÁ derga's hostel translated by whitley stokes, d.c.l. introductory note _the vast and interesting epic literature of ireland remained practically inaccessible to english readers till within the last sixty years. in , nicholas o'kearney published the irish text and an english translation of "the battle of gabra," and since that date the volume of printed texts and english versions has steadily increased, until now there lies open to the ordinary reader a very considerable mass of material illustrating the imaginative life of medieval ireland. of these irish epic tales, "the destruction of dá derga's hostel" is a specimen of remarkable beauty and power. the primitive nature of the story is shown by the fact that the plot turns upon the disasters that follow on the violation of tabus or prohibitions often with a supernatural sanction, by the monstrous nature of many of the warriors, and by the utter absence of any attempt to rationalise or explain the beliefs implied or the marvels related in it. the powers and achievements of the heroes are fantastic and extraordinary beyond description, and the natural and extra-natural constantly mingle; yet nowhere, does the narrator express surprise. the technical method of the tale, too, is curiously and almost mechanically symmetrical, after the manner of savage art; and both description and narration are marked by a high degree of freshness and vividness. the following translation is, with slight modification, that of dr. whitley stokes, from a text constructed by him on the basis of eight manuscripts, the oldest going back to about a.d. the story itself is, without doubt, several centuries earlier, and belongs to the oldest group of extant irish sagas._ the destruction of dÁ derga's hostel there was a famous and noble king over erin, named eochaid feidlech. once upon a time he came over the fairgreen of brí léith, and he saw at the edge of a well a woman with a bright comb of silver adorned with gold, washing in a silver basin wherein were four golden birds and little, bright gems of purple carbuncle in the rims of the basin. a mantle she had, curly and purple, a beautiful cloak, and in the mantle silvery fringes arranged, and a brooch of fairest gold. a kirtle she wore, long, hooded, hard-smooth, of green silk, with red embroidery of gold. marvellous clasps of gold and silver in the kirtle on her breasts and her shoulders and spaulds on every side. the sun kept shining upon her, so that the glistening of the gold against the sun from the green silk was manifest to men. on her head were two golden-yellow tresses, in each of which was a plait of four locks, with a bead at the point of each lock. the hue of that hair seemed to them like the flower of the iris in summer, or like red gold after the burnishing thereof. there she was, undoing her hair to wash it, with her arms out through the sleeve-holes of her smock. white as the snow of one night were the two hands, soft and even, and red as foxglove were the two clear-beautiful cheeks. dark as the back of a stag-beetle the two eyebrows. like a shower of pearls were the teeth in her head. blue as a hyacinth were the eyes. red as rowan-berries the lips. very high, smooth and soft-white the shoulders. clear-white and lengthy the fingers. long were the hands. white as the foam of a wave was the flank, slender, long, tender, smooth, soft as wool. polished and warm, sleek and white were the two thighs. round and small, hard and white the two knees. short and white and rulestraight the two shins. justly straight and beautiful the two heels. if a measure were put on the feet it would hardly have found them unequal, unless the flesh of the coverings should grow upon them. the bright radiance of the moon was in her noble face: the loftiness of pride in her smooth eyebrows: the light of wooing in each of her regal eyes. a dimple of delight in each of her cheeks, with a dappling (?) in them at one time, of purple spots with redness of a calf's blood, and at another with the bright lustre of snow. soft womanly dignity in her voice; a step steady and slow she had: a queenly gait was hers. verily, of the world's women 'twas she was the dearest and loveliest and justest that the eyes of men had ever beheld. it seemed to king eochaid and his followers that she was from the elfmounds. of her was said: "shapely are all till compared with etáin," "dear are all till compared with etáin." a longing for her straightway seized the king; so he sent forward a man of his people to detain her. the king asked tidings of her and said, while announcing himself: "shall i have an hour of dalliance with thee?" "'tis for that we have come hither under thy safeguard," quoth she. "query, whence art thou and whence hast thou come?" says eochaid. "easy to say," quoth she. "etáin am i, daughter of etar, king of the cavalcade from the elfmounds. i have been here for twenty years since i was born in an elfmound. the men of the elfmound, both kings and nobles, have been wooing me; but nought was gotten from me, because ever since i was able to speak, i have loved thee and given thee a child's love for the high tales about thee and thy splendour. and though i had never seen thee, i knew thee at once from thy description: it is thou, then, i have reached." "no 'seeking of an ill friend afar' shall be thine," says eochaid. "thou shalt have welcome, and for thee every other woman shall be left by me, and with thee alone will i live so long as thou hast honour." "my proper bride-price to me!" she says, "and afterwards my desire." "thou shalt have both," says eochaid. seven _cumals_[ ] are given to her. [footnote : i.e., twenty-one cows.] then the king, even eochaid feidlech, dies, leaving one daughter named, like her mother, etáin, and wedded to cormac, king of ulaid. after the end of a time cormac, king of ulaid, "the man of the three gifts," forsakes eochaid's daughter, because she was barren save for one daughter that she had borne to cormac after the making of the pottage which her mother--the woman from the elfmounds--gave her. then she said to her mother: "bad is what thou hast given me: it will be a daughter that i shall bear." "that will not be good," says her mother; "a king's pursuit will be on her." then cormac weds again his wife, even etáin, and this was his desire, that the daughter of the woman who had before been abandoned [i.e. his own daughter] should be killed. so cormac would not leave the girl to her mother to be nursed. then his two thralls take her to a pit, and she smiles a laughing smile at them as they were putting her into it. then their kindly nature came to them. they carry her into the calfshed of the cowherds of etirscél, great-grandson of iar, king of tara, and they fostered her till she became a good embroideress; and there was not in ireland a king's daughter dearer than she. a fenced house of wickerwork was made by the thralls for her, without any door, but only a window and a skylight. king eterscél's folk espy that house and suppose that it was food that the cowherds kept there. but one of them went and looked through the skylight, and he saw in the house the dearest, beautifullest maiden! this is told to the king, and straightway he sends his people to break the house and carry her off without asking the cowherds. for the king was childless, and it had been prophesied to him by his wizards that a woman of unknown race would bear him a son. then said the king: "this is the woman that has been prophesied to me!" now while she was there next morning she saw a bird on the skylight coming to her, and he leaves his birdskin on the floor of the house, and went to her and possessed her, and said: "they are coming to thee from the king to wreck thy house and to bring thee to him perforce. and thou wilt be pregnant by me, and bear a son, and that son must not kill birds[ ]. and 'conaire, son of mess buachalla' shall be his name," for hers was mess buachalla, "the cowherds' fosterchild." [footnote : this passage indicates the existence in ireland of totems, and of the rule that the person to whom a totem belongs must not kill the totem-animal.--w.s.] and then she was brought to the king, and with her went her fosterers, and she was betrothed to the king, and he gave her seven _cumals_ and to her fosterers seven other _cumals_. and afterwards they were made chieftains, so that they all became legitimate, whence are the two fedlimthi rechtaidi. and then she bore a son to the king, even conaire son of mess buachalla, and these were her three urgent prayers to the king, to wit, the nursing of her son among three households, that is, the fosterers who had nurtured her, and the two honeyworded mainès, and she herself is the third; and she said that such of the men of erin as should wish to do aught for this boy should give to those three households for the boy's protection. so in that wise he was reared, and the men of erin straightway knew this boy on the day he was born. and other boys were fostered with him, to wit, fer le and fer gar and fer rogein, three great-grandsons of donn désa the champion, an army-man of the army from muc-lesi. now conaire possessed three gifts, to wit, the gift of hearing and the gift of eyesight and the gift of judgment; and of those three gifts he taught one to each of his three fosterbrothers. and whatever meal was prepared for him, the four of them would go to it. even though three meals were prepared for him each of them would go to his meal. the same raiment and armour and colour of horses had the four. then the king, even eterscéle, died. a bull-feast is gathered by the men of erin, in order to determine their future king; that is, a bull used to be killed by them and thereof one man would eat his fill and drink its broth, and a spell of truth was chanted over him in his bed. whosoever he would see in his sleep would be king, and the sleeper would perish if he uttered a falsehood. four men in chariots were on the plain of liffey at their game, conaire himself and his three fosterbrothers. then his fosterers went to him that he might repair to the bull-feast. the bull-feaster, then in his sleep, at the end of the night beheld a man stark-naked, passing along the road of tara, with a stone in his sling. "i will go in the morning after you," quoth he. he left his fosterbrothers at their game, and turned his chariot and his charioteer until he was in dublin. there he saw great, white-speckled birds, of unusual size and colour and beauty. he pursues then until his horses were tired. the birds would go a spearcast before him, and would not go any further. he alighted, and takes his sling for them out of the chariot. he goes after them until he was at the sea. the birds betake themselves to the wave. he went to them and overcame them. the birds quit their birdskins, and turn upon him with spears and swords. one of them protects him, and addressed him, saying: "i am némglan, king of thy father's birds; and thou hast been forbidden to cast at birds, for here there is no one that should not be dear to thee because of his father or mother." "till to-day," says conaire, "i knew not this." "go to tara tonight," says némglan; "'tis fittest for thee. a bull-feast is there, and through it thou shalt be king. a man stark-naked, who shall go at the end of the night along one of the roads of tara, having a stone and a sling--'tis he that shall be king." so in this wise conaire fared forth; and on each of the four roads whereby men go to tara there were three kings awaiting him, and they had raiment for him, since it had been foretold that he would come stark-naked. then he was seen from the road on which his fosterers were, and they put royal raiment about him, and placed him in a chariot, and he bound his pledges. the folk of tara said to him: "it seems to us that our bull-feast and our spell of truth are a failure, if it be only a young, beardless lad that we have visioned therein." "that is of no moment," quoth he. "for a young, generous king like me to be in the kingship is no disgrace, since the binding of tara's pledges is mine by right of father and grandsire." "excellent! excellent!" says the host. they set the kingship of erin upon him. and he said: "i will enquire of wise men that i myself may be wise." then he uttered all this as he had been taught by the man at the wave, who said this to him: "thy reign will be subject to a restriction, but the bird-reign will be noble, and this shall be thy restriction, i.e. thy tabu. "thou shalt not go righthandwise round tara and lefthandwise round bregia. "the evil-beasts of cerna must not be hunted by thee. "and thou shalt not go out every ninth night beyond tara. "thou shalt not sleep in a house from which firelight is manifest outside, after sunset, and in which light is manifest from without. "and three reds shall not go before thee to red's house. "and no rapine shall be wrought in thy reign. "and after sunset a company of one woman or one man shall not enter the house in which thou art. "and thou shalt not settle the quarrel of thy two thralls. now there were in his reign great bounties, to wit, seven ships in every june in every year arriving at inver colptha[ ], and oakmast up to the knees in every autumn, and plenty of fish in the rivers bush and boyne in the june of each year, and such abundance of good will that no one slew another in erin during his reign. and to every one in erin his fellow's voice seemed as sweet as the strings of lutes. from mid-spring to mid-autumn no wind disturbed a cow's tail. his reign was neither thunderous nor stormy. [footnote : the mouth of the river boyne.--w.s.] now his fosterbrothers murmured at the taking from them of their father's and their grandsire's gifts, namely theft and robbery and slaughter of men and rapine. they thieved the three thefts from the same man, to wit, a swine and an ox and a cow, every year, that they might see what punishment therefor the king would inflict upon them, and what damage the theft in his reign would cause to the king. now every year the farmer would come to the king to complain, and the king would say to him. "go thou and address donn désá's three great-grandsons, for 'tis they that have taken the beasts." whenever he went to speak to donn désá's descendants they would almost kill him, and he would not return to the king lest conaire should attend his hurt. since, then, pride and wilfulness possessed them, they took to marauding, surrounded by the sons of the lords of the men of erin. thrice fifty men had they as pupils when they (the pupils) were were-wolfing in the province of connaught, until maine milscothach's swineherd saw them, and he had never seen that before. he went in flight. when they heard him they pursued him. the swineherd shouted, and the people of the two mainès came to him, and the thrice fifty men were arrested, along with their auxiliaries, and taken to tara. they consulted the king concerning the matter, and he said: "let each (father) slay his son, but let my fosterlings be spared." "leave, leave!" says every one: "it shall be done for thee." "nay indeed," quoth he; "no 'cast of life' by me is the doom i have delivered. the men shall not be hung; but let veterans go with them that they may wreak their rapine on the men of alba." this they do. thence they put to sea and met the son of the king of britain, even ingcél the one-eyed, grandson of conmac: thrice fifty men and their veterans they met upon the sea. they make an alliance, and go with ingcél and wrought rapine with him. this is the destruction which his own impulse gave him. that was the night that his mother and his father and his seven brothers had been bidden to the house of the king of his district. all of them were destroyed by ingcél in a single night. then the irish pirates put out to sea to the land of erin to seek a destruction as payment for that to which ingcél had been entitled from them. in conaire's reign there was perfect peace in erin, save that in thomond there was a joining of battle between the two carbres. two fosterbrothers of his were they. and until conaire came it was impossible to make peace between them. 'twas a tabu of his to go to separate them before they had repaired to him. he went, however, although to do so was one of his tabus, and he made peace between them. he remained five nights with each of the two. that also was a tabu of his. after settling the two quarrels, he was travelling to tara. this is the way they took to tara, past usnech of meath; and they saw the raiding from east and west, and from south and north, and they saw the warbands and the hosts and the men stark-naked; and the land of the southern o'neills was a cloud of fire around him. "what is this?" asked conaire. "easy to say," his people answer. "easy to know that the king's law has broken down therein, since the country has begun to burn." "whither shall we betake ourselves?" says conaire. "to the northeast," says his people. so then they went righthandwise round tara, and lefthandwise round bregia, and the evil beasts of cerna were hunted by him. but he saw it not till the chase had ended. they that made of the world that smoky mist of magic were elves, and they did so because conaire's tabus had been violated. great fear then fell on conaire because they had no way to wend save upon the road of midluachair and the road of cualu. so they took their way by the coast of ireland southward. then said conaire on the road of cualu: "whither shall we go tonight?" "may i succeed in telling thee! my fosterling conaire," says mac cecht, son of snade teiched, the champion of conaire, son of eterscél. "oftener have the men of erin been contending for thee every night than thou hast been wandering about for a guesthouse." "judgment goes with good times," says conaire. "i had a friend in this country, if only we knew the way to his house!" "what is his name?" asked mac cecht. "dá derga of leinster," answered conaire. "he came unto me to seek a gift from me, and he did not come with a refusal. i gave him a hundred kine of the drove. i gave him a hundred fatted swine. i gave him a hundred mantles made of close cloth. i gave him a hundred blue-coloured weapons of battle. i gave him ten red, gilded brooches. i gave him ten vats good and brown. i gave him ten thralls. i gave him ten querns. i gave him thrice nine hounds all-white in their silvern chains. i gave him a hundred racehorses in the herds of deer. there would be no abatement in his case though he should come again. he would make return. it is strange if he is surly to me tonight when reaching his abode." "when i was acquainted with his house," says mac cecht, "the road whereon thou art going towards him was the boundary of his abode. it continues till it enters his house, for through the house passes the road. there are seven doorways into the house, and seven bedrooms between every two doorways; but there is only one door-valve on it, and that valve is turned to every doorway to which the wind blows." "with all that thou hast here," says conaire, "thou shalt go in thy great multitude until thou alight in the midst of the house." "if so be," answers mac cecht, "that thou goest thither, i go on that i may strike fire there ahead of thee." when conaire after this was journeying along the road of cuálu, he marked before him three horsemen riding towards the house. three red frocks had they, and three red mantles: three red bucklers they bore, and three red spears were in their hands: three red steeds they bestrode, and three red heads of hair were on them. red were they all, both body and hair and raiment, both steeds and men. "who is it that fares before us?" asked conaire. "it was a tabu of mine for those three to go before me--the three reds to the house of red. who will follow them and tell them to come towards me in my track?" "i will follow them," says lé fri flaith, conaire's son. he goes after them, lashing his horse, and overtook them not. there was the length of a spearcast between them: but they did not gain upon him and he did not gain upon them. he told them not to go before the king. he overtook them not; but one of the three men sang a lay to him over his shoulder: "lo, my son, great the news, news from a hostel.... lo my son!" they go away from him then: he could not detain them. the boy waited for the host. he told his father what was said to him. conaire liked it not. "after them, thou!" says conaire, "and offer them three oxen and three bacon-pigs, and so long as they shall be in my household, no one shall be among them from fire to wall." so the lad goes after them, and offers them that, and overtook them not. but one of the three men sang a lay to him over his shoulder: "lo, my son, great the news! a generous king's great ardour whets thee, burns thee. through ancient men's enchantments a company of nine yields. lo, my son!" the boy turns back and repeated the lay to conaire. "go after them," says conaire, "and offer them six oxen and six bacon-pigs, and my leavings, and gifts tomorrow, and so long as they shall be in my household no one to be among them from fire to wall." the lad then went after them, and overtook them not; but one of the three men answered and said: "lo, my son, great the news. weary are the steeds we ride. we ride the steeds of donn tetscorach from the elfmounds. though we are alive we are dead. great are the signs; destruction of life: sating of ravens: feeding of crows, strife of slaughter: wetting of sword-edge, shields with broken bosses in hours after sundown. lo, my son!" then they go from him. "i see that thou hast not detained the men," says conaire. "indeed it is not i that betrayed it," says lé fri flaith. he recited the last answer that they gave him. conaire and his retainers were not blithe thereat: and afterwards evil forebodings of terror were on them. "all my tabus have seized me tonight," says conaire, "since those three reds are the banished folks[ ]." [footnote : they had been banished from the elfmounds, and for them to precede was to violate one of his tabus.--w.s.] they went forward to the house and took their seats therein, and fastened their red steeds to the door of the house. that is the forefaring of the three reds in the _bruden dá derga_. this is the way that conaire took with his troops, to dublin. 'tis then the man of the black, cropt hair, with his one hand and one eye and one foot, overtook them. rough cropt hair upon him. though a sackful of wild apples were flung on his crown, not an apple would fall on the ground, but each of them would stick on his hair. though his snout were flung on a branch they would remain together. long and thick as an outer yoke was each of his two shins. each of his buttocks was the size of a cheese on a withe. a forked pole of iron black-pointed was in his hand. a swine, black-bristled, singed, was on his back, squealing continually, and a woman big-mouthed, huge, dark, sorry, hideous, was behind him. though her snout were flung on a branch, the branch would support it. her lower lip would reach her knee. he starts forward to meet conaire, and made him welcome. "welcome to thee, o master conaire! long hath thy coming hither been known." "who gives the welcome?" asks conaire. "fer caille here, with his black swine for thee to consume that thou be not fasting tonight, for 'tis thou art the best king that has come into the world!" "what is thy wife's name?" says conaire. "cichuil," he answers. "any other night," says conaire, "that pleases you, i will come to you,--and leave us alone to night." "nay," say the churl, "for we will go to thee to the place wherein thou wilt be tonight, o fair little master conaire!" so he goes towards the house, with his great, big-mouthed wife behind him, and his swine short-bristled, black, singed, squealing continually, on his back. that was one of conaire's tabus, and that plunder should be taken in ireland during his reign was another tabu of his. now plunder was taken by the sons of donn désa, and five hundred there were in the body of their marauders, besides what underlings were with them. this, too, was a tabu of conaire's. there was a good warrior in the north country, "wain over withered sticks," this was his name. why he was so called was because he used to go over his opponent even as a wain would go over withered sticks. now plunder was taken by him, and there were five hundred in the body of their marauders alone, besides underlings. there was after that a troop of still haughtier heroes, namely, the seven sons of ailill and medb, each of whom was called "manè." and each manè had a nickname, to wit, manè fatherlike and manè motherlike, and manè otherlike, and manè gentle-pious, manè very-pious, manè unslow, and manè honeyworded, manè grasp-them-all, and manè the loquacious. rapine was wrought by them. as to manè motherlike and manè unslow there were fourteen score in the body of their marauders. manè fatherlike had three hundred and fifty. manè honeyworded had five hundred. manè grasp-them-all had seven hundred. manè the loquacious had seven hundred. each of the others had five hundred in the body of his marauders. there was a valiant trio of the men of cúalu of leinster, namely, the three red hounds of cúalu, called cethach and clothach and conall. now rapine was wrought by them, and twelve score were in the body of their marauders, and they had a troop of madmen. in conaire's reign a third of the men of ireland were reavers. he was of sufficient strength and power to drive them out of the land of erin so as to transfer their marauding to the other side (great britain), but after this transfer they returned to their country. when they had reached the shoulder of the sea, they meet ingcél the one-eyed and eiccel and tulchinne, three great-grandsons of conmac of britain, on the raging of the sea. a man ungentle, huge, fearful, uncouth was ingcél. a single eye in his head, as broad as an oxhide, as black as a chafer, with three pupils therein. thirteen hundred were in the body of his marauders. the marauders of the men of erin were more numerous then they. they go for a sea-encounter on the main. "ye should not do this," says ingcél: "do not break the truth of men (fair play) upon us, for ye are more in number than i." "nought but a combat on equal terms shall befall thee," say the reavers of erin. "there is somewhat better for you," quoth ingcél. "let us make peace since ye have been cast out of the land of erin, and we have been cast out of the land of alba and britain. let us make an agreement between us. come ye and wreak your rapine in my country, and i will go with you and wreak my rapine in your country." they follow this counsel, and they gave pledges therefor from this side and from that. there are the sureties that were given to ingcél by the men of erin, namely, fer gair and gabur (or fer lee) and fer rogain, for the destruction that ingcél should choose to cause in ireland and for the destruction that the sons of donn désa should choose in alba and britain. a lot was cast upon them to see with which of them they should go first. it fell that they should go with ingcél to his country. so they made for britain, and there his father and mother and his seven brothers were slain, as we have said before. thereafter they made for alba, and there they wrought the destruction, and then they returned to erin. 'tis then, now, that conaire son of eterscél went towards the hostel along the road of cualu. 'tis then that the reavers came till they were in the sea off the coast of bregia overagainst howth. then said the reavers: "strike the sails, and make one band of you on the sea that ye may not be sighted from land; and let some lightfoot be found from among you to go on shore to see if we could save our honors with ingcél. a destruction for the destruction he has given us." "who will go on shore to listen? let some one go," says ingcél, "who should have there the three gifts, namely gift of hearing, gift of far sight, and gift of judgment." "i," says manè honeyworded, "have the gift of hearing." "and i," says manè unslow, "have the gift of far sight and of judgment." "'tis well for you to go thus," say the reavers: "good is that wise." then nine men go on till they were on the hill of howth, to know what they might hear and see. "be still a while!" says manè honeyworded. "what is that?" asks manè unslow. "the sound of a good king's cavalcade i hear." "by the gift of far sight, i see," quoth his comrade. "what seest thou here?" "i see there," quoth he, "cavalcades splendid, lofty, beautiful, warlike, foreign, somewhat slender, weary, active, keen, whetted, vehement, a good course that shakes a great covering of land. they fare to many heights, with wondrous waters and invers[ ]." [footnote : mouths of rivers.] "what are the waters and heights and invers that they traverse?" "easy to say: indéoin, cult, cuiltén, máfat, ammat, iarmáfat, finne, goiste, guistíne. gray spears over chariots: ivory-hilted swords on thighs: silvery shields above their elbows. half red and half white. garments of every color about them. "thereafter i see before them special cattle specially keen, to wit, thrice fifty dark-gray steeds. small-headed are they, red-nosed, pointed, broad-hoofed, big-nosed, red-chested, fat, easily-stopt, easily-yoked, foray-nimble, keen, whetted, vehement, with their thrice fifty bridles of red enamel upon them." "i swear by what my tribe swears," says the man of the long sight, "these are the cattle of some good lord. this is my judgment thereof: it is conaire, son of eterscél, with multitudes of the men of erin around him, who has travelled the road." back then they go that they may tell it to the reavers. "this," they say, "is what we have heard and seen." of this host, then, there was a multitude, both on this side and on that, namely, thrice fifty boats, with five thousand in them, and ten hundred in every thousand. then they hoisted the sails on the boats, and steer them thence to shore, till they landed on the strand of fuirbthe. when the boats reached land, then was mac cecht a-striking fire in dá derga's hostel. at the sound of the spark the thrice fifty boats were hurled out, so that they were on the shoulders of the sea. "be silent a while!" said ingcél. "liken thou that, o fer rogain." "i know not," answers fer rogain, "unless it is luchdonn the satirist in emain macha, who makes this hand-smiting when his food is taken from him perforce: or the scream of luchdonn in temair luachra: or mac cecht's striking a spark, when he kindles a fire before a king of erin where he sleeps. every spark and every shower which his fire would let fall on the floor would broil a hundred calves and two half-pigs." "may god not bring that man (even conaire) there to-night!" say donn désa's sons. "sad that he is under the hurt of foes!" "meseems," says ingcél, "it should be no sadder for me than the destruction i gave you. this were my feast that conaire should chance to come there." their fleet is steered to land. the noise that the thrice fifty vessels made in running ashore shook dá derga's hostel so that no spear nor shield remained on rack therein, but the weapons uttered a cry and fell all on the floor of the house. "liken thou that, o conaire," says every one: "what is this noise?" "i know nothing like it unless it be the earth that has broken, or the leviathan that surrounds the globe and strikes with its tail to overturn the world, or the barque of the sons of donn désa that has reached the shore. alas that it should not be they who are there! beloved foster-brothers of our own were they! dear were the champions. we should not have feared them tonight." then came conaire, so that he was on the green of the hostel. when mac cecht heard the tumultuous noise, it seemed to him that warriors had attacked his people. thereat he leapt on to his armour to help them. vast as the thunder-feat of three hundred did they deem his game in leaping to his weapons. thereof there was no profit. now in the bow of the ship wherein were donn désa's sons was the champion, greatly-accoutred, wrathful, the lion hard and awful, ingcél the one-eyed, great-grandson of conmac. wide as an oxhide was the single eye protruding from his forehead, with seven pupils therein, which were black as a chafer. each of his knees as big as a stripper's caldron; each of his two fists was the size of a reaping-basket: his buttocks as big as a cheese on a withe: each of his shins as long as an outer yoke. so after that, the thrice fifty boats, and those five thousands--with ten hundred in every thousand,--landed on the strand of fuirbthe. then conaire with his people entered the hostel, and each took his seat within, both tabu and non-tabu. and the three reds took their seats, and fer caille with his swine took his seat. thereafter dá derga came to them, with thrice fifty warriors, each of them having a long head of hair to the hollow of his polls, and a short cloak to their buttocks. speckled-green drawers they wore, and in their hands were thrice fifty great clubs of thorn with bands of iron. "welcome, o master conaire!" quoth he. "though the bulk of the men of erin were to come with thee, they themselves would have a welcome." when they were there they saw a lone woman coming to the door of the hostel, after sunset, and seeking to be let in. as long as a weaver's beam was each of her two shins, and they were as dark as the back of a stag-beetle. a greyish, wooly mantle she wore. her lower hair used to reach as far as her knee. her lips were on one side of her head. she came and put one of her shoulders against the doorpost of the house, casting the evil eye on the king and the youths who surrounded him in the hostel. he himself addressed her from within. "well, o woman," says conaire, "if thou art a wizard, what seest thou for us?" "truly i see for thee," she answers, "that neither fell nor flesh of thine shall escape from the place into which thou hast come, save what birds will bear away in their claws." "it was not an evil omen we foreboded, o woman," saith he: "it is not thou that always augurs for us. what is thy name, o woman?" "cailb," she answers. "that is not much of a name," says conaire. "lo, many are my names besides." "which be they?" asks conaire. "easy to say," quoth she. "samon, sinand, seisclend, sodb, caill, coll, díchóem, dichiúil, díthím, díchuimne, dichruidne, dairne, dáríne, déruaine, egem, agam, ethamne, gním, cluiche, cethardam, níth, némain, nóennen, badb, blosc, b[l]oár, huae, óe aife la sruth, mache, médé, mod." on one foot, and holding up one hand, and breathing one breath she sang all that to them from the door of the house. "i swear by the gods whom i adore," says conaire, "that i will call thee by none of these names whether i shall be here a long or a short time." "what dost thou desire?" says conaire. "that which thou, too, desirest," she answered. "'tis a tabu of mine," says conaire, "to receive the company of one woman after sunset." "though it be a tabu," she replied, "i will not go until my guesting come at once this very night." "tell her," says conaire, "that an ox and a bacon-pig shall be taken out to her, and my leavings: provided that she stays tonight in some other place." "if in sooth," she says, "it has befallen the king not to have room in his house for the meal and bed of a solitary woman, they will be gotten apart from him from some one possessing generosity--if the hospitality of the prince in the hostel has departed." "savage is the answer!" says conaire. "let her in, though it is a tabu of mine." great loathing they felt after that from the woman's converse, and ill-foreboding; but they knew not the cause thereof. the reavers afterwards landed, and fared forth till they were at lecca cinn slébe. ever open was the hostel. why it was called a _bruden_ was because it resembles the lips of a man blowing a fire. great was the fire which was kindled by conaire every night, to wit, a "boar of the wood." seven outlets it had. when a log was cut out of its side every flame that used to come forth at each outlet was as big as the blaze of a burning oratory. there were seventeen of conaire's chariots at every door of the house, and by those that were looking from the vessels that great light was clearly seen through the wheels of the chariots. "canst thou say, o fer rogain, what that great light yonder resembles?" "i cannot liken it to aught," answers fer rogain, "unless it be the fire of a king. may god not bring that man there tonight! 'tis a pity to destroy him!" "what then deemest thou," says ingcél, "of that man's reign in the land of erin?" "good is his reign," replied fer rogain. "since he assumed the kingship, no cloud has veiled the sun for the space of a day from the middle of spring to the middle of autumn. and not a dewdrop fell from grass till midday, and wind would not touch a beast's tail until nones. and in his reign, from year's end to year's end, no wolf has attacked aught save one bullcalf of each byre; and to maintain this rule there are seven wolves in hostageship at the sidewall in his house, and behind this a further security, even maclocc, and 'tis he that pleads for them in conaire's house. in conaire's reign are the three crowns on erin, namely, crown of corn-ears, and crown of flowers, and crown of oak mast. in his reign, too, each man deems the other's voice as melodious as the strings of lutes, because of the excellence of the law and the peace and the goodwill prevailing throughout erin. may god not bring that man there tonight! 'tis sad to destroy him. 'tis _'a branch through its blossom,'_ 'tis _a swine that falls before mast._ 'tis _an infant in age._ sad is the shortness of his life!" "this was my luck," says ingcél, "that he should be there, and there should be one destruction for another. it were not more grievous to me than my father and my mother and my seven brothers, and the king of my country, whom i gave up to you before coming on the transfer of the rapine." "'tis true, 'tis true!" say the evildoers who were along with the reavers. the reavers make a start from the strand of fuirbthe, and bring a stone for each man to make a cairn; for this was the distinction which at first the fians made between a "destruction" and a "rout." a pillar-stone they used to plant when there would be a rout. a cairn, however, they used to make when there would be a destruction. at this time, then, they made a cairn, for it was a destruction. far from the house was this, that they might not be heard or seen therefrom. for two causes they built their cairn, namely, first, since this was a custom in marauding, and, secondly, that they might find out their losses at the hostel. every one that would come safe from it would take his stone from the cairn: thus the stones of those that were slain would be left, and thence they would know their losses. and this is what men skilled in story recount, that for every stone in carn leca there was one of the reavers killed at the hostel. from that cairn leca in húi cellaig is so called. a "boar of a fire" is kindled by the sons of donn désa to give warning to conaire. so _that_ is the first warning-beacon that has been made in erin, and from it to this day every warning-beacon is kindled. this is what others recount: that it was on the eve of _samain_ (all-saints-day) the destruction of the hostel was wrought, and that from yonder beacon the beacon of _samain_ is followed from that to this, and stones (are placed) in the _samain_-fire. then the reavers framed a counsel at the place where they had put the cairn. "well, then," says ingcél to the guides, "what is nearest to us here?" "easy to say: the hostel of hua derga, chief-hospitaller of erin." "good men indeed," says ingcél, "were likely to seek their fellows at that hostel to-night." this, then, was the counsel of the reavers, to send one of them to see how things were there. "who will go there to espy the house?" say everyone. "who should go," says ingcél, "but i, for 'tis i that am entitled to dues." ingcél went to reconnoitre the hostel with one of the seven pupils of the single eye which stood out of his forehead, to fit his eye into the house in order to destroy the king and the youths who were around him therein. and ingcél saw them through the wheels of the chariots. then ingcél was perceived from the house. he made a start from it after being perceived. he went till he reached the reavers in the stead wherein they were. each circle of them was set around another to hear the tidings--the chiefs of the reavers being in the very centre of the circles. there were fer gér and fer gel and fer rogel and fer rogain and lomna the buffoon, and ingcél the one-eyed--six in the centre of the circles. and fer rogain went to question ingcél. "how is that, o ingcél?" asks fer rogain. "however it be," answers ingcél, "royal is the custom, hostful is the tumult: kingly is the noise thereof. whether a king be there or not, i will take the house for what i have a right to. thence my turn of rapine cometh." "we have left it in thy hand, o ingcél!" say conaire's fosterbrothers. "but we should not wreak the destruction till we know who may be therein." "question, hast thou seen the house well, o ingcél?" asks fer rogain. "mine eye cast a rapid glance around it, and i will accept it for my dues as it stands." "thou mayest well accept it, o ingcél," saith fer rogain: "the foster father of us all is there, erin's overking, conaire, son of eterscél." "question, what sawest thou in the champion's high seat of the house, facing the king, on the opposite side?" the room of cormac condlongas "i saw there," says ingcél, "a man of noble countenance, large, with a clear and sparkling eye, an even set of teeth, a face narrow below, broad above. fair, flaxen, golden hair upon him, and a proper fillet around it. a brooch of silver in his mantle, and in his hand a gold-hilted sword. a shield with five golden circles upon it: a five-barbed javelin in his hand. a visage just, fair, ruddy he hath: he is also beardless. modest-minded is that man!" "and after that, whom sawest thou there?" the room of cormac's nine comrades "there i saw three men to the west of cormac, and three to the east of him, and three in front of the same man. thou wouldst deem that the nine of them had one mother and one father. they are of the same age, equally goodly, equally beautiful, all alike. thin rods of gold in their mantles. bent shields of bronze they bear. ribbed javelins above them. an ivory-hilted sword in the hand of each. an unique feat they have, to wit, each of them takes his sword's point between his two fingers, and they twirl the swords round their fingers, and the swords afterwards extend themselves by themselves. liken thou _that_, o fer rogain," says ingcél. "easy," says fer rogain, "for me to liken them. it is conchobar's son, cormac condlongas, the best hero behind a shield in the land of erin. of modest mind is that boy! evil is what he dreads tonight. he is a champion of valour for feats of arms; he is an hospitaller for householding. these are yon nine who surround him, the three dúngusses, and the three doelgusses, and the three dangusses, the nine comrades of cormac condlongas, son of conchobar. they have never slain men on account of their misery, and they never spared them on account of their prosperity. good is the hero who is among them, even cormac condlongas. i swear what my tribe swears, nine times ten will fall by cormac in his first onset, and nine times ten will fall by his people, besides a man for each of their weapons, and a man for each of themselves. and cormac will share prowess with any man before the hostel, and he will boast of victory over a king or crown-prince or noble of the reavers; and he himself will chance to escape, though all his people be wounded." "woe to him who shall wreak this destruction!" says lomna drúth, "even because of that one man, cormac condlongas, son of conchobar." "i swear what my tribe swears," says lomna son of donn désa, "if i could fulfil my counsel, the destruction would not be attempted were it only because of that one man, and because of the hero's beauty and goodness!" "it is not feasible to prevent it," says ingcél: "clouds of weakness come to you. a keen ordeal which will endanger two cheeks of a goat will be opposed by the oath of fer rogain, who will run. thy voice, o lomna," says ingcél, "hath taken breaking upon thee: thou art a worthless warrior, and i know thee. clouds of weakness come to you...." neither old men nor historians shall declare that i quitted the destruction, until i shall wreak it." "reproach not our honour, o ingcél," say gér and gabur and fer rogain. "the destruction shall be wrought unless the earth break under it, until all of us are slain thereby." "truly, then, thou hast reason, o ingcél," says lomna drúth son of donn désa. "not to thee is the loss caused by the destruction. thou wilt carry off the head of the king of a foreign country, with thy slaughter of another; and thou and thy brothers will escape from the destruction, even ingcél and ecell and the yearling of the rapine." "harder, however, it is for me," says lomna drúth: "woe is me before every one! woe is me after every one! 'tis my head that will be first tossed about there to-night after an hour among the chariot-shafts, where devilish foes will meet. it will be flung into the hostel thrice, and thrice will it be flung forth. woe to him that comes! woe to him with whom one goes! woe to him to whom one goes! wretches are they that go! wretches are they to whom they go!" "there is nothing that will come to me," says ingcél, "in place of my mother and my father and my seven brothers, and the king of my district, whom ye destroyed with me. there is nothing that i shall not endure henceforward." "though a ... should go through them," say gér and gabur and fer rogain, "the destruction will be wrought by thee to-night." "woe to him who shall put them under the hands of foes!" says lomna. "and whom sawest thou afterwards?" the room of the picts, this "i saw another room there, with a huge trio in it: three brown, big men: three round heads of hair on them, even, equally long at nape and forehead. three short black cowls about them reaching to their elbows: long hoods were on the cowls. three black, huge swords they had, and three black shields they bore, with three dark broad-green javelins above them. thick as the spit of a caldron was the shaft of each. liken thou that, o fer rogain!" "hard it is for me to find their like. i know not in erin that trio, unless it be yon trio of pictland, who went into exile from their country, and are now in conaire's household. these are their names: dublonges son of trebúat, and trebúat son of húa-lonsce, and curnach son of húa fáich. the three who are best in pictland at taking arms are that trio. nine decads will fall at their hands in their first encounter, and a man will fall for each of their weapons, besides one for each of themselves. and they will share prowess with every trio in the hostel. they will boast a victory over a king or a chief of the reavers; and they will afterwards escape though wounded. woe to him who shall wreak the destruction, though it be only on account of those three!" says lomna drúth: "i swear to god what my tribe swears, if my counsel were taken, the destruction would never be wrought." "ye cannot," says ingcél: "clouds of weakness are coming to you. a keen ordeal which will endanger, etc. and whom sawest thou there afterwards?" the room of the pipers "there i beheld a room with nine men in it. hair fair and yellow was on them: they all are equally beautiful. mantles speckled with colour they wore, and above them were nine bagpipes, four-tuned, ornamented. enough light in the palace were the ornament on these four-tuned pipes. liken thou them, o fer rogain." "easy for me to liken them," says fer rogain. "those are the nine pipers that came to conaire out of the elfmound of bregia, because of the noble tales about him. these are their names: bind, robind, riarbind, sibè, dibè, deichrind, umall, cumal, ciallglind. they are the best pipers in the world. nine enneads will fall before them, and a man for each of their weapons, and a man for each of themselves. and each of them will boast a victory over a king or a chief of the reavers. and they will escape from the destruction; for a conflict with them will be a conflict with a shadow. they will slay, but they will not be slain, for they are out of an elfmound. woe to him who shall wreak the destruction, though it be only because of those nine!" "ye cannot," says ingcél. "clouds of weakness come to you," etc. "and after that, whom sawest thou there?" the room of conaire's majordomo "there i saw a room with one man in it. rough cropt hair upon him. though a sack of crab-apples should be flung on his head, not one of them would fall on the floor, but every apple would stick on his hair. his fleecy mantle was over him in the house. every quarrel therein about seat or bed comes to his decision. should a needle drop in the house, its fall would be heard when he speaks. above him is a huge black tree, like a millshaft, with its paddles and its cap and its spike. liken thou him, o fer rogain!" "easy for me is this. tuidle of ulaid is he, the steward of conaire's household. 'tis needful to hearken to the decision of that man, the man that rules seat and bed and food for each. 'tis his household staff that is above him. that man will fight with you. i swear what my tribe swears, the dead at the destruction slain by him will be more numerous than the living. thrice his number will fall by him, and he himself will fall there. woe to him who shall wreak the destruction!" etc. "ye cannot," says ingcél. "clouds of weakness come upon you. what sawest thou there after that?" the room of mac cecht, conaire's battle-soldier there i beheld another room with a trio in it, three half-furious nobles: the biggest of them in the middle, very noisy ... rock-bodied, angry, smiting, dealing strong blows, who beats nine hundred in battle-conflict. a wooden shield, dark, covered with iron, he bears, with a hard ... rim, a shield whereon would fit the proper litter of four troops of ten weaklings on its ... of ... leather. a ... boss thereon, the depth of a caldron, fit to cook four oxen, a hollow maw, a great boiling, with four swine in its mid-maw great.... at his two smooth sides are two five-thwarted boats fit for three parties of ten in each of his two strong fleets. a spear he hath, blue-red, hand-fitting, on its puissant shaft. it stretches along the wall on the roof and rests on the ground. an iron point upon it, dark-red, dripping. four amply-measured feet between the two points of its edge. thirty amply-measured feet in his deadly-striking sword from dark point to iron hilt. it shews forth fiery sparks which illumine the mid-court house from roof to ground. 'tis a strong countenance that i see. a swoon from horror almost befell me while staring at those three. there is nothing stranger. two bare hills were there by the man with hair. two loughs by a mountain of the ... of a blue-fronted wave: two hides by a tree. two boats near them full of thorns of a white thorn tree on a circular board. and there seems to me somewhat like a slender stream of water on which the sun is shining, and its trickle down from it, and a hide arranged behind it, and a palace house-post shaped like a great lance above it. a good weight of a plough-yoke is the shaft that is therein. liken thou that, o fer rogain! "easy, meseems, to liken him! that is mac cecht son of snaide teichid; the battle-soldier of conaire son of eterscél. good is the hero mac cecht! supine he was in his room, in his sleep, when thou beheldest him. the two bare hills which thou sawest by the man with hair, these are his two knees by his head. the two loughs by the mountain which thou sawest, these are his two eyes by his nose. the two hides by a tree which thou sawest, these are his two ears by his head. the two five-thwarted boats on a circular board, which thou sawest, these are his two sandals on his shield. the slender stream of water which thou sawest, whereon the sun shines, and its trickle down from it, this is the flickering of his sword. the hide which thou sawest arranged behind him, that is his sword's scabbard. the palace-housepost which thou sawest, that is his lance; and he brandishes this spear till its two ends meet, and he hurls a wilful cast of it when he pleases. good is the hero, mac cecht!" "six hundred will fall by him in his first encounter, and a man for each of his weapons, besides a man for himself. and he will share prowess with every one in the hostel, and he will boast of triumph over a king or chief of the reavers in front of the hostel. he will chance to escape though wounded. and when he shall chance to come upon you out of the house, as numerous as hailstones, and grass on a green, and stars of heaven will be your cloven heads and skulls, and the clots of your brains, your bones and the heaps of your bowels, crushed by him and scattered throughout the ridges." then with trembling and terror of mac cecht they flee over three ridges. they took the pledges among them again, even gér and gabur and fer rogain. "woe to him that shall wreak the destruction!" says lomna drúth; "your heads will depart from you." "ye cannot," says ingcél: "clouds of weakness are coming to you" etc. "true indeed, o ingcél," says lomna drúth son of donn désa. "not unto thee is the loss caused by the destruction. woe is me for the destruction, for the first head that will reach the hostel will be mine!" "'tis harder for _me_," says ingcél: "'tis _my_ destruction that has been ... there." "truly then," says ingcél, "maybe i shall be the corpse that is frailest there," etc. "and afterwards whom sawest thou there?" the room of conaire's three sons, oball and oblin and corpre "there i beheld a room with a trio in it, to wit, three tender striplings, wearing three silken mantles. in their mantles were three golden brooches. three golden-yellow manes were on them. when they undergo head-cleansing their golden-yellow mane reaches the edge of their haunches. when they raise their eye it raises the hair so that it is not lower than the tips of their ears, and it is as curly as a ram's head. a ... of gold and a palace-flambeau above each of them. every one who is in the house spares them, voice and deed and word. liken thou that, o fer rogain," says ingcél. fer rogain wept, so that his mantle in front of him became moist. and no voice was gotten out of his head till a third of the night had passed. "o little ones," says fer rogain, "i have good reason for what i do! those are three sons of the king of erin: oball and oblíne and corpre findmor." "it grieves us if the tale be true," say the sons of donn désa. "good is the trio in that room. manners of ripe maidens have they, and hearts of brothers, and valours of bears, and furies of lions. whosoever is in their company and in their couch, and parts from them, he sleeps not and eats not at ease till the end of nine days, from lack of their companionship. good are the youths for their age! thrice ten will fall by each of them in their first encounter, and a man for each weapon, and three men for themselves. and one of the three will fall there. because of that trio, woe to him that shall wreak the destruction!" "ye cannot," says ingcél: "clouds of weakness are coming to you, etc. and whom sawest thou afterwards?" the room of the fomorians i beheld there a room with a trio in it, to wit, a trio horrible, unheard-of, a triad of champions, etc. * * * * * liken thou that, o fer rogain? "'tis hard for me to liken that trio. neither of the men of erin nor of the men of the world do i know it, unless it be the trio that mac cecht brought out of the land of the fomorians by dint of duels. not one of the fomorians was found to fight him, so he brought away those three, and they are in conaire's house as sureties that, while conaire is reigning, the fomorians destroy neither corn nor milk in erin beyond their fair tribute. well may their aspect be loathy! three rows of teeth in their heads from one ear to another. an ox with a bacon-pig, this is the ration of each of them, and that ration which they put into their mouths is visible till it comes down past their navels. bodies of bone (i.e. without a joint in them) all those three have. i swear what my tribe swears, more will be killed by them at the destruction than those they leave alive. six hundred warriors will fall by them in their first conflict, and a man for each of their weapons, and one for each of the three themselves. and they will boast a triumph over a king or chief of the reavers. it will not be more than with a bite or a blow or a kick that each of those men will kill, for no arms are allowed them in the house, since they are in 'hostageship at the wall' lest they do a misdeed therein. i swear what my tribe swears, if they had armour on them, they would slay us all but a third. woe to him that shall wreak the destruction, because it is not a combat against sluggards." "ye cannot," says ingcél, etc. "and whom sawest thou there after that?" the room of munremar son of gerrchenn and birderg son of ruan and mÁl son of telband "i beheld a room there, with a trio in it. three brown, big men, with three brown heads of short hair. thick calf-bottoms (ankles?) they had. as thick as a man's waist was each of their limbs. three brown and curled masses of hair upon them, with a thick head: three cloaks, red and speckled, they wore: three black shields with clasps of gold, and three five-barbed javelins; and each had in hand an ivory-hilted sword. this is the feat they perform with their swords: they throw them high up, and they throw the scabbards after them, and the swords, before reaching the ground, place themselves in the scabbards. then they throw the scabbards first, and the swords after them, and the scabbards meet the swords and place themselves round them before they reach the ground. liken thou that, o fer rogain!" "easy for me to liken them! mál son of telband, and munremar son of gerrchenn, and birderg son of rúan. three crown-princes, three champions of valour, three heroes the best behind weapons in erin! a hundred heroes will fall by them in their first conflict, and they will share prowess with every man in the hostel, and they will boast of the victory over a king or chief of the reavers, and afterwards they will chance to escape. the destruction should not be wrought even because of those three." "woe to him that shall wreak the destruction!" says lomna. "better were the victory of saving them than the victory of slaying them! happy he who should save them! woe to him that shall slay them!" "it is not feasible," says ingcél, etc. "and afterwards whom sawest thou?" the room of conall cernach "there i beheld in a decorated room the fairest man of erin's heroes. he wore a tufted purple cloak. white as snow was one of his cheeks, the other was red and speckled like foxglove. blue as hyacinth was one of his eyes, dark as a stag-beetle's back was the other. the bushy head of fair golden hair upon him was as large as a reaping-basket, and it touches the edge of his haunches. it is as curly as a ram's head. if a sackful of red-shelled nuts were spilt on the crown of his head, not one of them would fall on the floor, but remain on the hooks and plaits and swordlets of their hair. a gold hilted sword in his hand; a blood-red shield which has been speckled with rivets of white bronze between plates of gold. a long, heavy, three-ridged spear: as thick as an outer yoke is the shaft that is in it. liken thou that, o fer rogain!" "easy for me to liken him, for the men of erin know that scion. that is conall cernach, son of amorgen. he has chanced to be along with conaire at this time. 'tis he whom conaire loves beyond every one, because of his resemblance to him in goodness of form and shape. goodly is the hero that is there, conall cernach! to that blood-red shield on his fist, which has been speckled with rivets of white bronze, the ulaid have given a famous name, to wit, the _bricriu_ of conall cernach. "i swear what my tribe swears, plenteous will be the rain of red blood over it to-night before the hostel! that ridged spear above him, many will there be unto whom to-night, before the hostel, it will deal drinks of death. seven doorways there are out of the house, and conall cernach will contrive to be at each of them, and from no doorway will he be absent. three hundred will fall by conall in his first conflict, besides a man for each (of his) weapons and one for himself. he will share prowess with every one in the hostel, and when he shall happen to sally upon you from the house, as numerous as hailstones and grass on green and stars of heaven will be your half-heads and cloven skulls, and your bones under the point of his sword. he will succeed in escaping though wounded. woe to him that shall wreak the destruction, were it but for this man only!" "ye cannot," says ingcél. "clouds," etc. "and after that whom sawest thou?" the room of conaire himself "there i beheld a room, more beautifully decorated than the other rooms of the house. a silvery curtain around it, and there were ornaments in the room. i beheld a trio in it. the outer two of them were, both of them, fair, with their hair and eyelashes; and they are as bright as snow. a very lovely blush on the cheek of each of the twain. a tender lad in the midst between them. the ardour and energy of a king has he, and the counsel of a sage. the mantle i saw around him is even as the mist of mayday. diverse are the hue and semblance each moment shewn upon it. lovelier is each hue than the other. in front of him in the mantle i beheld a wheel of gold which reached from his chin to his navel. the colour of his hair was like the sheen of smelted gold. of all the world's forms that i beheld, this is the most beautiful. i saw his golden-hilted glaive down beside him. a forearm's length of the sword was outside the scabbard. that forearm, a man down in the front of the house could see a fleshworm by the shadow of the sword! sweeter is the melodious sounding of the sword than the melodious sound of the golden pipes that accompany music in the palace." "then," quoth ingcél, "i said, gazing at him: i see a high, stately prince, etc. i see a famous king, etc. i see his white prince's diadem, etc. i see his two blue-bright cheeks, etc. i see his high wheel ... round his head ... which is over his yellow-curly hair. i see his mantle red, many-coloured, etc. i see therein a huge brooch of gold, etc. i see his beautiful linen frock ... from ankle to kneecaps. i see his sword golden-hilted, inlaid, its in scabbard of white silver, etc. i see his shield bright, chalky, etc. a tower of inlaid gold," etc. now the tender warrior was asleep, with his feet in the lap of one of the two men and his head in the lap of the other. then he awoke out of his sleep, and arose, and chanted this lay: "the howl of ossar (conaire's dog) ... cry of warriors on the summit of tol géisse; a cold wind over edges perilous: a night to destroy a king is this night." he slept again, and awoke thereout, and sang this rhetoric: "the howl of ossar ... a battle he announced: enslavement of a people: sack of the hostel: mournful are the champions: men wounded: wind of terror: hurling of javelins: trouble of unfair fight: wreck of houses: tara waste: a foreign heritage: like is lamenting conaire: destruction of corn: feast of arms: cry of screams: destruction of erin's king: chariots a-tottering: oppression of the king of tara: lamentations will overcome laughter: ossar's howl." he said the third time: "trouble hath been shewn to me: a multitude of elves: a host supine; foes' prostration: a conflict of men on the dodder[ ]: oppression of tara's king: in youth he was destroyed; lamentations will overcome laughter: ossar's howl." [footnote : a small river near dublin, which is said to have passed through the bruden.--w.s.] "liken thou, o fer rogain, him who has sung that lay." "easy for me to liken him," says fer rogain. no "conflict without a king" this. he is the most splendid and noble and beautiful and mighty king that has come into the whole world. he is the mildest and gentlest and most perfect king that has come to it, even conaire son of eterscél. 'tis he that is overking of all erin. there is no defect in that man, whether in form or shape or vesture: whether in size or fitness or proportion, whether in eye or hair or brightness, whether in wisdom or skill or eloquence, whether in weapon or dress or appearance, whether in splendour or abundance or dignity, whether in knowledge or valour or kindred. "great is the tenderness of the sleepy simple man till he has chanced on a deed of valour. but if his fury and his courage be awakened when the champions of erin and alba are at him in the house, the destruction will not be wrought so long as he is therein. six hundred will fall by conaire before he shall attain his arms, and seven hundred will fall by him in his first conflict after attaining his arms. i swear to god what my tribe swears, unless drink be taken from him, though there be no one else in the house, but he alone, he would hold the hostel until help would reach it which the man would prepare for him from the wave of clidna[ ] and the wave of assaroe[ ] while ye are at the hostel." [footnote : in the bay of glandore, co. cork.--w.s.] [footnote : at ballyshannon, co. donegal.--w.s.] "nine doors there are to the house, and at each door a hundred warriors will fall by his hand. and when every one in the house has ceased to ply his weapon, 'tis then he will resort to a deed of arms. and if he chance to come upon you out of the house, as numerous as hailstones and grass on a green will be your halves of heads and your cloven skulls and your bones under the edge of his sword. "'tis my opinion that he will not chance to get out of the house. dear to him are the two that are with him in the room, his two fosterers, dris and snithe. thrice fifty warriors will fall before each of them in front of the hostel and not farther than a foot from him, on this side and that, will they too fall." "woe to him who shall wreak the destruction, were it only because of that pair and the prince that is between them, the over-king-of erin, conaire son of eterscél! sad were the quenching of that reign!" says lomna drúth, son of donn désa. "ye cannot," says ingcél. "clouds of weakness are coming to you," etc. "good cause hast thou, o ingcél," says lomna son of donn désa. "not unto _thee_ is the loss caused by the destruction: for thou wilt carry off the head of the king of another country, and thyself will escape. howbeit 'tis hard for me, for i shall be the first to be slain at the hostel." "alas for me!" says ingcél, "peradventure i shall be the frailest corpse," etc. "and whom sawest thou afterwards?" the room of the rearguards "there i saw twelve men on silvery hurdles all around that room of the king. light yellow hair was on them. blue kilts they wore. equally beautiful were they, equally hardy, equally shapely. an ivory-hilted sword in each man's hand, and they cast them not down; but it is the horse-rods in their hands that are all round the room. liken thou that, o fer rogain." "easy for me to say. the king of tara's guardsmen are there. these are their names: three londs of liffey-plain: three arts of ath cliath (_dublin_): three buders of buagnech: and three trénfers of cuilne. i swear what my tribe swears, that many will be the dead by them around the hostel. and they will escape from it although they are wounded. woe to him who shall wreak the destruction were it only because of that band! and afterwards whom sawest thou there?" le fri flaith son of conaire, whose likeness this is "there i beheld a red-freckled boy in a purple cloak. he is always a-wailing in the house. a stead wherein is the king of a cantred, whom each man takes from bosom to bosom. "so he is with a blue silvery chair under his seat in the midst of the house, and he always a-wailing. truly then, sad are his household listening to him! three heads of hair on that boy, and these are the three: green hair and purple hair and all-golden hair. i know not whether they are many appearances which the hair receives, or whether they are three kinds of hair which are naturally upon him. but i know that evil is the thing he dreads to-night. i beheld thrice fifty boys on silvern chairs around him, and there were fifteen bulrushes in the hand of that red-freckled boy, with a thorn at the end of each of the rushes. and we were fifteen men, and our fifteen right eyes were blinded by him, and he blinded one of the seven pupils which was in my head" saith ingcél. "hast thou his like, o fer rogain?" "easy for me to liken him!" fer rogain wept till he shed his tears of blood over his cheeks. "alas for him!" quoth he. this child is a 'scion of contention' for the men of erin with the men of alba for hospitality, and shape, and form and horsemanship. sad is his slaughter! 'tis a 'swine that goes before mast,' 'tis a babe in age! the best crown-prince that has ever come into erin! the child of conaire son of eterscél, lé fri flaith is his name. seven years there are in his age. it seems to me very likely that he is miserable because of the many appearances on his hair and the various hues that the hair assumes upon him. this is his special household, the thrice fifty lads that are around him." "woe," says lomna, "to him that shall wreak the destruction, were it only because of that boy!" "ye cannot," says ingcél. "clouds of weakness are coming on you, etc." "and after that whom sawest thou there?" the room of the cupbearers "there i saw six men in front of the same room. fair yellow manes upon them: green mantles about them: tin brooches at the opening of their mantles. half-horses (centaurs) are they, like conall cernach. each of them throws his mantle round another and is as swift as a millwheel. thine eye can hardly follow them. liken thou those, o fer rogain!" "this is easy for me. those are the king of tara's six cupbearers, namely uan and broen and banna, delt and drucht and dathen. that feat does not hinder them from their skinking, and it blunts not their intelligence thereat. good are the warriors that are there! thrice their number will fall by them. they will share prowess with any six in the hostel, and they will escape from their foes, for they are out of the elfmounds. they are the best cupbearers in erin. woe to him that shall wreak the destruction were it only because of them!" "ye cannot," says ingcél. "clouds, etc." "and after that, whom sawest thou there?" the room of tulchinne the juggler "there i beheld a great champion, in front of the same room, on the floor of the house. the shame of baldness is on him. white as mountain cotton-grass is each hair that grows through his head. earrings of gold around his ears. a mantle speckled, coloured, he wore. nine swords in his hand, and nine silvern shields, and nine apples of gold. he throws each of them upwards, and none of them falls on the ground, and there is only one of them on his palm; each of them rising and falling past another is just like the movement to and fro of bees on a day of beauty. when he was swiftest, i beheld him at the feat, and as i looked, they uttered a cry about him and they were all on the house-floor. then the prince who is in the house said to the juggler: 'we have come together since thou wast a little boy, and till to-night thy juggling never failed thee.' "'alas, alas, fair master conaire, good cause have i. a keen, angry eye looked at me: a man with the third of a pupil which sees the going of the nine bands. not much to him is that keen, wrathful sight! battles are fought with it,' saith he. 'it should be known till doomsday that there is evil in front of the hostel.' "then he took the swords in his hand, and the silvern shields and the apples of gold; and again they uttered a cry and were all on the floor of the house. that amazed him, and he gave over his play and said: 'o fer caille, arise! do not ... its slaughter. sacrifice thy pig! find out who is in front of the house to injure the men of the hostel.' 'there,' said he, 'are fer cualngi, fer lé, fer gar, fer rogel, fer rogain. they have announced a deed which is not feeble, the annihilation of conaire by donn désa's five sons, by conaire's five loving fosterbrothers.' "liken thou that, o fer rogain! who has chanted that lay?" "easy for me to liken him," says fer rogain. "taulchinne the chief juggler of the king of tara; he is conaire's conjurer. a man of great might is that man. thrice nine will fall by him in his first encounter, and he will share prowess with every one in the hostel, and he will chance to escape therefrom though wounded. what then? even on account of this man only the destruction should not be wrought." "long live he who should spare him!" says lomna drúth. "ye cannot," says ingcél, etc. the room of the swineherds "i beheld a trio in the front of the house: three dark crowntufts on them: three green frocks around them: three dark mantles over them: three forked ...(?) above them on the side of the wall. six black greaves they had on the mast. who are yon, o fer rogain?" "easy to say," answers fer rogain: "the three swineherds of the king, dub and donn and dorcha: three brothers are they, three sons of mapher of tara. long live he who should protect them! woe to him who shall slay them! for greater would be the triumph of protecting them than the triumph of slaying them!" "ye cannot," says ingcél, etc. the room of the principal charioteers "i beheld another trio in front of them: three plates of gold on their foreheads: three short aprons they wore, of grey linen embroidered with gold: three crimson capes about them: three goads of bronze in their hands. liken thou that, o fer rogain!" "i know them," he answered. "cul and frecul and forcul, the three charioteers of the king: three of the same age: three sons of pole and yoke. a man will perish by each of their weapons, and they will share the triumph of slaughter." the room of cuscrad son of conchobar "i beheld another room. therein were eight swordsmen, and among them a stripling. black hair is on him, and very stammering speech has he. all the folk of the hostel listen to his counsel. handsomest of men he is: he wears a shirt and a bright-red mantle, with a brooch of silver therein." "i know him," says fer rogain: "'tis cuscraid menn of armagh, conchobar's son, who is in hostageship with the king. and his guards are those eight swordsmen around him, namely, two flanns, two cummains, two aeds, two crimthans. they will share prowess with every one in the hostel, and they will chance to escape from it with their fosterling." the room of the under-charioteers "i beheld nine men: on the mast were they. nine capes they wore, with a purple loop. a plate of gold on the head of each of them. nine goads in their hands. liken thou." "i know those," quoth fer rogain: "riado, riamcobur, ríade, buadon, búadchar, buadgnad, eirr, ineirr, argatlam--nine charioteers in apprenticeship with the three chief charioteers of the king. a man will perish at the hands of each of them," etc. the room of the englishmen "on the northern side of the house i beheld nine men. nine very yellow manes were on them. nine linen frocks somewhat short were round them: nine purple plaids over them without brooches therein. nine broad spears, nine red curved shields above them." "we know them," quoth he. "oswald and his two fosterbrothers, osbrit longhand and his two fosterbrothers, lindas and his two fosterbrothers. three crown-princes of england who are with the king. that set will share victorious prowess," etc. the room of the equerries "i beheld another trio. three cropt heads of hair on them, three frocks they wore, and three mantles wrapt around them. a whip in the hand of each." "i know those," quoth fer rogain. "echdruim, echriud, echrúathar, the three horsemen of the king, that is, his three equerries. three brothers are they, three sons of argatron. woe to him who shall wreak the destruction, were it only because of that trio." the room of the judges "i beheld another trio in the room by them. a handsome man who had got his baldness newly. by him were two young men with manes upon them. three mixed plaids they wore. a pin of silver in the mantle of each of them. three suits of armour above them on the wall. liken thou that, o fer rogain!" "i know those," quoth he. "fergus ferde, fergus fordae and domáine mossud, those are the king's three judges. woe to him who shall wreak the destruction were it only because of that trio! a man will perish by each of them." the room of the harpers "to the east of them i beheld another ennead. nine branchy, curly manes upon them. nine grey, floating mantles about them: nine pins of gold in their mantles. nine rings of crystal round their arms. a thumb-ring of gold round each man's thumb: an ear-tie of gold round each man's ear: a torque of silver round each man's throat. nine bags with golden faces above them on the wall. nine rods of white silver in their hands. liken thou them." "i know those," quoth fer rogain. "they are the king's nine harpers, with their nine harps above them: side and dide, dulothe and deichrinne, caumul and cellgen, ol and olene and olchói. a man will perish by each of them." the room of the conjurors "i saw another trio on the dais. three bedgowns girt about them. four-cornered shields in their hands, with bosses of gold upon them. apples of silver they had, and small inlaid spears." "i know them," says fer rogain. "cless and clissíne and clessamun, the king's three conjurers. three of the same age are they: three brothers, three sons of naffer rochless. a man will perish by each of them." the room of the three lampooneers "i beheld another trio hard by the room of the king himself. three blue mantles around them, and three bedgowns with red insertion over them. their arms had been hung above them on the wall." "i know those," quoth he. "dris and draigen and aittít ('thorn and bramble and furze'), the king's three lampooners, three sons of sciath foilt. a man will perish by each of their weapons." the room of the badbs "i beheld a trio, naked, on the roof-tree of the house: their jets of blood coming through them, and the ropes of their slaughter on their necks." "those i know," saith he, "three ... of awful boding. those are the three that are slaughtered at every time." the room of the kitcheners "i beheld a trio cooking, in short inlaid aprons: a fair grey man, and two youths in his company." "i know those," quoth fer rogain: "they are the king's three chief kitcheners, namely, the dagdae and his two fosterlings, séig and segdae, the two sons of rofer singlespit. a man will perish by each of them," etc. "i beheld another trio there. three plates of gold over their heads. three speckled mantles about them: three linen shirts with red insertion: three golden brooches in their mantles: three wooden darts above them on the wall." "those i know," says fer rogain: "the three poets of that king: sui and rodui and fordui: three of the same age, three brothers: three sons of maphar of the mighty song. a man will perish for each of them, and every pair will keep between them one man's victory. woe to him who shall wreak the destruction!" etc. the room of the servant-guards "there i beheld two warriors standing over the king. two curved shields they had, and two great pointed swords. red kilts they wore, and in the mantles pins of white silver." "bole and root are those," quoth he, "the king's two guards, two sons of maffer toll." the room of the king's guardsmen "i beheld nine men in a room there in front of the same room. fair yellow manes upon them: short aprons they wore and spotted capes: they carried smiting shields. an ivory-hilted sword in the hand of each of them, and whoever enters the house they essay to smite him with the swords. no one dares to go to the room of the king without their consent. liken thou that, o fer rogain!" "easy for me is that. three mochmatnechs of meath, three buageltachs of bregia, three sostachs of sliab fuait, the nine guardsmen of that king. nine decads will fall by them in their first conflict, etc. woe to him that shall wreak the destruction because of them only!" "ye cannot," says ingcél. "clouds of weakness," etc. "and whom sawest thou then?" the room of nia and bruthne, conaire's two waiters "there i beheld another room, and a pair was in it, and they are 'oxtubs,' stout and thick. aprons they wore, and the men were dark and brown. they had short back-hair on them, but high upon their foreheads. they are as swift as a waterwheel, each of them past another, one of them to the king's room, the other to the fire. liken thou those, o fer rogain!" "easy to me. they are nia and bruthne, conaire's two table-servants. they are the pair that is best in erin for their lord's advantage. what causes brownness to them and height to their hair is their frequent haunting of the fire. in the world is no pair better in their art than they. thrice nine men will fall by them in their first encounter, and they will share prowess with every one, and they will chance to escape. and after that whom sawest thou?" the room of sencha and dubthach and gobniu son of lurgnech "i beheld the room that is next to conaire. three chief champions, in their first greyness, are therein. as thick as a man's waist is each of their limbs. they have three black swords, each as long as a weaver's beam. these swords would split a hair on water. a great lance in the hand of the midmost man, with fifty rivets through it. the shaft therein is a good load for the yoke of a plough-team. the midmost man brandishes that lance so that its edge-studs hardly stay therein, and he strikes the haft thrice against his palm. there is a great boiler in front of them, as big as a calf's caldron, wherein is a black and horrible liquid. moreover he plunges the lance into that black fluid. if its quenching be delayed it flames on its shaft and then thou wouldst suppose that there is a fiery dragon in the top of the house. liken thou that, o fer rogain!" "easy to say. three heroes who are best at grasping weapons in erin, namely, sencha the beautiful son of ailill, and dubthach chafer of ulaid, and goibnenn son of lurgnech. and the _luin_ of celtchar son of uthider which was found in the battle of mag tured, this is in the hand of dubthach chafer of ulaid. that feat is usual for it when it is ripe to pour forth a foeman's blood. a caldron full of poison is needed to quench it when a deed of man-slaying is expected. unless this come to the lance, it flames on its haft and will go through its bearer or the master of the palace wherein it is. if it be a blow that is to be given thereby it will kill a man at every blow, when it is at that feat, from one hour to another, though it may not reach him. and if it be a cast, it will kill nine men at every cast, and one of the nine will be a king or crown-prince or chieftain of the reavers. "i swear what my tribe swears, there will be a multitude unto whom tonight the _luin_ of celtchar will deal drinks of death in front of the hostel. i swear to god what my tribe swears that, in their first encounter, three hundred will fall by that trio, and they will share prowess with every three in the hostel tonight. and they will boast of victory over a king or chief of the reavers, and the three will chance to escape." "woe," says lomna drúth, "to him who shall wreak the destruction, were it only because of that trio!" "ye cannot," says ingcél, etc. "and after that, whom sawest thou there?" the room of the three manx giants "there i beheld a room with a trio in it. three men mighty, manly, overbearing, which see no one abiding at their three hideous crooked aspects. a fearful view because of the terror of them. a ... dress of rough hair covers them ... of cow's hair, without garments enwrapping down to the right heels. with three manes, equine, awful, majestic, down to their sides. fierce heroes who wield against foeman hard-smiting swords. a blow, they give with three iron flails having seven chains triple-twisted, three-edged, with seven iron knobs at the end of every chain: each of them as heavy as an ingot of ten smeltings. three big brown men. dark equine back-manes on them, which reach their two heels. two good thirds of an oxhide in the girdle round each one's waist, and each quadrangular clasp that closes it as thick as a man's thigh. the raiment that is round them is the dress that grows through them. tresses of their back-manes were spread, and a long staff of iron, as long and thick as an outer yoke was in each man's hand, and an iron chain out of the end of every club, and at the end of every chain an iron pestle as long and thick as a middle yoke. they stand in their sadness in the house, and enough is the horror of their aspect. there is no one in the house that would not be avoiding them. liken thou that, o fer rogain!" fer rogain was silent. "hard for me to liken them. i know none such of the world's men unless they be yon trio of giants to whom cúchulainn gave quarter at the beleaguerment of the men of falga, and when they were getting quarter they killed fifty warriors. but cúchulainn would not let them be slain, because of their wondrousness. these are the names of the three: srubdaire son of dordbruige, and conchenn of cenn maige, and fiad sceme son of scípe. conaire bought them from cúchulainn for ... so they are along with him. three hundred will fall by them in their first encounter, and they will surpass in prowess every three in the hostel; and if they come forth upon you, the fragments of you will be fit to go through the sieve of a corn-kiln, from the way in which they will destroy you with the flails of iron. woe to him that shall wreak the destruction, though it were only on account of those three! for to combat against them is not a 'paean round a sluggard.'" "ye cannot," says ingcél. "clouds of weakness are coming to you," etc. "and after that, whom sawest thou there?" the room of dÁ derga "there i beheld another room, with one man therein and in front of him two servants with two manes upon them, one of the two dark, the other fair. red hair on the warrior, and red eyebrows. two ruddy cheeks he had, and an eye very blue and beautiful. he wore a green cloak and a shirt with a white hood and a red insertion. in his hand was a sword with a hilt of ivory, and he supplies attendance of every room in the house with ale and food, and he is quick-footed in serving the whole host. liken thou that, o fer rogain!" "i know those men. that one is dá derga. 'tis by him that the hostel was built, and since it was built its doors have never been shut save on the side to which the wind comes--the valve is closed against it--and since he began housekeeping his caldron was never taken from the fire, but it has been boiling food for the men of erin. the pair before him, those two youths, are his fosterlings, two sons of the king of leinster, namely muredach and corpre. three decads will fall by that trio in front of their house and they will boast of victory over a king or a chief of the reavers. after this they will chance to escape from it." "long live he who should protect them!" says lomna. "better were triumph of saving them than triumph of slaying them! they should be spared were it only on account of that man. 'twere meet to give that man quarter," says lomna drúth. "ye cannot," says ingcél. "clouds," etc. "and after that whom sawest thou there?" the room of the three champions from the elfmounds "there i beheld a room with a trio in it. three red mantles they wore, and three red shirts, and three red heads of hair were on them. red were they all together with their teeth. three red shields above them. three red spears in their hands. three red horses in their bridles in front of the hostel. liken thou that, o fer rogain!" "easily done. three champions who wrought falsehood in the elfmounds. this is the punishment inflicted upon them by the king of the elfmounds, to be destroyed thrice by the king of tara. conaire son of eterscél is the last king by whom they are destroyed. those men will escape from you. to fulfil their own destruction, they have come. but they will not be slain, nor will they slay anyone. and after that whom sawest thou?" the room of the doorwards "there i beheld a trio in the midst of the house at the door. three holed maces in their hands. swift as a hare was each of them round the other towards the door. aprons were on them, and they had gray and speckled mantles. liken thou that, o fer rogain!" "easily done: three doorwardens of tara's king are those, namely echur ('key') and tochur and tecmang, three sons of ersa ('doorpost') and comla ('valve'). thrice their number will fall by them, and they will share a man's triumph among them. they will chance to escape though wounded." "woe to him that shall wreak!" etc., says lomna drúth. "ye cannot," says ingcél, etc. "and after that whom sawest thou?" the room of fer caille "there i beheld at the fire in front a man with black cropt hair, having only one eye and one foot and one hand, having on the fire a pig bald, black, singed, squealing continually, and in his company a great big-mouthed woman. liken thou that, o fer rogain!" "easily done: fer caille with his pig and his wife cichuil. they (the wife and the pig) are his proper instruments on the night that ye destroy conaire king of erin. alas for the guest who will run between them! fer caille with his pig is one of conaire's tabus." "woe to him who shall wreak the destruction!" says lomna. "ye cannot," quoth ingcél. "and after that, whom sawest thou there?" the room of the three sons of bÁithis of britain "there i beheld a room with three enneads in it. fair yellow manes upon them, and they are equally beautiful. each of them wore a black cape, and there was a white hood on each mantle, a red tuft on each hood, and an iron brooch at the opening of every mantle, and under each man's cloak a huge black sword, and the swords would split a hair on water. they bore shields with scalloped edges. liken thou them, o fer rogain!" "easily done. that is the robber-band of the three sons of báithis of britain. three enneads will fall by them in their first conflict, and among them they will share a man's triumph. and after that whom sawest thou?" the room of the mimes "there i beheld a trio of jesters hard by the fire. three dun mantles they wore. if the men of erin were in one place, even though the corpse of his mother or his father were in front of each, not one could refrain from laughing at them. wheresoever the king of a cantred is in the house, not one of them attains his seat on his bed because of that trio of jesters. whenever the king's eye visits them it smiles at every glance. liken thou that, o fer rogain!" "easily done. mael and mlithe and admlithe--those are the king of erin's three jesters. by each of them a man will perish, and among them they will share a man's triumph." "woe to him that will wreak the destruction!" says lomna, etc. "and after that whom sawest thou there?" the room of the cupbearers "there i beheld a room with a trio in it. three grey-floating mantles they wore. there was a cup of water in front of each man, and on each cup a bunch of watercress. liken thou that, o fer rogain!" "easily done. black and dun and dark: they are the king of tara's three cupbearers, to wit, the sons of day and night. and after that, whom sawest thou there?" the room of nÁr the squinter-with-the-left-eye "there i beheld a one-eyed man asquint with a ruinous eye. a swine's head he had on the fire, continually squealing. liken thou that, o fer rogain!" "easy for me to name the like. he is nár the squinter with the left eye, the swineherd of bodb of the elfmound on femen, 'tis he that is over the cooking. blood hath been spilt at every feast at which he has ever been present." * * * * * "rise up, then, ye champions!" says ingcél, "and get you on to the house!" with that the reavers march to the hostel, and made a murmur about it. "silence a while!" says conaire, "what is this?" "champions at the house," says conall cernach. "there are warriors for them here," answers conaire. "they will be needed tonight," conall cernach rejoins. then went lomna drúth before the host of reavers into the hostel. the doorkeepers struck off his head. then the head was thrice flung into the hostel, and thrice cast out of it, as he himself had foretold. then conaire himself sallies out of the hostel together with some of his people, and they fight a combat with the host of reavers, and six hundred fell by conaire before he could get to his arms. then the hostel is thrice set on fire, and thrice put out from thence: and it was granted that the destruction would never have been wrought had not work of weapons been taken from conaire. thereafter conaire went to seek his arms, and he dons his battle-dress, and falls to plying his weapons on the reavers, together with the band that he had. then, after getting his arms, six hundred fell by him in his first encounter. after this the reavers were routed. "i have told you," says fer rogain son of donn désa, "that if the champions of the men of erin and alba attack conaire at the house, the destruction will not be wrought unless conaire's fury and valour be quelled." "short will his time be," say the wizards along with the reavers. this was the quelling they brought, a scantness of drink that seized him. thereafter conaire entered the house, and asked for a drink. "a drink to me, o master mac cecht!" says conaire. says mac cecht: "this is not the order that i have hitherto had from thee, to give thee a drink. there are spencers and cupbearers who bring drink to thee. the order i have hitherto had from thee is to protect thee when the champions of the men of erin and alba may be attacking thee around the hostel. thou wilt go safe from them, and no spear shall enter thy body. ask a drink of thy spencers and thy cupbearers." then conaire asked a drink of his spencers and his cupbearers who were in the house. "in the first place there is none," they say; "all the liquids that had been in the house have been spilt on the fires." the cupbears found no drink for him in the dodder (a river), and the dodder had flowed through the house. then conaire again asked for a drink. "a drink to me, o fosterer, o mac cecht! 'tis equal to me what death i shall go to, for anyhow i shall perish." then mac cecht gave a choice to the champions of valour of the men of erin who were in the house, whether they cared to protect the king or to seek a drink for him. conall cernach answered this in the house--and cruel he deemed the contention, and afterwards he had always a feud with mac cecht.--"leave the defence of the king to _us_," says conall, "and go thou to seek the drink, for of thee it is demanded." so then mac cecht fared forth to seek the drink, and he took conaire's son, lé fri flaith, under his armpit, and conaire's golden cup, in which an ox with a bacon-pig would be boiled; and he bore his shield and his two spears and his sword, and he carried the caldron-spit, a spit of iron. he burst forth upon them, and in front of the hostel he dealt nine blows of the iron spit, and at every blow nine reavers fell. then he makes a sloping feat of the shield and an edge-feat of the sword about his head, and he delivered a hostile attack upon them. six hundred fell in his first encounter, and after cutting down hundreds he goes through the band outside. the doings of the folk of the hostel, this is what is here examined, presently. conall cernach arises, and takes his weapons, and wends over the door of the hostel, and goes round the house. three hundred fell by him, and he hurls back the reavers over three ridges out from the hostel, and boasts of triumph over a king, and returns, wounded, into the hostel. cormac condlongas sallies out, and his nine comrades with him, and they deliver their onsets on the reavers. nine enneads fall by cormac and nine enneads by his people, and a man for each weapon and a man for each man. and cormac boasts of the death of a chief of the reavers. they succeed in escaping though they be wounded. the trio of picts sally forth from the hostel, and take to plying their weapons on the reavers. and nine enneads fall by them, and they chance to escape though they be wounded. the nine pipers sally forth and dash their warlike work on the reavers; and then they succeed in escaping. howbeit then, but it is long to relate, 'tis weariness of mind, 'tis confusion of the senses, 'tis tediousness to hearers, 'tis superfluity of narration to go over the same things twice. but the folk of the hostel came forth in order, and fought their combats with the reavers, and fell by them, as fer rogain and lomna drúth had said to ingcêl, to wit, that the folk of every room would sally forth still and deliver their combat, and after that escape. so that none were left in the hostel in conaire's company save conall and sencha and dubthach. now from the vehement ardour and the greatness of the contest which conaire had fought, his great drouth of thirst attacked him, and he perished of a consuming fever, for he got not his drink. so when the king died those three sally out of the hostel, and deliver a wily stroke of reaving on the reavers, and fare forth from the hostel, wounded, to-broken and maimed. touching mac cecht, however, he went his way till he reached the well of casair, which was near him in crích cualann; but of water he found not therein the full of his cup, that is, conaire's golden cup which he had brought in his hand. before morning he had gone round the chief rivers of erin, to wit, bush, boyne, bann, barrow, neim, luae, láigdae, shannon, suir, sligo, sámair, find, ruirthech, slaney, and in them he found not the full of his cup of water. then before morning he had travelled to the chief lakes of erin, to wit, lough derg, loch luimnig, lough foyle, lough mask, long corrib, loch láig, loch cúan, lough neagh, môrloch, and of water he found not therein the full of his cup. he went his way till he reached uaran garad on magh ai. it could not hide itself from him: so he brought thereout the full of his cup, and the boy fell under his covering. after this he went on and reached dá derga's hostel before morning. when mac cecht went across the third ridge towards the house, 'tis there were twain striking off conaire's head. then mac cecht strikes off the head of one of the two men who were beheading conaire. the other man then was fleeing forth with the king's head. a pillar-stone chanced to be under mac cecht's feet on the floor of the hostel. he hurls it at the man who had conaire's head and drove it through his spine, so that his back broke. after this mac cecht beheads him. mac cecht then spilt the cup of water into conaire's gullet and neck. then said conaire's head, after the water had been put into its neck and gullet: "a good man mac cecht! an excellent man mac cecht! a good warrior without, good within, he gives a drink, he saves a king, he doth a deed. well he ended the champions i found. he sent a flagstone on the warriors. well he hewed by the door of the hostel ... fer lé, so that a spear is against one hip. good should i be to far-renowned mac cecht if i were alive. a good man!" after this mac cecht followed the routed foe. 'tis this that some books relate, that but a very few fell around conaire, namely, nine only. and hardly a fugitive escaped to tell the tidings to the champions who had been at the house. where there had been five thousand--and in every thousand ten hundred--only one set of five escaped, namely ingcél, and his two brothers echell and tulchinne, the "yearling of the reavers"--three great-grandsons of conmac, and the two reds of róiriu who had been the first to wound conaire. thereafter ingcél went into alba, and received the kingship after his father, since he had taken home triumph over a king of another country. this, however, is the recension in other books, and it is more probably truer. of the folk of the hostel forty or fifty fell, and of the reavers three fourths and one fourth of them only escaped from the destruction. now when mac cecht was lying wounded on the battle-field, at the end of the third day, he saw a woman passing by. "come hither, o woman!" says mac cecht. "i dare not go thus," says the woman, "for horror and fear of thee." "there _was_ a time when i had this, o woman, even horror and fear of me on some one. but now thou shouldst fear nothing. i accept thee on the truth of my honour and my safeguard." then the woman goes to him. "i know not," says he, "whether it is a fly or a gnat, or an ant that nips me in the wound." it happened that it was a hairy wolf that was there, as far as its two shoulders in the wound! the woman seized it by the tail, and dragged it out of the wound, and it takes the full of its jaws out of him. "truly," says the woman, "this is 'an ant of ancient land.'" says mac cecht "i swear to god what my people swears, i deemed it no bigger than a fly, or a gnat, or an ant." and mac cecht took the wolf by the throat, and struck it a blow on the forehead, and killed it with a single blow. then lé fri flaith, son of conaire, died under mac cecht's armpit, for the warrior's heat and sweat had dissolved him. thereafter mac cecht, having cleansed the slaughter, at the end of the third day, set forth, and he dragged conaire with him on his back, and buried him at tara, as some say. then mac cecht departed into connaught, to his own country, that he might work his cure in mag bréngair. wherefore the name clave to the plain from mac cecht's misery, that is, mag brén-guir. now conall cernach escaped from the hostel, and thrice fifty spears had gone through the arm which upheld his shield. he fared forth till he reached his father's house, with half his shield in his hand, and his sword, and the fragments of his two spears. then he found his father before his garth in taltiu. "swift are the wolves that have hunted thee, my son," saith his father. "'tis this that has wounded us, thou old hero, an evil conflict with warriors," conall cernach replied. "hast thou then news of dá derga's hostel?" asked amorgin. "is thy lord alive?" "he is _not_ alive," says conall. "i swear to god what the great tribes of ulaid swear, it is cowardly for the man who went thereout alive, having left his lord with his foes in death." "my wounds are not white, thou old hero," says conall. he shews him his shield-arm, whereon were thrice fifty wounds: this is what was inflicted upon it. the shield that guarded it is what saved it. but the right arm had been played upon, as far as two thirds thereof, since the shield had not been guarding it. that arm was mangled and maimed and wounded and pierced, save that the sinews kept it to the body without separation. "that arm fought tonight, my son," says amorgein. "true is that, thou old hero," says conall cernach. "many there are unto whom it gave drinks of death tonight in front of the hostel." now as to the reavers, every one of them that escaped from the hostel went to the cairn which they had built on the night before last, and they brought thereout a stone for each man not mortally wounded. so this is what they lost by death at the hostel, a man for every stone that is (now) in carn lecca. it endeth: amen: it endeth. europe at http://dp.rastko.net laxdÆla saga translated from the icelandic by muriel a.c. press mdcccxcix published by j.m. dent and co. aldine house london w.c. contents chap. i. of ketill flatnose and his descendants, th century a.d. ii. ketill and his sons prepare to leave norway. iii. ketill's sons go to iceland. iv. ketill goes to scotland, a.d. . v. unn goes to iceland, a.d. . vi. unn divides her land. vii. of the wedding of olaf "feilan," a.d. . viii. the birth of hrut, and thorgerd's second widowhood, a.d. . ix. hoskuld's marriage, a.d. . x. of viga hrapp. xi. about thord goddi and thorbjorn skrjup. xii. hoskuld buys a slave woman. xiii. hoskuld returns to iceland, a.d. . xiv. the murder of hall, ingjald's brother. xv. thorolf's escape with asgaut the thrall. xvi. thord becomes olaf's foster father, a.d. . xvii. about viga hrapp's ghost, a.d. . xviii. of the drowning of thorstein swart. xix. hrut comes to iceland xx. melkorka's marriage and olaf the peacock's journey, a.d. xxi. olaf the peacock goes to ireland, a.d. xxii. olaf the peacock comes home to iceland, a.d. xxiii. the marriage of olaf peacock and thorgerd, the daughter of egil, a.d. xxiv. the building of herdholt, a.d. xxv. about hoskuld's sons xxvi. the death of hoskuld, a.d. xxvii. the funeral feast for hoskuld xxviii. the birth of kjartan, olaf's son, a.d. xxix. olaf's second journey to norway, a.d. xxx. about giermund and thured, a.d. xxxi. thured's second marriage, a.d. xxxii. of osvif helgison xxxiii. of gest oddleifson and gudrun's dreams xxxiv. gudrun's first marriage, a.d. xxxv. gudrun's second marriage, a.d. xxxvi. about kotkell and grima xxxvii. about hrut and eldgrim, a.d. xxxviii. the death of stigandi. thorliek leaves iceland xxxix. of kjartan's friendship for bolli xl. kjartan and bolli voyage to norway, a.d. xli. bolli returns to iceland, a.d. xlii. bolli makes love to gudrun, a.d. xliii. kjartan comes back to iceland, a.d. xliv. kjartan comes home, a.d. xlv. kjartan marries hrefna, a.d. xlvi. feast at herdholt and the loss of kjartan's sword, a.d. xlvii. kjartan goes to laugar, and of the bargain for tongue, a.d. xlviii. the men of laugar and gudrun plan an ambush for kjartan, a.d. xlix. the death of kjartan l. the end of hrefna. the peace settled, a.d. li. osvif's sons are banished lii. the killing of thorkell of goat's peak liii. thorgerd's egging, a.d. liv. halldor prepares to avenge kjartan lv. the death of bolli lvi. bolli bollison is born, a.d. lvii. about thorgils hallason, a.d. lviii. thorkell and grim, and their voyage abroad lix. gudrun demands revenge for bolli, a.d. lx. the egging of gudrun lxi. of thorstein the black and lambi lxii. thorgils and his followers leave home lxiii. the description of his enemies brought to helgi lxiv. the death of helgi, a.d. lxv. of gudrun's deceit lxvi. osvif and gest die lxvii. the death of thorgils hallason, a.d. lxviii. gudrun's marriage with thorkell eyjolfson lxix. the quarrel about gunnar at the feast lxx. thorleik goes to norway lxxi. the peace between the sons of bolli and the sons of olaf, a.d. lxxii. bolli and thorleik go abroad, a.d. lxxiii. bolli's voyage lxxiv. thorkell eyjolfson goes to norway lxxv. thorkell and thorstein and halldor olafson, a.d. lxxvi. the drowning of thorkell, a.d. lxxvii. the return of bolli, a.d. lxxviii. the death of snorri, and the end, a.d. the laxdale saga [illustration: map of the district of laxdale saga] chap. i of ketill flatnose and his descendants, th century a.d. [sidenote: ketill's family] ketill flatnose was the name of a man. he was the son of bjorn the ungartered. ketill was a mighty and high-born chieftain (hersir) in norway. he abode in raumsdale, within the folkland of the raumsdale people, which lies between southmere and northmere. ketill flatnose had for wife yngvild, daughter of ketill wether, who was a man of exceeding great worth. they had five children; one was named bjorn the eastman, and another helgi bjolan. thorunn the horned was the name of one of ketill's daughters, who was the wife of helgi the lean, son of eyvind eastman, and rafarta, daughter of kjarval, the irish king. unn "the deep-minded" was another of ketill's daughters, and was the wife of olaf the white, son of ingjald, who was son of frodi the valiant, who was slain by the svertlings. jorunn, "men's wit-breaker," was the name of yet another of ketill's daughters. she was the mother of ketill the finn, who settled on land at kirkby. his son was asbjorn, father of thorstein, father of surt, the father of sighat the speaker-at-law. chap. ii ketill and his sons prepare to leave norway [sidenote: the tyranny of king harald] in the latter days of ketill arose the power of king harald the fairhaired, in such a way that no folkland king or other great men could thrive in the land unless he alone ruled what title should be theirs. when ketill heard that king harald was minded to put to him the same choice as to other men of might--namely, not only to put up with his kinsmen being left unatoned, but to be made himself a hireling to boot--he calls together a meeting of his kinsmen, and began his speech in this wise: "you all know what dealings there have been between me and king harald, the which there is no need of setting forth; for a greater need besets us, to wit, to take counsel as to the troubles that now are in store for us. i have true news of king harald's enmity towards us, and to me it seems that we may abide no trust from that quarter. [sidenote: ketill's speech] it seems to me that there are two choices left us, either to fly the land or to be slaughtered each in his own seat. now, as for me, my will is rather to abide the same death that my kinsmen suffer, but i would not lead you by my wilfulness into so great a trouble, for i know the temper of my kinsmen and friends, that ye would not desert me, even though it would be some trial of manhood to follow me." bjorn, the son of ketill, answered: "i will make known my wishes at once. i will follow the example of noble men, and fly this land. for i deem myself no greater a man by abiding at home the thralls of king harald, that they may chase me away from my own possessions, or that else i may have to come by utter death at their hands." at this there was made a good cheer, and they all thought it was spoken bravely. this counsel then was settled, that they should leave the country, for the sons of ketill urged it much, and no one spoke against it. bjorn and helgi wished to go to iceland, for they said they had heard many pleasing news thereof. they had been told that there was good land to be had there, and no need to pay money for it; they said there was plenty of whale and salmon and other fishing all the year round there. but ketill said, "into that fishing place i shall never come in my old age." so ketill then told his mind, saying his desire was rather to go west over the sea, for there was a chance of getting a good livelihood. he knew lands there wide about, for there he had harried far and wide. chap. iii ketill's sons go to iceland [sidenote: of bjorn in iceland] after that ketill made a great feast, and at it he married his daughter thorunn the horned to helgi the lean, as has been said before. after that ketill arrayed his journey west over the sea. unn, his daughter, and many others of his relations went with him. that same summer ketill's sons went to iceland with helgi, their brother-in-law. bjorn, ketill's son, brought his ship to the west coast of iceland, to broadfirth, and sailed up the firth along the southern shore, till he came to where a bay cuts into the land, and a high mountain stood on the ness on the inner side of the bay, but an island lay a little way off the land. bjorn said that they should stay there for a while. bjorn then went on land with a few men, and wandered along the coast, and but a narrow strip of land was there between fell and foreshore. this spot he thought suitable for habitation. bjorn found the pillars of his temple washed up in a certain creek, and he thought that showed where he ought to build his house. afterwards bjorn took for himself all the land between staff-river and lavafirth, and abode in the place that ever after was called bjornhaven. he was called bjorn the eastman. [sidenote: ketill's doings in scotland] his wife, gjaflaug, was the daughter of kjallak the old. their sons were ottar and kjallak, whose son was thorgrim, the father of fight-styr and vemund, but the daughter of kjallak was named helga, who was the wife of vestar of eyr, son of thorolf "bladder-skull," who settled eyr. their son was thorlak, father of steinthor of eyr. helgi bjolan brought his ship to the south of the land, and took all keelness, between kollafirth and whalefirth, and lived at esjuberg to old age. helgi the lean brought his ship to the north of the land, and took islefirth, all along between mastness and rowanness, and lived at kristness. from helgi and thornunn all the islefirthers are sprung. chap. iv ketill goes to scotland, a.d. ketill flatnose brought his ship to scotland, and was well received by the great men there; for he was a renowned man, and of high birth. they offered him there such station as he would like to take, and ketill and his company of kinsfolk settled down there--all except thorstein, his daughter's son, who forthwith betook himself to warring, and harried scotland far and wide, and was always victorious. later on he made peace with the scotch, and got for his own one-half of scotland. he had for wife thurid, daughter of eyvind, and sister of helgi the lean. the scotch did not keep the peace long, but treacherously murdered him. [sidenote: of unn the deep-minded] ari, thorgil's son, the wise, writing of his death, says that he fell in caithness. unn the deep-minded was in caithness when her son thorstein fell. when she heard that thorstein was dead, and her father had breathed his last, she deemed she would have no prospering in store there. so she had a ship built secretly in a wood, and when it was ready built she arrayed it, and had great wealth withal; and she took with her all her kinsfolk who were left alive; and men deem that scarce may an example be found that any one, a woman only, has ever got out of such a state of war with so much wealth and so great a following. from this it may be seen how peerless among women she was. unn had with her many men of great worth and high birth. a man named koll was one of the worthiest amongst her followers, chiefly owing to his descent, he being by title a "hersir." there was also in the journey with unn a man named hord, and he too was also a man of high birth and of great worth. when she was ready, unn took her ship to the orkneys; there she stayed a little while, and there she married off gro, the daughter of thorstein the red. she was the mother of greilad, who married earl thorfinn, the son of earl turf-einar, son of rognvald mere-earl. their son was hlodvir, the father of earl sigurd, the father of earl thorfinn, and from them come all the kin of the orkney earls. after that unn steered her ship to the faroe isles, and stayed there for some time. [sidenote: unn leaves the faroe isles] there she married off another daughter of thorstein, named olof, and from her sprung the noblest race of that land, who are called the gate-beards. chap. v unn goes to iceland, a.d. unn now got ready to go away from the faroe isles, and made it known to her shipmates that she was going to iceland. she had with her olaf "feilan," the son of thorstein, and those of his sisters who were unmarried. after that she put to sea, and, the weather being favourable, she came with her ship to the south of iceland to pumice-course (vikrarskeid). there they had their ship broken into splinters, but all the men and goods were saved. after that she went to find helgi, her brother, followed by twenty men; and when she came there he went out to meet her, and bade her come stay with him with ten of her folk. she answered in anger, and said she had not known that he was such a churl; and she went away, being minded to find bjorn, her brother in broadfirth, and when he heard she was coming, he went to meet her with many followers, and greeted her warmly, and invited her and all her followers to stay with him, for he knew his sister's high-mindedness. she liked that right well, and thanked him for his lordly behaviour. she stayed there all the winter, and was entertained in the grandest manner, for there was no lack of means, and money was not spared. [sidenote: unn takes land in iceland] in the spring she went across broadfirth, and came to a certain ness, where they ate their mid-day meal, and since that it has been called daymealness, from whence middlefell-strand stretches (eastward). then she steered her ship up hvammsfirth and came to a certain ness, and stayed there a little while. there unn lost her comb, so it was afterwards called combness. then she went about all the broadfirth-dales, and took to her lands as wide as she wanted. after that unn steered her ship to the head of the bay, and there her high-seat pillars were washed ashore, and then she deemed it was easy to know where she was to take up her abode. she had a house built there: it was afterwards called hvamm, and she lived there. the same spring as unn set up household at hvamm, koll married thorgerd, daughter of thorstein the red. unn gave, at her own cost, the bridal-feast, and let thorgerd have for her dowry all salmonriver-dale; and koll set up a household there on the south side of the salmon-river. koll was a man of the greatest mettle: their son was named hoskuld. chap. vi unn divides her land after that unn gave to more men parts of her land-take. to hord she gave all hord-dale as far as skramuhlaups river. [sidenote: her followers] he lived at hordabolstad (hord-lair-stead), and was a man of the greatest mark, and blessed with noble offspring. his son was asbjorn the wealthy, who lived in ornolfsdale, at asbjornstead, and had to wife thorbjorg, daughter of midfirth-skeggi. their daughter was ingibjorg, who married illugi the black, and their sons were hermund and gunnlaug worm-tongue. they are called the gilsbecking-race. unn spoke to her men and said: "now you shall be rewarded for all your work, for now i do not lack means with which to pay each one of you for your toil and good-will. you all know that i have given the man named erp, son of earl meldun, his freedom, for far away was it from my wish that so high-born a man should bear the name of thrall." afterwards unn gave him the lands of sheepfell, between tongue river and mid river. his children were orm and asgeir, gunbjorn, and halldis, whom alf o' dales had for wife. to sokkolf unn gave sokkolfsdale, where he abode to old age. hundi was the name of one of her freedmen. he was of scottish kin. to him she gave hundidale. osk was the name of the fourth daughter of thorstein the red. she was the mother of thorstein swart, the wise, who found the "summer eeke." thorhild was the name of a fifth daughter of thorstein. she was the mother of alf o' dales, and many great men trace back their line of descent to him. his daughter was thorgerd, wife of ari marson of reekness, the son of atli, the son of ulf the squinter and bjorg, eyvond's daughter, the sister of helgi the lean. from them come all the reeknessings. vigdis was the name of the sixth daughter of thorstein the red. from her come the men of headland of islefirth. chap. vii of the wedding of olaf "feilan," a.d. olaf "feilan" was the youngest of thorstein's children. he was a tall man and strong, goodly to look at, and a man of the greatest mettle. unn loved him above all men, and made it known to people that she was minded to settle on olaf all her belongings at hvamm after her day. [sidenote: unn's advice to olaf] unn now became very weary with old age, and she called olaf "feilan" to her and said: "it is on my mind, kinsman, that you should settle down and marry." olaf took this well, and said he would lean on her foresight in that matter. unn said: "it is chiefly in my mind that your wedding-feast should be held at the end of the summer, for that is the easiest time to get in all the means needed, for to me it seems a near guess that our friends will come hither in great numbers, and i have made up my mind that this shall be the last bridal feast arrayed by me." olaf answered: "that is well spoken; but such a woman alone i mean to take to wife who shall rob thee neither of wealth nor rule (over thine own)." [sidenote: olaf's wedding] that same summer olaf "feilan" married alfdis. their wedding was at hvamm. unn spent much money on this feast, for she let be bidden thereto men of high degree wide about from other parts. she invited bjorn and helgi "bjolan," her brothers, and they came with many followers. there came koll o' dales, her kinsman-in-law, and hord of hord-dale, and many other great men. the wedding feast was very crowded; yet there did not come nearly so many as unn had asked, because the islefirth people had such a long way to come. old age fell now fast upon unn, so that she did not get up till mid-day, and went early to bed. no one did she allow to come to her for advice between the time she went to sleep at night and the time she was aroused, and she was very angry if any one asked how it fared with her strength. on this day unn slept somewhat late; yet she was on foot when the guests came, and went to meet them and greeted her kinsfolk and friends with great courtesy, and said they had shown their affection to her in "coming hither from so far, and i specially name for this bjorn and helgi, but i wish to thank you all who are here assembled." after that unn went into the hall and a great company with her, and when all seats were taken in the hall, every one was much struck by the lordliness of the feast. then unn said: "bjorn and helgi, my brothers, and all my other kindred and friends, i call witnesses to this, that this dwelling with all its belongings that you now see before you, i give into the hands of my kinsman, olaf, to own and to manage." [sidenote: unn's death] after that unn stood up and said she would go to the bower where she was wont to sleep, but bade every one have for pastime whatever was most to his mind, and that ale should be the cheer of the common folk. so the tale goes, that unn was a woman both tall and portly. she walked at a quick step out along the hall, and people could not help saying to each other how stately the lady was yet. they feasted that evening till they thought it time to go to bed. but the day after olaf went to the sleeping bower of unn, his grandmother, and when he came into the chamber there was unn sitting up against her pillow, and she was dead. olaf went into the hall after that and told these tidings. every one thought it a wonderful thing, how unn had upheld her dignity to the day of her death. so they now drank together olaf's wedding and unn's funeral honours, and the last day of the feast unn was carried to the howe (burial mound) that was made for her. she was laid in a ship in the cairn, and much treasure with her, and after that the cairn was closed up. then olaf "feilan" took over the household of hvamm and all charge of the wealth there, by the advice of his kinsmen who were there. when the feast came to an end olaf gave lordly gifts to the men most held in honour before they went away. olaf became a mighty man and a great chieftain. he lived at hvamm to old age. [sidenote: olaf's children] the children of olaf and alfdis were thord yeller, who married hrodny, daughter of midfirth skeggi; and their sons were, eyjolf the grey, thorarin fylsenni, and thorkell kuggi. one daughter of olaf feilan was thora, whom thorstein cod-biter, son of thorolf most-beard, had for wife; their sons were bork the stout, and thorgrim, father of snori the priest. helga was another daughter of olaf; she was the wife of gunnar hlifarson; their daughter was jofrid, whom thorodd, son of tongue-odd, had for wife, and afterwards thorstein, egil's son. thorunn was the name of yet one of his daughters. she was the wife of herstein, son of thorkell blund-ketill's son. thordis was the name of a third daughter of olaf: she was the wife of thorarin, the speaker-at-law, brother of ragi. at that time, when olaf was living at hvamm, koll o' dales, his brother-in-law, fell ill and died. hoskuld, the son of koll, was young at the time of his father's death: he was fulfilled of wits before the tale of his years. hoskuld was a hopeful man, and well made of body. he took over his father's goods and household. the homestead where koll lived was named after him, being afterwards called hoskuldstead. hoskuld was soon in his householding blessed with friends, for that many supports stood thereunder, both kinsmen and friends whom koll had gathered round him. [sidenote: thorgerd's second marriage] thorgerd, thorstein's daughter, the mother of hoskuld, was still a young woman and most goodly; she did not care for iceland after the death of koll. she told hoskuld her son that she wished to go abroad, and take with her that share of goods which fell to her lot. hoskuld said he took it much to heart that they should part, but he would not go against her in this any more than in anything else. after that hoskuld bought the half-part in a ship that was standing beached off daymealness, on behalf of his mother. thorgerd betook herself on board there, taking with her a great deal of goods. after that thorgerd put to sea and had a very good voyage, and arrived in norway. thorgerd had much kindred and many noble kinsmen there. they greeted her warmly, and gave her the choice of whatever she liked to take at their hands. thorgerd was pleased at this, and said it was her wish to settle down in that land. she had not been a widow long before a man came forward to woo her. his name was herjolf; he was a "landed man" as to title, rich, and of much account. herjolf was a tall and strong man, but he was not fair of feature; yet the most high-mettled of men, and was of all men the best skilled at arms. now as they sat taking counsel on this matter, it was thorgerd's place to reply to it herself, as she was a widow; and, with the advice of her relations, she said she would not refuse the offer. so thorgerd married herjolf, and went with him to his home, and they loved each other dearly. thorgerd soon showed by her ways that she was a woman of the greatest mettle, and herjolf's manner of life was deemed much better and more highly to be honoured now that he had got such an one as she was for his wife. chap. viii the birth of hrut and thorgerd's second widowhood, a.d. [sidenote: thorgerd returns to iceland] herjolf and thorgerd had not long been together before they had a son. the boy was sprinkled with water, and was given the name of hrut. he was at an early age both big and strong as he grew up; and as to growth of body, he was goodlier than any man, tall and broad-shouldered, slender of waist, with fine limbs and well-made hands and feet. hrut was of all men the fairest of feature, and like what thorstein, his mother's father, had been, or like ketill flatnose. and all things taken together, he was a man of the greatest mettle. herjolf now fell ill and died, and men deemed that a great loss. after that thorgerd wished to go to iceland to visit hoskuld her son, for she still loved him best of all men, and hrut was left behind well placed with his relations. thorgerd arrayed her journey to iceland, and went to find hoskuld in his home in salmonriver-dale. he received his mother with honour. she was possessed of great wealth, and remained with hoskuld to the day of her death. a few winters after thorgerd came to iceland she fell sick and died. hoskuld took to himself all her money, but hrut his brother owned one-half thereof. chap. ix hoskuld's marriage, a.d. [sidenote: of jorunn bjorn's daughter] at this time norway was ruled by hakon, athelstan's fosterling. hoskuld was one of his bodyguard, and stayed each year, turn and turn about, at hakon's court, or at his own home, and was a very renowned man both in norway and in iceland. bjorn was the name of a man who lived at bjornfirth, where he had taken land, the firth being named after him. this firth cuts into the land north from steingrim's firth, and a neck of land runs out between them. bjorn was a man of high birth, with a great deal of money: ljufa was the name of his wife. their daughter was jorunn: she was a most beautiful woman, and very proud and extremely clever, and so was thought the best match in all the firths of the west. of this woman hoskuld had heard, and he had heard besides that bjorn was the wealthiest yeoman throughout all the strands. hoskuld rode from home with ten men, and went to bjorn's house at bjornfirth. he was well received, for to bjorn his ways were well known. [sidenote: hoskuld marries jorunn] then hoskuld made his proposal, and bjorn said he was pleased, for his daughter could not be better married, yet turned the matter over to her decision. and when the proposal was set before jorunn, she answered in this way: "from all the reports i have heard of you, hoskuld, i cannot but answer your proposal well, for i think that the woman would be well cared for who should marry you; yet my father must have most to say in this matter, and i will agree in this with his wishes." and the long and short of it was, that jorunn was promised to hoskuld with much money, and the wedding was to be at hoskuldstead. hoskuld now went away with matters thus settled, and home to his abode, and stays now at home until this wedding feast was to be held. bjorn came from the north for the wedding with a brave company of followers. hoskuld had also asked many guests, both friends and relations, and the feast was of the grandest. now, when the feast was over each one returned to his home in good friendship and with seemly gifts. jorunn bjorn's daughter sits behind at hoskuldstead, and takes over the care of the household with hoskuld. it was very soon seen that she was wise and well up in things, and of manifold knowledge, though rather high-tempered at most times. hoskuld and she loved each other well, though in their daily ways they made no show thereof. hoskuld became a great chieftain; he was mighty and pushing, and had no lack of money, and was thought to be nowise less of his ways than his father, koll. [sidenote: hoskuld's children] hoskuld and jorunn had not been married long before they came to have children. a son of theirs was named thorliek. he was the eldest of their children. bard was another son of theirs. one of their daughters was called hallgerd, afterwards surnamed "long-breeks." another daughter was called thurid. all their children were most hopeful. thorliek was a very tall man, strong and handsome, though silent and rough; and men thought that such was the turn of his temper, as that he would be no man of fair dealings, and hoskuld often would say, that he would take very much after the race of the men of the strands. bard, hoskuld's son, was most manly to look at, and of goodly strength, and from his appearance it was easy to see that he would take more after his father's people. bard was of quiet ways while he was growing up, and a man lucky in friends, and hoskuld loved him best of all his children. the house of hoskuld now stood in great honour and renown. about this time hoskuld gave his sister groa in marriage to velief the old, and their son was "holmgang"-bersi. chap. x of viga hrapp hrapp was the name of a man who lived in salmon-river-dale, on the north bank of the river on the opposite side to hoskuldstead, at the place that was called later on hrappstead, where there is now waste land. [sidenote: of hrapp and vigdis] hrapp was the son of sumarlid, and was called fight-hrapp. he was scotch on his father's side, and his mother's kin came from sodor, where he was brought up. he was a very big, strong man, and one not willing to give in even in face of some odds; and for the reason that was most overbearing, and would never make good what he had misdone, he had had to fly from west-over-the-sea, and had bought the land on which he afterwards lived. his wife was named vigdis, and was hallstein's daughter; and their son was named sumarlid. her brother was named thorstein surt; he lived at thorsness, as has been written before. sumarlid was brought up there, and was a most promising young man. thorstein had been married, but by this time his wife was dead. he had two daughters, one named gudrid, and the other osk. thorkell trefill married gudrid, and they lived in svignaskard. he was a great chieftain, and a sage of wits; he was the son of raudabjorn. osk, thorstein's daughter, was given in marriage to a man of broadfirth named thorarin. he was a valiant man, and very popular, and lived with thorstein, his father-in-law, who was sunk in age and much in need of their care. hrapp was disliked by most people, being overbearing to his neighbours; and at times he would hint to them that theirs would be a heavy lot as neighbours, if they held any other man for better than himself. all the goodmen took one counsel, and went to hoskuld and told him their trouble. hoskuld bade them tell him if hrapp did any one any harm, "for he shall not plunder me of men or money." chap. xi about thord goddi and thorbjorn skrjup [sidenote: thord goddi and his wife vigdis] thord goddi was the name of a man who lived in salmon-river-dale on the northern side of the river, and his house was vigdis called goddistead. he was a very wealthy man; he had no children, and had bought the land he lived on. he was a neighbour of hrapp's, and was very often badly treated by him. hoskuld looked after him, so that he kept his dwelling in peace. vigdis was the name of his wife. she was daughter of ingjald, son of olaf feilan, and brother's daughter of thord yeller, and sister's daughter of thorolf rednose of sheepfell. this thorolf was a great hero, and in a very good position, and his kinsmen often went to him for protection. vigdis had married more for money than high station. thord had a thrall who had come to iceland with him, named asgaut. he was a big man, and shapely of body; and though he was called a thrall, yet few could be found his equal amongst those called freemen, and he knew well how to serve his master. thord had many other thralls, though this one is the only one mentioned here. thorbjorn was the name of a man. he lived in salmon-river-dale, next to thord, up valley away from his homestead, and was called skrjup. he was very rich in chattels, mostly in gold and silver. [sidenote: houskuld goes abroad] he was an huge man and of great strength. no squanderer of money on common folk was he. hoskuld, dalakoll's son, deemed it a drawback to his state that his house was worse built than he wished it should be; so he bought a ship from a shetland man. the ship lay up in the mouth of the river blanda. that ship he gets ready, and makes it known that he is going abroad, leaving jorunn to take care of house and children. they now put out to sea, and all went well with them; and they hove somewhat southwardly into norway, making hordaland, where the market-town called biorgvin was afterwards built. hoskuld put up his ship, and had there great strength of kinsmen, though here they be not named. hakon, the king, had then his seat in the wick. hoskuld did not go to the king, as his kinsfolk welcomed him with open arms. that winter all was quiet (in norway). chap. xii hoskuld buys a slave woman there were tidings at the beginning of the summer that the king went with his fleet eastward to a tryst in brenn-isles, to settle peace for his land, even as the law laid down should be done every third summer. this meeting was held between rulers with a view to settling such matters as kings had to adjudge--matters of international policy between norway, sweden, and denmark. it was deemed a pleasure trip to go to this meeting, for thither came men from well-nigh all such lands as we know of. hoskuld ran out his ship, being desirous also to go to the meeting; moreover, he had not been to see the king all the winter through. there was also a fair to be made for. at the meeting there were great crowds of people, and much amusement to be got--drinking, and games, and all sorts of entertainment. nought, however, of great interest happened there. hoskuld met many of his kinsfolk there who were come from denmark. [sidenote: of gilli the russian] now, one day as hoskuld went out to disport himself with some other men, he saw a stately tent far away from the other booths. hoskuld went thither, and into the tent, and there sat a man before him in costly raiment, and a russian hat on his head. hoskuld asked him his name. he said he was called gilli: "but many call to mind the man if they hear my nickname--i am called gilli the russian." hoskuld said he had often heard talk of him, and that he held him to be the richest of men that had ever belonged to the guild of merchants. [sidenote: the bargain for the slave woman] still hoskuld spoke: "you must have things to sell such as we should wish to buy." gilli asked what he and his companions wished to buy. hoskuld said he should like to buy some bonds-woman, "if you have one to sell." gilli answers: "there, you mean to give me trouble by this, in asking for things you don't expect me to have in stock; but it is not sure that follows." hoskuld then saw that right across the booth there was drawn a curtain; and gilli then lifted the curtain, and hoskuld saw that there were twelve women seated behind the curtain. so gilli said that hoskuld should come on and have a look, if he would care to buy any of these women. hoskuld did so. they sat all together across the booth. hoskuld looks carefully at these women. he saw a woman sitting out by the skirt of the tent, and she was very ill-clad. hoskuld thought, as far as he could see, this woman was fair to look upon. then said hoskuld, "what is the price of that woman if i should wish to buy her?" gilli replied, "three silver pieces is what you must weigh me out for her." "it seems to me," said hoskuld, "that you charge very highly for this bonds-woman, for that is the price of three (such)." then gilli said, "you speak truly, that i value her worth more than the others. choose any of the other eleven, and pay one mark of silver for her, this one being left in my possession." hoskuld said, "i must first see how much silver there is in the purse i have on my belt," and he asked gilli to take the scales while he searched the purse. [sidenote: of the dumb slave woman] gilli then said, "on my side there shall be no guile in this matter; for, as to the ways of this woman, there is a great drawback which i wish, hoskuld, that you know before we strike this bargain." hoskuld asked what it was. gilli replied, "the woman is dumb. i have tried in many ways to get her to talk, but have never got a word out of her, and i feel quite sure that this woman knows not how to speak." then, said hoskuld, "bring out the scales, and let us see how much the purse i have got here may weigh." gilli did so, and now they weigh the silver, and there were just three marks weighed. then said hoskuld, "now the matter stands so that we can close our bargain. you take the money for yourself, and i will take the woman. i take it that you have behaved honestly in this affair, for, to be sure, you had no mind to deceive me herein." hoskuld then went home to his booth. that same night hoskuld went into bed with her. the next morning when men got dressed, spake hoskuld, "the clothes gilli the rich gave you do not appear to be very grand, though it is true that to him it is more of a task to dress twelve women than it is to me to dress only one." after that hoskuld opened a chest, and took out some fine women's clothes and gave them to her; and it was the saying of every one that she looked very well when she was dressed. but when the rulers had there talked matters over according as the law provided, this meeting was broken up. then hoskuld went to see king hakon, and greeted him worthily, according to custom. the king cast a side glance at him, and said, "we should have taken well your greeting, hoskuld, even if you had saluted us sooner; but so shall it be even now." chap. xiii hoskuld returns to iceland, a.d. [sidenote: king hakon bids hoskuld farewell] after that the king received hoskuld most graciously, and bade him come on board his own ship, and "be with us so long as you care to remain in norway." hoskuld answered: "thank you for your offer; but now, this summer, i have much to be busy about, and that is mostly the reason i was so long before i came to see you, for i wanted to get for myself house-timber." the king bade him bring his ship in to the wick, and hoskuld tarried with the king for a while. the king got house-timber for him, and had his ship laden for him. then the king said to hoskuld, "you shall not be delayed here longer than you like, though we shall find it difficult to find a man to take your place." after that the king saw hoskuld off to his ship, and said: "i have found you an honourable man, and now my mind misgives me that you are sailing for the last time from norway, whilst i am lord over that land." the king drew a gold ring off his arm that weighed a mark, and gave it to hoskuld; and he gave him for another gift a sword on which there was half a mark of gold. hoskuld thanked the king for his gifts, and for all the honour he had done him. [sidenote: hoskuld's arrival in iceland] after that hoskuld went on board his ship, and put to sea. they had a fair wind, and hove in to the south of iceland; and after that sailed west by reekness, and so by snowfellness in to broadfirth. hoskuld landed at salmon-river-mouth. he had the cargo taken out of his ship, which he took into the river and beached, having a shed built for it. a ruin is to be seen now where he built the shed. there he set up his booths, and that place is called booths'-dale. after that hoskuld had the timber taken home, which was very easy, as it was not far off. hoskuld rode home after that with a few men, and was warmly greeted, as was to be looked for. he found that all his belongings had been kept well since he left. jorunn asked, "what woman that was who journeyed with him?" hoskuld answered, "you will think i am giving you a mocking answer when i tell you that i do not know her name." jorunn said, "one of two things there must be: either the talk is a lie that has come to my ears, or you must have spoken to her so much as to have asked her her name." hoskuld said he could not gainsay that, and so told her the truth, and bade that the woman should be kindly treated, and said it was his wish she should stay in service with them. jorunn said, "i am not going to wrangle with the mistress you have brought out of norway, should she find living near me no pleasure; least of all should i think of it if she is both deaf and dumb." hoskuld slept with his wife every night after he came home, and had very little to say to the mistress. [sidenote: melkorka's history discovered] every one clearly saw that there was something betokening high birth in the way she bore herself, and that she was no fool. towards the end of the winter hoskuld's mistress gave birth to a male child. hoskuld was called, and was shown the child, and he thought, as others did, that he had never seen a goodlier or a more noble-looking child. hoskuld was asked what the boy should be called. he said it should be named olaf, for olaf feilan had died a little time before, who was his mother's brother. olaf was far before other children, and hoskuld bestowed great love on the boy. the next summer jorunn said, "that the woman must do some work or other, or else go away." hoskuld said she should wait on him and his wife, and take care of her boy besides. when the boy was two years old he had got full speech, and ran about like children of four years old. early one morning, as hoskuld had gone out to look about his manor, the weather being fine, and the sun, as yet little risen in the sky, shining brightly, it happened that he heard some voices of people talking; so he went down to where a little brook ran past the home-field slope, and he saw two people there whom he recognised as his son olaf and his mother, and he discovered she was not speechless, for she was talking a great deal to the boy. then hoskuld went to her and asked her her name, and said it was useless for her to hide it any longer. she said so it should be, and they sat down on the brink of the field. [sidenote: of melkorka's family] then she said, "if you want to know my name, i am called melkorka." hoskuld bade her tell him more of her kindred. she answered, "myr kjartan is the name of my father, and he is a king in ireland; and i was taken a prisoner of war from there when i was fifteen winters old." hoskuld said she had kept silence far too long about so noble a descent. after that hoskuld went on, and told jorunn what he had just found out during his walk. jorunn said that she "could not tell if this were true," and said she had no fondness for any manner of wizards; and so the matter dropped. jorunn was no kinder to her than before, but hoskuld had somewhat more to say to her. a little while after this, when jorunn was going to bed, melkorka was undressing her, and put her shoes on the floor, when jorunn took the stockings and smote her with them about the head. melkorka got angry, and struck jorunn on the nose with her fist, so that the blood flowed. hoskuld came in and parted them. after that he let melkorka go away, and got a dwelling ready for her up in salmon-river-dale, at the place that was afterwards called melkorkastad, which is now waste land on the south of the salmon river. melkorka now set up household there, and hoskuld had everything brought there that she needed; and olaf, their son, went with her. it was soon seen that olaf, as he grew up, was far superior to other men, both on account of his beauty and courtesy. chap. xiv the murder of hall, ingjald's brother [sidenote: the fishing at bjorn isles] ingjald was the name of a man. he lived in sheepisles, that lie out in broadfirth. he was called sheepisles' priest. he was rich, and a mighty man of his hand. hall was the name of his brother. he was big, and had the makings of a man in him; he was, however, a man of small means, and looked upon by most people as an unprofitable sort of man. the brothers did not usually agree very well together. ingjald thought hall did not shape himself after the fashion of doughty men, and hall thought ingjald was but little minded to lend furtherance to his affairs. there is a fishing place in broadfirth called bjorn isles. these islands lie many together, and were profitable in many ways. at that time men went there a great deal for the fishing, and at all seasons there were a great many men there. wise men set great store by people in outlying fishing-stations living peacefully together, and said that it would be unlucky for the fishing if there was any quarrelling; and most men gave good heed to this. it is told how one summer hall, the brother of ingjald, the sheepisles' priest, came to bjorn isles for fishing. [sidenote: thorolf's quarrel] he took ship as one of the crew with a man called thorolf. he was a broadfirth man, and was well-nigh a penniless vagrant, and yet a brisk sort of a man. hall was there for some time, and palmed himself off as being much above other men. it happened one evening when they were come to land, hall and thorolf, and began to divide the catch, that hall wished both to choose and to divide, for he thought himself the greater man of the two. thorolf would not give in, and there were some high words, and sharp things were said on both sides, as each stuck to his own way of thinking. so hall seized up a chopper that lay by him, and was about to heave it at thorolf's head, but men leapt between them and stopped hall; but he was of the maddest, and yet unable to have his way as at this time. the catch of fish remained undivided. thorolf betook himself away that evening, and hall took possession of the catch that belonged to them both, for then the odds of might carried the day. hall now got another man in thorolf's place in the boat, and went on fishing as before. thorolf was ill-contented with his lot, for he felt he had come to shame in their dealings together; yet he remained in the islands with the determination to set straight the humble plight to which he had been made to bow against his will. [sidenote: hall's death] hall, in the meantime, did not fear any danger, and thought that no one would dare to try to get even with him in his own country. so one fair-weather day it happened that hall rowed out, and there were three of them together in the boat. the fish bit well through the day, and as they rowed home in the evening they were very merry. thorolf kept spying about hall's doings during the day, and is standing in the landing-place when hall came to land. hall rowed in the forehold of the boat, and leapt overboard, intending to steady the boat; and as he jumped to land thorolf happens to be standing near, and forthwith hews at him, and the blow caught him on his neck against the shoulder, and off flew his head. thorolf fled away after that, and hall's followers were all in a flurried bustle about him. the story of hall's murder was told all over the islands, and every one thought it was indeed great news; for the man was of high birth, although he had had little good luck. thorolf now fled from the islands, for he knew no man there who would shelter him after such a deed, and he had no kinsmen he could expect help from; while in the neighbourhood were men from whom it might be surely looked for that they would beset his life, being moreover men of much power, such as was ingjald, the sheepisles' priest, the brother of hall. [sidenote: thorolf's flight] thorolf got himself ferried across to the mainland. he went with great secrecy. nothing is told of his journey, until one evening he came to goddistead. vigdis, the wife of thord goddi, was some sort of relation to thorolf, and on that account he turned towards that house. thorolf had also heard before how matters stood there, and how vigdis was endowed with a good deal more courage than thord, her husband. and forthwith the same evening that thorolf came to goddistead he went to vigdis to tell her his trouble, and to beg her help. vigdis answered his pleading in this way: "i do not deny our relationship, and in this way alone i can look upon the deed you have done, that i deem you in no way the worser man for it. yet this i see, that those who shelter you will thereby have at stake their lives and means, seeing what great men they are who will be taking up the blood-suit. and thord," she said, "my husband, is not much of a warrior; but the counsels of us women are mostly guided by little foresight if anything is wanted. yet i am loath to keep aloof from you altogether, seeing that, though i am but a woman, you have set your heart on finding some shelter here." after that vigdis led him to an outhouse, and told him to wait for her there, and put a lock on the door. then she went to thord, and said, "a man has come here as a guest, named thorolf. he is some sort of relation of mine, and i think he will need to dwell here some long time if you will allow it." thord said he could not away with men coming to put up at his house, but bade him rest there over the next day if he had no trouble on hand, but otherwise he should be off at his swiftest. [sidenote: vigdis takes in thorolf] vigdis answered, "i have offered him already to stay on, and i cannot take back my word, though he be not in even friendship with all men." after that she told thord of the slaying of hall, and that thorolf who was come there was the man who had killed him. thord was very cross-grained at this, and said he well knew how that ingjald would take a great deal of money from him for the sheltering that had been given him already, seeing that doors here have been locked after this man. vigdis answered, "ingjald shall take none of your money for giving one night's shelter to thorolf, and he shall remain here all this winter through." thord said, "in this manner you can checkmate me most thoroughly, but it is against my wish that a man of such evil luck should stay here." still thorolf stayed there all the winter. ingjald, who had to take up the blood-suit for his brother, heard this, and so arrayed him for a journey into the dales at the end of the winter, and ran out a ferry of his whereon they went twelve together. they sailed from the west with a sharp north-west wind, and landed in salmon-river-mouth in the evening. they put up their ferry-boat, and came to goddistead in the evening, arriving there not unawares, and were cheerfully welcomed. ingjald took thord aside for a talk with him, and told him his errand, and said he had heard of thorolf, the slayer of his brother, being there. [sidenote: ingjald's bargain with thord] thord said there was no truth in that. ingjald bade him not to deny it. "let us rather come to a bargain together: you give up the man, and put me to no toil in the matter of getting at him. i have three marks of silver that you shall have, and i will overlook the offences you have brought on your hands for the shelter given to thorolf." thord thought the money fair, and had now a promise of acquittal of the offences for which he had hitherto most dreaded and for which he would have to abide sore loss of money. so he said, "i shall no doubt hear people speak ill of me for this, none the less this will have to be our bargain." they slept until it wore towards the latter end of the night, when it lacked an hour of day. chap. xv thorolf's escape with asgaut the thrall ingjald and his men got up and dressed. vigdis asked thord what his talk with ingjald had been about the evening before. thord said they had talked about many things, amongst others how the place was to be ransacked, and how they should be clear of the case if thorolf was not found there. "so i let asgaut, my thrall, take the man away." vigdis said she had no fondness for lies, and said she should be very loath to have ingjald sniffing about her house, but bade him, however, do as he liked. after that ingjald ransacked the place, and did not hit upon the man there. [sidenote: the flight of thorolf and asgaut] at that moment asgaut came back, and vigdis asked him where he had parted with thorolf. asgaut replied, "i took him to our sheephouses as thord told me to." vigdis replied, "can anything be more exactly in ingjald's way as he returns to his ship? nor shall any risk be run, lest they should have made this plan up between them last night. i wish you to go at once, and take him away as soon as possible. you shall take him to sheepfell to thorolf; and if you do as i tell you, you shall get something for it. i will give you your freedom and money, that you may go where you will." asgaut agreed to this, and went to the sheephouse to find thorolf, and bade him get ready to go at once. at this time ingjald rode out of goddistead, for he was now anxious to get his money's worth. as he was come down from the farmstead (into the plain) he saw two men coming to meet him; they were thorolf and asgaut. this was early in the morning, and there was yet but little daylight. asgaut and thorolf now found themselves in a hole, for ingjald was on one side of them and the salmon river on the other. the river was terribly swollen, and there were great masses of ice on either bank, while in the middle it had burst open, and it was an ill-looking river to try to ford. thorolf said to asgaut, "it seems to me we have two choices before us. one is to remain here and fight as well as valour and manhood will serve us, and yet the thing most likely is that ingjald and his men will take our lives without delay; and the other is to tackle the river, and yet that, i think, is still a somewhat dangerous one." asgaut said that thorolf should have his way, and he would not desert him, "whatever plan you are minded to follow in this matter." [sidenote: the crossing of the river] thorolf said, "we will make for the river, then," and so they did, and arrayed themselves as light as possible. after this they got over the main ice, and plunged into the water. and because the men were brave, and fate had ordained them longer lives, they got across the river and upon the ice on the other side. directly after they had got across, ingjald with his followers came to the spot opposite to them on the other side of the river. ingjald spoke out, and said to his companions, "what plan shall we follow now? shall we tackle the river or not?" they said he should choose, and they would rely on his foresight, though they thought the river looked impassable. ingjald said that so it was, and "we will turn away from the river;" and when thorolf and asgaut saw that ingjald had made up his mind not to cross the river, they first wring their clothes and then make ready to go on. they went on all that day, and came in the evening to sheepfell. they were well received there, for it was an open house for all guests; and forthwith that same evening asgaut went to see thorolf rednose, and told him all the matters concerning their errand, "how vigdis, his kinswoman, had sent him this man to keep in safety." asgaut also told him all that had happened between ingjald and thord goddi; therewithal he took forth the tokens vigdis had sent. thorolf replied thus, "i cannot doubt these tokens. i shall indeed take this man in at her request. i think, too, that vigdis has dealt most bravely with this matter and it is a great pity that such a woman should have so feeble a husband. and you, asgaut, shall dwell here as long as you like." asgaut said he would tarry there for no length of time. thorolf now takes unto him his namesake, and made him one of his followers; and asgaut and they parted good friends, and he went on his homeward journey. [sidenote: ingjald returns to thord] and now to tell of ingjald. he turned back to goddistead when he and thorolf parted. by that time men had come there from the nearest farmsteads at the summons of vigdis, and no fewer than twenty men had gathered there already. but when ingjald and his men came to the place, he called thord to him, "you have dealt in a most cowardly way with me, thord," says he, "for i take it to be the truth that you have got the man off." thord said this had not happened with his knowledge; and now all the plotting that had been between ingjald and thord came out. ingjald now claimed to have back his money that he had given to thord. [sidenote: the returning of the money] vigdis was standing near during this talk, and said it had fared with them as was meet, and prayed thord by no means to hold back this money, "for you, thord," she said, "have got this money in a most cowardly way." thord said she must needs have her will herein. after that vigdis went inside, and to a chest that belonged to thord, and found at the bottom a large purse. she took out the purse, and went outside with it up to where ingjald was, and bade him take the money. ingjald's brow cleared at that, and he stretched out his hand to take the purse. vigdis raised the purse, and struck him on the nose with it, so that forthwith blood fell on the earth. therewith she overwhelmed him with mocking words, ending by telling him that henceforth he should never have the money, and bidding him go his way. ingjald saw that his best choice was to be off, and the sooner the better, which indeed he did, nor stopped in his journey until he got home, and was mightily ill at ease over his travel. chap. xvi thord becomes olaf's foster father, a.d. about this time asgaut came home. vigdis greeted him, and asked him what sort of reception they had had at sheepfell. he gave a good account of it, and told her the words wherewith thorolf had spoken out his mind. [sidenote: the reward of asgaut] she was very pleased at that. "and you, asgaut," she said, "have done your part well and faithfully, and you shall now know speedily what wages you have worked for. i give you your freedom, so that from this day forth you shall bear the title of a freeman. therewith you shall take the money that thord took as the price for the head of thorolf, my kinsman, and now that money will be better bestowed." asgaut thanked her for her gift with fair words. the next summer asgaut took a berth in day-meal-ness, and the ship put to sea, and they came in for heavy gales, but not a long sea-voyage, and made norway. after that asgaut went to denmark and settled there, and was thought a valiant and true man. and herewith comes to an end the tale of him. but after the plot thord goddi had made up with ingjald, the sheepisles priest, when they made up their minds to compass the death of thorolf, vigdis' kinsman, she returned that deed with hatred, and divorced herself from thord goddi, and went to her kinsfolk and told them the tale. thord yeller was not pleased at this; yet matters went off quietly. vigdis did not take away with her from goddistead any more goods than her own heirlooms. the men of hvamm let it out that they meant to have for themselves one-half of the wealth that thord was possessed of. and on hearing this he becomes exceeding faint-hearted, and rides forthwith to see hoskuld to tell him of his troubles. hoskuld said, "times have been that you have been terror-struck, through not having with such overwhelming odds to deal." then thord offered hoskuld money for his help, and said he would not look at the matter with a niggard's eye. hoskuld said, "this is clear, that you will not by peaceful consent allow any man to have the enjoyment of your wealth." answers thord, "no, not quite that though; for i fain would that you should take over all my goods. that being settled, i will ask to foster your son olaf, and leave him all my wealth after my days are done; for i have no heir here in this land, and i think my means would be better bestowed then, than that the kinsmen of vigdis should grab it." [sidenote: thord goes to hoskuld] to this hoskuld agreed, and had it bound by witnesses. this melkorka took heavily, deeming the fostering too low. hoskuld said she ought not to think that, "for thord is an old man, and childless, and i wish olaf to have all his money after his day, but you can always go to see him at any time you like." thereupon thord took olaf to him, seven years old, and loved him very dearly. hearing this, the men who had on hand the case against thord goddi thought that now it would be even more difficult than before to lay claim to the money. hoskuld sent some handsome presents to thord yeller, and bade him not be angry over this, seeing that in law they had no claim on thord's money, inasmuch as vigdis had brought no true charges against thord, or any such as justified desertion by her. "moreover, thord was no worse a man for casting about for counsel to rid himself of a man that had been thrust upon his means, and was as beset with guilt as a juniper bush is with prickles." but when these words came to thord from hoskuld, and with them large gifts of money, then thord allowed himself to be pacified, and said he thought the money was well placed that hoskuld looked after, and took the gifts; and all was quiet after that, but their friendship was rather less warm than formerly. [sidenote: olaf surnamed the peacock] olaf grew up with thord, and became a great man and strong. he was so handsome that his equal was not to be found, and when he was twelve years old he rode to the thing meeting, and men in other countrysides looked upon it as a great errand to go, and to wonder at the splendid way he was made. in keeping herewith was the manner of olaf's war-gear and raiment, and therefore he was easily distinguished from all other men. thord got on much better after olaf came to live with him. hoskuld gave olaf a nickname, and called him peacock, and the name stuck to him. chap. xvii about viga hrapp's ghost, a.d. the tale is told of hrapp that he became most violent in his behaviour, and did his neighbours such harm that they could hardly hold their own against him. but from the time that olaf grew up hrapp got no hold of thord. hrapp had the same temper, but his powers waned, in that old age was fast coming upon him, so that he had to lie in bed. [sidenote: hrapp's death] hrapp called vigdis, his wife, to him, and said, "i have never been of ailing health in life," said he, "and it is therefore most likely that this illness will put an end to our life together. now, when i am dead, i wish my grave to be dug in the doorway of my fire hall, and that i be put: thereinto, standing there in the doorway; then i shall be able to keep a more searching eye on my dwelling." after that hrapp died, and all was done as he said, for vigdis did not dare do otherwise. and as evil as he had been to deal with in his life, just so he was by a great deal more when he was dead, for he walked again a great deal after he was dead. people said that he killed most of his servants in his ghostly appearances. he caused a great deal of trouble to those who lived near, and the house of hrappstead became deserted. vigdis, hrapp's wife, betook herself west to thorstein swart, her brother. he took her and her goods in. and now things went as before, in that men went to find hoskuld, and told him all the troubles that hrapp was doing to them, and asked him to do something to put an end to this. hoskuld said this should be done, and he went with some men to hrappstead, and has hrapp dug up, and taken away to a place near to which cattle were least likely to roam or men to go about. after that hrapp's walkings-again abated somewhat. sumarlid, hrapp's son, inherited all hrapp's wealth, which was both great and goodly. sumarlid set up household at hrappstead the next spring; but after he had kept house there for a little time he was seized of frenzy, and died shortly afterwards. [sidenote: thorstein swart leaves home] now it was the turn of his mother, vigdis, to take there alone all this wealth; but as she would not go to the estate of hrappstead, thorstein swart took all the wealth to himself to take care of. thorstein was by then rather old, though still one of the most healthy and hearty of men. chap. xviii of the drowning of thorstein swart at that time there rose to honour among men in thorness, the kinsmen of thorstein, named bork the stout and his brother, thorgrim. it was soon found out how these brothers would fain be the greatest men there, and were most highly accounted of. and when thorstein found that out, he would not elbow them aside, and so made it known to people that he wished to change his abode, and take his household to hrappstead, in salmon-river-dale. thorstein swart got ready to start after the spring thing, but his cattle were driven round along the shore. thorstein got on board a ferry-boat, and took twelve men with him; and thorarin, his brother-in-law, and osk, thorstein's daughter, and hild, her daughter, who was three years old, went with them too. thorstein fell in with a high south-westerly gale, and they sailed up towards the roosts, and into that roost which is called coal-chest-roost, which is the biggest of the currents in broadfirth. [sidenote: the wreck] they made little way sailing, chiefly because the tide was ebbing, and the wind was not favourable, the weather being squally, with high wind when the squalls broke over, but with little wind between whiles. thorstein steered, and had the braces of the sail round his shoulders, because the boat was blocked up with goods, chiefly piled-up chests, and the cargo was heaped up very high; but land was near about, while on the boat there was but little way, because of the raging current against them. then they sailed on to a hidden rock, but were not wrecked. thorstein bade them let down the sail as quickly as possible, and take punt poles to push off the ship. this shift was tried to no avail, because on either board the sea was so deep that the poles struck no bottom; so they were obliged to wait for the incoming tide, and now the water ebbs away under the ship. throughout the day they saw a seal in the current larger by much than any others, and through the day it would be swimming round about the ship, with flappers none of the shortest, and to all of them it seemed that in him there were human eyes. thorstein bade them shoot the seal, and they tried, but it came to nought. [sidenote: gudmund's story] now the tide rose; and just as the ship was getting afloat there broke upon them a violent squall, and the boat heeled over, and every one on board the boat was drowned, save one man, named gudmund, who drifted ashore with some timber. the place where he was washed up was afterwards called gudmund's isles. gudrid, whom thorkell trefill had for wife, was entitled to the inheritance left by thorstein, her father. these tidings spread far and near of the drowning of thorstein swart, and the men who were lost there. thorkell sent straightway for the man gudmund, who had been washed ashore, and when he came and met thorkell, he (thorkell) struck a bargain with him, to the end that he should tell the story of the loss of lives even as he (thorkell) was going to dictate it to him. gudmund agreed. thorkell now asked him to tell the story of this mishap in the hearing of a good many people. then gudmund spake on this wise: "thorstein was drowned first, and then his son-in-law, thorarin"--so that then it was the turn of hild to come in for the money, as she was the daughter of thorarin. then he said the maiden was drowned, because the next in inheritance to her was osk, her mother, and she lost her life the last of them, so that all the money thus came to thorkell trefill, in that his wife gudrid must take inheritance after her sister. now this tale is spread abroad by thorkell and his men; but gudmund ere this had told the tale in somewhat another way. [sidenote: the ordeal] now the kinsmen of thorarin misdoubted this tale somewhat, and said they would not believe it unproved, and claimed one-half of the heritage against thorkell; but thorkell maintained it belonged to him alone, and bade that ordeal should be taken on the matter, according to their custom. this was the ordeal at that time, that men had had to pass under "earth-chain," which was a slip of sward cut loose from the soil, but both ends thereof were left adhering to the earth, and the man who should go through with the ordeal should walk thereunder. thorkell trefill now had some misgivings himself as to whether the deaths of the people had indeed taken place as he and gudmund had said the second time. heathen men deemed that on them rested no less responsibility when ceremonies of this kind had to be gone through than christian men do when ordeals are decreed. he who passed under "earth-chain" cleared himself if the sward-slip did not fall down upon him. thorkell made an arrangement with two men that they should feign quarrelling over something or another, and be close to the spot when the ordeal was being gone through with, and touch the sward-slip so unmistakably that all men might see that it was they who knocked it down. after this comes forward he who was to go through with the ordeal, and at the nick of time when he had got under the "earth-chain," these men who had been put up to it fall on each other with weapons, meeting close to the arch of the sward-slip, and lie there fallen, and down tumbles the "earth-chain", as was likely enough. then men rush up between them and part them, which was easy enough, for they fought with no mind to do any harm. thorkell trefill then asked people as to what they thought about the ordeal, and all his men now said that it would have turned out all right if no one had spoilt it. then thorkell took all the chattels to himself, but the land at hrapstead was left to lie fallow. chap. xix hrut comes to iceland now of hoskuld it is to be told that his state is one of great honour, and that he is a great chieftain. [sidenote: hrut in norway] he had in his keep a great deal of money that belonged to his (half) brother, hrut, herjolf's son. many men would have it that hoskuld's means would be heavily cut into if he should be made to pay to the full the heritage of his (hrut's) mother. hrut was of the bodyguard of king harald, gunnhild's son, and was much honoured by him, chiefly for the reason that he approved himself the best man in all deeds of manly trials, while, on the other hand, gunnhild, the queen, loved him so much that she held there was not his equal within the guard, either in talking or in anything else. even when men were compared, and noblemen therein were pointed to, all men easily saw that gunnhild thought that at the bottom there must be sheer thoughtlessness, or else envy, if any man was said to be hrut's equal. [sidenote: hrut comes to iceland] now, inasmuch as hrut had in iceland much money to look after, and many noble kinsfolk to go and see, he desired to go there, and now arrays his journey for iceland. the king gave him a ship at parting, and said he had proved a brave man and true. gunnhild saw hrut off to his ship, and said, "not in a hushed voice shall this be spoken, that i have proved you to be a most noble man, in that you have prowess equal to the best man here in this land, but are in wits a long way before them". then she gave him a gold ring and bade him farewell. whereupon she drew her mantle over her head and went swiftly home. hrut went on board his ship, and put to sea. he had a good breeze, and came to broadfirth. he sailed up the bay, up to the island, and, steering in through broadsound, he landed at combness, where he put his gangways to land. the news of the coming of this ship spread about, as also that hrut, herjolf's son, was the captain. hoskuld gave no good cheer to these tidings, and did not go to meet hrut. hrut put up his ship, and made her snug. he built himself a dwelling, which since has been called combness. then he rode to see hoskuld, to get his share of his mother's inheritance. hoskuld said he had no money to pay him, and said his mother had not gone without means out of iceland when she met with herjolf. hrut liked this very ill, but rode away, and there the matter rested. all hrut's kinsfolk, excepting hoskuld, did honour to hrut. [sidenote: hoskuld's treatment of hrut] hrut now lived three winters at combness, and was always demanding the money from hoskuld at the thing meetings and other law gatherings, and he spoke well on the matter. and most men held that hrut had right on his side. hoskuld said that thorgerd had not married herjolf by his counsel, and that he was her lawful guardian, and there the matter dropped. that same autumn hoskuld went to a feast at thord goddi's, and hearing that, hrut rode with twelve men to hoskuldstead and took away twenty oxen, leaving as many behind. then he sent some men to hoskuld, telling them where he might search for the cattle. hoskuld's house-carles sprang forthwith up, and seized their weapons, and words were sent to the nearest neighbours for help, so that they were a party of fifteen together, and they rode each one as fast as they possibly could. hrut and his followers did not see the pursuit till they were a little way from the enclosure at combness. and forthwith he and his men jumped off their horses, and tied them up, and went forward unto a certain sandhill. hrut said that there they would make a stand, and added that though the money claim against hoskuld sped slowly, never should that be said that he had run away before his thralls. [sidenote: hrut's fight] hrut's followers said that they had odds to deal with. hrut said he would never heed that; said they should fare all the worse the more they were in number. the men of salmon-river-dale now jumped off their horses, and got ready to fight. hrut bade his men not trouble themselves about the odds, and goes for them at a rush. hrut had a helmet on his head, a drawn sword in one hand and a shield in the other. he was of all men the most skilled at arms. hrut was then so wild that few could keep up with him. both sides fought briskly for a while; but the men of salmon-river-dale very soon found that in hrut they had to deal with one for whom they were no match, for now he slew two men at every onslaught. after that the men of salmon-river-dale begged for peace. hrut replied that they should surely have peace. all the house-carles of hoskuld who were yet alive were wounded, and four were killed. hrut then went home, being somewhat wounded himself; but his followers only slightly or not at all, for he had been the foremost in the fight. the place has since been called fight-dale where they fought. after that hrut had the cattle killed. now it must be told how hoskuld got men together in a hurry when he heard of the robbery and rode home. much at the same time as he arrived his house-carles came home too, and told how their journey had gone anything but smoothly. hoskuld was wild with wrath at this, and said he meant to take at hrut's hand no robbery or loss of lives again, and gathered to him men all that day. then jorunn, his wife, went and talked to him, and asked him what he had made his mind up to. he said, "it is but little i have made up my mind to, but i fain would that men should oftener talk of something else than the slaying of my house-carles". [sidenote: jorunn's good advice] jorunn answered, "you are after a fearful deed if you mean to kill such a man as your brother, seeing that some men will have it that it would not have been without cause if hrut had seized these goods even before this; and now he has shown that, taking after the race he comes from, he means no longer to be an outcast, kept from what is his own. now, surely he cannot have made up his mind to try his strength with you till he knew that he might hope for some backing-up from the more powerful among men; for, indeed, i am told that messages have been passing in quiet between hrut and thord yeller. and to me, at least, such matters seem worthy of heed being paid to them. no doubt thord will be glad to back up matters of this kind, seeing how clear are the bearings of the case. moreover you know, hoskuld, that since the quarrel between thord goddi and vigdis, there has not been the same fond friendship between you and thord yeller as before, although by means of gifts you staved off the enmity of him and his kinsmen in the beginning. i also think, hoskuld," she said, "that in that matter, much to the trial of their temper, they feel they have come off worst at the hands of yourself and your son, olaf. now this seems to me the wiser counsel: to make your brother an honourable offer, for there a hard grip from greedy wolf may be looked for. i am sure that hrut will take that matter in good part, for i am told he is a wise man, and he will see that that would be an honour to both of you." hoskuld quieted down greatly at jorunn's speech, and thought this was likely to be true. [sidenote: hoskuld and hrut become friends] then men went between them who were friends of both sides, bearing words of peace from hoskuld to hrut. hrut received them well, and said he would indeed make friends with hoskuld, and added that he had long been ready for their coming to terms as behoved kinsmen, if but hoskuld had been willing to grant him his right. hrut also said he was ready to do honour to hoskuld for what he on his side had misdone. so now these matters were shaped and settled between the brothers, who now take to living together in good brotherhood from this time forth. hrut now looks after his homestead, and became mighty man of his ways. he did not mix himself up in general things, but in whatever matter he took a part he would have his own way. hrut now moved his dwelling, and abode to old age at a place which now is called hrutstead. he made a temple in his home-field, of which the remains are still to be seen. it is called trolls' walk now, and there is the high road. hrut married a woman named unn, daughter of mord fiddle. unn left him, and thence sprang the quarrels between the men of salmon-river-dale and the men of fleetlithe. hrut's second wife was named thorbjorg. she was armod's daughter. hrut married a third wife, but her we do not name. hrut had sixteen sons and ten daughters by these two wives. and men say that one summer hrut rode to the thing meeting, and fourteen of his sons were with him. of this mention is made, because it was thought a sign of greatness and might. all his sons were right goodly men. chap. xx melkorka's marriage and olaf the peacock's journey, a.d. [sidenote: of thorliek hoskuldson] hoskuld now remained quietly at home, and began now to sink into old age, and his sons were now all grown up. thorliek sets up household of his own at a place called combness, and hoskuld handed over to him his portion. after that he married a woman named gjaflaug, daughter of arnbjorn, son of sleitu bjorn, and thordaug, the daughter of thord of headland. it was a noble match, gjaflaug being a very beautiful and high-minded woman. thorliek was not an easy man to get on with, but was most warlike. there was not much friendship between the kinsmen hrut and thorliek. bard hoskuld's son stayed at home with his father, looked after the household affairs no less than hoskuld himself. the daughters of hoskuld do not have much to do with this story, yet men are known who are descended from them. olaf, hoskuld's son, was now grown up, and was the handsomest of all men that people ever set eyes on. he arrayed himself always well, both as to clothes and weapons. melkorka, olaf's mother, lived at melkorkastead, as has been told before. hoskuld looked less after melkorka's household ways than he used to do, saying that that matter concerned olaf, her son. olaf said he would give her such help as he had to offer her. [sidenote: melkorka's plans] melkorka thought hoskuld had done shamefully by her, and makes up her mind to do something to him at which he should not be over pleased. thorbjorn skrjup had chiefly had on hand the care of melkorka's household affairs. he had made her an offer of marriage, after she had been an householder for but a little while, but melkorka refused him flatly. there was a ship up by board-ere in ramfirth, and orn was the name of the captain. he was one of the bodyguard of king harald, gunnhild's son. melkorka spoke to olaf, her son, and said that she wished he should journey abroad to find his noble relations, "for i have told the truth that myrkjartan is really my father, and he is king of the irish and it would be easy for you betake you on board the ship that is now at board-ere." olaf said, "i have spoken about it to my father, but he seemed to want to have but little to do with it; and as to the manner of my foster-father's money affairs, it so happens that his wealth is more in land or cattle than in stores of islandic market goods." [sidenote: melkorka's marriage] melkorka said, "i cannot bear your being called the son of a slave-woman any longer; and if it stands in the way of the journey, that you think you have not enough money, then i would rather go to the length even of marrying thorbjorn, if then you should be more willing than before to betake yourself to the journey. for i think he will be willing to hand out to you as much wares as you think you may need, if i give my consent to his marrying me. above all i look to this, that then hoskuld will like two things mightily ill when he comes to hear of them, namely, that you have gone out of the land, and that i am married." olaf bade his mother follow her own counsel. after that olaf talked to thorbjorn as to how he wished to borrow wares of him, and a great deal thereof. thorbjorn answered, "i will do it on one condition, and that is that i shall marry melkorka for them; it seems to me, you will be as welcome to my money as to that which you have in your keep." olaf said that this should then be settled; whereupon they talked between them of such matters as seemed needful, but all these things they agreed should be kept quiet. hoskuld wished olaf to ride with him to the thing. olaf said he could not do that on account of household affairs, as he also wanted to fence off a grazing paddock for lambs by salmon river. hoskuld was very pleased that he should busy himself with the homestead. then hoskuld rode to the thing; but at lambstead a wedding feast was arrayed, and olaf settled the agreement alone. olaf took out of the undivided estate thirty hundred ells' worth of wares, and should pay no money for them.[ ] bard, hoskuld's son, was at the wedding, and was a party with them to all these doings. [sidenote: olaf goes to norway] when the feast was ended olaf rode off to the ship, and found orn the captain, and took berth with him. before olaf and melkorka parted she gave him a great gold finger-ring, and said, "this gift my father gave me for a teething gift, and i know he will recognise it when he sees it." she also put into his hands a knife and a belt, and bade him give them to her nurse: "i am sure she will not doubt these tokens." and still further melkorka spake, "i have fitted you out from home as best i know how, and taught you to speak irish, so that it will make no difference to you where you are brought to shore in ireland." after that they parted. there arose forthwith a fair wind, when olaf got on board, and they sailed straightway out to sea. [footnote : one hundred = x = x = , ells altogether.] chap. xxi olaf the peacock goes to ireland, a.d. now hoskuld came back from the thing and heard these tidings, and was very much displeased. but seeing that his near akin were concerned in the matter, he quieted down and let things alone. olaf and his companions had a good voyage, and came to norway. orn urges olaf to go to the court of king harald, who, he said, bestowed goodly honour on men of no better breeding than olaf was. olaf said he thought he would take that counsel. olaf and orn now went to the court, and were well received. the king at once recognised olaf for the sake of his kindred, and forthwith bade him stay with him. gunnhild paid great heed to olaf when she knew he was hrut's brother's son; but some men would have it, that she took pleasure in talking to olaf without his needing other people's aid to introduce him. [sidenote: olaf wishes to leave norway] as the winter wore on, olaf grew sadder of mood. orn asked him what was the matter of his sorrow? olaf answered, "i have on hand a journey to go west over the sea; and i set much store by it and that you should lend me your help, so that it may be undertaken in the course of next summer." orn bade olaf not set his heart on going, and said he did not know of any ships going west over the sea. gunnhild joined in their talk, and said, "now i hear you talk together in a manner that has not happened before, in that each of you wants to have his own way!" olaf greeted gunnhild well, without letting drop their talk. after that orn went away, but gunnhild and olaf kept conversing together. olaf told her of his wish, and how much store he set by carrying it out, saying he knew for certain that myrkjartan, the king, was his mother's father. then gunnhild said, "i will lend you help for this voyage, so that you may go on it as richly furnished as you please." olaf thanked her for her promise. then gunnhild had a ship prepared and a crew got together, and bade olaf say how many men he would have to go west over the sea with him. olaf fixed the number at sixty; but said that it was a matter of much concern to him, that such a company should be more like warriors than merchants. she said that so it should be; and orn is the only man mentioned by name in company with olaf on this journey. the company were well fitted out. [sidenote: olaf's voyage] king harald and gunnhild led olaf to his ship, and they said they wished to bestow on him their good-luck over and above other friendship they had bestowed on him already. king harald said that was an easy matter; for they must say that no goodlier a man had in their days come out of iceland. then harald the king asked how old a man he was. olaf answered, "i am now eighteen winters." the king replied, "of exceeding worth, indeed, are such men as you are, for as yet you have left the age of child but a short way behind; and be sure to come and see us when you come back again." then the king and gunnhild bade olaf farewell. then olaf and his men got on board, and sailed out to sea. they came in for unfavourable weather through the summer, had fogs plentiful, and little wind, and what there was was unfavourable; and wide about the main they drifted, and on most on board fell "sea-bewilderment." but at last the fog lifted over-head; and the wind rose, and they put up sail. then they began to discuss in which direction ireland was to be sought; and they did not agree on that. orn said one thing, and most of the men went against him, and said that orn was all bewildered: they should rule who were the greater in number. then olaf was asked to decide. he said, "i think we should follow the counsel of the wisest; for the counsels of foolish men i think will be of all the worse service for us in the greater number they gather together." and now they deemed the matter settled, since olaf spake in this manner; and orn took the steering from that time. [sidenote: they get to ireland] they sailed for days and nights, but always with very little wind. one night the watchmen leapt up, and bade every one wake at once, and said they saw land so near that they had almost struck on it. the sail was up, but there was but little wind. every one got up, and orn bade them clear away from the land, if they could. olaf said, "that is not the way out of our plight, for i see reefs all about astern; so let down the sail at once, and we will take our counsel when there is daylight, and we know what land this is." then they cast anchors, and they caught bottom at once. there was much talk during the night as to where they could be come to; and when daylight was up they recognised that it was ireland. orn said, "i don't think we have come to a good place, for this is far away from the harbours or market-towns, whose strangers enjoy peace; and we are now left high and dry, like sticklebacks, and near enough, i think, i come to the laws of the irish in saying that they will lay claim to the goods we have on board as their lawful prize, for as flotsam they put down ships even when sea has ebbed out shorter from the stern (than here)." olaf said no harm would happen, "but i have seen that to-day there is a gathering of men up inland; so the irish think, no doubt, the arrival of this ship a great thing. during the ebb-tide to-day i noticed that there was a dip, and that out of the dip the sea fell without emptying it out; and if our ship has not been damaged, we can put out our boat and tow the ship into it." there was a bottom of loam where they had been riding at anchor, so that not a plank of the ship was damaged. [sidenote: the irish] so olaf and his men tow their boat to the dip, cast anchor there. now, as day drew on, crowds drifted down to the shore. at last two men rowed a boat out to the ship. they asked what men they were who had charge of that ship, and olaf answered, speaking in irish, to their inquiries. when the irish knew they were norwegians they pleaded their law, and bade them give up their goods; and if they did so, they would do them no harm till the king had sat in judgment on their case. olaf said the law only held good when merchants had no interpreter with them. "but i can say with truth these are peaceful men, and we will not give ourselves up untried." the irish then raised a great war-cry, and waded out into the sea, and wished to drag the ship, with them on board, to the shore, the water being no deeper than reaching up to their armpits, or to the belts of the tallest. but the pool was so deep where the ship was floating that they could not touch the bottom. olaf bade the crew fetch out their weapons, and range in line of battle from stem to stern on the ship; and so thick they stood, that shield overlapped shield all round the ship, and a spear-point stood out at the lower end of every shield. olaf walked fore to the prow, and was thus arrayed: he had a coat of mail, and a gold-reddened helmet on his head; girt with a sword with gold-inlaid hilt, and in his hand a barbed spear chased and well engraved. a red shield he had before him, on which was drawn a lion in gold. when the irish saw this array fear shot through their hearts, and they thought it would not be so easy a matter as they had thought to master the booty. so now the irish break their journey, and run all together to a village near. [sidenote: olaf meets myrkjartan] then there arose great murmur in the crowd, as they deemed that, sure enough, this must be a warship, and that they must expect many others; so they sent speedily word to the king, which was easy, as he was at that time a short way off, feasting. straightway he rides with a company of men to where the ship was. between the land and the place where the ship lay afloat the space was no greater than that one might well hear men talking together. now olaf stood forth in the same arrayal whereof is written before, and men marvelled much how noble was the appearance of the man who was the captain of the ship. but when the shipmates of olaf see how a large company of knights rides towards them, looking a company of the bravest, they grow hushed, for they deemed here were great odds to deal with. but when olaf heard the murmur which went round among his followers, he bade them take heart, "for now our affairs are in a fair way; the irish are now greeting myrkjartan, their king." then they rode so near to the ship, that each could hear what the other said. [sidenote: their talk together] the king asked who was the master of the ship. olaf told his name, and asked who was the valiant-looking knight with whom he then was talking. he answered, "i am called myrkjartan." olaf asked, "are you then a king of the irish?" he said he was. then the king asked olaf for news commonly talked of, and olaf gave good answers as to all news he was asked about. then the king asked whence they had put to sea, and whose men they were. and still the king asked, more searchingly than before, about olaf's kindred, for the king found that this man was of haughty bearing, and would not answer any further than the king asked. olaf said, "let it be known to you that we ran our ship afloat from the coast of norway, and these are of the bodyguard of king harald, the son of gunnhild, who are here on board. and as for my race, i have, sire, to tell you this, that my father lives in iceland, and is named hoskuld, a man of high birth; but of my mother's kindred, i think you must have seen many more than i have. for my mother is called melkorka, and it has been told me as a truth that she is your daughter, king. now, this has driven me upon this long journey, and to me it is a matter most weighty what answer you give in my case." the king then grew silent, and had a converse with his men. the wise men asked the king what might be the real truth of the story that this man was telling. the king answered, "this is clearly seen in this olaf, that he is high-born man, whether he be a kinsman of mine or not, as well as this, that of all men he speaks the best of irish." [sidenote: melkorka's tokens accepted] after that the king stood up, and said, "now i will give answer to your speech, in so far as we grant to you and all your shipmates peace; but on the kinship you claim with us, we must talk more before i give answer to that." after that they put out their gangways to the shore, and olaf and his followers went on land from the ship; and the irish now marvel much how warrior-like these men are. olaf greeted the king well, taking off his helmet and bowing to the king, who welcomes olaf with all fondness. thereupon they fall to talking together, olaf pleading his case again in a speech long and frank; and at the end of his speech he said he had a ring on his hand that melkorka had given him at parting in iceland, saying "that you, king, gave it her as a tooth gift." the king took and looked at the ring, and his face grew wondrous red to look at; and then the king said, "true enough are the tokens, and become by no means less notable thereby that you have so many of your mother's family features, and that even by them you might be easily recognised; and because of these things i will in sooth acknowledge your kinship, olaf, by the witnessing of these men that here are near and hear my speech. and this shall also follow that i will ask you to my court, with all your suite, but the honour of you all will depend thereon of what worth as a man i find you to be when i try you more." after that the king orders riding-horses to be given to them, and appoints men to look after their ship, and to guard the goods belonging to them. the king now rode to dublin, and men thought this great tidings, that with the king should be journeying the son of his daughter, who had been carried off in war long ago when she was only fifteen winters old. [sidenote: melkorka's foster-mother] but most startled of all at these tidings was the foster-mother of melkorka, who was then bed-ridden, both from heavy sickness and old age; yet she walked with no staff even to support her, to meet olaf. the king said to olaf, "here is come melkorka's foster-mother, and she will wish to hear all the tidings you can tell about melkorka's life." olaf took her with open arms, and set the old woman on his knee, and said her foster-daughter was well settled and in a good position in iceland. then olaf put in her hands the knife and the belt, and the old woman recognised the gifts, and wept for joy, and said it was easy to see that melkorka's son was one of high mettle, and no wonder, seeing what stock he comes of. the old woman was strong and well, and in good spirits all that winter. the king was seldom at rest, for at that time the lands in the west were at all times raided by war-bands. the king drove from his land that winter both vikings and raiders. [sidenote: olaf's life in ireland] olaf was with his suite in the king's ship, and those who came against them thought his was indeed a grim company to deal with. the king talked over with olaf and his followers all matters needing counsel, for olaf proved himself to the king both wise and eager-minded in all deeds of prowess. but towards the latter end of the winter the king summoned a thing, and great numbers came. the king stood up and spoke. he began his speech thus: "you all know that last autumn there came hither a man who is the son of my daughter, and high-born also on his father's side; and it seems to me that olaf is a man of such prowess and courage that here such men are not to be found. now i offer him my kingdom after my day is done, for olaf is much more suitable for a ruler than my own sons." olaf thanked him for this offer with many graceful and fair words, and said he would not run the risk as to how his sons might behave when myrkjartan was no more; said it was better to gain swift honour than lasting shame; and added that he wished to go to norway when ships could safely journey from land to land, and that his mother would have little delight in life if he did not return to her. the king bade olaf do as he thought best. then the thing was broken up. [sidenote: olaf comes to norway again] when olaf's ship was ready, the king saw him off on board; and gave him a spear chased with gold, and a gold-bedecked sword, and much money besides. olaf begged that he might take melkorka's foster-mother with him; but the king said there was no necessity for that, so she did not go. then olaf got on board his ship, and he and the king parted with the greatest friendship. then olaf sailed out to sea. they had a good voyage, and made land in norway; and olaf's journey became very famous. they set up their ship; and olaf got horses for himself, and went, together with his followers, to find king harald. chap. xxii olaf the peacock comes home to iceland, a.d. olaf hoskuldson then went to the court of king harald. the king gave him a good welcome, but gunnhild a much better. with many fair words they begged him to stay with them, and olaf agreed to it, and both he and orn entered the king's court. king harald and gunnhild set so great a store by olaf that no foreigner had ever been held in such honour by them. olaf gave to the king and gunnhild many rare gifts, which he had got west in ireland. king harald gave olaf at yule a set of clothes made out of scarlet stuff. so now olaf stayed there quietly all the winter. [sidenote: olaf goes home] in the spring, as it was wearing on, olaf and the king had a conversation together, and olaf begged the king's leave to go to iceland in the summer, "for i have noble kinsfolk there i want to go and see." the king answered, "it would be more to my mind that you should settle down with us, and take whatever position in our service you like best yourself." olaf thanked the king for all the honour he was offering him, but said he wished very much to go to iceland, if that was not against the king's will. the king answered, "nothing shall be done in this in an unfriendly manner to you, olaf. you shall go out to iceland in the summer, for i see you have set your heart on it; but neither trouble nor toil shall you have over your preparations, for i will see after all that," and thereupon they part talking. king harald had a ship launched in the spring; it was a merchant ship, both great and good. this ship the king ordered to be laden with wood, and fitted out with full rigging. when the ship was ready the king had olaf called to him, and said, "this ship shall be your own, olaf, for i should not like you to start from norway this summer as a passenger in any one else's ship." olaf thanked the king in fair words for his generosity. after that olaf got ready for his journey; and when he was ready and a fair wind arose, olaf sailed out to sea, and king harald and he parted with the greatest affection. that summer olaf had a good voyage. he brought his ship into ramfirth, to board-ere. the arrival of the ship was soon heard of, and also who the captain was. hoskuld heard of the arrival of olaf, his son, and was very much pleased, and rode forthwith north to hrutafjord with some men, and there was a joyful meeting between the father and son. hoskuld invited olaf to come to him, and olaf said he would agree to that; so he set up his ship, but his goods were brought (on horseback) from the north. and when this business was over olaf himself rode with twelve men home to hoskuldstead, and hoskuld greeted his son joyfully, and his brothers also received him fondly, as well as all his kinsfolk; but between olaf and bard was love the fondest. [sidenote: melkorka receives olaf] olaf became very renowned for this journey; and now was proclaimed the descent of olaf, that he was the daughter's son of myrkjartan, king of ireland. the news of this spread over the land, as well as of the honour that mighty men, whom he had gone to see, had bestowed on him. melkorka came soon to see olaf, her son, and olaf greeted her with great joy. she asked about many things in ireland, first of her father and then of her other relations. olaf replied to everything she asked. then she asked if her foster-mother still lived. olaf said she was still alive. melkorka asked why he had not tried to give her the pleasure of bringing her over to iceland. olaf replied, "they would not allow me to bring your foster-mother out of ireland, mother." "that may be so," she replied, and it could be seen that this she took much to heart. melkorka and thorbjorn had one son, who was named lambi. he was a tall man and strong, like his father in looks as well as in temper. [sidenote: hoskuld's advice to olaf] when olaf had been in iceland a month, and spring came on, father and son took counsel together. "i will, olaf," said hoskuld, "that a match should be sought for you, and that then you should take over the house of your foster-father at goddistead, where still there are great means stored up, and that then you should look after the affairs of that household under my guidance." olaf answered, "little have i set my mind on that sort of thing hitherto; besides, i do not know where that woman lives whom to marry would mean any great good luck to me. you must know i shall look high for a wife. but i see clearly that you would not have broached this matter till you had made up your mind as to where it was to end." hoskuld said, "you guess that right. there is a man named egil. he is skallagrim's son. he lives at borg, in borgarfjord. this egil has a daughter who is called thorgerd, and she is the woman i have made up my mind to woo on your behalf, for she is the very best match in all borgarfjord, and even if one went further afield. moreover, it is to be looked for, that an alliance with the mere-men would mean more power to you." [sidenote: olaf's proposal] olaf answered, "herein i shall trust to your foresight, for if this match were to come off it would be altogether to my liking. but this you must bear in mind, father, that should this matter be set forth, and not come off, i should take it very ill." hoskuld answered, "i think i shall venture to bring the matter about." olaf bade him do as he liked. now time wears on towards the thing. hoskuld prepares his journey from home with a crowded company, and olaf, his son, also accompanies him on the journey. they set up their booth. a great many people were there. egil skallagrim's son was at the thing. every one who saw olaf remarked what a handsome man he was, and how noble his bearing, well arrayed as he was as to weapons and clothes. chap. xxiii the marriage of olaf peacock and thorgerd, the daughter of egil, a.d. it is told how one day the father and son, hoskuld and olaf, went forth from their booth to find egil. egil greeted them well, for he and hoskuld knew each other very well by word of mouth. hoskuld now broaches the wooing on behalf of olaf, and asks for the hand of thorgerd. she was also at the thing. egil took the matter well, and said he had always heard both father and son well spoken of, "and i also know, hoskuld," said egil, "that you are a high-born man and of great worth, and olaf is much renowned on account of his journey, and it is no wonder that such men should look high for a match, for he lacks neither family nor good looks; but yet this must be talked over with thorgerd, for it is no man's task to get thorgerd for wife against her will." hoskuld said, "i wish, egil, that you would talk this over with your daughter." egil said that that should be done. [sidenote: thorgerd's refusal] egil now went away to find his daughter, and they talked together. egil said, "there is here a man named olaf, who is hoskuld's son, and he is now one of the most renowned of men. hoskuld, his father, has broached a wooing on behalf of olaf, and has sued for your hand; and i have left that matter mostly for you to deal with. now i want to know your answer. but it seems to me that it behoves you to give a good answer to such a matter, for this match is a noble one." thorgerd answered, "i have often heard you say that you love me best of all your children, but now it seems to me you make that a falsehood if you wish me to marry the son of a bonds-woman, however goodly and great a dandy he may be." egil said, "in this matter you are not so well up, as in others. have you not heard that he is the son of the daughter of myrkjartan, king of ireland? so that he is much higher born on his mother's side than on his father's, which, however, would be quite good enough for us." thorgerd would not see this; and so they dropped the talk, each being somewhat of a different mind. the next day egil went to hoskuld's booth. hoskuld gave him a good welcome, and so they fell a-talking together. hoskuld asked how this wooing matter had sped. egil held out but little hope, and told him all that had come to pass. hoskuld said it looked like a closed matter, "yet i think you have behaved well." olaf did not hear this talk of theirs. after that egil went away. olaf now asks, "how speeds the wooing?" hoskuld said, "it pointed to slow speed on her side." [sidenote: olaf proposes himself] olaf said, "it is now as i told you, father, that i should take it very ill if in answer (to the wooing) i should have to take shaming words, seeing that the broaching of the wooing gives undue right to the wooed. and now i shall have my way so far, that this shall not drop here. for true is the saw, that 'others' errands eat the wolves'; and now i shall go straightway to egil's booth." hoskuld bade him have his own way. olaf now dressed himself in this way, that he had on the scarlet clothes king harald had given him, and a golden helmet on his head, and the gold-adorned sword in his hand that king myrkjartan had given him. then hoskuld and olaf went to egil's booth. hoskuld went first, and olaf followed close on his heels. egil greeted him well, and hoskuld sat down by him, but olaf stood up and looked about him. he saw a woman sitting on the dais in the booth, she was goodly and had the looks of one of high degree, and very well dressed. he thought to himself this must be thorgerd, egil's daughter. olaf went up to the dais and sat down by her. thorgerd greeted the man, and asked who he was. olaf told his own and his father's name, and "you must think it very bold that the son of a slave should dare to sit down by you and presume to talk to you!" she said, "you cannot but mean that you must be thinking you have done deeds of greater daring than that of talking to women." [sidenote: thorgerd accepts olaf] then they began to talk together, and they talked all day. but nobody heard their conversation. and before they parted egil and hoskuld were called to them; and the matter of olaf's wooing was now talked over again, and thorgerd came round to her father's wish. now the affair was all easily settled and the betrothal took place. the honour was conceded to the salmon-river-dale men that the bride should be brought home to them, for by law the bride-groom should have gone to the bride's home to be married. the wedding was to take place at hoskuldstead when seven weeks summer had passed. after that egil and hoskuld separated. the father and son rode home to hoskuldstead, and all was quiet the rest of the summer. after that things were got ready for the wedding at hoskuldstead, and nothing was spared, for means were plentiful. the guests came at the time settled, and the burgfirthmen mustered in a great company. egil was there, and thorstein, his son. the bride was in the journey too, and with her a chosen company out of all the countryside. hoskuld had also a great company awaiting them. the feast was a brave one, and the guests were seen off with good gifts on leaving. olaf gave to egil the sword, myrkjartan's gift, and egil's brow brightened greatly at the gift. nothing in the way of tidings befell, and every one went home. chap. xxiv the building of herdholt, a. d. olaf and thorgerd lived at hoskuldstead and loved each other very dearly; it was easily seen by every one that she was a woman of very high mettle, though she meddled little with every-day things, but whatever thorgerd put her hand to must be carried through as she wished. olaf and thorgerd spent that winter turn and turn about at hoskuldstead, or with olaf's foster-father. in the spring olaf took over the household business at goddistead. [sidenote: thord's death] the following summer thord fell ill, and the illness ended in his death. olaf had a cairn raised over him on the ness that runs out into the salmon-river and is called drafn-ness, with a wall round which is called howes-garth. after that liegemen crowded to olaf and he became a great chieftain. hoskuld was not envious of this, for he always wished that olaf should be consulted in all great matters. the place olaf owned was the stateliest in salmon-river-dale. [sidenote: the new house built] there were two brothers with olaf, both named an. one was called an the white and the other an the black. they had a third brother who was named beiner the strong. these were olaf's smiths, and very valiant men. thorgerd and olaf had a daughter who was named thurid. the land that hrapp had owned all lay waste, as has been told before. olaf thought that it lay well and set before his father his wishes on the matter; how they should send down to trefill with this errand, that olaf wished to buy the land and other things thereto belonging at hrappstead. it was soon arranged and the bargain settled, for trefill saw that better was one crow in the hand than two in the wood. the bargain arranged was that olaf should give three marks of silver for the land; yet that was not fair price, for the lands were wide and fair and very rich in useful produce, such as good salmon fishing and seal catching. there were wide woods too, a little further up than hoskuldstead, north of the salmon-river, in which was a space cleared, and it was well-nigh a matter of certainty that the flocks of olaf would gather together there whether the weather was hard or mild. one autumn it befell that on that same hill olaf had built a dwelling of the timber that was cut out of the forest, though some he got together from drift-wood strands. this was a very lofty dwelling. the buildings stood empty through the winter. the next spring olaf went thither and first gathered together all his flocks which had grown to be a great multitude; for, indeed, no man was richer in live stock in all broadfirth. olaf now sent word to his father that he should be standing out of doors and have a look at his train as he was moving to his new home, and should give him his good wishes. hoskuld said so it should be. olaf now arranged how it should be done. he ordered that all the shiest of his cattle should be driven first and then the milking live stock, then came the dry cattle, and the pack horses came in the last place; and men were ranged with the animals to keep them from straying out of straight line. when the van of the train had got to the new homestead, olaf was just riding out of goddistead and there was nowhere a gap breaking the line. hoskuld stood outside his door together with those of his household. [sidenote: the naming of herdholt] then hoskuld spake, bidding olaf his son welcome and abide all honour to this new dwelling of his, "and somehow my mind forebodes me that this will follow, that for a long time his name will be remembered." jorunn his wife said, "wealth enough the slave's son has got for his name to be long remembered." at the moment that the house-carles had unloaded the pack horses olaf rode into the place. then he said, "now you shall have your curiosity satisfied with regard to what you have been talking about all the winter, as to what this place shall be called; it shall be called herdholt." every one thought this a very happy name, in view of what used to happen there.[ ] olaf now sets up his household at herdholt, and a stately one it soon became, and nothing was lacking there. and now the honour of olaf greatly increased, there being many causes to bring it about: olaf was the most beloved of men, for whatever he had to do with affairs of men, he did so that all were well contented with their lot. his father backed him up very much towards being a widely honoured man, and olaf gained much in power from his alliance with the mere-men. olaf was considered the noblest of all hoskuld's sons. the first winter that olaf kept house at herdholt, he had many servants and workmen, and work was divided amongst the house-carles; one looked after the dry cattle and another after the cows. the fold was out in the wood, some way from the homestead. [sidenote: hrapp's ghost] one evening the man who looked after the dry cattle came to olaf and asked him to make some other man look after the neat and "set apart for me some other work." olaf answered, "i wish you to go on with this same work of yours." the man said he would sooner go away. "then you think there is something wrong," said olaf. "i will go this evening with you when you do up the cattle, and if i think there is any excuse for you in this i will say nothing about it, but otherwise you will find that your lot will take some turn for the worse." olaf took his gold-set spear, the king's gift, in his hand, and left home, and with him the house-carle. there was some snow on the ground. they came to the fold, which was open, and olaf bade the house-carle go in. "i will drive up the cattle and you tie them up as they come in." the house-carle went to the fold-door. and all unawares olaf finds him leaping into his open arms. olaf asked why he went on so terrified? he replied, "hrapp stands in the doorway of the fold, and felt after me, but i have had my fill of wrestling with him." olaf went to the fold door and struck at him with his spear. hrapp took the socket of the spear in both hands and wrenched it aside, so that forthwith the spear shaft broke. olaf was about to run at hrapp but he disappeared there where he stood, and there they parted, olaf having the shaft and hrapp the spear-head. after that olaf and the house-carle tied up the cattle and went home. olaf saw the house-carle was not to blame for his grumbling. the next morning olaf went to where hrapp was buried and had him dug up. hrapp was found undecayed, and there olaf also found his spear-head. after that he had a pyre made and had hrapp burnt on it, and his ashes were flung out to sea. after that no one had any more trouble with hrapp's ghost. [footnote : _i.e._, in view of the fact stated above that olaf's flocks would always be gathering there.] chap. xxv about hoskuld's sons [sidenote: of thorliek hoskuldson] now hoskuld's sons shall be told about. thorliek, hoskuld's son, had been a great seafarer, and taken service with men in lordly station when he was on his merchant voyages before he settled down as a householder, and a man of mark he was thought to be. he had also been on viking raids, and given good account of himself by reason of his courage. bard, hoskuld's son, had also been a seafarer, and was well accounted of wherever he went, for he was the best of brave men and true, and a man of moderation in all things. bard married a broadfirth woman, named astrid, who came of a good stock. bard's son was named thorarin, and his daughter gudney, who married hall, the son of fight styr, and from them are descended many great families. hrut, herjolf's son, gave a thrall of his, named hrolf, his freedom, and with it a certain amount of money, and a dwelling-place where his land joined with hoskuld's. [sidenote: hrut's quarrel with thorliek] and it lay so near the landmark that hrut's people had made a mistake in the matter, and settled the freedman down on the land belonging to hoskuld. he soon gained there much wealth. hoskuld took it very much to heart that hrut should have placed his freedman right up against his ear, and bade the freedman pay him money for the lands he lived on "for it is mine own." the freedman went to hrut and told him all they had spoken together. hrut bade him give no heed, and pay no money to hoskuld. "for i do not know," he said, "to which of us the land belonged." so the freedman went home, and goes on with his household just as before. a little later, thorliek, hoskuld's son, went at the advice of his father to the dwelling of the freedman and took him and killed him, and thorliek claimed as his and his father's own all the money the freedman had made. hrut heard this, and he and his sons liked it very ill. they were most of them grown up, and the band of kinsmen was deemed a most forbidding one to grapple with. hrut fell back on the law as to how this ought to turn out, and when the matter was searched into by lawyers, hrut and his son stood at but little advantage, for it was held a matter of great weight that hrut had set the freedman down without leave on hoskuld's land, where he had made money, thorliek having slain the man within his and his father's own lands. hrut took his lot very much to heart; but things remained quiet. [sidenote: the birth of bolli] after that thorliek had a homestead built on the boundary of hrut and hoskuld's lands, and it was called combness. there thorliek lived for a while, as has been told before. thorliek begat a son of his wife. the boy was sprinkled with water and called bolli. he was at an early age a very promising man. chap. xxvi the death of hoskuld, a.d. [sidenote: hoskuld's death] hoskuld, koll o' dales' son, fell ill in his old age, and he sent for his sons and other kinsfolk, and when they were come hoskuld spoke to the brothers bard and thorliek, and said, "i have taken some sickness, and as i have not been much in the way of falling ill before, i think this may bring me to death; and now, as you know, you are both begotten in wedlock, and are entitled to all inheritance left by me. but there is a third son of mine, one who is not born in wedlock, and i will ask you brothers to allow him, olaf to wit, to be adopted, so that he take of my means one-third with you." bard answered first, and said that he would do as his father wished, "for i look for honour from olaf in every way, the more so the wealthier he becomes." then thorliek said, "it is far from my wish that olaf be adopted; he has plenty of money already; and you, father, have for a long time given him a great deal, and for a very long time dealt unevenly with us. i will not freely give up the honour to which i am born." hoskuld said, "surely you will not rob me of the law that allows me to give twelve ounces to my son, seeing how high-born olaf is on his mother's side." to this thorliek now agreed. then hoskuld took the gold ring, hakon's gift, that weighed a mark, and the sword, king's gift whereon was half a mark of gold, and gave them to olaf, his son, and therewith his good luck and that of the family, saying he did not speak in this way because he did not know well enough that the luck had already come to him. olaf took his gifts, and said he would risk how thorliek would like it. thorliek liked it very ill, and thought that hoskuld had behaved in a very underhand way to him. olaf said, "i shall not give up the gifts, thorliek, for you agreed to the gift in the face of witnesses; and i shall run the risk to keep it." bard said he would obey his father's wishes. [sidenote: the funeral feast postponed] after that hoskuld died, and his death was very much grieved for, in the first place by his sons, and next by all his relations and friends. his sons had a worthy cairn made for him; but little money was put into it with him. and when this was over, the brothers began to talk over the matter of preparing an "arvale" (burial feast) after their father, for at that time such was the custom. olaf said, "it seems to me that we should not be in a hurry about preparing this feast, if it is to be as noble as we should think right; now the autumn is very far worn, and the ingathering of means for it is no longer easy; most people who have to come a long way would find that a hard matter in the autumn days; so that it is certain that many would not come of the men we most should like to see. so i will now make the offer, next summer at the thing, to bid men to the feast, and i will bear one-third of the cost of the wassail." the brothers agreed to that, and olaf now went home. thorliek and bard now share the goods between them. bard had the estate and lands, which was what most men held to, as he was the most popular; but thorliek got for his share more of the chattels. olaf and bard got on well together, but olaf and thorliek rather snappishly. now the next winter passed, and summer comes, and time wears on towards the thing. the sons of hoskuld got ready to go to the thing. it was soon seen clearly enough how olaf took the lead of the brothers. when they got to the thing they set up three booths, and make themselves comfortable in a handsome manner. chap. xxvii the funeral feast for hoskuld [sidenote: olaf's invitation to the chiefs] it is told how one day when people went to the law rock olaf stood up and asked for a hearing, and told them first of the death of his father, "and there are now here many men, kinsmen and friends of his. it is the will of my brothers that i ask you to a funeral feast in memory of hoskuld our father. all you chieftains, for most of the mightier men are such, as were bound by alliances to him, i let it be known that no one of the greater men shall go away giftless. and herewith i bid all the farmers and any who will accept--rich or poor--to a half month's feast at hoskuldstead ten weeks before the winter." and when olaf finished his speech good cheer was made thereto, and his bidding was looked upon as a right lordly one. and when olaf came home to the booth he told his brothers what he had settled to do. the brothers were not much pleased, and thought that this was going in for far too much state. after the thing the brothers rode home and the summer now wears on. [sidenote: the funeral feast] then the brothers got ready for the feast, and olaf put forward unstintedly his third part, and the feast was furnished with the best of provisions. great stores were laid in for this feast, for it was expected many folk would come. and when the time came it is said that most of the chief men came that were asked. there were so many that most men say that there could not be far short of nine hundred ( ). this is the most crowded burial feast that has been in iceland, second to that which the sons of hialti gave at the funeral of their father, at which time there were guests. but this feast was of the bravest in every way, and the brothers got great honour therefrom, olaf being at the head of the affair throughout. olaf took even share with his brothers in the gifts; and gifts were bestowed on all the chiefs. when most of the men had gone away olaf went to have a talk with thorliek his brother, and said, "so it is, kinsman, as you know, that no love has been lost between us; now i would beg for a better understanding in our brotherhood. i know you did not like when i took the heirlooms my father gave me on his dying day. now if you think yourself wronged in this, i will do as much for gaining back your whole good-will as to give fostering to your son. for it is said that ever he is the lesser man who fosters another's child." thorliek took this in good part, and said, as was true, that this was honourably offered. and now olaf took home bolli, the son of thorliek, who at this time was three winters old. they parted now with the utmost affection, and bolli went home to herdholt with olaf. thorgerd received him well, and bolli grew up there and was loved no less than their own children. chap. xxviii the birth of kjartan, olaf's son, a.d. [sidenote: birth of kjartan] olaf and thorgerd had a son, and the boy was sprinkled with water and a name was given him, olaf letting him be called kjartan after myrkjartan his mother's father. bolli and kjartan were much of an age. olaf and thorgerd had still more children; three sons were called steinthor and halldor and helgi, and hoskuld was the name of the youngest of olaf's sons. the daughters of olaf and his wife were named bergthora, thorgerd, and thorbjorg. all their children were of goodly promise as they grew up. at that time holmgang bersi lived in saurby at an abode called tongue. he comes to see olaf and asked for halldor his son to foster. olaf agreed to this and halldor went home with him, being then one winter old. that summer bersi fell ill, and lay in bed for a great part of the summer. [sidenote: bersi and halldor] it is told how one day, when all the men were out haymaking at tongue and only they two, bersi and halldor, were left in the house, halldor lay in his cradle and the cradle fell over under the boy and he fell out of it on to the floor, and bersi could not get to him. then bersi said this ditty: here we both lie in helpless plight, halldor and i, have no power left us; old age afflicts me, youth afflicts you, you will get better but i shall get worse. later on people came in and picked halldor up off the floor, and bersi got better. halldor was brought up there, and was a tall man and doughty looking. kjartan, olaf's son, grew up at home at herdholt. he was of all men the goodliest of those who have been born in iceland. he was striking of countenance and fair of feature, he had the finest eyes of any man, and was light of hue. he had a great deal of hair as fair as silk, falling in curls; he was a big man, and strong, taking after his mother's father egil, or his uncle thorolf. kjartan was better proportioned than any man, so that all wondered who saw him. he was better skilled at arms than most men; he was a deft craftsman, and the best swimmer of all men. in all deeds of strength he was far before others, more gentle than any other man, and so engaging that every child loved him; he was light of heart, and free with his money. olaf loved kjartan best of all his children. bolli, his foster-brother, was a great man, he came next to kjartan in all deeds of strength and prowess; he was strong, and fair of face and courteous, and most warrior-like, and a great dandy. the foster-brothers were very fond of each other. olaf now remained quietly in his home, and for a good many years. chap. xxix olaf's second journey to norway, a.d. [sidenote: olaf's meeting with giermund] it is told how one spring olaf broke the news to thorgerd that he wished to go out voyaging--"and i wish you to look after our household and children." thorgerd said she did not much care about doing that; but olaf said he would have his way. he bought a ship that stood up in the west, at vadill. olaf started during the summer, and brought his ship to hordaland. there, a short way inland, lived a man whose name was giermund roar, a mighty man and wealthy, and a great viking; he was an evil man to deal with, but had now settled down in quiet at home, and was of the bodyguard of earl hakon. the mighty giermund went down to his ship and soon recognised olaf, for he had heard him spoken of before. giermund bade olaf come and stay with him, with as many of his men as he liked to bring. olaf accepted his invitation, and went there with seven men. the crew of olaf went into lodgings about hordaland. giermund entertained olaf well. his house was a lofty one, and there were many men there, and plenty of amusement all the winter. [sidenote: hakon earl gives olaf timber] and towards the end of the winter olaf told giermund the reason of his voyage, which was that he wished to get for himself some house-timber, and said he set great store by obtaining timber of a choice kind. giermund said, "earl hakon has the best of woods, and i know quite well if you went to see him you would be made welcome to them, for the earl receives well, men who are not half so well-bred as you, olaf, when they go to see him." in the spring olaf got ready to go and find hakon earl; and the earl gave him exceeding good welcome, and bade olaf stay with him as long as he liked. olaf told the earl the reason of his journey, "and i beg this of you, sir, that you give us permission to cut wood for house-building from your forests." the earl answered, "you are welcome to load your ship with timber, and i will give it you. for i think it no every-day occurrence when such men as you come from iceland to visit me." at parting the earl gave him a gold-inlaid axe, and the best of keepsakes it was; and therewith they parted in the greatest friendship. [sidenote: giermund goes with olaf] giermund in the meantime set stewards over his estates secretly, and made up his mind to go to iceland in the summer in olaf's ship. he kept this secret from every one. olaf knew nothing about it till giermund brought his money to olaf's ship, and very great wealth it was. olaf said, "you should not have gone in my ship if i had known of this before-hand, for i think there are those in iceland for whom it would be better never to have seen you. but since you have come with so much goods, i cannot drive you out like a straying cur." giermund said, "i shall not return for all your high words, for i mean to be your passenger." olaf and his got on board, and put out to sea. they had a good voyage and made broadfirth, and they put out their gangways and landed at salmon-river-mouth. olaf had the wood taken out of his ship, and the ship put up in the shed his father had made. olaf then asked giermund to come and stay with him. that summer olaf had a fire-hall built at herdholt, a greater and better than had ever been seen before. noble legends were painted on its wainscoting and in the roof, and this was so well done that the hall was thought even more beautiful when the hangings were not up. giermund did not meddle with every-day matters, but was uncouth to most people. he was usually dressed in this way--he wore a scarlet kirtle below and a grey cloak outside, and a bearskin cap on his head, and a sword in his hand. this was a great weapon and good, with a hilt of walrus tooth, with no silver on it; the brand was sharp, and no rust would stay thereon. this sword he called footbiter, and he never let it out of his hands. [sidenote: giermund's marriage] giermund had not been there long before he fell in love with thured, olaf's daughter, and proposed to olaf for her hand; but he gave him a straight refusal. then giermund gave some money to thorgerd with a view to gaining the match. she took the money, for it was offered unstintedly. then thorgerd broached the matter to olaf, and said she thought their daughter could not be better married, "for he is a very brave man, wealthy and high-mettled." then olaf answered, "i will not go against you in this any more than in other things, though i would sooner marry thured to some one else." thorgerd went away and thought her business had sped well, and now told giermund the upshot of it. he thanked her for her help and her determination, and giermund broached the wooing a second time to olaf, and now won the day easily. after that giermund and thured were betrothed, and the wedding was to be held at the end of the winter at herdholt. the wedding feast was a very crowded one, for the new hall was finished. ulf uggason was of the bidden guests, and he had made a poem on olaf hoskuldson and of the legends that were painted round the hall, and he gave it forth at the feast. this poem is called the "house song," and is well made. olaf rewarded him well for the poem. olaf gave great gifts to all the chief men who came. olaf was considered to have gained in renown by this feast. chap. xxx about giermund and thured, a.d. [sidenote: giermund leaves iceland] giermund and thured did not get on very well together, and little love was lost between them on either side. when giermund had stayed with olaf three winters he wished to go away, and gave out that thured and his daughter groa should remain behind. this little maid was by then a year old, and giermund would not leave behind any money for them. this the mother and daughter liked very ill, and told olaf so. olaf said, "what is the matter now, thorgerd? is the eastman now not so bounteous as he was that autumn when he asked for the alliance?" they could get olaf to do nothing, for he was an easygoing man, and said the girl should remain until she wished to go, or knew how in some way to shift for herself. at parting olaf gave giermund the merchant ship all fitted out. giermund thanked him well therefor, and said it was a noble gift. then he got on board his ship, and sailed out of the salmon-river-mouth by a north-east breeze, which dropped as they came out to the islands. he now lies by oxe-isle half a month without a fair wind rising for a start. [sidenote: thured follows giermund] at that time olaf had to leave home to look after his foreshore drifts. then thured, his daughter, called to his house-carles, and bade them come with her. she had the maid groa with her, and they were a party of ten together. she lets run out into the water a ferry-boat that belonged to olaf, and thured bade them sail and row down along hvamfirth, and when they came out to the islands she bade them put out the cock-boat that was in the ferry. thured got into the boat with two men, and bade the others take care of the ship she left behind until she returned. she took the little maid in her arms, and bade the men row across the current until they should reach the ship (of giermund). she took a gimlet out of the boat's locker, and gave it to one of her companions, and bade him go to the cockle-boat belonging to the merchant ship and bore a hole in it so as to disable it if they needed it in a hurry. then she had herself put ashore with the little maid still in her arms. this was at the hour of sunrise. she went across the gangway into the ship, where all men were asleep. she went to the hammock where giermund slept. his sword footbiter hung on a peg pole. thured now sets the little maid in the hammock, and snatched off footbiter and took it with her. then she left the ship and rejoined her companions. now the little maid began to cry, and with that giermund woke up and recognised the child, and thought he knew who must be at the bottom of this. he springs up wanting to seize his sword, and misses it, as was to be expected, and then went to the gunwale, and saw that they were rowing away from the ship. [sidenote: thured's revenge] giermund called to his men, and bade them leap into the cockle-boat and row after them. they did so, but when they got a little way they found how the coal-blue sea poured into them, so they went back to the ship. then giermund called thured and bade her come back and give him his sword footbiter, "and take your little maid, and with her as much money as you like." thured answered, "would you rather than not have the sword back?" giermund answered, "i would give a great deal of money before i should care to let my sword go." thured answered, "then you shall never have it again, for you have in many ways behaved cowardly towards me, and here we shall part for good." then giermund said, "little luck will you get with the sword." thured said she would take the risk of that. "then i lay thereon this spell," said giermund, "that this sword shall do to death the man in your family in who would be the greatest loss, and in a manner most ill-fated." after that thured went home to herdholt. olaf had then come home, and showed his displeasure at her deed, yet all was quiet. thured gave bolli, her cousin, the sword footbiter, for she loved him in no way less than her brothers. bolli bore that sword for a long time after. after this giermund got a favourable wind, and sailed out to sea, and came to norway in the autumn. they sailed one night on to some hidden rocks before stade, and then giermund and all his crew perished. and that is the end of all there is to tell about giermund. chap. xxxi thured's second marriage, a.d. [sidenote: gudmund marries thured] olaf hoskuldson now stayed at home in much honour, as has been told before. there was a man named gudmund, who was the son of solmund, and lived at asbjornness north in willowdale. he wooed thured, and got her and a great deal of wealth with her. thured was a wise woman, high-tempered and most stirring. their sons were called hall and bard and stein and steingrim. gudrun and olof were their daughters. thorbjorg, olaf's daughter, was of women the most beautiful and stout of build. she was called thorbjorg the stout, and was married west in waterfirth to asgier, the son of knott. he was a noble man. their son was kjartan, father of thorvald, the father of thord, the father of snorri, the father of thorvald, from whom is sprung the waterfirth race. afterwards, vermund, the son of thorgrim, had thorbjorg for wife. their daughter was thorfinna, whom thorstein kuggason had for wife. bergthora, olaf's daughter, was married west in deepfirth to thorhall the priest. [sidenote: harri the ox] their son was kjartan, father of smith-sturla, the foster son of thord gilson. olaf peacock had many costly cattle. he had one very good ox named harri; it was dapple-grey of coat, and bigger than any other of his cattle. it had four horns, two great and fair ones, the third stood straight up, and a fourth stood out of its forehead, stretching down below its eyes. it was with this that he opened the ice in winter to get water. he scraped snow away to get at pasture like a horse. one very hard winter he went from herdholt into the broadfirth-dales to a place that is now called harristead. there he roamed through the winter with sixteen other cattle, and got grazing for them all. in the spring he returned to the home pastures, to the place now called harris'-lair in herdholt land. when harri was eighteen winters old his ice-breaking horn fell off, and that same autumn olaf had him killed. the next night olaf dreamed that a woman came to him, and she was great and wrathful to look at. she spoke and said, "are you asleep?" he said he was awake. the woman said, "you are asleep, though it comes to the same thing as if you were awake. you have had my son slain, and let him come to my hand in a shapeless plight, and for this deed you shall see your son, blood-stained all over through my doing, and him i shall choose thereto whom i know you would like to lose least of all." after that she disappeared, and olaf woke up and still thought he saw the features of the woman. olaf took the dream very much to heart, and told it to his friends, but no one could read it to his liking. he thought those spoke best about this matter who said that what had appeared to him was only a dream or fancy. chap. xxxii of osvif helgeson [sidenote: osvif and his family] osvif was the name of a man. he was the son of helgi, who was the son of ottar, the son of bjorn the eastman, who was the son of ketill flatnose, the son of bjorn buna. the mother of osvif was named nidbiorg. her mother was kadlin, the daughter of ganging-hrolf, the son of ox-thorir, who was a most renowned "hersir" (war-lord) east in wick. why he was so called, was that he owned three islands with eighty oxen on each. he gave one island and its oxen to hakon the king, and his gift was much talked about. osvif was a great sage. he lived at laugar in salingsdale. the homestead of laugar stands on the northern side of salingsdale-river, over against tongue. the name of his wife was thordis, daughter of thjodolf the low. ospak was the name of one of their sons. [sidenote: osvif's household] another was named helgi, and a third vandrad, and a fourth jorrad, and a fifth thorolf. they were all doughty men for fighting. gudrun was the name of their daughter. she was the goodliest of women who grew up in iceland, both as to looks and wits. gudrun was such a woman of state that at that time whatever other women wore in the way of finery of dress was looked upon as children's gewgaws beside hers. she was the most cunning and the fairest spoken of all women, and an open-handed woman withal. there was a woman living with osvif who was named thorhalla, and was called the chatterer. she was some sort of relation to osvif. she had two sons, one named odd and the other stein. they were muscular men, and in a great measure the hardest toilers for osvif's household. they were talkative like their mother, but ill liked by people; yet were upheld greatly by the sons of osvif. at tongue there lived a man named thorarin, son of thorir sæling (the voluptuous). he was a well-off yeoman, a big man and strong. he had very good land, but less of live stock. osvif wished to buy some of his land from him, for he had lack of land but a multitude of live stock. so this then came about that osvif bought of the land of thorarin all the tract from gnupaskard along both sides of the valley to stack-gill, and very good and fattening land it was. he had on it an out-dairy. osvif had at all times a great many servants, and his way of living was most noble. west in saurby is a place called hol, there lived three kinsmen-in-law--thorkell the whelp and knut, who were brothers, they were very well-born men, and their brother-in-law, who shared their household with them, who was named thord. he was, after his mother, called ingun's-son. the father of thord was glum gierison. thord was a handsome and valiant man, well knit, and a great man of law-suits. thord had for wife the sister of thorkell and knut, who was called aud, neither a goodly nor a bucksome woman. thord loved her little, as he had chiefly married her for her money, for there a great wealth was stored together, and the household flourished from the time that thord came to have hand in it with them. chap. xxxiii of gest oddleifson and gudrun's dreams gest oddleifson lived west at bardastrand, at hagi. he was a great chieftain and a sage; was fore-seeing in many things and in good friendship with all the great men, and many came to him for counsel. he rode every summer to the thing, and always would put up at hol. one time it so happened once more that gest rode to the thing and was a guest at hol. [sidenote: meeting of gudrun and gest] he got ready to leave early in the morning, for the journey was a long one and he meant to get to thickshaw in the evening to armod, his brother-in-law's, who had for wife thorunn, a sister of gest's. their sons were ornolf and haldor. gest rode all that day from saurby and came to the sælingsdale spring, and tarried there for a while. gudrun came to the spring and greeted her relative, gest, warmly. gest gave her a good welcome, and they began to talk together, both being wise and of ready speech. [sidenote: gudrun's dreams] and as the day was wearing on, gudrun said, "i wish, cousin, you would ride home with us with all your followers, for it is the wish of my father, though he gave me the honour of bearing the message, and told me to say that he would wish you to come and stay with us every time you rode to or from the west." gest received the message well, and thought it a very manly offer, but said he must ride on now as he had purposed. gudrun said, "i have dreamt many dreams this winter; but four of the dreams do trouble my mind much, and no man has been able to explain them as i like, and yet i ask not for any favourable interpretation of them." gest said, "tell me your dreams, it may be that i can make something of them." gudrun said, "i thought i stood out of doors by a certain brook, and i had a crooked coif on my head, and i thought it misfitted me, and i wished to alter the coif, and many people told me i should not do so, but i did not listen to them, and i tore the hood from my head, and cast it into the brook, and that was the end of that dream." then gudrun said again, "this is the next dream. i thought i stood near some water, and i thought there was a silver ring on my arm. i thought it was my own, and that it fitted me exceeding well. i thought it was a most precious thing, and long i wished to keep it. but when i was least aware of it, the ring slipped off my arm and into the water, and nothing more did i see of it afterwards. i felt this loss much more than it was likely i should ever feel the loss of a mere keepsake. then i awoke." gest answered this alone: "no lesser a dream is that one." gudrun still spoke: "this is the third dream, i thought i had a gold ring on my hand, which i thought belonged to me, and i thought my loss was now made good again. and the thought entered my mind that i would keep this ring longer than the first; but it did not seem to me that this keepsake suited me better than the former at anything like the rate that gold is more precious than silver. then i thought i fell, and tried to steady myself with my hand, but then the gold ring struck on a certain stone and broke in two, and the two pieces bled. what i had to bear after this felt more like grief than regret for a loss. and it struck me now that there must have been some flaw in the ring, and when i looked at the pieces i thought i saw sundry more flaws in them; yet i had a feeling that if i had taken better care of it, it might still have been whole; and this dream was no longer." gest said, "the dreams are not waning." then said gudrun, "this is my fourth dream. i thought i had a helm of gold upon my head, set with many precious stones. and i thought this precious thing belonged to me, but what i chiefly found fault with was that it was rather too heavy, and i could scarcely bear it, so that i carried my head on one side; yet i did not blame the helm for this, nor had i any mind to part with it. yet the helm tumbled from my head out into hvammfirth, and after that i awoke. now i have told you all my dreams." [sidenote: gest's reading of the dreams] gest answered, "i clearly see what these dreams betoken; but you will find my unravelling savouring much of sameness, for i must read them all nearly in the same way. you will have four husbands, and it misdoubts me when you are married to the first it will be no love match. inasmuch as you thought you had a great coif on your head and thought it ill-fitting, that shows you will love him but little. and whereas you took it off your head and cast it into the water, that shows that you will leave him. for that, men say, is 'cast on to the sea,' when a man loses what is his own, and gets nothing in return for it." and still gest spake: "your second dream was that you thought you had a silver ring on your arm, and that shows you will marry a nobleman whom you will love much, but enjoy him for but a short time, and i should not wonder if you lose him by drowning. that is all i have to tell of that dream. and in the third dream you thought you had a gold ring on your hand; that shows you will have a third husband; he will not excel the former at the rate that you deemed this metal more rare and precious than silver; but my mind forebodes me that by that time a change of faith will have come about, and your husband will have taken the faith which we are minded to think is the more exalted. and whereas you thought the ring broke in two through some misheed of yours, and blood came from the two pieces, that shows that this husband of yours will be slain, and then you will think you see for the first time clearly all the flaws of that match." still gest went on to say: "this is your fourth dream, that you thought you had a helm on your head, of gold set with precious stones, and that it was a heavy one for you to bear. this shows you will have a fourth husband who will be the greatest nobleman (of the four), and will bear somewhat a helm of awe over you. and whereas you thought it tumbled out into hvammfirth, it shows that that same firth will be in his way on the last day of his life. and now i go no further with this dream." gudrun sat with her cheeks blood red whilst the dreams were unravelled, but said not a word till gest came to the end of his speech. [sidenote: gest and gudrun part] then said gudrun, "you would have fairer prophecies in this matter if my delivery of it into your hands had warranted; have my thanks all the same for unravelling the dreams. but it is a fearful thing to think of, if all this is to come to pass as you say." gudrun then begged gest would stay there the day out, and said that he and osvif would have many wise things to say between them. he answered, "i must ride on now as i have made up my mind. but bring your father my greeting and tell him also these my words, that the day will come when there will be a shorter distance between osvif's and my dwellings, and then we may talk at ease, if then we are allowed to converse together." then gudrun went home and gest rode away. [sidenote: gest visits olaf] gest met a servant of olaf's by the home-field fence, who invited gest to herdholt, at the bidding of olaf. gest said he would go and see olaf during the day, but would stay (the night) at thickshaw. the servant returned home and told olaf so. olaf had his horse brought and rode with several men out to meet gest. he and gest met up at lea-river. olaf greeted him well and asked him in with all his followers. gest thanked him for the invitation, and said he would ride up to the homestead and have a look and see how he was housed, but he must stay with armod. gest tarried but a little while, yet he saw over the homestead and admired it and said, "no money has been spared for this place." olaf rode away with gest to the salmon-river. the foster-brothers had been swimming there during the day, and at this sport the sons of olaf mostly took the lead. there were many other young men from the other houses swimming too. kjartan and bolli leapt out of the water as the company rode down and were nearly dressed when olaf and gest came up to them. gest looked at these young men for a while, and told olaf where kjartan was sitting as well as bolli, and then gest pointed his spear shaft to each one of olaf's sons and named by name all of them that were there. but there were many other handsome young men there who had just left off swimming and sat on the river-bank with kjartan and bolli. gest said he did not discover the family features of olaf in any of these young men. then said olaf: "never is there too much said about your wits, gest, knowing, as you do, men you have never seen before. now i wish you to tell me which of those young men will be the mightiest man." [sidenote: gest's prophecy] gest replied, "that will fall out much in keeping with your own love, for kjartan will be the most highly accounted of so long as he lives." then gest smote his horse and rode away. a little while after thord the low rode up to his side, and said, "what has now come to pass, father, that you are shedding tears?" gest answered, "it is needless to tell it, yet i am loath to keep silence on matters that will happen in your own days. to me it will not come unawares if bolli one day should _have_ at his feet the head of kjartan slain, and should by the deed bring about his own death, and this is an ill thing to know of such sterling men." then they rode on to the thing, and it was an uneventful meeting. chap. xxxiv gudrun's first marriage, a.d. thorvald was the name of a man, son of haldor garpdale's priest. he lived at garpsdale in gilsfirth, a wealthy man, but not much of a hero. at the thing he wooed gudrun, osvif's daughter, when she was fifteen years old. [sidenote: gudrun marries thorvald] the matter was not taken up in a very adverse manner, yet osvif said that against the match it would tell, that he and gudrun were not of equal standing. thorvald spoke gently, and said he was wooing a wife, not money. after that gudrun was betrothed to thorvald, and osvif settled alone the marriage contract, whereby it was provided that gudrun should alone manage their money affairs straightway when they came into one bed, and be entitled to one-half thereof as her own, whether their married life were long or short. he should also buy her jewels, so that no woman of equal wealth should have better to show. yet he should retain his farm-stock unimpaired by such purchases. and now men ride home from the thing. gudrun was not asked about it, and took it much to heart; yet things went on quietly. the wedding was at garpsdale, in twinmonth (latter part of august to the latter part of september). gudrun loved thorvald but little, and was extravagant in buying finery. there was no jewel so costly in all the west-firths that gudrun did not deem it fitting that it should be hers, and rewarded thorvald with anger if he did not buy it for her, however dear it might be. [sidenote: her friendship with thord] thord, ingun's son, made himself very friendly with thorvald and gudrun, and stayed with them for long times together, and there was much talk of the love of thord and gudrun for each other. once upon a time gudrun bade thorvald buy a gift for her, and thorvald said she showed no moderation in her demands, and gave her a box on the ear. then said gudrun, "now you have given me that which we women set great store by having to perfection--a fine colour in the cheeks--and thereby have also taught me how to leave off importuning you." that same evening thord came there. gudrun told him about the shameful mishandling, and asked him how she should repay it. thord smiled, and said: "i know a very good counsel for this: make him a shirt with such a large neck-hole that you may have a good excuse for separating from him, because he has a low neck like a woman." gudrun said nothing against this, and they dropped their talk. that same spring gudrun separated herself from thorvald, and she went home to laugar. after that the money was divided between gudrun and thorvald, and she had half of all the wealth, which now was even greater than before (her marriage). they had lived two winters together. that same spring ingun sold her land in crookfirth, the estate which was afterwards called ingunstead, and went west to skalmness. glum gierison had formerly had her for wife, as has been before written. at that time hallstein the priest lived at hallsteinness, on the west side of codfirth. he was a mighty man, but middling well off as regards friends. chap. xxxv gudrun's second marriage, a.d. [sidenote: kotkell the wizard] kotkell was the name of a man who had only come to iceland a short time before, grima was the name of his wife. their sons were hallbjorn whetstone-eye, and stigandi. these people were natives of sodor. they were all wizards and the greatest of enchanters. hallstein godi took them in and settled them down at urdir in skalm-firth, and their dwelling there was none of the best liked. that summer gest went to the thing and went in a ship to saurby as he was wont. he stayed as guest at hol in saurby. the brothers-in-law found him in horses as was their former wont. thord ingunson was amongst the followers of gest on this journey and came to laugar in salingsdale. gudrun osvif's daughter rode to the thing, and thord ingunson rode with her. it happened one day as they were riding over blueshaw-heath, the weather being fine, that gudrun said, "is it true, thord, that your wife aud always goes about in breeches with gores in the seat, winding swathings round her legs almost to her feet?" thord said, "he had not noticed that." "well, then, there must be but little in the tale," said gudrun, "if you have not found it out, but for what then is she called breeches aud?" thord said, "i think she has been called so for but a short time." gudrun answered, "what is of more moment to her is that she bear the name for a long time hereafter." after that people arrived at the thing and no tidings befell there. thord spent much time in gest's booth and always talked to gudrun. [sidenote: thord separates from aud] one day thord ingunson asked gudrun what the penalty was for a woman who went about always in breeches like men. gudrun replied, "she deserves the same penalty as a man who is dressed in a shirt with so low a neck that his naked breast be seen--separation in either case." then thord said, "would you advise me to proclaim my separation from aud here at the thing or in the country by the counsel of many men? for i have to deal with high-tempered men who will count themselves as ill-treated in this affair." gudrun answered after a while, "for evening waits the idler's suit." then thord sprang up and went to the law rock and named to him witnesses, declared his separation from aud, and gave as his reason that she made for herself gored breeches like a man. aud's brothers disliked this very much, but things kept quiet. then thord rode away from the thing with the sons of osvif. when aud heard these tidings, she said, "good! well, that i know that i am left thus single." then thord rode, to divide the money, west into saurby and twelve men with him, and it all went off easily, for thord made no difficulties as to how the money was divided. [sidenote: thord marries gudrun] thord drove from the west unto laugar a great deal of live stock. after that he wooed gudrun and that matter was easily settled; osvif and gudrun said nothing against it. the wedding was to take place in the tenth week of the summer, and that was a right noble feast. thord and gudrun lived happily together. what alone withheld thorkell whelp and knut from setting afoot a lawsuit against thord ingunson was, that they got no backing up to that end. the next summer the men of hol had an out-dairy business in hvammdale, and aud stayed at the dairy. the men of laugar had their out-dairy in lambdale, which cuts westward into the mountains off salingsdale. aud asked the man who looked after the sheep how often he met the shepherd from laugar. he said nearly always as was likely since there was only a neck of land between the two dairies. then said aud, "you shall meet the shepherd from laugar to-day, and you can tell me who there are staying at the winter-dwelling[ ] or who at the dairy, and speak in a friendly way of thord as it behoves you to do." the boy promised to do as she told him. and in the evening when the shepherd came home aud asked what tidings he brought. the shepherd answered, "i have heard tidings which you will think good, that now there is a broad bedroom-floor between the beds of thord and gudrun, for she is at the dairy and he is swinging at the rear of the hall, he and osvif being two together alone at the winter-dwelling." "you have espied well," said she, "and see to have saddled two horses at the time when people are going to bed." the shepherd did as she bade him. [sidenote: aud's revenge] a little before sunset aud mounted, and was now indeed in breeches. the shepherd rode the other horse and could hardly keep up with her, so hard did she push on riding. she rode south over salingsdale-heath and never stopped before she got to the home-field fence at laugar. then she dismounted, and bade the shepherd look after the horses whilst she went to the house. aud went to the door and found it open, and she went into the fire-hall to the locked-bed in the wall. thord lay asleep, the door had fallen to, but the bolt was not on, so she walked into the bedroom. thord lay asleep on his back. then aud woke thord, and he turned on his side when he saw a man had come in. then she drew a sword and thrust it at thord and gave him great wounds, the sword striking his right arm and wounding him on both nipples. so hard did she follow up the stroke that the sword stuck in the bolster. then aud went away and to her horse and leapt on to its back, and thereupon rode home. thord tried to spring up when he got the blow, but could not, because of his loss of blood. then osvif awoke and asked what had happened, and thord told that he had been wounded somewhat. osvif asked if he knew who had done the deed on him, and got up and bound up his wounds. thord said he was minded to think that aud had done it. osvif offered to ride after her, and said she must have gone on this errand with few men, and her penalty was ready-made for her. thord said that should not be done at all, for she had only done what she ought to have done. aud got home at sunrise, and her brothers asked her where she had been to. aud said she had been to laugar, and told them what tidings had befallen in her journey. they were pleased at this, and said that too little was likely to have been done by her. thord lay wounded a long time. his chest wound healed well, but his arm grew no better for work than before (_i.e._ when it first was wounded). all was now quiet that winter. [sidenote: ingun changes her dwelling] but in the following spring ingun, thord's mother, came west from skalmness. thord greeted her warmly: she said she wished to place herself under his protection, and said that kotkell and his wife and sons were giving her much trouble by stealing her goods, and through witchcraft, but had a strong support in hallstein the priest. thord took this matter up swiftly, and said he should have the right of these thieves no matter how it might displease hallstein. he got speedily ready for the journey with ten men, and ingun went west with him. [sidenote: the drowning of thord] he got a ferry-boat out of tjaldness. then they went to skalmness. thord had put on board ship all the chattels his mother owned there, and the cattle were to be driven round the heads of the firths. there were twelve of them altogether in the boat, with ingun and another woman. thord and ten men went to kotkell's place. the sons of kotkell were not at home. he then summoned kotkell and grima and their sons for theft and witchcraft, and claimed outlawry as award. he laid the case to the althing, and then returned to his ship. hallbjorn and stigandi came home when thord had got out but a little way from land, and kotkell told his sons what had happened there. the brothers were furious at that, and said that hitherto people had taken care not to show them in so barefaced a manner such open enmity. then kotkell had a great spell-working scaffold made, and they all went up on to it, and they sang hard twisted songs that were enchantments. and presently a great tempest arose. thord, ingun's son, and his companions, continued out at sea as he was, soon knew that the storm was raised against him. now the ship is driven west beyond skalmness, and thord showed great courage with seamanship. the men who were on land saw how he threw overboard all that made up the boat's lading, saving the men; and the people who were on land expected thord would come to shore, for they had passed the place that was the rockiest; but next there arose a breaker on a rock a little way from the shore that no man had ever known to break sea before, and smote the ship so that forthwith up turned keel uppermost. there thord and all his followers were drowned, and the ship was broken to pieces, and the keel was washed up at a place now called keelisle. thord's shield was washed up on an island that has since been called shieldisle. thord's body and the bodies of his followers were all washed ashore, and a great howe was raised over their corpses at the place now called howesness. [footnote : _i.e._, at home at laugar.] chap. xxxvi about kotkell and grima [sidenote: the birth of thord cat] these tidings spread far and wide, and were very ill-spoken of; they were accounted of as men of doomed lives, who wrought such witchcraft as that which kotkell and his had now shown. gudrun took the death of thord sorely to heart, for she was now a woman not hale, and coming close to her time. after that gudrun gave birth to a boy, who was sprinkled with water and called thord. at that time snorri the priest lived at holyfell; he was a kinsman and a friend of osvif's, and gudrun and her people trusted him very much. snorri went thither (to laugar), being asked to a feast there. then gudrun told her trouble to snorri, and he said he would back up their case when it seemed good to him, but offered to gudrun to foster her child to comfort her. this gudrun agreed to, and said she would rely on his foresight. this thord was surnamed the cat, and was father of the poet stúf. after that gest oddleifson went to see hallstein, and gave him choice of two things, either that he should send away these wizards or he said that he would kill them, "and yet it comes too late." hallstein made his choice at once, and bade them rather be off, and put up nowhere west of daleheath, adding that it was more justly they ought to be slain. [sidenote: kotkell's horses] after that kotkell and his went away with no other goods than four stud-horses. the stallion was black; he was both great and fair and very strong, and tried in horse-fighting. nothing is told of their journey till they came to combeness, to thorliek, hoskuld's son. he asked to buy the horses from them, for he said that they were exceeding fine beasts. kotkell replied, "i'll give you the choice. take you the horses and give me some place to dwell in here in your neighbourhood." thorliek said, "will the horses not be rather dear, then, for i have heard tell you are thought rather guilty in this countryside?" kotkell answers, "in this you are hinting at the men of laugar." thorliek said that was true. then kotkell said, "matters point quite another way, as concerning our guilt towards gudrun and her brothers, than you have been told; people have overwhelmed us with slander for no cause at all. take the horses, nor let these matters stand in the way. such tales alone are told of you, moreover, as would show that we shall not be easily tripped up by the folk of this countryside, if we have your help to fall back upon." [sidenote: thorliek shelters kotkell] thorliek now changed his mind in this matter, for the horses seemed fair to him, and kotkell pleaded his case cunningly; so thorliek took the horses, and gave them a dwelling at ludolfstead in salmon-river-dale, and stocked them with farming beasts. this the men of laugar heard, and the sons of osvif wished to fall forthwith on kotkell and his sons; but osvif said, "let us take now the counsel of priest snorri, and leave this business to others, for short time will pass before the neighbours of kotkell will have brand new cases against him and his, and thorliek, as is most fitting, will abide the greatest hurt from them. in a short while many will become his enemies from whom heretofore he has only had good will. but i shall not stop you from doing whatever hurt you please to kotkell and his, if other men do not come forward to drive them out of the countryside or to take their lives, by the time that three winters have worn away." gudrun and her brothers said it should be as he said. kotkell and his did not do much in working for their livelihood, but that winter they were in no need to buy hay or food; but an unbefriended neighbourhood was theirs, though men did not see their way to disturbing their dwelling because of thorliek. chap. xxxvii about hrut and eldgrim, a.d. one summer at the thing, as thorliek was sitting in his booth, a very big man walked into the booth. [sidenote: eldgrim of burgfirth] he greeted thorliek, who took well the greeting of this man and asked his name and whence he was. he said he was called eldgrim, and lived in burgfirth at a place called eldgrimstead--but that abode lies in the valley which cuts westward into the mountains between mull and pigtongue, and is now called grimsdale. thorliek said, "i have heard you spoken of as being no small man." eldgrim said, "my errand here is that i want to buy from you the stud-horses, those valuable ones that kotkell gave you last summer." thorliek answered, "the horses are not for sale." eldgrim said, "i will offer you equally many stud-horses for them and some other things thrown in, and many would say that i offer you twice as much as the horses are worth." thorliek said, "i am no haggler, but these horses you will never have, not even though you offer three times their worth." eldgrim said, "i take it to be no lie that you are proud and self-willed, and i should, indeed, like to see you getting a somewhat less handsome price for them than i have now offered you, and that you should have to let the horses go none the less." thorliek got angered at these words, and said, "you need, eldgrim, to come to closer quarters if you mean to frighten out me the horses." eldgrim said, "you think it unlikely that you will be beaten by me, but this summer i shall go and see the horses, and we will see which of us will own them after that." thorliek said, "do as you like, but bring up no odds against me." then they dropped their talk. the man who heard this said that for this sort of dealing together here were two just fitting matches for each other. after that people went home from the thing, and nothing happened to tell tidings of. [sidenote: hrut meets with eldgrim] it happened one morning early that a man looked out at hrutstead at goodman hrut's, herjolf's son's, and when he came in hrut asked what news he brought. he said he had no other tidings to tell save that he saw a man riding from beyond vadlar towards where thorliek's horses were, and that the man got off his horse and took the horses. hrut asked where the horses were then, and the house-carle replied, "oh, they have stuck well to their pasture, for they stood as usual in your meadows down below the fence-wall." hrut replied, "verily, thorliek, my kinsman, is not particular as to where he grazes his beasts; and i still think it more likely that it is not by his order that the horses are driven away." then hrut sprang up in his shirt and linen breeches, and cast over him a grey cloak and took in his hand his gold inlaid halberd that king harald had given him. he went out quickly and saw where a man was riding after horses down below the wall. hrut went to meet him, and saw that it was eldgrim driving the horses. hrut greeted him, and eldgrim returned his greeting, but rather slowly. [sidenote: hrut takes thorliek's part] hrut asked him why he was driving the horses. eldgrim replied, "i will not hide it from you, though i know what kinship there is between you and thorliek; but i tell you i have come after these horses, meaning that he shall never have them again. i have also kept what i promised him at the thing, that i have not gone after the horses with any great company." hrut said, "that is no deed of fame to you to take away the horses while thorliek lies in his bed and sleeps; you would keep best what you agreed upon if you go and meet himself before you drive the horses out of the countryside." eldgrim said, "go and warn thorliek if you wish, for you may see i have prepared myself in such a manner as that i should like it well if we were to meet together, i and thorliek," and therewith he brandished the barbed spear he had in his hand. he had also a helmet on his head, and a sword girded on his side, and a shield on his flank, and had on a chain coat. hrut said, "i think i must seek for something else than to go to combeness for i am heavy of foot; but i mean not to allow thorliek to be robbed if i have means thereto, no matter how little love there may go with our kinship." eldgrim said, "and do you mean to take the horses away from me?" hrut said, "i will give you other stud-horses if you will let these alone, though they may not be quite so good as these are." eldgrim said, "you speak most kindly, hrut, but since i have got hold of thorliek's horses you will not pluck them out of my hands either by bribes or threats." [sidenote: he kills eldgrim] hrut replied, "then i think you are making for both of us the choice that answers the worst." eldgrim now wanted to part, and gave the whip to his horse, and when hrut saw that, he raised up his halberd and struck eldgrim through the back between the shoulders so that the coat of mail was torn open and the halberd flew out through the chest, and eldgrim fell dead off his horse, as was only natural. after that hrut covered up his body at the place called eldgrim's-holt south of combeness. then hrut rode over to combeness and told thorliek the tidings. thorliek burst into a rage, and thought a great shame had been done him by this deed, while hrut thought he had shown him great friendship thereby. thorliek said that not only had he done this for an evil purpose, but that, moreover, no good would come in return for it. hrut said that thorliek must do what pleased him, and so they parted in no loving kindness. hrut was eighty years old when he killed eldgrim, and he was considered by that deed to have added much to his fame. thorliek thought that hrut was none the worthier of any good from him for being more renowned for this deed, for he held it was perfectly clear he would have himself have got the better of eldgrim if they had had a trial of arms between them, seeing how little was needed to trip eldgrim up. [sidenote: kotkell's enchantments] thorliek now went to see his tenants kotkell and grima, and bade them do something to the shame of hrut. they took this up gladly, and said they were quite ready to do so. thorliek now went home. a little later they, kotkell and grima and their sons, started on a journey from home, and that was by night. they went to hrut's dwelling, and made great incantations there, and when the spell-working began, those within were at a loss to make out what could be the reason of it; but sweet indeed was that singing they heard. hrut alone knew what these goings-on meant, and bade no man look out that night, "and let every one who may keep awake, and no harm will come to us if that counsel is followed." but all the people fell asleep. hrut watched longest, and at last he too slept. kari was the name of a son of hrut, and he was then twelve winters old. he was the most promising of all hrut's sons, and hrut loved him much. kari hardly slept at all, for to him the play was made; he did not sleep very soundly, and at last he got up and looked out, and walked in the direction of the enchantment, and fell down dead at once. hrut awoke in the morning, as also did his household, and missed his son, who was found dead a short way from the door. this hrut felt as the greatest bereavement, and had a cairn raised over kari. then he rode to olaf hoskuldson and told him the tidings of what had happened there. olaf was madly wroth at this, and said it showed great lack of forethought that they had allowed such scoundrels as kotkell and his family to live so near to him, and said that thorliek had shaped for himself an evil lot by dealing as he had done with hrut, but added that more must have been done than thorliek had ever could have wished. [sidenote: death of kotkell and grima] olaf said too that forthwith kotkell and his wife and sons must be slain, "late though it is now." olaf and hrut set out with fifteen men. but when kotkell and his family saw the company of men riding up to their dwelling, they took to their heels up to the mountain. there hallbjorn whetstone-eye was caught and a bag was drawn over his head, and while some men were left to guard him others went in pursuit of kotkell, grima, and stigandi up on the mountain. kotkell and grima were laid hands on on the neck of land between hawkdale and salmon-river-dale, and were stoned to death and a heap of stones thrown up over them, and the remains are still to be seen, being called scratch-beacon. stigandi took to his heels south over the neck towards hawkdale, and there got out of their sight. hrut and his sons went down to the sea with hallbjorn, and put out a boat and rowed out from land with him, and they took the bag off his head and tied a stone round his neck. hallbjorn set gloating glances on the land, and the manner of his look was nowise of the goodliest. then hallbjorn said, "it was no day of bliss when we, kinsfolk, came to this combeness and met with thorliek. and this spell i utter," says he, "that thorliek shall from henceforth have but few happy days, and that all who fill his place have a troublous life there." and this spell, men deem, has taken great effect. after that they drowned him, and rowed back to land. [sidenote: hrut's anger against thorliek] a little while afterwards hrut went to find olaf his kinsman, and told him that he would not leave matters with thorliek as they stood, and bade him furnish him with men to go and make a house-raid on thorliek. olaf replied, "it is not right that you two kinsmen should be laying hands on each other; on thorliek's behalf this has turned out a matter of most evil luck. i would sooner try and bring about peace between you, and you have often waited well and long for your good turn." hrut said, "it is no good casting about for this; the sores between us two will never heal up; and i should like that from henceforth we should not both live in salmon-river-dale." olaf replied, "it will not be easy for you to go further against thorliek than i am willing to allow; but if you do it, it is not unlikely that dale and hill will meet."[ ] hrut thought he now saw things stuck hard and fast before him; so he went home mightily ill pleased; but all was quiet or was called so. and for that year men kept quiet at home. [footnote : _i.e._, old age = hrut, and youthful power=olaf, the greatest "goði" in the countryside.] chap. xxxviii the death of stigandi. thorliek leaves iceland [sidenote: stigandi and the slave woman] now, to tell of stigandi, he became an outlaw and an evil to deal with. thord was the name of a man who lived at hundidale; he was a rich man, but had no manly greatness. a startling thing happened that summer in hundidale, in that the milking stock did not yield much milk, but a woman looked after the beast there. at last people found out that she grew wealthy in precious things, and that she would disappear long and often, and no one knew where she was. thord brought pressure to bear on her for confession, and when she got frightened she said a man was wont to come and meet her, "a big one," she said, "and in my eyes very handsome." thord then asked how soon the man would come again to meet her, and she said she thought it would be soon. after that thord went to see olaf, and told him that stigandi must be about, not far away from there, and bade him bestir himself with his men and catch him. olaf got ready at once and came to hundidale, and the bonds-woman was fetched for olaf to have talk of her. olaf asked her where the lair of stigandi was. she said she did not know. olaf offered to pay her money if she would bring stigandi within reach of him and his men; and on this they came to a bargain together. the next day she went out to herd her cattle, and stigandi comes that day to meet her. [sidenote: the death of stigandi] she greeted him well, and offers to look through (the hair of) his head. he laid his head down on her knee, and soon went to sleep. then she slunk away from under his head, and went to meet olaf and his men, and told them what had happened. then they went towards stigandi, and took counsel between them as to how it should not fare with him as his brother, that he should cast his glance on many things from which evil would befall them. they take now a bag, and draw it over his head. stigandi woke at that, and made no struggle, for now there were many men to one. the sack had a slit in it, and stigandi could see out through it the slope on the other side; there the lay of the land was fair, and it was covered with thick grass. but suddenly something like a whirlwind came on, and turned the sward topsy-turvy, so that the grass never grew there again. it is now called brenna. then they stoned stigandi to death, and there he was buried under a heap of stones. olaf kept his word to the bonds-woman, and gave her her freedom, and she went home to herdholt. hallbjorn whetstone-eye was washed up by the surf a short time after he was drowned. it was called knorstone where he was put in the earth, and his ghost walked about there a great deal. there was a man named thorkell skull who lived at thickshaw on his father's inheritance. he was a man of very dauntless heart and mighty of muscle. one evening a cow was missing at thickshaw, and thorkell and his house-carle went to look for it. it was after sunset, but was bright moonlight. thorkell said they must separate in their search, and when thorkell was alone he thought he saw the cow on a hill-rise in front of him, but when he came up to it he saw it was whetstone-eye and no cow. they fell upon each in mighty strength. hallbjorn kept on the defensive, and when thorkell least expected it he crept down into the earth out of his hands. after that thorkell went home. the house-carle had come home already, and had found the cow. no more harm befell ever again from hallbjorn. thorbjorn skrjup was dead by then, and so was melkorka, and they both lie in a cairn in salmon-river-dale. lambi, their son, kept house there after them. he was very warrior-like, and had a great deal of money. lambi was more thought of by people than his father had been, chiefly because of his mother's relations; and between him and olaf there was fond brotherhood. [sidenote: olaf and thorliek meet] now the winter next after the killing of kotkell passed away. in the spring the brothers olaf and thorliek met, and olaf asked if thorliek was minded to keep on his house. thorliek said he was. olaf said, "yet i would beg you, kinsman, to change your way of life, and go abroad; you will be thought an honourable man whereever you come; but as to hrut, our kinsman, i know he feels how your dealings with him come home to him. and it is little to my mind that the risk of your sitting so near to each other should be run any longer. for hrut has a strong run of luck to fall back upon, and his sons are but reckless bravos. on account of my kinship i feel i should be placed in a difficulty if you, my kinsman, should come to quarrel in full enmity." [sidenote: thorliek goes abroad] thorliek replied, "i am not afraid of not being able to hold myself straight in the face of hrut and his sons, and that is no reason why i should depart the country. but if you, brother, set much store by it, and feel yourself in a difficult position in this matter, then, for your words i will do this; for then i was best contented with my lot in life when i lived abroad. and i know you will not treat my son bolli any the worse for my being nowhere near; for of all men i love him the best." olaf said, "you have, indeed, taken an honourable course in this matter, if you do after my prayer; but as touching bolli, i am minded to do to him henceforth as i have done hitherto, and to be to him and hold him no worse than my own sons." after that the brothers parted in great affection. thorliek now sold his land, and spent his money on his journey abroad. he bought a ship that stood up in daymealness; and when he was full ready he stepped on board ship with his wife and household. that ship made a good voyage, and they made norway in the autumn. thence he went south to denmark, as he did not feel at home in norway, his kinsmen and friends there being either dead or driven out of the land. after that thorliek went to gautland. it is said by most men that thorliek had little to do with old age; yet he was held a man of great worth throughout life. and there we close the story of thorliek. chap. xxxix of kjartan's friendship for bolli [sidenote: osvif's counsel] at that time, as concerning the strife between hrut and thorliek, it was ever the greatest gossip throughout the broadfirth-dales how that hrut had had to abide a heavy lot at the hands of kotkell and his sons. then osvif spoke to gudrun and her brothers, and bade them call to mind whether they thought now it would have been the best counsel aforetime then and there to have plunged into the danger of dealing with such "hell-men" (terrible people) as kotkell and his were. then said gudrun, "he is not counsel-bereft, father, who has the help of thy counsel." olaf now abode at his manor in much honour, and all his sons are at home there, as was bolli, their kinsman and foster-brother. kjartan was foremost of all the sons of olaf. kjartan and bolli loved each other the most, and kjartan went nowhere that bolli did not follow. often kjartan would go to the sælingdale-spring, and mostly it happened that gudrun was at the spring too. kjartan liked talking to gudrun, for she was both a woman of wits and clever of speech. it was the talk of all folk that of all men who were growing up at the time kjartan was the most even match for gudrun. between olaf and osvif there was also great friendship, and often they would invite one another, and not the less frequently so when fondness was growing up between the young folk. [sidenote: olaf's forebodings] one day when olaf was talking to kjartan, he said: "i do not know why it is that i always take it to heart when you go to laugar and talk to gudrun. it is not because i do not consider gudrun the foremost of all other women, for she is the one among womenkind whom i look upon as a thoroughly suitable match for you. but it is my foreboding, though i will not prophesy it, that we, my kinsmen and i, and the men of laugar will not bring altogether good luck to bear on our dealings together." kjartan said he would do nothing against his father's will where he could help himself, but he hoped things would turn out better than he made a guess to. kjartan holds to his usual ways as to his visits (to laugar), and bolli always went with him, and so the next seasons passed. chap. xl kjartan and bolli voyage to norway, a.d. [sidenote: the family of asgeir] asgeir was the name of a man, he was called eider-drake. he lived at asgeir's-river, in willowdale; he was the son of audun skokul; he was the first of his kinsmen who came to iceland; he took to himself willowdale. another son of audun was named thorgrim hoaryhead; he was the father of asmund, the father of gretter. asgeir eider-drake had five children; one of his sons was called audun, father of asgeir, father of audun, father of egil, who had for wife ulfeid, the daughter of eyjolf the lame; their son was eyjolf, who was slain at the all thing. another of asgeir's sons was named thorvald; his daughter was wala, whom bishop isleef had for wife; their son was gizor, the bishop. a third son of asgeir was named kalf. all asgeir's sons were hopeful men. kalf asgeirson was at that time out travelling, and was accounted of as the worthiest of men. one of asgeir's daughters was named thured; she married thorkell kuggi, the son of thord yeller; their son was thorstein. another of asgeir's daughters was named hrefna; she was the fairest woman in those northern countrysides and very winsome. asgeir was a very mighty man. it is told how one time kjartan olafson went on a journey south to burgfirth. nothing is told of his journey before he got to burg. there at that time lived thorstein, egil's son, his mother's brother. bolli was with him, for the foster-brothers loved each other so dearly that neither thought he could enjoy himself if they were not together. thorstein received kjartan with loving kindness, and said he should be glad for his staying there a long rather than a short time. so kjartan stayed awhile at burg. [sidenote: kjartan arranges to leave iceland] that summer there was a ship standing up in steam-river-mouth, and this ship belonged to kalf asgeirson, who had been staying through the winter with thorstein, egil's son. kjartan told thorstein in secret that his chief errand to the south then was, that he wished to buy the half of kalf's ship, "for i have set my mind on going abroad," and he asked thorstein what sort of a man he thought kalf was. thorstein said he thought he was a good man and true. "i can easily understand," said thorstein, "that you wish to see other men's ways of life, and your journey will be remarkable in one way or another, and your kinsfolk will be very anxious as to how the journey may speed for you." kjartan said it would speed well enough. after that kjartan bought a half share in kalf's ship, and they made up half-shares partnership between them; kjartan was to come on board when ten weeks of summer had passed. kjartan was seen off with gifts on leaving burg, and he and bolli then rode home. when olaf heard of this arrangement he said he thought kjartan had made up his mind rather suddenly, but added that he would not foreclose the matter. a little later kjartan rode to laugar to tell gudrun of his proposed journey abroad. gudrun said, "you have decided this very suddenly, kjartan," and she let fall sundry words about this, from which kjartan got to understand that gudrun was displeased with it. kjartan said, "do not let this displease you. i will do something else that shall please you." gudrun said, "be then a man of your word, for i shall speedily let you know what i want." kjartan bade her do so. [sidenote: kjartan goes to norway] gudrun said, "then, i wish to go out with you this summer; if that comes off, you would have made amends to me for this hasty resolve, for i do not care for iceland." kjartan said, "that cannot be, your brothers are unsettled yet, and your father is old, and they would be bereft of all care if you went out of the land; so you wait for me three winters." gudrun said she would promise nothing as to that matter, and each was at variance with the other, and therewith they parted. kjartan rode home. olaf rode to the thing that summer, and kjartan rode with his father from the west out of herdholt, and they parted at north-river-dale. from thence kjartan rode to his ship, and his kinsman bolli went along with him. there were ten icelanders altogether who went with kjartan on this journey, and none would part with him for the sake of the love they bore him. so with this following kjartan went to the ship, and kalf asgeirson greeted them warmly. kjartan and bolli took a great many goods with them abroad. they now got ready to start, and when the wind blew they sailed out along burgfirth with a light and good breeze, and then out to sea. they had a good journey, and got to norway to the northwards and came into thrandhome, and fell in with men there and asked for tidings. they were told that change of lords over the land had befallen, in that earl hakon had fallen and king olaf tryggvason had come in, and all norway had fallen under his power. king olaf was ordering a change of faith in norway, and the people took to it most unequally. kjartan and his companions took their craft up to nidaross. at that time many icelanders had come to norway who were men of high degree. there lay beside the landing-stage three ships, all owned by icelanders. one of the ships belonged to brand the bounteous, son of vermund thorgrimson. and another ship belonged to hallfred the trouble-bard. the third ship belonged to two brothers, one named bjarni, and the other thorhall; they were sons of broad-river-skeggi, out of fleetlithe in the east. all these men had wanted to go west to iceland that summer, but the king had forbidden all these ships to sail because the icelanders would not take the new faith that he was preaching. all the icelanders greeted kjartan warmly, but especially brand, as they had known each other already before. the icelanders now took counsel together and came to an agreement among themselves that they would refuse this faith that the king preached, and all the men previously named bound themselves together to do this. kjartan and his companions brought their ship up to the landing-stage and unloaded it and disposed of their goods. [sidenote: the swimming in the river nid] king olaf was then in the town. he heard of the coming of the ship and that men of great account were on board. it happened one fair-weather day in the autumn that the men went out of the town to swim in the river nid. kjartan and his friends saw this. then kjartan said to his companions that they should also go and disport themselves that day. they did so. there was one man who was by much the best at this sport. [sidenote: kjartan and the townsman] kjartan asked bolli if he felt willing to try swimming against the townsman. bolli answered, "i don't think i am a match for him." "i cannot think where your courage can now have got to," said kjartan, "so i shall go and try." bolli replied, "that you may do if you like." kjartan then plunges into the river and up to this man who was the best swimmer and drags him forthwith under and keeps him down for awhile, and then lets him go up again. and when they had been up for a long while, this man suddenly clutches kjartan and drags him under; and they keep down for such a time as kjartan thought quite long enough, when up they come a second time. not a word had either to say to the other. the third time they went down together, and now they keep under for much the longest time, and kjartan now misdoubted him how this play would end, and thought he had never before found himself in such a tight place; but at last they come up and strike out for the bank. then said the townsman, "who is this man?" kjartan told him his name. the townsman said, "you are very deft at swimming. are you as good at other deeds of prowess as at this?" kjartan answered rather coldly, "it was said when i was in iceland that the others kept pace with this one. but now this one is not worth much." the townsman replied, "it makes some odds with whom you have had to do. but why do you not ask me anything?" kjartan replied, "i do not want to know your name." [sidenote: kjartan and king olaf] the townsman answered, "you are not only a stalwart man, but you bear yourself very proudly as well, but none the less you shall know my name, and with whom you have been having a swimming match. here is olaf the king, the son of tryggvi." kjartan answered nothing, but turned away forthwith without his cloak. he had on a kirtle of red scarlet. the king was then well-nigh dressed; he called to kjartan and bade him not go away so soon. kjartan turned back, but rather slowly. the king then took a very good cloak off his shoulders and gave it to kjartan, saying he should not go back cloakless to his companions. kjartan thanked the king for the gift, and went to his own men and showed them the cloak. his men were nowise pleased as this, for they thought kjartan had got too much into the king's power; but matters went on quietly. the weather set in very hard that autumn, and there was a great deal of frost, the season being cold. the heathen men said it was not to be wondered at that the weather should be so bad; "it is all because of the newfangled ways of the king and this new faith that the gods are angry." the icelanders kept all together in the town during the winter, and kjartan took mostly the lead among them. [sidenote: kjartan discusses the christian faith] on the weather taking a turn for the better, many people came to the town at the summons of king olaf. many people had become christians in thrandhome, yet there were a great many more who withstood the king. one day the king had a meeting out at eyrar, and preached the new faith to men--a long harangue and telling. the people of thrandhome had a whole host of men, and in turn offered battle to the king. the king said they must know that he had had greater things to cope with than fighting there with churls out of thrandhome. then the good men lost heart and gave the whole case into the king's power, and many people were baptized then and there. after that, the meeting came to an end. that same evening the king sent men to the lodgings of the icelanders, and bade them get sure knowledge of what they were saying. they did so. they heard much noise within. then kjartan began to speak, and said to bolli, "how far are you willing, kinsman, to take this new faith the king preaches?" "i certainly am not willing thereto," said bolli, "for their faith seems to me to be most feeble." kjartan said, "did ye not think the king was holding out threats against those who should be unwilling to submit to his will?" bolli answered, "it certainly seemed to me that he spoke out very clearly that they would have to take exceeding hard treatment at his hands." "i will be forced under no one's thumb," said kjartan, "while i have power to stand up and wield my weapons. i think it most unmanly, too, to be taken like a lamb in a fold or a fox in a trap. i think that is a better thing to choose, if a man must die in any case, to do first some such deed as shall be held aloft for a long time afterwards." bolli said, "what will you do?" "i will not hide it from you," [sidenote: kjartan's resolve] kjartan replied; "i will burn the king in his hall." "there is nothing cowardly in that," said bolli; "but this is not likely to come to pass, as far as i can see. the king, i take it, is one of great good luck and his guardian spirit mighty, and, besides, he has a faithful guard watching both day and night." kjartan said that what most men failed in was daring, however valiant they might otherwise be. bolli said it was not so certain who would have to be taunted for want of courage in the end. but here many men joined in, saying this was but an idle talk. [sidenote: king olaf and the icelanders] now when the king's spies had overheard this, they went away and told the king all that had been said. the next morning the king wished to hold a meeting, and summoned all the icelanders to it; and when the meeting was opened the king stood up and thanked men for coming, all those who were his friends and had taken the new faith. then he called to him for a parley the icelanders. the king asked them if they would be baptized, but they gave little reply to that. the king said they were making for themselves the choice that would answer the worst. "but, by the way, who of you thought it the best thing to do to burn me in my hall?" then kjartan answered, "you no doubt think that he who did say it would not have the pluck to confess it; but here you can see him." [sidenote: the king's preaching] "i can indeed see you," said the king, "man of no small counsels, but it is not fated for you to stand over my head, done to death by you; and you have done quite enough that you should be prevented making a vow to burn more kings in their houses yet, for the reason of being taught better things than you know and because i do not know whether your heart was in your speech, and that you have bravely acknowledged it, i will not take your life. it may also be that you follow the faith the better the more outspoken you are against it; and i can also see this, that on the day you let yourself be baptized of your own free will, several ships' crews will on that day also take the faith. and i think it likely to happen that your relations and friends will give much heed to what you speak to them when you return to iceland. and it is in my mind that you, kjartan, will have a better faith when you return from norway than you had when you came hither. go now in peace and safety wheresoever you like from the meeting. for the time being you shall not be tormented into christianity, for god says that he wills that no one shall come to him unwillingly." good cheer was made at the king's speech, though mostly from the christian men; but the heathen left it to kjartan to answer as he liked. kjartan said, "we thank you, king, that you grant safe peace unto us, and the way whereby you may most surely draw us to take the faith is, on the one hand, to forgive us great offences, and on the other to speak in this kindly manner on all matters, in spite of your this day having us and all our concerns in your power even as it pleases you. now, as for myself, i shall receive the faith in norway on that understanding alone that i shall give some little worship to thor the next winter when i get back to iceland." then the king said and smiled, "it may be seen from the mien of kjartan that he puts more trust in his own weapons and strength than in thor and odin." then the meeting was broken up. after a while many men egged the king on to force kjartan and his followers to receive the faith, and thought it unwise to have so many heathen men near about him. the king answered wrathfully, and said he thought there were many christians who were not nearly so well-behaved as was kjartan or his company either, "and for such one would have long to wait." the king caused many profitable things to be done that winter; he had a church built and the market-town greatly enlarged. this church was finished at christmas. then kjartan said they should go so near the church that they might see the ceremonies of this faith the christians followed; and many fell in, saying that would be right good pastime. kjartan with his following and bolli went to the church; in that train was also hallfred and many other icelanders. the king preached the faith before the people, and spoke both long and tellingly, and the christians made good cheer at his speech. [sidenote: kjartan's determination] and when kjartan and his company went back to their chambers, a great deal of talk arose as to how they had liked the looks of the king at this time, which christians accounted of as the next greatest festival. "for the king said, so that we might hear, that this night was born the lord, in whom we are now to believe, if we do as the king bids us." kjartan says: "so greatly was i taken with the looks of the king when i saw him for the first time, that i knew at once that he was a man of the highest excellence, and that feeling has kept steadfast ever since, when i have seen him at folk-meetings, and that but by much the best, however, i liked the looks of him to-day; and i cannot help thinking that the turn of our concerns hangs altogether on our believing him to be the true god in whom the king bids us to believe, and the king cannot by any means be more eager in wishing that i take this faith than i am to let myself be baptized. the only thing that puts off my going straightway to see the king now is that the day is far spent, and the king, i take it, is now at table; but that day will be delayed, on which we, companions, will let ourselves all be baptized." bolli took to this kindly, and bade kjartan alone look to their affairs. the king had heard of the talk between kjartan and his people before the tables were cleared away, for he had his spies in every chamber of the heathens. the king was very glad at this, and said, "in kjartan has come true the saw: 'high tides best for happy signs.'" [sidenote: kjartan and his men become christians] and the first thing the next morning early, when the king went to church, kjartan met him in the street with a great company of men. kjartan greeted the king with great cheerfulness, and said he had a pressing errand with him. the king took his greeting well, and said he had had a thoroughly clear news as to what his errand must be, "and that matter will be easily settled by you." kjartan begged they should not delay fetching the water, and said that a great deal would be needed. the king answered and smiled. "yes, kjartan," says he, "on this matter i do not think your eager-mindedness would part us, not even if you put the price higher still." after that kjartan and bolli were baptized and all their crew, and a multitude of other men as well. this was on the second day of yule before holy service. after that the king invited kjartan to his yule feast with bolli his kinsman. it is the tale of most men that kjartan on the day he laid aside his white baptismal-robes became a liegeman of the king's, he and bolli both. hallfred was not baptized that day, for he made it a point that the king himself should be his godfather, so the king put it off till the next day. kjartan and bolli stayed with olaf the king the rest of the winter. [sidenote: kalf wishes to leave norway] the king held kjartan before all other men for the sake of his race and manly prowess, and it is by all people said that kjartan was so winsome that he had not a single enemy within the court. every one said that there had never before come from iceland such a man as kjartan. bolli was also one of the most stalwart of men, and was held in high esteem by all good men. the winter now passes away, and, as spring came on, men got ready for their journeys, each as he had a mind to. chap. xli bolli returns to iceland, a.d. kalf asgeirson went to see kjartan and asks what he was minded to do that summer. kjartan said, "i have been thinking chiefly that we had better take our ship to england, where there is a good market for christian men. but first i will go and see the king before i settle this, for he did not seem pleased at my going on this journey when we talked about it in the spring." then kalf went away and kjartan went to speak to the king, greeting him courteously. the king received him most kindly, and asked what he and his companion (kalf) had been talking about. [sidenote: kjartan stays in norway] kjartan told what they had mostly in mind to do, but said that his errand to the king was to beg leave to go on this journey. "as to that matter, i will give you your choice, kjartan. either you will go to iceland this summer, and bring men to christianity by force or by expedients; but if you think this too difficult a journey, i will not let you go away on any account, for you are much better suited to serve noble men than to turn here into a chapman." kjartan chose rather to stay with the king than to go to iceland and preach the faith to them there, and said he could not be contending by force against his own kindred. "moreover, it would be more likely that my father and other chiefs, who are near kinsmen of mine, would go against thy will with all the less stubbornness the better beholden i am under your power." the king said, "this is chosen both wisely and as beseems a great man." the king gave kjartan a whole set of new clothes, all cut out of scarlet cloth, and they suited him well; for people said that king olaf and kjartan were of an even height when they went under measure. king olaf sent the court priest, named thangbrand, to iceland. he brought his ship to swanfirth, and stayed with side-hall all the winter at wash-river, and set forth the faith to people both with fair words and harsh punishments. thangbrand slew two men who went most against him. hall received the faith in the spring, and was baptized on the saturday before easter, with all his household; then gizor the white let himself be baptized, so did hjalti skeggjason and many other chiefs, though there were many more who spoke against it; and then dealings between heathen men and christians became scarcely free of danger. [sidenote: thangbrand returns from iceland] sundry chiefs even took counsel together to slay thangbrand, as well as such men who should stand up for him. because of this turmoil thangbrand ran away to norway, and came to meet king olaf, and told him the tidings of what had befallen in his journey, and said he thought christianity would never thrive in iceland. the king was very wroth at this, and said that many icelanders would rue the day unless they came round to him. that summer hjalti skeggjason was made an outlaw at the thing for blaspheming the gods. runolf ulfson, who lived in dale, under isles'-fells, the greatest of chieftains, upheld the lawsuit against him. that summer gizor left iceland and hjalti with him, and they came to norway, and went forthwith to find king olaf. the king gave them a good welcome, and said they had taken a wise counsel; he bade them stay with him, and that offer they took with thanks. sverling, son of runolf of dale, had been in norway that winter, and was bound for iceland in the summer. his ship was floating beside the landing stage all ready, only waiting for a wind. the king forbade him to go away, and said that no ships should go to iceland that summer. sverling went to the king and pleaded his case, and begged leave to go, and said it mattered a great deal to him, that they should not have to unship their cargo again. the king spake, and then he was wroth: "it is well for the son of a sacrificer to be where he likes it worst." so sverling went no whither. that winter nothing to tell of befell. the next summer the king sent gizor and hjalti skeggjason to iceland to preach the faith anew, and kept four men back as hostages kjartan olafson, halldor, the son of gudmund the mighty, kolbein, son of thord the priest of frey, and sverling, son of runolf of dale. [sidenote: of ingibjorg the king's sister] bolli made up his mind to journey with gizor and hjalti, and went to kjartan, his kinsman, and said, "i am now ready to depart; i should wait for you through the next winter, if next summer you were more free to go away than you are now. but i cannot help thinking that the king will on no account let you go free. i also take it to be the truth that you yourself call to mind but few of the things that afford pastime in iceland when you sit talking to ingibjorg, the king's sister." she was at the court of king olaf, and the most beautiful of all the women who were at that time in the land. kjartan said, "do not say such things, but bear my greeting to both my kinsfolk and friends." chap. xlii bolli makes love to gudrun, a.d. after that kjartan and bolli parted, and gizor and hjalti sailed from norway and had a good journey, and came to the westmen's isles at the time the althing was sitting, and went from thence to the mainland, and had there meetings and parleys with their kinsmen. [sidenote: bolli goes to laugar] thereupon they went to the althing and preached the faith to the people in an harangue both long and telling, and then all men in iceland received the faith. bolli rode from the thing to herdholt in fellowship with his uncle olaf, who received him with much loving-kindness. bolli rode to laugar to disport himself after he had been at home for a short time, and a good welcome he had there. gudrun asked very carefully about his journey and then about kjartan. bolli answered right readily all gudrun asked, and said there were no tidings to tell of his journey. "but as to what concerns kjartan there are, in truth, the most excellent news to be told of his ways of life, for he is in the king's bodyguard, and is there taken before every other man; but i should not wonder if he did not care to have much to do with this country for the next few winters to come." [sidenote: he talks with gudrun] gudrun then asked if there was any other reason for it than the friendship between kjartan and the king. bolli then tells what sort of way people were talking about the friendship of kjartan with ingibjorg the king's sister, and said he could not help thinking the king would sooner marry ingibjorg to kjartan than let him go away if the choice lay between the two things. gudrun said these were good tidings, "but kjartan would be fairly matched only if he got a good wife." then she let the talk drop all of a sudden and went away and was very red in the face; but other people doubted if she really thought these tidings as good as she gave out she thought they were. bolli remained at home in herdholt all that summer, and had gained much honour from his journey; all his kinsfolk and acquaintances set great store by his valiant bearing; he had, moreover, brought home with him a great deal of wealth. he would often go over to laugar and while away time talking to gudrun. one day bolli asked gudrun what she would answer if he were to ask her in marriage. gudrun replied at once, "no need for you to bespeak such a thing, bolli, for i cannot marry any man whilst i know kjartan to be still alive." bolli answered, "i think then you will have to abide husbandless for sundry winters if you are to wait for kjartan; he might have chosen to give me some message concerning the matter if he set his heart at all greatly on it." sundry words they gave and took, each at variance with the other. then bolli rode home. chap. xliii kjartan comes back to iceland, a.d. a little after this bolli talked to his uncle olaf, and said, "it has come to this, uncle, that i have it in mind to settle down and marry, for i am now grown up to man's estate. in this matter i should like to have the assistance of your words and your backing-up, for most of the men hereabouts are such as will set much store by your words." olaf replied, "such is the case with most women, i am minded to think, that they would be fully well matched in you for a husband. and i take it you have not broached this matter without first having made up your mind as to where you mean to come down." [sidenote: bolli proposes to gudrun] bolli said, "i shall not go beyond this countryside to woo myself a wife whilst there is such an goodly match so near at hand. my will is to woo gudrun, osvif's daughter, for she is now the most renowned of women." olaf answered, "ah, that is just a matter with which i will have nothing to do. to you it is in no way less well known, bolli, than to me, what talk there was of the love between kjartan and gudrun; but if you have set your heart very much on this, i will put no hindrance in the way if you and osvif settle the matter between you. but have you said anything to gudrun about it?" bolli said that he had once hinted at it, but that she had not given much heed to it, "but i think, however, that osvif will have most to say in the matter." olaf said bolli could go about the business as it pleased himself. not very long after bolli rode from home with olaf's sons, halldor and steinthor; there were twelve of them together. they rode to laugar, and osvif and his sons gave them a good welcome. [sidenote: he is accepted] bolli said he wished to speak to osvif, and he set forth his wooing, and asked for the hand of gudrun, his daughter. osvif answered in this wise, "as you know, bolli, gudrun is a widow, and has herself to answer for her, but, as for myself, i shall urge this on." osvif now went to see gudrun, and told her that bolli thorliekson had come there, "and has asked you in marriage; it is for you now to give the answer to this matter. and herein i may speedily make known my own will, which is, that bolli will not be turned away if my counsel shall avail." gudrun answered, "you make a swift work of looking into this matter; bolli himself once bespoke it before me, and i rather warded it off, and the same is still uppermost in my mind." osvif said, "many a man will tell you that this is spoken more in overweening pride than in wise forethought if you refuse such a man as is bolli. but as long as i am alive, i shall look out for you, my children, in all affairs which i know better how to see through things than you do." and as osvif took such a strong view of the matter, gudrun, as far as she was concerned, would not give an utter refusal, yet was most unwilling on all points. the sons of osvif's urged the matter on eagerly, seeing what great avail an alliance with bolli would be to them; so the long and short of the matter was that the betrothal took place then and there, and the wedding was to be held at the time of the winter nights.[ ] thereupon bolli rode home and told this settlement to olaf, who did not hide his displeasure thereat. [sidenote: the wedding] bolli stayed on at home till he was to go to the wedding. he asked his uncle to it, but olaf accepted it nowise quickly, though, at last, he yielded to the prayers of bolli. it was a noble feast this at laugar. bolli stayed there the winter after. there was not much love between gudrun and bolli so far as she was concerned. when the summer came, and ships began to go and come between iceland and norway, the tidings spread to norway that iceland was all christian. king olaf was very glad at that, and gave leave to go to iceland unto all those men whom he had kept as hostages, and to fare whenever they liked. kjartan answered, for he took the lead of all those who had been hostages, "have great thanks, lord king, and this will be the choice we take, to go and see iceland this summer." then king olaf said, "i must not take back my word, kjartan, yet my order pointed rather to other men than to yourself, for in my view you, kjartan, have been more of a friend than a hostage through your stay here. my wish would be, that you should not set your heart on going to iceland though you have noble relations there; for, i take it, you could choose for yourself such a station in life in norway, the like of which would not be found in iceland." then kjartan answered, "may our lord reward you, sire, for all the honours you have bestowed on me since i came into your power, but i am still in hopes that you will give leave to me, no less than to the others you have kept back for a while." the king said so it should be, but avowed that it would be hard for him to get in his place any untitled man such as kjartan was. [sidenote: kjartan prepares to leave norway] that winter kalf asgeirson had been in norway and had brought, the autumn before, west-away from england, the ship and merchandise he and kjartan had owned. and when kjartan had got leave for his journey to iceland kalf and he set themselves to get the ship ready. and when the ship was all ready kjartan went to see ingibjorg, the king's sister. she gave him a cheery welcome, and made room for him to sit beside her, and they fell a-talking together, and kjartan tells ingibjorg that he has arranged his journey to iceland. then ingibjorg said, "i am minded to think, kjartan, that you have done this of your own wilfulness rather than because you have been urged by men to go away from norway and to iceland." but thenceforth words between them were drowned in silence. amidst this ingibjorg turns to a "mead-cask" that stood near her, and takes out of it a white coif inwoven with gold and gives it to kjartan, saying, that it was far too good for gudrun osvif's daughter to fold it round her head, yet "you will give her the coif as a bridal gift, for i wish the wives of the icelanders to see as much as that she with whom you have had your talks in norway comes of no thrall's blood." it was in a pocket of costly stuff, and was altogether a most precious thing. "now i shall not go to see you off," said ingibjorg. "fare you well, and hail!" after that kjartan stood up and embraced ingibjorg, and people told it as a true story that they took it sorely to heart being parted. [sidenote: the gifts] and now kjartan went away and unto the king, and told the king he now was ready for his journey. then the king led kjartan to his ship and many men with him, and when they came to where the ship was floating with one of its gangways to land, the king said, "here is a sword, kjartan, that you shall take from me at our parting; let this weapon be always with you, for my mind tells me you will never be a 'weapon-bitten' man if you bear this sword." it was a most noble keepsake, and much ornamented. kjartan thanked the king with fair words for all the honour and advancement he had bestowed on him while he had been in norway. then the king spoke, "this i will bid you, kjartan, that you keep your faith well." after that they parted, the king and kjartan in dear friendship, and kjartan stepped on board his ship. the king looked after him and said, "great is the worth of kjartan and his kindred, but to cope with their fate is not an easy matter." [footnote : winter nights (vetrnætr), the two last days of autumn and the first day of winter.] chap. xliv kjartan comes home, a.d. now kjartan and kalf set sail for the main. they had a good wind, and were only a short time out at sea. they hove into white-river, in burgfirth. the tidings spread far and wide of the coming of kjartan. [sidenote: olaf goes to greet kjartan] when olaf, his father, and his other kinsfolk heard of it they were greatly rejoiced. olaf rode at once from the west out of the dales and south to burgfirth, and there was a very joyful meeting between father and son. olaf asked kjartan to go and stay with him, with as many of his men as he liked to bring. kjartan took that well, and said that there only of all places in iceland he meant to abide. olaf now rides home to herdholt, and kjartan remained with his ship during the summer. he now heard of the marriage of gudrun, but did not trouble himself at all over it; but that had heretofore been a matter of anxiety to many. gudmund, solmund's son, kjartan's brother-in-law, and thurid, his sister, came to his ship, and kjartan gave them a cheery welcome. [sidenote: hrefna and the coif] asgeir eider-drake came to the ship too to meet his son kalf, and journeying with him was hrefna his daughter, the fairest of women. kjartan bade his sister thurid have such of his wares as she liked, and the same kalf said to hrefna. kalf now unlocked a great chest and bade them go and have a look at it. that day a gale sprang up, and kjartan and kalf had to go out to moor their ship, and when that was done they went home to the booths. kalf was the first to enter the booth, where thurid and hrefna had turned out most of the things in the chest. just then hrefna snatched up the coif and unfolded it, and they had much to say as to how precious a thing it was. then hrefna said she would coif herself with it, and thurid said she had better, and hrefna did so. when kalf saw that he gave her to understand that she had done amiss, and bade her take it off at her swiftest. "for that is the one thing that we, kjartan and i, do not own in common." and as he said this kjartan came into the booth. he had heard their talk, and fell in at once and told them there was nothing amiss. so hrefna sat still with the head-dress on. kjartan looked at her heedfully and said, "i think the coif becomes you very well, hrefna," says he, "and i think it fits the best that both together, coif and maiden, be mine." then hrefna answered, "most people take it that you are in no hurry to marry, and also that the woman you woo, you will be sure to get for wife." kjartan said it would not matter much whom he married, but he would not stand being kept long a waiting wooer by any woman. "now i see that this gear suits you well, and it suits well that you become my wife." hrefna now took off the head-dress and gave it to kjartan, who put it away in a safe place. gudmund and thurid asked kjartan to come north to them for a friendly stay some time that winter, and kjartan promised the journey. kalf asgeirson betook himself north with his father. kjartan and he now divided their partnership, and that went off altogether in good-nature and friendship. [sidenote: kjartan goes to herdholt] kjartan also rode from his ship westward to the dales, and they were twelve of them together. kjartan now came home to herdholt, and was joyfully received by everybody. kjartan had his goods taken to the west from the ship during the autumn. the twelve men who rode with kjartan stayed at herdholt all the winter. olaf and osvif kept to the same wont of asking each other to their house, which was that each should go to the other every other autumn. that autumn the wassail was to be at laugar, and olaf and all the herdholtings were to go thither. gudrun now spoke to bolli, and said she did not think he had told her the truth in all things about the coming back of kjartan. bolli said he had told the truth about it as best he knew it. gudrun spoke little on this matter, but it could be easily seen that she was very displeased, and most people would have it that she still was pining for kjartan, although she tried to hide it. now time glides on till the autumn feast was to be held at laugar. olaf got ready and bade kjartan come with him. kjartan said he would stay at home and look after the household. olaf bade him not to show that he was angry with his kinsmen. "call this to mind, kjartan, that you have loved no man so much as your foster-brother bolli, and it is my wish that you should come, for things will soon settle themselves between you, kinsmen, if you meet each other." [sidenote: they ride to laugar] kjartan did as his father bade him. he took the scarlet clothes that king olaf had given him at parting, and dressed himself gaily; he girded his sword, the king's gift, on; and he had a gilt helm on his head, and on his side a red shield with the holy cross painted on it in gold; he had in his hand a spear, with the socket inlaid with gold. all his men were gaily dressed. there were in all between twenty and thirty men of them. they now rode out of herdholt and went on till they came to laugar. there were a great many men gathered together already. chap. xlv kjartan marries hrefna, a.d. bolli, together with the sons of osvif, went out to meet olaf and his company, and gave them a cheery welcome. bolli went to kjartan and kissed him, and kjartan took his greeting. after that they were seen into the house, bolli was of the merriest towards them, and olaf responded to that most heartily, but kjartan was rather silent. the feast went off well. [sidenote: bolli's gift refused] now bolli had some stud-horses which were looked upon as the best of their kind. the stallion was great and goodly, and had never failed at fight; it was light of coat, with red ears and forelock. three mares went with it, of the same hue as the stallion. these horses bolli wished to give to kjartan, but kjartan said he was not a horsey man, and could not take the gift. olaf bade him take the horses, "for these are most noble gifts." kjartan gave a flat refusal. they parted after this nowise blithely, and the herdholtings went home, and all was quiet. kjartan was rather gloomy all the winter, and people could have but little talk of him. olaf thought this a great misfortune. that winter after yule kjartan got ready to leave home, and there were twelve of them together, bound for the countrysides of the north. they now rode on their way till they came to asbjornness, north in willowdale, and there kjartan was greeted with the greatest blitheness and cheerfulness. the housing there was of the noblest. hall, the son of gudmund, was about twenty winters old, and took much after the kindred of the men of salmon-river-dale; and it is all men's say, there was no more valiant-looking a man in all the north land. [sidenote: the games at asbjornness] hall greeted kjartan, his uncle, with the greatest blitheness. sports are now at once started at asbjornness, and men were gathered together from far and near throughout the countrysides, and people came from the west from midfirth and from waterness and waterdale all the way and from out of longdale, and there was a great gathering together. it was the talk of all folk how strikingly kjartan showed above other men. now the sports were set going, and hall took the lead. he asked kjartan to join in the play, "and i wish, kinsman, you would show your courtesy in this." kjartan said, "i have been training for sports but little of late, for there were other things to do with king olaf, but i will not refuse you this for once." so kjartan now got ready to play, and the strongest men there were chosen out to go against him. the game went on all day long, but no man had either strength or litheness of limb to cope with kjartan. and in the evening when the games were ended, hall stood up and said, "it is the wish and offer of my father concerning those men who have come from the farthest hither, that they all stay here over night and take up the pastime again to-morrow." at this message there was made a good cheer, and the offer deemed worthy of a great man. kalf asgeirson was there, and he and kjartan were dearly fond of each other. his sister hrefna was there also, and was dressed most showily. there were over a hundred (_i.e._ over ) men in the house that night. and the next day sides were divided for the games again. [sidenote: thurid's advice] kjartan sat by and looked on at the sports. thurid, his sister, went to talk to him, and said, "it is told me, brother, that you have been rather silent all the winter, and men say it must be because you are pining after gudrun, and set forth as a proof thereof that no fondness now is shown between you and bolli, such as through all time there had been between you. do now the good and befitting thing, and don't allow yourself to take this to heart, and grudge not your kinsman a good wife. to me it seems your best counsel to marry, as you bespoke it last summer, although the match be not altogether even for you, where hrefna is, for such a match you cannot find within this land. asgeir, her father, is a noble and a high-born man, and he does not lack wealth wherewith to make this match fairer still; moreover, another daughter of his is married to a mighty man. you have also told me yourself that kalf asgeirson is the doughtiest of men, and their way of life is of the stateliest. it is my wish that you go and talk to hrefna, and i ween you will find that there great wits and goodliness go together." kjartan took this matter up well, and said she had ably pleaded the case. after this kjartan and hrefna are brought together that they may have their talk by themselves, and they talked together all day. in the evening thurid asked kjartan how he liked the manner in which hrefna turned her speech. he was well pleased about it, and said he thought the woman was in all ways one of the noblest as far as he could see. the next morning men were sent to asgeir to ask him to asbjornness. [sidenote: kjartan marries hrefna] and now they had a parley between them on this affair, and kjartan wooed hrefna, asgeir's daughter. asgeir took up the matter with a good will, for he was a wise man, and saw what an honourable offer was made to them. kalf, too, urged the matter on very much, saying, "i will not let anything be spared (towards the dowry)." hrefna, in her turn, did not make unwilling answers, but bade her father follow his own counsel. so now the match was covenanted and settled before witnesses. kjartan would hear of nothing but that the wedding should be held at herdholt, and asgeir and kalf had nothing to say against it. the wedding was then settled to take place at herdholt when five weeks of summer had passed. after that kjartan rode home with great gifts. olaf was delighted at these tidings, for kjartan was much merrier than before he left home. kjartan kept fast through lent, following therein the example of no man in this land; and it is said he was the first man who ever kept fast in this land. men thought it so wonderful a thing that kjartan could live so long without meat, that people came over long ways to see him. in a like manner kjartan's other ways went beyond those of other men. now easter passed, and after that kjartan and olaf made ready a great feast. at the appointed time asgeir and kalf came from the north as well as gudmund and hall, and altogether there were sixty men. olaf and kjartan had already many men gathered together there. it was a most brave feast, and for a whole week the feasting went on. [sidenote: the coif] kjartan made hrefna a bridal gift of the rich head-dress, and a most famous gift was that; for no one was there so knowing or so rich as ever to have seen or possessed such a treasure, for it is the saying of thoughtful men that eight ounces of gold were woven into the coif. kjartan was so merry at the feast that he entertained every one with his talk, telling of his journey. men did marvel much how great were the matters that entered into that tale; for he had served the noblest of lords--king olaf tryggvason. and when the feast was ended kjartan gave gudmund and hall good gifts, as he did to all the other great men. the father and son gained great renown from this feast. kjartan and hrefna loved each other very dearly. chap. xlvi feast at herdholt and the loss of kjartan's sword, a.d. olaf and osvif were still friends, though there was some deal of ill-will between the younger people. that summer olaf had his feast half a month before winter. and osvif was also making ready a feast, to be held at "winter-nights," and they each asked the other to their homes, with as many men as each deemed most honourable to himself. it was osvif's turn to go first to the feast at olaf's, and he came to herdholt at the time appointed. in his company were bolli and gudrun and the sons of osvif. in the morning one of the women on going down the hall was talking how the ladies would be shown to their seats. and just as gudrun had come right against the bedroom wherein kjartan was wont to rest, and where even then he was dressing and slipping on a red kirtle of scarlet, he called out to the woman who had been speaking about the seating of the women, for no one else was quicker in giving the answer, "hrefna shall sit in the high seat and be most honoured in all things so long as i am alive." [sidenote: gudrun sees the coif] but before this gudrun had always had the high seat at herdholt and everywhere else. gudrun heard this, and looked at kjartan and flushed up, but said nothing. the next day gudrun was talking to hrefna, and said she ought to coif herself with the head-dress, and show people the most costly treasure that had ever come to iceland. kjartan was near, but not quite close, and heard what gudrun said, and he was quicker to answer than hrefna. "she shall not coif herself with the headgear at this feast, for i set more store by hrefna owning the greatest of treasures than by the guests having it to feast thereon their eyes at this time." the feast at olaf's was to last a week. the next day gudrun spoke on the sly to hrefna, and asked her to show her the head-dress, and hrefna said she would. the next day they went to the out-bower where the precious things were kept, and hrefna opened a chest and took out the pocket of costly stuff, and took from thence the coif and showed it to gudrun. she unfolded the coif and looked at it a while, but said no word of praise or blame. after that hrefna put it back, and they went to their places, and after that all was joy and amusement. and the day the guests should ride away kjartan busied himself much about matters in hand, getting change of horses for those who had come from afar, and speeding each one on his journey as he needed. [sidenote: the loss of kjartan's sword] kjartan had not his sword "king's-gift" with him while he was taken up with these matters, yet was he seldom wont to let it go out of his hand. after this he went to his room where the sword had been, and found it now gone. he then went and told his father of the loss. olaf said, "we must go about this most gently. i will get men to spy into each batch of them as they ride away," and he did so. an the white had to ride with osvif's company, and to keep an eye upon men turning aside, or baiting. they rode up past lea-shaws, and past the homesteads which are called shaws, and stopped at one of the homesteads at shaws, and got off their horses. thorolf, son of osvif, went out from the homestead with a few other men. they went out of sight amongst the brushwood, whilst the others tarried at the shaws' homestead. an followed him all the way unto salmon-river, where it flows out of sælingsdale, and said he would turn back there. thorolf said it would have done no harm though he had gone nowhere at all. the night before a little snow had fallen so that footprints could be traced. [sidenote: an finds the sword] an rode back to the brushwood, and followed the footprints of thorolf to a certain ditch or bog. he groped down with his hand, and grasped the hilt of a sword. an wished to have witnesses with him to this, and rode for thorarin in sælingsdale tongue, and he went with an to take up the sword. after that an brought the sword back to kjartan. kjartan wrapt it in a cloth, and laid it in a chest. the place was afterwards called sword-ditch, where an and thorarin had found the "king's-gift." this was all kept quiet. the scabbard was never found again. kjartan always treasured the sword less hereafter than heretofore. this affair kjartan took much to heart, and would not let the matter rest there. olaf said, "do not let it pain you; true, they have done a nowise pretty trick, but you have got no harm from it. we shall not let people have this to laugh at, that we make a quarrel about such a thing, these being but friends and kinsmen on the other side." and through these reasonings of olaf, kjartan let matters rest in quiet. after that olaf got ready to go to the feast at laugar at "winter nights," and told kjartan he must go too. kjartan was very unwilling thereto, but promised to go at the bidding of his father. hrefna was also to go, but she wished to leave her coif behind. "goodwife," thorgerd said, "whenever will you take out such a peerless keepsake if it is to lie down in chests when you go to feasts?" hrefna said, "many folk say that it is not unlikely that i may come to places where i have fewer people to envy me than at laugar." thorgerd said, "i have no great belief in people who let such things fly here from house to house." [sidenote: hrefna misses the coif] and because thorgerd urged it eagerly hrefna took the coif, and kjartan did not forbid it when he saw how the will of his mother went. after that they betake themselves to the journey and came to laugar in the evening, and had a goodly welcome there. thorgerd and hrefna handed out their clothes to be taken care of. but in the morning when the women should dress themselves hrefna looked for the coif and it was gone from where she had put it away. it was looked for far and near, and could not be found. gudrun said it was most likely the coif had been left behind at home, or that she had packed it so carelessly that it had fallen out on the way. hrefna now told kjartan that the coif was lost. he answered and said it was no easy matter to try to make them take care of things, and bade her now leave matters quiet; and told his father what game was up. olaf said, "my will is still as before, that you leave alone and let pass by this trouble and i will probe this matter to the bottom in quiet; for i would do anything that you and bolli should not fall out. best to bind up a whole flesh, kinsman," says he. kjartan said, "i know well, father, that you wish the best for everybody in this affair; yet i know not whether i can put up with being thus overborne by these folk of laugar." [sidenote: kjartan complains to bolli] the day that men were to ride away from the feast kjartan raised his voice and said, "i call on you, cousin bolli, to show yourself more willing henceforth than hitherto to do to us as behoves a good man and true. i shall not set this matter forth in a whisper, for within the knowledge of many people it is that a loss has befallen here of a thing which we think has slipped into your own keep. this harvest, when we gave a feast at herdholt, my sword was taken; it came back to me, but not the scabbard. now again there has been lost here a keepsake which men will esteem a thing of price. come what may, i will have them both back." bolli answered, "what you put down to me, kjartan, is not my fault, and i should have looked for anything else from you sooner than that you would charge me with theft." kjartan says, "i must think that the people who have been putting their heads together in this affair are so near to you that it ought to be in your power to make things good if you but would. you affront us far beyond necessity, and long we have kept peaceful in face on your enmity. but now it must be made known that matters will not rest as they are now." then gudrun answered his speech and said, "now you rake up a fire which it would be better should not smoke. now, let it be granted, as you say, that there be some people here who have put their heads together with a view to the coif disappearing. i can only think that they have gone and taken what was their own. think what you like of what has become of the head-dress, but i cannot say i dislike it though it should be bestowed in such a way as that hrefna should have little chance to improve her apparel with it henceforth." after that they parted heavy of heart, and the herdholtings rode home. that was the end of the feasts, yet everything was to all appearances quiet. [sidenote: the end of the coif] nothing was ever heard of the head-dress. but many people held the truth to be that thorolf had burnt it in fire by the order of gudrun, his sister. early that winter asgeir eider-drake died. his sons inherited his estate and chattels. chap. xlvii kjartan goes to laugar, and of the bargain for tongue, a.d. [sidenote: kjartan's expedition to laugar] after yule that winter kjartan got men together, and they mustered sixty men altogether. kjartan did not tell his father the reason of his journey, and olaf asked but little about it. kjartan took with him tents and stores, and rode on his way until he came to laugar. he bade his men get off their horses, and said that some should look after the horses and some put up the tents. at that time it was the custom that outhouses were outside, and not so very far away from the dwelling-house, and so it was at laugar. kjartan had all the doors of the house taken, and forbade all the inmates to go outside, and for three nights he made them do their errands within the house. after that kjartan rode home to herdholt, and each of his followers rode to his own home. olaf was very ill-pleased with this raid, but thorgerd said there was no reason for blame, for the men of laugar had deserved this, yea, and a still greater shame. then hrefna said, "did you have any talk with any one at laugar, kjartan?" he answered, "there was but little chance of that," and said he and bolli had exchanged only a few words. then hrefna smiled and said, "it was told me as truth that you and gudrun had some talk together, and i have likewise heard how she was arrayed, that she had coifed herself with the head-dress, and it suited her exceeding well." kjartan answered, and coloured up, and it was easy to see he was angry with her for making a mockery of this. "nothing of what you say, hrefna, passed before my eyes, and there was no need for gudrun to coif herself with the head-dress to look statelier than all other women." thereat hrefna dropped the talk. the men of laugar bore this exceedingly ill, and thought it by much a greater and worse disgrace than if kjartan had even killed a man or two of them. the sons of osvif were the wildest over this matter, but bolli quieted them rather. gudrun was the fewest-spoken on the matter, yet men gathered from her words that it was uncertain whether any one took it as sorely to heart as she did. full enmity now grows up between the men of laugar and the herdholtings. as the winter wore on hrefna gave birth to a child, a boy, and he was named asgier. [sidenote: the buying of the land at tongue] thorarin, the goodman of tongue, let it be known that he wished to sell the land of tongue. the reason was that he was drained of money, and that he thought ill-will was swelling too much between the people of the countryside, he himself being a friend of either side. bolli thought he would like to buy the land and settle down on it, for the men of laugar had little land and much cattle. bolli and gudrun rode to tongue at the advice of osvif; they thought it a very handy chance to be able to secure this land so near to themselves, and osvif bade them not to let a small matter stand in the way of a covenant. then they (bolli and gudrun) bespoke the purchase with thorarin, and came to terms as to what the price should be, and also as to the kind wherein it should be paid, and the bargain was settled with thorarin. but the buying was not done in the presence of witnesses, for there were not so many men there at the time as were lawfully necessary. bolli and gudrun rode home after that. but when kjartan olafson hears of these tidings he rides off with twelve men, and came to tongue early one day. thorarin greeted him well, and asked him to stay there. [sidenote: kjartan's bargain] kjartan said he must ride back again in the morning, but would tarry there for some time. thorarin asked his errand, and kjartan said, "my errand here is to speak about a certain sale of land that you and bolli have agreed upon, for it is very much against my wishes if you sell this land to bolli and gudrun." thorarin said that to do otherwise would be unbecoming to him, "for the price that bolli has offered for the land is liberal, and is to be paid up speedily." kjartan said, "you shall come in for no loss even if bolli does not buy your land; for i will buy it at the same price, and it will not be of much avail to you to speak against what i have made up my mind to have done. indeed it will soon be found out that i shall want to have the most to say within this countryside, being more ready, however, to do the will of others than that of the men of laugar." thorarin answered, "mighty to me will be the master's word in this matter, but it would be most to my mind that this bargain should be left alone as i and bolli have settled it." kjartan said, "i do not call that a sale of land which is not bound by witnesses. now you do one of two things, either sell me the lands on the same terms as you agreed upon with the others, or live on your land yourself." thorarin chooses to sell him the land, and witnesses were forthwith taken to the sale, and after the purchase kjartan rode home. that same evening this was told at laugar. then gudrun said, "it seems to me, bolli, that kjartan has given you two choices somewhat harder than those he gave thorarin--that you must either leave the countryside with little honour, or show yourself at some meeting with him a good deal less slow than you have been heretofore." bolli did not answer, but went forthwith away from this talk. [sidenote: kjartan rides to saurby] all was quiet now throughout what was left of lent. the third day after easter kjartan rode from home with one other man, on the beach, for a follower. they came to tongue in the day. kjartan wished thorarin to ride with them to saurby to gather in debts due to him, for kjartan had much money-at-call in these parts. but thorarin had ridden to another place. kjartan stopped there awhile, and waited for him. that same day thorhalla the chatterbox was come there. she asked kjartan where he was minded to go. he said he was going west to saurby. she asked, "which road will you take?" kjartan replied, "i am going by sælingsdale to the west, and by swinedale from the west." she asked how long he would be. kjartan answered, "most likely i shall be riding from the west next thursday (the fifth day of the week)." "would you do an errand for me?" said thorhalla. "i have a kinsman west at whitedale and saurby; he has promised me half a mark's worth of homespun, and i would like you to claim it for me, and bring it with you from the west." kjartan promised to do this. after this thorarin came home, and betook himself to the journey with them. they rode westward over sælingsdale heath, and came to hol in the evening to the brothers and sister there. there kjartan got the best of welcomes, for between him and them there was the greatest friendship. [sidenote: thorhalla returns to laugar] thorhalla the chatterbox came home to laugar that evening. the sons of osvif asked her who she had met during the day. she said she had met kjartan olafson. they asked where he was going. she answered, telling them all she knew about it, "and never has he looked braver than now, and it is not wonderful at all that such men should look upon everything as low beside themselves;" and thorhalla still went on, "and it was clear to me that kjartan liked to talk of nothing so well as of his land bargain with thorarin." gudrun spoke, "kjartan may well do things as boldly as it pleases him, for it is proven that for whatever insult he may pay others, there is none who dares even to shoot a shaft at him." present at this talk of gudrun and thorhalla were both bolli and the sons of osvif. ospak and his brothers said but little, but what there was, rather stinging for kjartan, as was always their way. bolli behaved as if he did not hear, as he always did when kjartan was spoken ill of, for his wont was either to hold his peace, or to gainsay them. chap. xlviii the men of laugar and gudrun plan an ambush for kjartan, a.d. kjartan spent the fourth day after easter at hol, and there was the greatest merriment and gaiety. [sidenote: an's dream] the night after an was very ill at ease in his sleep, so they waked him. they asked him what he had dreamt. he answered, "a woman came to me most evil-looking and pulled me forth unto the bedside. she had in one hand a short sword, and in the other a trough; she drove the sword into my breast and cut open all the belly, and took out all my inwards and put brushwood in their place. after that she went outside." kjartan and the others laughed very much at this dream, and said he should be called an "brushwood belly," and they caught hold of him and said they wished to feel if he had the brushwood in his stomach. then aud said, "there is no need to mock so much at this; and my counsel is that kjartan do one of two things: either tarry here longer, or, if he will ride away, then let him ride with more followers hence than hither he did." kjartan said, "you may hold an 'brushwood belly' a man very sage as he sits and talks to you all day, since you think that whatever he dreams must be a very vision, but go i must, as i have already made up my mind to, in spite of this dream." kjartan got ready to go on the fifth day in easter week; and at the advice of aud, so did thorkell whelp and knut his brother. they rode on the way with kjartan a band of twelve together. kjartan came to whitedale and fetched the homespun for thorhalla chatterbox as he had said he would. [sidenote: gudrun wakes her brothers] after that he rode south through swinedale. it is told how at laugar in sælingsdale gudrun was early afoot directly after sunrise. she went to where her brothers were sleeping. she roused ospak and he woke up at once, and then too the other brothers. and when ospak saw that there was his sister, he asked her what she wanted that she was up so early. gudrun said she wanted to know what they would be doing that day. ospak said he would keep at rest, "for there is little work to do." gudrun said, "you would have the right sort of temper if you were the daughters of some peasant, letting neither good nor bad be done by you. why, after all the disgrace and shame that kjartan has done to you, you none the less lie quietly sleeping, though he rides past this place with but one other man. such men indeed are richly endowed with the memory of swine. i think it is past hoping that you will ever have courage enough to go and seek out kjartan in his home, if you dare not meet him now that he rides with but one other man or two; but here you sit at home and bear yourselves as if you were hopeful men; yea, in sooth there are too many of you." ospak said she did not mince matters and it was hard to gainsay her, and he sprang up forthwith and dressed, as did also each of the brothers one after the other. then they got ready to lay an ambush for kjartan. then gudrun called on bolli to bestir him with them. [sidenote: the ambush laid for kjartan] bolli said it behoved him not for the sake of his kinship with kjartan, set forth how lovingly olaf had brought him up. gudrun answered, "therein you speak the truth, but you will not have the good luck always to do what pleases all men, and if you cut yourself out of this journey, our married life must be at an end." and through gudrun's harping on the matter bolli's mind swelled at all the enmity and guilts that lay at the door of kjartan, and speedily he donned his weapons, and they grew a band of nine together. there were the five sons of osvif--ospak, helgi, vandrad, torrad, and thorolf. bolli was the sixth and gudlaug, the son of osvif's sister, the hopefullest of men, the seventh. there were also odd and stein, sons of thorhalla chatterbox. they rode to swinedale and took up their stand beside the gill which is called goat-gill.[ ] they bound up their horses and sat down. bolli was silent all day, and lay up on the top of the gill bank. [sidenote: thorkell of goat-peaks] now when kjartan and his followers were come south past narrowsound, where the dale begins to widen out, kjartan said that thorkell and the others had better turn back. thorkell said they would ride to the end of the dale. then when they came south past the out-dairies called northdairies kjartan spake to the brothers and bade them not to ride any farther. "thorolf the thief," he said, "shall not have that matter to laugh at that i dare not ride on my way with few men." thorkell whelp said, "we will yield to you in not following you any farther; but we should rue it indeed not to be near if you should stand in need of men to-day." then kjartan said, "never will bolli, my kinsman, join hands with plotters against my life. but if the sons of osvif lie in wait for me, there is no knowing which side will live to tell the tale, even though i may have some odds to deal with." thereupon the brothers rode back to the west. [footnote : gill=gorge, deep watercourse.] chap. xlix the death of kjartan now kjartan rode south through the dale, he and they three together, himself, an the black, and thorarin. thorkell was the name of a man who lived at goat-peaks in swinedale, where now there is waste land. he had been seeing after his horses that day, and a shepherd of his with him. they saw the two parties, the men of laugar in ambush and kjartan and his where they were riding down the dale three together. then the shepherd said they had better turn to meet kjartan and his; it would be, quoth he, a great good hap to them if they could stave off so great a trouble as now both sides were steering into. thorkell said, "hold your tongue at once. do you think, fool as you are, you will ever give life to a man to whom fate has ordained death? and, truth to tell, i would spare neither of them from having now as evil dealings together as they like. it seems to me a better plan for us to get to a place where we stand in danger of nothing, and from where we can have a good look at their meeting, so as to have some fun over their play. for all men make a marvel thereof, how kjartan is of all men the best skilled at arms. i think he will want it now, for we two know how overwhelming the odds are." and so it had to be as thorkell wished. kjartan and his followers now rode on to goat-gill. on the other hand the sons of osvif misdoubt them why bolli should have sought out a place for himself from where he might well be seen by men riding from the west. so they now put their heads together, and, being of one mind that bolli was playing them false, they go for him up unto the brink and took to wrestling and horse-playing with him, and took him by the feet and dragged him down over the brink. [sidenote: the beginning of the fight] but kjartan and his followers came up apace as they were riding fast, and when they came to the south side of the gill they saw the ambush and knew the men. kjartan at once sprung off his horse and turned upon the sons of osvif. there stood near by a great stone, against which kjartan ordered they should wait the onset (he and his). [sidenote: the fight] before they met kjartan flung his spear, and it struck through thorolf's shield above the handle, so that therewith the shield was pressed against him, the spear piercing the shield and the arm above the elbow, where it sundered the main muscle, thorolf dropping the shield, and his arm being of no avail to him through the day. thereupon kjartan drew his sword, but he held not the "king's-gift." the sons of thorhalla went at thorarin, for that was the task allotted to them. that outset was a hard one, for thorarin was mightily strong, and it was hard to tell which would outlast the other. osvif's sons and gudlaug set on kjartan, they being five together, and kjartan and an but two. an warded himself valiantly, and would ever be going in front of kjartan. bolli stood aloof with footbiter. kjartan smote hard, but his sword was of little avail (and bent so), he often had to straighten it under his foot. in this attack both the sons of osvif and an were wounded, but kjartan had no wound as yet. kjartan fought so swiftly and dauntlessly that osvif's sons recoiled and turned to where an was. at that moment an fell, having fought for some time, with his inwards coming out. in this attack kjartan cut off one leg of gudlaug above the knee, and that hurt was enough to cause death. then the four sons of osvif made an onset on kjartan, but he warded himself so bravely that in no way did he give them the chance of any advantage. then spake kjartan, "kinsman bolli, why did you leave home if you meant quietly to stand by? now the choice lies before you, to help one side or the other, and try now how footbiter will do." bolli made as if he did not hear. and when ospak saw that they would no how bear kjartan over, he egged on bolli in every way, and said he surely would not wish that shame to follow after him, to have promised them his aid in this fight and not to grant it now. "why, heavy enough in dealings with us was kjartan then, when by none so big a deed as this we had offended him; but if kjartan is now to get away from us, then for you, bolli, as even for us, the way to exceeding hardships will be equally short." [sidenote: bolli kills kjartan] then bolli drew footbiter, and now turned upon kjartan. then kjartan said to bolli, "surely thou art minded now, my kinsman, to do a dastard's deed; but oh, my kinsman, i am much more fain to take my death from you than to cause the same to you myself." then kjartan flung away his weapons and would defend himself no longer; yet he was but slightly wounded, though very tired with fighting. bolli gave no answer to kjartan's words, but all the same he dealt him his death-wound. and straightway bolli sat down under the shoulders of him, and kjartan breathed his last in the lap of bolli. bolli rued at once his deed, and declared the manslaughter due to his hand. bolli sent the sons of osvif into the countryside, but he stayed behind together with thorarin by the dead bodies. and when the sons of osvif came to laugar they told the tidings. gudrun gave out her pleasure thereat, and then the arm of thorolf was bound up; it healed slowly, and was never after any use to him. the body of kjartan was brought home to tongue, but bolli rode home to laugar. [sidenote: gudrun's greeting] gudrun went to meet him, and asked what time of day it was. bolli said it was near noontide. then spake gudrun, "harm spurs on to hard deeds (work); i have spun yarn for twelve ells of homespun, and you have killed kjartan." bolli replied, "that unhappy deed might well go late from my mind even if you did not remind me of it." gudrun said "such things i do not count among mishaps. it seemed to me you stood in higher station during the year kjartan was in norway than now, when he trod you under foot when he came back to iceland. but i count that last which to me is dearest, that hrefna will not go laughing to her bed to-night." then bolli said and right wroth he was, "i think it is quite uncertain that she will turn paler at these tidings than you do; and i have my doubts as to whether you would not have been less startled if i had been lying behind on the field of battle, and kjartan had told the tidings." gudrun saw that bolli was wroth, and spake, "do not upbraid me with such things, for i am very grateful to you for your deed; for now i think i know that you will not do anything against my mind." after that osvif's sons went and hid in an underground chamber, which had been made for them in secret, but thorhalla's sons were sent west to holy-fell to tell snorri godi the priest these tidings, and therewith the message that they bade him send them speedily all availing strength against olaf and those men to whom it came to follow up the blood-suit after kjartan. [sidenote: an comes to life] at sælingsdale tongue it happened, the night after the day on which the fight befell, that an sat up, he who they had all thought was dead. those who waked the bodies were very much afraid, and thought this a wondrous marvel. then an spake to them, "i beg you, in god's name, not to be afraid of me, for i have had both my life and my wits all unto the hour when on me fell the heaviness of a swoon. then i dreamed of the same woman as before, and methought she now took the brushwood out of my belly and put my own inwards in instead, and the change seemed good to me." then the wounds that an had were bound up and he became a hale man, and was ever afterwards called an brushwood-belly. but now when olaf hoskuld's son heard these tidings he took the slaying of kjartan most sorely to heart, though he bore it like a brave man. his sons wanted to set on bolli forthwith and kill him. olaf said, "far be it from me, for my son is none the more atoned to me though bolli be slain; moreover, i loved kjartan before all men, but as to bolli, i could not bear any harm befalling him. but i see a more befitting business for you to do. go ye and meet the sons of thorhalla, who are now sent to holy-fell with the errand of summoning up a band against us. i shall be well pleased for you to put them to any penalty you like." [sidenote: the deaths of stein and his brother] then olaf's sons swiftly turn to journeying, and went on board a ferry-boat that olaf owned, being seven of them together, and rowed out down hvamsfirth, pushing on their journey at their lustiest. they had but little wind, but fair what there was, and they rowed with the sail until they came under scoreisle, where they tarried for some while and asked about the journeyings of men thereabouts. a little while after they saw a ship coming from the west across the firth, and soon they saw who the men were, for there were the sons of thorhalla, and halldor and his followers boarded them straightway. they met with no resistance, for the sons of olaf leapt forthwith on board their ships and set upon them. stein and his brother were laid hands on and beheaded overboard. the sons of olaf now turn back, and their journey was deemed to have sped most briskly. chap. l the end of hrefna. the peace settled, a.d. olaf went to meet kjartan's body. he sent men south to burg to tell thorstein egilson these tidings, and also that he would have his help for the blood-suit; and if any great men should band themselves together against him with the sons of osvif, he said he wanted to have the whole matter in his own hands. the same message he sent north to willowdale, to gudmund, his son-in-law, and to the sons of asgeir; with the further information that he had charged as guilty of the slaying of kjartan all the men who had taken part in the ambush, except ospak, son of osvif, for he was already under outlawry because of a woman who was called aldis, the daughter of holmganga-ljot of ingjaldsand. their son was ulf, who later became a marshal to king harold sigurdsson, and had for wife jorunn, the daughter of thorberg. their son was jon, father of erlend the laggard, the father of archbishop egstein. olaf had proclaimed that the blood-suit should be taken into court at thorness thing. he had kjartan's body brought home, and a tent was rigged over it, for there was as yet no church built in the dales. [sidenote: olaf protects bolli] but when olaf heard that thorstein had bestirred him swiftly and raised up a band of great many men, and that the willowdale men had done likewise, he had men gathered together throughout all the dales, and a great multitude they were. the whole of this band olaf sent to laugar, with this order: "it is my will that you guard bolli if he stand in need thereof, and do it no less faithfully than if you were following me; for my mind misgives me that the men from beyond this countryside, whom, coming soon, we shall be having on our hands, will deem that they have somewhat of a loss to make up with bolli. and when he had put the matter in order in this manner, thorstein, with his following, and also the willowdale men, came on, all wild with rage. hall gudmund's son and kalf asgeirson egged them on most to go and force bolli to let search be made for the sons of osvif till they should be found, for they could be gone nowhere out of the countryside. but because olaf set himself so much against their making a raid on laugar, messages of peace were borne between the two parties, and bolli was most willing, and bade olaf settle all terms on his behalf, and osvif said it was not in his power to speak against this, for no help had come to him from snorri the priest. a peace meeting, therefore, took place at lea-shaws, and the whole case was laid freely in olaf's hand. for the slaughter of kjartan there were to come such fines and penalties as olaf liked. then the peace meeting came to an end. bolli, by the counsel of olaf, did not go to this meeting. the award should be made known at thorness thing. now the mere-men and willowdale men rode to herdholt. [sidenote: the death of hrefna] thorstein kuggison begged for asgeir, son of kjartan, to foster, as a comfort to hrefna. hrefna went north with her brothers, and was much weighed down with grief, nevertheless she bore her sorrow with dignity, and was easy of speech with every man. hrefna took no other husband after kjartan. she lived but a little while after coming to the north; and the tale goes that she died of a broken heart. chap. li osvif's sons are banished [sidenote: the revenge for kjartan] kjartan's body lay in state for a week in herdholt. thorstein egilson had had a church built at burg. he took the body of kjartan home with him, and kjartan was buried at burg. the church was newly consecrated, and as yet hung in white. now time wore on towards the thorness thing, and the award was given against osvif's sons, who were all banished the country. money was given to pay the cost of their going into exile, but they were forbidden to come back to iceland so long as any of olaf's sons, or asgeir, kjartan's son, should be alive. for gudlaug, the son of osvif's sister, no weregild (atonement) should be paid, because of his having set out against, and laid ambush for, kjartan, neither should thorolf have any compensation for the wounds he had got. olaf would not let bolli be prosecuted, and bade him ransom himself with a money fine. this halldor and stein, and all the sons of olaf, liked mightily ill, and said it would go hard with bolli if he was allowed to stay in the same countryside as themselves. olaf saw that would work well enough as long as he was on his legs. [sidenote: audun's drowning] there was a ship in bjornhaven which belonged to audun cable-hound. he was at the thing, and said, "as matters stand, the guilt of these men will be no less in norway, so long as any of kjartan's friends are alive." then osvif said, "you, cable-hound, will be no soothsayer in this matter, for my sons will be highly accounted of among men of high degree, whilst you, cable-hound, will pass, this summer, into the power of trolls." audun cable-hound went out a voyage that summer and the ship was wrecked amongst the faroe isles and every man's child on board perished, and osvif's prophecy was thought to have come thoroughly home. the sons of osvif went abroad that summer, and none ever came back again. in such a manner the blood-suit came to an end that olaf was held to have shown himself all the greater a man, because where it was due, in the case of the sons of osvif, to wit, he drove matters home to the very bone, but spared bolli for the sake of their kinship. olaf thanked men well for the help they had afforded him. by olaf's counsel bolli bought the land at tongue. it is told that olaf lived three winters after kjartan was slain. after he was dead his sons shared the inheritance he left behind. halldor took over the manor of herdholt. thorgerd, their mother, lived with halldor; she was most hatefully-minded towards bolli, and thought the reward he paid for his fostering a bitter one. chap. lii the killing of thorkell of goat's peak in the spring bolli and gudrun set up householding at sælingsdale-tongue, and it soon became a stately one. bolli and gudrun begat a son. to that boy a name was given, and he was called thorleik; he was early a very fine lad, and a right nimble one. halldor olafson lived at herdholt, as has before been written, and he was in most matters at the head of his brothers. [sidenote: thorgerd and the shepherd lad] the spring that kjartan was slain thorgerd egil's daughter placed a lad, as kin to her, with thorkell of goat-peaks, and the lad herded sheep there through the summer. like other people he was much grieved over kjartan's death. he could never speak of kjartan if thorkell was near, for he always spoke ill of him, and said he had been a "white" man and of no heart; he often mimicked how kjartan had taken his death-wound. the lad took this very ill, and went to herdholt and told halldor and thorgerd and begged them to take him in. thorgerd bade him remain in his service till the winter. the lad said he had no strength to bear being there any longer. "and you would not ask this of me if you knew what heart-burn i suffer from all this." then thorgerd's heart turned at the tale of his grief, and she said that as far as she was concerned, she would make a place for him there. [sidenote: the killing of thorkell] halldor said, "give no heed to this lad, he is not worth taking in earnest." then thorgerd answered, "the lad is of little account," says she, "but thorkell has behaved evilly in every way in this matter, for he knew of the ambush the men of laugar laid for kjartan, and would not warn him, but made fun and sport of their dealings together, and has since said many unfriendly things about the matter; but it seems a matter far beyond you brothers ever to seek revenge where odds are against you, now that you cannot pay out for their doings such scoundrels as thorkell is." halldor answered little to that, but bade thorgerd do what she liked about the lad's service. a few days after halldor rode from home, he and sundry other men together. he went to goat-peaks, and surrounded thorkell's house. thorkell was led out and slain, and he met his death with the utmost cowardice. halldor allowed no plunder, and they went home when this was done. thorgerd was well pleased over this deed, and thought this reminder better than none. that summer all was quiet, so to speak, and yet there was the greatest ill-will between the sons of olaf and bolli. the brothers bore themselves in the most unyielding manner towards bolli, while he gave in to his kinsmen in all matters as long as he did not lower himself in any way by so doing, for he was a very proud man. bolli had many followers and lived richly, for there was no lack of money. steinthor, olaf's son, lived in danastead in salmon-river-dale. he had for wife thurid, asgeir's daughter, who had before been married to thorkell kuggi. their son was steinthor, who was called "stone-grig." chap. liii thorgerd's egging, a.d. [sidenote: thorgerd goes to see tongue] the next winter after the death of olaf hoskuldson, thorgerd, egil's daughter, sent word to her son steinthor that he should come and meet her. when the mother and son met she told him she wished to go up west to saurby, and see her friend aud. she told halldor to come too. they were five together, and halldor followed his mother. they went on till they came to a place in front of the homestead of sælingsdale tongue. then thorgerd turned her horse towards the house and asked, "what is this place called?" halldor answered, "you ask this, mother, not because you don't know it. this place is called tongue." "who lives here?" said she. he answered, "you know that, mother." [sidenote: she eggs on her sons] thorgerd said and snorted, "i know that well enough," she said. "here lives bolli, the slayer of your brother, and marvellously unlike your noble kindred you turn out in that you will not avenge such a brother as kjartan was; never would egil, your mother's father, have behaved in such a manner; and a piteous thing it is to have dolts for sons; indeed, i think it would have suited you better if you had been your father's daughter and had married. for here, halldor, it comes to the old saw: 'no stock without a duffer,' and this is the ill-luck of olaf i see most clearly, how he blundered in begetting his sons. this i would bring home to you, halldor," says she, "because you look upon yourself as being the foremost among your brothers. now we will turn back again, for all my errand here was to put you in mind of this, lest you should have forgotten it already." then halldor answered, "we shall not put it down as your fault, mother, if this should slip out of our minds." by way of answer halldor had few words to say about this, but his heart swelled with wrath towards bolli. the winter now passed and summer came, and time glided on towards the thing. halldor and his brothers made it known that they will ride to the thing. they rode with a great company, and set up the booth olaf had owned. the thing was quiet, and no tidings to tell of it. there were at the thing from the north the willowdale men, the sons of gudmund solmundson. bardi gudmundson was then eighteen winters old; he was a great and strong man. the sons of olaf asked bardi, their nephew, to go home with them, and added many pressing words to the invitation. hall, the son of gudmund, was not in iceland then. bardi took up their bidding gladly, for there was much love between those kinsmen. bardi rode west from the thing with the sons of olaf. they came home to herdholt, and bardi tarried the rest of the summer time. chap. liv halldor prepares to avenge kjartan [sidenote: they plan revenge,] now halldor told bardi in secret that the brothers had made up their minds to set on bolli, for they could no longer withstand the taunts of their mother. "and we will not conceal from you, kinsman bardi, that what mostly lay behind the invitation to you was this, that we wished to have your help and fellowship." then bardi answered, "that will be a matter ill spoken of, to break the peace on one's own kinsmen, and on the other hand it seems to me nowise an easy thing to set on bolli. he has many men about him and is himself the best of fighters, and is not at a loss for wise counsel with gudrun and osvif at his side. taking all these matters together they seem to me nowise easy to overcome." halldor said, "there are things we stand more in need of than to make the most of the difficulties of this affair. nor have i broached it till i knew that it must come to pass, that we make earnest of wreaking revenge on bolli. and i hope, kinsman, you will not withdraw from doing this journey with us." bardi answered, "i know you do not think it likely that i will draw back, neither do i desire to do so if i see that i cannot get you to give it up yourselves." "there you do your share in the matter honourably," said halldor, "as was to be looked for from you." bardi said they must set about it with care. [sidenote: and prepare to attack bolli] halldor said he had heard that bolli had sent his house-carles from home, some north to ramfirth to meet a ship and some out to middlefell strand. "it is also told me that bolli is staying at the out-dairy in sælingsdale with no more than the house-carles who are doing the haymaking. and it seems to me we shall never have a better chance of seeking a meeting with bolli than now." so this then halldor and bardi settled between them. there was a man named thorstein the black, a wise man and wealthy; he lived at hundidale in the broadfirth-dales; he had long been a friend of olaf peacock's. a sister of thorstein was called solveig; she was married to a man who was named helgi, who was son of hardbein. helgi was a very tall and strong man, and a great sailor; he had lately come to iceland, and was staying with his brother-in-law thorstein. halldor sent word to thorstein the black and helgi his brother-in-law, and when they were come to herdholt halldor told them what he was about, and how he meant to carry it out, and asked them to join in the journey with him. thorstein showed an utter dislike of this undertaking, saying, "it is the most heinous thing that you kinsmen should go on killing each other off like that; and now there are but few men left in your family equal to bolli." but though thorstein spoke in this wise it went for nought. [sidenote: thorgerd goes with her sons] halldor sent word to lambi, his father's brother, and when he came and met halldor he told him what he was about, and lambi urged hard that this should be carried out. goodwife thorgerd also egged them on eagerly to make an earnest of their journey, and said she should never look upon kjartan as avenged until bolli paid for him with his life. after this they got ready for the journey. in this raid there were the four sons of olaf and the fifth was bardi. there were the sons of olaf, halldor, steinthor, helgi, and hoskuld, but bardi was gudmund's son. lambi was the sixth, the seventh was thorstein, and the eighth helgi, his brother-in-law, the ninth an brushwood-belly. thorgerd betook herself also to the raid with them; but they set themselves against it, and said that such were no journeys for women. she said she would go indeed, "for so much i know of you, my sons, that whetting is what you want." they said she must have her own way. chap. lv the death of bolli [sidenote: the journey] after that they rode away from home out of herdholt, the nine of them together, thorgerd making the tenth. they rode up along the foreshore and so to lea-shaws during the early part of the night. they did not stop before they got to sælingsdale in the early morning tide. there was a thick wood in the valley at that time. bolli was there in the out-dairy, as halldor had heard. the dairy stood near the river at the place now called bolli's-tofts. above the dairy there is a large hill-rise stretching all the way down to stack-gill. between the mountain slope above and the hill-rise there is a wide meadow called barni; it was there bolli's house-carles were working. halldor and his companions rode across ran-meads unto oxgrove, and thence above hammer-meadow, which was right against the dairy. they knew there were many men at the dairy, so they got off their horses with a view to biding the time when the men should leave the dairy for their work. bolli's shepherd went early that morning after the flocks up into the mountain side, and from there he saw the men in the wood as well as the horses tied up, and misdoubted that those who went on the sly in this manner would be no men of peace. so forthwith he makes for the dairy by the straightest cut in order to tell bolli that men were come there. halldor was a man of keen sight. he saw how that a man was running down the mountain side and making for the dairy. he said to his companions that "that must surely be bolli's shepherd, and he must have seen our coming; so we must go and meet him, and let him take no news to the dairy." they did as he bade them. [sidenote: bolli prepares to meet them] an brushwood-belly went the fastest of them and overtook the man, picked him up, and flung him down. such was that fall that the lad's back-bone was broken. after that they rode to the dairy. now the dairy was divided into two parts, the sleeping-room and the byre. bolli had been early afoot in the morning ordering the men to their work, and had lain down again to sleep when the house-carles went away. in the dairy therefore there were left the two, gudrun and bolli. they awoke with the din when they got off their horses, and they also heard them talking as to who should first go on to the dairy to set on bolli. bolli knew the voice of halldor, as well as that of sundry more of his followers. bolli spoke to gudrun, and bade her leave the dairy and go away, and said that their meeting would not be such as would afford her much pastime. gudrun said she thought such things alone would befall there worthy of tidings as she might be allowed to look upon, and held that she would be of no hurt to bolli by taking her stand near to him. bolli said that in this matter he would have his way, and so it was that gudrun went out of the dairy; she went down over the brink to a brook that ran there, and began to wash some linen. bolli was now alone in the dairy; he took his weapon, set his helm on his head, held a shield before him, and had his sword, footbiter, in his hand: he had no mail coat. halldor and his followers were talking to each other outside as to how they should set to work, for no one was very eager to go into the dairy. then said an brushwood-belly, "there are men here in this train nearer in kinship to kjartan than i am, but not one there will be in whose mind abides more steadfastly than in mine the event when kjartan lost his life. when i was being brought more dead than alive home to tongue, and kjartan lay slain, my one thought was that i would gladly do bolli some harm whenever i should get the chance. [sidenote: bolli is wounded] so i shall be the first to go into the dairy." then thorstein the black answered, "most valiantly is that spoken; but it would be wiser not to plunge headlong beyond heed, so let us go warily now, for bolli will not be standing quiet when he is beset; and however underhanded he may be where he is, you may make up your mind for a brisk defence on his part, strong and skilled at arms as he is. he also has a sword that for a weapon is a trusty one." then an went into the dairy hard and swift, and held his shield over his head, turning forward the narrower part of it. bolli dealt him a blow with footbiter, and cut off the tail-end of the shield, and clove an through the head down to the shoulder, and forthwith he gat his death. then lambi went in; he held his shield before him, and a drawn sword in his hand. in the nick of time bolli pulled footbiter out of the wound, whereat his shield veered aside so as to lay him open to attack. so lambi made a thrust at him in the thigh, and a great wound that was. bolli hewed in return, and struck lambi's shoulder, and the sword flew down along the side of him, and he was rendered forthwith unfit to fight, and never after that time for the rest of his life was his arm any more use to him. [sidenote: bolli's death] at this brunt helgi, the son of hardbien, rushed in with a spear, the head of which was an ell long, and the shaft bound with iron. when bolli saw that he cast away his sword, and took his shield in both hands, and went towards the dairy door to meet helgi. helgi thrust at bolli with the spear right through the shield and through him. now bolli leaned up against the dairy wall, and the men rushed into the dairy, halldor and his brothers, to wit, and thorgerd went into the dairy as well. then spoke bolli, "now it is safe, brothers, to come nearer than hitherto you have done," and said he weened that defence now would be but short. thorgerd answered his speech, and said there was no need to shrink from dealing unflinchingly with bolli, and bade them "walk between head and trunk." bolli stood still against the dairy wall, and held tight to him his kirtle lest his inside should come out. then steinthor olafson leapt at bolli, and hewed at his neck with a large axe just above his shoulders, and forthwith his head flew off. thorgerd bade him "hale enjoy hands," and said that gudrun would have now a while a red hair to trim for bolli. [sidenote: gudrun's courage] after that they went out of the dairy. gudrun now came up from the brook, and spoke to halldor, and asked for tidings of what had befallen in their dealings with bolli. they told her all that had happened. gudrun was dressed in a kirtle of "rám"-stuff,[ ] and a tight-fitting woven bodice, a high bent coif on her head, and she had tied a scarf round her with dark-blue stripes, and fringed at the ends. helgi hardbienson went up to gudrun, and caught hold of the scarf end, and wiped the blood off the spear with it, the same spear with which he had thrust bolli through. gudrun glanced at him and smiled slightly. then halldor said, "that was blackguardly and gruesomely done." helgi bade him not be angry about it, "for i am minded to think that under this scarf end abides undoer of my life." then they took their horses and rode away. gudrun went along with them talking with them for a while, and then she turned back. [footnote : unknown what stuff.] chap. lvi bolli bollison is born, a.d. the followers of halldor now fell a-talking how that gudrun must think but little of the slaying of bolli, since she had seen them off chatting and talked to them altogether as if they had done nothing that she might take to heart. then halldor answered, "that is not my feeling, that gudrun thinks little of bolli's death; i think the reason of her seeing us off with a chat was far rather, that she wanted to gain a thorough knowledge as to who the men were who had partaken in this journey. nor is it too much said of gudrun that in all mettle of mind and heart she is far above other women. indeed, it is only what might be looked for that gudrun should take sorely to heart the death of bolli, for, truth to tell, in such men as was bolli there is the greatest loss, though we kinsmen, bore not about the good luck to live in peace together." after that they rode home to herdholt. these tidings spread quickly far and wide and were thought startling, and at bolli's death there was the greatest grief. [sidenote: snorri counsels gudrun] gudrun sent straightway men to snorri the priest, for osvif and she thought that all their trust was where snorri was. snorri started quickly at the bidding of gudrun and came to tongue with sixty men, and a great ease to gudrun's heart his coming was. he offered her to try to bring about a peaceful settlement, but gudrun was but little minded on behalf of thorleik to agree to taking money for the slaughter of bolli. "it seems to me, snorri, that the best help you can afford me," she said, "is to exchange dwellings with me, so that i be not next-door neighbour to the herdholtings." at that time snorri had great quarrels with the dwellers at eyr, but said he would do this for the sake of his friendship with gudrun. "yet, gudrun, you will have to stay on this year at tongue." snorri then made ready to go away, and gudrun gave him honourable gifts. and now snorri rides away, and things went pretty quietly on that year. [sidenote: the birth of bolli bollison] the next winter after the killing of bolli gudrun gave birth to a child; it was a male, and he was named bolli. he was at an early age both big and goodly, and gudrun loved him very much. now as the winter passed by and the spring came the bargain took place which had been bespoken in that snorri and gudrun changed lands. snorri went to tongue and lived there for the rest of his life, and gudrun went to holyfell, she and osvif, and there they set up a stately house. there thorleik and bolli, the sons of gudrun, grew up. thorleik was four years old at the time when bolli his father was slain. chap. lvii about thorgils hallason, a.d. there was a man named thorgils hallason; he was known by his mother's name, as she lived longer than his father, whose name was snorri, son of alf o' dales. halla, thorgil's mother, was daughter of gest oddliefson. thorgils lived in horddale at a place called tongue. thorgils was a man great and goodly of body, the greatest swaggerer, and was spoken of as one of no fairness in dealings with men. between him and snorri the priest there was often little love lost, for snorri found thorgils both meddlesome and flaunting of demeanour. thorgils would get up many errands on which to go west into the countryside, and always came to holyfell offering gudrun to look after her affairs, but she only took the matter quietly and made but little of it all. thorgils asked for her son thorleik to go home with him, and he stayed for the most part at tongue and learnt law from thorgils, for he was a man most skilled in law-craft. at that time thorkell eyjolfson was busy in trading journeys; he was a most renowned man, and of high birth, and withal a great friend of snorri the priest. he would always be staying with thorstein kuggison, his kinsman, when he was out here (in iceland). [sidenote: the outlaw grim] now, one time when thorkell had a ship standing up in vadil, on bardistrand, it befell, in burgfirth, that the son of eid of ridge was killed by the sons of helga from kropp. grim was the name of the man who had done the manslaughter, and that of his brother was nial, who was drowned in white-river; a little later on grim was outlawed to the woods because of the manslaughter, and he lay out in the mountains whilst he was under the award of outlawry. he was a great man and strong. eid was then very old when this happened, so the case was not followed up. people blamed thorkell very much that he did not see matters righted. [sidenote: thorkell goes to find grim] the next spring when thorkell had got his ship ready he went south across broadfirth-country, and got a horse there and rode alone, not stopping in his journey till he got as far as ridge, to eid, his kinsman. eid took him in joyfully. thorkell told him his errand, how that he would go and find grim his outlaw, and asked eid if he knew at all where his lair was. eid answered, "i am nowise eager for this; it seems to me you have much to risk as to how the journey may speed, seeing that you will have to deal with a man of hel's strength, such as grim. but if you will go, then start with many men, so that you may have it all your own way." "that to me is no prowess," said thorkell, "to draw together a great company against one man. but what i wish is, that you would lend me the sword skofnung, for then i ween i shall be able to overcome a mere runagate, be he never so mighty a man of his hands." "you must have your way in this," said eid, "but it will not come to me unawares, if, some day, you should come to rue this wilfulness. but inasmuch as you will have it that you are doing this for my sake, what you ask for shall not be withheld, for i think skofnung well bestowed if you bear it. but the nature of the sword is such that the sun must not shine upon its hilt, nor must it be drawn if a woman should be near. if a man be wounded by the sword the hurt may not be healed, unless the healing-stone that goes with the sword be rubbed thereon." thorkell said he would pay careful heed to this, and takes over the sword, asking eid to point out to him the way to where grim might have his lair. eid said he was most minded to think that grim had his lair north on twodays-heath by the fishwaters. then thorkell rode northward upon the heath the way which eid did point out to him, and when he had got a long way onward over the heath he saw near some great water a hut, and makes his way for it. chap. lviii thorkell and grim, and their voyage abroad thorkell now comes to the hut, he sees where a man is sitting by the water at the mouth of a brook, where he was line-fishing, and had a cloak over his head. [sidenote: they fight] thorkell leapt off his horse and tied it up under the wall of the hut. then he walks down to the water to where the man was sitting. grim saw the shadow of a man cast on the water, and springs up at once. by then thorkell had got very nearly close up to him, and strikes at him. the blow caught him on his arm just above the wolf-joint (the wrist), but that was not a great wound. grim sprang forthwith upon thorkell, and they seized each other wrestling-wise, and speedily the odds of strength told, and thorkell fell and grim on the top of him. then grim asked who this man might be. thorkell said that did not at all matter to him. [sidenote: they make peace] grim said, "now things have befallen otherwise than you must have thought they would, for now your life will be in my power." thorkell said he would not pray for peace for himself, "for lucklessly i have taken this in hand." grim said he had had enough mishaps for him to give this one the slip, "for to you some other fate is ordained than that of dying at this our meeting, and i shall give you your life, while you repay me in whatever kind you please." now they both stand up and walk home to the hut. thorkell sees that grim was growing faint from loss of blood, so he took skofnung's-stone and rubbed it on, and ties it to the arm of grim, and it took forthwith all smarting pain and swelling out of the wound. they stayed there that night. in the morning thorkell got ready to go away, and asked if grim would go with him. he said that sure enough that was his will. thorkell turns straightway westward without going to meet eid, nor halted he till he came to sælingsdale tongue. [sidenote: thorkell and grim go to snorri] snorri the priest welcomes him with great blitheness. thorkell told him that his journey had sped lucklessly. snorri said it had turned out well, "for grim looks to me a man endowed with good luck, and my will is that you make matters up with him handsomely. but now, my friend, i would like to counsel you to leave off trade-journeyings, and to settle down and marry, and become a chief as befits your high birth." thorkell answered, "often your counsels have stood me in good stead," and he asked if snorri had bethought him of the woman he should woo. snorri answers, "you must woo the woman who is the best match for you, and that woman is gudrun, osvif's daughter." thorkell said it was true that a marriage with her would be an honourable one. "but," says he, "i think her fierce heart and reckless-mindedness weigh heavily, for she will want to have her husband, bolli, avenged. besides, it is said that on this matter there is some understanding between her and thorgils hallason, and it may be that this will not be altogether to his liking. otherwise, gudrun pleases me well." snorri said, "i will undertake to see that no harm shall come to you from thorgils; but as to the revenge for bolli, i am rather in hopes that concerning that matter some change will have befallen before these seasons (this year) are out." thorkell answered, "it may be that these be no empty words you are speaking now. but as to the revenge of bolli, that does not seem to me more likely to happen now than it did a while ago, unless into that strife some of the greater men may be drawn." snorri said, "i should be well pleased to see you go abroad once more this summer, to let us see then what happens." thorkell said so it should be, and they parted, leaving matters where they now stood. thorkell went west over broadfirth-country to his ship. he took grim with him abroad. they had a good summer-voyage, and came to the south of norway. then thorkell said to grim, "you know how the case stands, and what things happened to bring about our acquaintance, so i need say nothing about that matter; but i would fain that it should turn out better than at one time it seemed likely it would. i have found you a valiant man, and for that reason i will so part from you, as if i had never borne you any grudge. i will give you as much merchandise as you need in order to be able to join the guild of good merchants. but do not settle down here in the north of this land, for many of eid's kinsmen are about on trading journeys who bear you heavy ill-will." grim thanked him for these words, and said he could never have thought of asking for as much as he offered. at parting thorkell gave to grim a goodly deal of merchandise, and many men said that this deed bore the stamp of a great man. [sidenote: the end of the story of grim] after that grim went east in the wick, settled there, and was looked upon as a mighty man of his ways; and therewith comes to an end what there is to be told about grim. thorkell was in norway through the winter, and was thought a man of much account; he was exceeding wealthy in chattels. now this matter must be left for a while, and the story must be taken up out in iceland, so let us hear what matters befell there for tidings to be told of whilst thorkell was abroad. chap. lix gudrun demands revenge for bolli, a.d. in "twinmonth" that summer gudrun, osvif's daughter, went from home up into the dales. she rode to thickshaw; and at this time thorleik was sometimes at thickshaw with the sons of armod halldor and ornolf, and sometimes tongue with thorgils. [sidenote: gudrun meets snorri] the same night gudrun sent a man to snorri godi saying that she wished to meet him without fail the next day. snorri got ready at once and rode with one other man until he came to hawkdale-river; on the northern side of that river stands a crag by the river called head, within the land of lea-shaw. at this spot gudrun had bespoken that she and snorri should meet. they both came there at one and the same time. with gudrun there was only one man, and he was bolli, son of bolli; he was now twelve years old, but fulfilled of strength and wits was he, so much so, that many were they who were no whit more powerful at the time of ripe manhood; and now he carried footbiter. snorri and gudrun now fell to talking together; but bolli and snorri's follower sat on the crag and watched people travelling up and down the countryside. when snorri and gudrun had asked each other for news, snorri inquired on what errand he was called, and what had come to pass lately that she sent him word so hurriedly. gudrun said, "truth to tell, to me is ever fresh the event which i am about to bring up, and yet it befell twelve years ago; for it is about the revenge of bolli i wish to speak, and it ought not to take you unawares. i have called it to your mind from time to time. i must also bring this home to you that to this end you have promised me some help if i but waited patiently, but now i think it past hope that you will give any heed to our case. [sidenote: they talk of revenge] i have now waited as long as my temper would hold out, and i must have whole-hearted counsel from you as to where this revenge is to be brought home." snorri asked what she chiefly had in her mind's eye. gudrun said, "it is my wish that all olaf's sons should not go scatheless." snorri said he must forbid any onset on the men who were not only of the greatest account in the countryside, but also closely akin to those who stand nearest to back up the revenge; and it is high time already that these family feuds come to an end. gudrun said, "then lambi shall be set upon and slain; for then he, who is the most eager of them for evil, would be put out of the way." snorri said, "lambi is guilty enough that he should be slain; but i do not think bolli any the more revenged for that; for when at length peace should come to be settled, no such disparity between them would be acknowledged as ought to be due to bolli when the manslaughters of both should come up for award." gudrun spoke, "it may be that we shall not get our right out of the men of salmon-river-dale, but some one shall pay dear for it, whatever dale he may dwell in. so we shall turn upon thorstein the black, for no one has taken a worse share in these matters than he." [sidenote: snorri's advice] snorri spake, "thorstein's guilt against you is the same as that of the other men who joined in the raid against bolli, but did not wound him. but you leave such men to sit by in quiet on whom it seems to me revenge wrought would be revenge indeed, and who, moreover, did take the life of bolli, such as was helgi hardbienson." gudrun said, "that is true, but i cannot be sure that, in that case, all these men against whom i have been stirring up enmity will sit quietly by doing nothing." snorri said, "i see a good way to hinder that. lambi and thorstein shall join the train of your sons, and that is a fitting ransom for those fellows, lambi and thorstein; but if they will not do this, then i shall not plead for them to be let off, whatever penalty you may be pleased to put upon them." gudrun spake: "how shall we set about getting these men that you have named to go on this journey?" snorri spake: "that is the business of them who are to be at the head of the journey." gudrun spake: "in this we must have your foresight as to who shall rule the journey and be the leader." then snorri smiled and said, "you have chosen your own men for it." gudrun replied, "you are speaking of thorgils." snorri said so it was. gudrun spake: "i have talked the matter over already with thorgils, but now it is as good as all over, for he gave me the one choice, which i would not even look at. he did not back out of undertaking to avenge bolli, if he could have me in marriage in return; but that is past all hope, so i cannot ask him to go this journey." [sidenote: the trick to be played on thorgils] snorri spoke: "on this i will give you a counsel, for i do not begrudge thorgils this journey. you shall promise marriage to him, yet you shall do it in language of this double meaning, that of men in this land you will marry none other but thorgils, and that shall be holden to, for thorkell eyjolfson is not, for the time being, in this land, but it is he whom i have in my mind's eye for this marriage." gudrun spake: "he will see through this trick." snorri answered, "indeed he will not see through it, for thorgils is better known for foolhardiness than wits. make the covenant with but few men for witnesses, and let halldor, his foster-brother, be there, but not ornolf, for he has more wits, and lay the blame on me if this will not work out." after that they parted their talk and each bade the other farewell, snorri riding home, and gudrun unto thickshaw. the next morning gudrun rode from thickshaw and her sons with her, and when they ride west along shawstrand they see that men are riding after them. they ride on quickly and catch them up swiftly, and lo, there was thorgils hallason. they greeted each other well, and now ride on in the day all together, out to holyfell. chap. lx the egging of gudrun [sidenote: gudrun and her sons] a few nights after gudrun had come home she called her sons to her to have a talk with them in her orchard; and when they were come there they saw how there were lying out some linen clothes, a shirt and linen breeches, and they were much stained with blood. then spake gudrun: "these same clothes you see here cry to you for your father's revenge. i will not say many words on this matter, for it is past hope that you will heed an egging-on by words alone if you bring not home to your minds such hints and reminders as these." the brothers were much startled as this, and at what gudrun had to say; but yet this way they made answer that they had been too young to seek for revenge without a leader; they knew not, they felt, how to frame a counsel for themselves or others either. "but we might well bear in mind what we have lost." gudrun said, "they would be likely to give more thought to horse-fights or sports." after that they went away. the next night the brothers could not sleep. thorgils got aware of this, and asked them what was the matter. they told him all the talk they had had with their mother, and this withal that they could no longer bear their grief or their mother's taunts. "we will seek revenge," said bolli, "now that we brothers have come to so ripe an age that men will be much after us if we do not take the matter in hand." [sidenote: thorgils promises to help in the revenge] the next day gudrun and thorgils had a talk together, and gudrun started speaking in this wise: "i am given to think, thorgils, that my sons brook it ill to sit thus quietly on any longer without seeking revenge for their father's death. but what mostly has delayed the matter hitherto is that up to now i deemed thorleik and bolli too young to be busy in taking men's lives. but need enough there has been to call this to mind a good long time before this. thorgils answered, "there is no use in your talking this matter over with me, because you have given a flat denial to 'walking with me' (marrying me). but i am in just the same frame of mind as i have been before, when we have had talks about this matter. if i can marry you, i shall not think twice about killing either or both of the two who had most to do with the murder of bolli." gudrun spoke: "i am given to think that to thorleik no man seems as well fitted as you to be the leader if anything is to be done in the way of deeds of hardihood. nor is it a matter to be hidden from you that the lads are minded to go for helgi hardbienson the 'bareserk,' who sits at home in his house in skorridale misdoubting himself of nothing." thorgils spake: "i never care whether he is called helgi or by any other name, for neither in helgi nor in any one else do i deem i have an over-match in strength to deal with. as far as i am concerned, the last word on this matter is now spoken if you promise before witnesses to marry me when, together with your sons, i have wreaked the revenge." gudrun said she would fulfil all she should agree to, even though such agreement were come to before few men to witness it. "and," said she, "this then we shall settle to have done." gudrun bade be called thither halldor, thorgils' foster-brother, and her own sons. thorgils bade that ornolf should also be with them. gudrun said there was no need of that, "for i am more doubtful of ornolf's faithfulness to you than i think you are yourself." [sidenote: thorgils deceived by gudrun] thorgils told her to do as she liked. now the brothers come and meet gudrun and thorgils, halldor being also at the parley with them. gudrun now sets forth to them that "thorgils has said he will be the leader in this raid against helgi hardbienson, together with my sons, for revenge of bolli, and thorgils has bargained in return for this undertaking to get me for wife. now i avow, with you to witness, that i promise this to thorgils, that of men in this land i shall marry none but him, and i do not purpose to go and marry in any other land." thorgils thought that this was binding enough, and did not see through it. and now they broke up their talk. this counsel is now fully settled that thorgils must betake himself to this journey. he gets ready to leave holyfell, and with him the sons of gudrun, and they rode up into the dales and first to the homestead at tongue. chap. lxi of thorstein the black and lambi [sidenote: thorstein the black joins with the brothers] the next lord's day a leet was held, and thorgils rode thither with his company, snorri godi was not at the leet, but there was a great many people together. during the day thorgils fetched up thorstein the black for a talk with him, and said, "as you know, you were one in the onset by the sons of olaf when bolli was slain, and you have made no atonement for your guilt to his sons. now although a long time is gone since those things befell, i think their mind has not given the slip to the men who were in that raid. now, these brothers look in this light upon the matter, that it beseem them least, by reason of kinship, to seek revenge on the sons of olaf; and so the brothers purpose to turn for revenge upon helgi hardbienson, for he gave bolli his death-wound. so we ask this of you, thorstein, that you join in this journey with the brothers, and thus purchase for yourself peace and good-will." thorstein replied, "it beseems me not at all to deal in treason with helgi, my brother-in-law, and i would far rather purchase my peace with as much money as it would be to their honour to take." thorgils said, "i think it is but little to the mind of the brothers to do aught herein for their own gain; so you need not hide it away from yourself, thorstein, that at your hands there lie two choices: either to betake yourself to this journey, or to undergo the harshest of treatments from them as soon as they may bring it about; and my will is, that you take this choice in spite of the ties that bind you to helgi; for when men find themselves in such straits, each must look after himself." thorstein spake: "will the same choice be given to more of the men who are charged with guilt by the sons of bolli?" thorgils answered, "the same choice will be put to lambi." [sidenote: lambi is persuaded to join them] thorstein said he would think better of it if he was not left the only one in this plight. after that thorgils called lambi to come and meet him, and bade thorstein listen to their talk. he said, "i wish to talk over with you, lambi, the same matter that i have set forth to thorstein; to wit, what amends you are willing to make to the sons of bolli for the charges of guilt which they have against you? for it has been told me as true that you wrought wounds on bolli; but besides that, you are heavily guilt-beset, in that you urged it hard that bolli should be slain; yet, next to the sons of olaf, you were entitled to some excuse in the matter." then lambi asked what he would be asked to do. thorgils said the same choice would be put to him as to thorstein, "to join with the brothers in this journey." lambi said, "this i think an evil price of peace and a dastardly one, and i have no mind for this journey." then said thorstein, "it is not the only thing open to view, lambi, to cut so quickly away from this journey; for in this matter great men are concerned, men of much worth, moreover, who deem that they have long had to put up with an unfair lot in life. it is also told me of bolli's sons that they are likely to grow into men of high mettle, and that they are exceeding masterful; but the wrong they have to wreak is great. we cannot think of escaping from making some amends after such awful deeds. i shall be the most open to people's reproaches for this by reason of my alliance with helgi. but i think most people are given to 'setting all aside for life,' and the trouble on hand that presses hardest must first be thrust out of the way." lambi said, "it is easy to see what you urge to be done, thorstein; and i think it well befitting that you have your own way in this matter, if you think that is the only way you see open, for ours has been a long partnership in great troubles. [sidenote: the journey settled] but i will have this understood if i do go into this business, that my kinsmen, the sons of olaf, shall be left in peace if the revenge on helgi shall be carried out." thorgils agreed to this on behalf of the brothers. [sidenote: the party leave home] so now it was settled that lambi and thorstein should betake themselves to the journey with thorgils; and they bespoke it between them that they should come early on the third day (tuesday)[ ] to tongue, in hord-dale. after that they parted. thorgils rode home that evening to tongue. now passes on the time within which it was bespoken they should come to tongue. in the morning of the third day (tuesday), before sunrise, thorstein and lambi came to tongue, and thorgils gave them a cheerful welcome. [footnote : the agreement was made on a sunday.] chap. lxii thorgils and his followers leave home thorgils got himself ready to leave home, and they all rode up along hord-dale, ten of them together. there thorgils hallason was the leader of the band. in that train the sons of bolli, thorleik and bolli, and thord the cat, their brother, was the fourth, the fifth was thorstein the black, the sixth lambi, the seventh and eighth haldor and ornolf, the ninth svein, and the tenth hunbogi. those last were the sons of alf o' dales. they rode on their way up to sweeping-pass, and across long-waterdale, and then right across burgfirth. they rode across north-river at isleford, but across white-river at bankford, a short way down from the homestead of by. then they rode over reekdale, and over the neck of land to skorradale, and so up through the wood in the neighbourhood of the farmstead of water-nook, where they got off their horses, as it was very late in the evening. the homestead of water-nook stands a short way from the lake on the south side of the river. [sidenote: thorgils takes the lead] thorgils said to his followers that they must tarry there over night, "and i will go to the house and spy and see if helgi be at home. i am told helgi has at most times very few men with him, but that he is of all men the wariest of himself, and sleeps on a strongly made lock-bed." thorgils' followers bade him follow his own foresight. thorgils now changed his clothes, and took off his blue cloak, and slipped on a grey foul-weather overall. he went home to the house. when he was come near to the home-field fence he saw a man coming to meet him, and when they met thorgils said, "you will think my questions strange, comrade, but whose am i come to in this countryside, and what is the name of this dwelling, and who lives here?" the man answered, "you must be indeed a wondrous fool and wit-bereft if you have not heard helgi hardbienson spoken of, the bravest of warriors, and a great man withal." thorgils next asked how far helgi took kindly to unknown people coming to see him, such as were in great need of help. he replied, "in that matter, if truth is told, only good can be said of helgi, for he is the most large-hearted of men, not only in giving harbour to comers, but also in all his high conduct otherwise." "is helgi at home now?" asked thorgils; "i should like to ask him to take me in." [sidenote: thorgils and helgi's servant] the other then asks what matters he had on his hands. thorgils answered, "i was outlawed this summer at the thing, and i want to seek for myself the help of some such man as is a mighty one of his hands and ways, and i will in return offer my fellowship and service. so now you take me home to the house to see helgi." "i can do that very well, to show you home," he said, "for you will be welcome to quarters for the night, but you will not see helgi, for he is not at home." then thorgils asked where he was. the man answered, "he is at his out-dairy called sarp." thorgils asked where that was, and what men were with him. he said his son hardbien was there, and two other men, both outlaws, whom he had taken in to shelter. thorgils bade him show the nearest way to the dairy, "for i want to meet helgi at once, when i can get to him and plead my errand to him." the house-carle did so and showed him the way, and after that they parted. thorgils returned to the wood to his companions, and told them what he had found out about helgi. "we must tarry here through the night, and not go to the dairy till to-morrow morning." they did as he ordained, and in the morning thorgils and his band rode up through the wood till they were within a short way from the dairy. then thorgils bade them get off their horses and eat their morning meal, and so they did, and kept them for a while. chap. lxiii the description of his enemies brought to helgi [sidenote: helgi and his shepherd] now we must tell what happened at the dairy where helgi was, and with him the men that were named before. in the morning helgi told his shepherd to go through the woods in the neighbourhood of the dairy and look out for people passing, and take heed of whatever else he saw, to tell news of, "for my dreams have gone heavily to-night." the lad went even as helgi told him. he was away awhile, and when he came back helgi asked what he had seen to tell tidings of. he answered, "i have seen what i think is stuff for tidings." helgi asked what that was. he said he had seen men, "and none so few either, and i think they must have come from beyond this countryside." helgi spoke: "where were they when you saw them, and what were they doing, or did you take heed of the manner of raiment, or their looks?" he answered, "i was not so much taken aback at the sight as not to mind those matters, for i knew you would ask about them." he also said they were but short away from the dairy, and were eating their morning meal. helgi asked if they sat in a ring or side by side in a line. he said they sat in a ring, on their saddles. [sidenote: the description of helgi's enemies] helgi said, "tell me now of their looks, and i will see if i can guess from what they looked like who the men may be." the lad said, "there sat a man in a stained saddle, in a blue cloak. he was great of growth, and valiant-looking; he was bald in front and somewhat 'tooth-bare.'" helgi said, "i know that man clearly from your tale. there you have seen thorgils hallason, from west out of hord-dale. i wonder what he wants with us, the hero." the lad spoke: "next to him sat a man in a gilded saddle; he had on a scarlet kirtle, and a gold ring on his arm, and a gold-embroidered fillet was tied round his head. this man had yellow hair, waving down over his shoulders; he was fair of hue, with a knot on his nose, which was somewhat turned up at the tip, with very fine eyes--blue-eyed and swift-eyed, and with a glance somewhat restless, broad-browed and full-cheeked; he had his hair cut across his forehead. he was well grown as to breadth of shoulders and depth of chest. he had very beautiful hands, and strong-looking arms. all his bearing was courteous, and, in a word, i have never seen a man so altogether doughty-looking. he was a young-looking man too, for his lips had grown no beard, but it seemed to me he was aged by grief." then helgi answers: "you have paid a careful heed, indeed, to this man, and of much account he must needs be; yet this man, i think, i have never seen, so i must make a guess at it who he is. there, i think, must have been bolli bollison, for i am told he has in him the makings of a man." [sidenote: the description continued] then the lad went on: "next there sat a man on an enamelled saddle in a yellow green kirtle; he had a great finger ring on his hand. this man was most goodly to behold, and must still be young of age; his hair was auburn and most comely, and in every way he was most courtly." helgi answers, "i think i know who this man is, of whom you have now been telling. he must be thorleik bollison, and a sharp and mindful man you are." the lad said again, "next sat a young man; he was in a blue kirtle and black breeches, and his tunic tucked into them. this man was straight-faced, light of hair, with a goodly-featured face, slender and graceful." helgi answered, "i know that man, for i must have seen him, though at a time when he was quite young; for it must be thord thordson, fosterling of snorri the priest. and a very courtly band they have, the westfirthers. what is there yet to tell?" then the lad said, "there sat a man on a scotch saddle, hoary of beard and very sallow of hue, with black curly hair, somewhat unsightly and yet warrior like; he had on a grey pleated cape." helgi said, "i clearly see who that man is; there is lambi, the son of thorbjorn, from salmon-river-dale; but i cannot think why he should be in the train of these brothers." [sidenote: further description of the men] the lad spake: "there sat a man on a pommelled saddle, and had on a blue cloak for an overall, with a silver ring on his arm; he was a farmer-looking sort of man and past the prime of life, with dark auburn long curly hair, and scars about his face." "now the tale grows worse by much," said helgi, "for there you must have seen thorstein the black, my brother-in-law; and a wondrous thing indeed i deem it, that he should be in this journey, nor would i ever offer him such a home-raid. but what more is there still to tell?" he answered, "next there sat two men like each other to look upon, and might have been of middle age; most brisk they looked, red of hair, freckled of face, yet goodly to behold." helgi said, "i can clearly understand who those men are. there are the sons of armod, foster-brothers of thorgils, halldor and ornolf. and a very trustworthy fellow you are. but have you now told the tale of all the men you saw?" he answered, "i have but little to add now. next there sat a man and looked out of the circle; he was in a plate-corselet and had a steel cap on his head, with a brim a hand's breadth wide; he bore a shining axe on his shoulder, the edge of which must have measured an ell in length. this man was dark of hue, black-eyed, and most viking like." helgi answered, "i clearly know this man from your tale. there has been hunbogi the strong, son of alf o' dales. but what i find so hard to make out is, what they want journeying with such a very picked company." the lad spoke again: "and still there sat a man next to this strong-looking one, dark auburn of hair, thick-faced and red-faced, heavy of brow, of a tall middle size." helgi said, "you need not tell the tale further, there must have been svein, son of alf o' dales, brother of hunbogi. now it would be as well not to stand shiftless in the face of these men; for near to my mind's foreboding it is, that they are minded to have a meeting with me or ever they leave this countryside; moreover, in this train there are men who would hold that it would have been but due and meet, though this our meeting should have taken a good long time before this. now all the women who are in the dairy slip on quickly men's dress and take the horses that are about the dairy and ride as quickly as possible to the winter dwelling; it may be that those who are besetting us about will not know whether men or women be riding there; they need give us only a short respite till we bring men together here, and then it is not so certain on which side the outlook will be most hopeful." the women now rode off, four together. [sidenote: hrapp joins the brothers and thorgils] thorgils misdoubts him lest news of their coming may have reached helgi, and so bade the others take their horses and ride after them at their swiftest, and so they did, but before they mounted a man came riding up to them openly in all men's sight. he was small of growth and all on the alert, wondrously swift of glance and had a lively horse. this man greeted thorgils in a familiar manner, and thorgils asked him his name and family and also whence he had come. he said his name was hrapp, and he was from broadfirth on his mother's side. "and then i grew up, and i bear the name of fight-hrapp, with the name follows that i am nowise an easy one to deal with, albeit i am small of growth; but i am a southlander on my father's side, and have tarried in the south for some winters. now this is a lucky chance, thorgils, i have happened of you here, for i was minded to come and see you anyhow, even though i should find it a business somewhat hard to follow up. [sidenote: his talk and behaviour] i have a trouble on hand; i have fallen out with my master, and have had from him a treatment none of the best; but it goes with the name, that i will stand no man such shameful mishandling, so i made an outset at him, but i guess i wounded him little or not at all, for i did not wait long enough to see for myself, but thought myself safe when i got on to the back of this nag, which i took from the goodman." hrapp says much, but asks for few things; yet soon he got to know that they were minded to set on helgi, and that pleased him very much, and he said they would not have to look for him behind. chap. lxiv the death of helgi, a.d. thorgils and his followers, as soon as they were on horseback, set off at a hard ride, and rode now out of the wood. they saw four men riding away from the dairy, and they rode very fast too. seeing this, some of thorgils' companions said they had better ride after them at their swiftest. [sidenote: the women leave the dairy] then said thorleik bollison, "we will just go to the dairy and see what men are there, for i think it less likely that these be helgi and his followers. it seems to me that those are only women." a good many of them gainsaid this. thorgils said that thorleik should rule in the matter, for he knew that he was a very far-sighted man. they now turned to the dairy. hrapp rode first, shaking the spear-stick he carried in his hand, and thrusting it forward in front of himself, and saying now was high time to try one's self. helgi and his followers were not aware of anything till thorgils and his company had surrounded the dairy. helgi and his men shut the door, and seized their weapons. hrapp leapt forthwith upon the roof of the dairy, and asked if old reynard was in. helgi answered, "you will come to take for granted that he who is here within is somewhat hurtful, and will know how to bite near the warren." and forthwith helgi thrust his spear out through the window and through hrapp, so that he fell dead to earth from the spear. thorgils bade the others go heedfully and beware of mishaps, "for we have plenty of means wherewith to get the dairy into our power, and to overcome helgi, placed as he is now, for i am given to think that here but few men are gathered together." [sidenote: the breaking of the beam] the dairy was rigged over one roof-beam, resting on two gables so that the ends of the beam stuck out beyond each gable; there was a single turf thatch on the house, which had not yet grown together. then thorgils told some of his men to go to the beam ends, and pull them so hard that either the beam should break or else the rafters should slip in off it, but others were to guard the door lest those within should try and get out. five they were, helgi and his within the dairy--hardbien, his son, to wit, he was twelve years old--his shepherd and two other men, who had come to him that summer, being outlaws--one called thorgils, and the other eyolf. thorstein the black and svein, son of alf o' dales, stood before the door. the rest of the company were tearing the roof off the dairy. hunbogi the strong and the sons of armod took one end of the beam, thorgils, lambi, and gudrun's sons the other end. they now pull hard at the beam till it broke asunder in the middle; just at this hardbien thrust a halberd out through where the door was broken, and the thrust struck the steel cap of thorstein the black and stuck in his forehead, and that was a very great wound. then thorstein said, as was true, that there were men before them. next helgi leapt so boldly out of the door so that those nearest shrunk aback. thorgils was standing near, and struck after him with a sword, and caught him on the shoulder and made a great wound. helgi turned to meet him, and had a wood-axe in his hand, and said, "still the old one will dare to look at and face weapons," and therewith he flung the axe at thorgils, and the axe struck his foot, and a great wound that was. [sidenote: helgi's death] and when bolli saw this he leapt forward at helgi with footbiter in his hand, and thrust helgi through with it, and that was his death-blow. helgi's followers leapt out of the dairy forthwith, and hardbien with them. thorleik bollison turned against eyolf, who was a strong man. thorleik struck him with his sword, and it caught him on the leg above the knee and cut off his leg, and he fell to earth dead. hunbogi the strong went to meet thorgils, and dealt a blow at him with an axe, and it struck the back of him, and cut him asunder in the middle. thord cat was standing near where hardbien leapt out, and was going to set upon him straightway, but bolli rushed forward when he saw it, and bade no harm be done to hardbien. "no man shall do a dastard's work here, and hardbien shall have life and limbs spared." helgi had another son named skorri. he was brought up at gugland in reekdale the southernmost. chap. lxv of gudrun's deceit [sidenote: thorgils' return] after these deeds thorgils and his band rode away over the neck to reekdale, where they declared these manslaughters on their hands. then they rode the same way eastward as they had ridden from the west, and did not stop their journey till they came to hord-dale. they now told the tidings of what had happened in their journey, which became most famous, for it was thought a great deed to have felled such a hero as was helgi. thorgils thanked his men well for the journey, and the sons of bolli did the same. and now the men part who had been in thorgils' train; lambi rode west to salmon-river-dale, and came first to herdholt and told his kinsmen most carefully the tidings of what had happened in skorradale. they were very ill-pleased with his journey and laid heavy reproaches upon him, saying he had shown himself much more of the stock of thorbjorn "skrjup" than of that of myrkjartan, the irish king. lambi was very angry at their talk, and said they knew but little of good manners in overwhelming him with reproaches, "for i have dragged you out of death," says he. after that they exchanged but few words, for both sides were yet more fulfilled of ill-will than before. lambi now rode home to his manor. thorgils hallason rode out to holyfell, and with him the sons of gudrun and his foster-brothers halldor and ornolf. [sidenote: gudrun receives them] they came late in the evening to holyfell, when all men were in bed. gudrun rose up and bade the household get up and wait upon them. she went into the guest-chamber and greeted thorgils and all the others, and asked for tidings. thorgils returned gudrun's greeting; he had laid aside his cloak and his weapons as well, and sat then up against the pillars. thorgils had on a red-brown kirtle, and had round his waist a broad silver belt. gudrun sat down on the bench by him. then thorgils said this stave-- "to helgi's home a raid we led, gave ravens corpse-repast to swallow, we dyed shield-wands[ ] with blood all red, as thorleik's lead our band did follow. and at our hands there perished three keen helmet-stems,[ ] accounted truly as worthies of the folk--and we claim bolli now's avenged full duly." gudrun asked them most carefully for the tidings of what had happened on their journey. thorgils told her all she wished. gudrun said the journey had been most stirringly carried out, and bade them have her thanks for it. after that food was set before them, and after they had eaten they were shown to bed, and slept the rest of the night. the next day thorgils went to talk to gudrun, and said, "now the matter stands thus, as you know, gudrun, that i have brought to an end the journey you bade me undertake, and i must claim that, in a full manly wise, that matter has been turned out of hand; you will also call to mind what you promised me in return, and i think i am now entitled to that prize." [sidenote: thorgils discovers gudrun's trick] then gudrun said, "it is not such a long time since we last talked together that i should have forgotten what we said, and my only aim is to hold to all i agreed to as concerning you. or what does your mind tell you as to how matters were bespoken between us?" thorgils said she must remember that, and gudrun answered, "i think i said that of men within this land i would marry none but you; or have you aught to say against that?" thorgils said she was right. "that is well then," said gudrun, "that our memory should be one and the same on this matter. and i will not put it off from you any longer, that i am minded to think that it is not fated to me to be your wife. yet i deem that i fulfil to you all uttered words, though i marry thorkell eyjolfson, who at present is not in this land." [sidenote: gest's prophecy fulfilled] then thorgils said, and flushed up very much, "clearly i do see from whence that chill wave comes running, and from thence cold counsels have always come to me. i know that this is the counsel of snorri the priest." thorgils sprang up from this talk and was very angry, and went to his followers and said he would ride away. thorleik disliked very much that things should have taken such a turn as to go against thorgils' will; but bolli was at one with his mother's will herein. gudrun said she would give thorgils some good gifts and soften him by that means, but thorleik said that would be of no use, "for thorgils is far too high-mettled a man to stoop to trifles in a matter of this sort." gudrun said in that case he must console himself as best he could at home. after this thorgils rode from holyfell with his foster-brothers. he got home to tongue to his manor mightily ill at ease over his lot. [footnote : shield-wands = swords.] [footnote : helmet-stems, those who upbear the helmet = men, specially warriors.] chap. lxvi osvif and gest die that winter osvif fell ill and died, and a great loss that was deemed, for he had been the greatest of sages. osvif was buried at holyfell, for gudrun had had a church built there. that same winter gest oddliefson fell ill, and as the sickness grew heavy on him, he called to him thord the low, his son, and said, "my mind forebodes me that this sickness will put an end to our living together. i wish my body to be carried to holyfell, for that will be the greatest place about these countrysides, for i have often seen a light burning there." thereupon gest died. the winter had been very cold, and there was much ice about, and broadfirth was laid under ice so far out that no ship could get over it from bardistrand. [sidenote: the funeral of gest and osvif] gest's body lay in state two nights at hegi, and that very night there sprang up such a gale that all the ice was drawn away from the land, and the next day the weather was fair and still. then thord took a ship and put gest's body on board, and went south across broadfirth that day, and came in the evening to holyfell. thord had a good welcome there, and stayed there through the night. in the morning gest's body was buried, and he and osvif rested in one grave. so gest's soothsaying was fulfilled, in that now it was shorter between them than at the time when one dwelt at bardistrand and the other in sælingsdale. thord the low then went home as soon as he was ready. that next night a wild storm arose, and drove the ice on to the land again, where it held on long through the winter, so that there was no going about in boats. men thought this most marvellous, that the weather had allowed gest's body to be taken across when there was no crossing before nor afterwards during the winter. chap. lxvii the death of thorgils hallason, a.d. thorarin was the name of a man who lived at longdale: he was a chieftain, but not a mighty one. his son was named audgisl, and was a nimble sort of a man. thorgils hallason took the chieftainship from them both, father and son. [sidenote: snorri advises audgisl] audgisl went to see snorri godi, and told him of this unfairness, and asked him to help. snorri answered only by fair words, and belittled the whole affair; but answered, "now that halla's-grig is getting too forward and swaggering. will thorgils then happen on no man that will not give in to him in everything? no doubt he is a big man and doughty, but men as good as he is have also been sent to hel." and when audgisl went away snorri gave him an inlaid axe. the next spring thorgils hallason and thorstein the black went south to burgfirth, and offered atonement to the sons of helgi and his other kinsmen, and they came to terms of peace on the matter, and fair honour was done (to helgi's side). thorstein paid two parts of the atonement for the manslaughter, and the third part thorgils was to pay, payment being due at the thing. in the summer thorgils rode to the thing, but when he and his men came to the lava field by thingvellir, they saw a woman coming to meet them, and a mighty big one she was. thorgils rode up to her, but she turned aside, and said this-- "take care if you go forward, and be wary of snorri's wiles, no one can escape, for so wise is snorri." and after that she went her way. then thorgils said, "it has seldom happened so before, when luck was with me, that you were leaving the thing when i was riding to it." he now rode to the thing and to his own booth. and through the early part the thing was quiet. [sidenote: thorgils' cloak] it happened one day during the thing that folk's clothes were hung out to dry. thorgils had a blue hooded cloak, which was spread out on the booth wall, and men heard the cloak say thus-- "hanging wet on the wall, a hooded cloak knows a braid (trick); i do not say he does not know two, he has been lately washed." this was thought a most marvellous thing. the next day thorgils went west over the river to pay the money to the sons of helgi. [sidenote: thorgils' death] he sat down on the lava above the booths, and with him was his foster-brother halldor and sundry more of them were there together. the sons of helgi came to the meeting. thorgils now began to count out the money. audgisl thorarinson came near, and when thorgils had counted ten audgisl struck at him, and all thought they heard the head say eleven as it flew off the neck. audgisl ran to the booth of the waterfirthers and halldor rushed after him and struck him his death-blow in the door of the booth. these tidings came to the booth of snorri godi how thorgils was slain. snorri said, "you must be mistaken; it must be that thorgils hallason has slain some one." the man replied, "why, the head flew off his trunk." "then perhaps it is time," said snorri. this manslaughter was peacefully atoned, as is told in the saga of thorgils hallason. chap. lxviii gudrun's marriage with thorkell eyjolfson the same summer that thorgils hallason was killed a ship came to bjorn's-haven. it belonged to thorkell eyjolfson. he was by then such a rich man that he had two merchant ships on voyages. the other ship came to ramfirth to board-eyr; they were both laden with timber. when snorri heard of the coming of thorkell he rode at once to where the ship was. thorkell gave him a most blithe welcome; he had a great deal of drink with him in his ship, and right unstintedly it was served, and many things they found to talk about. snorri asked tidings of norway, and thorkell told him everything well and truthfully. snorri told in return the tidings of all that had happened here while thorkell had been away. [sidenote: thorkell proposes to gudrun] "now it seems to me," said snorri, "you had better follow the counsel i set forth to you before you went abroad, and should give up voyaging about and settle down in quiet, and get for yourself the same woman to wife of whom we spoke then." thorkell replied, "i understand what you are driving at; everything we bespoke then is still uppermost in my mind, for indeed i begrudge me not the noblest of matches could it but be brought about." snorri spake, "i am most willing and ready to back that matter up on your behalf, seeing that now we are rid of both the things that seemed to you the most troublesome to overcome, if you were to get gudrun for wife at all, in that bolli is revenged and thorgils is out of the way." thorkell said, "your counsels go very deep, snorri, and into this affair i go heart and soul." snorri stayed in the ship several nights, and then they took a ten-oared boat that floated alongside of the merchant ship and got ready with five-and-twenty men, and went to holyfell. gudrun gave an exceeding affectionate welcome to snorri, and a most goodly cheer they had; and when they had been there one night snorri called gudrun to talk to him, and spake, "matters have come to this, that i have undertaken this journey for my friend thorkell, eyjolf's son, and he has now come here, as you see, and his errand hither is to set forth the wooing of you. thorkell is a man of noble degree. you know yourself all about his race and doings in life, nor is he short of wealth either. to my mind, he is now the one man west about here who is most likely to become a chieftain, if to that end he will put himself forward. thorkell is held in great esteem when he is out there, but by much is he more honoured when he is in norway in the train of titled men." [sidenote: gudrun accepts his proposal] then answers gudrun: "my sons thorleik and bolli must have most to say in this matter; but you, snorri, are the third man on whom i shall most rely for counsels in matters by which i set a great store, for you have long been a wholesome guide to me." snorri said he deemed it a clear case that thorkell must not be turned off. thereupon snorri had the sons of gudrun called in, and sets forth the matter to them, laying down how great an help thorkell might afford them by reason of his wealth and wise foresight; and smoothly he framed his speech on this matter. then bolli answered: "my mother will know how most clearly to see through this matter, and herein i shall be of one mind with her own will. but, to be sure, we shall deem it wise to set much store by your pleading this matter, snorri, for you have done to us mightily well in many things." then gudrun spake: "in this matter we will lean most on snorri's foresight, for to us your counsels have been wholesome." snorri urged the matter on by every word he spoke, and the counsel taken was, that gudrun and thorkell should be joined in marriage. snorri offered to have the wedding at his house; and thorkell, liking that well, said: "i am not short of means, and i am ready to furnish them in whatever measure you please." then gudrun spake: "it is my wish that the feast be held here at holyfell. i do not blench at standing the cost of it, nor shall i call upon thorkell or any one else to trouble themselves about this matter." "often, indeed, you show, gudrun," said snorri, "that you are the most high-mettled of women." so this was now settled that the wedding should take place when it lacked six weeks of summer. [sidenote: they are married] at matters thus settled snorri and thorkell went away, snorri going home and thorkell to his ship, and he spent the summer, turn and turn about, at tongue or at his ship. time now wore on towards the wedding feast. gudrun made great preparation with much ingatherings. snorri came to the feast together with thorkell, and they brought with them well-nigh sixty men, and a very picked company that was, for most of the men were in dyed raiments. gudrun had well-nigh a hundred and twenty first-bidden guests. the brothers bolli and thorleik, with the first-bidden guests, went to meet snorri and his train; and to him and his fellowship was given a right cheery welcome, and their horses are taken in hand, as well as their clothes. they were shown into the guest-chamber, and thorkell and snorri and their followers took seats on the bench that was the upper one, and gudrun's guests sat on the lower. chap. lxix the quarrel about gunnar at the feast [sidenote: gunnar at the wedding feast] that autumn gunnar, the slayer of thridrandi, had been sent to gudrun for "trust and keep," and she had taken him in, his name being kept secret. gunnar was outlawed because of the slaying of thridrandi, geitir's son, as is told in the niard-wickers' saga. he went about much "with a hidden head," for that many great men had their eyes upon him. the first evening of the feast, when men went to wash, a big man was standing by the water; he was broad of shoulder and wide of chest, and this man had a hat on his head. thorkell asked who he was. he named himself as it seemed best to him. thorkell says: "i think you are not speaking the truth; going by what the tale tells you would seem more like to gunnar, the slayer of thridrandi. and if you are so great a hero as other men say, you will not keep hidden your name." then said gunnar: "you speak most eagerly on this matter; and, truth to tell, i think i have no need to hide myself from you. you have rightly named your man; but then, what have you chiefly bethought yourself of having done to me?" thorkell said he would like that he should soon know it, and spake to his men, ordering them to lay hands on him. gudrun sat on the dais at the upper end of the hall, together with other women all becoifed with white linen, and when she got aware of this she rises up from the bridal bench and calls on her men to lend gunnar help, and told them to give quarter to no man who should show any doubtful behaviour. [sidenote: the quarrel] gudrun had the greatest number of followers, and what never was meant to happen seemed like to befall. snorri godi went between both sides and bade them allay this storm. "the one thing clearly to be done by you, thorkell, is not to push things on so hotly; and now you can see what a stirring woman gudrun is, as she overrules both of us together." thorkell said he had promised his namesake, thorleik geitir's son, that he would kill gunnar if he came into the countrysides of the west. "and he is my greatest friend," snorri spake. "you are much more in duty bound to act as we wish; and for yourself, it is a matter of the greatest importance, for you will never find such another woman as gudrun, however far you may seek." and because of snorri's reasoning, and seeing that he spoke the truth, thorkell quieted down, and gunnar was sent away that evening. the feast now went forward well and bravely, and when it was over the guests got ready to go away. thorkell gave to snorri very rich gifts, and the same to all the chief men. snorri asked bolli bollison to go home with him, and to live with him as long as he liked. bolli accepted this with thanks, and rides home to tongue. thorkell now settled down at holyfell, and took in hand the affairs of the household, and it was soon seen that he was no worse a hand at that than at trade-voyaging. he had the hall pulled down in the autumn and a new one built, which was finished when the winter set in, and was both large and lofty. [sidenote: gudrun has her way] between gudrun and thorkell dear love now grew up, and so the winter passed on. in the spring gudrun asked how thorkell was minded to look out for gunnar the slayer of thridrandi. he said that gudrun had better take the management of that matter, "for you have taken it so hard in hand, that you will put up with nothing but that he be sent away with honour." gudrun said he guessed aright: "i wish you to give him a ship, and therewithal such things as he cannot do without." thorkell said and smiled, "you think nothing small on most matters, gudrun, and would be ill served if you had a mean-minded man for a husband; nor has that ever been your heart's aim. well, this shall be done after your own will"--and carried out it was. gunnar took the gifts most gratefully. "i shall never be so 'long-armed' as to be able to repay all this great honour you are doing to me," he said. gunnar now went abroad and came to norway, and then went to his own estates. gunnar was exceeding wealthy, most great-hearted, and a good and true man withal. chap. lxx thorleik goes to norway thorkell eyjolfson became a great chieftain; he laid himself out much for friendships and honours. he was a masterful man within his own countryside, and busied himself much about law-suits; yet of his pleadings at court there is no tale to tell here. thorkell was the richest man in broadfirth during his lifetime next after snorri. [sidenote: thorleik wishes to leave iceland] thorkell kept his house in good order. he had all the houses at holyfell rebuilt large and strong. he also had the ground of a church marked out, and gave it out that he had made up his mind to go abroad and fetch timber for the building of his church. thorkell and gudrun had a son who was called gellir; he looked early most likely to turn out well. bolli bollison spent his time turn and turn about at tongue or holyfell, and snorri was very fond of him. thorleik his brother lived at holyfell. these brothers were both tall and most doughty looking, bolli being the foremost in all things. thorkell was kind to his stepsons, and gudrun loved bolli most of all her children. he was now sixteen, and thorleik twenty years old. [sidenote: he goes to norway] so, once on a time, thorleik came to talk to his stepfather and his mother, and said he wished to go abroad. "i am quite tired of sitting at home like a woman, and i wish that means to travel should be furnished to me." thorkell said, "i do not think i have done against you two brothers in anything since our alliance began. now, i think it is the most natural thing that you should yearn to get to know the customs of other men, for i know you will be counted a brisk man wheresoever you may come among doughty men." thorleik said he did not want much money, "for it is uncertain how i may look after matters, being young and in many ways of an unsettled mind." thorkell bade him have as much as he wanted. after that thorkell bought for thorleik a share in a ship that stood up in daymeal-ness, and saw him off to his ship, and fitted him well out with all things from home. thorleik journeyed abroad that summer. the ship arrived in norway. the lord over the land then was king olaf the holy. thorleik went forthwith to see king olaf, who gave him a good welcome; he knew thorleik from his kindred, and so asked him to stay with him. thorleik accepted with thanks, and stayed with the king that winter and became one of his guard, and the king held him in honour. thorleik was thought the briskest of men, and he stayed on with king olaf for several months. [sidenote: bolli's wooing] now we must tell of bolli bollison. the spring when he was eighteen years old he spoke to his stepfather and his mother, and said that he wished they would hand him out his father's portion. gudrun asked him what he had set his mind on doing, since he asked them to give him this money. bolli answered, "it is my wish that a woman be wooed on my behalf, and i wish," said bolli, "that you, thorkell, be my spokesman and carry this through." thorkell asked what woman it was bolli wished to woo. bolli answered, "the woman's name is thordis, and she is the daughter of snorri the priest; she is the woman i have most at heart to marry; i shall be in no hurry to marry if i do not get this one for wife. and i set a very great store by this matter being carried out." thorkell answered, "my help is quite welcome to you, my son, if you think that if i follow up this matter much weight lies thereon. i think the matter will be easily got over with snorri, for he will know well enough how to see that a fair offer is made him by such as you." gudrun said, "i will say at once, thorkell, that i will let spare nothing so that bolli may but have the match that pleases him, and that for two reasons, first, that i love him most, and then he has been the most whole-hearted of my children in doing my will." thorkell gave it out that he was minded to furnish bolli off handsomely. "it is what for many reasons is due to him, and i know, withal, that in bolli a good husband will be purchased." [sidenote: bolli's marriage] a little while after thorkell and bolli went with a good many followers to tongue. snorri gave to them a kind and blithe welcome, and they were treated to the very best of cheers at snorri's hands. thordis, the daughter of snorri, was at home with her father; she was a woman both goodly and of great parts. when they had been a few nights at tongue thorkell broached the wooing, bespeaking on behalf of bolli an alliance with snorri by marriage with thordis, his daughter. snorri answers, "it is well you come here on this errand; it is what i might have looked for from you. i will answer the matter well, for i think bolli one of the most hopeful of men, and that woman i deem well given in marriage who is given in marriage to him. it will, however, tell most in this matter, how far this is to thordis' own mind; for she shall marry such a man only on whom she sets her heart." this matter coming before thordis she answered suchwise as that therein she would lean on the foresight of her father, saying she would sooner marry bolli, a man from within her own countryside, than a stranger from farther away. and when snorri found that it was not against her wish to go with bolli, the affair was settled and the betrothal took place. snorri was to have the feast at his house about the middle of summer. with that thorkell and bolli rode home to holyfell, and bolli now stayed at home till the time of the wedding-feast. then thorkell and bolli array themselves to leave home, and with them all the men who were set apart therefor, and a crowded company and the bravest band that was. they then rode on their way and came to tongue, and had a right hearty welcome there. there were great numbers there, and the feast was of the noblest, and when the feast comes to an end the guests get ready to depart. snorri gave honourable gifts to thorkell, yea and to both of them, him and gudrun, and the same to his other friends and relations. [sidenote: thorleik's return] and now each one of those who had gone to the feast rode to his own home. bolli abode at tongue, and between him and thordis dear love sprang speedily up. snorri did all he could to entertain bolli well, and to him he was even kinder than to his own children. bolli received all this gratefully, and remained at tongue that year in great favour. the next summer a ship came to white-river. one-half of the ship belonged to thorleik bollison and the other half of it belonged to some norwegian man. when bolli heard of the coming of his brother he rode south to burgfirth and to the ship. the brothers greeted each other joyfully. bolli stayed there for several nights, and then both brothers ride together west to holyfell; thorkell takes them in with the greatest blitheness, as did also gudrun, and they invited thorleik to stay with them for the winter, and that he took with thanks. thorleik tarried at holyfell awhile, and then he rode to white-river and lets his ship be beached and his goods be brought to the west. thorleik had had good luck with him both as to wealth and honours, for that he had become the henchman of that noblest of lords, king olaf. he now stayed at holyfell through the winter, while bolli tarried at tongue. chap. lxxi the peace between the sons of bolli and the sons of olaf, a.d. [sidenote: the brothers talk of revenge] that winter the brothers would always be meeting, having talks together, and took no pleasure in games or any other pastime; and one time, when thorleik was at tongue, the brothers talked day and night together. snorri then thought he knew that they must be taking counsel together on some very great matter, so he went and joined the talk of the brothers. they greeted him well, but dropped their talk forthwith. he took their greeting well; and presently snorri spoke: "what are you taking counsels about so that ye heed neither sleep nor meat?" bolli answers: "this is no framing of counsels, for that talk is one of but little mark which we talk together." now snorri found that they wanted to hide from him all that was in their minds, yet misdoubted him, that they must be talking chiefly of things from which great troubles might arise, in case they should be carried out. [sidenote: snorri's advice] he (snorri) spoke to them: "this i misdoubt me now, that it be neither a vain thing nor a matter of jest you are talking about for such long hours together, and i hold you quite excused, even if such should be the case. now, be so good as to tell it me and not to hide it away from me. we shall not, when gathered all together, be worse able to take counsel in this matter, for that i shall nowhere stand in the way of anything going forward whereby your honour grows the greater." thorleik thought snorri had taken up their case in a kindly manner, and told him in a few words their wishes, and how they had made up their minds to set on the sons of olaf, and to put them to sore penalties; they said that now they lacked of nothing to bring the sons of olaf to terms of equality, since thorleik was a liegeman of king olaf, and bolli was the son-in-law of such a chief as snorri was. snorri answered in this way: "for the slaying of bolli enough has come in return, in that the life of helgi hardbeinson was paid therefor; the troubles of men have been far too great already, and it is high time that now at last they be put a stop to." bolli said, "what now, snorri? are you less keen now to stand by us than you gave out but a little while ago? thorleik would not have told you our mind as yet if he had first taken counsel with me thereon. and when you claim that helgi's life has come in revenge for bolli, it is a matter well known to men that a money fine was paid for the slaying of helgi, while my father is still unatoned for." when snorri saw he could not reason them into a change of mind, he offered them to try to bring about a peaceful atonement between them and the sons of olaf, rather than that any more manslaughters should befall; and the brothers agreed to this. [sidenote: the peace settled] then snorri rode with some men to herdholt. halldor gave him a good welcome, and asked him to stay there, but snorri said he must ride back that night. "but i have an urgent errand with you." so they fell to talking together, and snorri made known his errand, saying it had come to his knowledge that thorleik and bolli would put up with it no longer that their father should be unatoned at the hands of the sons of olaf. "and now i would endeavour to bring about peace, and see if an end cannot be put to the evil luck that besets you kinsmen." halldor did not flatly refuse to deal further with the case. "i know only too well that thorgils hallason and bolli's sons were minded to fall on me and my brothers, until you turned elsewhere their vengeance, so that thence-forward it seemed to them best to slay helgi hardbeinson. in these matters you have taken a good part, whatever your counsels may have been like in regard to earlier dealings between us kinsmen." snorri said, "i set a great store by my errand turning out well and that it might be brought about which i have most at heart, that a sound peace should be settled between you kinsmen; for i know the minds of the men who have to deal with you in this case so well, that they will keep faithfully to whatever terms of peace they agree to." [sidenote: kjartan's brothers pay weregild for bolli] halldor said, "i will undertake this, if it be the wish of my brothers, to pay money for the slaying of bolli, such as shall be awarded by the umpires chosen, but i bargain that there be no outlawing of anybody concerned, nor forfeiture of my chieftainship or estate; the same claim i make in respect of the estates my brothers are possessed of, and i make a point of their being left free owners thereof whatever be the close of this case, each side to choose their own umpire." snorri answered, "this is offered well and frankly, and the brothers will take this choice if they are willing to set any store by my counsel." thereupon snorri rode home and told the brothers the outcome of his errand, and that he would keep altogether aloof from their case if they would not agree to this. bolli bade him have his own way, "and i wish that you, snorri, be umpire on our behalf." then snorri sent to halldor to say that peaceful settlement was agreed to, and he bade them choose an umpire against himself. halldor chose on his behalf steinthor thorlakson of eyr. the peace meeting should be at drangar on shawstrand, when four weeks of summer were passed. thorleik bollison rode to holyfell, and nothing to tell tidings of befell that winter, and when time wore unto the hour bespoken for the meeting, snorri the priest came there with the sons of bolli, fifteen together in all; steinthor and his came with the same number of men to the meeting. snorri and steinthor talked together and came to an agreement about these matters. after that they gave out the award, but it is not told how much money they awarded; this, however, is told, that the money was readily paid and the peace well holden to. at the thorness thing the fines were paid out; halldor gave bolli a good sword, and steinthor olafson gave thorleik a shield, which was also a good gift. then the thing was broken up, and both sides were thought to have gained in esteem from these affairs. chap. lxxii bolli and thorleik go abroad, a. d. [sidenote: bolli wishes to leave iceland] after the peace between bolli and thorleik and the sons of olaf had been settled and thorleik had been one winter in iceland, bolli made it known that he was minded to go abroad. snorri, dissuading him, said, "to us it seems there is a great risk to be run as to how you may speed; but if you wish to have in hand more than you have now, i will get you a manor and stock it for you; therewithal i shall hand over to you chieftainship over men and uphold you for honours in all things; and that, i know, will be easy, seeing that most men bear you good-will." bolli said, "i have long had it in my mind to go for once into southern lands; for a man is deemed to grow benighted if he learns to know nothing farther afield than what is to be seen here in iceland." and when snorri saw that bolli had set his mind on this, and that it would come to nought to try to stop him, he bade him take as much money as he liked for his journey. bolli was all for having plenty of money, "for i will not," he said, "be beholden to any man either here or in any foreign land." [sidenote: bolli goes with thorleik] then bolli rode south to burgfirth to white-river and bought half of a ship from the owners, so that he and his brother became joint owners of the same ship. bolli then rides west again to his home. he and thordis had one daughter whose name was herdis, and that maiden gudrun asked to bring up. she was one year old when she went to holyfell. thordis also spent a great deal of her time there, for gudrun was very fond of her. chap. lxxiii bolli's voyage now the brothers went both to their ship. bolli took a great deal of money abroad with him. they now arrayed the ship, and when everything was ready they put out to sea. the winds did not speed them fast, and they were a long time out at sea, but got to norway in the autumn, and made thrandheim in the north. olaf, the king, was in the east part of the land, in the wick, where he had made ingatherings for a stay through the winter. [sidenote: they come to norway] and when the brothers heard that the king would not come north to thrandheim that autumn, thorleik said he would go east along the land to meet king olaf. bolli said, "i have little wish to drift about between market towns in autumn days; to me that is too much of worry and restraint. i will rather stay for the winter in this town. i am told the king will come north in the spring, and if he does not then i shall not set my face against our going to meet him." bolli has his way in the matter, and they put up their ship and got their winter quarters. it was soon seen that bolli was a very pushing man, and would be the first among other men; and in that he had his way, for a bounteous man was he, and so got speedily to be highly thought of in norway. bolli kept a suite about him during the winter at thrandheim, and it was easily seen, when he went to the guild meeting-places, that his men were both better arrayed as to raiment and weapons than other townspeople. he alone also paid for all his suite when they sat drinking in guild halls, and on a par with this were his openhandedness and lordly ways in other matters. now the brothers stay in the town through the winter. that winter the king sat east in sarpsborg, and news spread from the east that the king was not likely to come north. early in the spring the brothers got their ship ready and went east along the land. [sidenote: they stay with king olaf] the journey sped well for them, and they got east to sarpsborg, and went forthwith to meet king olaf. the king gave a good welcome to thorleik, his henchman, and his followers. then the king asked who was that man of stately gait in the train of thorleik; and thorleik answered, "he is my brother, and is named bolli." "he looks, indeed, a man of high mettle," said the king. thereupon the king asks the brothers to come and stay with him, and that offer they took with thanks, and spend the spring with the king. the king was as kind to thorleik as he had been before, yet he held bolli by much in greater esteem, for he deemed him even peerless among men. and as the spring went on, the brothers took counsel together about their journeys. and thorleik asked bolli if he was minded to go back to iceland during the summer, "or will you stay on longer here in norway?" bolli answered, "i do not mean to do either. and sooth to say, when i left iceland, my thought was settled on this, that people should not be asking for news of me from the house next door; and now i wish, brother, that you take over our ship." thorleik took it much to heart that they should have to part. "but you, bolli, will have your way in this as in other things." their matter thus bespoken they laid before the king, and he answered thus: "will you not tarry with us any longer, bolli?" said the king. "i should have liked it best for you to stay with me for a while, for i shall grant you the same title that i granted to thorleik, your brother." then bolli answered: "i should be only too glad to bind myself to be your henchman, but i must go first whither i am already bent, and have long been eager to go, but this choice i will gladly take if it be fated to me to come back." "you will have your way as to your journeyings, bolli," says the king, "for you icelanders are self-willed in most matters. but with this word i must close, that i think you, bolli, the man of greatest mark that has ever come from iceland in my days." [sidenote: bolli goes to denmark] and when bolli had got the king's leave he made ready for his journey, and went on board a round ship that was bound south for denmark. he also took a great deal of money with him, and sundry of his followers bore him company. he and king olaf parted in great friendship, and the king gave bolli some handsome gifts at parting. thorleik remained behind with king olaf, but bolli went on his way till he came south to denmark. that winter he tarried in denmark, and had great honour there of mighty men; nor did he bear himself there in any way less lordly than while he was in norway. when bolli had been a winter in denmark he started on his journey out into foreign countries, and did not halt in his journey till he came to micklegarth (constantinople). he was there only a short time before he got himself into the varangian guard, and, from what we have heard, no northman had ever gone to take war-pay from the garth king before bolli, bolli's son. he tarried in micklegarth very many winters, and was thought to be the most valiant in all deeds that try a man, and always went next to those in the forefront. the varangians accounted bolli most highly of whilst he was with them in micklegarth. chap. lxxiv thorkell eyjolfson goes to norway [sidenote: thorkell's dream] now the tale is to be taken up again where thorkell eyjolfson sits at home in lordly way. his and gudrun's son, gellir, grew up there at home, and was early both a manly fellow and winning. it is said how once upon a time thorkell told gudrun a dream he had had. "i dreamed," he said, "that i had so great a beard that it spread out over the whole of broadfirth." thorkell bade her read his dream. gudrun said, "what do you think this dream betokens?" he said, "to me it seems clear that in it is hinted that my power will stand wide about the whole of broadfirth." gudrun said, "maybe that such is the meaning of it, but i rather should think that thereby is betokened that you will dip your beard down into broadfirth." that same summer thorkell runs out his ship and gets it ready for norway. his son, gellir, was then twelve winters old, and he went abroad with his father. [sidenote: thorkell in norway] thorkell makes it known that he means to fetch timber to build his church with, and sails forthwith into the main sea when he was ready. he had an easy voyage of it, but not a very short one, and they hove into norway northwardly. king olaf then had his seat in thrandheim, and thorkell sought forthwith a meeting with king olaf, and his son gellir with him. they had there a good welcome. so highly was thorkell accounted of that winter by the king, that all folk tell that the king gave him not less than one hundred marks of refined silver. the king gave to gellir at yule a cloak, the most precious and excellent of gifts. that winter king olaf had a church built in the town of timber, and it was a very great minster, all materials thereto being chosen of the best. in the spring the timber which the king gave to thorkell was brought on board ship, and large was that timber and good in kind, for thorkell looked closely after it. now it happened one morning early that the king went out with but few men, and saw a man up on the church which then was being built in the town. he wondered much at this, for it was a good deal earlier than the smiths were wont to be up. then the king recognised the man, and, lo! there was thorkell eyjolfson taking the measure of all the largest timber, crossbeams, sills, and pillars. the king turned at once thither, and said: "what now, thorkell, do you mean after these measurements to shape the church timber which you are taking to iceland?" "yes, in truth, sire," said thorkell. then said king olaf, "cut two ells off every main beam, and that church will yet be the largest built in iceland." thorkell answered, "keep your timber yourself if you think you have given me too much, or your hand itches to take it back, but not an ell's length shall i cut off it. i shall both know how to go about and how to carry out getting other timber for me." [sidenote: his measuring of king olaf's church] then says the king most calmly, "so it is, thorkell, that you are not only a man of much account, but you are also now making yourself too big, for, to be sure, it is too overweening for the son of a mere peasant to try to vie with us. but it is not true that i begrudge you the timber, if only it be fated to you to build a church therewith; for it will never be large enough for all your pride to find room to lie inside it. but near it comes to the foreboding of my mind, that the timber will be of little use to men, and that it will be far from you ever to get any work by man done with this timber." after that they ceased talking, and the king turned away, and it was marked by people that it misliked him how thorkell accounted as of nought what he said. yet the king himself did not let people get the wind of it, and he and thorkell parted in great good-will. thorkell got on board his ship and put to sea. they had a good wind, and were not long out about the main. thorkell brought his ship to ramfirth, and rode soon from his ship home to holyfell, where all folk were glad to see him. [sidenote: thorkell's return] in this journey thorkell had gained much honour. he had his ship hauled ashore and made snug, and the timber for the church he gave to a caretaker, where it was safely bestowed, for it could not be brought from the north this autumn, as he was at all time full of business. thorkell now sits at home at his manor throughout the winter. he had yule-drinking at holyfell, and to it there came a crowd of people; and altogether he kept up a great state that winter. nor did gudrun stop him therein; for she said the use of money was that people should increase their state therewith; moreover, whatever gudrun must needs be supplied with for all purposes of high-minded display, that (she said) would be readily forthcoming (from her husband). thorkell shared that winter amongst his friends many precious things he had brought with him out to iceland. chap. lxxv thorkell and thorstein and halldor olafson, a.d. that winter after yule thorkell got ready to go from home north to ramfirth to bring his timber from the north. he rode first up into the dales and then to lea-shaws to thorstein, his kinsman, where he gathered together men and horses. he afterwards went north to ramfirth and stayed there awhile, taken up with the business of his journey, and gathered to him horses from about the firth, for he did not want to make more than one journey of it, if that could be managed. but this did not speed swiftly, and thorkell was busy at this work even into lent. at last he got under way with the work, and had the wood dragged from the north by more than twenty horses, and had the timber stacked on lea-eyr, meaning later on to bring it in a boat out to holyfell. [sidenote: the bargain with halldor] thorstein owned a large ferry-boat, and this boat thorkell was minded to use for his homeward voyage. thorkell stayed at lea-shaws through lent, for there was dear friendship between these kinsmen. thorstein said one day to thorkell, they had better go to herdholt, "for i want to make a bid for some land from halldor, he having but little money since he paid the brothers the weregild for their father, and the land being just what i want most." thorkell bade him do as he liked; so they left home a party of twenty men together. they come to herdholt, and halldor gave them good welcome, and was most free of talk with them. there were few men at home, for halldor had sent his men north to steingrims-firth, as a whale had come ashore there in which he owned a share. beiner the strong was at home, the only man now left alive of those who had been there with olaf, the father of halldor. halldor had said to beiner at once when he saw thorstein and thorkell riding up, "i can easily see what the errand of these kinsmen is--they are going to make me a bid for my land, and if that is the case they will call me aside for a talk; i guess they will seat themselves each on either side of me; so, then, if they should give me any trouble you must not be slower to set on thorstein than i on thorkell. you have long been true to us kinsfolk. i have also sent to the nearest homesteads for men, and at just the same moment i should like these two things to happen: the coming in of the men summoned, and the breaking up of our talk." [sidenote: halldor gets the best of it] now as the day wore on, thorstein hinted to halldor that they should all go aside and have some talk together, "for we have an errand with you." halldor said it suited him well. thorstein told his followers they need not come with them, but beiner went with them none the less, for he thought things came to pass very much after what halldor had guessed they would. they went very far out into the field. halldor had on a pinned-up cloak with a long pin brooch, as was the fashion then. halldor sat down on the field, but on either side of him each of these kinsmen, so near that they sat well-nigh on his cloak; but beiner stood over them with a big axe in his hand. then said thorstein, "my errand here is that i wish to buy land from you, and i bring it before you now because my kinsman thorkell is with me; i should think that this would suit us both well, for i hear that you are short of money, while your land is costly to husband. i will give you in return an estate that will beseem you, and into the bargain as much as we shall agree upon." in the beginning halldor took the matter as if it were not so very far from his mind, and they exchanged words concerning the terms of the purchase; and when they felt that he was not so far from coming to terms, thorkell joined eagerly in the talk, and tried to bring the bargain to a point. [sidenote: he refuses to deal with them] then halldor began to draw back rather, but they pressed him all the more; yet at last it came to this, that he was the further from the bargain the closer they pressed him. then said thorkell, "do you not see, kinsman thorstein, how this is going? halldor has delayed the matter for us all day long, and we have sat here listening to his fooling and wiles. now if you want to buy the land we must come to closer quarters." thorstein then said he must know what he had to look forward to, and bade halldor now come out of the shadow as to whether he was willing to come to the bargain. halldor answered, "i do not think i need keep you in the dark as to this point, that you will have to go home to-night without any bargain struck." then said thorstein, "nor do i think it needful to delay making known to you what we have in our mind to do; for we, deeming that we shall get the better of you by reason of the odds on our side, have bethought us of two choices for you: one choice is, that you do this matter willingly and take in return our friendship; but the other, clearly a worse one, is, that you now stretch out your hand against your own will and sell me the land of herdholt." but when thorstein spoke in this outrageous manner, halldor leapt up so suddenly that the brooch was torn from his cloak, and said, "something else will happen before i utter that which is not my will." "what is that?" said thorstein. "a pole-axe will stand on your head from one of the worst of men, and thus cast down your insolence and unfairness." thorkell answered, "that is an evil prophecy, and i hope it will not be fulfilled; and now i think there is ample cause why you, halldor, should give up your land and have nothing for it." [sidenote: thorkell and thorstein return home disgusted] then halldor answered, "sooner you will be embracing the sea-tangle in broadfirth than i sell my land against my own will." halldor went home after that, and the men he had sent for came crowding up to the place. thorstein was of the wrothest, and wanted forthwith to make an onset on halldor. thorkell bade him not to do so, "for that is the greatest enormity at such a season as this; but when this season wears off, i shall not stand in the way of his and ours clashing together." halldor said he was given to think he would not fail in being ready for them. after that they rode away and talked much together of this their journey; and thorstein, speaking thereof, said that, truth to tell, their journey was most wretched. "but why, kinsman thorkell, were you so afraid of falling on halldor and putting him to some shame?" thorkell answered, "did you not see beiner, who stood over you with the axe reared aloft? why, it was an utter folly, for forthwith on seeing me likely to do anything, he would have driven that axe into your head." they rode now home to lea-shaws; and lent wears and passion week sets in. chap. lxxvi the drowning of thorkell, a.d. [sidenote: thorkell goes for his wood] on maundy thursday, early in the morning, thorkell got ready for his journey. thorstein set himself much against it: "for the weather looks to me uncertain," said he. thorkell said the weather would do all right. "and you must not hinder me now, kinsman, for i wish to be home before easter." so now thorkell ran out the ferry-boat, and loaded it. but thorstein carried the lading ashore from out the boat as fast as thorkell and his followers put it on board. then thorkell said, "give over now, kinsman, and do not hinder our journey this time; you must not have your own way in this." thorstein said, "he of us two will now follow the counsel that will answer the worst, for this journey will cause the happening of great matters." thorkell now bade them farewell till their next meeting, and thorstein went home, and was exceedingly downcast. he went to the guest-house, and bade them lay a pillow under his head, the which was done. the servant-maid saw how the tears ran down upon the pillow from his eyes. and shortly afterwards a roaring blast struck the house, and thorstein said, "there, we now can hear roaring the slayer of kinsman thorkell." [sidenote: the drowning of thorkell] now to tell of the journey of thorkell and his company: they sail this day out, down broadfirth, and were ten on board. the wind began to blow very high, and rose to full gale before it blew over. they pushed on their way briskly, for the men were most plucky. thorkell had with him the sword skofnung, which was laid in the locker. thorkell and his party sailed till they came to bjorn's isle, and people could watch them journey from both shores. but when they had come thus far, suddenly a squall caught the sail and overwhelmed the boat. there thorkell was drowned and all the men who were with him. the timber drifted ashore wide about the islands, the corner-staves (pillars) drove ashore in the island called staff-isle. skofnung stuck fast to the timbers of the boat, and was found in skofnungs-isle. that same evening that thorkell and his followers were drowned, it happened at holyfell that gudrun went to the church, when other people had gone to bed, and when she stepped into the lich-gate she saw a ghost standing before her. he bowed over her and said, "great tidings, gudrun." she said, "hold then your peace about them, wretch." [sidenote: gudrun and the ghosts] gudrun went on to the church, as she had meant to do, and when she got up to the church she thought she saw that thorkell and his companions were come home and stood before the door of the church, and she saw that water was running off their clothes. gudrun did not speak to them, but went into the church, and stayed there as long as it seemed good to her. after that she went to the guest-room, for she thought thorkell and his followers must have gone there; but when she came into the chamber, there was no one there. then gudrun was struck with wonder at the whole affair. on good friday gudrun sent her men to find out matters concerning the journeying of thorkell and his company, some up to shawstrand and some out to the islands. by then the flotsam had already come to land wide about the islands and on both shores of the firth. the saturday before easter the tidings got known and great news they were thought to be, for thorkell had been a great chieftain. thorkell was eight-and-forty years old when he was drowned, and that was four winters before olaf the holy fell. gudrun took much to heart the death of thorkell, yet bore her bereavement bravely. only very little of the church timber could ever be gathered in. gellir was now fourteen years old, and with his mother he took over the business of the household and the chieftainship. it was soon seen that he was made to be a leader of men. gudrun now became a very religious woman. she was the first woman in iceland who knew the psalter by heart. she would spend long time in the church at nights saying her prayers, and herdis, bolli's daughter, always went with her at night. gudrun loved herdis very much. [sidenote: the ghost of the sorceress] it is told that one night the maiden herdis dreamed that a woman came to her who was dressed in a woven cloak, and coifed in a head cloth, but she did not think the woman winning to look at. she spoke, "tell your grandmother that i am displeased with her, for she creeps about over me every night, and lets fall down upon me drops so hot that i am burning all over from them. my reason for letting you know this is, that i like you somewhat better, though there is something uncanny hovering about you too. however, i could get on with you if i did not feel there was so much more amiss with gudrun." then herdis awoke and told gudrun her dream. gudrun thought the apparition was of good omen. next morning gudrun had planks taken up from the church floor where she was wont to kneel on the hassock, and she had the earth dug up, and they found blue and evil-looking bones, a round brooch, and a wizard's wand, and men thought they knew then that a tomb of some sorceress must have been there; so the bones were taken to a place far away where people were least likely to be passing. chap. lxxvii the return of bolli, a.d. when four winters were passed from the drowning of thorkell eyjolfson a ship came into islefirth belonging to bolli bollison, most of the crew of which were norwegians. [sidenote: bolli's splendour] bolli brought out with him much wealth, and many precious things that lords abroad had given him. bolli was so great a man for show when he came back from this journey that he would wear no clothes but of scarlet and fur, and all his weapons were bedight with gold: he was called bolli the grand. he made it known to his shipmasters that he was going west to his own countrysides, and he left his ship and goods in the hands of his crew. bolli rode from the ship with twelve men, and all his followers were dressed in scarlet, and rode on gilt saddles, and all were they a trusty band, though bolli was peerless among them. he had on the clothes of fur which the garth-king had given him, he had over all a scarlet cape; and he had footbiter girt on him, the hilt of which was dight with gold, and the grip woven with gold; he had a gilded helmet on his head, and a red shield on his flank, with a knight painted on it in gold. he had a dagger in his hand, as is the custom in foreign lands; and whenever they took quarters the women paid heed to nothing but gazing at bolli and his grandeur, and that of his followers. in this state bolli rode into the western parts all the way till he came to holyfell with his following. gudrun was very glad to see her son. bolli did not stay there long till he rode up to sælingsdale tongue to see snorri, his father-in-law, and his wife thordis, and their meeting was exceeding joyful. snorri asked bolli to stay with him with as many of his men as he liked. bolli accepted the invitation gratefully, and was with snorri all the winter, with the men who had ridden from the north with him. bolli got great renown from this journey. [sidenote: snorri's death] snorri made it no less his business now to treat bolli with every kindness than death when he was with him before. chap. lxxviii the death of snorri, and the end, a.d. [sidenote: snorri' death] when bolli had been one winter in iceland snorri the priest fell ill. that illness did not gain quickly on him, and snorri lay very long abed. but when the illness gained on him, he called to himself all his kinsfolk and affinity, and said to bolli, "it is my wish that you shall take over the manor here and the chieftainship after my day, for i grudge honours to you no more than to my own sons, nor is there within this land now the one of my sons who i think will be the greatest man among them, halldor to wit." thereupon snorri breathed his last, being seventy-seven years old. that was one winter after the fall of st. olaf, so said ari the priest "deep-in-lore." snorri was buried at tongue. [sidenote: the descendants of herdis] bolli and thordis took over the manor of tongue as snorri had willed it, and snorri's sons put up with it with a good will. bolli grew a man of great account, and was much beloved. herdis, bolli's daughter, grew up at holyfell, and was the goodliest of all women. orm, the son of hermund, the son of illugi, asked her in marriage, and she was given in wedlock to him; their son was kodran, who had for wife gudrun, the daughter of sigmund. the son of kodran was hermund, who had for wife ulfeid, the daughter of runolf, who was the son of bishop kelill; their sons were kelill, who was abbot of holyfell, and reinn and kodran and styrmir; their daughter was thorvor, whom skeggi, bard's son, had for wife, and from whom is come the stock of the shaw-men. ospak was the name of the son of bolli and thordis. the daughter of ospak was gudrun, whom thorarin, brand's son, had to wife. their son was brand, who founded the benefice of housefell. gellir, thorleik's son, took to him a wife, and married valgerd, daughter of thorgils arison of reekness. gellir went abroad, and took service with king magnus the good, and had given him by the king twelve ounces of gold and many goods besides. the sons of gellir were thorkell and thorgils, and a son of thorgils was ari the "deep-in-lore." the son of ari was named thorgils, and his son was ari the strong. now gudrun began to grow very old, and lived in such sorrow and grief as has lately been told. she was the first nun and recluse in iceland, and by all folk it is said that gudrun was the noblest of women of equal birth with her in this land. it is told how once upon a time bolli came to holyfell, for gudrun was always very pleased when he came to see her, and how he sat by his mother for a long time, and they talked of many things. [sidenote: bolli questions his mother] then bolli said, "will you tell me, mother, what i want very much to know? who is the man you have loved the most?" gudrun answered, "thorkell was the mightiest man and the greatest chief, but no man was more shapely or better endowed all round than bolli. thord, son of ingun, was the wisest of them all, and the greatest lawyer; thorvald i take no account of." then said bolli, "i clearly understand that what you tell me shows how each of your husbands was endowed, but you have not told me yet whom you loved the best. now there is no need for you to keep that hidden any longer." gudrun answered, "you press me hard, my son, for this, but if i must needs tell it to any one, you are the one i should first choose thereto." bolli bade her do so. then gudrun said, "to him i was worst whom i loved best." "now," answered bolli, "i think the whole truth is told," and said she had done well to tell him what he so much had yearned to know. gudrun grew to be a very old woman, and some say she lost her sight. gudrun died at holyfell, and there she rests. [sidenote: the end of gellir] gellir, thorkell's son, lived at holyfell to old age, and many things of much account are told of him; he also comes into many sagas, though but little be told of him here. he built a church at holyfell, a very stately one, as arnor, the earls' poet, says in the funeral song which he wrote about gellir, wherein he uses clear words about that matter. when gellir was somewhat sunk into his latter age, he prepared himself for a journey away from iceland. he went to norway, but did not stay there long, and then left straightway that land and "walked" south to rome to "see the holy apostle peter." he was very long over this journey; and then journeying from the south he came into denmark, and there he fell ill and lay in bed a very long time, and received all the last rites of the church, whereupon he died, and he rests at roskild. gellir had taken skofnung with him, the sword that had been taken out of the barrow of holy kraki, and never after could it be got back. when the death of gellir was known in iceland, thorkell, his son, took over his father's inheritance at holyfell. thorgils, another of gellir's sons, was drowned in broadfirth at an early age, with all hands on board. thorkell gellirson was a most learned man, and was said to be of all men the best stocked of lore. here is the end of the saga of the men of salmon-river-dale. * * * * * _the_ 'laxdale saga'--_one of the great sagas of iceland--is herewith introduced for the first time to english readers. the translation has been made by_ mrs. muriel press. _the original text presents many difficulties, and the manuscript translation has had the advantage of being revised by a competent icelander. many doubtful passages have been elucidated by him. the accompanying note gives his interpretation of the obscure verses on page . in addition to these kind services, he has specially prepared for this volume the map of the places mentioned in the saga. it is to be hoped that_ mrs. press's _efforts to popularise this famous saga may be successful, and may warrant the publication of other sagas, and masterpieces of northern literature, in the series, notably_ 'njala-saga,' 'volsunga-saga,' _and the_ 'eddas.' i.g. _october , ,_ * * * * * note these lines may be thus interpreted:-- "hangs a wet hood on the wall; it knoweth of a trick; though it be at most times 'dry,' i hide not now it knoweth two." the ditty points to the fact that snorri had given audgisl thorarinson a "chased axe" (one trick), and that, at snorri's secret behest, audgisl was now on the eve of taking the hood-owner's (thorgils hallason's) life (two). this, the hood says, it knows, though at most times it is '_dry_.' 'dry' here seems clearly to stand in the sense of 'clear of,' 'free from,' _expers, immunis_; practically, _ignorant_. at most times the hood is ignorant of such 'tricks' threatening thorgils' life, though now it knows of one, even two. with this use of 'ðurr,' _cf._ sturlunga^ ii. _{ }--"um sum illvirki þeirra er þat sumum mönnum eigi tvímælis-laust, hvárt þér munið _þurt_ hafa um setið allar vitundir" = "as to some misdeeds of theirs, it is to some men (a matter) not free from double speech whether you will have sat (by) '_dry_' of all knowledge (_i.e._ complicity) therein," _i.e._, concerning certain of their misdeeds some persons will have their doubts as to whether you be 'clear of' all complicity therein. of course it is thorgils' 'fylgja' (fetch) that speaks through the cloak. the story of the volsungs, (volsunga saga) with excerpts from the poetic edda by anonymous originally written in icelandic (old norse) in the thirteenth century a.d., by an unknown hand. however, most of the material is based substantially on previous works, some centuries older. a few of these works have been preserved in the collection of norse poetry known as the "poetic edda". the text of this edition is based on that published as "the story of the volsungs", translated by william morris and eirikr magnusson (walter scott press, london, ). douglas b. killings selected bibliography: recommended reading-- anonymous: "kudrun", translated by marion e. gibbs & sidney johnson (garland pub., new york, ). anonymous: "nibelungenlied", translated by a.t. hatto (penguin classics, london, ). saxo grammaticus: "the first nine books of the danish history", translated by oliver elton (london, ; reissued by the online medieval and classical library as e-text omacl # , ). introduction it would seem fitting for a northern folk, deriving the greater and better part of their speech, laws, and customs from a northern root, that the north should be to them, if not a holy land, yet at least a place more to be regarded than any part of the world beside; that howsoever their knowledge widened of other men, the faith and deeds of their forefathers would never lack interest for them, but would always be kept in remembrance. one cause after another has, however, aided in turning attention to classic men and lands at the cost of our own history. among battles, "every schoolboy" knows the story of marathon or salamis, while it would be hard indeed to find one who did more than recognise the name, if even that, of the great fights of hafrsfirth or sticklestead. the language and history of greece and rome, their laws and religions, have been always held part of the learning needful to an educated man, but no trouble has been taken to make him familiar with his own people or their tongue. even that englishman who knew alfred, bede, caedmon, as well as he knew plato, caesar, cicero, or pericles, would be hard bestead were he asked about the great peoples from whom we sprang; the warring of harold fairhair or saint olaf; the viking ( ) kingdoms in these (the british) western isles; the settlement of iceland, or even of normandy. the knowledge of all these things would now be even smaller than it is among us were it not that there was one land left where the olden learning found refuge and was kept in being. in england, germany, and the rest of europe, what is left of the traditions of pagan times has been altered in a thousand ways by foreign influence, even as the peoples and their speech have been by the influx of foreign blood; but iceland held to the old tongue that was once the universal speech of northern folk, and held also the great stores of tale and poem that are slowly becoming once more the common heritage of their descendants. the truth, care, and literary beauty of its records; the varied and strong life shown alike in tale and history; and the preservation of the old speech, character, and tradition--a people placed apart as the icelanders have been--combine to make valuable what iceland holds for us. not before , when bishop percy translated mallet's "northern antiquities", was anything known here of icelandic, or its literature. only within the latter part of this century has it been studied, and in the brief book-list at the end of this volume may be seen the little that has been done as yet. it is, however, becoming ever clearer, and to an increasing number, how supremely important is icelandic as a word-hoard to the english-speaking peoples, and that in its legend, song, and story there is a very mine of noble and pleasant beauty and high manhood. that which has been done, one may hope, is but the beginning of a great new birth, that shall give back to our language and literature all that heedlessness and ignorance bid fair for awhile to destroy. the scando-gothic peoples who poured southward and westward over europe, to shake empires and found kingdoms, to meet greek and roman in conflict, and levy tribute everywhere, had kept up their constantly-recruited waves of incursion, until they had raised a barrier of their own blood. it was their own kin, the sons of earlier invaders, who stayed the landward march of the northmen in the time of charlemagne. to the southlands their road by land was henceforth closed. then begins the day of the vikings, who, for two hundred years and more, "held the world at ransom." under many and brave leaders they first of all came round the "western isles" ( ) toward the end of the eighth century; soon after they invaded normandy, and harried the coasts of france; gradually they lengthened their voyages until there was no shore of the then known world upon which they were unseen or unfelt. a glance at english history will show the large part of it they fill, and how they took tribute from the anglo-saxons, who, by the way, were far nearer kin to them than is usually thought. in ireland, where the old civilisation was falling to pieces, they founded kingdoms at limerick and dublin among other places; ( ) the last named, of which the first king, olaf the white, was traditionally descended of sigurd the volsung, ( ) endured even to the english invasion, when it was taken by men of the same viking blood a little altered. what effect they produced upon the natives may be seen from the description given by the unknown historian of the "wars of the gaedhil with the gaill": "in a word, although there were an hundred hard-steeled iron heads on one neck, and an hundred sharp, ready, cool, never-rusting brazen tongues in each head, and an hundred garrulous, loud, unceasing voices from each tongue, they could not recount, or narrate, or enumerate, or tell what all the gaedhil suffered in common--both men and women, laity and clergy, old and young, noble and ignoble--of hardship, and of injury, and of oppression, in every house, from these valiant, wrathful, purely pagan people. even though great were this cruelty, oppression, and tyranny, though numerous were the oft-victorious clans of the many-familied erinn; though numerous their kings, and their royal chiefs, and their princes; though numerous their heroes and champions, and their brave soldiers, their chiefs of valour and renown and deeds of arms; yet not one of them was able to give relief, alleviation, or deliverance from that oppression and tyranny, from the numbers and multitudes, and the cruelty and the wrath of the brutal, ferocious, furious, untamed, implacable hordes by whom that oppression was inflicted, because of the excellence of their polished, ample, treble, heavy, trusty, glittering corslets; and their hard, strong, valiant swords; and their well-riveted long spears, and their ready, brilliant arms of valour besides; and because of the greatness of their achievements and of their deeds, their bravery, and their valour, their strength, and their venom, and their ferocity, and because of the excess of their thirst and their hunger for the brave, fruitful, nobly-inhabited, full of cataracts, rivers, bays, pure, smooth-plained, sweet grassy land of erinn"--(pp. - ). some part of this, however, must be abated, because the chronicler is exalting the terror-striking enemy that he may still further exalt his own people, the dal cais, who did so much under brian boroimhe to check the inroads of the northmen. when a book does ( ) appear, which has been announced these ten years past, we shall have more material for the reconstruction of the life of those times than is now anywhere accessible. viking earldoms also were the orkneys, faroes, and shetlands. so late as , in the reign of henry ii., the year after beckett's murder, earl sweyn asleifsson of orkney, who had long been the terror of the western seas, "fared a sea-roving" and scoured the western coast of england, man, and the east of ireland, but was killed in an attack on his kinsmen of dublin. he had used to go upon a regular plan that may be taken as typical of the homely manner of most of his like in their cruising: "sweyn had in the spring hard work, and made them lay down very much seed, and looked much after it himself. but when that toil was ended, he fared away every spring on a viking-voyage, and harried about among the southern isles and ireland, and came home after midsummer. that he called spring-viking. then he was at home until the corn-fields were reaped down, and the grain seen to and stored. then he fared away on a viking-voyage, and then he did not come home till the winter was one month off, and that he called his autumn-viking." ( ) toward the end of the ninth century harold fairhair, either spurred by the example of charlemagne, or really prompted, as snorri sturluson tells us, resolved to bring all norway under him. as snorri has it in "heimskringla": "king harold sent his men to a girl hight gyda.... the king wanted her for his leman; for she was wondrous beautiful but of high mood withal. now when the messengers came there and gave their message to her, she made answer that she would not throw herself away even to take a king for her husband, who swayed no greater kingdom than a few districts; 'and methinks,' said she, 'it is a marvel that no king here in norway will put all the land under him, after the fashion that gorm the old did in denmark, or eric at upsala.' the messengers deemed this a dreadfully proud-spoken answer, and asked her what she thought would come of such an one, for harold was so mighty a man that his asking was good enough for her. but although she had replied to their saying otherwise than they would, they saw no likelihood, for this while, of bearing her along with them against her will, so they made ready to fare back again. when they were ready and the folk followed them out, gyda said to the messengers--'now tell to king harold these my words:--i will only agree to be his lawful wife upon the condition that he shall first, for sake of me, put under him the whole of norway, so that he may bear sway over that kingdom as freely and fully as king eric over the realm of sweden, or king gorm over denmark; for only then, methinks, can he be called king of a people.' now his men came back to king harold, bringing him the words of the girl, and saying she was so bold and heedless that she well deserved the king should send a greater troop of people for her, and put her to some disgrace. then answered the king. 'this maid has not spoken or done so much amiss that she should be punished, but the rather should she be thanked for her words. she has reminded me,' said he, 'of somewhat that it seems wonderful i did not think of before. and now,' added he, 'i make the solemn vow, and take who made me and rules over all things, to witness that never shall i clip or comb my hair until i have subdued all norway with scatt, and duties, and lordships; or, if not, have died in the seeking.' guttorm gave great thanks to the king for his oath, saying it was "royal work fulfilling royal rede." the new and strange government that harold tried to enforce--nothing less than the feudal system in a rough guise --which made those who had hitherto been their own men save at special times, the king's men at all times, and laid freemen under tax, was withstood as long as might be by the sturdy norsemen. it was only by dint of hard fighting that he slowly won his way, until at hafrsfirth he finally crushed all effective opposition. but the discontented, "and they were a great multitude," fled oversea to the outlands, iceland, the faroes, the orkneys, and ireland. the whole coast of europe, even to greece and the shores of the black sea, the northern shores of africa, and the western part of asia, felt the effects also. rolf pad-th'-hoof, son of harold's dear friend rognvald, made an outlaw for a cattle-raid within the bounds of the kingdom, betook himself to france, and, with his men, founded a new people and a dynasty. iceland had been known for a good many years, but its only dwellers had been irish culdees, who sought that lonely land to pray in peace. now, however, both from norway and the western isles settlers began to come in. aud, widow of olaf the white, king of dublin, came, bringing with her many of mixed blood, for the gaedhil (pronounced "gael", irish) and the gaill (pronounced "gaul", strangers) not only fought furiously, but made friends firmly, and often intermarried. indeed, the westmen were among the first arrivals, and took the best parts of the island--on its western shore, appropriately enough. after a time the vikings who had settled in the isles so worried harold and his kingdom, upon which they swooped every other while, that he drew together a mighty force, and fell upon them wheresoever he could find them, and followed them up with fire and sword; and this he did twice, so that in those lands none could abide but folk who were content to be his men, however lightly they might hold their allegiance. hence it was to iceland that all turned who held to the old ways, and for over sixty years from the first comer there was a stream of hardy men pouring in, with their families and their belongings, simple yeomen, great and warwise chieftains, rich landowners, who had left their land "for the overbearing of king harold," as the "landnamabok" ( ) has it. "there also we shall escape the troubling of kings and scoundrels", says the "vatsdaelasaga". so much of the best blood left norway that the king tried to stay the leak by fines and punishments, but in vain. as his ship neared the shore, the new-coming chief would leave it to the gods as to where he settled. the hallowed pillars of the high seat, which were carried away from his old abode, were thrown overboard, with certain rites, and were let drive with wind and wave until they came ashore. the piece of land which lay next the beach they were flung upon was then viewed from the nearest hill-summit, and place of the homestead picked out. then the land was hallowed by being encircled with fire, parcelled among the band, and marked out with boundary-signs; the houses were built, the "town" or home-field walled in, a temple put up, and the settlement soon assumed shape. in there were franklins, making a population of about , , fully three-fourths of whom had a strong infusion of celtic blood in them. the mode of life was, and is, rather pastoral than aught else. in the , square miles of the island's area there are now about acres of cultivated land, and although there has been much more in times past, the icelanders have always been forced to reckon upon flocks and herds as their chief resources, grain of all kinds, even rye, only growing in a few favoured places, and very rarely there; the hay, self-sown, being the only certain harvest. on the coast fishing and fowling were of help, but nine-tenths of the folk lived by their sheep and cattle. potatoes, carrots, turnips, and several kinds of cabbage have, however, been lately grown with success. they produced their own food and clothing, and could export enough wool, cloth, horn, dried fish, etc., as enabled them to obtain wood for building, iron for tools, honey, wine, grain, etc, to the extent of their simple needs. life and work was lotted by the seasons and their changes; outdoor work--fishing, herding, hay-making, and fuel-getting--filling the long days of summer, while the long, dark winter was used in weaving and a hundred indoor crafts. the climate is not so bad as might be expected, seeing that the island touches the polar circle, the mean temperature at reykjavik being degrees. the religion which the settlers took with them into iceland--the ethnic religion of the norsefolk, which fought its last great fight at sticklestead, where olaf haraldsson lost his life and won the name of saint--was, like all religions, a compound of myths, those which had survived from savage days, and those which expressed the various degrees of a growing knowledge of life and better understanding of nature. some historians and commentators are still fond of the unscientific method of taking a later religion, in this case christianity, and writing down all apparently coincident parts of belief, as having been borrowed from the christian teachings by the norsefolk, while all that remain they lump under some slighting head. every folk has from the beginning of time sought to explain the wonders of nature, and has, after its own fashion, set forth the mysteries of life. the lowest savage, no less than his more advanced brother, has a philosophy of the universe by which he solves the world-problem to his own satisfaction, and seeks to reconcile his conduct with his conception of the nature of things. now, it is not to be thought, save by "a priori" reasoners, that such a folk as the northmen--a mighty folk, far advanced in the arts of life, imaginative, literary--should have had no further creed than the totemistic myths of their primitive state; a state they have wholly left ere they enter history. judging from universal analogy, the religion of which record remains to us was just what might be looked for at the particular stage of advancement the northmen had reached. of course something may have been gained from contact with other peoples--from the greeks during the long years in which the northern races pressed upon their frontier; from the irish during the existence of the western viking-kingdoms; but what i particularly warn young students against is the constant effort of a certain order of minds to wrest facts into agreement with their pet theories of religion or what not. the whole tendency of the more modern investigation shows that the period of myth-transmission is long over ere history begins. the same confusion of different stages of myth-making is to be found in the greek religion, and indeed in those of all peoples; similar conditions of mind produce similar practices, apart from all borrowing of ideas and manners; in greece we find snake-dances, bear-dances, swimming with sacred pigs, leaping about in imitation of wolves, dog-feasts, and offering of dogs' flesh to the gods--all of them practices dating from crude savagery, mingled with ideas of exalted and noble beauty, but none now, save a bigot, would think of accusing the greeks of having stolen all their higher beliefs. even were some part of the matter of their myths taken from others, yet the norsemen have given their gods a noble, upright, great spirit, and placed them upon a high level that is all their own. ( ) from the prose edda the following all too brief statement of the salient points of norse belief is made up:--"the first and eldest of gods is hight allfather; he lives from all ages, and rules over all his realm, and sways all things great and small; he smithied heaven and earth, and the lift, and all that belongs to them; what is most, he made man, and gave him a soul that shall live and never perish; and all men that are right-minded shall live and be with himself in vingolf; but wicked men fare to hell, and thence into niithell, that is beneath in the ninth world. before the earth ''twas the morning of time, when yet naught was, nor sand nor sea was there, nor cooling streams. earth was not found, nor heaven above; a yawning-gap there was, but grass nowhere.' many ages ere the earth was shapen was niflheim made, but first was that land in the southern sphere hight muspell, that burns and blazes, and may not be trodden by those who are outlandish and have no heritage there. surtr sits on the border to guard the land; at the end of the world he will fare forth, and harry and overcome all the gods and burn the world with fire. ere the races were yet mingled, or the folk of men grew, yawning-gap, which looked towards the north parts, was filled with thick and heavy ice and rime, and everywhere within were fog and gusts; but the south side of yawning-gap lightened by the sparks and gledes that flew out of muspell-heim; as cold arose out of niflheim and all things grim, so was that part that looked towards muspell hot and bright; but yawning-gap was as light as windless air, and when the blast of heat met the rime, so that it melted and dropped and quickened; from those life-drops there was shaped the likeness of a man, and he was named ymir; he was bad, and all his kind; and so it is said, when he slept he fell into a sweat; then waxed under his left hand a man and a woman, and one of his feet got a son with the other, and thence cometh the hrimthursar. the next thing when the rime dropped was that the cow hight audhumla was made of it; but four milk-rivers ran out of her teats, and she fed ymir; she licked rime-stones that were salt, and the first day there came at even, out of the stones, a man's hair, the second day a man's head, the third day all the man was there. he is named turi; he was fair of face, great and mighty; he gat a son named bor, who took to him besla, daughter of bolthorn, the giant, and they had three sons, odin, vili, and ve. bor's sons slew ymir the giant, but when he fell there ran so much blood out of his wounds that all the kin of the hrimthursar were drowned, save hvergelmir and his household, who got away in a boat. then bor's sons took ymir and bore him into the midst of yawning-gap, and made of him the earth; of his blood seas and waters, of his flesh earth was made; they set the earth fast, and laid the sea round about it in a ring without; of his bones were made rocks; stones and pebbles of his teeth and jaws and the bones that were broken; they took his skull and made the lift thereof, and set it up over the earth with four sides, and under each corner they set dwarfs, and they took his brain and cast it aloft, and made clouds. they took the sparks and gledes that went loose, and had been cast out of muspellheim, and set them in the lift to give light; they gave resting-places to all fires, and set some in the lift; some fared free under it, and they gave them a place and shaped their goings. a wondrous great smithying, and deftly done. the earth is fashioned round without, and there beyond, round about it lies the deep sea; and on that sea-strand the gods gave land for an abode to the giant kind, but within on the earth made they a burg round the world against restless giants, and for this burg reared they the brows of ymir, and called the burg midgard. the gods went along the sea-strand and found two stocks, and shaped out of them men; the first gave soul and life, the second wit and will to move, the third face, hearing, speech, and eyesight. they gave them clothing and names; the man ask and the woman embla; thence was mankind begotten, to whom an abode was given under midgard. then next bor's sons made them a burg in the midst of the world, that is called asgard; there abode the gods and their kind, and wrought thence many tidings and feats, both on earth and in the sky. odin, who is hight allfather, for that he is the father of all men and sat there in his high seat, seeing over the whole world and each man's doings, and knew all things that he saw. his wife was called frigg, and their offspring is the asa-stock, who dwell in asgard and the realms about it, and all that stock are known to be gods. the daughter and wife of odin was earth, and of her he got thor, him followed strength and sturdiness, thereby quells he all things quick; the strongest of all gods and men, he has also three things of great price, the hammer miolnir, the best of strength belts, and when he girds that about him waxes his god strength one-half, and his iron gloves that he may not miss for holding his hammer's haft. balidr is odin's second son, and of him it is good to say, he is fair and: bright in face, and hair, and body, and him all praise; he is wise and fair-spoken and mild, and that nature is in him none may withstand his doom. tyr is daring and best of mood; there is a saw that he is tyrstrong who is before other men and never yields; he is also so wise that it is said he is tyrlearned who is wise. bragi is famous for wisdom, and best in tongue-wit, and cunning speech, and song-craft. 'and many other are there, good and great; and one, loki, fair of face, ill in temper and fickle of mood, is called the backbiter of the asa, and speaker of evil redes and shame of all gods and men; he has above all that craft called sleight, and cheats all in all things. among the children of loki are fenris-wolf and midgards-worm; the second lies about all the world in the deep sea, holding his tail in his teeth, though some say thor has slain him; but fenris-wolf is bound until the doom of the gods, when gods and men shall come to an end, and earth and heaven be burnt, when he shall slay odin. after this the earth shoots up from the sea, and it is green and fair, and the fields bear unsown, and gods and men shall be alive again, and sit in fair halls, and talk of old tales and the tidings that happened aforetime. the head-seat, or holiest-stead, of the gods is at yggdrasil's ash, which is of all trees best and biggest; its boughs are spread over the whole world and stand above heaven; one root of the ash is in heaven, and under the root is the right holy spring; there hold the gods doom every day; the second root is with the hrimthursar, where before was yawning-gap; under that root is mimir's spring, where knowledge and wit lie hidden; thither came allfather and begged a drink, but got it not before he left his eye in pledge; the third root is over niflheim, and the worm nidhogg gnaws the root beneath. a fair hall stands under the ash by the spring, and out of it come three maidens, norns, named has-been, being, will-be, who shape the lives of men; there are beside other norns, who come to every man that is born to shape his life, and some of these are good and some evil. in the boughs of the ash sits an eagle, wise in much, and between his eyes sits the hawk vedrfalnir; the squirrel ratatoskr runs up and down along the ash, bearing words of hate betwixt the eagle and the worm. those norns who abide by the holy spring draw from it every day water, and take the clay that lies around the well, and sprinkle them up over the ash for that its boughs should not wither or rot. all those men that have fallen in the fight, and borne wounds and toil unto death, from the beginning of the world, are come to odin in valhall; a very great throng is there, and many more shall yet come; the flesh of the boar soerfmnir is sodden for them every day, and he is whole again at even; and the mead they drink that flows from the teats of the she-goat heidhrun. the meat odin has on his board he gives to his two wolves, geri and freki, and he needs no meat, wine is to him both meat and drink; ravens twain sit on his shoulders, and say into his ear all tidings that they see and hear; they are called huginn and muninn (mind and memory); them sends he at dawn to fly over the whole world, and they come back at breakfast-tide, thereby becomes he wise in many tidings, and for this men call him raven's-god. every day, when they have clothed them, the heroes put on their arms and go out into the yard and fight and fell each other; that is their play, and when it looks toward mealtime, then ride they home to valhall and sit down to drink. for murderers and men forsworn is a great hall, and a bad, and the doors look northward; it is altogether wrought of adder-backs like a wattled house, but the worms' heads turn into the house, and blow venom, so that rivers of venom run along the hall, and in those rivers must such men wade forever." there was no priest-class; every chief was priest for his own folk, offered sacrifice, performed ceremonies, and so on. in politics the homestead, with its franklin-owner, was the unit; the "thing", or hundred-moot, the primal organisation, and the "godord", or chieftainship, its tie. the chief who had led a band of kinsmen and followers to the new country, taken possession of land, and shared it among them, became their head-ruler and priest at home, speaker and president of their thing, and their representative in any dealings with neighbouring chiefs and their clients. he was not a feudal lord, for any franklin could change his "godord" as he liked, and the right of "judgment by peers" was in full use. at first there was no higher organisation than the local thing. a central thing, and a speaker to speak a single "law" for the whole island, was instituted in , and afterwards the island was divided in four quarters, each with a court, under the al-thing. society was divided only into two classes of men, the free and unfree, though political power was in the hands of the franklins alone; "godi" and thrall ate the same food, spoke the same tongue, wore much the same clothes, and were nearly alike in life and habits. among the free men there was equality in all but wealth and the social standing that cannot be separated therefrom. the thrall was a serf rather than a slave, and could own a house, etc., of his own. in a generation or so the freeman or landless retainer, if he got a homestead of his own, was the peer of the highest in the land. during the tenth century greenland was colonised from iceland, and by end of the same century christianity was introduced into iceland, but made at first little difference in arrangements of society. in the thirteenth century disputes over the power and jurisdiction of the clergy led, with other matters, to civil war, ending in submission to norway, and the breaking down of all native great houses. although life under the commonwealth had been rough and irregular, it had been free and varied, breeding heroes and men of mark; but the "law and order" now brought in left all on a dead level of peasant proprietorship, without room for hope or opening for ambition. an alien governor ruled the island, which was divided under him into local counties, administered by sheriffs appointed by the king of norway. the al-thing was replaced by a royal court, the local work of the local things was taken by a subordinate of the sheriff, and things, quarter-courts, trial by jury, and all the rest, were swept away to make room for these "improvements", which have lasted with few changes into this century. in the island passed under the rule of denmark, and so continues. ( ) during the fifteenth century the english trade was the only link between iceland and the outer world; the danish government weakened that link as much as it could, and sought to shut in and monopolise everything icelandic; under the deadening effect of such rule it is no marvel that everything found a lower level, and many things went out of existence for lack of use. in the sixteenth century there is little to record but the reformation, which did little good, if any, and the ravages of english, gascon, and algerine pirates who made havoc on the coast; ( ) they appear toward the close of the century and disappear early in the seventeenth. in the eighteenth century small-pox, sheep disease, famine, and the terrible eruptions of and , follow one another swiftly and with terrible effect. at the beginning of the present century iceland, however, began to shake off the stupor her ill-hap had brought upon her, and as european attention had been drawn to her, she was listened to. newspapers, periodicals, and a useful knowledge society were started; then came free trade, and the "home-rule" struggle, which met with partial success in , and is still being carried on. a colony, gimli, in far-off canada, has been formed of icelandic emigrants, and large numbers have left their mother-land; but there are many co-operative societies organised now, which it is hoped will be able to so revive the old resources of the island as to make provision for the old population and ways of life. there is now again a representative central council, but very many of the old rights and powers have not been yet restored. the condition of society is peculiar absence of towns, social equality, no abject poverty or great wealth, rarity of crime, making it easy for the whole country to be administered as a co-operative commonwealth without the great and striking changes rendered necessary by more complicated systems. iceland has always borne a high name for learning and literature; on both sides of their descent people inherited special poetic power. some of older eddaic fragments attest the great reach and deep overpowering strength of imagination possessed by their norse ancestors; and they themselves had been quickened by a new leaven. during the first generations of the "land-taking" a great school of poetry which had arisen among the norsemen of the western isles was brought by them to iceland. ( ) the poems then produced are quite beyond parallel with those of any teutonic language for centuries after their date, which lay between the beginning of the ninth and the end of the tenth centuries. through the greenland colony also came two, or perhaps more, great poems of this western school. this school grew out of the stress and storm of the viking life, with its wild adventure and varied commerce, and the close contact with an artistic and inventive folk, possessed of high culture and great learning. the infusion of celtic blood, however slight it may have been, had also something to do with the swift intense feeling and rapidity of passion of the earlier icelandic poets. they are hot-headed and hot-hearted, warm, impulsive, quick to quarrel or to love, faithful, brave; ready with sword or song to battle with all comers, or to seek adventure wheresoever it might be found. they leave iceland young, and wander at their will to different courts of northern europe, where they are always held in high honour. gunnlaug worm-tongue ( ) in came to england, after being in norway, as the saga says:--"now sail gunnlaug and his fellows into the english main, and come at autumntide south to london bridge, where they hauled ashore their ship. now, at that time king ethelred, the son of edgar, ruled over england, and was a good lord; the winter he sat in london. but in those days there was the same tongue in england as in norway and denmark; but the tongues changed when william the bastard won england, for thenceforward french went current there, for he was of french kin. gunnlaug went presently to the king, and greeted him well and worthily. the king asked him from what land he came, and gunnlaug told him all as it was. 'but,' said he, 'i have come to meet thee, lord, for that i have made a song on thee, and i would that it might please thee to hearken to that song.' the king said it should be so, and gunnlaug gave forth the song well and proudly, and this is the burden thereof-- "'as god are all folk fearing the fire lord king of england, kin of all kings and all folk, to ethelred the head bow.' the king thanked him for the song, and gave him as song-reward a scarlet cloak lined with the costliest of furs, and golden-broidered down to the hem; and made him his man; and gunnlaug was with him all the winter, and was well accounted of. the poems in this volume are part of the wonderful fragments which are all that remain of ancient scandinavian poetry. every piece which survives has been garnered by vigfusson and powell in the volumes of their "corpus", where those who seek may find. a long and illustrious line of poets kept the old traditions, down even to within a couple centuries, but the earlier great harvest of song was never again equalled. after christianity had entered iceland, and that, with other causes, had quieted men's lives, although the poetry which stood to the folk in lieu of music did not die away, it lost the exclusive hold it had upon men's minds. in a time not so stirring, when emotion was not so fervent or so swift, when there was less to quicken the blood, the story that had before found no fit expression but in verse, could stretch its limbs, as it were, and be told in prose. something of irish influence is again felt in this new departure and that marvellous new growth, the saga, that came from it, but is little more than an influence. every people find some one means of expression which more than all else suits their mood or their powers, and this the icelanders found in the saga. this was the life of a hero told in prose, but in set form, after a regular fashion that unconsciously complied with all epical requirements but that of verse--simple plot, events in order of time, set phrases for even the shifting emotion or changeful fortune of a fight or storm, and careful avoidance of digression, comment, or putting forward by the narrator of ought but the theme he has in hand; he himself is never seen. something in the perfection of the saga is to be traced to the long winter's evenings, when the whole household, gathered together at their spinning, weaving, and so on, would listen to one of their number who told anew some old story of adventure or achievement. in very truth the saga is a prose epic, and marked by every quality an epic should possess. growing up while the deeds of dead heroes were fresh in memory, most often recited before the sharers in such deeds, the saga, in its pure form, never goes from what is truth to its teller. where the saga, as this one of the volsungs is founded upon the debris of songs and poems, even then very old, tales of mythological heroes, of men quite removed from the personal knowledge of the narrator, yet the story is so inwound with the tradition of his race, is so much a part of his thought-life, that every actor in it has for him a real existence. at the feast or gathering, or by the fireside, as men made nets and women spun, these tales were told over; in their frequent repetition by men who believed them, though incident or sequence underwent no change, they would become closer knit, more coherent, and each an organic whole. gradually they would take a regular and accepted form, which would ease the strain upon the reciter's memory and leave his mind free to adorn the story with fair devices, that again gave help in the making it easier to remember, and thus aided in its preservation. after a couple of generations had rounded and polished the sagas by their telling and retelling, they were written down for the most part between and , and so much was their form impressed upon the mind of the folk, that when learned and literary works appeared, they were written in the same style; hence we have histories alike of kingdoms, or families, or miracles, lives of saints, kings, or bishops in saga-form, as well as subjects that seem at first sight even less hopeful. all sagas that have yet appeared in english may be found in the book-list at end of this volume, but they are not a tithe of those that remain. of all the stories kept in being by the saga-tellers and left for our delight, there is none that so epitomises human experience; has within the same space so much of nature and of life; so fully the temper and genius of the northern folk, as that of the volsungs and niblungs, which has in varied shapes entered into the literature of many lands. in the beginning there is no doubt that the story belonged to the common ancestral folk of all the teutonic of scando-gothic peoples in the earliest days of their wanderings. whether they came from the hindu kush, or originated in northern europe, brought it with them from asia, or evolved it among the mountains and rivers it has taken for scenery, none know nor can; but each branch of their descendants has it in one form or another, and as the icelanders were the very crown and flower of the northern folk, so also the story which is the peculiar heritage of that folk received in their hands its highest expression and most noble form. the oldest shape in which we have it is in the eddaic poems, some of which date from unnumbered generations before the time to which most of them are usually ascribed, the time of the viking-kingdoms in the western isles. in these poems the only historical name is that of attila, the great hun leader, who filled so large a part of the imagination of the people whose power he had broken. there is no doubt that, in the days when the kingdoms of the scando-goths reached from the north cape to the caspian, that some earlier great king performed his part; but, after the striking career of attila, he became the recognised type of a powerful foreign potentate. all the other actors are mythic-heroic. of the eddaic songs only fragments now remain, but ere they perished there arose from them a saga, that now given to the readers of this. the so-called anglo-saxons brought part of the story to england in "beowulf"; in which also appear some incidents that are again given in the icelandic saga of "grettir the strong". most widely known is the form taken by the story in the hands of an unknown medieval german poet, who, from the broken ballads then surviving wrote the "nibelungenlied" or more properly "nibelungen not" ("the need of the niblungs"). in this the characters are all renamed, some being more or less historical actors in mid-european history, as theodoric of the east-goths, for instance. the whole of the earlier part of the story has disappeared, and though siegfried (sigurd) has slain a dragon, there is nothing to connect it with the fate that follows the treasure; andvari, the volsungs, fafnir, and regin are all forgotten; the mythological features have become faint, and the general air of the whole is that of medieval romance. the swoard gram is replaced by balmung, and the helm of awing by the tarn-cap--the former with no gain, the latter with great loss. the curse of andvari, which in the saga is grimly real, working itself out with slow, sure steps that no power of god or man can turn aside, in the medieval poem is but a mere scenic effect, a strain of mystery and magic, that runs through the changes of the story with much added picturesqueness, but that has no obvious relation to the working-out of the plot, or fulfilment of their destiny by the different characters. brynhild loses a great deal, and is a poor creature when compared with herself in the saga; grimhild and her fateful drink have gone; gudrun (chriemhild) is much more complex, but not more tragic; one new character, rudiger, appears as the type of chivalry; but sigurd (siegfred) the central figure, though he has lost by the omission of so much of his life, is, as before, the embodiment of all the virtues that were dear to northern hearts. brave, strong, generous, dignified, and utterly truthful, he moves amid a tangle of tragic events, overmastered by a mighty fate, and in life or death is still a hero without stain or flaw. it is no wonder that he survives to this day in the national songs of the faroe islands and in the folk-ballads of denmark; that his legend should have been mingled with northern history through ragnar lodbrog, or southern through attila and theodoric; that it should have inspired william morris in producing the one great english epic of the century; ( ) and richard wagner in the mightiest among his music-dramas. of the story as told in the saga there is no need here to speak, for to read it, as may be done a few pages farther on, is that not better than to read about it? but it may be urged upon those that are pleased and moved by the passion and power, the strength and deep truth of it, to find out more than they now know of the folk among whom it grew, and the land in which they dwelt. in so doing they will come to see how needful are a few lessons from the healthy life and speech of those days, to be applied in the bettering of our own. h. halliday sparling. endnotes: ( ) viking (ice. "vikingr"; "vik", a bay or creek, "ingr", belonging to, (or men of) freebooters. ( ) "west over the sea" is the word for the british isles. ( ) see todd (j. h.). "war of the gaedhil with the gaill". ( ) he was son of ingiald, son of thora, daughter of sigurd snake-i'-th'-eye, son of ragnar lodbrok by aslaug, daughter of sigurd by brynhild. the genealogy is, doubtless, quite mythical. ( ) a collection of sagas and other historical documents relating to the settlements and descents of the northmen on the british isles. ed., g. w. dasent, d.c.l, and gudbrand vigfusson, m.a. "in the press. longmans, london. vo. ( ) "orkneyinga saga". ( ) landtaking-book--"landnam", landtaking, from "at nema land", hence also the early settlers were called "landnamsmenn". ( ) to all interested in the subject of comparative mythology, andrew lang's two admirable books, "custom and myth" ( , vo) and "myth, ritual, and religion" ( vols., crown vo, ), both published by longmans, london, may be warmly recommended. ( ) iceland was granted full independence from denmark in . --dbk. ( ) these pirates are always appearing about the same time in english state papers as plundering along the coasts of the british isles, especially ireland. ( ) for all the old scandinavian poetry extant in icelandic, see "corpus poeticum borealis" of vigfusson and powell. ( ) snake-tongue--so called from his biting satire. ( ) "sigurd the volsung", which seems to have become all but forgotten in this century.--dbk. translators' preface. in offering to the reader this translation of the most complete and dramatic form of the great epic of the north, we lay no claim to special critical insight, nor do we care to deal at all with vexed questions, but are content to abide by existing authorities, doing our utmost to make our rendering close and accurate, and, if it might be so, at the same time, not over prosaic: it is to the lover of poetry and nature, rather than to the student, that we appeal to enjoy and wonder at this great work, now for the first time, strange to say, translated into english: this must be our excuse for speaking here, as briefly as may be, of things that will seem to the student over well known to be worth mentioning, but which may give some ease to the general reader who comes across our book. the prose of the "volsunga saga" was composed probably some time in the twelfth century, from floating traditions no doubt; from songs which, now lost, were then known, at least in fragments, to the sagaman; and finally from songs, which, written down about his time, are still existing: the greater part of these last the reader will find in this book, some inserted amongst the prose text by the original story-teller, and some by the present translators, and the remainder in the latter part of the book, put together as nearly as may be in the order of the story, and forming a metrical version of the greater portion of it. these songs from the elder edda we will now briefly compare with the prose of the volsung story, premising that these are the only metrical sources existing of those from which the sagaman told his tale. except for the short snatch on p. ( ) of our translation, nothing is now left of these till we come to the episode of helgi hundings-bane, sigurd's half-brother; there are two songs left relating to this, from which the prose is put together; to a certain extent they cover the same ground; but the latter half of the second is, wisely as we think, left untouched by the sagaman, as its interest is of itself too great not to encumber the progress of the main story; for the sake of its wonderful beauty, however, we could not refrain from rendering it, and it will be found first among the metrical translations that form the second part of this book. of the next part of the saga, the deaths of sinfjotli and sigmund, and the journey of queen hjordis to the court of king alf, there is no trace left of any metrical origin; but we meet the edda once more where regin tells the tale of his kin to sigurd, and where sigurd defeats and slays the sons of hunding: this lay is known as the "lay of regin". the short chap. xvi. is abbreviated from a long poem called the "prophecy of gripir" (the grifir of the saga), where the whole story to come is told with some detail, and which certainly, if drawn out at length into the prose, would have forestalled the interest of the tale. in the slaying of the dragon the saga adheres very closely to the "lay of fafnir"; for the insertion of the song of the birds to sigurd the present translators are responsible. then comes the waking of brynhild, and her wise redes to sigurd, taken from the lay of sigrdrifa, the greater part of which, in its metrical form, is inserted by the sagaman into his prose; but the stanza relating brynhild's awaking we have inserted into the text; the latter part, omitted in the prose, we have translated for the second part of our book. of sigurd at hlymdale, of gudrun's dream, the magic potion of grimhild, the wedding of sigurd consequent on that potion; of the wooing of brynhild for gunnar, her marriage to him, of the quarrel of the queens, the brooding grief and wrath of brynhild, and the interview of sigurd with her--of all this, the most dramatic and best-considered parts of the tale, there is now no more left that retains its metrical form than the few snatches preserved by the sagaman, though many of the incidents are alluded to in other poems. chap. xxx. is met by the poem called the "short lay of sigurd", which, fragmentary apparently at the beginning, gives us something of brynhild's awakening wrath and jealousy, the slaying of sigurd, and the death of brynhild herself; this poem we have translated entire. the fragments of the "lay of brynhild" are what is left of a poem partly covering the same ground as this last, but giving a different account of sigurd's slaying; it is very incomplete, though the sagaman has drawn some incidents from it; the reader will find it translated in our second part. but before the death of the heroine we have inserted entire into the text as chap. xxxi. the "first lay of gudrun", the most lyrical, the most complete, and the most beautiful of all the eddaic poems; a poem that any age or language might count among its most precious possessions. from this point to the end of the saga it keeps closely to the songs of edda; in chap. xxxii. the sagaman has rendered into prose the "ancient lay of gudrun", except for the beginning, which gives again another account of the death of sigurd: this lay also we have translated. the grand poem, called the "hell-ride of brynhild", is not represented directly by anything in the prose except that the sagaman has supplied from it a link or two wanting in the "lay of sigrdrifa"; it will be found translated in our second part. the betrayal and slaughter of the giukings or niblungs, and the fearful end of atli and his sons, and court, are recounted in two lays, called the "lays of atli"; the longest of these, the "greenland lay of atli", is followed closely by the sagaman; the shorter one we have translated. the end of gudrun, of her daughter by sigurd and of her sons by her last husband jonakr, treated of in the last four chapters of the saga, are very grandly and poetically given in the songs called the "whetting of gudrun", and the "lay of hamdir", which are also among our translations. these are all the songs of the edda which the sagaman has dealt with; but one other, the "lament of oddrun", we have translated on account of its intrinsic merit. as to the literary quality of this work we in say much, but we think we may well trust the reader of poetic insight to break through whatever entanglement of strange manners or unused element may at first trouble him, and to meet the nature and beauty with which it is filled: we cannot doubt that such a reader will be intensely touched by finding, amidst all its wildness and remoteness, such a startling realism, such subtilty, such close sympathy with all the passions that may move himself to-day. in conclusion, we must again say how strange it seems to us, that this volsung tale, which is in fact an unversified poem, should never before been translated into english. for this is the great story of the north, which should be to all our race what the tale of troy was to the greeks--to all our race first, and afterwards, when the change of the world has made our race nothing more than a name of what has been--a story too--then should it be to those that come after us no less than the tale of troy has been to us. william morris and eirikr magnusson. endnotes: ( ) chapter viii.--dbk. the story of the volsungs and niblungs. chapter i. of sigi, the son of odin. here begins the tale, and tells of a man who was named sigi, and called of men the son of odin; another man withal is told of in the tale, hight skadi, a great man and mighty of his hands; yet was sigi the mightier and the higher of kin, according to the speech of men of that time. now skadi had a thrall with whom the story must deal somewhat, bredi by name, who was called after that work which he had to do; in prowess and might of hand he was equal to men who were held more worthy, yea, and better than some thereof. now it is to be told that, on a time, sigi fared to the hunting of the deer, and the thrall with him; and they hunted deer day-long till the evening; and when they gathered together their prey in the evening, lo, greater and more by far was that which bredi had slain than sigi's prey; and this thing he much misliked, and he said that great wonder it was that a very thrall should out-do him in the hunting of deer: so he fell on him and slew him, and buried the body of him thereafter in a snow-drift. then he went home at evening tide and says that bredi had ridden away from him into the wild-wood. "soon was he out of my sight," he says, "and naught more i wot of him." skadi misdoubted the tale of sigi, and deemed that this was a guile of his, and that he would have slain bredi. so he sent men to seek for him, and to such an end came their seeking, that they found him in a certain snow-drift; then said skadi, that men should call that snow-drift bredi's drift from henceforth; and thereafter have folk followed, so that in such wise they call every drift that is right great. thus it is well seen that sigi has slain the thrall and murdered him; so he is given forth to be a wolf in holy places, ( ) and may no more abide in the land with his father; therewith odin bare him fellowship from the land, so long a way, that right long it was, and made no stay till he brought him to certain war-ships. so sigi falls to lying out a-warring with the strength that his father gave him or ever they parted; and happy was he in his warring, and ever prevailed, till he brought it about that he won by his wars land and lordship at the last; and thereupon he took to him a noble wife, and became a great and mighty king, and ruled over the land of the huns, and was the greatest of warriors. he had a son by his wife, who was called refir, who grew up in his father's house, and soon became great of growth, and shapely. endnotes: ( ) "wolf in holy places," a man put out of the pale of society for crimes, an outlaw. chapter ii. of the birth of volsung, the son of rerir, who was the son of sigi. now sigi grew old, and had many to envy him, so that at last those turned against him whom he trusted most; yea, even the brothers of his wife; for these fell on him at his unwariest, when there were few with him to withstand them, and brought so many against him, that they prevailed against him, and there fell sigi and all his folk with him. but rerir, his son, was not in this trouble, and he brought together so mighty a strength of his friends and the great men of the land, that he got to himself both the lands and kingdom of sigi his father; and so now, when he deems that the feet under him stand firm in his rule, then he calls to mind that which he had against his mother's brothers, who had slain his father. so the king gathers together a mighty army, and therewith falls on his kinsmen, deeming that if he made their kinship of small account, yet none the less they had first wrought evil against him. so he wrought his will herein, in that he departed not from strife before he had slain all his father's banesmen, though dreadful the deed seemed in every wise. so now he gets land, lordship, and fee, and is become a mightier man than his father before him. much wealth won in war gat rerir to himself, and wedded a wife withal, such as he deemed meet for him, and long they lived together, but had no child to take the heritage after them; and ill-content they both were with that, and prayed the gods with heart and soul that they might get them a child. and so it is said that odin hears their prayer, and freyia no less hearkens wherewith they prayed unto her: so she, never lacking for all good counsel, calls to her her casket-bearing may, ( ) the daughter of hrimnir the giant, and sets an apple in her hand, and bids her bring it to the king. she took the apple, and did on her the gear of a crow, and went flying till she came whereas the king sat on a mound, and there she let the apple fall into the lap of the king; but he took the apple, and deemed he knew whereto it would avail; so he goes home from the mound to his own folk, and came to the queen, and some deal of that apple she ate. so, as the tale tells, the queen soon knew that she big with child, but a long time wore or ever she might give birth to the child: so it befell that the king must needs go to the wars, after the custom of kings, that he may keep his own land in peace: and in this journey it came to pass that rerir fell sick and got his death, being minded to go home to odin, a thing much desired of many folk in those days. now no otherwise it goes with the queen's sickness than heretofore, nor may she be the lighter of her child, and six winters wore away with the sickness still heavy on her; so that at the last she feels that she may not live long; wherefore now she bade cut the child from out of her; and it was done even as she bade; a man-child was it, and great of growth from his birth, as might well be; and they say that the youngling kissed his mother or ever she died; but to him is a name given, and he is called volsung; and he was king over hunland in the room of his father. from his early years he was big and strong, and full of daring in all manly deeds and trials, and he became the greatest of warriors, and of good hap in all the battles of his warfaring. now when he was fully come to man's estate, hrimnir the giant sends to him ljod his daughter; she of whom the tale told, that she brought the apple to rerir, volsung's father. so volsung weds her withal; and long they abode together with good hap and great love. they had ten sons and one daughter, and their eldest son was hight sigmund, and their daughter signy; and these two were twins, and in all wise the foremost and the fairest of the children of volsung the king, and mighty, as all his seed was; even as has been long told from ancient days, and in tales of long ago, with the greatest fame of all men, how that the volsungs have been great men and high-minded and far above the most of men both in cunning and in prowess and all things high and mighty. so says the story that king volsung let build a noble hall in such a wise, that a big oak-tree stood therein, and that the limbs of the tree blossomed fair out over the roof of the hall, while below stood the trunk within it, and the said trunk did men call branstock. endnotes: ( ) may (a.s. "maeg"), a maid. chapter iii. of the sword that sigmund, volsung's son, drew from the branstock. there was a king called siggeir, who ruled over gothland, a mighty king and of many folk; he went to meet volsung, the king, and prayed him for signy his daughter to wife; and the king took his talk well, and his sons withal, but she was loth thereto, yet she bade her father rule in this as in all other things that concerned her; so the king took such rede ( ) that he gave her to him, and she was betrothed to king siggeir; and for the fulfilling of the feast and the wedding, was king siggeir to come to the house of king volsung. the king got ready the feast according to his best might, and when all things were ready, came the king's guests and king siggeir withal at the day appointed, and many a man of great account had siggeir with him. the tale tells that great fires were made endlong the hall, and the great tree aforesaid stood midmost thereof; withal folk say that, whenas men sat by the fires in the evening, a certain man came into the hall unknown of aspect to all men; and suchlike array he had, that over him was a spotted cloak, and he was bare-foot, and had linen-breeches knit tight even unto the bone, and he had a sword in his hand as he went up to the branstock, and a slouched hat upon his head: huge he was, and seeming-ancient, and one-eyed. ( ) so he drew his sword and smote it into the tree-trunk so that it sank in up to the hilts; and all held back from greeting the man. then he took up the word, and said-- "whoso draweth this sword from this stock, shall have the same as a gift from me, and shall find in good sooth that never bare he better sword in hand than is this." therewith out went the old man from the hall, and none knew who he was or whither he went. now men stand up, and none would fain be the last to lay hand to the sword, for they deemed that he would have the best of it who might first touch it; so all the noblest went thereto first, and then the others, one after other; but none who came thereto might avail to pull it out, for in nowise would it come away howsoever they tugged at it; but now up comes sigmund, king volsung's son, and sets hand to the sword, and pulls it from the stock, even as if it lay loose before him; so good that weapon seemed to all, that none thought he had seen such a sword before, and siggeir would fain buy it of him at thrice its weight of gold, but sigmund said-- "thou mightest have taken the sword no less than i from there whereas it stood, if it had been thy lot to bear it; but now, since it has first of all fallen into my hand, never shalt thou have it, though thou biddest therefor all the gold thou hast." king siggeir grew wroth at these words, and deemed sigmund had answered him scornfully, but whereas was a wary man and a double-dealing, he made as if he heeded this matter in nowise, yet that same evening he thought how he might reward it, as was well seen afterwards. endnotes: ( ) rede (a.s. raed), counsel, advice, a tale or prophecy. ( ) the man is odin, who is always so represented, because he gave his eye as a pledge for a draught from the fountain of mimir, the source of all wisdom. chapter iv. how king siggeir wedded signy, and bade king volsung and his son to gothland. now it is to be told that siggeir goes to bed by signy that night, and the next morning the weather was fair; then says king siggeir that he will not bide, lest the wind should wax, or the sea grow impassable; nor is it said that volsung or his sons letted him herein, and that the less, because they saw that he was fain to get him gone from the feast. but now says signy to her father-- "i have no will to go away with seggeir; neither does my heart smile upon him, and i wot; by my fore-knowledge, and from the fetch ( ) of our kin, that from this counsel will great evil fall on us if this wedding be not speedily undone." "speak in no such wise, daughter!" said he, "for great shame will it be to him, yea, and to us also, to break troth with him, he being sackless; ( ) and in naught may we trust him, and no friendship shall we have of him, if these matters are broken off; but he will pay us back in as evil wise as he may; for that alone is seemly, to hold truly to troth given." so king siggeir got ready for home, and before he went from the feast he bade king volsung, his father-in-law, come see him in gothland, and all his sons with him, whenas three months should be overpast, and to bring such following with him, as he would have; and as he deemed meet for his honour; and thereby will siggeir the king pay back for the shortcomings of the wedding-feast, in that he would abide thereat but one night only, a thing not according to the wont of men. so king volsung gave word to come on the day named, and the kinsmen-in-law parted, and siggeir went home with his wife. endnotes: ( ) fetch; wraith, or familiar spirit. ( ) sackless (a.s. "sacu", icel. "sok".) blameless. chapter v. of the slaying of king volsung. now tells the tale of king volsung and his sons that they go at the time appointed to gothland at the bidding of king siggeir, and put off from the land in three ships, all well manned, and have a fair voyage, and made gothland late of an evening tide. but that same night came signy and called her father and brothers to a privy talk, and told them what she deemed king siggeir was minded to do, and how that he had drawn together an army no man may meet. "and," says she, "he is minded to do guilefully by you; wherefore i bid you get ye gone back again to your own land, and gather together the mightiest power ye may, and then come back hither and avenge you; neither go ye now to your undoing, for ye shall surely fail not to fall by his wiles if ye turn not on him even as i bid you." then spake volsung the king, "all people and nations shall tell of the word i spake, yet being unborn, wherein i vowed a vow that i would flee in fear from neither fire nor the sword; even so have i done hitherto, and shall i depart therefrom now i am old? yea withal never shall the maidens mock these my sons at the games, and cry out at them that they fear death; once alone must all men need die, and from that season shall none escape; so my rede is that we flee nowhither, but do the work of our hands in as manly wise as we may; a hundred fights have i fought, and whiles i had more, and whiles i had less, and yet ever had i the victory, nor shall it ever be heard tell of me that i fled away or prayed for peace." then signy wept right sore, and prayed that she might not go back to king siggeir, but king volsung answered-- "thou shalt surely go back to thine husband, and abide with him, howsoever it fares with us." so signy went home, and they abode there that night; but in the morning, as soon as it was day, volsung bade his men arise and go aland and make them ready for battle; so they went aland, all of them all-armed, and had not long to wait before siggeir fell on them with all his army, and the fiercest fight there was betwixt them; and siggeir cried on his men to the onset all he might; and so the tale tells that king volsung and his sons went eight times right through siggeir's folk that day, smiting and hewing on either hand, but when they would do so even once again, king volsung fell amidst his folk and all his men withal, saving his ten sons, for mightier was the power against them than they might withstand. but now are all his sons taken, and laid in bonds and led away; and signy was ware withal that her father was slain, and her brothers taken and doomed to death; that she called king siggeir apart to talk with her, and said-- "this will i pray of thee, that thou let not slay my brothers hastily, but let them be set awhile in the stocks, for home to me comes the saw that says, "sweet to eye while seen": but longer life i pray not for them, because i wot well that my prayer will not avail me." then answered siggeir: "surely thou art mad and witless, praying thus for more bale for thy brothers than their present slaying; yet this will i grant thee, for the better it likes me the more they must bear, and the longer their pain is or ever death come to them." now he let it be done even as she prayed, and a mighty beam was brought and set on the feet of those ten brethren in a certain place of the wild-wood, and there they sit day-long until night; but at midnight, as they sat in the stocks, there came on them a she-wolf from out the wood; old she was, and both great and evil of aspect; and the first thing she did was to bite one of those brethren till he died, and then she ate him up withal, and went on her way. but the next morning signy sent a man to the brethren, even one whom she most trusted, to wot of the tidings; and when he came back he told her that one of them was dead, and great and grievous she deemed it, if they should all fare in like wise, and yet naught might she avail them. soon is the tale told thereof: nine nights together came the she-wolf at midnight, and each night slew and ate up one of the brethren, until all were dead, save sigmund only; so now, before the tenth night came, signy sent that trusty man to sigmund, her brother, and gave honey into his hand, bidding him do it over sigmund's face, and set a little deal of it in his mouth; so he went to sigmund and did as he was bidden, and then came home again; and so the next night came the she-wolf according to her wont, and would slay him and eat him even as his brothers; but now she sniffs the breeze from him, whereas he was anointed with the honey, and licks his face all over with her tongue, and then thrusts her tongue into the mouth of him. no fear he had thereof, but caught the she-wolf's tongue betwixt his teeth, and so hard she started back thereat, and pulled herself away so mightily, setting her feet against the stocks, that all was riven asunder; but he ever held so fast that the tongue came away by the roots, and thereof she had her bane. but some men say that this same she-wolf was the mother of king siggeir, who had turned herself into this likeness by troll's lore and witchcraft. chapter vi. of how signy sent the children of her and siggeir to sigmund. now whenas sigmund is loosed and the stocks are broken, he dwells in the woods and holds himself there; but signy sends yet again to wot of the tidings, whether sigmund were alive or no; but when those who were sent came to him, he told them all as it had betid, and how things had gone betwixt him and the wolf; so they went home and tell signy the tidings; but she goes and finds her brother, and they take counsel in such wise as to make a house underground in the wild-wood; and so things go on a while, signy hiding him there, and sending him such things as he needed; but king siggeir deemed that all the volsungs were dead. now siggeir had two sons by his wife, whereof it is told that when the eldest was ten winters old, signy sends him to sigmund, so that he might give him help, if he would in any wise strive to avenge his father; so the youngling goes to the wood, and comes late in evening-tide to sigmund's earth-house; and sigmund welcomed him in seemly fashion, and said that he should make ready their bread; "but i," said he, "will go seek firewood." therewith he gives the meal-bag into his hands while he himself went to fetch firing; but when he came back the youngling had done naught at the bread-making. then asks sigmund if the bread be ready-- says the youngling, "i durst not set hand to the meal sack, because somewhat quick lay in the meal." now sigmund deemed he wotted that the lad was of no such heart as that he would be fain to have him for his fellow; and when he met his sister, sigmund said that he had come no nigher to the aid of a man though the youngling were with him. then said signy, "take him and kill him then; for why should such an one live longer?" and even so he did. so this winter wears, and the next winter signy sent her next son to sigmund; and there is no need to make a long tale thereof, for in like wise went all things, and he slew the child by the counsel of signy. chapter vii. of the birth of sinfjotli the son of sigmund. so on a tide it befell as signy sat in her bower, that there came to her a witch-wife exceeding cunning, and signy talked with her in such wise, "fain am i," says she, "that we should change semblances together." she says, "even as thou wilt then." and so by her wiles she brought it about that they changed semblances, and now the witch-wife sits in signy's place according to her rede, and goes to bed by the king that night, and he knows not that he has other than signy beside him. but the tale tells of signy, that she fared to the earth-house of her brother, and prayed him give her harbouring for the night; "for i have gone astray abroad in the woods, and know not whither i am going." so he said she might abide, and that he would not refuse harbour to one lone woman, deeming that she would scarce pay back his good cheer by tale-bearing: so she came into the house, and they sat down to meat, and his eyes were often on her, and a goodly and fair woman she seemed to him; but when they are full, then he says to her, that he is right fain that they should have but one bed that night; she nowise turned away therefrom, and so for three nights together he laid her in bed by him. thereafter she fared home, and found the witch-wife and bade her change semblances again, and she did so. now as time wears, signy brings forth a man-child, who was named sinfjotli, and when he grew up he was both big and strong, and fair of face, and much like unto the kin of the volsungs, and he was hardly yet ten winters old when she sent him to sigmund's earth-house; but this trial she had made of her other sons or ever she had sent them to sigmund, that she had sewed gloves on to their hands through flesh and skin, and they had borne it ill and cried out thereat; and this she now did to sinfjotli, and he changed countenance in nowise thereat. then she flayed off the kirtle so that the skin came off with the sleeves, and said that this would be torment enough for him; but he said-- "full little would volsung have felt such a smart this." so the lad came to sigmund, and sigmund bade him knead their meal up, while he goes to fetch firing; so he gave him the meal-sack, and then went after the wood, and by then he came back had sinfjotli made an end of his baking. then asked sigmund if he had found nothing in the meal. "i misdoubted me that there was something quick in the meal when i first fell to kneading of it, but i have kneaded it all up together, both the meal and that which was therein, whatsoever it was." then sigmund laughed out, he said-- "naught wilt thou eat of this bread to-night, for the most deadly of worms ( ) hast thou kneaded up therewith." now sigmund was so mighty a man that he might eat venom and have no hurt therefrom; but sinfjotli might abide whatso venom came on the outside of him, but might neither eat nor drink thereof. endnotes: ( ) serpents. chapter viii. the death of king siggeir and of signy. the tale tells that sigmund thought sinfjotli over young to help him to his revenge, and will first of all harden him with manly deeds; so in summer-tide they fare wide through the woods and slay men for their wealth; sigmund deems him to take much after the kin of the volsungs, though he thinks that he is siggeir's son, and deems him to have the evil heart of his father, with the might and daring of the volsungs; withal he must needs think him in no wise a kinsome man, for full oft would he bring sigmund's wrongs to his memory, and prick him on to slay king siggeir. now on a time as they fare abroad in the wood for the getting of wealth, they find a certain house, and two men with great gold rings asleep therein: now these twain were spell-bound skin-changers, ( ) and wolf-skins were hanging up over them in the house; and every tenth day might they come out of those skins; and they were kings' sons: so sigmund and sinfjofli do the wolf-skins on them, and then might they nowise come out of them, though forsooth the same nature went with them as heretofore; they howled as wolves howl, but both knew the meaning of that howling; they lay out in the wild-wood, and each went his way; and a word they made betwixt them, that they should risk the onset of seven men, but no more, and that he who was first to be set on should howl in wolfish wise: "let us not depart from this," says sigmund, "for thou art young and over-bold, and men will deem the quarry good, when they take thee." now each goes his way, and when they were parted, sigmund meets certain men, and gives forth a wolf's howl; and when sinfjotli heard it, he went straightway thereto, and slew them all, and once more they parted. but ere sinfjotli has fared long through the woods, eleven men meet him, and he wrought in such wise that he slew them all, and was awearied therewith, and crawls under an oak, and there takes his rest. then came sigmund thither, and said-- "why didst thou not call on me?" sinfjotli said, "i was loth to call for thy help for the slaying of eleven men." then sigmund rushed at him so hard that he staggered and fell, and sigmund bit him in the throat. now that day they might not come out of their wolf-skins: but sigmund lays the other on his back, and bears him home to the house, and cursed the wolf-gears and gave them to the trolls. now on a day he saw where two weasels went, and how that one bit the other in the throat, and then ran straightway into the thicket, and took up a leaf and laid it on the wound, and thereon his fellow sprang up quite and clean whole; so sigmund went out and saw a raven flying with a blade of that same herb to him; so he took it and drew it over sinfjotli's hurt, and he straightway sprang up as whole as though he had never been hurt. thereafter they went home to their earth-house, and abode there till the time came for them to put off the wolf-shapes; then they burnt them up with fire, and prayed that no more hurt might come to any one from them; but in that uncouth guise they wrought many famous deeds in the kingdom and lordship of king siggeir. now when sinfjotli was come to man's estate, sigmund deemed he had tried him fully, and or ever a long time has gone by he turns his mind to the avenging of his father, if so it may be brought about; so on a certain day the twain get them gone from their earth-house, and come to the abode of king siggeir late in the evening, and go into the porch before the hall, wherein were tuns of ale, and there they lie hid: now the queen is ware of them, where they are, and is fain to meet them; and when they met they took counsel, and were of one mind that volsung should be revenged that same night. now signy and the king had two children of tender age, who played with a golden toy on the floor, and bowled it along the pavement of the hall, running along with it; but therewith a golden ring from off it trundles away into the place where sigmund and sinfjotli lay, and off runs the little one to search for the same, and beholds withal where two men are sitting, big and grimly to look on, with overhanging helms and bright white byrnies; ( ) so he runs up the hall to his father, and tells him of the sight he has seen, and thereat the king misdoubts of some guile abiding him; but signy heard their speech, and arose and took both the children, and went out into the porch to them and said-- "lo ye! these younglings have bewrayed you; come now therefore and slay them!" sigmund says, "never will i slay thy children for telling of where i lay hid." but sinfjotli made little enow of it, but drew his sword and slew them both, and cast them into the hall at king siggeir's feet. then up stood the king and cried on his men to take those who had lain privily in the porch through the night. so they ran thither and would lay hands on them, but they stood on their defence well and manly, and long he remembered it who was the nighest to them; but in the end they were borne down by many men and taken, and bonds were set upon them, and they were cast into fetters wherein they sit night long. then the king ponders what longest and worst of deaths he shall mete out to them; and when morning came he let make a great barrow of stones and turf; and when it was done, let set a great flat stone midmost inside thereof, so that one edge was aloft, the other alow; and so great it was that it went from wall to wall, so that none might pass it. now he bids folk take sigmund and sinfjotli and set them in the barrow, on either side of the stone, for the worse for them he deemed it, that they might hear each the other's speech, and yet that neither might pass one to the other. but now, while they were covering in the barrow with the turf-slips, thither came signy, bearing straw with her, and cast it down to sinfjotli, and bade the thralls hide this thing from the king; they said yea thereto, and therewithal was the barrow closed in. but when night fell, sinfjotli said to sigmund, "belike we shall scarce need meat for a while, for here has the queen cast swine's flesh into the barrow, and wrapped it round about on the outer side with straw." therewith he handles the flesh and finds that therein was thrust sigmund's sword; and he knew it by the hilts, as mirk as it might be in the barrow, and tells sigmund thereof, and of that were they both fain enow. now sinfjotli drave the point of the sword up into the big stone, and drew it hard along, and the sword bit on the stone. with that sigmund caught the sword by the point, and in this wise they sawed the stone between them, and let not or all the sawing was done that need be done, even as the song sings: "sinfjotli sawed and sigmund sawed, atwain with main the stone was done." now are they both together loose in the barrow, and soon they cut both through stone and through iron, and bring themselves out thereof. then they go home to the hall, whenas all men slept there, and bear wood to the hall, and lay fire therein; and withal the folk therein are waked by the smoke, and by the hall burning over their heads. then the king cries out, "who kindled this fire, i burn withal?" "here am i," says sigmund, "with sinfjotli, my sister's son; and we are minded that thou shalt wot well that all the volsungs are not yet dead." then he bade his sister come out, and take all good things at his hands, and great honour, and fair atonement in that wise, for all her griefs. but she answered, "take heed now, and consider, if i have kept king siggeir in memory, and his slaying of volsung the king! i let slay both my children, whom i deemed worthless for the revenging of our father, and i went into the wood to thee in a witch-wife's shape; and now behold, sinfjotli is the son of thee and of me both! and therefore has he this so great hardihood and fierceness, in that he is the son both of volsung's son and volsung's daughter; and for this, and for naught else, have i so wrought, that siggeir might get his bane at last; and all these things have i done that vengeance might fall on him, and that i too might not live long; and merrily now will i die with king siggeir, though i was naught merry to wed him." therewith she kissed sigmund her brother, and sinfjotli, and went back again into the fire, and there she died with king siggeir and all his good men. but the two kinsmen gathered together folk and ships, and sigmund went back to his father's land, and drave away thence the king, who had set himself down there in the room of king volsung. so sigmund became a mighty king and far-famed, wise and high-minded: he had to wife one named borghild, and two sons they had between them, one named helgi and the other hamund; and when helgi was born, norns came to him, ( ) and spake over him, and said that he should be in time to come the most renowned of all kings. even therewith was sigmund come home from the wars, and so therewith he gives him the name of helgi, and these matters as tokens thereof, land of rings, sun-litten hill, and sharp-shearing sword, and withal prayed that he might grow of great fame, and like unto the kin of the volsungs. and so it was that he grew up high-minded, and well-beloved, and above all other men in all prowess; and the story tells that he went to the wars when he was fifteen winters old. helgi was lord and ruler over the army, but sinfjotli was gotten to be his fellow herein; and so the twain bare sway thereover. endnotes: ( ) "skin-changers" were universally believed in once, in iceland no less than elsewhere, as see ari in several places of his history, especially the episode of dufthach and storwolf o' whale. men possessing the power of becoming wolves at intervals, in the present case compelled so to become, wer-wolves or "loupsgarou", find large place in medieval story, but were equally well-known in classic times. belief in them still lingers in parts of europe where wolves are to be found. herodotus tells of the neuri, who assumed once a year the shape of wolves; pliny says that one of the family of antaeus, chosen by lot annually, became a wolf, and so remained for nine years; giraldus cambrensis will have it that irishmen may become wolves; and nennius asserts point-blank that "the descendants of wolves are still in ossory;" they retransform themselves into wolves when they bite. apuleius, petronius, and lucian have similar stories. the emperor sigismund convoked a council of theologians in the fifteenth century who decided that wer-wolves did exist. ( ) byrny (a.s. "byrne"), corslet, cuirass. ( ) "norns came to him." nornir are the fates of the northern mythology. they are three--"urd", the past; "verdandi", the present; and "skuld", the future. they sit beside the fountain of urd ("urdarbrunur"), which is below one of the roots of "yggdrasil", the world-tree, which tree their office it is to nourish by sprinkling it with the waters of the fountain. chapter ix. how helgi, the son of sigmund, won king hodbrod and his realm, and wedded sigrun. now the tale tells that helgi in his warring met a king hight hunding, a mighty king, and lord of many men and many lands; they fell to battle together, and helgi went forth mightily, and such was the end of that fight that helgi had the victory, but king hunding fell and many of his men with him; but helgi is deemed to have grown greatly in fame because he had slain so mighty a king. then the sons of hunding draw together a great army to avenge their father. hard was the fight betwixt them; but helgi goes through the folk of those brothers unto their banner, and there slays these sons of hunding, alf and eyolf, herward and hagbard, and wins there a great victory. now as helgi fared from the fight, he met a many women right fair and worthy to look on, who rode in exceeding noble array; but one far excelled them all; then helgi asked them the name of that their lady and queen, and she named herself sigrun, and said she was daughter of king hogni. then said helgi, "fare home with us: good welcome shall ye have!" then said the king's daughter, "other work lies before us than to drink with thee." "yea, and what work, king's daughter?" said helgi. she answers, "king hogni has promised me to hodbrod, the son of king granmar, but i have vowed a vow that i will have him to my husband no more than if he were a crow's son and not a king's; and yet will the thing come to pass, but and if thou standest in the way thereof, and goest against him with an army, and takest me away withal; for verily with no king would i rather bide on bolster than with thee." "be of good cheer, king's daughter," says he, "for certes he and i shall try the matter, or ever thou be given to him; yea, we shall behold which may prevail against the other; and hereto i pledge my life." thereafter, helgi sent men with money in their hands to summon his folk to him, and all his power is called together to red-berg: and there helgi abode till such time as a great company came to him from hedinsey; and therewithal came mighty power from norvi sound aboard great and fair ships. then king helgi called to him the captain of his ships, who was hight leif, and asked him if he had told over the tale of his army. "a thing not easy to tell, lord," says he, "on the ships that came out of norvi sound are twelve thousand men, and otherwhere are half as many again." then bade king helgi turn into the firth, called varin's firth, and they did so: but now there fell on them so fierce a storm and so huge a sea, that the beat of the waves on board and bow was to hearken to like as the clashing together of high hills broken. but helgi bade men fear naught, nor take in any sail, but rather hoist every rag higher than heretofore; but little did they miss of foundering or ever they made land; then came sigrun, daughter of king hogni, down on to the beach with a great army, and turned them away thence to a good haven called gnipalund; but the landsmen see what has befallen and come down to the sea-shore. the brother of king hodbrod, lord of a land called swarin's cairn, cried out to them, and asked them who was captain over that mighty army. then up stands sinfjotli, with a helm on his head, bright shining as glass, and a byrny as white as snow; a spear in his hand, and thereon a banner of renown, and a gold-rimmed shield hanging before him; and well he knew with what words to speak to kings-- "go thou and say, when thou hast made an end of feeding thy swine and thy dogs, and when thou beholdest thy wife again, that here are come the volsungs, and in this company may king helgi be found, if hodbrod be fain of finding him, for his game and his joy it is to fight and win fame, while thou art kissing the handmaids by the fire-side." then answered granmar, "in nowise knowest thou how to speak seemly things, and to tell of matters remembered from of old, whereas thou layest lies on chiefs and lords; most like it is that thou must have long been nourished with wolf-meat abroad in the wild-woods, and has slain thy brethren; and a marvel it is to behold that thou darest to join thyself to the company of good men and true, thou, who hast sucked the blood of many a cold corpse." sinfjotli answered, "dim belike is grown thy memory now, of how thou wert a witch-wife on varinsey, and wouldst fain have a man to thee, and chose me to that same office of all the world; and how thereafter thou wert a valkyria ( ) in asgarth, and it well-nigh came to this, that for thy sweet sake should all men fight; and nine wolf whelps i begat on thy body in lowness, and was the father to them all." granmar answers, "great skill of lying hast thou; yet belike the father of naught at all mayst thou be, since thou wert gelded by the giant's daughters of thrasness; and lo thou art the stepson of king siggeir, and were wont to lie abroad in wilds and woods with the kin of wolves; and unlucky was the hand wherewith thou slewest thy brethren, making for thyself an exceeding evil name." said sinfjotli, "mindest thou not then, when thou were stallion grani's mare, and how i rode thee an amble on bravoll, and that afterwards thou wert giant golnir's goat-herd?" granmar says, "rather would i feed fowls with the flesh of thee than wrangle any longer with thee." then spake king helgi, "better were it for ye, and a more manly deed, to fight, rather than to speak such things as it is a shame even to hearken to; granmar's sons are no friends of me and of mine, yet are they hardy men none the less." so granmar rode away to meet king hodbrod, at a stead called sunfells, and the horses of the twain were named sveipud and sveggjud. the brothers met in the castle-porch, and granmar told hodbrod of the war-news. king hodbrod was clad in a byrny, and had his helm on his head; he asked-- "what men are anigh, why look ye so wrathful?" granmar says, "here are come the volsungs, and twelve thousand men of them are afloat off the coast, and seven thousand are at the island called sok, but at the stead called grindur is the greatest company of all, and now i deem withal that helgi and his fellowship have good will to give battle." then said the king, "let us send a message through all our realm, and go against them, neither let any who is fain of fight sit idle at home; let us send word to the sons of ring, and to king hogni, and to alf the old, for they are mighty warriors." so the hosts met at wolfstone, and fierce fight befell there; helgi rushed forth through the host of his foes, and many a man fell there; at last folk saw a great company of shield-maidens, like burning flames to look on, and there was come sigrun, the king's daughter. then king helgi fell on king hodbrod, and smote him, and slew him even under his very banner; and sigrun cried out-- "have thou thanks for thy so manly deed! now shall we share the land between us, and a day of great good hap this is to me, and for this deed shalt thou get honour and renown, in that thou hast felled to earth so mighty a king." so helgi took to him that realm and dwelt there long, when he had wedded sigrun, and became a king of great honour and renown, though he has naught more to do with this story. endnotes: ( ) valkyrja, "chooser of the elected." the women were so called whom odin sent to choose those for death in battle who were to join the "einherjar" in the hall of the elected, "val-holl." chapter x. the ending of sinfjotli, sigmund's son. now the volsungs fare back home, and have gained great renown by these deeds. but sinfjotli betook himself to warfare anew; and therewith he had sight of an exceeding fair woman, and yearned above all things for her; but that same woman was wooed also of the brother of borghild, the king's wife: and this matter they fought out betwixt them, and sinfjotli slew that king; and thereafter he harried far and wide, and had many a battle and even gained the day; and he became hereby honoured and renowned above all men; but in autumn tide he came home with many ships and abundant wealth. then he told his tidings to the king his father, and he again to the queen, and she for her part bids him get him gone from the realm, and made as if she would in nowise see him. but sigmund said he would not drive him away, and offered her atonement of gold and great wealth for her brother's life, albeit he said he had never erst given weregild ( ) to any for the slaying of a man, but no fame it was to uphold wrong against a woman. so seeing she might not get her own way herein, she said, "have thy will in this matter, o my lord, for it is seemly so to be." and now she holds the funeral feast for her brother by the aid and counsel of the king, and makes ready all things therefor or in the best of wise, and bade thither many great men. at that feast, borghild the queen bare the drink to folk, and she came over against sinfjofli with a great horn, and said-- "fall to now and drink, fair stepson!" then he took the horn to him, and looked therein, and said-- "nay, for the drink is charmed drink" then said sigmund, "give it unto me then;" and therewith he took the horn and drank it off. but the queen said to sinfjotli, "why must other men needs drink thine ale for thee?" and she came again the second time with the horn, and said, "come now and drink!" and goaded him with many words. and he took the horn, and said-- "guile is in the drink." and thereon, sigmund cried out-- "give it then unto me!" again, the third time, she came to him, and bade him drink off his drink, if he had the heart of a volsung; then he laid hand on the horn, but said-- "venom is therein." "nay, let the lip strain it out then, o son," quoth sigmund; and by then was he exceeding drunk with drink, and therefore spake he in that wise. so sinfjotli drank, and straightway fell down dead to the ground. sigmund rose up, and sorrowed nigh to death over him; then he took the corpse in his arms and fared away to the wood, and went till he came to a certain firth; and there he saw a man in a little boat; and that man asked if he would be wafted by him over the firth, and he said yea thereto; but so little was the boat, that they might not all go in it at once, so the corpse was first laid therein, while sigmund went by the firth-side. but therewith the boat and the man therein vanished away from before sigmund's eyes. ( ) so thereafter sigmund turned back home, and drave away the queen, and a little after she died. but sigmund the king yet ruled his realm, and is deemed ever the greatest champion and king of the old law. endnotes: ( ) weregild, fine for man-slaying ("wer", man, and "gild", a payment). ( ) the man in the boat is odin, doubtless. chapter xi. of king sigmund's last battle, and of how he must yield up his sword again. there was a king called eylimi, mighty and of great fame, and his daughter was called hjordis, the fairest and wisest of womankind; and sigmund hears it told of her that she was meet to be his wife, yea if none else were. so he goes to the house of king eylimi, who would make a great feast for him, if so be he comes not thither in the guise of a foe. so messages were sent from one to the other that this present journey was a peaceful one, and not for war; so the feast was held in the best of wise and with many a man thereat; fairs were in every place established for king sigmund, and all things else were done to the aid and comfort of his journey: so he came to the feast, and both kings hold their state in one hall; thither also was come king lyngi, son of king hunding, and he also is a-wooing the daughter of king eylimi. now the king deemed he knew that the twain had come thither but for one errand, and thought withal that war and trouble might be looked for from the hands of him who brought not his end about; so he spake to his daughter, and said-- "thou art a wise woman, and i have spoken it, that thou alone shalt choose a husband for thyself; choose therefore between these two kings, and my rede shall be even as thine." "a hard and troublous matter," says she; "yet will i choose him who is of greatest fame, king sigmund to wife, albeit he is well stricken in years." so to him was she betrothed, and king lyngi gat him gone. then was sigmund wedded to hjordis, and now each day was the feast better and more glorious than on the day before it. but thereafter sigmund went back home to hunland, and king eylimi, his father-in-law, with him, and king sigmund betakes himself to the due ruling of his realm. but king lyngi and his brethren gather an army together to fall on sigmund, for as in all matters they were wont to have the worser lot, so did this bite the sorest of all; and they would fain prevail over the might and pride of the volsungs. so they came to hunland, and sent king sigmund word how that they would not steal upon him, and that they deemed he would scarce slink away from them. so sigmund said he would come and meet them in battle, and drew his power together; but hjordis was borne into the wood with a certain bondmaid, and mighty wealth went with them; and there she abode the while they fought. now the vikings rushed from their ships in numbers not to be borne up against, but sigmund the king, and eylimi, set up their banners, and the horns blew up to battle; but king sigmund let blow the horn his father erst had had, and cheered on his men to the fight, but his army was far the fewest. now was that battle fierce and fell, and though sigmund were old, yet most hardily he fought, and was ever the foremost of his men; no shield or byrny might hold against him, and he went ever through the ranks of his foemen on that day, and no man might see how things would fare between them; many an arrow and many a spear was aloft in air that day, and so his spae-wrights wrought for him that he got no wound, and none can tell over the tale of those who fell before him, and both his arms were red with blood, even to the shoulders. but now whenas the battle had dured a while, there came a man into the fight clad in a blue cloak, and with a slouched hat on his head, one-eyed he was, ( ) and bare a bill in his hand; and he came against sigmund the king, and have up his bill against him, and as sigmund smote fiercely with the sword it fell upon the bill and burst asunder in the midst: thenceforth the slaughter and dismay turned to his side, for the good-hap of king sigmund had departed from him, and his men fell fast about him; naught did the king spare himself, but the rather cheered on his men; but even as the saw says, "no might 'gainst many", so was it now proven; and in this fight fell sigmund the king, and king eylimi, his father-in-law, in the fore-front of their battle, and therewith the more part of their folk. endnotes: ( ) odin coming to change the ownership of the sword he had given sigmund. see chapter . chapter xii. of the shards of the sword gram, and how hjordis went to king alf. now king lyngi made for the king's abode, and was minded to take the king's daughter there, but failed herein, for there he found neither wife nor wealth: so he fared through all the realm, and gave his men rule thereover, and now deemed that he had slain all the kin of the volsungs, and that he need dread them no more from henceforth. now hjordis went amidst the slain that night of the battle, and came whereas lay king sigmund, and asked if he might be healed; but he answered-- "many a man lives after hope has grown little; but my good-hap has departed from me, nor will i suffer myself to be healed, nor wills odin that i should ever draw sword again, since this my sword and his is broken; lo now, i have waged war while it was his will." "naught ill would i deem matters," said she, "if thou mightest be healed and avenge my father." the king said, "that is fated for another man; behold now, thou art great with a man-child; nourish him well and with good heed, and the child shall be the noblest and most famed of all our kin: and keep well withal the shards of the sword: thereof shall a goodly sword be made, and it shall be called gram, and our son shall bear it, and shall work many a great work therewith, even such as eld shall never minish; for his name shall abide and flourish as long as the world shall endure: and let this be enow for thee. but now i grow weary with my wounds, and i will go see our kin that have gone before me." so hjordis sat over him till he died at the day-dawning; and then she looked, and behold, there came many ships sailing to the land: then she spake to the handmaid-- "let us now change raiment, and be thou called by my name, and say that thou art the king's daughter." and thus they did; but now the vikings behold the great slaughter of men there, and see where two women fare away thence into the wood; and they deem that some great tidings must have befallen, and they leaped ashore from out their ships. now the captain of these folks was alf, son of hjalprek, king of denmark, who was sailing with his power along the land. so they came into the field among the slain, and saw how many men lay dead there; then the king bade go seek for the women and bring them thither, and they did so. he asked them what women they were; and, little as the thing seems like to be, the bondmaid answered for the twain, telling of the fall of king sigmund and king eylimi, and many another great man, and who they were withal who had wrought the deed. then the king asks if they wotted where the wealth of the king was bestowed; and then says the bondmaid-- "it may well be deemed that we know full surely thereof." and therewith she guides them to the place where the treasure lay: and there they found exceeding great wealth; so that men deem they have never seen so many things of price heaped up together in one place. all this they bore to the ships of king alf, and hjordis and the bondmaid went with them. therewith these sail away to their own realm, and talk how that surely on that field had fallen the most renowned of kings. so the king sits by the tiller, but the women abide in the forecastle; but talk he had with the women and held their counsels of much account. in such wise the king came home to his realm with great wealth, and he himself was a man exceeding goodly to look on. but when he had been but a little while at home, the queen, his mother, asked him why the fairest of the two women had the fewer rings and the less worthy attire. "i deem," she said, "that she whom ye have held of least account is the noblest of the twain." he answered: "i too have misdoubted me, that she is little like a bondwoman, and when we first met, in seemly wise she greeted noble men. lo now, we will make a trial of the thing." so on a time as men sat at the drink, the king sat down to talk with the women, and said:-- "in what wise do ye note the wearing of the hours, whenas night grows old, if ye may not see the lights of heaven?" then says the bondwoman, "this sign have i, that whenas in my youth i was wont to drink much in the dawn, so now when i no longer use that manner, i am yet wont to wake up at that very same tide, and by that token do i know thereof." then the king laughed and said, "ill manners for a king's daughter!" and therewith he turned to hjordis, and asked her even the same question; but she answered-- "my father erst gave me a little gold ring of such nature, that it groweth cold on my finger in the day-dawning; and that is the sign that i have to know thereof." the king answered: "enow of gold there, where a very bondmaid bore it! but come now, thou hast been long enow hid from me; yet if thou hadst told me all from the beginning, i would have done to thee as though we had both been one king's children: but better than thy deeds will i deal with thee, for thou shalt be my wife, and due jointure will i pay thee whenas thou hast borne me a child." she spake therewith and told out the whole truth about herself: so there was she held in great honour, and deemed the worthiest of women. chapter xiii. of the birth and waxing of sigurd fafnir's-bane. the tale tells that hjordis brought forth a man-child, who was straightly borne before king hjalprek, and then was the king glad thereof, when he saw the keen eyes in the head of him, and he said that few men would be equal to him or like unto him in any wise. so he was sprinkled with water, and had to name sigurd, of whom all men speak with one speech and say that none was ever his like for growth and goodliness. he was brought up in the house of king hjalprek in great love and honour; and so it is, that whenso all the noblest men and greatest kings are named in the olden tales, sigurd is ever put before them all, for might and prowess, for high mind and stout heart, wherewith he was far more abundantly gifted than any man of the northern parts of the wide world. so sigurd waxed in king hjalprek's house, and there was no child but loved him; through him was hjordis betrothed to king alf, and jointure meted to her. now sigurd's foster-father was hight regin, the son of hreidmar; he taught him all manner of arts, the chess play, and the lore of runes, and the talking of many tongues, even as the wont was with kings' sons in those days. but on a day when they were together, regin asked sigurd, if he knew how much wealth his father had owned, and who had the ward thereof; sigurd answered, and said that the kings kept the ward thereof. said regin, "dost thou trust them all utterly?" sigurd said, "it is seemly that they keep it till i may do somewhat therewith, for better they wot how to guard it than i do." another time came regin to talk to sigurd, and said-- "a marvellous thing truly that thou must needs be a horse-boy to the kings, and go about like a running knave." "nay," said sigurd, "it is not so, for in all things i have my will, and whatso thing i desire is granted me with good will." "well, then," said regin, "ask for a horse of them." "yea," quoth sigurd, "and that shall i have, whenso i have need thereof." thereafter sigurd went to the king, and the king said-- "what wilt thou have of us?" then said sigurd, "i would even a horse of thee for my disport." then said the king, "choose for thyself a horse, and whatso thing else thou desirest among my matters." so the next day went sigurd to the wood, and met on the way an old man, long-bearded, that he knew not, who asked him whither away. sigurd said, "i am minded to choose me a horse; come thou, and counsel me thereon." "well then," said he, "go we and drive them to the river which is called busil-tarn." they did so, and drave the horses down into the deeps of the river, and all swam back to land but one horse; and that horse sigurd chose for himself; grey he was of hue, and young of years, great of growth, and fair to look on, nor had any man yet crossed his back. then spake the grey-beard, "from sleipnir's kin is this horse come, and he must be nourished heedfully, for it will be the best of all horses;" and therewithal he vanished away. so sigurd called the horse grani, the best of all the horses of the world; nor was the man he met other than odin himself. now yet again spake regin to sigurd, and said-- "not enough is thy wealth, and i grieve right sore that thou must needs run here and there like a churl's son; but i can tell thee where there is much wealth for the winning, and great name and honour to be won in the getting of it." sigurd asked where that might be, and who had watch and ward over it. regin answered, "fafnir is his name, and but a little way hence he lies, on the waste of gnita-heath; and when thou comest there thou mayst well say that thou hast never seen more gold heaped together in one place, and that none might desire more treasure, though he were the most ancient and famed of all kings." "young am i," says sigurd, "yet know i the fashion of this worm, and how that none durst go against him, so huge and evil is he." regin said, "nay it is not so, the fashion and the growth of him is even as of other lingworms, ( ) and an over great tale men make of it; and even so would thy forefathers have deemed; but thou, though thou be of the kin of the volsungs, shalt scarce have the heart and mind of those, who are told of as the first in all deeds of fame." sigurd said, "yea, belike i have little of their hardihood and prowess, but thou hast naught to do, to lay a coward's name upon me, when i am scarce out of my childish years. why dost thou egg me on hereto so busily?" regin said, "therein lies a tale which i must needs tell thee." "let me hear the same," said sigurd. endnotes: ( ) lingworm--longworm, dragon. chapter xiv. regin's tale of his brothers, and of the gold called andvari's hoard. "the tale begins," said regin. "hreidmar was my father's name, a mighty man and a wealthy: and his first son was named fafnir, his second otter, and i was the third, and the least of them all both for prowess and good conditions, but i was cunning to work in iron, and silver, and gold, whereof i could make matters that availed somewhat. other skill my brother otter followed, and had another nature withal, for he was a great fisher, and above other men herein; in that he had the likeness of an otter by day, and dwelt ever in the river, and bare fish to bank in his mouth, and his prey would he ever bring to our father, and that availed him much: for the most part he kept him in his otter-gear, and then he would come home, and eat alone, and slumbering, for on the dry land he might see naught. but fafnir was by far the greatest and grimmest, and would have all things about called his. "now," says regin, "there was a dwarf called andvari, who ever abode in that force, ( ) which was called andvari's force, in the likeness of a pike, and got meat for himself, for many fish there were in the force; now otter, my brother, was ever wont to enter into the force, and bring fish aland, and lay them one by one on the bank. and so it befell that odin, loki, and hoenir, as they went their ways, came to andvari's force, and otter had taken a salmon, and ate it slumbering upon the river bank; then loki took a stone and cast it at otter, so that he gat his death thereby; the gods were well content with their prey, and fell to flaying off the otter's skin; and in the evening they came to hreidmar's house, and showed him what they had taken: thereon he laid hands on them, and doomed them to such ransom, as that they should fill the otter skin with gold, and cover it over without with red gold; so they sent loki to gather gold together for them; he came to ran, ( ) and got her net, and went therewith to andvari's force, and cast the net before the pike, and the pike ran into the net and was taken. then said loki-- "'what fish of all fishes, swims strong in the flood, but hath learnt little wit to beware? thine head must thou buy, from abiding in hell, and find me the wan waters flame.' he answered-- "'andvari folk call me, call oinn my father, over many a force have i fared; for a norn of ill-luck, this life on me lay through wet ways ever to wade.' "so loki beheld the gold of andvari, and when he had given up the gold, he had but one ring left, and that also loki took from him; then the dwarf went into a hollow of the rocks, and cried out, that that gold-ring, yea and all the gold withal, should be the bane of every man who should own it thereafter. "now the gods rode with the treasure to hreidmar, and fulfilled the otter-skin, and set it on its feet, and they must cover it over utterly with gold: but when this was done then hreidmar came forth, and beheld yet one of the muzzle hairs, and bade them cover that withal; then odin drew the ring, andvari's loom, from his hand, and covered up the hair therewith; then sang loki-- "'gold enow, gold enow, a great weregild, thou hast, that my head in good hap i may hold; but thou and thy son are naught fated to thrive, the bane shall it be of you both.' "thereafter," says regin, "fafnir slew his father and murdered him, nor got i aught of the treasure, and so evil he grew, that he fell to lying abroad, and begrudged any share in the wealth to any man, and so became the worst of all worms, and ever now lies brooding upon that treasure: but for me, i went to the king and became his master-smith; and thus is the tale told of how i lost the heritage of my father, and the weregild for my brother." so spake regin; but since that time gold is called ottergild, and for no other cause than this. but sigurd answered, "much hast thou lost, and exceeding evil have thy kinsmen been! but now, make a sword by thy craft, such a sword as that none can be made like unto it; so that i may do great deeds therewith, if my heart avail thereto, and thou wouldst have me slay this mighty dragon." regin says, "trust me well herein; and with that same sword shalt thou slay fafnir." endnotes: ( ) waterfall (ice. "foss", "fors"). ( ) ran is the goddess of the sea, wife of aegir. the otter was held sacred by norsefolk and figures in the myth and legend of most races besides; to this day its killing is held a great crime by the parsees (haug. "religion of the parsees", page ). compare penalty above with that for killing the welsh king's cat ("ancient laws and institutes of wales". ed., aneurin owen. longman, london, , vols. vo). chapter xv. of the welding together of the shards of the sword gram. so regin makes a sword, and gives it into sigurd's hands. he took the sword, and said-- "behold thy smithying, regin!" and therewith smote it into the anvil, and the sword brake; so he cast down the brand, and bade him forge a better. then regin forged another sword, and brought it to sigurd, who looked thereon. then said regin, "belike thou art well content therewith, hard master though thou be in smithying." so sigurd proved the sword, and brake it even as the first; then he said to regin-- "ah, art thou, mayhappen, a traitor and a liar like to those former kin of thine?" therewith he went to his mother, and she welcomed him in seemly wise, and they talked and drank together. then spake sigurd, "have i heard aright, that king sigmund gave thee the good sword gram in two pieces?" "true enough," she said. so sigurd said, "deliver them into my hands, for i would have them." she said he looked like to win great fame, and gave him the sword. therewith went sigurd to regin, and bade him make a good sword thereof as he best might; regin grew wroth thereat, but went into the smithy with the pieces of the sword, thinking well meanwhile that sigurd pushed his head far enow into the matter of smithying. so he made a sword, and as he bore it forth from the forge, it seemed to the smiths as though fire burned along the edges thereof. now he bade sigurd take the sword, and said he knew not how to make a sword if this one failed. then sigurd smote it into the anvil, and cleft it down to the stock thereof, and neither burst the sword nor brake it. then he praised the sword much, and thereafter went to the river with a lock of wool, and threw it up against the stream, and it fell asunder when it met the sword. then was sigurd glad, and went home. but regin said, "now whereas i have made the sword for thee, belike thou wilt hold to thy troth given, and wilt go meet fafnir?" "surely will i hold thereto," said sigurd, "yet first must i avenge my father." now sigurd the older he grew, the more he grew in the love of all men, so that every child loved him well. chapter xvi. the prophecy of grifir. there was a man hight grifir,( ) who was sigurd's mother's brother, and a little after the forging of the sword sigurd went to grifir, because he was a man who knew things to come, and what was fated to men: of him sigurd asked diligently how his life should go; but grifir was long or he spake, yet at the last, by reason of sigurd's exceeding great prayers, he told him all his life and the fate thereof, even as afterwards came to pass. so when grifir had told him all even as he would, he went back home; and a little after he and regin met. then said regin, "go thou and slay fafnir, even as thou hast given thy word." sigurd said, "that work shall be wrought; but another is first to be done, the avenging of sigmund the king and the other of my kinsmen who fell in that their last fight." endnotes: ( ) called "gripir" in the edda. chapter xvii. of sigurd's avenging of sigmund his father. now sigurd went to the kings, and spake thus-- "here have i abode a space with you, and i owe you thanks and reward, for great love and many gifts and all due honour; but now will i away from the land and go meet the sons of hunding, and do them to wit that the volsungs are not all dead; and your might would i have to strengthen me therein." so the kings said that they would give him all things soever that he desired, and therewith was a great army got ready, and all things wrought in the most heedful wise, ships and all war-gear, so that his journey might be of the stateliest: but sigurd himself steered the dragon-keel which was the greatest and noblest; richly wrought were their sails, and glorious to look on. so they sail and have wind at will; but when a few days were overpast, there arose a great storm on the sea, and the waves were to behold even as the foam of men's blood; but sigurd bade take in no sail, howsoever they might be riven, but rather to lay on higher than heretofore. but as they sailed past the rocks of a ness, a certain man hailed the ships, and asked who was captain over that navy; then was it told him that the chief and lord was sigurd, the son of sigmund, the most famed of all the young men who now are. then said the man, "naught but one thing, certes, do all say of him, that none among the sons of kings may be likened unto him; now fain were i that ye would shorten sail on some of the ships, and take me aboard." then they asked him of his name, and he sang-- "hnikar i hight, when i gladdened huginn, and went to battle, bright son of volsung; now may ye call the carl on the cliff top, feng or fjolnir: fain would i with you." they made for land therewith, and took that man aboard. then quoth sigurd,( ) as the song says-- "tell me this, o hnikar, since full well thou knowest fate of gods, good and ill of mankind, what best our hap foresheweth, when amid the battle about us sweeps the sword edge." quoth hnikar-- "good are many tokens if thereof men wotted when the swords are sweeping: fair fellow deem i the dark-winged raven, in war, to weapon-wielder. "the second good thing: when abroad thou goest for the long road well arrayed, good if thou seest two men standing, fain of fame within the forecourt. "a third thing: good hearing, the wolf a howling abroad under ash boughs; good hap shalt thou have dealing with helm-staves, if thou seest these fare before thee. "no man in fight his face shall turn against the moon's sister low, late-shining, for he winneth battle who best beholdeth through the midmost sword-play, and the sloping ranks best shapeth. "great is the trouble of foot ill-tripping, when arrayed for fight thou farest, for on both sides about are the d?sir ( ) by thee, guileful, wishful of thy wounding. "fair-combed, well washen let each warrior be, nor lack meat in the morning, for who can rule the eve's returning, and base to fall before fate grovelling." then the storm abated, and on they fared till they came aland in the realm of hunding's sons, and then fjolnir vanished away. then they let loose fire and sword, and slew men and burnt their abodes, and did waste all before them: a great company of folk fled before the face of them to lyngi the king, and tell him that men of war are in the land, and are faring with such rage and fury that the like has never been heard of; and that the sons of king hunding had no great forecast in that they said they would never fear the volsungs more, for here was come sigurd, the son of sigmund, as captain over this army. so king lyngi let send the war-message all throughout his realm, and has no will to flee, but summons to him all such as would give him aid. so he came against sigurd with a great army, he and his brothers with him, and an exceeding fierce fight befell; many a spear and many an arrow might men see there raised aloft, axes hard driven, shields cleft and byrnies torn, helmets were shivered, skulls split atwain, and many a man felled to the cold earth. and now when the fight has long dured in such wise, sigurd goes forth before the banners, and has the good sword gram in his hand, and smites down both men and horses, and goes through the thickest of the throng with both arms red with blood to the shoulder; and folk shrank aback before him wheresoever he went, nor would either helm or byrny hold before him, and no man deemed he had ever seen his like. so a long while the battle lasted, and many a man was slain, and furious was the onset; till at last it befell, even as seldom comes to hand, when a land army falls on, that, do whatso they might, naught was brought about; but so many men fell of the sons of hunding that the tale of them may not be told; and now whenas sigurd was among the foremost, came the sons of hunding against him, and sigurd smote therewith at lyngi the king, and clave him down, both helm and head, and mail-clad body, and thereafter he smote hjorward his brother atwain, and then slew all the other sons of hunding who were yet alive, and the more part of their folk withal. now home goes sigurd with fair victory won, and plenteous wealth and great honour, which he had gotten to him in this journey, and feasts were made for him against he came back to the realm. but when sigurd had been at home but a little, came regin to talk with him, and said-- "belike thou wilt now have good will to bow down fafnir's crest according to thy word plighted, since thou hast thus revenged thy father and the others of thy kin." sigurd answered, "that will we hold to, even as we have promised, nor did it ever fall from our memory." endnotes: ( ) this and verses following were inserted from the "reginsmal" by the translators. ( ) "d?sir", sing. "d?s". these are the guardian beings who follow a man from his birth to his death. the word originally means sister, and is used throughout the eddaic poems as a dignified synonym for woman, lady. chapter xviii. of the slaying of the worm fafnir. now sigurd and regin ride up the heath along that same way wherein fafnir was wont to creep when he fared to the water; and folk say that thirty fathoms was the height of that cliff along which he lay when he drank of the water below. then sigurd spake: "how sayedst thou, regin, that this drake ( ) was no greater than other lingworms; methinks the track of him is marvellous great?" then said regin, "make thee a hole, and sit down therein, and whenas the worm comes to the water, smite him into the heart, and so do him to death, and win thee great fame thereby." but sigurd said, "what will betide me if i be before the blood of the worm?" says regin, "of what avail to counsel thee if thou art still afeard of everything? little art thou like thy kin in stoutness of heart." then sigurd rides right over the heath; but regin gets him gone, sore afeard. but sigurd fell to digging him a pit, and whiles he was at that work, there came to him an old man with a long beard, and asked what he wrought there, and he told him. then answered the old man and said, "thou doest after sorry counsel: rather dig thee many pits, and let the blood run therein; but sit thee down in one thereof, and so thrust the worm's heart through." and therewithal he vanished away; but sigurd made the pits even as it was shown to him. now crept the worm down to his place of watering, and the earth shook all about him, and he snorted forth venom on all the way before him as he went; but sigurd neither trembled nor was adrad at the roaring of him. so whenas the worm crept over the pits, sigurd thrust his sword under his left shoulder, so that it sank in up to the hilts; then up leapt sigurd from the pit and drew the sword back again unto him, and therewith was his arm all bloody, up to the very shoulder. now when that mighty worm was ware that he had his death-wound, then he lashed out head and tail, so that all things soever that were before him were broken to pieces. so whenas fafnir had his death-wound, he asked "who art thou? and who is thy father? and what thy kin, that thou wert so hardy as to bear weapons against me?" sigurd answered, "unknown to men is my kin. i am called a noble beast: ( ) neither father have i nor mother, and all alone have i fared hither." said fafnir, "whereas thou hast neither father nor mother, of what wonder wert thou born then? but now, though thou tellest me not thy name on this my death-day, yet thou knowest verily that thou liest unto me." he answered, "sigurd am i called, and my father was sigmund." says fafnir, "who egged thee on to this deed, and why wouldst thou be driven to it? hadst thou never heard how that all folk were adrad of me, and of the awe of my countenance? but an eager father thou hadst, o bright eyed swain!" sigurd answered, "a hardy heart urged me on hereto; and a strong hand and this sharp sword, which well thou knowest now, stood me in stead in the doing of the deed; 'seldom hath hardy eld a faint-heart youth.'" fafnir said, "well, i wot that hadst thou waxed amid thy kin, thou mightest have good skill to slay folk in thine anger; but more of a marvel is it, that thou, a bondsman taken in war, shouldst have the heart to set on me, 'for few among bondsmen have heart for the fight.'" said sigurd, "wilt thou then cast it in my teeth that i am far away from my kin? albeit i was a bondsman, yet was i never shackled. god wot thou hast found me free enow." fafnir answered, "in angry wise dost thou take my speech; but hearken, for that same gold which i have owned shall be thy bane too." quoth sigurd, "fain would we keep all our wealth til that day of days; yet shall each man die once for all." said fafnir, "few things wilt thou do after my counsel; but take heed that thou shalt be drowned if thou farest unwarily over the sea; so bide thou rather on the dry land, for the coming of the calm tide." then said sigurd, "speak, fafnir, and say, if thou art so exceeding wise, who are the norns who rule the lot of all mothers' sons." fafnir answers, "many there be and wide apart; for some are of the kin of the aesir, and some are of elfin kin, and some there are who are daughters of dvalin." said sigurd, "how namest thou the holm whereon surt ( ) and the aesir mix and mingle the water of the sword?" "unshapen is that holm hight," said fafnir. and yet again he said, "regin, my brother, has brought about my end, and it gladdens my heart that thine too he bringeth about; for thus will things be according to his will." and once again he spake, "a countenance of terror i bore up before all folk, after that i brooded over the heritage of my brother, and on every side did i spout out poison, so that none durst come anigh me, and of no weapon was i adrad, nor ever had i so many men before me, as that i deemed myself not stronger than all; for all men were sore afeard of me." sigurd answered and said, "few may have victory by means of that same countenance of terror, for whoso comes amongst many shall one day find that no one man is by so far the mightiest of all." then says fafnir, "such counsel i give thee, that thou take thy horse and ride away at thy speediest, for ofttimes it falls out so, that he who gets a death-wound avenges himself none the less." sigurd answered, "such as thy redes are i will nowise do after them; nay, i will ride now to thy lair and take to me that great treasure of thy kin." "ride there then," said fafnir, "and thou shalt find gold enow to suffice thee for all thy life-days; yet shall that gold be thy bane, and the bane of every one soever who owns it." then up stood sigurd, and said, "home would i ride and lose all that wealth, if i deemed that by the losing thereof i should never die; but every brave and true man will fain have his hand on wealth till that last day; but thou, fafnir, wallow in the death-pain till death and hell have thee." and therewithal fafnir died. endnotes: ( ) lat. "draco", a dragon. ( ) "unknown to men is my kin." sigurd refusing to tell his name is to be referred to the superstition that a dying man could throw a curse on his enemy. ( ) surt; a fire-giant, who will destroy the world at the ragnarok, or destruction of all things. aesir; the gods. chapter xix. of the slaying of regin, son of hreidmar. thereafter came regin to sigurd, and said, "hail, lord and master, a noble victory hast thou won in the slaying of fafnir, whereas none durst heretofore abide in the path of him; and now shall this deed of fame be of renown while the world stands fast." then stood regin staring on the earth a long while, and presently thereafter spake from heavy mood: "mine own brother hast thou slain, and scarce may i be called sackless of the deed." then sigurd took his sword gram and dried it on the earth, and spake to regin-- "afar thou faredst when i wrought this deed and tried this sharp sword with the hand and the might of me; with all the might and main of a dragon must i strive, while thou wert laid alow in the heather-bush, wotting not if it were earth or heaven." said regin, "long might this worm have lain in his lair, if the sharp sword i forged with my hand had not been good at need to thee; had that not been, neither thou nor any man would have prevailed against him as at this time." sigurd answers, "whenas men meet foes in fight, better is stout heart than sharp sword." then said regin, exceeding heavily, "thou hast slain my brother, and scarce may i be sackless of the deed." therewith sigurd cut out the heart of the worm with the sword called ridil; but regin drank of fafnir's blood, and spake, "grant me a boon, and do a thing little for thee to do. bear the heart to the fire, and roast it, and give me thereof to eat." then sigurd went his ways and roasted it on a rod; and when the blood bubbled out he laid his finger thereon to essay it, if it were fully done; and then he set his finger in his mouth, and lo, when the heart-blood of the worm touched his tongue, straightway he knew the voice of all fowls, and heard withal how the wood-peckers chattered in the brake beside him-- "there sittest thou, sigurd, roasting fafnir's heart for another, that thou shouldest eat thine ownself, and then thou shouldest become the wisest of all men." and another spake: "there lies regin, minded to beguile the man who trusts in him." but yet again said the third, "let him smite the head from off him then, and be only lord of all that gold." and once more the fourth spake and said, "ah, the wiser were he if he followed after that good counsel, and rode thereafter to fafnir's lair, and took to him that mighty treasure that lieth there, and then rode over hindfell, whereas sleeps brynhild; for there would he get great wisdom. ah, wise he were, if he did after your redes, and bethought him of his own weal; 'for where wolf's ears are, wolf's teeth are near.'" then cried the fifth: "yea, yea, not so wise is he as i deem him, if he spareth him, whose brother he hath slain already." at last spake the sixth: "handy and good rede to slay him, and be lord of the treasure!" then said sigurd, "the time is unborn wherein regin shall be my bane; nay, rather one road shall both these brothers fare." and therewith he drew his sword gram and struck off regin's head. then heard sigurd the wood-peckers a-singing, even as the song says. ( ) for the first sang: "bind thou, sigurd, the bright red rings! not meet it is many things to fear. a fair may know i, fair of all the fairest girt about with gold, good for thy getting." and the second: "green go the ways toward the hall of giuki that the fates show forth to those who fare thither; there the rich king reareth a daughter; thou shalt deal, sigurd, with gold for thy sweetling." and the third: "a high hall is there reared upon hindfell, without all around it sweeps the red flame aloft. wise men wrought that wonder of halls with the unhidden gleam of the glory of gold." then the fourth sang: "soft on the fell a shield-may sleepeth the lime-trees' red plague playing about her: the sleep-thorn set odin into that maiden for her choosing in war the one he willed not. "go, son, behold that may under helm whom from battle vinskornir bore, from her may not turn the torment of sleep. dear offspring of kings in the dread norns' despite." then sigurd ate some deal of fafnir's heart, and the remnant he kept. then he leapt on his horse and rode along the trail of the worm fafnir, and so right unto his abiding-place; and he found it open, and beheld all the doors and the gear of them that they were wrought of iron: yea, and all the beams of the house; and it was dug down deep into the earth: there found sigurd gold exceeding plenteous, and the sword rotti; and thence he took the helm of awe, and the gold byrny, and many things fair and good. so much gold he found there, that he thought verily that scarce might two horses, or three belike, bear it thence. so he took all the gold and laid it in two great chests, and set them on the horse grani, and took the reins of him, but nowise will he stir, neither will he abide smiting. then sigurd knows the mind of the horse, and leaps on the back of him, and smites and spurs into him, and off the horse goes even as if he were unladen. endnotes: ( ) the songs of the birds were inserted from "reginsmal" by the translators. chapter xx. of sigurd's meeting with brynhild on the mountain. by long roads rides sigurd, till he comes at the last up on to hindfell, and wends his way south to the land of the franks; and he sees before him on the fell a great light, as of fire burning, and flaming up even unto the heavens; and when he came thereto, lo, a shield-hung castle before him, and a banner on the topmost thereof: into the castle went sigurd, and saw one lying there asleep, and all-armed. therewith he takes the helm from off the head of him, and sees that it is no man, but a woman; and she was clad in a byrny as closely set on her as though it had grown to her flesh; so he rent it from the collar downwards; and then the sleeves thereof, and ever the sword bit on it as if it were cloth. then said sigurd that over-long had she lain asleep; but she asked-- "what thing of great might is it that has prevailed to rend my byrny, and draw me from my sleep?" even as sings the song: ( ) "what bit on the byrny, why breaks my sleep away, who has turned from me my wan tormenting?" "ah, is it so, that here is come sigurd sigmundson, bearing fafnir's helm on his head and fafnir's bane in his hand?" then answered sigurd-- "sigmund's son with sigurd's sword e'en now rent down the raven's wall." "of the volsung's kin is he who has done the deed; but now i have heard that thou art daughter of a mighty king, and folk have told us that thou wert lovely and full of lore, and now i will try the same." then brynhild sang-- "long have i slept and slumbered long, many and long are the woes of mankind, by the might of odin must i bide helpless to shake from off me the spells of slumber. "hail to the day come back! hail, sons of the daylight! hail to thee, dark night, and thy daughter! look with kind eyes a-down, on us sitting here lonely, and give unto us the gain that we long for. "hail to the aesir, and the sweet asyniur! ( ) hail to the fair earth fulfilled of plenty! fair words, wise hearts, would we win from you, and healing hands while life we hold." then brynhild speaks again and says, "two kings fought, one hight helm gunnar, an old man, and the greatest of warriors, and odin had promised the victory unto him; but his foe was agnar, or audi's brother: and so i smote down helm gunnar in the fight; and odin, in vengeance for that deed, stuck the sleep-thorn into me, and said that i should never again have the victory, but should be given away in marriage; but thereagainst i vowed a vow, that never would i wed one who knew the name of fear." then said sigurd, "teach us the lore of mighty matters!" she said, "belike thou cannest more skill in all than i; yet will i teach thee; yea, and with thanks, if there be aught of my cunning that will in anywise pleasure thee, either of runes or of other matters that are the root of things; but now let us drink together, and may the gods give to us twain a good day, that thou mayst win good help and fame from my wisdom, and that thou mayst hereafter mind thee of that which we twain speak together." then brynhild filled a beaker and bore it to sigurd, and gave him the drink of love, and spake-- "beer bring i to thee, fair fruit of the byrnies' clash, mixed is it mightily, mingled with fame, brimming with bright lays and pitiful runes, wise words, sweet words, speech of great game. "runes of war know thou, if great thou wilt be! cut them on hilt of hardened sword, some on the brand's back, some on its shining side, twice name tyr therein. "sea-runes good at need, learnt for ship's saving, for the good health of the swimming horse; on the stern cut them, cut them on the rudder-blade and set flame to shaven oar: howso big be the sea-hills, howso blue beneath, hail from the main then comest thou home. "word-runes learn well if thou wilt that no man pay back grief for the grief thou gavest; wind thou these, weave thou these, cast thou these all about thee, at the thing, where folk throng, unto the full doom faring. "of ale-runes know the wisdom if thou wilt that another's wife should not bewray thine heart that trusteth: cut them on the mead-horn, on the back of each hand, and nick an n upon thy nail. "ale have thou heed to sign from all harm leek lay thou in the liquor, then i know for sure never cometh to thee, mead with hurtful matters mingled. "help-runes shalt thou gather if skill thou wouldst gain to loosen child from low-laid mother; cut be they in hands hollow, wrapped the joints round about; call for the good-folks' gainsome helping. "learn the bough-runes wisdom if leech-lore thou lovest; and wilt wot about wounds' searching on the bark be they scored; on the buds of trees whose boughs look eastward ever. "thought-runes shalt thou deal with if thou wilt be of all men fairest-souled wight, and wisest, these areded these first cut these first took to heart high hropt. "on the shield were they scored that stands before the shining god, on early-waking's ear, on all-knowing's hoof, on the wheel which runneth under rognir's chariot; on sleipnir's jaw-teeth, on the sleigh's traces. "on the rough bear's paws, and on bragi's tongue, on the wolf's claws, and on eagle's bill, on bloody wings, and bridge's end; on loosing palms, and pity's path: "on glass, and on gold, and on goodly silver, in wine and in wort, and the seat of the witch-wife; on gungnir's point, and grani's bosom; on the norn's nail, and the neb of the night-owl. "all these so cut, were shaven and sheared, and mingled in with holy mead, and sent upon wide ways enow; some abide with the elves, some abide with the aesir, or with the wise vanir, some still hold the sons of mankind. "these be the book-runes, and the runes of good help, and all the ale-runes, and the runes of much might; to whomso they may avail, unbewildered unspoilt; they are wholesome to have: thrive thou with these then. when thou hast learnt their lore, till the gods end thy life-days. "now shalt thou choose thee e'en as choice is bidden, sharp steel's root and stem, choose song or silence; see to each in thy heart, all hurt has been heeded." then answered sigurd-- "ne'er shall i flee, though thou wottest me fey; never was i born for blenching, thy loved rede will i hold aright in my heart even as long as i may live." endnotes: ( ) the stanzas on the two following pages were inserted here from "sigrdrifasmal" by the translators. ( ) goddesses. chapter xxi. more wise words of brynhild. sigurd spake now, "sure no wiser woman than thou art one may be found in the wide world; yea, yea, teach me more yet of thy wisdom!" she answers, "seemly is it that i do according to thy will, and show thee forth more redes of great avail, for thy prayer's sake and thy wisdom;" and she spake withal-- "be kindly to friend and kin, and reward not their trespasses against thee; bear and forbear, and win for thee thereby long enduring praise of men. "take good heed of evil things: a may's love, and a man's wife; full oft thereof doth ill befall! "let not thy mind be overmuch crossed by unwise men at thronged meetings of folk; for oft these speak worse than they wot of; lest thou be called a dastard, and art minded to think that thou art even as is said; slay such an one on another day, and so reward his ugly talk. "if thou farest by the way whereas bide evil things, be well ware of thyself; take not harbour near the highway, though thou be benighted, for oft abide there ill wights for men's bewilderment. "let not fair women beguile thee, such as thou mayst meet at the feast, so that the thought thereof stand thee in stead of sleep, and a quiet mind; yea, draw them not to thee with kisses or other sweet things of love. "if thou hearest the fool's word of a drunken man, strive not with him being drunk with drink and witless; many a grief, yea, and the very death, groweth from out such things. "fight thy foes in the field, nor be burnt in thine house. 'never swear thou wrongsome oath; great and grim is the reward for the breaking of plighted troth. "give kind heed to dead men,--sick-dead, sea-dead; deal heedfully with their dead corpses. "trow never in him for whom thou hast slain father, brother, or whatso near kin, yea, though young he be; 'for oft waxes wolf in youngling'. "look thou with good heed to the wiles of thy friends; but little skill is given to me, that i should foresee the ways of thy life; yet good it were that hate fell not on thee from those of thy wife's house." sigurd spake, "none among the sons of men can be found wiser than thou; and thereby swear i, that thee will i have as my own, for near to my heart thou liest." she answers, "thee would i fainest choose, though i had all men's sons to choose from." and thereto they plighted troth both of them. chapter xxii. of the semblance and array of sigurd fafnir's-bane. ( ) now sigurd rides away; many-folded is his shield, and blazing with red gold, and the image of a dragon is drawn thereon; and this same was dark brown above, and bright red below; and with even such-like image was adorned helm, and saddle, and coat-armour; and he was clad in the golden byrny, and all his weapons were gold wrought. now for this cause was the drake drawn on all his weapons, that when he was seen of men, all folk might know who went there; yea, all those who had heard of his slaying of that great dragon, that the voerings call fafnir; and for that cause are his weapons gold-wrought, and brown of hue, and that he was by far above other men in courtesy and goodly manners, and well-nigh in all things else; and whenas folk tell of all the mightiest champions, and the noblest chiefs, then ever is he named the foremost, and his name goes wide about on all tongues north of the sea of the greek-lands, and even so shall it be while the world endures. now the hair of this sigurd was golden-red of hue, fair of fashion, and falling down in great locks; thick and short was his beard, and of no other colour, high-nosed he was, broad and high-boned of face; so keen were his eyes, that few durst gaze up under the brows of him; his shoulders were as broad to look on as the shoulders of two; most duly was his body fashioned betwixt height and breadth, and in such wise as was seemliest; and this is the sign told of his height, that when he was girt with his sword gram, which same was seven spans long, as he went through the full-grown rye-fields, the dew-shoe of the said sword smote the ears of the standing corn; and, for all that, greater was his strength than his growth: well could he wield sword, and cast forth spear, shoot shaft, and hold shield, bend bow, back horse, and do all the goodly deeds that he learned in his youth's days. wise he was to know things yet undone; and the voice of all fowls he knew, wherefore few things fell on him unawares. of many words he was, and so fair of speech withal, that whensoever he made it his business to speak, he never left speaking before that to all men it seemed full sure, that no otherwise must the matter be than as he said. his sport and pleasure it was to give aid to his own folk, and to prove himself in mighty matters, to take wealth from his unfriends, and give the same to his friends. never did he lose heart, and of naught was he adrad. endnotes: ( ) this chapter is nearly literally the same as chapter of the "wilkinasaga"; ed.: perinskiold, stockholm, . chapter xxiii. sigurd comes to hlymdale. forth sigurd rides till he comes to a great and goodly dwelling, the lord whereof was a mighty chief called heimir; he had to wife a sister of brynhild, who was hight bekkhild, because she had bidden at home, and learned handicraft, whereas brynhild fared with helm and byrny unto the wars, wherefore was she called brynhild. heimir and bekkhild had a son called alswid, the most courteous of men. now at this stead were men disporting them abroad, but when they see the man riding thereto, they leave their play to wonder at him, for none such had they ever seen erst; so they went to meet him, and gave him good welcome; alswid bade him abide and have such things at his hands as he would; and he takes his bidding blithesomely; due service withal was established for him; four men bore the treasure of gold from off the horse, and the fifth took it to him to guard the same; therein were many things to behold, things of great price, and seldom seen; and great game and joy men had to look on byrnies and helms, and mighty rings, and wondrous great golden stoups, and all kinds of war weapons. so there dwelt sigurd long in great honour holden; and tidings of that deed of fame spread wide through all lands, of how he had slain that hideous and fearful dragon. so good joyance had they there together, and each was leal to other; and their sport was in the arraying of their weapons, and the shafting of their arrows, and the flying of their falcons. chapter xxiv. sigurd sees brynhild at hlymdale. in those days came home to heimir, brynhild, his foster-daughter, and she sat in her bower with her maidens, and could more skill in handycraft than other women; she sat, overlaying cloth with gold, and sewing therein the great deeds which sigurd had wrought, the slaying of the worm, and the taking of the wealth of him, and the death of regin withal. now tells the tale, that on a day sigurd rode into the wood with hawk, and hound, and men thronging; and whenas he came home his hawk flew up to a high tower, and sat him down on a certain window. then fared sigurd after his hawk, and he saw where sat a fair woman, and knew that it was brynhild, and he deems all things he sees there to be worthy together, both her fairness, and the fair things she wrought: and therewith he goes into the hall, but has no more joyance in the games of the men folk. then spake alswid, "why art thou so bare of bliss? this manner of thine grieveth us thy friends; why then wilt thou not hold to thy gleesome ways? lo, thy hawks pine now, and thy horse grani droops; and long will it be ere we are booted thereof?" sigurd answered, "good friend, hearken to what lies on my mind; for my hawk flew up into a certain tower; and when i came thereto and took him, lo there i saw a fair woman, and she sat by a needlework of gold, and did thereon my deeds that are passed, and my deeds that are to come." then said alswid, "thou has seen brynhild, budli's daughter, the greatest of great women." "yea, verily," said sigurd; "but how came she hither?" aswid answered, "short space there was betwixt the coming hither of the twain of you." says sigurd, "yea, but a few days agone i knew her for the best of the world's women." alswid said, "give not all thine heed to one woman, being such a man as thou art; ill life to sit lamenting for what we may not have." "i shall go meet her," says sigurd, "and get from her love like my love, and give her a gold ring in token thereof." alswid answered, "none has ever yet been known whom she would let sit beside her, or to whom she would give drink; for ever will she hold to warfare and to the winning of all kinds of fame." sigurd said, "we know not for sure whether she will give us answer or not, or grant us a seat beside her." so the next day after, sigurd went to the bower, but alswid stood outside the bower door, fitting shafts to his arrows. now sigurd spake, "abide, fair and hale lady,--how farest thou?" she answered, "well it fares; my kin and my friends live yet: but who shall say what goodhap folk may bear to their life's end?" he sat him down by her, and there came in four damsels with great golden beakers, and the best of wine therein; and these stood before the twain. then said brynhild, "this seat is for few, but and if my father come." he answered, "yet is it granted to one that likes me well." now that chamber was hung with the best and fairest of hangings, and the floor thereof was all covered with cloth. sigurd spake, "now has it come to pass even as thou didst promise." "o be thou welcome here!" said she, and arose therewith, and the four damsels with her, and bore the golden beaker to him, and bade him drink; he stretched out his hand to the beaker, and took it, and her hand withal, and drew her down beside him; and cast his arms round about her neck and kissed her, and said-- "thou art the fairest that was ever born!" but brynhild said, "ah, wiser is it not to cast faith and troth into a woman's power, for ever shall they break that they have promised." he said, "that day would dawn the best of days over our heads whereon each of each should be made happy." brynhild answered, "it is not fated that we should abide together; i am a shield-may, and wear helm on head even as the kings of war, and them full oft i help, neither is the battle become loathsome to me." sigurd answered, "what fruit shall be of our life, if we live not together: harder to bear this pain that lies hereunder, than the stroke of sharp sword." brynhild answers, "i shall gaze on the hosts of the war-kings, but thou shalt wed gudrun, the daughter of giuki." sigurd answered, "what king's daughter lives to beguile me? neither am i double-hearted herein; and now i swear by the gods that thee shall i have for mine own, or no woman else." and even suchlike wise spake she. sigurd thanked her for her speech, and gave her a gold ring, and now they swore oath anew, and so he went his ways to his men, and is with them awhile in great bliss. chapter xxv. of the dream of gudrun, giuki's daughter. there was a king hight giuki, who ruled a realm south of the rhine; three sons he had, thus named: gunnar, hogni, and guttorm, and gudrun was the name of his daughter, the fairest of maidens; and all these children were far before all other king's children in all prowess, and in goodliness and growth withal; ever were his sons at the wars and wrought many a deed of fame. but giuki had wedded grimhild the wise-wife. now budli was the name of a king mightier than giuki, mighty though they both were: and atli was the brother of brynhild: atli was a fierce man and a grim, great and black to look on, yet noble of mien withal, and the greatest of warriors. grimhild was a fierce-hearted woman. now the days of the giukings bloomed fair, and chiefly because of those children, so far before the sons of men. on a day gudrun says to her mays that she may have no joy of heart; then a certain woman asked her wherefore her joy was departed. she answered, "grief came to me in my dreams, therefore is there sorrow in my heart, since thou must needs ask thereof." "tell it me, then, thy dream," said the woman, "for dreams oft forecast but the weather." gudrun answers, "nay, nay, no weather is this; i dreamed that i had a fair hawk on my wrist, feathered with feathers of gold." says the woman, "many have heard tell of thy beauty, thy wisdom, and thy courtesy; some king's son abides thee, then." gudrun answers, "i dreamed that naught was so dear to me as this hawk, and all my wealth had i cast aside rather than him." the woman said, "well, then, the man thou shalt have will be of the goodliest, and well shalt thou love him." gudrun answered, "it grieves me that i know not who he shall be; let us go seek brynhild, for she belike will wot thereof." so they arrayed them in gold and many a fair thing, and she went with her damsels till they came to the hall of brynhild, and that hall was dight with gold, and stood on a high hill; and whenas their goings were seen, it was told brynhild, that a company of women drove toward the burg in gilded waggons. "that shall be gudrun, giuki's daughter," says she: "i dreamed of her last night; let us go meet her! no fairer woman may come to our house." so they went abroad to meet them, and gave them good greeting, and they went into the goodly hall together; fairly painted it was within, and well adorned with silver vessel; cloths were spread under the feet of them, and all folk served them, and in many wise they sported. but gudrun was somewhat silent. then said brynhild, "ill to abash folk of their mirth; prithee do not so; let us talk together for our disport of mighty kings and their great deeds." "good talk," says gudrun, "let us do even so; what kings deemest thou to have been the first of all men?" brynhild says, "the sons of haki, and hagbard withal; they brought to pass many a deed of fame in the warfare." gudrun answers, "great men certes, and of noble fame! yet sigar took their one sister, and burned the other, house and all; and they may be called slow to revenge the deed; why didst thou not name my brethren, who are held to be the first of men as at this time?" brynhild says, "men of good hope are they surely, though but little proven hitherto; but one i know far before them, sigurd, the son of sigmund the king; a youngling was he in the days when he slew the sons of hunding, and revenged his father, and eylimi, his mother's father." said gudrun, "by what token tellest thou that?" brynhild answered, "his mother went amid the dead, and found sigmund the king sore wounded, and would bind up his hurts; but he said he grew over old for war, and bade her lay this comfort to her heart, that she should bear the most famed of sons; and wise was the wise man's word therein: for after the death of king sigmund, she went to king alf, and there was sigurd nourished in great honour, and day by day he wrought some deed of fame, and is the man most renowned of all the wide world." gudrun says, "from love hast thou gained these tidings of him; but for this cause came i here, to tell thee dreams of mine which have brought me great grief." says brynhild, "let not such matters sadden thee; abide with thy friends who wish thee blithesome, all of them!" "this i dreamed," said gudrun, "that we went, a many of us in company, from the bower, and we saw an exceeding great hart, that far excelled all other deer ever seen, and the hair of him was golden; and this deer we were all fain to take, but i alone got him; and he seemed to me better than all things else; but sithence thou, byrnhild, didst shoot and slay my deer even at my very knees, and such grief was that to me that scarce might i bear it; and then afterwards thou gavest me a wolf-cub, which besprinkled me with the blood of my brethren." brynhild answers, "i will arede thy dream, even as things shall come to pass hereafter; for sigurd shall come to thee, even he whom i have chosen for my well-beloved; and grimhild shall give him mead mingled with hurtful things, which shall cast us all into mighty strife. him shalt thou have, and him shalt thou quickly miss; and atli the king shalt thou wed; and thy brethren shalt thou lose, and slay atli withal in the end." gudrun answers, "grief and woe to know that such things shall be!" and therewith she and hers get them gone home to king giuki. chapter xxvi. sigurd comes to the giukings and is wedded to gudrun. now sigurd goes his ways with all that great treasure, and in friendly wise he departs from them; and on grani he rides with all his war-gear and the burden withal; and thus he rides until he comes to the hall of king giuki; there he rides into the burg, and that sees one of the king's men, and he spake withal-- "sure it may be deemed that here is come one of the gods, for his array is all done with gold, and his horse is far mightier than other horses, and the manner of his weapons is most exceeding goodly, and most of all the man himself far excels all other men ever seen." so the king goes out with his court and greets the man, and asks-- "who art thou who thus ridest into my burg, as none has durst hitherto without the leave of my sons?" he answered, "i am called sigurd, son of king sigmund." then said king giuki, "be thou welcome here then, and take at our hands whatso thou willest." so he went into the king's hall, and all men seemed little beside him, and all men served him, and there he abode in great joyance. now oft they all ride abroad together, sigurd and gunnar and hogni, and ever is sigurd far the foremost of them, mighty men of their hands though they were. but grimhild finds how heartily sigurd loved brynhild, and how oft he talks of her; and she falls to thinking how well it were, if he might abide there and wed the daughter of king giuki, for she saw that none might come anigh to his goodliness, and what faith and goodhelp there was in him, and how that he had more wealth withal than folk might tell of any man; and the king did to him even as unto his own sons, and they for their parts held him of more worth than themselves. so on a night as they sat at the drink, the queen arose, and went before sigurd, and said-- "great joy we have in thine abiding here, and all good things will we put before thee to take of us; lo now, take this horn and drink thereof." so he took it and drank, and therewithal she said, "thy father shall be giuki the king, and i shall be thy mother, and gunnar and hogni shall be thy brethren, and all this shall be sworn with oaths each to each; and then surely shall the like of you never be found on earth." sigurd took her speech well, for with the drinking of that drink all memory of brynhild departed from him. so there he abode awhile. and on a day went grimhild to giuki the king, and cast her arms about his neck, and spake-- "behold, there has now come to us the greatest of great hearts that the world holds; and needs must he be trusty and of great avail; give him thy daughter then, with plenteous wealth, and as much of rule as he will; perchance thereby he will be well content to abide here ever." the king answered, "seldom does it befall that kings offer their daughters to any; yet in higher wise will it be done to offer her to this man, than to take lowly prayers for her from others." on a night gudrun pours out the drink, and sigurd beholds her how fair she is and how full of all courtesy. five seasons sigurd abode there, and ever they passed their days together in good honour and friendship. and so it befell that the kings held talk together, and giuki said -- "great good thou givest us, sigurd, and with exceeding strength thou strengthenest our realm." then gunnar said, "all things that may be will we do for thee, so thou abidest here long; both dominion shalt thou have, and our sister freely and unprayed for, whom another man would not get for all his prayers." sigurd says, "thanks have ye for this wherewith ye honour me, and gladly will i take the same." therewith they swore brotherhood together, and to be even as if they were children of one father and one mother; and a noble feast was holden, and endured many days, and sigurd drank at the wedding of him and gudrun; and there might men behold all manner of game and glee, and each day the feast better and better. now fare these folk wide over the world, and do many great deeds, and slay many kings' sons, and no man has ever done such works of prowess as did they; then home they come again with much wealth won in war. sigurd gave of the serpent's heart to gudrun, and she ate thereof, and became greater-hearted, and wiser than ere before: and the son of these twain was called sigmund. now on a time went grimhild to gunnar her son, and spake-- "fair blooms the life and fortune of thee, but for one thing only, and namely whereas thou art unwedded; go woo brynhild; good rede is this, and sigurd will ride with thee." gunnar answered, "fair is she certes, and i am fain enow to win her;" and therewith he tells his father, and his brethren, and sigurd, and they all prick him on to that wooing. chapter xxvii. the wooing of brynhild. now they array them joyously for their journey, and ride over hill and dale to the house of king budli, and woo his daughter of him; in a good wise he took their speech, if so be that she herself would not deny them; but he said withal that so high-minded was she, that that man only might wed her whom she would. then they ride to hlymdale, and there heimir gave them good welcome; so gunnar tells his errand; heimir says, that she must needs wed but him whom she herself chose freely; and tells them how her abode was but a little way thence, and that he deemed that him only would she have who should ride through the flaming fire that was drawn round about her hall; so they depart and come to the hall and the fire, and see there a castle with a golden roof-ridge, and all round about a fire roaring up. now gunnar rode on goti, but hogni on holkvi, and gunnar smote his horse to face the fire, but he shrank aback. then said sigurd, "why givest thou back, gunnar?" he answered, "the horse will not tread this fire; but lend me thy horse grani." "yea, with all my good will," says sigurd. then gunnar rides him at the fire, and yet nowise will gram stir, nor may gunnar any the more ride through that fire. so now they change semblance, gunnar and sigurd, even as grimhild had taught them; then sigurd in the likeness of gunnar mounts and rides, gram in his hand, and golden spurs on his heels; then leapt grani into the fire when he felt the spurs; and a mighty roar arose as the fire burned ever madder, and the earth trembled, and the flames went up even unto the heavens, nor had any dared to ride as he rode, even as it were through the deep mirk. but now the fire sank withal, and he leapt from his horse and went into the hall, even as the song says-- "the flame flared at its maddest, earth's fields fell a-quaking as the red flame aloft licked the lowest of heaven. few had been fain, of the rulers of folk, to ride through that flame, or athwart it to tread. "then sigurd smote grani with sword, and the flame was slaked before the king; low lay the flames before the fain of fame; bright gleamed the array that regin erst owned. now when sigurd had passed through the fire, he came into a certain fair dwelling, and therein sat brynhild. she asked, "what man is it?" then he named himself gunnar, son of giuki, and said--"thou art awarded to me as my wife, by the good will and word of thy father and thy foster-father, and i have ridden through the flames of thy fire, according to thy word that thou hast set forth." "i wot not clearly," said she, "how i shall answer thee." now sigurd stood upright on the hall floor, and leaned on the hilt of his sword, and he spake to brynhild-- "in reward thereof, shall i pay thee a great dower in gold and goodly things?" she answered in heavy mood from her seat, whereas she sat like unto swan on billow, having a sword in her hand, and a helm on her head, and being clad in a byrny, "o gunnar," she says, "speak not to me of such things, unless thou be the first and best of all men; for then shalt thou slay those my wooers, if thou hast heart thereto; i have been in battles with the king of the greeks, and our weapons were stained with red blood, and for such things still i yearn." he answered, "yea, certes many great deeds hast thou done; but yet call thou to mind thine oath, concerning the riding through of this fire, wherein thou didst swear that thou wouldst go with the man who should do this deed." so she found that he spoke but the sooth, and she paid heed to his words, and arose, and greeted him meetly, and he abode there three nights, and they lay in one bed together; but he took the sword gram and laid it betwixt them: then she asked him why he laid it there; and he answered, that in that wise must he needs wed his wife or else get his bane. then she took from off her the ring andvari's-loom, which he had given her aforetime, and gave it to him, but he gave her another ring out of fafnir's hoard. thereafter he rode away through the same fire unto his fellows, and he and gunnar changed semblances again, and rode unto hlymdale, and told how it had gone with them. that same day went brynhild home to her foster-father, and tells him as one whom she trusted, how that there had come a king to her; "and he rode through my flaming fire, and said he was come to woo me, and named himself gunnar; but i said that such a deed might sigurd alone have done, with whom i plighted troth on the mountain; and he is my first troth-plight, and my well-beloved." heimir said that things must needs abide even as now they had now come to pass. brynhild said, "aslaug the daughter of me and sigurd shall be nourished here with thee." now the kings fare home, but brynhild goes to her father; grimhild welcomes the kings meetly, and thanks sigurd for his fellowship; and withal is a great feast made, and many were the guests thereat; and thither came budli the king with his daughter brynhild, and his son atli, and for many days did the feast endure: and at that feast was gunnar wedded to brynhild: but when it was brought to an end, once more has sigurd memory of all the oaths that he sware unto brynhild, yet withal he let all things abide in rest and peace. brynhild and gunnar sat together in great game and glee, and drank goodly wine. chapter xxviii. how the queens held angry converse together at the bathing. on a day as the queens went to the river to bathe them, brynhild waded the farthest out into the river; then asked gudrun what that deed might signify. brynhild said, "yea, and why then should i be equal to thee in this matter more than in others? i am minded to think that my father is mightier than thine, and my true love has wrought many wondrous works of fame, and hath ridden the flaming fire withal, while thy husband was but the thrall of king hjalprek." gudrun answered full of wrath, "thou wouldst be wise if thou shouldst hold thy peace rather than revile my husband: lo now, the talk of all men it is, that none has ever abode in this world like unto him in all matters soever; and little it beseems thee of all folk to mock him who was thy first beloved: and fafnir he slew, yea, and he rode thy flaming fire, whereas thou didst deem that he was gunnar the king, and by thy side he lay, and took from thine hand the ring andvari's-loom;--here mayst thou well behold it!" then brynhild saw the ring and knew it, and waxed as wan as a dead woman, and she went home and spake no word the evening long. so when sigurd came to bed to gudrun she asked him why brynhild's joy was so departed. he answered, "i know not, but sore i misdoubt me that soon we shall know thereof overwell." gudrun said, "why may she not love her life, having wealth and bliss, and the praise of all men, and the man withal that she would have?" "ah, yea!" said sigurd, "and where in all the world was she then, when she said that she deemed she had the noblest of all men, and the dearest to her heart of all?" gudrun answers, "tomorn will i ask her concerning this, who is the liefest to her of all men for a husband." sigurd said, "needs must i forbid thee this, and full surely wilt thou rue the deed if thou doest it." now the next morning they sat in the bower, and brynhild was silent; then spake gudrun-- "be merry, brynhild! grievest thou because of that speech of ours together, or what other thing slayeth thy bliss?" brynhild answers, "with naught but evil intent thou sayest this, for a cruel heart thou hast." "say not so," said gudrun; "but rather tell me all the tale." brynhild answers, "ask such things only as are good for thee to know--matters meet for mighty dames. good to love good things when all goes according to thy heart's desire!" gudrun says, "early days for me to glory in that; but this word of thine looketh toward some foreseeing. what ill dost thou thrust at us? i did naught to grieve thee." brynhild answers, "for this shalt thou pay, in that thou hast got sigurd to thee,--nowise can i see thee living in the bliss thereof, whereas thou hast him, and the wealth and the might of him." but gudrun answered, "naught knew i of your words and vows together; and well might my father look to the mating of me without dealing with thee first." "no secret speech had we," quoth brynhild, "though we swore oath together; and full well didst thou know that thou wentest about to beguile me; verily thou shalt have thy reward!" says gudrun, "thou art mated better than thou are worthy of; but thy pride and rage shall be hard to slake belike, and therefor shall many a man pay." "ah, i should be well content," said brynhild, "if thou hadst not the nobler man!" gudrun answers, "so noble a husband hast thou, that who knows of a greater king or a lord of more wealth and might?" says brynhild, "sigurd slew fafnir, and that only deed is of more worth than all the might of king gunnar." (even as the song says): "the worm sigurd slew, nor e'er shall that deed be worsened by age while the world is alive: but thy brother the king never durst, never bore the flame to ride down through the fire to fare." gudrun answers, "grani would not abide the fire under gunnar the king, but sigurd durst the deed, and thy heart may well abide without mocking him." brynhild answers, "nowise will i hide from thee that i deem no good of grimhild." says gudrun, "nay, lay no ill words on her, for in all things she is to thee as to her own daughter." "ah," says brynhild, "she is the beginning of all this hale that biteth so; an evil drink she bare to sigurd, so that he had no more memory of my very name." "all wrong thou talkest; a lie without measure is this," quoth gudrun. brynhild answered, "have thou joy of sigurd according to the measure of the wiles wherewith ye have beguiled me! unworthily have ye conspired against me; may all things go with you as my heart hopes!" gudrun says, "more joy shall i have of him than thy wish would give unto me: but to no man's mind it came, that he had aforetime his pleasure of me; nay not once." "evil speech thou speakest," says brynhild; "when thy wrath runs off thou wilt rue it; but come now, let us no more cast angry words one at the other!" says gudrun, "thou wert the first to cast such words at me, and now thou makest as if thou wouldst amend it, but a cruel and hard heart abides behind." "let us lay aside vain babble," says brynhild. "long did i hold my peace concerning my sorrow of heart, and, lo now, thy brother alone do i love; let us fall to other talk." gudrun said, "far beyond all this doth thine heart look." and so ugly ill befell from that going to the river, and that knowing of the ring, wherefrom did all their talk arise. chapter xxix. of brynhild's great grief and mourning. after this talk brynhild lay a-bed, and tidings were brought to king gunnar that brynhild was sick; he goes to see her thereon, and asks what ails her; but she answered him naught, but lay there as one dead: and when he was hard on her for an answer, she said-- "what didst thou with that ring that i gave thee, even the one which king budli gave me at our last parting, when thou and king giuki came to him and threatened fire and the sword, unless ye had me to wife? yea, at that time he led me apart, and asked me which i had chosen of those who were come; but i prayed him that i might abide to ward the land and be chief over the third part of his men; then were there two choices for me to deal betwixt, either that i should be wedded to him whom he would, or lose all my weal and friendship at his hands; and he said withal that his friendship would be better to me than his wrath: then i bethought me whether i should yield to his will, or slay many a man; and therewithal i deemed that it would avail little to strive with him, and so it fell out, that i promised to wed whomsoever should ride the horse grani with fafnir's hoard, and ride through my flaming fire, and slay those men whom i called on him to slay, and now so it was, that none durst ride, save sigurd only, because he lacked no heart thereto; yea, and the worm he slew, and regin, and five kings beside; but thou, gunnar, durst do naught; as pale as a dead man didst thou wax, and no king thou art, and no champion; so whereas i made a vow unto my father, that him alone would i love who was the noblest man alive, and that this is none save sigurd, lo, now have i broken my oath and brought it to naught, since he is none of mine, and for this cause shall i compass thy death; and a great reward of evil things have i wherewith to reward grimhild;--never, i wot, has woman lived eviler or of lesser heart than she." gunnar answered in such wise that few might hear him, "many a vile word hast thou spoken, and an evil-hearted woman art thou, whereas thou revilest a woman far better than thou; never would she curse her life as thou dost; nay, nor has she tormented dead folk, or murdered any; but lives her life well praised of all." brynhild answered, "never have i dwelt with evil things privily, or done loathsome deeds;--yet most fain i am to slay thee." and therewith would she slay king gunnar, but hogni laid her in fetters; but then gunnar spake withal-- "nay, i will not that she abide in fetters." then said she, "heed it not! for never again seest thou me glad in thine hall, never drinking, never at the chess-play, never speaking the words of kindness, never over-laying the fair cloths with gold, never giving thee good counsel;--ah, my sorrow of heart that i might not get sigurd to me!" then she sat up and smote her needlework, and rent it asunder, and bade set open her bower doors, that far away might the wailings of her sorrow be heard; then great mourning and lamentation there was, so that folk heard it far and wide through that abode. now gudrun asked her bower-maidens why they sat so joyless and downcast. "what has come to you, that ye fare ye as witless women, or what unheard-of wonders have befallen you?" then answered a waiting lady, hight swaflod, "an untimely, an evil day it is, and our hall is fulfilled of lamentation." then spake gudrun to one of her handmaids, "arise, for we have slept long; go, wake brynhild, and let us fall to our needlework and be merry." "nay, nay," she says, "nowise may i wake her, or talk with her; for many days has she drunk neither mead nor wine; surely the wrath of the gods has fallen upon her." then spake gudrun to gunnar, "go and see her," she says, "and bid her know that i am grieved with her grief." "nay," says gunnar, "i am forbid to go see her or to share her weal." nevertheless he went unto her, and strives in many wise to have speech of her, but gets no answer whatsoever; therefore he gets him gone and finds hogni, and bids him go see her: he said he was loth thereto, but went, and gat no more of her. then they go and find sigurd, and pray him to visit her; he answered naught thereto, and so matters abode for that night. but the next day, when he came home from hunting, sigurd went to gudrun, and spake-- "in such wise do matters show to me, as though great and evil things will betide from this trouble and upheaving; and that brynhild will surely die." gudrun answers, "o my lord, by great wonders is she encompassed, seven days and seven nights has she slept, and none has dared wake her." "nay, she sleeps not," said sigurd, "her heart is dealing rather with dreadful intent against me." then said gudrun, weeping, "woe worth the while for thy death! go and see her; and wot if her fury may not be abated; give her gold, and smother up her grief and anger therewith!" then sigurd went out, and found the door of brynhild's chamber open; he deemed she slept, and drew the clothes from off her, and said-- "awake, brynhild! the sun shineth now over all the house, and thou hast slept enough; cast off grief from thee, and take up gladness!" she said, "and how then hast thou dared to come to me? in this treason none was worse to me than thou." said sigurd, "why wilt thou not speak to folk? for what cause sorrowest thou?" brynhild answers, "ah, to thee will i tell of my wrath!" sigurd said, "as one under a spell art thou, if thou deemest that there is aught cruel in my heart against thee; but thou hast him for husband whom thou didst choose." "ah, nay," she said, "never did gunnar ride through the fire to me, nor did he give me to dower the host of the slain: i wondered at the man who came into my hall; for i deemed indeed that i knew thine eyes; but i might not see clearly, or divide the good from the evil, because of the veil that lay heavy on my fortune." says sigurd, "no nobler men are there than the sons of giuki, they slew the king of the danes, and that great chief, the brother of king budli." brynhild answered, "surely for many an ill-deed must i reward them; mind me not of my griefs against them! but thou, sigurd, slewest the worm, and rodest the fire through; yea, and for my sake, and not one of the sons of king giuki." sigurd answers, "i am not thy husband, and thou art not my wife; yet did a farfamed king pay dower to thee." says brynhild, "never looked i at gunnar in such a wise that my heart smiled on him; and hard and fell am i to him, though i hide it from others." "a marvellous thing," says sigurd, "not to love such a king; what angers thee most? for surely his love should be better to thee than gold." "this is the sorest sorrow to me," she said, "that the bitter sword is not reddened in thy blood." "have no fear thereof!" says he, "no long while to wait or the bitter sword stand deep in my heart; and no worse needest thou to pray for thyself, for thou wilt not live when i am dead; the days of our two lives shall be few enough from henceforth." brynhild answers, "enough and to spare of bale is in thy speech, since thou bewrayedst me, and didst twin ( ) me and all bliss;--naught do i heed my life or death." sigurd answers, "ah, live, and love king gunnar and me withal! and all my wealth will i give thee if thou die not." brynhild answers, "thou knowest me not, nor the heart that is in me; for thou art the first and best of all men, and i am become the most loathsome of all women to thee." "this is truer," says sigurd, "that i loved thee better than myself, though i fell into the wiles from whence our lives may not escape; for whenso my own heart and mind availed me, then i sorrowed sore that thou wert not my wife; but as i might i put my trouble from me, for in a king's dwelling was i; and withal and in spite of all i was well content that we were all together. well may it be, that that shall come to pass which is foretold; neither shall i fear the fulfilment thereof." brynhild answered, and said, "too late thou tellest me that my grief grieved thee: little pity shall i find now." sigurd said, "this my heart would, that thou and i should go into one bed together; even so wouldst thou be my wife." said brynhild, "such words may nowise be spoken, nor will i have two kings in one hall; i will lay my life down rather than beguile gunnar the king." and therewith she call to mind how they met, they two, on the mountain, and swore oath each to each. "but now is all changed, and i will not live." "i might not call to mind thy name," said sigurd, "or know thee again, before the time of thy wedding; the greatest of all griefs is that." then said brynhild, "i swore an oath to wed the man who should ride my flaming fire, and that oath will i hold to, or die." "rather than thou die, i will wed thee, and put away gudrun," said sigurd. but therewithal so swelled the heart betwixt the sides of him, that the rings of his byrny burst asunder. "i will not have thee," says brynhild, "nay, nor any other!" then sigurd got him gone. so saith the song of sigurd-- "out then went sigurd, the great kings' well-loved, from the speech and the sorrow, sore drooping, so grieving, that the shirt round about him of iron rings woven, from the sides brake asunder of the brave in the battle." so when sigurd came into the hall, gunnar asked if he had come to a knowledge of what great grief lay heavy on her, or if she had power of speech: and sigurd said that she lacked it not. so now gunnar goes to her again, and asked her, what wrought her woe, or if there were anything that might amend it. "i will not live," says brynhild, "for sigurd has bewrayed me, yea, and thee no less, whereas thou didst suffer him to come into my bed: lo thou, two men in one dwelling i will not have; and this shall be sigurd's death, or thy death, or my death;--for now has he told gudrun all, and she is mocking me even now!" endnotes: ( ) sunder. chapter xxx. of the slaying of sigurd fafnir's-bane. thereafter brynhild went out, and sat under her bower-wall, and had many words of wailing to say, and still she cried that all things were loathsome to her, both land and lordship alike, so she might not have sigurd. but therewith came gunnar to her yet again, and brynhild spake, "thou shalt lose both realm and wealth, and thy life and me, for i shall fare home to my kin, and abide there in sorrow, unless thou slayest sigurd and his son; never nourish thou a wolfcub." gunnar grew sick at heart thereat, and might nowise see what fearful thing lay beneath it all; he was bound to sigurd by oath, and this way and that way swung the heart within him; but at the last he bethought him of the measureless shame if his wife went from him, and he said within himself, "brynhild is better to me than all things else, and the fairest woman of all women, and i will lay down my life rather than lose the love of her." and herewith he called to him his brother and spake,-- "trouble is heavy on me," and he tells him that he must needs slay sigurd, for that he has failed him where in he trusted him; "so let us be lords of the gold and the realm withal." hogni answers, "ill it behoves us to break our oaths with wrack and wrong, and withal great aid we have in him; no kings shall be as great as we, if so be the king of the hun-folk may live; such another brother-in-law never may we get again; bethink thee how good it is to have such a brother-in-law, and such sons to our sister! but well i see how things stand, for this has brynhild stirred thee up to, and surely shall her counsel drag us into huge shame and scathe." gunnar says, "yet shall it be brought about: and, lo, a rede thereto;--let us egg on our brother guttorm to the deed; he is young, and of little knowledge, and is clean out of all the oaths moreover." "ah, set about in ill wise," says hogni, "and though indeed it may well be compassed, a due reward shall we gain for the bewrayal of such a man as is sigurd." gunnar says, "sigurd shall die, or i shall die." and therewith he bids brynhild arise and be glad at heart: so she arose, and still ever she said that gunnar should come no more into her bed till the deed was done. so the brothers fall to talk, and gunnar says that it is a deed well worthy of death, that taking of brynhild's maidenhead; "so come now, let us prick on guttorm to do the deed." therewith they call him to them, and offer him gold and great dominion, as they well have might to do. yea, and they took a certain worm and somewhat of wolf's flesh and let seethe them together, and gave him to eat of the same, even as the singer sings-- "fish of the wild-wood, worm smooth crawling, with wolf-meat mingled, they minced for guttorm; then in the beaker, in the wine his mouth knew, they set it, still doing more deeds of wizards. wherefore with the eating of this meat he grew so wild and eager, and with all things about him, and with the heavy words of grimhild, that he gave his word to do the deed; and mighty honour they promised him in reward thereof. but of these evil wiles naught at all knew sigurd, for he might not deal with his shapen fate, nor the measure of his life-days, neither deemed he that he was worthy of such things at their hands. so guttorm went in to sigurd the next morning as he lay upon his bed, yet durst he not do aught against him, but shrank back out again; yea, and even so he fared a second time, for so bright and eager were the eyes of sigurd that few durst look upon him. but the third time he went in, and there lay sigurd asleep; then guttorm drew his sword and thrust sigurd through in such wise that the sword point smote into the bed beneath him; then sigurd awoke with that wound, and guttorm gat him unto the door; but therewith sigurd caught up the sword gram, and cast it after him, and it smote him on the back, and struck him asunder in the midst, so that the feet of him fell one way, and the head and hands back into the chamber. now gudrun lay asleep on sigurd's bosom, but she woke up unto woe that may not be told of, all swimming in the blood of him, and in such wise did she bewail her with weeping and words of sorrow, that sigurd rose up on the bolster, and spake. "weep not," said he, "for thy brothers live for thy delight; but a young son have i, too young to be ware of his foes; and an ill turn have these played against their own fortune; for never will they get a mightier brother-in-law to ride abroad with them; nay, nor a better son to their sister, than this one, if he may grow to man's estate. lo, now is that come to pass which was foretold me long ago, but from mine eyes has it been hidden, for none may fight against his fate and prevail. behold this has brynhild brought to pass, even she who loves me before all men; but this may i swear, that never have i wrought ill to gunnar, but rather have ever held fast to my oath with him, nor was i ever too much a friend to his wife. and now if i had been forewarned, and had been afoot with my weapons, then should many a man have lost his life or ever i had fallen, and all those brethren should have been slain, and a harder work would the slaying of me have been than the slaying of the mightiest bull or the mightiest boar of the wild-wood." and even therewithal life left the king; but gudrun moaned and drew a weary breath, and brynhild heard it, and laughed when she heard her moaning. then said gunnar, "thou laughest not because thy heart-roots are gladdened, or else why doth thy visage wax so wan? sure an evil creature thou art; most like thou art nigh to thy death! lo now, how meet would it be for thee to behold thy brother atli slain before thine eyes, and that thou shouldst stand over him dead; whereas we must needs now stand over our brother-in-law in such a case, our brother-in-law and our brother's bane." she answered, "none need mock at the measure of slaughter being unfulfilled; yet heedeth not atli your wrath or your threats; yea, he shall live longer than ye, and be a mightier man." hogni spake and said, "now hath come to pass the soothsaying of brynhild; an ill work not to be atoned for." and gudrun said, "my kinsmen have slain my husband; but ye, when ye next ride to the war and are come into the battle, then shall ye look about and see that sigurd is neither on the right hand nor the left, and ye shall know that he was your good-hap and your strength; and if he had lived and had sons, then should ye have been strengthened by his offspring and his kin." chapter xxxi. of the lamentation of gudrun over sigurd dead, as it is told told in ancient songs. ( ) gudrun of old days drew near to dying as she sat in sorrow over sigurd; yet she sighed not nor smote hand on hand, nor wailed she aught as other women. then went earls to her. full of all wisdom, fain help to deal to her dreadful heart: hushed was gudrun of wail, or greeting, but with a heavy woe was her heart a-breaking. bright and fair sat the great earls' brides, gold arrayed before gudrun; each told the tale of her great trouble, the bitterest bale she erst abode. then spake giaflaug, giuki's sister: "lo upon earth i live most loveless who of five mates must see the ending, of daughters twain and three sisters, of brethren eight, and abide behind lonely." naught gat gudrun of wail and greeting, so heavy was she for her dead husband, so dreadful-hearted for the king laid dead there. then spake herborg queen of hunland-- "crueller tale have i to tell of, of my seven sons down in the southlands, and the eighth man, my mate, felled in the death-mead. "father and mother, and four brothers, on the wide sea the winds and death played with; the billows beat on the bulwark boards. "alone must i sing o'er them, alone must i array them, alone must my hands deal with their departing; and all this was in one season's wearing, and none was left for love or solace. "then was i bound a prey of the battle, when that same season wore to its ending; as a tiring may must i bind the shoon of the duke's high dame, every day at dawning. "from her jealous hate gat i heavy mocking, cruel lashes she laid upon me, never met i better master or mistress worser in all the wide world." naught gat gudrun of wail or greeting, so heavy was she for her dead husband, so dreadful-hearted for the king laid dead there. then spake gullrond, giuki's daughter-- "o foster-mother, wise as thou mayst be, naught canst thou better the young wife's bale." and she bade uncover the dead king's corpse. she swept the sheet away from sigurd, and turned his cheek towards his wife's knees-- "look on thy loved one lay lips to his lips, e'en as thou wert clinging to thy king alive yet!" once looked gudrun-- one look only, and saw her lord's locks lying all bloody, the great man's eyes glazed and deadly, and his heart's bulwark broken by sword-edge. back then sank gudrun, back on the bolster, loosed was her head array, red did her cheeks grow, and the rain-drops ran down over her knees. then wept gudrun, giuki's daughter, so that the tears flowed through the pillow; as the geese withal that were in the homefield, the fair fowls the may owned, fell a-screaming. then spake gullrond, giuki's daughter-- "surely knew i no love like your love among all men, on the mould abiding; naught wouldst thou joy in without or within doors, o my sister, save beside sigurd." then spake gudrun, giuki's daughter-- "such was my sigurd among the sons of giuki, as is the king leek o'er the low grass waxing, or a bright stone strung on band, or a pearl of price on a prince's brow. "once was i counted by the king's warriors higher than any of herjan's mays; now am i as little as the leaf may be, amid wind-swept wood now when dead he lieth. i miss from my seat, i miss from my bed, my darling of sweet speech. wrought the sons of giuki, wrought the sons of giuki, this sore sorrow, yea, for their sister, most sore sorrow. "so may your lands lie waste on all sides, as ye have broken your bounden oaths! ne'er shalt thou, gunnar, the gold have joy of; the dear-bought rings shall drag thee to death, whereon thou swarest oath unto sigurd. ah, in the days by-gone great mirth in the homefield when my sigurd set saddle on grani, and they went their ways for the wooing of brynhild! an ill day, an ill woman, and most ill hap!" then spake brynhild, budli's daughter-- "may the woman lack both love and children, who gained greeting for thee, o gudrun! who gave thee this morning many words!" then spake gullrond, giuki's daughter-- "hold peace of such words thou hated of all folk! the bane of brave men hast thou been ever, all waves of ill wash over thy mind, to seven great kings hast thou been a sore sorrow, and the death of good will to wives and women." then spake brynhild, budli's daughter-- "none but atli brought bale upon us, my very brother born of budli. when we saw in the hall of the hunnish people the gold a-gleaming on the kingly giukings; i have paid for that faring oft and full, and for the sight that then i saw." by a pillar she stood and strained its wood to her; from the eyes of brynhild, budli's daughter, flashed out fire, and she snorted forth venom, as the sore wounds she gazed on of the dead-slain sigurd. endnotes: ( ) this chapter is the eddaic poem, called the first lay of gudrun, inserted here by the translators. chapter xxxii. of the ending of brynhild. and now none might know for what cause brynhild must bewail with weeping for what she had prayed for with laughter: but she spake-- "such a dream i had, gunnar, as that my bed was acold, and that thou didst ride into the hands of thy foes: lo now, ill shall it go with thee and all thy kin, o ye breakers of oaths; for on the day thou slayedst him, dimly didst thou remember how thou didst blend thy blood with the blood of sigurd, and with an ill reward hast thou rewarded him for all that he did well to thee; whereas he gave unto thee to be the mightiest of men; and well was it proven how fast he held to his oath sworn, when he came to me and laid betwixt us the sharp-edged sword that in venom had been made hard. all too soon did ye fall to working wrong against him and against me, whenas i abode at home with my father, and had all that i would, and had no will that any one of you should be any of mine, as ye rode into our garth, ye three kings together; but then atli led me apart privily, and asked me if i would not have him who rode grani; yea, a man nowise like unto you; but in those days i plighted myself to the son of king sigmund and no other; and lo, now, no better shall ye fare for the death of me." then rose up gunnar, and laid his arms about her neck, and besought her to live and have wealth from him; and all others in likewise letted her from dying; but she thrust them all from her, and said that it was not the part of any to let her in that which was her will. then gunnar called to hogni, and prayed him for counsel, and bade him go to her, and see if he might perchance soften her dreadful heart, saying withal, that now they had need enough on their hands in the slaking of her grief, till time might get over. but hogni answered, "nay, let no man hinder her from dying; for no gain will she be to us, nor has she been gainsome since she came hither! now she bade bring forth much gold, and bade all those come thither who would have wealth: then she caught up a sword, and thrust it under her armpit, and sank aside upon the pillows, and said, "come, take gold whoso will!" but all held their peace, and she said, "take the gold, and be glad thereof!" and therewith she spake unto gunnar, "now for a little while will i tell of that which shall come to pass hereafter; for speedily shall ye be at one again with gudrun by the rede of grimhild the wise-wife; and the daughter of gudrun and sigurd shall be called swanhild, the fairest of all women born. gudrun shall be given to atli, yet not with her good will. thou shalt be fain to get oddrun, but that shall atli forbid thee; but privily shall ye meet, and much shall she love thee. atli shall bewray thee, and cast thee into a worm-close, and thereafter shall atli and his sons be slain, and gudrun shall be their slayer; and afterwards shall the great waves bear her to the burg of king jonakr, to whom she shall bear sons of great fame: swanhild shall be sent from the land and given to king jormunrek; and her shall bite the rede of bikki, and therewithal is the kin of you clean gone; and more sorrows therewith for gudrun. "and now i pray thee, gunnar, one last boon.--let make a great bale on the plain meads for all of us; for me, and for sigurd, and for those who were slain with him, and let that be covered over with cloth dyed red by the folk of the gauls, ( ) and burn me thereon on one side of the king of the huns, and on the other those men of mine, two at the head and two at the feet, and two hawks withal; and even so is all shared equally; and lay there betwixt us a drawn sword, as in the other days when we twain stepped into one bed together; and then may we have the name of man and wife, nor shall the door swing to at the heel of him as i go behind him. nor shall that be a niggard company if there follow him those five bond-women and eight bondmen, whom my father gave me, and those burn there withal who were slain with sigurd. "now more yet would i say, but for my wounds, but my life-breath flits; the wounds open,--yet have i said sooth." now is the dead corpse of sigurd arrayed in olden wise, and a mighty bale is raised, and when it was somewhat kindled, there was laid thereon the dead corpse of sigurd fafnir's-bane, and his son of three winters whom brynhild had let slay, and guttorm withal; and when the bale was all ablaze, thereunto was brynhild borne out, when she had spoken with her bower-maidens, and bid them take the gold that she would give; and then died brynhild, and was burned there by the side of sigurd, and thus their life-days ended. endnotes: ( ) the original has "raudu manna blodi", red-dyed in the blood of men; the sagaman's original error in dealing with the word "valaript" in the corresponding passage of the short lay of sigurd.--tr. chapter xxxiii. gudrun wedded to atli. now so it is, that whoso heareth these tidings sayeth, that no such an one as was sigurd was left behind him in the world, nor ever was such a man brought forth because of all the worth of him, nor may his name ever minish by eld in the dutch tongue nor in all the northern lands, while the world standeth fast. the story tells that, on a day, as gudrun sat in her bower, she fell to saying, "better was life in those days when i had sigurd; he who was far above other men as gold is above iron, or the leek over other grass of the field, or the hart over other wild things; until my brethren begrudged me such a man, the first and best of all men; and so they might not sleep or they had slain him. huge clamour made grani when he saw his master and lord sore wounded, and then i spoke to him even as with a man, but he fell drooping down to the earth, for he knew that sigurd was slain." thereafter gudrun gat her gone into the wild woods, and heard on all ways round about her the howling of wolves, and deemed death a merrier thing than life. then she went till she came to the hall of king alf, and sat there in denmark with thora, the daughter of hakon, for seven seasons, and abode with good welcome. and she set forth her needlework before her, and did thereinto many deeds and great, and fair plays after the fashion of those days, swords and byrnies, and all the gear of kings, and the ship of king sigmund sailing along the land; yea, and they wrought there, how they fought, sigar and siggeir, south in fion. such was their disport; and now gudrun was somewhat solaced of her grief. so grimhild comes to hear where gudrun has take up her abode, and she calls her sons to talk with her, and asks whether they will make atonement to gudrun for her son and her husband, and said that it was but meet and right to do so. then gunnar spake, and said that he would atone for her sorrows with gold. so they send for their friends, and array their horses, their helms, and their shields, and their byrnies, and all their war-gear; and their journey was furnished forth in the noblest wise, and no champion who was of the great men might abide at home; and their horses were clad in mail-coats, and every knight of them had his helm done over with gold or with silver. grimhild was of their company, for she said that their errand would never be brought fairly to pass if she sat at home. there were well five hundred men, and noble men rode with them. there was waldemar of denmark, and eymod and jarisleif withal. so they went into the hall of king alf, and there abode them the longbeards and franks, and saxons: they fared with all their war-gear, and had over them red fur-coats. even as the song says-- "byrnies short cut, strong helms hammered, girt with good swords, red hair gleaming." they were fain to choose good gifts for their sister, and spake softly to her, but in none of them would she trow. then gunnar brought unto her a drink mingled with hurtful things, and this she must needs drink, and with the drinking thereof she had no more memory of their guilt against her. but in that drink was blended the might of the earth and the sea with the blood of her son; and in that horn were all letters cut and reddened with blood, as is said hereunder-- "on the horn's face were there all the kin of letters cut aright and reddened, how should i rede them rightly? the ling-fish long of the land of hadding, wheat-ears unshorn, and wild things' inwards. in that beer were mingled many ills together, blood of all the wood and brown-burnt acorns, the black dew of the hearth, the god-doomed dead beast's inwards, and the swine's liver sodden because all wrongs that deadens. and so now, when their hearts are brought anigh to each other, great cheer they made: then came grimhild to gudrun, and spake: "all hail to thee, daughter! i give thee gold and all kinds of good things to take to thee after thy father, dear-bought rings and bed-gear of the maids of the huns, the most courteous and well dight of all women; and thus is thy husband atoned for: and thereafter shalt thou be given to atli, the mighty king, and be mistress of all his might. cast not all thy friends aside for one man's sake, but do according to our bidding." gudrun answers, "never will i wed atli the king: unseemly it is for us to get offspring betwixt us." grimhild says, "nourish not thy wrath; it shall be to thee as if sigurd and sigmund were alive when thou hast borne sons." gudrun says, "i cannot take my heart from thoughts of him, for he was the first of all men." grimhild says, "so it is shapen that thou must have this king and none else." says gudrun, "give not this man to me, for an evil thing shall come upon thy kin from him, and to his own sons shall he deal evil, and be rewarded with a grim revenge thereafter." then waxed grimhild fell at those words, and spake, "do even as we bid thee, and take therefore great honour, and our friendship, and the steads withal called vinbjorg and valbjorg." and such might was in the words of her, that even so must it come to pass. then gudrun spake, "thus then must it needs befall, howsoever against the will of me, and for little joy shall it be and for great grief." then men leaped on their horses, and their women were set in wains. so they fared four days a-riding and other four a-shipboard, and yet four more again by land and road, till at the last they came to a certain high-built hall; then came to meet gudrun many folk thronging; and an exceedingly goodly feast was there made, even as the word had gone between either kin, and it passed forth in most proud and stately wise. and at that feast drinks atli his bridal with gudrun; but never did her heart laugh on him, and little sweet and kind was their life together. chapter xxxiv. atli bids the giukings to him. now tells the tale that on a night king atli woke from sleep and spake to gudrun-- "medreamed," said he, "that thou didst thrust me through with a sword." then gudrun areded the dream, and said that it betokened fire, whenas folk dreamed of iron. "it befalls of thy pride belike, in that thou deemest thyself the first of men." atli said, "moreover i dreamed that here waxed two sorb-tree ( ) saplings, and fain i was that they should have no scathe of me; then these were riven up by the roots and reddened with blood, and borne to the bench, and i was bidden eat thereof. "yea, yet again i dreamed that two hawks flew from my hand hungry and unfed, and fared to hell, and meseemed their hearts were mingled with honey, and that i ate thereof. "and then again i dreamed that two fair whelps lay before me yelling aloud, and that the flesh of them i ate, though my will went not with the eating." gudrun says, "nowise good are these dreams, yet shall they come to pass; surely thy sons are nigh to death, and many heavy things shall fall upon us." "yet again i dreamed," said he, "and methought i lay in a bath, and folk took counsel to slay me." now these things wear away with time, but in nowise was their life together fond. now falls atli to thinking of where may be gotten that plenteous gold which sigurd had owned, but king gunnar and his brethren were lords thereof now. atli was a great king and mighty, wise, and a lord of many men; and now he falls to counsel with his folk as to the ways of them. he wotted well that gunnar and his brethren had more wealth than any others might have, and so he falls to the rede of sending men to them, and bidding them to a great feast, and honouring them in diverse wise, and the chief of those messengers was hight vingi. now the queen wots of their conspiring, and misdoubts her that this would mean some beguiling of her brethren: so she cut runes, and took a gold ring, and knit therein a wolf's hair, and gave it into the hands of the king's messengers. thereafter they go their ways according to the king's bidding; and or ever they came aland vingi beheld the runes, and turned them about in such wise as if gudrun prayed her brethren in her runes to go meet king atli. thereafter they came to the hall of king gunnar, and had good welcome at his hands, and great fires were made for them, and in great joyance they drank of the best of drink. then spake vingi, "king atli sends me hither, and is fain that ye go to his house and home in all glory, and take of him exceeding honours, helms and shields, swords and byrnies, gold and goodly raiment, horses, hosts of war, and great and wide lands, for, saith he, he is fainest of all things to bestow his realm and lordship upon you." then gunnar turned his head aside, and spoke to hogni-- "in what wise shall we take this bidding? might and wealth he bids us take; but no kings know i who have so much gold as we have, whereas we have all the hoard which lay once on gnitaheath; and great are our chambers, and full of gold, and weapons for smiting, and all kinds of raiment of war, and well i wot that amidst all men my horse is the best, and my sword the sharpest, and my gold the most glorious." hogni answers, "a marvel is it to me of his bidding, for seldom hath he done in such a wise, and ill-counselled will it be to wend to him; lo now, when i saw those dear-bought things the king sends us i wondered to behold a wolf's hair knit to a certain gold ring; belike gudrun deems him to be minded as a wolf towards us, and will have naught of our faring." but withal vingi shows him the runes which he said gudrun had sent. now the most of folk go to bed, but these drank on still with certain others; and kostbera, the wife of hogni, the fairest of women, came to them, and looked on the runes. but the wife of gunnar was glaumvor, a great-hearted wife. so these twain poured out, and the kings drank, and were exceeding drunken, and vingi notes it, and says-- "naught may i hide that king atli is heavy of foot and over-old for the warding of his realm; but his sons are young and of no account: now will he give you rule over his realms while they are yet thus young, and most fain will he be that ye have the joy thereof before all others." now so it befell both that gunnar was drunk, and that great dominion was held out to him, nor might he work against the fate shapen for him; so he gave his word to go, and tells hogni his brother thereof. but he answered, "thy word given must even stand now, nor will i fail to follow thee, but most loth am i to this journey." endnotes: ( ) service-tree; "pyrus sorbus domestica", or "p. s. tormentalis. chapter xxxv. the dreams of the wives of the giukings. so when men had drunk their fill, they fared to sleep; then falls kostbera to beholding the runes, and spelling over the letters, and sees that beneath were other things cut, and that the runes are guileful; yet because of her wisdom she had skill to read them aright. so then she goes to bed by her husband; but when they awoke, she spake unto hogni-- "thou art minded to wend away from home--ill-counselled is that; abide till another time! scarce a keen reader of runes art thou, if thou deemest thou hast beheld in them the bidding of thy sister to this journey: lo, i read the runes, and had marvel of so wise a woman as gudrun is, that she should have miscut them; but that which lieth underneath beareth your bane with it,--yea, either she lacked a letter, or others have dealt guilefully with the runes. "and now hearken to my dream; for therein methought there fell in upon us here a river exceeding strong, and brake up the timbers of the hall." he answered, "full oft are ye evil of mind, ye women, but for me, i was not made in such wise as to meet men with evil who deserve no evil; belike he will give us good welcome." she answered, "well, the thing must ye yourselves prove, but no friendship follows this bidding:--but yet again i dreamed that another river fell in here with a great and grimly rush, and tore up the dais of the hall, and brake the legs of both you brethren; surely that betokeneth somewhat." he answers, "meadows along our way, whereas thou didst dream of the river; for when we go through the meadows, plentifully doth the seeds of the hay hang about our legs." "again i dreamed," she says, "that thy cloak was afire, and that the flame blazed up above the hall." says he, "well, i wot what that shall betoken; here lieth my fair-dyed raiment, and it shall burn and blaze, whereas thou dreamedst of the cloak." "methought a bear came in," she says, "and brake up the king's high-seat, and shook his paws in such a wise that we were all adrad thereat, and he gat us all together into the mouth of him, so that we might avail us naught, and thereof fell great horror on us." he answered, "some great storm will befall, whereas thou hadst a white bear in thy mind." "an erne methought came in," she says, "and swept adown the hall, and drenched me and all of us with blood, and ill shall that betoken, for methought it was the double of king atli." he answered, "full oft do we slaughter beasts freely, and smite down great neat for our cheer, and the dream of the erne has but to do with oxen; yea, atli is heart-whole toward us." and therewithal they cease this talk. chapter xxxvi. of the journey of the giukings to king atli. now tells the tale of gunnar, that in the same wise it fared with him; for when they awoke, glaumvor his wife told him many dreams which seemed to her like to betoken guile coming; but gunnar areded them all in other wise. "this was one of them," said she; "methought a bloody sword was borne into the hall here, wherewith thou wert thrust through, and at either end of that sword wolves howled." the king answered, "cur dogs shall bite me belike; blood-stained weapons oft betoken dogs' snappings." she said, "yet again i dreamed--that women came in, heavy and drooping, and chose thee for their mate; may-happen these would be thy fateful women." he answered, "hard to arede is this, and none may set aside the fated measure of his days, nor is it unlike that my time is short." ( ) so in the morning they arose, and were minded for the journey, but some letted them herein. then cried gunnar to the man who is called fjornir-- "arise, and give us to drink goodly wine from great tuns, because mayhappen this shall be very last of all our feasts; for belike if we die the old wolf shall come by the gold, and that bear shall nowise spare the bite of his war-tusks." then all the folk of his household brought them on their way weeping. the son of hogni said-- "fare ye well with merry tide." the more part of their folk were left behind; solar and snaevar, the sons of hogni, fared with them, and a certain great champion, named orkning, who was the brother of kostbera. so folk followed them down to the ships, and all letted them of their journey, but attained to naught therein. then spake glaumvor, and said-- "o vingi, most like that great ill hap will come of thy coming, and mighty and evil things shall betide in thy travelling." he answered, "hearken to my answer; that i lie not aught: and may the high gallows and all things of grame have me, if i lie one word!" then cried kostbera, "fare ye well with merry days." and hogni answered, "be glad of heart, howsoever it may fare with us!" and therewith they parted, each to their own fate. then away they rowed, so hard and fast, that well-nigh the half of the keel slipped away from the ship, and so hard they laid on to the oars that thole and gunwale brake. but when they came aland they made their ship fast, and then they rode awhile on their noble steeds through the murk wild-wood. and now they behold the king's army, and huge uproar, and the clatter of weapons they hear from thence; and they see there a mighty host of men, and the manifold array of them, even as they wrought there: and all the gates of the burg were full of men. so they rode up to the burg, and the gates thereof were shut; then hogni brake open the gates, and therewith they ride into the burg. then spake vingi, "well might ye have left this deed undone; go to now, bide ye here while i go seek your gallows-tree! softly and sweetly i bade you hither, but an evil thing abode thereunder; short while to bide ere ye are tied up to that same tree!" hogni answered, "none the more shall we waver for that cause; for little methinks have we shrunk aback whenas men fell to fight; and naught shall it avail thee to make us afeard,--and for an ill fate hast thou wrought." and therewith they cast him down to earth, and smote him with their axe-hammers till he died. endnotes: ( ) parallel beliefs to those in the preceding chapters, and elsewhere in this book, as to spells, dreams, drinks, etc., among the english people may be found in "leechdoms, wortcunning, and starcraft of the anglo-saxons; being a collection of documents illustrating the history of science in this country before the norman conquest". ed: rev. t. o. cockayne, m.a. ( vols.) longmans, london, , vo. chapter xxxvii. the battle in the burg of king atli. then they rode unto the king's hall, and king atli arrayed his host for battle, and the ranks were so set forth that a certain wall there was betwixt them and the brethren. "welcome hither," said he. "deliver unto me that plenteous gold which is mine of right; even the wealth which sigurd once owned, and which is now gudrun's of right." gunnar answered, "never gettest thou that wealth; and men of might must thou meet here, or ever we lay by life if thou wilt deal with us in battle; ah, belike thou settest forth this feast like a great man, and wouldst not hold thine hand from erne and wolf!" "long ago i had it in my mind," said atli, "to take the lives of you, and be lord of the gold, and reward you for that deed of shame, wherein ye beguiled the best of all your affinity; but now shall i revenge him." hogni answered, "little will it avail to lie long brooding over that rede, leaving the work undone." and therewith they fell to hard fighting, at the first brunt with shot. but therewithal came the tidings to gudrun, and when she heard thereof she grew exceeding wroth, and cast her mantle from her, and ran out and greeted those new-comers, and kissed her brethren, and showed them all love,--and the last of all greetings was that betwixt them. then said she, "i thought i had set forth counsels whereby ye should not come hither, but none may deal with his shapen fate." and withal she said, "will it avail aught to seek for peace?" but stoutly and grimly they said nay thereto. so she sees that the game goeth sorely against her brethren, and she gathers to her great stoutness of heart, and does on her a mail-coat and takes to her a sword, and fights by her brethren, and goes as far forward as the bravest of man-folk: and all spoke in one wise that never saw any fairer defence than in her. now the men fell thick, and far before all others was the fighting of those brethren, and the battle endured a long while unto midday; gunnar and hogni went right through the folk of atli, and so tells the tale that all the mead ran red with blood; the sons of hogni withal set on stoutly. then spake atli the king, "a fair host and a great have we, and mighty champions withal, and yet have many of us fallen, and but evil am i apaid in that nineteen of my champions are slain, and but left six alive." and therewithal was there a lull in the battle. then spake atli the king, "four brethren were we, and now am i left alone; great affinity i gat to me, and deemed my fortune well sped thereby; a wife i had, fair and wise, high of mind, and great of heart; but no joyance may i have of her wisdom, for little peace is betwixt us,--but ye--ye have slain many of my kin, and beguiled me of realm and riches, and for the greatest of all woes have slain my sister withal." quoth hogni, "why babblest thou thus? thou wert the first to break the peace. thou didst take my kinswoman and pine her to death by hunger, and didst murder her, and take her wealth; an ugly deed for a king!--meet for mocking and laughter i deem it, that thou must needs make long tale of thy woes; rather will i give thanks to the gods that thou fallest into ill." chapter xxxviii. of the slaying of the giukings. now king atli eggs on his folk to set on fiercely, and eagerly they fight; but the giukings fell on so hard that king atli gave back into the hall, and within doors was the fight, and fierce beyond all fights. that battle was the death of many a man, but such was the ending thereof, that there fell all the folk of those brethren, and they twain alone stood up on their feet, and yet many more must fare to hell first before their weapons. and now they fell on gunnar the king, and because of the host of men that set on him was hand laid on him, and he was cast into fetters; afterwards fought hogni, with the stoutest heart and the greatest manlihood; and he felled to earth twenty of the stoutest of the champions of king atli, and many he thrust into the fire that burnt amidst the hall, and all were of one accord that such a man might scarce be seen; yet in the end was he borne down by many and taken. then said king atli, "a marvellous thing how many men have gone their ways before him! cut the heart from out of him, and let that be his bane!" hogni said, "do according to thy will; merrily will i abide whatso thou wrlt do against me; and thou shalt see that my heart is not adrad, for hard matters have i made trial of ere now, and all things that may try a man was i fain to bear, whiles yet i was unhurt; but now sorely am i hurt, and thou alone henceforth will bear mastery in our dealings together." then spake a counsellor of king atli, "better rede i see thereto; take we the thrall hjalli, and give respite to hogni; for this thrall is made to die, since the longer he lives the less worth shall he be." the thrall hearkened, and cried out aloft, and fled away anywhither where he might hope for shelter, crying out that a hard portion was his because of their strife and wild doings, and an ill day for him whereon he must be dragged to death from his sweet life and his swine-keeping. but they caught him, and turned a knife against him, and he yelled and screamed or ever he felt the point thereof. then in such wise spake hogni as a man seldom speaketh who is fallen into hard need, for he prayed for the thrall's life, and said that these shrieks he could not away with, and that it were a lesser matter to him to play out the play to the end; and therewithal the thrall gat his life as for that time: but gunnar and hogni are both laid in fetters. then spake king atli with gunnar the king, and bade him tell out concerning the gold, and where it was, if he would have his life. but he answered, "nay, first will i behold the bloody heart of hogni, my brother." so now they caught hold of the thrall again, and cut the heart from out of him, and bore it unto king gunnar, but he said-- "the faint heart of hjalli may ye here behold, little like the proud heart of hogni, for as much as it trembleth now, more by the half it trembled whenas it lay in the breast of him." so now they fell on hogni even as atli urged them, and cut the heart from out of him, but such was the might of his manhood, that he laughed while he abode that torment, and all wondered at his worth, and in perpetual memory is it held sithence. ( ) then they showed it to gunnar, and he said-- "the mighty heart of hogni, little like the faint heart of hjalli, for little as it trembleth now, less it trembled whenas in his breast it lay! but now, o atli, even as we die so shalt thou die; and lo, i alone wot where the gold is, nor shall hogni be to tell thereof now; to and fro played the matter in my mind whiles we both lived, but now have i myself determined for myself, and the rhine river shall rule over the gold, rather than that the huns shall bear it on the hands of them." then said king atli, "have away the bondsman;" and so they did. but gudrun called to her men, and came to atli, and said-- "may it fare ill with thee now and from henceforth, even as thou hast ill held to thy word with me!" so gunnar was cast into a worm-close, and many worms abode him there, and his hands were fast bound; but gudrun sent him a harp, and in such wise did he set forth his craft, that wisely he smote the harp, smiting it with his toes, and so excellently well he played, that few deemed they had heard such playing, even when the hand had done it. and with such might and power he played, that all worms fell asleep in the end, save one adder only, great and evil of aspect, that crept unto him and thrust its sting into him until it smote his heart; and in such wise with great hardihood he ended his life days. endnotes: ( ) since ("sidh", after, and "dham", that.). chapter xxxix. the end of atli and his kin and folk. now thought atli the king that he had gained a mighty victory, and spake to gudrun even as mocking her greatly, or as making himself great before her. "gudrun," saith he, "thus hast thou lost thy brethren, and thy very self hast brought it about." she answers, "in good liking livest thou, whereas thou thrustest these slayings before me, but mayhappen thou wilt rue it, when thou hast tried what is to come hereafter; and of all i have, the longest-lived matter shall be the memory of thy cruel heart, nor shall it go well with thee whiles i live." he answered and said, "let there be peace betwixt us; i will atone for thy brethren with gold and dear-bought things, even as thy heart may wish." she answers, "hard for a long while have i been in our dealings together, and now i say, that while hogni was yet alive thou mightest have brought it to pass; but now mayest thou never atone for my brethren in my heart; yet oft must we women be overborne by the might of you men; and now are all my kindred dead and gone, and thou alone art left to rule over me: wherefore now this is my counsel that we make a great feast, wherein i will hold the funeral of my brother and of thy kindred withal." in such wise did she make herself soft and kind in words, though far other things forsooth lay thereunder, but he hearkened to her gladly, and trusted in her words, whereas she made herself sweet of speech. so gudrun held the funeral feast for her brethren, and king atli for his men, and exceeding proud and great was this feast. but gudrun forgat not her woe, but brooded over it, how she might work some mighty shame against the king; and at nightfall she took to her the sons of king atli and her as they played about the floor; the younglings waxed heavy of cheer, and asked what she would with them. "ask me not," she said; "ye shall die, the twain of you!" then they answered, "thou mayest do with thy children even as thou wilt, nor shall any hinder thee, but shame there is to thee in the doing of this deed." yet for all that she cut the throats of them. then the king asked where his sons were, and gudrun answered, "i will tell thee, and gladden thine heart by the telling; lo now, thou didst make a great woe spring up for me in the slaying of my brethren; now hearken and hear my rede and my deed; thou hast lost thy sons, and their heads are become beakers on the board here, and thou thyself hast drunken the blood of them blended with wine; and their hearts i took and roasted them on a spit, and thou hast eaten thereof." king atli answered, "grim art thou in that thou hast murdered thy sons, and given me their flesh to eat, and little space passes betwixt ill deed of thine and ill deed." gudrun said, "my heart is set on the doing to thee of as great shame as may be; never shall the measure of ill be full to such a king as thou art." the king said, "worser deeds hast thou done than men have to tell of, and great unwisdom is there in such fearful redes; most meet art thou to be burned on bale when thou hast first been smitten to death with stones, for in such wise wouldst thou have what thou hast gone a weary way to seek." she answered, "thine own death thou foretellest, but another death is fated for me." and many other words they spake in their wrath. now hogni had a son left alive, hight niblung, and great wrath of heart he bare against king atli; and he did gudrun to wit that he would avenge his father. and she took his words well, and they fell to counsel together thereover, and she said it would be great goodhap if it might be brought about. so on a night, when the king had drunken, he gat him to bed, and when he was laid asleep, thither to him came gudrun and the son of hogni. gudrun took a sword and thrust it through the breast of king atli, and they both of them set their hands to the deed, both she and the son of hogni. then atli the king awoke with the wound, and cried out; "no need of binding or salving here!--who art thou who hast done the deed?" gudrun says, "somewhat have i, gudrun, wrought therein, and somewhat withal the son of hogni." atli said, "ill it beseemed to thee to do this, though somewhat of wrong was between us; for thou wert wedded to me by the rede of thy kin, and dower paid i for thee; yea, thirty goodly knights, and seemly maidens, and many men besides; and yet wert thou not content, but if thou should rule over the lands king budli owned: and thy mother-in-law full oft thou lettest sit a-weeping." gudrun said, "many false words hast thou spoken, and of naught i account them; oft, indeed, was i fell of mood, but much didst thou add thereto. full oft in this thy house did frays befall, and kin fought kin, and friend fought friend, and made themselves big one against the other; better days had i whenas i abode with sigurd, when we slew kings, and took their wealth to us, but gave peace to whomso would, and the great men laid themselves under our hands, and might we gave to him of them who would have it; then i lost him, and a little thing was it that i should bear a widow's name, but the greatest of griefs that i should come to thee--i who had aforetime the noblest of all kings, while for thee, thou never barest out of the battle aught but the worser lot." king atli answered, "naught true are thy words, nor will this our speech better the lot of either of us, for all is fallen now to naught; but now do to me in seemly wise, and array my dead corpse in noble fashion." "yea, that will i," she says, "and let make for thee a goodly grave, and build for thee a worthy abiding place of stone, and wrap thee in fair linen, and care for all that needful is." so therewithal he died, and she did according to her word: and then they cast fire into the hall. and when the folk and men of estate awoke amid that dread and trouble, naught would they abide the fire, but smote each the other down, and died in such wise; so there atli the king, and all his folk, ended their life-days. but gudrun had no will to live longer after this deed so wrought, but nevertheless her ending day was not yet come upon her. now the volsungs and the giukings, as folk tell in tale, have been the greatest-hearted and the mightiest of all men, as ye may well behold written in the songs of old time. but now with the tidings just told were these troubles stayed. chapter xl. how gudrun cast herself into the sea, but was brought ashore again. gudrun had a daughter by sigurd hight swanhild; she was the fairest of all women, eager-eyed as her father, so that few durst look under the brows of her; and as far did she excel other woman-kind as the sun excels the other lights of heaven. but on a day went gudrun down to the sea, and caught up stones in her arms, and went out into the sea, for she had will to end her life. but mighty billows drave her forth along the sea, and by means of their upholding was she borne along till she came at the last to the burg of king jonakr, a mighty king, and lord of many folk. and he took gudrun to wife, and their children were hamdir, and sorli, and erp; and there was swanhild nourished withal. chapter xli. of the wedding and slaying of swanhild. jormunrek was the name of a mighty king of those days, and his son was called randver. now this king called his son to talk with him, and said, "thou shalt fare on an errand of mine to king jonakr, with my counsellor bikki, for with king jonakr is nourished swanhild, the daughter of sigurd fafnir's-bane; and i know for sure that she is the fairest may dwelling under the sun of this world; her above all others would i have to my wife, and thou shalt go woo her for me." randver answered, "meet and right, fair lord, that i should go on thine errands." so the king set forth this journey in seemly wise, and they fare till they come to king jonakr's abode, and behold swanhild, and have many thoughts concerning the treasure of her goodliness. but on a day randver called the king to talk with him, and said, "jormunrek the king would fain be thy brother-in-law, for he has heard tell of swanhild, and his desire it is to have her to wife, nor may it be shown that she may be given to any mightier man than he is one." the king says, "this is an alliance of great honour, for a man of fame he is." gudrun says, "a wavering trust, the trust in luck that it change not!" yet because of the king's furthering, and all the matters that went herewith, is the wooing accomplished; and swanhild went to the ship with a goodly company, and sat in the stern beside the king's son. then spake bikki to randver, "how good and right it were if thou thyself had to wife so lovely a woman rather than the old man there." good seemed that word to the heart of the king's son, and he spake to her with sweet words, and she to him in like wise. so they came aland and go unto the king, and bikki said unto him, "meet and right it is, lord, that thou shouldst know what is befallen, though hard it be to tell of, for the tale must be concerning thy beguiling, whereas thy son has gotten to him the full love of swanhild, nor is she other than his harlot; but thou, let not the deed be unavenged." now many an ill rede had he given the king or this, but of all his ill redes did this sting home the most; and still would the king hearken to all his evil redes; wherefore he, who might nowise still the wrath within him, cried out that randver should be taken and tied up to the gallows-tree. and as he was led to the gallows he took his hawk and plucked the feathers from off it, and bade show it to his father; and when the king saw it, then he said, "now may folk behold that he deemeth my honour to be gone away from me, even as the feathers of this hawk;" and therewith he bade deliver him from the gallows. but in that while had bikki wrought his will, and randver was dead-slain. and, moreover, bikki spake, "against none hast thou more wrongs to avenge thee of than against swanhild; let her die a shameful death." "yea," said the king, "we will do after thy counsel." so she was bound in the gate of the burg, and horses were driven at her to tread her down; but when she opened her eyes wide, then the horses durst not trample her; so when bikki beheld that, he bade draw a bag over the head of her; and they did so, and therewith she lost her life. ( ) endnotes ( ) in the prose edda the slaying of swanhild is a spontaneous and sudden act on the part of the king. as he came back from hunting one day, there sat swanhild washing her linen, and it came into the king's mind how that she was the cause of all his woe, so he and his men rode over her and slew her.--tr. chapter xlii. gudrun sends her sons to avenge swanhild. now gudrun heard of the slaying of swanhild, and spake to her sons, "why sit ye here in peace amid merry words, whereas jormunrek hath slain your sister, and trodden her under foot of horses in shameful wise? no heart ye have in you like to gunnar or hogni; verily they would have avenged their kinswoman!" hamdir answered, "little didst thou praise gunnar and hogni, whereas they slew sigurd, and thou wert reddened in the blood of him, and ill were thy brethren avenged by the slaying of thine own sons: yet not so ill a deed were it for us to slay king jormunrek, and so hard thou pushest us on to this that we may naught abide thy hard words." gudrun went about laughing now, and gave them to drink from mighty beakers, and thereafter she got for them great byrnies and good, and all other weed ( ) of war. then spake hamdir, "lo now, this is our last parting, for thou shalt hear tidings of us, and drink one grave-ale ( ) over us and over swanhild." so therewith they went their ways. but gudrun went unto her bower, with heart swollen with sorrow, and spake-- "to three men was i wedded, and first to sigurd fafnir's-bane, and he was bewrayed and slain, and of all griefs was that the greatest grief. then was i given to king atli, and so fell was my heart toward him that i slew in the fury of my grief his children and mine. then gave i myself to the sea, but the billows thereof cast me out aland, and to this king then was i given; then gave i swanhild away out of the land with mighty wealth; and lo, my next greatest sorrow after sigurd, for under horses' feet was she trodden and slain; but the grimmest and ugliest of woes was the casting of gunnar into the worm-close, and the hardest was the cutting of hogni's heart from him. "ah, better would it be if sigurd came to meet me, and i went my ways with him, for here bideth now behind with me neither son nor daughter to comfort me. oh, mindest thou not, sigurd, the words we spoke when we went into one bed together, that thou wouldst come and look on me; yea, even from thine abiding place among the dead?" and thus had the words of her sorrow an end. endnote: ( ) weed (a.s. "weodo"), clothing. ( ) grave-ale, burial-feast. chapter xliii. the latter end of all the kin of the giukings. now telleth the tale concerning the sons of gudrun, that she had arrayed their war-raiment in such wise, that no steel would bite thereon; and she bade them play not with stones or other heavy matters, for that it would be to their scathe if they did so. and now, as they went on their way, they met erp, their brother, and asked him in what wise he would help them. he answered, "even as hand helps hand, or foot helps foot." but that they deemed naught at all, and slew him there and then. then they went their ways, nor was it long or ever hamdir stumbled, and thrust down his hand to steady himself, and spake therewith-- "naught but a true thing spake erp, for now should i have fallen, had not hand been to steady me." a little after sorli stumbled, but turned about on his feet, and so stood, and spake-- "yea now had i fallen, but that i steadied myself with both feet." and they said they had done evilly with erp their brother. but on they fare till they come to the abode of king jormunrek, and they went up to him and set on him forthwith, and hamdir cut both hands from him and sorli both feet. then spake hamdir-- "off were the head if erp were alive; our brother, whom we slew on the way, and found out our deed too late." even as the song says,-- "off were the head if erp were alive yet, our brother the bold, whom we slew by the way, the well-famed in warfare." now in this must they turn away from the words of their mother, whereas they had to deal with stones. for now men fell on them, and they defended themselves in good and manly wise, and were the scathe of many a man, nor would iron bite on them. but there came thereto a certain man, old of aspect and one-eyed, ( ) and he spake-- "no wise men are ye, whereas ye cannot bring these men to their end." then the king said, "give us rede thereto, if thou canst." he said, "smite them to the death with stones." in such wise was it done, for the stones flew thick and fast from every side, and that was the end of their life-days. and now has come to an end the whole root and stem of the giukings. ( ) now may all earls be bettered in mind, may the grief of all maidens ever be minished, for this tale of trouble so told to its ending. endnotes: ( ) odin; he ends the tale as he began it. ( ) "and now," etc., inserted by translators from the poetic edda, the stanza at the end from the whetting of gudrun. appendix: excerpts from the poetic edda. part of the second lay of helgi hundings-bane ( ) helgi wedded sigrun, and they begate sons together, but helgi lived not to be old; for dag, ( ) the son of hogni, sacrificed to odin, praying that he might avenge his father. so odin lent dag his spear, and dag met helgi, his brother-in-law, at a place called fetter-grove, and thrust him through with that spear, and there fell helgi dead; but dag rode to sevafell, and told sigrun of the news. dag: loth am i, sister of sorrow to tell thee, for by hard need driven have i drawn on the greeting; this morning fell in fetter-grove the king well deemed the best in the wide world, yea, he who stood on the necks of the strong." sigrun: all oaths once sworn shall bite thee sore, the oaths that to helgi once thou swarest at the bright white water of lightening, ( ) and at the cold rock that the sea runneth over. may the ship sweep not on that should sweep at its swiftest, though the wind desired behind thee driveth! may the horse never run that should run at his most might when from thy foe's face thou hast most need to flee! may the sword never bite that thou drawest from scabbard but and if round thine head in wrath it singeth! then should meet price be paid for helgi's slaying when a wolf thou wert out in the wild-wood, empty of good things empty of gladness, with no meat for thy mouth but dead men's corpses! dag: with mad words thou ravest, thy wits are gone from thee, when thou for thy brother such ill fate biddest; odin alone let all this bale loose, casting the strife-runes 'twixt friends and kindred. rings of red gold will thy brother give thee, and the stead of vandil and the lands of vigdale; have half of the land for thy sorrow's healing, o ring-arrayed sweetling for thee and thy sons! sigrun: no more sit i happy at sevafell; at day-dawn, at night naught love i my life till broad o'er the people my lord's light breaketh; till his war-horse runneth beneath him hither, well wont to the gold bit-- till my king i welcome. in such wise did helgi deal fear around to all his foes and all their friends as when the goat runneth before the wolf's rage filled with mad fear down from the fell. as high above all lords did helgi beat him as the ash-tree's glory from the thorn ariseth, or as the fawn with the dew-fell sprinkled is far above all other wild things, as his horns go gleaming 'gainst the very heavens. a barrow was raised above helgi, but when he came in valhall, then odin bade him be lord of all things there, even as he; so helgi sang-- helgi: now shalt thou, hunding for the help of each man get ready the foot-bath, and kindle the fire; the hounds shalt thou bind and give heed to the horses, give wash to the swine ere to sleep thou goest. a bondmaid of sigrun went in the evening-tide by helgi's mound, and there saw how helgi rode toward it with a great company; then she sang-- bondmaid: it is vain things' beguilling that methinks i behold, or the ending of all things, as ye ride, o ye dead men, smiting with spurs your horses' sides? or may dead warriors wend their ways homeward? the dead: no vain things' beguiling is that thou beholdest, nor the ruin of all things; though thou lookest upon us, though we smite with spurs our horses' sides; rather dead warriors may wend their ways homeward. then went the bondmaid home, and told sigrun, and sang-- bondmaid: go out, sigrun from sevafell, if thou listest to look on the lord of thy people! for the mound is uncovered thither is helgi come, and his wounds are bleeding, but the king thee biddeth to come and stay that stream of sorrow. so sigrun went into the mound to helgi, and sang-- sigrun: now am i as fain of this fair meeting, as are the hungry hawks of odin, when they wot of the slaying of the yet warm quarry, or bright with dew see the day a-dawning. ah, i will kiss my king laid lifeless, ere thou castest by thy blood-stained byrny. o helgi, thy hair is thick with death's rime, with the dew of the dead is my love all dripping; dead-cold are the hands of the son of hogni; how for thee, o my king, may i win healing? helgi: thou alone, sigrun of sevafell, hast so done that helgi with grief's dew drippeth; o clad in gold cruel tears thou weepest, bright may of the southlands, or ever thou sleepest; each tear in blood falleth on the breast of thy lord, cold wet and bitter-sharp swollen with sorrow. ah, we shall drink dear draughts and lovely, though, we have lost both life and lands; neither shall any sing song of sorrow, though in my breast be wounds wide to behold: for now are brides in the mound abiding; kings' daughters sit by us departed. bow sigrun arrayed a bed in the mound, and sang-- sigrun: here, helgi, for thee a bed have i dight, kind without woe, o kin of the ylfings! to thy bosom, o king, will i come and sleep soft, as i was wont when my lord was living. helgi: now will i call naught not to be hoped for early or late at sevafell, when thou in the arms of a dead man art laid, white maiden of hogni, here in the mound: and thou yet quick, o king's daughter! now needs must i ride on the reddening ways; my pale horse must tread the highway aloft; west must i go to windhelm's bridge ere the war-winning crowd hall-crower ( ) waketh. so helgi rode his ways: and the others gat them gone home to the house. but the next night sigrun bade the bondwoman have heed of the mound. so at nightfall, thenas sigrun came to the mound, she sang: sigrun: here now would he come, if to come he were minded; sigmund's offspring from the halls of odin. o me the hope waneth of helgi's coming; for high on the ash-boughs are the ernes abiding, and all folk drift toward the thing of the dreamland. bondmaid: be not foolish of heart, and fare all alone to the house of the dead, o hero's daughter! for more strong and dreadful in the night season are all dead warriors than in the daylight. but a little while lived sigrun, because of her sorrow and trouble. but in old time folk trowed that men should be born again, though their troth be now deemed but an old wife's dotting. and so, as folk say, helgi and sigrun were born again, and at that tide was he called helgi the scathe of hadding, and she kara the daughter of halfdan; and she was a valkyrie, even as is said in the lay of kara. endnotes: ( ) only that part of the song is given which completes the episodes of helgi hunding's-bane; the earlier part of the song differs little from the saga. ( ) hogni, the father of dar and sigrun, had been slain by helgi in battle, and helgi had given peace to, and taken oaths of dag. ( ) one of the rivers of the under-world. ( ) hall-crower, "salgofnir": lit. hall-gaper, the cock of valhall. part of the lay of sigrdrifa ( ) now this is my first counsel, that thou with thy kin be guiltless, guileless ever, nor hasty of wrath, despite of wrong done-- unto the dead good that doeth. lo the second counsel, that oath thou swearest never, but trusty oath and true: grim tormenting gripes troth-breakers; cursed wretch is the wolf of vows. this is my third rede, that thou at the thing deal not with the fools of folk; for unwise man from mouth lets fall worser word than well he wotteth. yet hard it is that holding of peace when men shall deem thee dastard, or deem the lie said soothly; but woeful is home-witness, unless right good thou gettest it. ah, on another day drive the life from out him, and pay the liar back for his lying. now behold the fourth rede: if ill witch thee bideth, woe-begatting by the way, good going further rather than guesting, though thick night be on thee. far-seeing eyes need all sons of men who wend in wrath to war; for baleful women bide oft by the highway, swords and hearts to soften. and now the fifth rede: as fair as thou seest brides on the bench abiding, let not love's silver rule over thy sleeping; draw no woman to kind kissing! for the sixth thing, i rede when men sit a-drinking amid ale-words and ill-words, dead thou naught with the drunken fight-staves for wine stealeth wit from many. brawling and drink have brought unto men sorrow sore oft enow; yea, bane unto some, and to some weary bale; many are the griefs of mankind. for the seventh, i rede thee, if strife thou raisest with a man right high of heart, better fight a-field than burn in the fire within thine hall fair to behold. the eighth rede that i give thee: unto all ill look thou, and hold thine heart from all beguiling; draw to thee no maiden, no man's wife bewray thou, urge them not unto unmeet pleasure. this is the ninth counsel: that thou have heed of dead folk whereso thou findest them a-field; be they sick-dead, be they sea-dead, or come to ending by war-weapons. let bath be made for such men fordone, wash thou hands and feet thereof, comb their hair and dry them ere the coffin has them; then bid them sleep full sweetly. this for the tenth counsel: that thou give trust never unto oaths of foeman's kin, be'st thou bane of his brother, or hast thou felled his father; wolf in young son waxes, though he with gold be gladdened. for wrong and hatred shall rest them never, nay, nor sore sorrow. both wit and weapons well must the king have who is fain to be the foremost. the last rede and eleventh: until all ill look thou. and watch thy friends' ways ever scarce durst i look for long life for thee, king: strong trouble ariseth now already. endnotes: ( ) this continues the first part of the lay given in chapter xx of the saga; and is, in fact, the original verse of chapter xxi. the lay called the short lay of sigurd. sigurd of yore, sought the dwelling of giuki, as he fared, the young volsung, after fight won; troth he took from the two brethren; oath swore they betwixt them, those bold ones of deed. a may they gave to him and wealth manifold, gudrun the young, giuki's daughter: they drank and gave doom many days together, sigurd the young, and the sons of giuki. until they wended for brynhild's wooing, sigurd a-riding amidst their rout; the wise young volsung who knew of all ways-- ah! he had wed her, had fate so willed it. southlander sigurd a naked sword, bright, well grinded, laid betwixt them; no kiss he won from the fair woman, nor in arms of his did the hun king hold her, since he gat the young maid for the son of giuki. no lack in her life she wotted of now, and at her death-day no dreadful thing for a shame indeed or a shame in seeming; but about and betwixt went baleful fate. alone, abroad, she sat of an evening, of full many things she fall a-talking: "o for my sigurd! i shall have death, or my fair, my lovely, laid in mine arms. "for the word once spoken, i sorrow sorely-- his queen is gudrun, i am wed to gunnar; the dread norns wrought for us a long while of woe." oft with heart deep in dreadful thoughts, o'er ice-fields and ice-hills she fared a-night time, when he and gudrun were gone to their fair bed, and sigurd wrapped the bed-gear round her. "ah! now the hun king his queen in arms holdeth, while love i go lacking, and all things longed for with no delight but in dreadful thought." these dreadful things thrust her toward murder: --"listen, gunnar, for thou shalt lose my wide lands, yea, me myself! never love i my life, with thee for my lord-- "i will fare back thither from whence i came, to my nighest kin and those that know me there shall i sit sleeping my life away, unless thou slayest sigurd the hun king, making thy might more e'en than his might was! "yea, let the son fare after the father, and no young wolf a long while nourish! for on earth man lieth vengeance lighter, and peace shall be surer if the son live not." adrad was gunnar, heavy-hearted was he, and in doubtful mood day-long he sat. for naught he wotted, nor might see clearly what was the seemliest of deeds to set hand to; what of all deeds was best to be done: for he minded the vows sworn to the volsung, and the sore wrong to be wrought against sigurd. wavered his mind a weary while, no wont it was of those days worn by, that queens should flee from the realms of their kings. "brynhild to me is better than all, the child of budli is the best of women. yea, and my life will i lay down, ere i am twinned from that woman's treasure." he bade call hogni to the place where he bided; with all the trust that might be, trowed he in him. "wilt thou bewray sigurd for his wealth's sake? good it is to rule o'er the rhine's metal; and well content great wealth to wield, biding in peace and blissful days." one thing alone hogni had for an answer: "such doings for us are naught seemly to do; to rend with sword oaths once sworn, oaths once sworn, and troth once plighted. "nor know we on mould, men of happier days, the while we four rule over the folk; while the bold in battle, the hun king, bides living. "and no nobler kin shall be known afield, if our five sons we long may foster; yea, a goodly stem shall surely wax. --but i clearly see in what wise it standeth, brynhild's sore urging o'ermuch on thee beareth. "guttorm shall we get for the slaying, our younger brother bare of wisdom; for he was out of all the oaths sworn, all the oaths sworn, and the plighted troth." easy to rouse him who of naught recketh! --deep stood the sword in the heart of sigurd. there, in the hall, gat the high-hearted vengeance; for he can his sword at the reckless slayer: out at guttorm flew gram the mighty, the gleaming steel from sigurd's hand. down fell the slayer smitten asunder; the heavy head and the hands fell one way, but the feet and such like aback where they stood. gudrun was sleeping soft in the bed, empty of sorrow by the side of sigurd: when she awoke with all pleasure gone, swimming in blood of frey's beloved. so sore her hands she smote together, that the great-hearted gat raised in bed; --"o gudrun, weep not so woefully, sweet lovely bride, for thy brethren live for thee! "a young child have i for heritor; too young to win forth from the house of his foes.-- black deeds and ill have they been a-doing, evil rede have they wrought at last. "late, late, rideth with them unto the thing, such sister's son, though seven thou bear,-- --but well i wot which way all goeth; alone wrought brynhild this bale against us. "that maiden loved me far before all men, yet wrong to gunnar i never wrought; brotherhood i heeded and all bounden oaths, that none should deem me his queen's darling." weary sighed gudrun, as the king gat ending, and so sore her hands she smote together, that the cups arow rang out therewith, and the geese cried on high that were in the homefield. then laughed brynhild budli's daughter, once, once only, from out her heart; when to her bed was borne the sound of the sore greeting of giuki's daughter. then, quoth gunnar, the king, the hawk-bearer, "whereas, thou laughest, o hateful woman, glad on thy bed, no good it betokeneth: why lackest thou else thy lovely hue? feeder of foul deeds, fey do i deem thee, "well worthy art thou before all women, that thine eyes should see atli slain of us; that thy brother's wounds thou shouldest see a-bleeding, that his bloody hurts thine hands should bind." "no man blameth thee, gunnar, thou hast fulfilled death's measure but naught atli feareth all thine ill will; life shall he lay down later than ye, and still bear more might aloft than thy might. "i shall tell thee, gunnar, though well the tale thou knowest, in what early days ye dealt abroad your wrong: young was i then, worn with no woe, good wealth i had in the house of my brother! "no mind had i that a man should have me, or ever ye giukings, rode into our garth; there ye sat on your steeds three kings of the people-- --ah! that that faring had never befallen! "then spake atli to me apart, and said that no wealth he would give unto me, neither gold nor lands if i would not be wedded; nay, and no part of the wealth apportioned, which in my first days he gave me duly; which in my first days he counted down. "wavered the mind within me then, if to fight i should fall and the felling of folk, bold in byrny because of my brother; a deed of fame had that been to all folk, but to many a man sorrow of mind. "so i let all sink into peace at the last: more grew i minded for the mighty treasure, the red-shining rings of sigmund's son; for no man's wealth else would i take unto me. "for myself had i given to that great king who sat amid gold on the back of grani; nought were his eyes like to your eyen, nor in any wise went his visage with yours; though ye might deem you due kings of men. "one i loved, one, and none other, the gold-decked may had no doubtful mind; thereof shall atli wot full surely, when he getteth to know i am gone to the dead. "far be it from me, feeble and wavering, ever to love another's love-- --yes shall my woe be well avenged." up rose gunnar, the great men's leader, and cast his arms about the queen's neck; and all went nigh one after other, with their whole hearts her heart to turn. but then all these from her neck she thrust, of her long journey no man should let her. then called he hogni to have talk with him; "let all folk go forth into the hall, thine with mine-- --o need sore and mighty!-- to wot if we yet my wife's parting may stay. till with time's wearing some hindrance wax." one answer hogni had for all; "nay, let hard need have rule thereover, and no man let her of her long journey! never born again, may she come back thence! "luckless she came to the lap of her mother, born into the world for utter woe, to many a man for heart-whole mourning." upraised he turned from the talk and the trouble, to where the gem-field dealt out goodly treasure; as she looked and beheld all the wealth that she had, and the hungry bondmaids, and maids of the hall. with no good in her heart she donned her gold byrny, ere she thrust the sword point through the midst of her body: on the boister's far side sank she adown, and, smitten with sword, still bethought her of redes. "let all come forth who are fain the red gold, or things less worthy to win from my hands; to each one i give a necklace gilt over, wrought hangings and bed=gear, and bright woven weed." all they kept silence, and thought what to speak, then all at once answer gave: "full enow are death-doomed, fain are we to live yet, maids of the hall all meet work winning." "from her wise heart at last the linen-clad damsel, the one of few years gave forth the word: "i will that none driven by hand or by word, for our sake should lose well-loved life. "thou on the bones of you surely shall burn, less dear treasure at your departing nor with menia's meal ( ) shall ye come to see me." "sit thee down, gunnar, a word must i say to thee of the life's ruin of thy lightsome bride-- --nor shall thy ship swim soft and sweetly for all that i lay life adown. "sooner than ye might deem shall ye make peace with gudrun, for the wise woman shall full in the young wife the hard memory of her dead husband. "there is a may born reared by her mother, whiter and brighter than is the bright day; she shall be swanhild, she shall be sunbeam. "thou shalt give gudrun unto a great one, noble, well-praised of the world's folk; not with her goodwill, or love shalt thou give her; yet will atli come to win her, my very brother, born of budli. --"ah! many a memory of how ye dealt with me, how sorely, how evilly ye ever beguiled me, how all pleasure left me the while my life lasted--! "fain wilt thou be oddrun to win, but thy good liking shall atli let; but in secret wise shall ye win together, and she shall love thee as i had loved thee, if in such wise fare had willed it. "but with all ill shall atli sting thee, into the strait worm-close shall he cast thee. "but no long space shall slip away ere atli too all life shall lose, yea, all his weal with the life of his sons, for a dreadful bed dights gudrun for him, from a heart sore laden, with the sword's sharp edge. "more seemly for gudrun, your very sister, in death to wend after her love first wed; had but good rede to her been given, or if her heart had been like to my heart. --"faint my speech groweth-- but for our sake ne'er shall she lose her life beloved; the sea shall have her, high billows bear her forth unto jonakr's fair land of his fathers. "there shall she bear sons, stays of a heritage, stays of a heritage, jonakr's sons; and swanhild shall she send from the land, that may born of her, the may born of sigurd. "her shall bite the rede of bikki, whereas for no good wins jormunrek life; and so is clean perished all the kin of sigurd, yea, and more greeting, and more for gudrun. "and now one prayer yet pray i of thee-- that last word of mine here in the world-- so broad on the field be the burg of the dead that fair space may be left for us all to lie down, all those that died at sigurd's death! "hang round that burg fair hangings and shields, web by gauls woven, and folk of the gauls: there burn the hun king lying beside me. "but on the other side burn by the hun king those who served me strewn with treasure; two at the head, and two at the feet, two hounds therewith, and two hawks moreover: then is all dealt with even dealing. "lay there amidst us the right-dight metal, the sharp-edged steel, that so lay erst; when we both together into one bed went, and were called by the name of man and wife. "never, then, belike shall clash behind him valhall's bright door with rings bedight: and if my fellowship followeth after, in no wretched wise then shall we wend. "for him shall follow my five bondmaids, my eight bondsmen, no borel folk: yea, and my fosterer, and my father's dower that budli of old days gave to his dear child. "much have i spoken, more would i speak, if the sword would give me space for speech; but my words are waning, my wounds are swelling-- naught but truth have i told-- --and now make i ending." endnotes: ( ) "menia's maid"--periphrasis for gold. the hell-ride of brynhild. after the death of brynhild were made two bales, one for sigurd, and that was first burned; but brynhild was burned on the other, and she was in a chariot hung about with goodly hangings. and so folk say that brynhild drave in her chariot down along the way to hell, and passed by an abode where dwelt a certain giantess, and the giantess spake:-- the giant-woman "nay, with my goodwill never goest thou through this stone-pillared stead of mine! more seemly for thee to sit sewing the cloth, than to go look on the love of another. "what dost thou, going from the land of the gauls, o restless head, to this mine house? golden girl, hast thou not, if thou listest to hearken, in sweet wise from thy hands the blood of men washen?" brynhild "nay, blame me naught, bride of the rock-hall, though i roved a warring in the days that were; the higher of us twain shall i ever be holden when of our kind men make account." the giant-woman "thou, o brynhild, budli's daughter, wert the worst ever born into the world; for giuki's children death hast thou gotten, and turned to destruction their goodly dwelling." brynhild "i shall tell thee true tale from my chariot, o thou who naught wottest, if thou listest to wot; how for me they have gotten those heirs of giuki, a loveless life, a life of lies. "hild under helm, the hlymdale people, e'en those who knew me, ever would call me. "the changeful shapes of us eight sisters, the wise king bade under oak-tree to bear; of twelve winters was i, if thou listest to wot, when i sware to the young lord oaths of love. "thereafter gat i mid the folk of the goths, for helmgunnar the old, swift journey to hell, and gave to aud's brother the young, gain and glory; whereof overwrath waxed odin with me. "so he shut me in shield-wall in skata grove, red shields and white close set around me; and bade him alone my slumber to break who in no land knew how to fear. "he set round my hall, toward the south quarter, the bane of all trees burning aloft; and ruled that he only thereover should ride who should bring me the gold o'er which fafnir brooded. "then upon grani rode the goodly gold-strewer to where my fosterer ruled his fair dwelling. he who alone there was deemed best of all, the war-lord of the danes, well worthy of men. "in peace did we sleep soft in one bed, as though he had been naught but my brother: there as we lay through eight nights wearing, no hand in love on each other we laid. "yet thence blamed me, gudrun, giuki's daughter, that i had slept in the arms of sigurd; and then i wotted as i fain had not wotted, that they had bewrayed me in my betrothals. "ah! for unrest all too long are men and women made alive! yet we twain together shall wear through the ages, sigurd and i.-- --sink adown, o giant-wife!" fragments of the lay of brynhild hogni said: "what hath wrought sigurd of any wrong-doing that the life of the famed one thou art fain of taking?" gunnar said: "to me has sigurd sworn many oaths, sworn many oaths, and sworn them lying, and he bewrayed me when it behoved him of all folk to his troth to be the most trusty." hogni said: "thee hath brynhild unto all bale, and all hate whetted, and a work of sorrow; for she grudges to gudrun all goodly life; and to thee the bliss of her very body." .......... some the wolf roasted, some minced the worm, some unto guttorm gave the wolf-meat, or ever they might in their lust for murder on the high king lay deadly hand. sigurd lay slain on the south of the rhine high from the fair tree croaked forth the raven, "ah, yet shall atli on you redden edges, the old oaths shall weigh on your souls, o warriors." without stood gudrun, giuki's daughter, and the first word she said was even this word: "where then is sigurd, lord of the warfolk, since my kin come riding the foremost? one word hogni had for an answer: "our swords have smitten sigurd asunder, and the grey horse hangs drooping o'er his lord lying dead." then quoth brynhild, budli's daughter; "good weal shall ye have of weapons and lands, that sigurd alone would surely have ruled if he had lived but a little longer. "ah, nothing seemly for sigurd to rule giuki's house and the folk of the goths, when of him five sons for the slaying of men, eager for battle, should have been begotten!" then laughed brynhild-- loud rang the whole house-- one laugh only from out her heart: "long shall your bliss be of lands and people, whereas the famed lord you have felled to the earth!" then spake gudrun, giuki's daughter; "much thou speakest, many things fearful, all grame be on gunnar the bane of sigurd! from a heart full of hate shall come heavy vengeance." forth sped the even enow there was drunken, full enow was there of all soft speech; and all men got sleep when to bed they were gotten; gunnar only lay waking long after all men. his feet fell he to moving, fell to speak to himself the waster of men, still turned in his mind what on the bough those twain would be saying, the raven and erne, as they rode their ways homeward. but brynhild awoke, budli's daughter, may of the shield-folk, a little ere morning: "thrust ye on, hold ye back, --now all harm is wrought,-- to tell of my sorrow, or to let all slip by me?" all kept silence after her speaking, none might know that woman's mind, or why she must weep to tell of the work that laughing once of men she prayed. brynhild spake: "in dreams, o gunnar, grim things fell on me; dead-cold the hall was, and my bed was a-cold, and thou, lord, wert riding reft of all bliss, laden with fetters 'mid the host of thy foemen." "so now all ye, o house of the niblungs, shall be brought to naught, o ye oath-breakers! "think'st thou not, gunnar, how that betid, when ye let the blood run both in one footstep? with ill reward hast thou rewarded his heart so fain to be the foremost! "as well was seen when he rode his ways, that king of all worth, unto my wooing; how the host-destroyer held to the vows sworn beforetime, sworn to the young king. "for his wounding-wand all wrought with gold, the king beloved laid between us; without were its edges wrought with fire, but with venom-drops deep dyed within." thus this song telleth of the death of sigurd, and setteth forth how that they slew him without doors; but some say that they slew him within doors, sleeping in his bed. but the dutch folk say that they slew him out in the wood: and so sayeth the ancient song of gudrun, that sigurd and the sons of giuki were riding to the thing whenas he was slain. but all with one accord say that they bewrayed him in their troth with him, and fell on him as he lay unarrayed and unawares. the second or ancient lay of gudrun. thiodrek the king was in atli's house, and had lost there the more part of his men: so there thiodrek and gudrun bewailed their troubles one to the other, and she spake and said:-- a may of all mays my mother reared me bright in bower; well loved i my brethren, until that giuki with gold arrayed me, with gold arrayed me, and gave me to sigurd. such was my sigurd, among the sons of giuki as is the green leek o'er the low grass waxen, or a hart high-limbed over hurrying deer, or glede-red gold over grey silver. till me they begrudged, those my brethren, the fate to have him, who was first of all men; nor might they sleep, nor sit a-dooming, ere they let slay my well-loved sigurd. grani ran to the thing, there was clatter to hear, but never came sigurd himself thereunto; all the saddle-girt beasts with blood were besprinkled, as faint with the way neath the slayers they went. then greeting i went with grani to talk, and with tear-furrowed cheeks i bade him tell all; but drooping laid grani, his head in the grass, for the steed well wotted of his master's slaying. a long while i wandered, long my mind wavered, ere the kings i might ask concerning my king. then gunnar hung head, but hogni told of the cruel slaying of my sigurd: "on the water's far side lies, smitten to death, the bane of guttorm to the wolves given over. "go, look on sigurd, on the ways that go southward, there shalt thou hear the ernes high screaming, the ravens a-croaking as their meat they crave for; thou shalt hear the wolves howling over thine husband. "how hast thou, hogni, the heart to tell me, me of joy made empty, of such misery? thy wretched heart may the ravens tear wide over the world, with no men mayst thou wend." one thing hogni had for answer, fallen from his high heart, full of all trouble: "more greeting yet, o gudrun, for thee, if my heart the ravens should rend asunder!" thence i turned from the talk and the trouble to go a leasing ( ) what the wolves had left me; no sigh i made no smote hands together, nor did i wail as other women when i sat over my sigurd slain. night methought it, and the moonless dark, when i sat in sorrow over sigurd; better than all things i deemed it would be if they would let me cast my life by, or burn me up as they burn the birch-wood. from the fell i wandered five days together, until the high hall of half lay before me; seven seasons there i sat with thora, the daughter of hacon, up in denmark. my heart to gladden with gold she wrought southland halls and swans of the dane-folk; there had we painted the chiefs a-playing; fair our hands wrought folk of the kings. red shields we did, doughty knights of the huns, hosts spear-dight, hosts helm-dight, all a high king's fellows; and the ships of sigmund from the land swift sailing; heads gilt over and prows fair graven. on the cloth we broidered that tide of their battling, siggeir and siggar, south in fion. then heard grimhild, the queen of gothland, how i was abiding, weighed down with woe; and she thrust the cloth from her and called to her sons, and oft and eagerly asked them thereof, who for her son would their sister atone, who for her lord slain would lay down weregild. fain was gunnar gold to lay down all wrongs to atone for, and hogni in likewise; then she asked who was fain of faring straightly, the steed to saddle to set forth the wain, the horse to back, and the hawk to fly, to shoot forth the arrow from out the yew-bow. valdarr the dane-king came with jarisleif eymod the third went then went jarizskar; in kingly wise in they wended, the host of the longbeards; red cloaks had they, byrnies short-cut, helms strong hammered, girt with glaives, and hair red-gleaming. each would give me gifts desired, gifts desired, speech dear to my heart, if they might yet, despite my sorrow, win back my trust, but in them nought i trusted. then brought me grimhild a beaker to drink of, cold and bitter, wrong's memory to quench; made great was that drink with the might of the earth, with the death-cold sea and the blood that son ( ) holdeth. on that horn's face were there all the kin of letters cut aright and reddened, how should i rede them rightly? the ling-fish long of the land of hadding, wheat-ears unshorn, and wild things' inwards. in that mead were mingled many ills together, blood of all the wood, and brown-burnt acorns; the black dew of the hearth, ( ) and god-doomed dead beasts' inwards and the swine's liver sodden, for wrongs late done that deadens. then waned my memory when that was within me, of my lord 'mid the hall by the iron laid low. three kings came before my knees ere she herself fell to speech with me. "i will give to thee, gudrun, gold to be glad with, all the great wealth of thy father gone from us, rings of red gold and the great hall of lodver, and all fair hangings left by the king late fallen. "maids of the huns woven pictures to make, and work fair in gold till thou deem'st thyself glad. alone shalt thou rule o'er the riches of budli, shalt be made great with gold, and be given to atli." "never will i wend to a husband, or wed the brother of queen brynhild; naught it beseems me with the son of budli kin to bring forth, or to live and be merry." "nay, the high chiefs reward not with hatred, for take heed that i was the first in this tale! to thy heart shall it be as if both these had life, sigurd and sigmund, when thou hast borne sons." "naught may i, grimhild, seek after gladness, nor deem aught hopeful of any high warrior, since wolf and raven were friends together, the greedy, the cruel, o'er great sigurd's heart-blood." "of all men that can be for the noblest of kin this king have i found, and the foremost of all; him shalt thou have till with eld thou art heavy-- be thou ever unwed, if thou wilt naught of him!" "nay, nay, bid me not with thy words long abiding to take unto me that balefullest kin; this king shall bid gunnar be stung to his bane, and shall cut the heart from out of hogni. "nor shall i leave life ere the keen lord, the eager in sword-play, my hand shall make end of." grimhild a-weeping took up the word then, when the sore bale she wotted awaiting her sons, and the bane hanging over her offspring beloved. "i will give thee, moreover, great lands, many men, wineberg and valberg, if thou wilt but have them; hold them lifelong, and live happy, o daughter!" "then him must i take from among kingly men, 'gainst my heart's desire, from the hands of my kinsfolk; but no joy i look to have from that lord: scarce may my brother's bane be a shield to my sons." soon was each warrior seen on his horse, but the gaulish women into wains were gotten; then seven days long o'er a cold land we rode, and for seven other clove we the sea-waves. but with the third seven o'er dry land we wended. there the gate-wardens of the burg, high and wide, unlooked the barriers ere the burg-garth we rode to-- ............ atli woke me when meseemed i was full evil of heart for my kin dead slain. "in such wise did the norns wake me or now."-- fain was he to know of this ill foreshowing-- "that methought, o gudrun, giuki's daughter, that thou setst in my heart a sword wrought for guile." "for fires tokening i deem it that dreaming of iron, but for pride and for lust the wrath of fair women against some bale belike, i shall burn thee for thy solace and healing though hateful thou art." "in the fair garth methought had saplings fallen e'en such as i would should have waxen ever; uprooted were these, and reddened with blood, and borne to the bench, and folk bade me eat of them. "methought from my hand then went hawks a-flying lacking their meat to the land of all ill; methought that their hearts mingled with honey, swollen with blood i ate amid sorrow. "lo, next two whelps from my hands i loosened, joyless were both, and both a-howling; and now their flesh became naught but corpses, whereof must i eat but sore against my will." "o'er the prey of the fishers will folk give doom; from the bright white fish the heads will they take; within a few nights, fey as they are, a little ere day of that draught will they eat." "ne'er since lay i down, ne'er since would i sleep, hard of heart, in my bed:-- that deed have i to do. ( ) endnotes: ( ) the original has "a vid lesa". "leasing" is the word still used for gleaning in many country sides in england. ( ) son was the vessel into which was poured the blood of quasir, the god of poetry. ( ) this means soot. ( ) the whole of this latter part is fragmentary and obscure; there seems wanting to two of the dreams some trivial interpretation by gudrun, like those given by hogni to kostbera in the saga, of which nature, of course, the interpretation contained in the last stanza but one is, as we have rendered it: another rendering, from the different reading of the earlier edition of "edda" (copenhagen, ) would make this refer much more directly to the slaying of her sons by gudrun. the song of atli. gudrun, giuki's daughter, avenger her brethren, as is told far and wide; first she slew the sons of atli, and then atli himself; and she burned the hall thereafter, and all the household with it: and about these matters is this song made:-- in days long gone sent atli to gunnar a crafty one riding, knefrud men called him; to giuki's garth came he, to the hall of gunnar, to the benches gay-dight, and the gladsome drinking. there drank the great folk 'mid the guileful one's silence, drank wine in their fair hall: the huns' wrath they feared when knefrud cried in his cold voice, as he sat on the high seat, that man of the southland: "atli has sent me riding swift on his errands on the bit-griping steed through dark woodways unbeaten, to bid thee, king gunnar, come to his fair bench with helm well-adorned, to the house of king atli. "shield shall ye have there and spears ashen-shafted, helms ruddy with gold, and hosts of the huns; saddle-gear silver gilt, shirts red as blood, the hedge of the warwife, and horses bit-griping. "and he saith he will give you gnitaheath widespread, and whistling spears and prows well-gilded, might wealth with the stead of danpi, and that noble wood men name the murkwood." then gunnar turned head and spake unto hogni: "what rede from thee, high one, since such things we hear? no gold know i on gnitaheath, that we for our parts have not portion as great. "seven halls we have fulfilled of swords, and hilts of gold each sword there has; my horse is the best, my blade is the keenest; fair my bow o'er the bench is, gleams my byrny with gold; brightest helm, brightest shield, from kiar's dwelling ere brought-- better all things i have than all things of the huns." hogni said: "what mind has our sister that a ring she hath sent us in weed of wolves clad? bids she not to be wary? for a wolf's hair i found the fair ring wreathed about; wolf beset shall the way be if we wend on this errand." no sons whetted gunnar, nor none of his kin, nor learned men nor wise men, nor such as were mighty. then spake gunnar e'en as a king should speak, glorious in mead-hall from great heart and high: "rise up now, fiornir, forth down the benches let the gold-cups of great ones pass in hands of my good-men! well shall we drink wine, draughts dear to our hearts, though the last of all feasts in our fair house this be! "for the wolves shall rule o'er the wealth of the niblungs, with the pine-woods' wardens in gunnar perish: and the black-felled bears with fierce teeth shall bite for the glee of the dog kind, if again comes not gunnar." then good men never shamed, greeting aloud, led the great king of men from the garth of his home; and cried the fair son of hogni the king: "fare happy, o lords, whereso your hearts lead you!" then the bold knights let their bit-griping steeds wend swift o'er the fells, tread the murk-wood unknown, all the hunwood was shaking as the hardy ones fared there; o'er the green meads they urged their steeds shy of the goad. then atli's land saw they; great towers and strong, and the bold men of bikki, aloft on the burg: the southland folks' hall set with benches about, dight with bucklers well bounden, and bright white shining shields. there drank atli, the awful hun king, wine in his fair hall; without were the warders, gunnar's folk to have heed of, lest they had fared thither with the whistling spear war to wake 'gainst the king. but first came their sister as they came to the hall, both her brethren she met, with beer little gladdened: "bewrayed art thou, gunnar! what dost thou great king to deal war to the huns? go thou swift from the hall! better, brother, hadst thou fared here in thy byrny than with helm gaily dight looked on atli's great house: them hadst sat then in saddle through days bright with the sun fight to awaken and fair fields to redden: "o'er the folk fate makes pale should the norn's tears have fallen, the shield mays of the huns should have known of all sorrow; and king atli himself to worm-close should be brought; but now is the worm-close kept but for thee." then spake gunnar great 'mid the people: "over-late sister the niblungs to summon; a long way to seek the helping of warriors, the high lord unshamed, from the hills of the rhine!" .............. seven hogni beat down with his sword sharp-grinded, and the eighth man he thrust amidst of the fire. ever so shall famed warrior fight with his foemen, as hogni fought for the hand of gunnar. but on gunnar they fell, and set him in fetters, and bound hard and fast that friend of burgundians; then the warrior they asked if he would buy life, but life with gold that king of the goths. nobly spake gunnar, great lord of the niblungs; "hogni's bleeding heart first shall lie in mine hand, cut from the breast of the bold-riding lord, with bitter-sharp knife from the son of the king." with guile the great one would they beguile, on the wailing thrall laid they hand unwares, and cut the heart from out of hjalli, laid it bleeding on trencher and bare it to gunnar. "here have i the heart of hjalli the trembler, little like the heart of hogni the hardy: as much as it trembleth laid on the trencher by the half more it trembled in the breast of him hidden." then laughed hogni when they cut the heart from him, from the crest-smith yet quick, little thought he to quail. the hard acorn of thought from the high king they took, laid it bleeding on trencher and bare it gunnar. "here have i the heart of hogni the hardy, little like to the heart of hjalli the trembler. howso little it quaketh laid here on the dish, yet far less it quaked in the breast of him laid. "so far mayst thou bide from men's eyen, o atli, as from that treasure thou shalt abide! "behold in my heart is hidden for ever that hoard of the niblungs, now hogni is dead. doubt threw me two ways while the twain of us lived, but all that is gone now i live on alone. "the great rhine shall rule o'er the hate-raising treasure, that gold of the niblungs, the seed of the gods: in the weltering water shall that wealth lie a-gleaming, or it shine on the hands of the children of huns!" then cried atli, king of the hun-folk, "drive forth your wains now the slave is fast bounden." and straightly thence the bit-shaking steeds drew the hoard-warden, the war-god to his death. atli the great king, rode upon glaum, with shields set round about, and sharp thorns of battle: gudrun, bound by wedlock to these, victory made gods of, held back her tears as the hall she ran into. "let it fare with thee, atli, e'en after thine oaths sworn to gunnar fell often; yea, oaths sworn of old time, by the sun sloping southward, by the high burg of sigry, by the fair bed of rest, by the red ring of ull!" now a host of men cast the high king alive into a close crept o'er within with most foul worms, fulfilled of all venom, ready grave to dig in his doughty heart. wrathful-hearted he smote the harp with his hand, gunnar laid there alone; and loud rang the strings.-- in such wise ever should hardy ring-scatterer keep gold from all folk in the garth of his foeman. then atli would wend about his wide land, on his steed brazen shod, back from the murder. din there was in the garth, all thronged with the horses; high the weapon-song rose from men come from the heath. out then went gudrun, 'gainst atli returning, with a cup gilded over, to greet the land's ruler; "come, then, and take it, king glad in thine hall, from gudrun's hands, for the hell-farers groan not!" clashed the beakers of atli, wine-laden on bench, as in hall there a-gathered, the huns fell a-talking, and the long-bearded eager ones entered therein, from a murk den new-come, from the murder of gunnar. then hastened the sweet-faced delight of the shield-folk, bright in the fair hall, wine to bear to them: the dreadful woman gave dainties withal to the lords pale with fate, laid strange word upon atli: "the hearts of thy sons hast thou eaten, sword-dealer, all bloody with death and drenched with honey: in most heavy mood brood o'er venison of men! drink rich draughts therewith, down the high benches send it! "never callest thou now from henceforth to thy knee fair erp or fair eiril, bright-faced with the drink; never seest thou them now amidmost the seat, scattering the gold, or shafting of spears; manes trimming duly, or driving steeds forth!" din arose from the benches, dread song of men was there, noise 'mid the fair hangings, as all hun's children wept; all saving gudrun, who never gat greeting, for her brethren bear-hardy for her sweet sons and bright, the young ones, the simple once gotten with atli. ............... the seed of gold sowed the swan-bright woman, rings of red gold she gave to the house-carls; fate let she wax, let the bright gold flow forth, in naught spared that woman the store-houses' wealth. atli unaware was a-weary with drink; no weapon had he, no heeding of gudrun-- ah, the pity would be better, when in soft wise they twain would full often embrace before the great lords! to the bed with sword-point blood gave she to drink with a hand fain of death, and she let the dogs loose: then in from the hall-door-- --up waked the house-carls-- hot brands she cast, gat revenge for her brethren. to the flame gave she all who therein might be found; fell adown the old timbers, reeked all treasure-houses; there the shield-mays were burnt, their lives' span brought to naught; in the fierce fire sank down all the stead of the budlungs. wide told of is this-- ne'er sithence in the world, thus fared bride clad in byrny for her brothers' avenging; for behold, this fair woman to three kings of the people, hath brought very death or ever she died! the whetting of gudrun. gudrun went down unto the sea whenas she had slain atli, and she cast herself therein, for she was fain to end her life: but nowise might she drown. she drave over the firths to the land of king jonakr, and he wedded her, and their sons were sorli, and erp, and hamdir, and there was swanhild, sigurd's daughter, nourished: and she was given to jormunrek the mighty. now bikki was a man of his, and gave such counsel to randver, the king's son, as that he should take her; and with that counsel were the young folk well content. then bikki told the king, and the king let hang randver, but bade swanhild be trodden under horses' feet. but when gudrun heard thereof, she spake to her sons-- words of strife heard i, huger than any, woeful words spoken, sprung from all sorrow, when gudrun fierce-hearted with the grimmest of words whetter her sons unto the slaying. "why are ye sitting here? why sleep ye life away? why doth it grieve you nought? glad words to speak, now when your sister-- young of years was she-- has jormunrek trodden with the treading of horses?-- "black horses and white in the highway of warriors; grey horses that know the roads of the goths.-- "little like are ye grown to that gunnar of old days! nought are your hearts as the heart of hogni! well would ye seek vengeance to win if your mood were in aught as the mood of my brethren, or the hardy hearts of the kings of the huns!" then spake hamdir, the high-hearted-- "little didst thou praise hogni's doings, when sigurd woke from out of sleep, and the blue-white bed-gear upon thy bed grew red with man's blood-- with the blood of thy mate! "too baleful vengeance wroughtest thou for thy brethren most sore and evil when thy sons thou slewedst, else all we together on jormunrek had wrought sore vengeance for that our sister. "come, bring forth quickly the hun kings' bright gear, since thou has urged us unto the sword-thing!" laughing went gudrun to the bower of good gear, kings' crested helms from chests she drew, and wide-wrought byrnies bore to her sons: then on their horses load laid the heroes. then spake hamdir, the high-hearted-- "never cometh again his mother to see the spear-god laid low in the land of the goths. that one arvel mayst thou for all of us drink, for sister swanhild, and us thy sons." greeted gudrun giuki's daughter; sorrowing she went in the forecourt to sit, that she might tell, with cheeks tear-furrowed, her weary wail in many a wise. "three fires i knew, three hearths i knew, to three husbands' houses have i been carried; and better than all had been sigurd alone, he whom my brethren brought to his bane. "such sore grief as that methought never should be, yet more indeed was left for my torment then, when the great ones gave me to atli. "my fair bright boys i bade unto speech, nor yet might i win weregild for my bale, ere i had hewn off those niblungs' heads. "to the sea-strand i went with the norns sorely wroth, for i would thrust from me the storm of their torment; but the high billows would not drown, but bore me forth, till i stepped a-land longer to live. "then i went a-bed-- --ah, better in the old days, this was the third time!-- to a king of the people; offspring i brought forth, props of a fair house, props of a fair house, jonakr's fair sons. "but around swanhild bond-maidens sat, her, that of all mine most to my heart was; such was my swanhild, in my hall's midmost, as is the sunbeam fair to beheld. "in gold i arrayed her, and goodly raiment, or ever i gave her to the folk of the goths. that was the hardest of my heavy woes, when the bright hair,-- o the bright hair of swanhild!-- in the mire was trodden by the treading of horses. "this was the sorest, when my love, my sigurd, reft of glory in his bed gat ending: but this the grimmest when glittering worms tore their way through the heart of gunnar. "but this the keenest when they cut to the quick of the hardy heart of the unfeared hogni. of much of bale i mind me, of many griefs i mind me; why should i sit abiding yet more bale and more? "thy coal-black horse, o sigurd, bridle, the swift on the highway! o let him speed hither! here sitteth no longer son or daughter, more good gifts to give to gudrun! "mindst thou not, sigurd, of the speech betwixt us, when on one bed we both sat together, o my great king-- that thou wouldst come to me e'en from the hall of hell, i to thee from the fair earth? "pile high, o earls the oaken pile, let it be the highest that ever queen had! let the fire burn swift, my breast with woe laden, and thaw all my heart, hard, heavy with sorrow!" now may all earls be bettered in mind, may the grief of all maidens ever be minished, for this tale of sorrow so told to its ending. the lay of hamdir great deeds of bale in the garth began, at the sad dawning the tide of elves' sorrow when day is a-waxing and man's grief awaketh, and the sorrow of each one the early day quickeneth. not now, not now, nor yesterday, but long ago has that day worn by, that ancientest time, the first time to tell of, then, whenas gudrun, born of giuki, whetter her sons to swanhild's avenging. "your sister's name was naught but swanhild, whom jormunrek with horses has trodden!-- white horses and black on the war-beaten way, grey horses that go on the roads of the goths. "all alone am i now as in holt is the aspen; as the fir-tree of boughs, so of kin am i bare; as bare of things longed for as the willow of leaves when the bough-breaking wind the warm day endeth. "few, sad, are ye left o kings of my folk! yet alone living last shreds of my kin! "ah, naught are ye grown as that gunnar of old days; naught are your hearts as the heart of hogni! well would ye seek vengeance to win if your hearts were in aught as the hearts of my brethren!" then spake hamdir the high-hearted: "nought hadst thou to praise the doings of hogni, when they woke up sigurd from out of slumber, and in bed thou sat'st up 'mid the banes-men's laughter. "then when thy bed=gear, blue-white, well woven by art of craftsmen all swam with thy king's blood; the sigurd died, o'er his dead corpse thou sattest, not heeding aught gladsome, since gunnar so willed it. "great grief for atli gatst thou by erp's murder, and the end of thine eitil, but worse grief for thyself. good to use sword for the slaying of others in such wise that its edge shall not turn on ourselves!" then well spake sorli from a heart full of wisdom: "no words will i make with my mother, though both ye twain need words belike-- what askest thou, gudrun, to let thee go greeting? "weep for thy brethren, weep for thy sweet sons, and thy nighest kinsfolk laid by the fight-side! yea, and thou gudrun, may'st greet for us twain sitting fey on our steeds doomed in far lands to die." from the garth forth they went with hearts full of fury, sorli and hamdir, the sons of gudrun, and they met on the way the wise in all wiles: "and thou little erp, what helping from thee?" he of alien womb spake out in such wise: "good help for my kin, such as foot gives to foot, or flesh-covered hand gives unto hand!" "what helping for foot that help that foot giveth, or for flesh-covered hand the helping of hand?" then spake erp yet once again mock spake the prince as he sat on his steed: "fool's deed to show the way to a dastard!" "bold beyond measure," quoth they, "is the base-born!" out from the sheath drew they the sheath-steel, and the glaives' edges played for the pleasure of hell; by the third part they minished the might that they had, their young kin they let lie a-cold on the earth. then their fur-cloaks they shook and bound fast their swords, in webs goodly woven those great ones were clad; young they went o'er the fells where the dew was new-fallen swift, on steeds of the huns, heavy vengeance to wreak. forth stretched the ways, and an ill way they found, yea, their sister's son ( ) hanging slain upon tree-- wolf-trees by the wind made cold at the town's westward loud with cranes' clatter-- ill abiding there long! din in the king's hall of men merry with drink, and none might hearken the horses' tramping or ever the warders their great horn winded. then men went forth to jormunrek to tell of the heeding of men under helm: "give ye good counsel! great ones are come hither, for the wrong of men mighty was the may to death trodden." "loud jormunrek laughed, and laid hand to his beard, nor bade bring his byrny, but with the wine fighting, shook his red locks, on his white shield sat staring, and in his hand swung the gold cup on high. "sweet sight for me those twain to set eyes on, sorli and hamdir, here in my hall! then with bowstrings would i bind them, and hang the good giukings aloft on the gallows!" .............. then spake hrothglod from off the high steps, spake the slim-fingered unto her son,-- --for a threat was cast forth of what ne'er should fall-- "shall two men alone two hundred gothfolk bind or bear down in the midst of their burg?" ............... strife and din in the hall, cups smitten asunder men lay low in blood from the breasts of goths flowing. then spake hamdir, the high-hearted: "thou cravedst, o king, from the coming of us, the sons of one mother, amidmost thine hall-- look on these hands of thine, look on these feet of thine, cast by us, jormunrek, on to the flame!" then cried aloud the high gods' kinsman ( ) bold under byrny,-- roared he as bears roar; "stones to the stout ones that the spears bite not, nor the edges of steel, these sons of jonakr!" .............. quoth sorli: "bale, brother, wroughtst thou by that bag's ( ) opening, oft from that bag rede of bale cometh! heart hast thou, hamdir, if thou hadst heart's wisdom great lack in a man who lacks wisdom and lore!" hamdir said: "yes, off were the head if erp were alive yet, our brother the bold whom we slew by the way; the far-famed through the world-- ah, the fares drave me on, and the man war made holy, there must i slay!" sorli said: "unmeet we should do as the doings of wolves are, raising wrong each 'gainst other as the dogs of the norns, the greedy ones nourished in waste steads of the world. in strong wise have we fought, on goths' corpses we stand, beat down by our edges, e'en as ernes on the bough. great fame our might winneth, die we now, or to-morrow,-- no man lives till eve whom the fates doom at morning." at the hall's gable-end fell sorli to earth, but hamdir lay low at the back of the houses. now this is called the ancient lay of hamdir. endnotes: ( ) randver, the son of their sister's husband. ( ) odin, namely. ( ) "bag", his mouth. the lament of oddrun. there was a king hight heidrik, and his daughter was called borgny, and the name of her lover was vilmund. now she might nowise be made lighter of a child she travailed with, before oddrun, atil's sister, came to her,--she who had been the love of gunnar, giuki's son. but of their speech together has this been sung: i have hear tell in ancient tales how a may there came to morna-land, because no man on mould abiding for heidrik's daughter might win healing. all that heard oddrun, atil's sister, how that the damsel had heavy sickness, so she led from stall her bridled steed, and on the swart one laid the saddle. she made her horse wend o'er smooth ways of earth, until to a high-built hall she came; then the saddle she had from the hungry horse, and her ways wended in along the wide hall, and this word first spake forth therewith: "what is most famed, afield in hunland, or what may be blithest in hunland?" quoth the handmaid: "here lieth borgny, borne down by trouble, thy sweet friend, o oddrun, see to her helping!" oddrun said: "who of the lords hath laid this grief on her, why is the anguish of borgny so weary?" the handmaid said: "he is hight vilmund, friend of hawk-bearers, he wrapped the damsel in the warm bed-gear five winters long without her father's wotting." no more than this they spake methinks; kind sat she down by the damsel's knee; mightily sand oddrun, sharp piercing songs by borgny's side: till a maid and a boy might tread on the world's ways, blithe babes and sweet of hogni's bane: then the damsel forewearied the word took up, the first word of all that had won from her: "so may help thee all helpful things, fey and freyia, and all the fair gods, as thou hast thrust this torment from me!" oddrun said: "yet no heart had i for thy helping, since never wert thou worthy of helping, but my word i held to, that of old was spoken when the high lords dealt out the heritage, that every soul i would ever help." borgny said: "right mad art thou, oddrun, and reft of thy wits, whereas thou speakest hard words to me thy fellow ever upon the earth as of brothers twain, we had been born." oddrun said: "well i mind me yet, what thou saidst that evening, whenas i bore forth fair drink for gunnar; such a thing, saidst thou, should fall out never, for any may save for me alone." mind had the damsel of the weary day whenas the high lords dealt out the heritage, and she sat her down, the sorrowful woman, to tell of the bale, and the heavy trouble. "nourished was i in the hall of kings-- most folk were glad-- 'mid the council of great ones: in fair life lived i, and the wealth of my father for five winters only, while yet he had life. "such were the last words that ever he spake, the king forewearied, ere his ways he went; for he bade folk give me the gold red-gleaming, and give me in southlands to the son of grimhild. "but brynhild he bade to the helm to betake her, and said that death-chooser she should become; and that no better might ever be born into the world, if fate would not spoil it. "brynhild in bower sewed at her broidery, folk she had and fair lands about her; earth lay a-sleeping, slept the heavens aloft when fafnir's-bane the burg first saw. "then was war waged with the welsh-wrought sword and the burg all broken that brynhild owned; nor wore long space, e'en as well might be, ere all those wiles full well she knew. "hard and dreadful was the vengeance she drew down, so that all we have woe enow. through all lands of the world shall that story fare forth how she did her to death for the death of sigurd. "but therewithal gunnar the gold-scatterer did i fall to loving and should have loved him. rings of red gold would they give to atli, would give to my brother things goodly and great. "yea, fifteen steads would they give for me, and the load of grani to have as a gift; but then spake atli, that such was his will, never gift to take from the sons of giuki. "but we in nowise might love withstand, and mine head must i lay on my love, the ring-breaker; and many there were among my kin, who said that they had seen us together. "then atli said that i surely never would fall to crime or shameful folly: but now let no one for any other, that shame deny where love has dealing. "for atli sent his serving-folk wide through the murkwood proof to win of me, and thither they came where they ne'er should have come, where one bed we twain had dight betwixt us. "to those men had we given rings of red gold, naught to tell thereof to atli, but straight they hastened home to the house, and all the tale to atli told. 'whereas from gudrun well they hid it, though better by half had she have known it. ................ "din was there to hear of the hoofs gold-shod, when into the garth rode the sons of giuki. "there from hogni the heart they cut, but into the worm-close cast the other. there the king, the wise-hearted, swept his harp-strings, for the might king had ever mind that i to his helping soon should come. "but now was i gone yet once again unto geirmund, good feast to make; yet had i hearing, e'en out from hlesey, how of sore trouble the harp-strings sang. "so i bade the bondmaids be ready swiftly, for i listed to save the life of the king, and we let our ship swim over the sound, till atli's dwelling we saw all clearly. then came the wretch ( ) crawling out, e'en atli's mother, all sorrow upon her! a grave gat her sting in the heart of gunnar, so that no helping was left for my hero. "o gold-clad woman, full oft i wonder how i my life still hold thereafter, for methought i loved that light in battle, the swift with the sword, as my very self. "thou hast sat and hearkened as i have told thee of many an ill-fate, mine and theirs-- each man liveth e'en as he may live-- now hath gone forth the greeting of oddrun." endnotes: ( ) atli's mother took the form of the only adder that was not lulled to sleep by gunnar's harp-playing, and who slew him. the saga of grettir the strong grettir's saga by unknown author written in icelandic, sometime in the early th century. chapter i. the family and early wars of onund the son of ofeig there was a man named onund, the son of ofeig clumsyfoot, who was the son of ivar horsetail. onund was the brother of gudbjorg, the mother of gudbrand knob, the father of asta, the mother of king olaf the saint. his mother came from the upplands, while his father's relations were mostly in rogaland and hordland. he was a great viking and used to harry away in the west over the sea. he was accompanied on these expeditions by one balki, the son of blaeing from sotanes, and by orm the wealthy. another comrade of theirs was named hallvard. they had five ships, all well equipped. they plundered the hebrides, reaching the barra isles, where there ruled a king named kjarval, who also had five ships. these they attacked; there was a fierce battle between them, in which onund's men fought with the utmost bravery. after many had fallen on both sides, the battle ended with the king taking to flight with a single ship; the rest were captured by onund's force, along with much booty. they stayed there for the winter, and spent the succeeding three summers harrying the coasts of ireland and scotland, after which they returned to norway. chapter ii. the battle of hafrsfjord at that time norway was very disturbed. harald shockhead, the son of halfdan the black, till then king of the upplands, was aiming at the supreme kingship. he went into the north and fought many battles there, in which he was always victorious. then he marched harrying through the territories to the south, bringing them into subjection wherever he came. on reaching hordland he was opposed by a motley multitude led by kjotvi the wealthy, thorir long-chin, and soti and king sulki from south rogaland. geirmund swarthyskin was then away in the west, beyond the sea, so he was not present at the battle, although hordland belonged to his dominion. onund and his party had arrived that autumn from the western seas, and when thorir and kjotvi heard of their landing they sent envoys to ask for their aid, promising to treat them with honour. they were very anxious for an opportunity of distinguishing themselves, so they joined thorir's forces, and declared that they would be in the thickest part of the battle. they met king harald in a fjord in rogaland called hafrsfjord. the forces on each side were very large, and the battle was one of the greatest ever fought in norway. there are many accounts of it, for one always hears much about those people of whom the saga is told. troops had come in from all the country around and from other countries as well, besides a multitude of vikings. onund brought his ship alongside of that of thorir long-chin in the very middle of the battle. king harald made for thorir's ship, knowing him to be a terrible berserk, and very brave. the fighting was desperate on either side. then the king ordered his berserks, the men called wolfskins, forward. no iron could hurt them, and when they charged nothing could withstand them. thorir defended himself bravely and fell on his ship fighting valiantly. the whole ship from stem to stern was cleared and her fastenings were cut, so that she fell out of the line of battle. then they attacked onund's ship, in the forepart of which he was standing and fighting manfully. the king's men said: "he bears himself well in the forecastle. let us give him something to remind him of having been in the battle." onund was stepping out with one foot on to the bulwark, and as he was striking they made a thrust at him with a spear; in parrying it he bent backwards, and at that moment a man on the forecastle of the king's ship struck him and took off his leg below the knee, disabling him at a blow. with him fell the greater number of his men. they carried him to a ship belonging to a man named thrand, a son of bjorn and brother of eyvind the easterner. he was fighting against king harald, and his ship was lying on the other side of onund's. then there was a general flight. thrand and the rest of the vikings escaped any way they could, and sailed away westwards. they took with them onund and balki and hallvard sugandi. onund recovered and went about for the rest of his life with a wooden leg, wherefore he was called onund treefoot as long as he lived. chapter iii. meeting of defeated chiefs in the west and marriage of onund there were then in the western parts many distinguished men who had fled from their homes in norway before king harald, for he declared all who fought against him outlaws, and seized their property. as soon as onund had recovered from his wound, thrand went with his party to geirmund swarthyskin, who was the most eminent of the vikings in the west. they asked him whether he was not going to try and regain his kingdom in hordland, and offered to join him, hoping by this means to do something for their own properties, for onund was very wealthy and his kindred very powerful. geirmund answered that harald had such a force that there was little hope of gaining any honour by fighting when the whole country had joined against him and been beaten. he had no mind, he said, to become the king's thrall, and to beg for that which he had once possessed in his own right. seeing that he was no longer in the vigour of his youth he preferred to find some other occupation. so onund and his party returned to the southern islands, where they met many of their friends. there was a man named ofeig, nicknamed grettir. he was the son of einar, the son of olvir the babyman. he was a brother of oleif the broad, the father of thormod shaft. another son of olvir was named steinolf, the father of una, whom thorbjorn the salmon-man married. a third son of olvir was steinmod, who was the father of konal, the father of alfdis of the barra isles. konal's son was named steimnod; he was the father of halldora, whom eilif, the son of ketil the one-handed, married. ofeig grettir married asny, the daughter of vestar, the son of haeing. his sons were asmund the beardless and asbjorn, and his daughters were named aldis, aesa, and asvor. ofeig had fled from the wrath of king harald into the west over the sea, along with his kinsman thormod shaft and all their families. they ravaged far and wide in the western seas. thrand and onund treefoot were going west to ireland to join thrand's brother, eyvind the easterner, who had command of the irish defences. eyvind's mother was named hlif; she was the daughter of hrolf, the son of ingjald, the son of king frodi, while thrand's mother was helga, the daughter of ondott crow. the father of eyvind and thrand was bjorn, the son of hrolf of ar. he had had to leave gautland because he had burnt in his house sigfast the father-in-law of king solvi. then he went to norway and spent the winter with grim the hersir, a son of kolbjorn the sneak, who wanted to murder him for his money. thence bjorn went to ondott crow, who lived in hvinisfjord in agdir. there he was well received, stayed the winter, and went campaigning with ondott in the summer until his wife hlif died. eventually ondott gave bjorn his daughter helga, and bjorn then no longer went out to fight. eyvind had taken over his father's ships and become a great chief in the western parts. he married rafarta, the daughter of the irish king kjarval. their sons were helgi the lean and snaebjorn. when thrand and onund came to the southern islands they found there ofeig grettir and thormod shaft, with whom they became very friendly, for each thought the others had risen from the dead, their last meeting having been in norway when the war was at its worst. onund was very silent, and thrand, when he noticed it, asked what was on his mind. onund answered with a verse: "no joy is mine since in battle i fought. many the sorrows that o'er me lower. men hold me for nought; this thought is the worst of all that oppresses my sorrowing heart." thrand said: "why, you still seem as full of vigour as ever you were. you may yet settle down and marry. you shall have my good word and my interest if you will only tell me whom you fancy." onund said he behaved nobly; but said there had once been a time when his chances of making a profitable marriage had been better. thrand said: "ofeig has a daughter named aesa; we might mention it if you like." onund said he would like it, and soon afterwards ofeig was approached on the subject. he received the proposal favourably, saying he knew the man to be of good lineage and to have some wealth in movable property, though his lands were not worth much. "but," he said, "i do not think he is very wise. why, my daughter is quite a child." thrand said that onund was more vigorous than many a man whose legs were sounder. so with the aid of thrand the terms were settled. ofeig was to give his daughter a portion in cash, for neither would reckon anything for his lands in norway. soon afterwards thrand was betrothed to the daughter of thormod shaft. both the maids were to remain plighted for three years. then they went on fighting expeditions in the summer, remaining in the barra isles during the winter. chapter iv. fight with vikings vigbjod and vestmar there were two vikings from the southern isles, named vigbjod and vestmar; they were abroad both summer and winter. they had eight ships, and harried mostly round the coast of ireland, where they did many an evil deed until eyvind undertook the defence of the coast, when they retired to the hebrides to harry there, and right in to the scotch firths. thrand and onund went out against them and learned that they had sailed to an island called bot. onund and thrand followed them thither with five ships, and when the vikings sighted them and saw how many there were, they thought their own force was sufficient, so they took to their arms and advanced to the attack. onund ordered his ships to take up a position between two rocks where there was a deep but narrow channel, open to attack from one side only, and by not more than five ships at once. onund was a very wily man. he sent his five ships forward into the channel so that, as there was plenty of sea room behind them, they could easily retire by merely backing their oars. one ship he brought under an island lying on their beam, and carried a great stone to a place on the front of the rock where it could not be seen from the enemy's ships. the vikings came boldly on, thinking they had caught them in a trap. vigbjod asked who they were that he had hemmed in. thrand answered that he was a brother of eyvind the easterner, and the man with him was his comrade, onund treefoot. the vikings laughed and said: "trolls take the rascal treefoot and lay him even with the ground. never yet did i see men go to battle who could not carry themselves." onund said that could not be known until it was tried. then the ships came together. there was a great battle in which both sides fought bravely. when the battle was thick onund ordered his ships to back their oars. the vikings seeing it thought they were taking to flight, and pushed on with all their might, coming under the rock just at the moment when the party which had been dispatched for that purpose arrived. they launched upon the vikings stones so huge that nothing could hold against them. a number of the vikings were killed, and others were so injured that they could fight no more. then the vikings tried to escape, but could not, as their ships were in the narrowest part of the channel and were impeded both by the current and by the enemy's ships. onund's men vigorously attacked the wing commanded by vigbjod while thrand engaged vestmar, but effected little. when the men on vigbjod's ship had been somewhat reduced, onund's men, he himself with them, prepared to board her. on seeing that, vigbjod spurred on his men resolutely. he turned against onund, most of whose men gave way. onund was a man of immense strength and he bade his followers observe how it fared with them. they shoved a log under the stump of his leg, so that he stood pretty firm. the viking dashed forward, reached onund and hewed at him with his sword, which cut right through his shield and into the log beneath his leg, where it remained fixed. as vigbjod bent down to pull his sword clear again, onund dealt him a blow on his shoulder, severing his arm and disabling him. when vestmar saw his comrade fall, he sprang on to the outermost ship and escaped along with all who could get on to her. then they examined the dead. vigbjod had already expired. onund went up to him and said: "bloody thy wounds. didst thou see me flee? 'one-leg' no hurt received from thee. braver are many in word than in deed. thou, slave, didst fail when it came to the trial." they took a large quantity of booty and returned to the barra isles in the autumn. chapter v. visit of onund and thrand to eyvind in ireland the following summer they made ready for a voyage to the west, to ireland. at the same time balki and hallvard sailed westwards, to iceland, where they had heard that good land was available for occupation. balki took up some land at hrutafjord, and had his abode in two places called balkastad. hallvard occupied sugandafjord and skalavik as far as stigi, where he lived. thrand and onund went to visit eyvind the easterner, who welcomed joyfully his brother thrand; but when he heard that onund had also come, he became very angry and wanted to fight him. thrand asked him not to do so, and said it would ill become him to quarrel with men from norway, especially with such as had given no offence. eyvind said that he had given offence before, when he made war on kjarval the king, and that he should now pay for it. the brothers had much to say to each other about the matter, till at last thrand said that he and onund should share their fortune together. then eyvind allowed himself to be appeased. they stayed there a long time in the summer and went with eyvind on his expeditions. eyvind found onund to be a man of the greatest valour. in the autumn they went to the hebrides, and eyvind made over to thrand all his share in their father bjorn's patrimony in the event of bjorn dying before thrand. they stayed in the hebrides until they married and some years after. chapter vi. death of bjorn; disputes over his property in norway the next thing that happened was the death of thrand's father bjorn. when the news of it reached grim the hersir he proceeded against ondott crow and claimed bjorn's estate. ondott held thrand to be the rightful heir of his father, but grim contended that thrand was away in the west. bjorn, he said, came from gautland, and the succession to the estate of all foreigners passed to the king. ondott said that he would hold the property on behalf of thrand, who was his daughter's son. grim then departed, having effected nothing by his claim. thrand, when he heard of his father's death, prepared to leave the hebrides, and onund treefoot decided to go with him. ofeig grettir and thormod shaft went to iceland with all their belongings, landing at eyrar in the south. they spent the first winter with thorbjorn the salmon-man, and then occupied gnupverjahrepp. ofeig took the outer part lying between the rivers thvera and kalfa, and lived at ofeigsstad near steinsholt, while thormod took the eastern part, living at skaptaholt. thormod's daughters were named thorvor and thorve; the former afterwards became the mother of thorodd the godi at hjalli, thorve of thorstein the godi the father of bjarni the wise. we now return to thrand and onund, who sailed back from the west to norway. a strong wind blew in their favour, so that they arrived at the house of ondott crow before any one knew of their journey. he welcomed thrand and told him of the claim which grim the hersir had raised for bjorn's estate. "to my thinking, kinsman," he said, "it is better that the property should go to you than to the king's thralls. it is a fortunate thing for you that no one knows of your having come here, for i expect that grim will make an attack upon one or the other of us if he can. i should prefer if you would take over your property and stay in other countries." thrand said that he would do so. he took over the property and prepared to leave norway. before leaving he asked onund treefoot whether he would not come to iceland. onund said he wanted first to visit some of his relations and friends in the south. "then," said thrand, "we must part. i should be glad if you would give my kinsmen your support, for our enemies will certainly try to take revenge upon them when i am gone. i am going to iceland, and i want you to come there too." onund said he would come, and they parted with great friendship. thrand went to iceland, where he met with a welcome from ofeig and thormod shaft. he took up his dwelling at thrandarholt to the west of thjorsa. chapter vii. murder of ondott crow, and the vengeance therefor onund went to rogaland in the south and visited many of his relations and friends. he lived there in concealment with a man named kolbeinn. he there learned that king harald had taken all his property and given it into the charge of a man named harekr, one of his officials. onund went by night to harekr's house and caught him at home; he was led to execution. then onund took possession of all the loose property which he found and burnt the building. that autumn grim the hersir murdered ondott crow because he had not succeeded in getting the property for the king. ondott's wife signy carried off all their loose property that same night to a ship and escaped with her sons asmund and asgrim to her father sighvat. a little later she sent her sons to hedin, her foster-father in soknadal, where they remained for a time and then wanted to return to their mother. they left at last, and at yule-tide came to ingjald the trusty at hvin. his wife gyda persuaded him to take them in, and they spent the winter there. in the spring onund came to northern agdir, having learned of the murder of ondott. he met signy and asked her what assistance they would have of him. she said they were most anxious to punish grim for the death of ondott. so the sons were sent for, and when they met onund treefoot they all joined together and had grim's doings closely watched. in the summer there was a beer-brewing at grim's for a jarl named audun, whom he had invited. when onund and the sons of ondott heard of it, they appeared at his house unexpectedly and set fire to it. grim the hersir and about thirty men were burnt in the house. they captured a quantity of valuables. then onund went into the forest, while the two brothers took the boat of their foster-father ingjald, rowed away and lay in hiding a little way off. soon jarl audun appeared, on his way to the feast, as had been arranged, but on arriving he missed his host. so he collected his men around him and stayed there a few nights, quite unaware of onund and his companions. he slept in a loft with two other men. onund knew everything that was going on in the house and sent for the two brothers to come to him. on their arrival he asked them whether they preferred to keep watch on the house or to attack the jarl. they chose to attack. they then battered the entrance of the loft with beams until the door gave way. asmund seized the two men who were with the jarl and threw them to the ground with such violence that they were well-nigh killed. asgrim rushed at the jarl and demanded of him weregild for his father, for he had been in league with grim and took part in the attack when ondott was murdered. the jarl said he had no money about him and asked for time. asgrim then placed the point of his spear against his breast and ordered him to pay up on the spot. then the jarl took a necklace from his neck and gave it to him with three gold rings and a velvet mantle. asgrim took the things and bestowed a name upon the jarl. he called him audun nannygoat. when the farmers and people about heard of the disturbances they all came out to help the jarl. onund had a large force with him, and there was a great battle in which many a good farmer and many a follower of the jarl were slain. the brothers returned to onund and reported what had occurred with the jarl. onund said it was a pity they had not killed him. it would, he said, have been something to make up for the losses which he had suffered from king harald. they said the disgrace was far worse for the jarl as it was, and they went off to surnadal to eirik beery, a landman there, who took them all in for the winter. at yule-tide they had a great drinking bout with a man named hallsteinn, nicknamed stallion. eirik opened the feast and entertained them generously. then it was hallsteinn's turn, and they began to quarrel. hallsteinn struck eirik with a deer's horn, for which eirik got no revenge, but had to go home with it, to the great annoyance of ondott's sons. a little later asgrim went to hallsteinn's house and gave him a severe wound. all the people who were present started up and attacked asgrim. he defended himself vigorously and escaped in the dark, leaving them under the belief that they had killed him. onund and asmund, on hearing that asgrim had been killed, were at a loss what they could do in the matter. eirik's advice was that they should betake themselves to iceland, for it would never do for them to remain in the land where the king could get at them. this they determined to do. each of them had his own ship and they made ready for the voyage to iceland. hallsteinn was laid low with his wound and died before onund sailed with his party. kolbeinn, the man who was mentioned before, went in the ship with onund. chapter viii. onund and asmund sail to iceland onund and asmund set sail directly when they were ready and their ships kept together. onund said: "hallvard and i were aforetime deemed worthy in storm of swords to bear us. with one foot now i step on the ship towards iceland. the poet's day is o'er." they had a rough passage with cross winds, mostly from the south, so that they drifted away to the north. they made iceland right in the north, at langanes, where they regained their reckonings. the ships were near enough to each other for them to speak together. asmund said they had better make for eyjafjord, and this was agreed to. they kept under the land and heavy weather set in from the south-east. just as onund was tacking, the yard was carried away; they lowered the sail and were driven out to sea. asmund got under the lee of hrisey, where he waited until a fair wind set in which took him up to eyjafjord. helgi the lean gave him the whole of kraeklingahlid, and he lived at south-glera. a few years later his brother asgrim came to iceland and took up his residence at north-glera. his son was ellidagrim the father of asgrim. chapter ix. onund settles in kaldbak onund treefoot was driven away from the shore for several days, after which the wind shifted and blew towards the land. then they made land again, which those of them who had been there before recognised as the western coast of the skagi peninsula. they sailed in to strandafloi, almost to sudrstrandir. there came rowing towards them a ten-oared boat with six men on board, who hailed the sea-going ship and asked who was their captain. onund told them his name and asked whence they came. they said they were the men of thorvald from drangar. then onund asked whether all the land round that coast was occupied; they answered there was very little left at sudrstrandir and none at all in the north. so onund asked his men whether they would seek some land further to the west or take that of which they had just been told. they said they would first explore a little further. they sailed in along the coast of the bay and anchored off a creek near arnes, where they put off in a boat to the shore. here dwelt a wealthy man named eirik snare, who had taken the land between ingolfsfjord and ofaera in veidileysa. on hearing that onund had arrived in those parts, he offered to let him have such portion as he needed from his own lands, adding that there was little land which had not already been taken up. onund said he would first like to see what there was. then they went further into the bay past some fjords and came to ofaera, where eirik said: "here is what there is to see. from here down to the lands of bjorn is unoccupied." a high range of mountains, on which snow had fallen, rose from beside the river. onund looked at the mountains and spoke a verse: "my lands and my might have drifted away as drifts the ship on the ocean. my friends and my home i have left behind me, and bartered my acres for kaldbak." "many a man," answered eirik, "has lost so much in norway that it may not be mended. i expect too that nearly all the lands in the main districts have been taken, so that i will not urge you to leave these parts and seek elsewhere. i will keep to my word and let you have whatever lands of my own you may require." onund said he would take advantage of his offer, and in the end he took some of the ofaera land and the three creeks byrgisvik, kolbeinsvik, and kaldbaksvik as far as kaldbak's cliff. afterwards eirik gave him veidileysa with reykjarfjord and the outer part of reykjanes on that side. nothing was settled about the drift which came to the coast, because there was so much of it that every one could have what he wanted. onund made his home in kaldbak and had a large household. his property increased and he had another house in reykjarfjord. kolbeinn lived in kolbeinsvik and for some years onund lived quietly at home. chapter x. ofeig grettir is killed. visit of onund to aud the deep-minded onund was a man of such valour that few, even of those whose limbs were sound, could measure themselves against him. his name, too, was renowned throughout the whole country on account of his ancestry. it happened that a dispute arose between ofeig grettir and one thorbjorn called jarlakappi, which ended in ofeig being killed by thorbjorn in grettisgeil near haell. the feud was taken up by ofeig's sons who assembled a large force of men. onund treefoot was sent for, and in the spring he rode south to hvamm, where he stayed with aud the deep-minded. he had been with her over the sea in the west, and she received him with welcome. her grandson, olaf feilan, was then grown up, and aud was very infirm. she consulted onund concerning her kinsman olaf, for whom she wished to ask in marriage alfdis of the barra isles, the cousin of onund's wife aesa. onund thought it a very suitable match, and olaf rode with him to the south. then onund met friends and kinsmen, who made him their guest. the matter of the dispute was talked over between them, and finally laid before the kjalarnes thing, for the all-thing had not yet been established. eventually it was settled by arbitration and heavy weregilds were imposed for the murder. thorbjorn jarlakappi was exiled. his son was solmund, the father of svidukari. these kinsmen were long abroad after that. thrand invited onund and olaf with his party to stay with him, as did thormod shaft. the matter of olaf's marriage was then pressed, and an agreement easily arrived at, for aud's rank and influence were well known to them. the settlement was arranged and onund's party rode home again. aud thanked him for his aid in behalf of olaf, who married alfdis of the barra isles that autumn. then aud the deep-minded died, as is told in the laxdaela saga. chapter xi. death of onund. disputes between the sons of onund and of eirik onund and aesa had two sons; the elder was named thorgeir, the younger ofeig grettir. soon afterwards aesa died and onund married a second wife, thordis thorgrim's daughter of gnup in midfjord, a kinsman of skeggi of midfjord. by her onund had a son named thorgrim, who grew up quickly to manhood, tall and strong, wise and a good manager. onund continued to live at kaldbak until his old age. he died a natural death and lies in treefoot's howe. he was the boldest and most active one-legged man that ever came to iceland. among onund's sons thorgrim was the foremost, although the others were older. when he was twenty-five years old his hair was grey, whence they nick-named him greyhead. his mother thordis married again, taking as her second husband audun skokull. they had a son named asgeir of asgeirsa. thorgrim greyhead and his brothers had a large property, which they managed together without dividing it up. eirik lived, as was mentioned, at arnes. he had married alof, the daughter of ingolf of ingolfsfjord, by whom he had a son named flosi, a very promising young man with many friends. there came to that part of iceland three brothers, named ingolf, ofeig, and eyvind, and took the three fjords which are called by their names, where they lived. eyvind had a son named olaf. he at first lived at eyvindsfjord, but went later to drangar. he was a most capable man. so long as their fathers were living no disputes arose among these men; but when eirik was dead it occurred to flosi that those of kaldbak had no legal title to the lands which eirik had given to onund. out of this serious dissensions arose between them. thorgrim and his brothers continued in possession of the lands as before, but they would not join in games together. thorgeir, the eldest brother, was managing the farm at reykjarfjord, and often rowed out fishing, as the fjords were full of fish. the men of vik now laid their plans. flosi had a man in arnes named thorfinn, and sent him to fetch thorgeir's head. this man hid himself in the boatshed. one morning when thorgeir was preparing to row out with two other men, one of whom was named brand, thorgeir was walking ahead with a leather skin on his back containing some drink. it was very dark, and as he passed the boat-house thorfinn sprang out upon him and dealt him a blow with an axe between his shoulders. the axe went into something and made a squeaking noise. thorfinn let go his axe, feeling quite sure that no bandages would be needed, and being very anxious to escape as fast as he could. he ran north, and reaching arnes before the day had quite broken, said that he had killed thorgeir and that flosi must protect him. the only thing to be done was to offer some compensation in money. "that," he said, "will be the best thing for us after such a terrible piece of work." flosi said he must first learn more about it, and that he thought thorfinn seemed very frightened after his doughty deed. we must now tell what had happened to thorgeir. he turned round when he was struck, but the blow had gone into the leather bottle, and he was unhurt. they could make no search for the man because it was dark, so they rowed on down the fjord to kaldbak, where they told what had happened. people made great game of the affair and called him thorgeir bottleback, a name which stuck to him ever after. a verse was made: "in days gone by men bathed their blades in the streaming gore of a foeman's wound. but now a wretch of all honour bereft reddens his dastard axe in whey." chapter xii. battle at rifsker at that time there came over iceland a famine the like of which had never been seen before. nearly all the fisheries failed, and also the drift wood. so it continued for many years. one autumn some traders in a sea-going ship, who had been driven out of their course, were wrecked at vik. flosi took in four or five of them with their captain, named steinn. they all found shelter in the neighbourhood of vik and tried to rig up a ship out of the wreckage, but were not very successful. the ship was too narrow in the bow and stern and too broad amidships. in the spring a northerly gale set in which lasted nearly a week, after which men began to look for drift. there was a man living in reykjanes named thorsteinn. he found a whale stranded on the south side of the promontory at the place now called rifsker. it was a large rorqual, and he at once sent word by a messenger to flosi in vik and to the nearest farms. at gjogr lived a man named einar, a tenant of the kaldbak men whom they employed to look after the drift on that side of the fjord. he got to know of the whale having been stranded and at once rowed across the fjord in his boat to byrgisvik, whence he sent a messenger to kaldbak. when thorgrim and his brother heard the news they got ready to go with all speed to the spot. there were twelve of them in a ten-oared boat, and six others, with ivar and leif, sons of kolbeinn. all the farmers who could get away went to the whale. in the meantime flosi had sent word to his kinsmen in the north at ingolfsfjord and ofeigsfjord and to olaf the son of eyvind who lived at drangar. the first to arrive were flosi and the men of vik, who at once began to cut up the whale, carrying on shore the flesh as it was cut. at first there were about twenty men, but more came thronging in. then there came the men of kaldbak with four ships. thorgrim laid claim to the whale and forbade the men of vik to cut, distribute, or carry away any portion of it. flosi called upon him to show proof that eirik had in express words given over the drift to onund; if not, he said he would prevent them by force. thorgrim saw that he was outnumbered and would not venture on fighting. then there came a ship across the fjords, the men rowing with all their might. they came up; it was svan of hol from bjarnarfjord with his men, and he at once told thorgrim not to let himself be robbed. the two men had been great friends, and svan offered thorgrim his aid, which the brothers accepted, and they attacked valiantly. thorgeir bottleback was the first to get on to the whale where flosi's men were. thorfinn, who was spoken of before, was cutting it up, standing near the head on the place where he had been carving. "here i bring you your axe," said thorgeir. then he struck at thorfinn's neck and cut off his head. flosi was up on the beach and saw it. he urged on his men to give it them back. they fought for a long time and the kaldbak people were getting the best of it. most of them had no weapons but the axes with which they were cutting up the whale and short knives. the men of vik were driven from the whale on to the sandbanks. the men from the east, however, were armed and able to deal wounds. their captain steinn cut off the leg of kolbeinn's son ivar, and ivar's brother leif beat one of steinn's men to death with a rib of the whale. then they fought with anything they could get, and men were slain on both sides. at last olaf came up with a number of ships from drangar and joined flosi; the men of kaldbak were then overpowered by numbers. they had already loaded their ships, and svan told them to get on board. they therefore retired towards the ships, the men of vik after them. svan on reaching the sea struck at steinn their captain, wounding him badly, and then sprang into his own ship. thorgrim gave flosi a severe wound and escaped. olaf wounded ofeig grettir fatally, but thorgeir carried him off and sprang on to his ship with him. the kaldbak men rowed into the fjord and the two parties separated. the following verse was composed on these doings: "hard were the blows which were dealt at rifsker; no weapons they had but steaks of the whale. they belaboured each other with rotten blubber. unseemly methinks is such warfare for men." after this they made peace, and the dispute was laid before the all-thing. on the side of the kaldbak men were thorodd the godi, skeggi of midfjord, and many others from the south. flosi was exiled, along with several others who had been with him. he was put to great expense, for he insisted upon paying all the fines himself. thorgrim and his brothers were unable to show that they had paid any money either for the land or for the drift which flosi claimed. the lawman was thorkell mani, and the question was referred to him. he declared that by law something must have been paid, though not necessarily the full value. "there was a case in point," he said, "between my grandfather ingolf and a woman named steinvor the old. he gave her the whole of rosmhvalanes and she gave him a dirty cloak for it; the transfer was afterwards held to be valid. that was a much more important affair than this. my advice is that the land be divided in equal portions between the two; and henceforward it shall be legally established that all drift shall be the property of the owner of the land upon which it has been stranded." this was agreed to. thorgrim and his brothers were to give up reykjarfjord with all on that side, and were to keep kamb. for ofeig a large sum of money was paid, and thorfinn was assessed at nothing at all; thorgeir received compensation for the attack made upon his life, and all the parties were reconciled. flosi went to norway with steinn the captain and sold his lands in vik to geirmund hvikatimbr, who lived there thenceforward. the ship which steinn's sailors had built was rather a tub. she was called trekyllir--tree-sack. flosi went on his journey in her, but was driven back to oxarfjord; out of this arose the saga of bodmod the champion and grimolf. chapter xiii. thorgrim settles at bjarg and marries. his son asmund visits norway and marries twice after these events thorgrim and his brothers divided up the property between them. thorgrim took the movable property and thorgeir the lands. then thorgrim went inland to midfjord and bought some land at bjarg with the aid of skeggi. he married thordis, the daughter of asmund from asmund's peak who had land in thingeyrasveit. they had a son named asmund, a great man and strong, also wise, and notable for his abundance of hair, which turned grey very early. he was called longhair. thorgrim occupied himself with the management of his estate and kept all the men of his household hard at work. asmund did not want to work, so that he and his father got on rather badly together. this continued until asmund was grown up, when he asked his father to give him the means to go abroad. thorgrim said he should have little enough, but he gave him some ready cash. so asmund went away and soon increased his capital. he sailed to divers lands, became a great trader and very wealthy. he was popular and enjoyed good credit, and had many friends among the leading men of norway. one autumn asmund was in the east on a visit to a certain magnate named thorsteinn. his family came from the upplands, and he had a sister named rannveig who had excellent prospects. asmund asked this girl in marriage and obtained her through the interest of her brother thorsteinn; he settled there for a time and was highly thought of. he and rannveig had a son named thorsteinn, who became a handsome man, strong, and with a powerful voice. he was very tall and rather sluggish in his movements, wherefore he was nicknamed dromund. when young thorsteinn was half grown up his mother fell ill and died, and asmund cared no more for norway. thorsteinn was taken over by his mother's relations along with his property, while asmund went on voyages and became famous. asmund came in his ship to hunavain, where thorkell krafla was chief of the vatnsdalers. on hearing of asmund's arrival thorkell went to the ship and invited him to stay, and asmund went to visit him in marsstadir in vatnsdal where he lived. thorkell was a son of thorgrim, the godi of karnsa, and a man of great experience. this was soon after the arrival of bishop fridrek and thorvald the son of kodran, who were living at laekjamot when these events happened, preaching christianity for the first time in the north of the island. thorkell and many of his men received the prima signatio. many things might be told of the dealings between the bishop's men and the northerners, which, however, do not belong to this saga. there was a girl named asdis who was being brought up in thorkell's house. she was a daughter of bard the son of jokull, the son of ingimund the old, the son of thorsteinn, the son of ketil raum. her mother's name was aldis, whom we have already heard of as the daughter of ofeig grettir. asdis was not betrothed as yet, and was a most desirable match, both on account of her connections and her wealth. asmund now became sick of travelling about and wanted to settle down in iceland. so he spoke up and asked for asdis as his wife. thorkell knew all about him and knew that he was a man of wealth, able to manage his affairs, so the marriage was arranged. asmund married asdis, and became a close friend of thorkell. he was a great man of affairs, learned in the law and very strenuous. soon afterwards thorgrim greyhead died at bjarg; asmund succeeded to his property and took up his residence at bjarg. chapter xiv. asmund's children. grettir's childhood asmund longhair now set up a large and sumptuous household in bjarg, where he maintained a numerous retinue and became very popular. his children were as follows: the eldest was atli, an able and accomplished man, tactful and easy to deal with; he was much liked by all. his second son was called grettir. he was very hard to manage in his bringing up. he spoke little and was rough in his manners and quarrelsome, both in words and deeds. he got little affection from his father asmund, but his mother loved him dearly. grettir was a handsome man in appearance, with a face rather broad and short, red-haired and somewhat freckled; not very precocious in his youth. there was a daughter named thordis, who afterwards married glum the son of ospak, kjallak's son from skridinsenni. another daughter was named rannveig; she married gamli the son of thorhall of vineland, and they dwelt at melar in hrutafjord and had a son named grim. glum and thordis had a son named ospak who fell into a dispute with odd the son of ofeig, which is told of in the "saga of the banded men." grettir grew up at bjarg until he was ten years old, when he began to develop a little. asmund told him that he must do some work. grettir said that would not suit him very well, but asked what he was to do. "you must mind the geese," said asmund. "that is wretched work, only fit for an idiot," grettir answered. "you do that properly," his father said, "and we shall get on better together." so grettir went to mind the geese. there were fifty of them, and a number of goslings. before long he began to find them troublesome, and the goslings would not come on quickly enough. this put him out, for he could never control his temper. soon afterwards some wanderers found the goslings lying outside dead, and the geese with their wings broken. this was in the autumn. asmund was very much annoyed and asked grettir whether he had killed the birds. grettir grinned and answered: "always when winter is coming on i like to wring the goslings' necks. if among them there are geese i treat the creatures all alike." "you shan't twist any more of their necks," said asmund. "the friend aye warns his friend of ill," answered grettir. "i will give you other work to do." "he knoweth most who most hath tried. but what am i to do now?" grettir asked. "you shall rub my back when i am sitting by the fire, as i am in the habit of having it done." "warm work for the hands." he answered. "it is only fit for an idiot." this for a time was grettir's occupation. as the autumn advanced asmund wanted more warmth, and was constantly telling grettir to rub his back hard. it was the custom in those days for people to have large rooms with long fires in them in their houses, where men sat by the fire in the evenings on benches, sleeping afterwards at the side away from the fires. by day the women carded their wool there. one evening when grettir had to scratch asmund's back his father said to him: "now you will have to put aside your laziness, you good-for-nothing you." grettir answered: "`tis ill to rouse a hasty temper." "you are fit for nothing at all," said asmund. grettir saw some wood-combs lying on one of the benches; he took up one of them and drew it along asmund's back. asmund sprang up and was going to thrash him with his stick, but he escaped. his mother came up and asked what they were fighting about. grettir answered in a verse: "oh lady, the giver of treasure, i see, has dire intent to burn my hands. with nails uncut i was stroking his back. clearly i see the bird of wounds." his mother was much vexed with grettir for what he had done and said he would not grow up very prudent. the affair did not improve the relations between asmund and his son. soon after this asmund spoke to grettir and told him to look after his horses. grettir said that would be better than back-fire-warming. "you are to do what i tell you," said asmund. "i have a dun mare with a dark stripe down her back whom i call keingala. she is very knowing about the weather and about rain coming. when she refuses to graze it never fails that a storm will follow. you are then to keep the horses under shelter in the stables, and when cold weather sets in keep them to the north of the ridge. i hope you will perform this duty better than the two which i gave you before." grettir said: "that is cold work, and fit for a man to do; but it seems to me rash to trust to the mare, when to my knowledge no one has done so before." so grettir took to minding the horses, and went on until yule-tide was past, when very cold weather set in, with snow, so that grazing was difficult. he was very badly provided with clothes and little hardened to the weather. he began to feel it very cold, and keingala always chose the windiest places whatever the weather was. she never came to the meadow early enough to get home before nightfall. grettir then thought he would play a trick upon keingala to pay her out for her wanderings. one morning early he came to the stables, opened the door and found keingala standing in front of the manger. she had taken the whole of the fodder which had been given to all the horses for herself. grettir jumped upon her back, with a sharp knife in his hand which he drew across her shoulder and along her back on both sides. the horse was fat and fresh; she shied back very frightened and kicked out till her hoofs rattled against the walls. grettir fell off, but picked himself up and tried to mount her again. there was a sharp struggle, which ended in his shaving all the skin on her back down to her flank. then he drove the horses out to the meadow. keingala would not take a bite except off her back, and soon after noon she bolted off to the stables. grettir locked the door and went home. asmund asked him where the horses were; he said he had looked after them as usual. asmund said there must be a storm close at hand if the horses would not stay out in such weather as there was then. grettir said: "many seem wise who are lacking in wit." the night passed and there was no storm. grettir drove out the horses, but keingala could not endure the pasture. asmund thought it very strange that no change came in the weather. on the third morning he went himself to the horses and on seeing keingala he said: "ill indeed have the horses fared in this beautiful weather! thy back will not deceive me, my bleikala." "the likely may happen--also the unlikely," said grettir. asmund stroked the back of the horse and all her coat came off on his hand. he could not understand how she had got into that state and thought grettir must have done it. grettir grinned and said nothing. asmund went home and became very abusive. he heard his wife say: "my son's watching of the horses must have prospered well." then he spoke a verse: "he has cheated me sorely, and keingala shorn. 'tis the pride of a woman that urges her tongue. artful he holds my commands in derision. consider my verses, oh wife of my heart." "i do not know," she said, "which seems to me the more perverse, for you to make him work, or for him always to get out of it in the same way." "now there shall be an end to it," said asmund. "he must have something worse than merely making good the damage." "let neither speak of it to the other," said grettir, and so it remained. asmund had keingala killed. many more childish pranks did grettir play which are not told in the saga. he now began to grow very big, but men did not clearly know what strength he had because he had never been tried in wrestling. he kept making verses and ditties which were always a little ironical. he did not sleep in the common room and was generally very silent. chapter xv. games at midfjordvatn there were then a good many youths growing up in midfjord. a certain skaldtorfa, whose home was in torfustadir, had a son named bersi, an accomplished young man and a clever poet. two brothers named kormak and thorgils lived at mel and had with them a youth named odd, who was dependent upon them, and was nicknamed odd the needy-skald. another was named audun; he grew up in audunarstad in vididal, a pleasant good-natured youth and the strongest of his age in the north. kalf the son of asgeir and his brother thorvald lived at asgeirsa. grettir's brother atli was then growing to a man; he was most gracious in manners and universally liked. these youths used to play at ball together at midfjord water. those from midfjord and from vididal used to meet there, and there came many from vestrhop and vatnsnes with some from hrutafjord. those who came from afar used to lodge there. those who were about equal in the ball-game were matched together, and generally they had much fun in the autumn. grettir went to the sports when he was fourteen years old at the request of his brother atli. the parties were made up. grettir was matched against audun, the youth already mentioned, who was a few years the elder. audun struck the ball over grettir's head so that he could not reach it, and it bounded far away over the ice. grettir lost his temper, thinking he had done it out of mischief, but he fetched the ball, brought it back and going up to audun drove it straight into his forehead, so that the skin was broken. audun then struck at grettir with the bat that he was holding, but grettir ducked and the blow missed him. then they seized each other with their arms and wrestled. it was evident to the people around that grettir was stronger than they had supposed, for audun was very strong indeed of body. they struggled long together until at last grettir was thrown. audun then set his knees on his stomach and dealt unmercifully with him. atli and bersi and a number of the others ran up and separated them. grettir said they need not hold him like a mad dog, and added: "the thrall alone takes instant vengeance, the coward never." the rest had no mind to let the affair create discord among them, and the brothers kalf and thorvald tried to reconcile them. audun and grettir were distantly related to each other. the games went on and there was no further disturbance. chapter xvi. grettir kills skeggi and is outlawed for three years thorkell krafla now began to grow very old. he was a great chieftain and held the vatnsdal godord. he was a close friend of asmund longhair, as befitted the near relations in which they stood to each other. he had, therefore, been in the habit of riding every year in the spring to bjarg to visit his kinsmen there, and he did so in the spring which followed the events just related. asmund and asdis received him with both hands. he stayed there three nights and many a matter did the kinsmen discuss together. thorkell asked asmund what his heart told him about his sons, and what professions they were likely to follow. asmund said that atli would probably be a great landowner, very careful and wealthy. "a useful man, like yourself," said thorkell. "but what can you tell me of grettir?" "i can only say," he replied, "that he will be a strong man; but headstrong and quarrelsome. a heavy trial has he been to me." "that does not look very promising, kinsman!" said thorkell. "but how are we to arrange our journey to the thing in the summer?" "i am getting difficult to move," he said. "i would rather stay at home." "would you like atli to go for you?" "i don't think i can spare him," asmund said, "because of the work and the provisioning. grettir will not do anything. but he has quite wit enough to carry out the duties at the thing on my behalf under your guidance." "it shall be as you please," said thorkell. then thorkell made himself ready and rode home; asmund dismissed him with presents. a little later thorkell journeyed to the thing with sixty men. all the men of his godord went with him. they passed through bjarg, where grettir joined them. they rode south through the heath called tvidaegra. there was very little grazing to be had in the hills, so they rode quickly past them into the cultivated land. when they reached fljotstunga they thought it was time to sleep, so they took the bits from their horses and turned them loose with their saddles. they lay there well on into the day, and when they woke began to look for their horses. every horse had gone off in a different direction and some had been rolling. grettir could not find his horse at all. the custom was at that time that men should find their own provisions at the thing, and most of them carried their sacks over their saddles. when grettir found his horse its saddle was under its belly, and the sack of provisions gone. he searched about but could not find it. then he saw a man running very fast and asked him who he was. he said his name was skeggi and that he was a man from ass in vatnsdal in the north. "i am travelling with thorkell," he said. "i have been careless and lost my provision-bag." "alone in misfortune is worst. i also have lost my stock of provisions; so we can look for them together." skeggi was well pleased with this proposal, and so they went about seeking for a time. suddenly, when grettir least expected it, skeggi started running with all his might along the moor and picked up the sack. grettir saw him bend and asked what it was that he had picked up. "my sack," he said. "who says so besides yourself?" grettir asked. "let me see it! many a thing is like another." skeggi said no one should take from him what was his own. grettir seized hold of the sack and they both pulled at it for a time, each trying to get his own way. "you midfjord men have strange notions," said skeggi, "if you think that because a man is not so wealthy as you are, he is not to dare to hold to his own before you." grettir said it had nothing to do with a man's degree, and that each should have that which was his own. skeggi replied: "audun is now too far away to strangle you as he did at the ball-play." "that is well," said grettir; "but however that may have been you shall not strangle me." skeggi then seized his axe and struck at grettir, who on seeing it seized the handle of the axe with his left hand and pulled it forward with such force that skeggi at once let go. the next moment it stood in his brain and he fell dead to the earth. grettir took the sack, threw it across his saddle and rode back to his companions. thorkell rode on, knowing nothing of what had happened. soon skeggi was missed in the company, and when grettir came up they asked him what news he had of skeggi. he answered in a verse: "hammer-troll ogress has done him to death. thirsting for blood the war-fiend came. with hard-edged blade she gaped, o'er his head, nor spared she his teeth. i saw it myself." then thorkell's men sprang up and said it was impossible that a troll should have taken the man in full daylight. thorkell was silent for a moment. then he said: "there must be something more in it. grettir must have killed him. what was it that really happened, grettir?" grettir then told him all about their fight. thorkell said: "it is a most unfortunate occurrence, because skeggi was entrusted to my service, and was a man of good family. i will take the matter upon myself and pay whatever compensation is adjudged. but a question of banishment does not lie with me. now, grettir, there are two things for you to choose between. either you can go on to the thing with us and take the chance of what may happen there, or you can turn back and go home." grettir decided to go on to the thing, and to the thing he went. the matter was taken up by the heirs of the man slain. thorkell gave his hand to pay the compensation and grettir was to be banished for three years. on their way back from the thing all the chiefs halted at sledaass before they parted company. it was then that grettir lifted a stone lying in the grass, which is still known as grettishaf. many went afterwards to see this stone and were astounded that so young a man should have lifted such a mountain. grettir rode home to bjarg and told his father about his adventures. asmund was much put out and said he would be a trouble to everybody. chapter xvii. grettir sails for norway and is wrecked on haramarsey there dwelt at reydarfell on the banks of the hvita a man named haflidi, a mariner, owning a ship of his own which was lying in dock in the hvita river. he had as his mate a man named bard who had a young and pretty wife. asmund sent a man to haflidi asking him to take grettir and look after him. haflidi answered that he had heard that grettir was very difficult to get on with, but out of friendship for asmund he took him. grettir, therefore, prepared to go to sea. his father would not give him any outfit for his voyage beyond his bare provisions and a little wadmal. grettir asked him to give him some sort of weapon. asmund answered: "you have never been obedient to me. nor do i know what you would do with a weapon that would be of any profit. i shall not give you any." grettir said: "work not done needs no reward." father and son parted with little love between them. many wished him a good voyage, but few a safe return. his mother went with him along the road. before they parted she said: "you have not been sent off in the way that i should have wished, my son, or in a way befitting your birth. the most cruel thing of all, i think, is that you have not a weapon which you can use. my heart tells me that you will want one." then she took from under her mantle a sword all ready for use, a valuable possession. she said: "this was the sword of jokull, my father's father and of the ancient vatnsdal men, in whose hands it was blessed with victory. i give it to you; use it well." grettir thanked her warmly and said it would be more precious to him than any other possession though of greater value. then he went on his way and asdis wished him all possible happiness. he rode south over the heath and did not stop till he reached his ship. haflidi received him well and asked him about his outfit for the voyage. grettir spoke a verse: "oh trimmer of sails i my father is wealthy, but poorly enough he sent me from home. my mother it was who gave me this sword. true is the saying: the mother is best." haflidi said it was evident that she had most thought for him. directly they were ready and had a wind they got under way. when they were out of shallow water they hoisted their sail. grettir made himself a corner under the ship's boat, whence he refused to stir either to bale or to trim the sails or to do any work in the ship, as it was his duty to do equally with the other men; nor would he buy himself off. they sailed to the south, rounded reykjanes and left the land behind them, when they met with stormy weather. the ship was rather leaky and became very uneasy in the gale; the crew were very much exhausted. grettir only let fly satirical verses at them, which angered them sorely. one day when it was very stormy and very cold the men called out to grettir to get up and work; they said their claws were quite frozen. he answered: "twere well if every finger were froze on the hands of such a lubberly crew." they got no work out of him and liked him even worse than before, and said they would pay him out on his person for his squibs and his mutinous behaviour. "you like better," they said, "to pat the belly of bard the mate's wife than to bear a hand in the ship. but we don't mean to stand it." the weather grew steadily worse; they had to bale night and day, and they threatened grettir. haflidi when he heard them went up to grettir and said: "i don't think your relations with the crew are very good. you are mutinous and make lampoons about them, and they threaten to pitch you overboard. this is most improper." "why cannot they mind their own business?" grettir rejoined. "but i should like one or two to remain behind with me before i go overboard." "that is impossible," said haflidi. "we shall never get on upon those terms. but i will make you a proposal about it." "what is that?" "the thing which annoys them is that you make lampoons about them. now i suggest that you make a lampoon about me. then, perhaps, they will become better disposed towards you." "about you i will never utter anything but good," said he. "i am not going to compare you with the sailors." "but you might compose a verse which should at first appear foul, but on closer view prove to be fair." "that," he answered, "i am quite equal to." haflidi then went to the sailors and said: "you have much toil; and it seems that you don't get on with grettir." "his lampoons," they answered, "annoy us more than anything else." then haflidi, speaking loud, said: "it will be the worse for him some day." grettir, when he heard himself being denounced, spoke a verse: "other the words that haflidi spake when he dined on curds at reydarfell. but now two meals a day he takes in the steed of the bays mid foreland shores." the sailors were very angry and said he should not lampoon haflidi for nothing. haflidi said: "grettir certainly deserves that you should take him down a little, but i am not going to risk my good name because of his ill-temper and caprice. this is not the time to pay him out, when we are all in such danger. when you get on shore you can remember it if you like." "shall we not endure what you can endure?" they said. "why should a lampoon hurt us more than it does you?" haflidi said so it should be, and after that they cared less about grettir's lampoons. the voyage was long and fatiguing. the ship sprung a leak, and the men began to be worn out. the mate's young wife was in the habit of stitching grettir's sleeves for him, and the men used to banter him about it. haflidi went up to grettir where he was lying and said: "arise from thy den! deep furrows we plough! remember the word thou didst speak to the fair. thy garment she sewed; but now she commands that thou join in the toil while the land is afar." grettir got up at once and said: "i will rise, though the ship be heavily rolling. the woman is vexed that i sleep in my den. she will surely be wrath if here i abide while others are toiling at work that is mine." then he hurried aft where they were baling and asked what they wanted him to do. they said he would do little good. he replied: "a man's help is something." haflidi told them not to refuse his help. "maybe," he said, "he is thinking of loosening his hands if he offers his services." in those days in sea-going ships there were no scuppers for baling; they only had what is called bucket or pot-baling, a very troublesome and fatiguing process. there were two buckets, one of which went down while the other came up. the men told grettir to take the buckets down, and said they would try what he could do. he said the less tried the better, and went below and filled his bucket. there were two men above to empty the buckets as he handed them. before long they both gave in from fatigue. then four others took their places, but the same thing happened. some say that before they were done eight men were engaged in emptying the buckets for him. at last the ship was baled dry. after this, the seamen altered their behaviour towards grettir, for they realised the strength which was in him. from that time on he was ever the forwardest to help wherever he was required. they now held an easterly course out to sea. it was very dark. one night when they least expected it, they struck a rock and the lower part of the ship began to fill. the boats were got out and the women put into them with all the loose property. there was an island a little way off, whither they carried as much of their property as they could get off in the night. when the day broke, they began to ask where they were. some of them who had been about the country before recognised the coast of sunnmore in norway. there was an island lying a little off the mainland called haramarsey, with a large settlement and a farm belonging to the landman on it. chapter xviii. adventure in the howe of kar the old the name of the landman who lived in the island was thorfinn. he was a son of kar the old, who had lived there for a long time. thorfinn was a man of great influence. when the day broke, the people on the island saw that there were some sailors there in distress and reported it to thorfinn, who at once set about to launch his large sixteen-oared boat. he put out as quickly as possible with some thirty men to save the cargo of the trader, which then sank and was lost, along with much property. thorfinn brought all the men off her to his house, where they stayed for a week drying their goods. then they went away to the south, and are heard of no more in this story. grettir stayed behind with thorfinn, keeping very quiet and speaking little. thorfinn gave him his board, but took little notice of him. grettir held rather aloof, and did not accompany him when he went abroad every day. this annoyed thorfinn, but he did not like to refuse grettir his hospitality; he was a man who kept open house, enjoyed life and liked to see other men happy. grettir liked going about and visiting the people in the other farms on the island. there was a man named audun, who dwelt at vindheim. grettir went to see him daily and became very intimate with him, sitting there all day long. one evening very late when grettir was preparing to return home, he saw a great fire shoot up on the headland below audun's place, and asked what new thing that might be. audun said there was no pressing need for him to know. "if they saw such a thing in our country," said grettir, "they would say the fire came from some treasure." "he who rules that fire," answered the man, "is one whom it will be better not to inquire about." "but i want to know," grettir said. "on that headland," said audun, "there is a howe, wherein lies kar the old, the father of thorfinn. once upon a time father and son had a farm-property on the island; but ever since kar died his ghost has been walking and has scared away all the other farmers, so that now the whole island belongs to thorfinn, and no man who is under thorfinn's protection suffers any injury." "you have done right to tell me," said grettir. "expect me here to-morrow morning, and have tools ready for digging." "i won't allow you to have anything to do with it," said audun, "because i know that it will bring thorfinn's wrath down upon you." grettir said he would risk that. the night passed; grettir appeared early the next morning, and the bondi, who had got all the tools for digging ready, went with grettir to the howe. grettir broke open the grave, and worked with all his might, never stopping until he came to wood, by which time the day was already spent. he tore away the woodwork; audun implored him not to go down, but grettir bade him attend to the rope, saying that he meant to find out what it was that dwelt there. then he descended into the howe. it was very dark and the odour was not pleasant. he began to explore how it was arranged, and found the bones of a horse. then he knocked against a sort of throne in which he was aware of a man seated. there was much treasure of gold and silver collected together, and a casket under his feet, full of silver. grettir took all the treasure and went back towards the rope, but on his way he felt himself seized by a strong hand. he left the treasure to close with his aggressor and the two engaged in a merciless struggle. everything about them was smashed. the howedweller made a ferocious onslaught. grettir for some time gave way, but found that no holding back was possible. they did not spare each other. soon they came to the place where the horse's bones were lying, and here they struggled for long, each in turn being brought to his knees. at last it ended in the howedweller falling backwards with a horrible crash, whereupon audun above bolted from the rope, thinking that grettir was killed. grettir then drew his sword jokulsnaut, cut off the head of the howedweller and laid it between his thighs. then he went with the treasure to the rope, but finding audun gone he had to swarm up the rope with his hands. first he tied the treasure to the lower end of the rope, so that he could haul it up after him. he was very stiff from his struggle with kar, but he turned his steps towards thorfinn's house, carrying the treasure along with him. he found them all at supper. thorfinn cast a severe glance at him and asked what he had found so pressing to do that he could not keep proper hours like other men. "many a trifle happens at eve," he replied. then he brought out all the treasure which he had taken from the howe and laid it on the table. one thing there was upon which more than anything else grettir cast his eyes, a short sword, which he declared to be finer than any weapon which he had ever seen. it was the last thing that he showed. thorfinn opened his eyes when he saw the sword, for it was an heirloom of his family and had never been out of it. "whence came this treasure?" he asked. grettir then spake a verse: "scatterer of gold! 'twas the lust of wealth that urged my hand to ravish the grave. this know; but none hereafter, i ween, will be fain to ransack fafnir's lair." thorfinn said: "you don't seem to take it very seriously; no one ever before had any wish to break open the howe. but since i know that all treasure which is hidden in the earth or buried in a howe is in a wrong place i hold you guilty of no misdeed, especially since you have brought it to me." grettir answered: "the monster is slain! in the dismal tomb i have captured a sword, dire wounder of men. would it were mine i a treasure so rare i never would suffer my hand to resign." "you have spoken well," thorfinn answered. "but before i can give you the sword you must display your prowess in some way. i never got it from my father whilst he lived." grettir said: "no one knows to whom the greatest profit will fall ere all is done." thorfinn took the treasure and kept the sword in his own custody near his bed. the winter came on bringing yule-tide, and nothing more happened that need be told of. chapter xix. berserks at haramarsey the following summer jarl eirik the son of hakon was preparing to leave his country and sail to the west to join his brother-in-law king knut the great in england, leaving the government of norway in the hands of hakon his son, who, being an infant, was placed under the government and regency of eirik's brother, jarl sveinn. before leaving eirik summoned all his landmen and the larger bondis to meet him. eirik the jarl was an able ruler, and they had much discussion regarding the laws and their administration. it was considered a scandal in the land that pirates and berserks should be able to come into the country and challenge respectable people to the holmgang for their money or their women, no weregild being paid whichever fell. many had lost their money and been put to shame in this way; some indeed had lost their lives. for this reason jarl eirik abolished all holmgang in norway and declared all robbers and berserks who disturbed the peace outlaws. thorfinn the son of kar of haramarsey, being a man of wise counsel and a close friend of the jarl, was present at the meeting. the worst of these ruffians were two brothers named thorir paunch and ogmund the bad. they came from halogaland and were bigger and stronger than other men. when angry they used to fall into the berserk's fury, and nothing escaped that was before them. they used to carry off men's wives, keep them for a week or two and then send them back. wherever they came they committed robberies and other acts of violence. jarl eirik had declared them outlaws throughout norway. the man who had been most active in getting them outlawed was thorfinn, and they were determined to pay him out in full for his hostility. the jarl's expedition is told of in his saga, and the government of norway was left in the hands of jarl sveinn, with the regency. thorfinn returned home and remained there until about yule-tide, as has already been told. towards yule-tide he made ready to go on a journey to his farm called slysfjord on the mainland, whither he had invited a number of his friends. he could not take his wife with him, because their grown-up daughter was lying sick, so they both had to stay at home. grettir and eight of the serving men remained with them. thorfinn went with thirty freemen to the yule festival, at which there was much gladness and merriment. yule-eve set in with bright and clear weather. grettir, who was generally abroad in the daytime, was watching the vessels which came along the coast, some from the north, some from the south, meeting at the places agreed upon for their drinking-bouts. the bondi's daughter was then better and could go out with her mother. so the day passed. at last grettir noticed a ship rowing up to the island, not large, covered with shields amidships and painted above the water-line. they were rowing briskly and making for thorfinn's boat-houses. they ran the boat on to the beach and all sprang ashore. grettir counted the men; there were twelve in all, and their aspect did not look peaceful. after hauling up their boat out of the water they all made for the boat-house where thorfinn's great boat, mentioned already, was stowed. she always required thirty men to put her to sea, but the twelve shoved her along the beach at once. then they brought their own boat into the boat-house. it was very evident to grettir that they did not mean to wait for an invitation, so he went up to them, and greeting them in a friendly way asked who they were and who was their captain. the man whom he addressed answered him at once, saying his name was thorir, called paunch; the others were his brother ogmund with their companions. "i think," he added, "that your master thorfinn has heard our names mentioned. but is he at home?" "you must be men who have luck," said grettir, "you have come most opportunely, if you are the people i take you for. the bondi has gone from home with all his freedmen and will not be back until after yule. the goodwife is at home with her daughter, and if i had any grudge to repay, i would come just as you do, for there is everything here which you want, ale to drink and other delights." thorir was silent while grettir went on talking. then he turned to ogmund and said: "has anything not happened as i said it would? i should not be sorry to punish thorfinn for having got us outlawed. this man seems ready to tell us everything; we don't have to drag the words out of his mouth." "every one is master of his own words," said grettir. "if you will come home with me i will give you what entertainment i can." they thanked him and said they would accept his invitation. when they reached the house grettir took thorir by the hand and led him into the hall. he was very talkative. the mistress was in the hall decorating it and putting all in order. on hearing what grettir said, she came to the door and asked who it was that grettir was welcoming so warmly. grettir answered: "it will be advisable, mistress, to be civil to these men who have come. they are the bondi thorir paunch and his followers, and have come, all twelve of them, to spend yule-tide here. it is fortunate for us, for we have had little company till now." she said: "i don't call them bondis, nor are they decent men, but arrant robbers and malefactors. i would gladly pay a large portion of my property for them not to have come just at this time. it is an ill return that you make to thorfinn for having saved you from shipwreck and kept you this winter like a free man, destitute as you were." "you would do better," said grettir, "if you first took off the wet clothes from your guests instead of casting reproaches upon me. you will have plenty of time for that." then thorir said: "don't be angry, mistress! you shall lose nothing by your husband being away, for you shall have a man in his place and so shall your daughter and all the other women." "that is spoken like a man," said grettir. "the women shall be quite contented with what they get." then all the women fled and began to weep, being overcome by terror. grettir said to the berserks: "give me all the things which you want to lay aside, your weapons and your wet clothes, for the men will not obey us while they are frightened." thorir said he cared little for the women's whining. "but," he said, "we mean to treat you in a different way from the other men of the house. it seems to me that we may make a comrade of you." "see to that yourselves," said grettir. "but i do not look upon all men alike." then they laid aside most of their weapons. grettir said: "i think now you had better sit down at the table and have some drink. you must be thirsty after your rowing." they said they were quite ready for a drink, but did not know where the cellar was. grettir asked whether they would let him arrange for their entertainment, which they willingly agreed to. so grettir went and fetched some ale which he gave them to drink. they were very tired and drank enormously. he kept them well plied with the strongest ale there was, and they sat there for a long time whilst he told them funny stories. there was a tremendous din amongst them all, and the servants had no wish to approach them. thorir said: "i never yet met with a stranger who treated me like this man. what reward shall we give you for all that you have done, grettir?" grettir replied: "i don't expect any reward for my services at present. but if when you depart we are still as good friends as we seem to be now, i should very much like to join your company, and though i may not be able to do as much work as any of you, i will not be a hindrance in any doughty undertaking." they were delighted, and wanted to swear fellowship with him at once. grettir said that could not be, "for," he added, "there is truth in the saying that ale is another man, and such a thing should not be done hastily, so let it remain at what i said; we are both little in the habit of restraining ourselves." they declared that they did not mean to go back. the night was now coming on and it was getting very dark. grettir noticed that they were rather fuddled, and asked whether they did not think it was time to go to bed. thorir said: "so it is; but i have to fulfil my promise to the mistress." grettir then went out and called out loud: "go to bed, women! such is the will of thorir the bondi." the women execrated him and could be heard howling like wolves. the berserks then left the room. grettir said: "let us go outside; i will show you the room in which thorfinn keeps his clothes." they were agreeable and all went out to an enormous outhouse, which was very strongly built, and had a strong lock on the outer door. adjoining it was a large and well-built privy, with only a wooden partition between it and the room of the outhouse, which was raised above the ground and had to be reached by steps. the berserks then began skylarking and pushing grettir about. he fell down the in steps, as if in sport, and in a moment was out of the house, had pulled the bolt, slammed the door to, and locked it. thorir and his mates thought at first that the door had swung to of itself, and paid little attention; they had a light with them by which grettir had been showing them all thorfinn's treasures, and they continued looking at them for some time. grettir went off to the homestead, and on reaching the door cried out very loud, asking where the mistress was. she was silent, being afraid to answer. he said: "here is rather good sport to be had. are there any arms which are good for anything?" "there are arms," she said; "but i don't know for what purpose you want them." "we will talk about that afterwards; but now let each do what he can; it is the last chance." "now indeed were god in the dwelling," she said, "if anything should happen to save us. over thorfinn's bed there hangs the great halberd which belonged to kar the old; there, too, is a helmet and a corselet and a good short sword. the weapons will not fail if your heart holds firm." grettir took the helmet and spear, girt the sword about him and went quickly out. the mistress called to her men and bade them follow their brave champion. four of them rushed to their arms, but the other four durst not go near them. meantime the berserks thought that grettir was a long time away and began to suspect some treachery. they rushed to the door and found it locked. they strained at the woodwork till every timber groaned. at last they tore down the wooden partition and so gained the passage where the privy was, and thence the steps. then the berserks' fury fell upon them and they howled like dogs. at that moment grettir returned, and taking his halberd in both hands he thrust it right through thorir's body just as he was about to descend the steps. the blade was very long and broad. ogmund the bad was just behind pushing him on, so that the spear passed right up to the hook, came out at his back between the shoulderblades and entered the breast of ogmund. they both fell dead, pierced by the spear. then all the others dashed down as they reached the steps. grettir tackled them each in turn, now thrusting with the spear, now hewing with the sword, while they defended themselves with logs lying on the ground or with anything else which they could get. it was a terrible trial of a man's prowess to deal with men of their strength, even unarmed. grettir slew two of the halogaland men there in the enclosure. four of the serving-men then came up. they had not been able to agree upon which arms each should take, but they came out to the attack directly the berserks were running away; when these turned against them they fell back on the house. six of the ruffians fell, all slain by grettir's own hand; the other six then fled towards the landing place and took refuge in the boat-house, where they defended themselves with oars. grettir received a severe blow from one of them and narrowly escaped a serious hurt. the serving-men all went home and told great stories of their own exploits. the lady wanted to know what had become of grettir, but they could not tell her. grettir slew two men in the boat-house, but the other four got away, two in one direction, two in another. he pursued those who were nearest to him. the night was very dark. they ran to vindheim, the place spoken of before, and took refuge in a barn, where they fought for a long time until at last grettir killed them. by this time he was terribly stiff and exhausted. the night was far spent; it was very cold and there were driving snow-storms. he felt little inclination to go after the two who yet remained, so he went back home. the goodwife kindled a light and put it in a window in the loft at the top of the house, where it served him as a guide, and he was able to find his way home by the light. when he came to the door the mistress came to meet him and bade him welcome. "you have earned great glory," she said, "and have saved me and my household from a disgrace never to be redeemed if you had not delivered us." "i think i am much the same person as i was last evening when you spoke so roughly to me," said grettir. "we knew not then the might that was in you," she said, "as we know it now. everything in the house shall be yours, so far as it is fitting for me to bestow and right for you to receive. i doubt not that thorfinn will reward you in a better way when he comes home." "there is little that i want as a reward at present," said grettir. "but i accept your offer until your husband returns. i think now that you will be able to sleep in peace undisturbed by the berserks." grettir drank little before he retired and lay all night in his armour. in the morning, directly the day broke, all the men of the island were called together to go forth and search for the two berserks who had escaped. they were found at the end of the day lying under a rock, both dead from cold and from their wounds; they were carried away and buried in a place on the shore beneath the tide, with some loose stones over them, after which the islanders returned home, feeling that they could live in peace. when grettir came back to the house and met the mistress he spoke a verse: "near the surging sea the twelve lie buried. i stayed not my hand but slew them alone. great lady! what deed that is wrought by a man shall be sung of as worthy if this be deemed small." she answered: "certainly you are very unlike any other man now living." she set him in the high seat and gave him the best of everything. so it remained until thorfinn returned. chapter xx. thorfinn's return. grettir visits the north when yule-tide was past, thorfinn made ready for his homeward journey and dismissed his many guests with gifts. he sailed with all his men and landed near the place where the boat-houses were. they saw a ship lying on the sand which they at once recognised as his great boat. thorfinn had heard nothing of the vikings and told his men to put him on shore, "for i suspect," he said, "that they are not friends who have been at work here." thorfinn was the first to land, and went straight to the boat-house, where he saw a craft which he knew at once to be that of the berserks. he said to his men: "i suspect that things have taken place here such that i would give the whole island and everything that is in it for them not to have happened." they asked how that was. "vikings have been here, men whom i know as the worst in all norway, namely thorir paunch and ogmund the bad. they will not have dealt gently with us. i mistrust that icelander." then he spoke many things to his men. grettir was at home and detained the men from going down to the shore. he said he did not care if the bondi got a little fright from what he saw. the goodwife asked his leave to go down, and he said she was mistress of her own ways, but that he was not going. so she hurried away to greet thorfinn and embraced him joyfully. he was rejoiced to see her and said: "god be praised that i see you well and my daughter too. but what has happened to you since i left?" "it has ended well," she said. "but we were nigh to suffering a disgrace which could never have been wiped out, had not your winter-guest aided us." thorfinn said: "let us sit down and you shall tell me everything." then she told him fully all that had happened, praising highly grettir's courage and resourcefulness. thorfinn was silent while she was speaking, and when she had finished he said: "true indeed is the word, `long shall a man be tried'. but where is grettir?" "he is at home in the hall," she answered. then they went up to the house. thorfinn went to grettir and turned towards him and thanked him with the fairest words for his courageous conduct. "i will say a word to you," he said, "which few would say to their friend. i would it might happen that you should need the help of a man, for you to know whether i count for anything or not; i cannot repay what you have done for me as long as you are not in straits. you shall have in my house whatever you desire, and shall be in the highest honour in my household." grettir thanked him and said he would have accepted his offer even if he had made it earlier. grettir stayed there the rest of the winter in high favour with thorfinn. the fame of his deed spread through all norway, especially in those parts where the berserks had ravaged most mercilessly. in the spring thorfinn asked him what he would like to do. he said he would go north to vagar while the fair was on there. thorfinn said that any money which he required should be at his service; grettir said he did not want more just then than enough to pay for his living. thorfinn said that was his due, and brought him to a ship, where he gave him the excellent short sword. grettir kept it as long as he lived; it was a most precious possession. thorfinn bade him come to him if ever he wanted any help. grettir then travelled to vagar, which was crowded with people. many whom he had never set eyes on before greeted him warmly because of his exploit in killing the vikings, and several of the leading men invited him to stay with them, but he preferred to return to his friend thorfinn. so he took his passage in a trading ship belonging to one thorkell, a man of some consideration in salfti in halogaland. grettir went to visit thorkell in his home, where he received a hearty welcome and a very pressing invitation to stay there for the winter. grettir accepted the invitation and stayed the winter with thorkell, who treated him with great honour. chapter xxi. adventure with a bear there was a man named bjorn who was then on a visit to thorkell. he was of a somewhat violent character of good family and related in some way to thorkell. he was not generally liked, because he was too much given to talking against the men who were about thorkell and drove many away from him. he and grettir did not get on at all. bjorn thought him of small account compared to himself; grettir paid him little deference, and it became an open feud. bjorn was a boisterous swaggering man, and many of the younger men imitated him, loitering about outside in the evenings. it happened at the beginning of the winter that a savage brown bear broke out of its den and raged about destroying men and cattle. every one declared that it had been provoked by the noise which bjorn and his company made. the beast became most mischievous, attacking the flocks in the very face of the men themselves. thorkell, being the wealthiest man of that part, suffered most. one day he called up his men to come with him and search out the bear's den. they found it in a cliff by the sea where there was a cave under an overhanging rock, with a narrow path leading to the entrance. below was a sheer precipice down to the beach, threatening certain death to any one who stumbled. in this den the bear lay in the daytime, going abroad at night. fences were of no avail against him, nor could the dogs do anything, so that all were in the utmost distress. thorkell's kinsman bjorn declared that the main thing was gained now that they had found the den. "now we shall see," he said, "how the game will go with me and my namesake." grettir pretended not to hear what he said. in the evenings when the others retired to bed, bjorn used generally to go out. one night he went to the bear's den and found the creature inside, growling horribly. he lay down in the path, placing his shield over him, intending to wait until the beast came out as usual. bruin, however, got wind of him and was rather slow in coming out. bjorn got very sleepy where he was lying and could not keep awake; in the meantime out came the bear from his den and saw a man lying there. he clawed at him, dragged off his shield and threw it down the cliff. bjorn woke up, not a little startled, took to his heels and ran off home, narrowly escaping the bear's clutches. his friends knew all about it, having watched his movements; on the next morning they found the shield and made great game of his adventure. at yule-time thorkell himself went out to the den with bjorn, grettir and others of his men, a party of eight in all. grettir had on a fur cape which he put off when they were attacking the bear. it was rather difficult to get at him, since they could only reach him with spear-thrusts, which he parried with his teeth. bjorn kept urging them on to tackle him, but himself did not go near enough to be in any danger. at last, when no one was looking out, he took grettir's fur cloak and threw it in to the bear. they did not succeed in getting the bear out, and when night came on turned to go home. grettir then missed his cloak and saw that the bear had got it into his grip. "who has been playing tricks on me?" he cried. "who threw my cloak into the cave?" bjorn answered: "he who did it will not be afraid to say so." "things of that sort do not trouble me much," said grettir. then they started on their way home. after they had gone a little way grettir's garter broke. thorkell told them to wait for him, but grettir said it was not necessary. then bjorn said: "there is no need to suppose that grettir will run away from his cloak. he wants to have the honour of killing the beast all alone, and he will say that we eight men went away. then he would appear to be what he is said to be. he has been backward enough all day." "i don't know how you stand in that matter," said thorkell. "you and he are not equal in valour; do not make any to-do about him." bjorn said that neither he nor grettir should choose the words out of his mouth. there was a hill between them and grettir, who had turned back along the footpath. now he had no others to reckon with in making the attack. he drew his sword jokulsnaut and tied a loop round the handle which he passed over his wrist, because he thought that he could carry out his plans better if his hand were free. he went along the path. when the bear saw a man coming, he charged savagely, and struck at him with the paw that was on the side away from the precipice. grettir aimed a blow at him with his sword and cut off his paw just above the claws. then the creature tried to strike him with his sound paw, but to do so he had to drop on the stump, which was shorter than he expected, and over he fell into grettir's embraces. grettir seized the beast by the ears and held him off so that he could not bite. he always said that he considered this holding back the bear the greatest feat of strength that he ever performed. the beast struggled violently; the space was very narrow, and they both fell over the precipice. the bear being the heavier came down first on the beach; grettir fell on the top of him, and the bear was badly mauled on the side that was down. grettir got his sword, ran it into the heart of the bear and killed him. then he went home, after fetching his cloak which was torn to pieces. he also took with him the bit of the paw which he had cut off. thorkell was sitting and drinking when grettir entered. they all laughed at the ragged cloak which he was wearing. then he laid the piece of the paw upon the table. thorkell said: "where is my kinsman bjorn? i never saw iron bite like that in your hands. now i would like you to show grettir some honour to make up for the shame which you cast upon him." bjorn said that could wait, and that it mattered little to him whether grettir was pleased or not. grettir then spoke a verse: "oft returned the watcher at night trembling home, but sound in limb. none ever saw me sit in the dusk at the cave; yet now i am home returned." "it is true," said bjorn, "that you have fought well; and also true that our opinions differ. i suppose you think that your taunts hurt me." thorkell said: "i should be glad, grettir, if you would not revenge yourself upon bjorn. i will pay the full weregild of a man for you to be reconciled." bjorn said he might invest his money better than in paying for that; and that it would be better for him and grettir to go on bickering since "each oak has that which it scrapes from the other." thorkell said: "but i ask you, grettir, to do so much for my sake as not to attack bjorn while you are both with me." "that i promise," said grettir. bjorn said that he would walk without fear of grettir wherever they met. grettir grinned, and would accept no money on account of bjorn. they stayed there the winter. chapter xxii. grettir kills bjorn and is summoned before jarl sveinn in the spring grettir went north to vagar with thorkell's men. they parted with friendship. bjorn went west to england in thorkell's ship, of which he was master, staying there for the summer and transacting the business which thorkell had entrusted to him. in the end of the autumn he returned from the western parts. grettir stayed in vagar till the trading ships left, and then sailed south with some of the traders, as far as the port of gartar at the mouth of the thrandheim's fjord, where he set up the awnings to make a stay. when they were settled down a ship came up along the coast from the south, which they at once recognised as one of the ships from england. she made fast further out off the coast and her crew landed. grettir went out with his companions to visit them. on their meeting grettir found bjorn amongst the company and said: "it is well that we meet here, for now we can continue our former quarrel. i should like to try which of us is the better man." bjorn said that was all past now, as far as he was concerned. "but," he said, "if there has been anything between us i will pay you such compensation that you shall be satisfied." grettir spoke a verse: "time was when the bear was slain by my hand; my cloak in tatters was torn. a rascally knave was the cause of it all but now he shall make me amends." bjorn said that weightier matters than this had been settled by payment. grettir said that few men had any reason to act maliciously towards him; he had accepted no money-atonement, nor would he do so now; that if he had his way they should not both go away unhurt, and that if bjorn refused to fight he would brand him as a coward. bjorn saw that excuses would not avail him, so he took his arms and went out. they rushed at each other and fought; soon bjorn was wounded and then he fell dead to the ground. on seeing that, his men went on board their ship, sailed away to the north along the coast to thorkell's place and told him what had happened. he said it had not come sooner than he expected. directly afterwards he sailed to the south to thrandheim where he found jarl sveinn. grettir, after slaying bjorn, went to more to his friend thorfinn and told him exactly what had happened. thorfinn received him in a most friendly way. "i am glad," he said, "that you will now have need of a friend. you must stay with me until this affair is finished." grettir thanked him for his invitation and said he would accept it. jarl sveinn was staying at steinker in thrandheim when he heard of the slaying of bjorn. with him was a brother of bjorn named hjarrandi, as one of his bodyguard. on hearing of bjorn's death he became very angry and begged the jarl for his support in the matter, which the jarl promised that he should have. he sent messengers to thorfinn to summon both him and grettir to appear before him. immediately on receiving the jarl's commands they both made ready and came to thrandheim. the jarl held a council on the matter and ordered hjarrandi to be present. hjarrandi said he was not going to weigh his brother against his purse, and that he must either follow him or avenge him. when the case was looked into, it became evident that bjorn had given grettir many provocations. thorfinn offered to pay a fine such as the jarl thought suitable to the position of his kinsman, and dwelt at length upon grettir's achievement in killing the berserks, and how he had delivered the men in the north from them. the jarl answered: "truth do you speak, thorfinn! that was indeed a cleansing! it would befit us well to accept the compensation for your sake. grettir, too, is a fine fellow, and noted for his strength and valour." hjarrandi, however, would accept no compensation, and the meeting came to an end. thorfinn appointed one of his kinsmen, arnbjorn, to accompany grettir every day, for he knew that hjarrandi was plotting against his life. chapter xxiii. grettir kills hjarrandi one day grettir and arnbjorn were walking along the road for their diversion when they passed a gate, whence a man rushed out holding an axe aloft with both hands and struck at grettir, who was not on his guard and was moving slowly. arnbjorn, however, saw the man coming, seized grettir and pushed him aside with such force that he fell on his knee. the axe struck him in the shoulder-blade and cut down to below the arm, inflicting a severe wound. grettir turned quickly and drew his sword; he saw that it was hjarrandi who had attacked him. the axe had stuck fast in the road, and hjarrandi was slow in recovering it. grettir struck at him and cut off his arm at the shoulder. then there came running up five of hjarrandi's followers and a battle began with them. they were soon routed; grettir and arnbjorn killed the five who were with hjarrandi; one man escaped and bore the tale to the jarl forthwith. the jarl was very angry indeed, and summoned the assembly for the next day. thorfinn and his party appeared thereat. the jarl brought a charge of manslaughter against grettir, who admitted it and said that he had been obliged to defend himself. "i bear the marks of it," he said. "i should have been killed if arnbjorn had not defended me." the jarl said it was a pity he had not been killed, for this affair would lead to many a man being slain if he lived. there had come to the jarl's court bersi the son of skaldtorfa, grettir's comrade and friend. he and thorfinn stepped before the jarl and begged for pardon for grettir. they asked that the jarl should decide the matter himself as he thought best, only that grettir should have his life and the freedom of the country. the jarl was averse to any terms being granted to him, but gave way to their entreaties. he granted immunity to grettir until the spring, but not absolutely until gunnar the brother of bjorn and hjarrandi should be present. gunnar was a landed proprietor in tunsberg. in the spring the jarl ordered grettir and thorfinn to appear at tunsberg, where he himself intended to be while the shipping was assembled. so thither they went, and found the jarl was already in the town. there grettir met his brother thorsteinn dromund, who greeted him joyfully and invited him to be his guest. he was a landowner in the town. grettir told him all about his case, and thorsteinn took his view of it, but told him to beware of gunnar. so the spring passed. chapter xxiv. grettir kills gunnar. his friends rally round him and save him from the vengeance of the jarl gunnar was in the town and was plotting against grettir's life. wherever he went gunnar dogged his steps wherever he found a chance of getting near him. one day grettir was sitting in a booth and drinking, because he wanted to keep out of gunnar's way. suddenly there was a bang at the door, so hard that it broke in pieces, and in rushed four men armed and attacked grettir. they were gunnar with his followers. grettir seized his arms which were hanging above his head and ran into a corner, where he defended himself, holding his shield before him, and hewing with his sword. they made little way against him. one blow he succeeded in delivering upon one of gunnar's followers, who needed nothing more. then grettir advanced, driving them before him out of the booth, and killing another of them. gunnar would fain have got away with his men, but on reaching the door he caught his foot on the doorstep, fell over and was not able to recover himself at once. he held his shield before him and retreated as grettir pressed him hard. then grettir sprang on to the crossbenches near the door. gunnar's hands and the shield were still inside the door, and grettir struck down between him and the shield, cutting off both his hands at the wrist. he fell backwards out of the door, and grettir gave him his death-blow. then the man who was behind him got on his feet and ran off at once to tell the jarl what had happened. sveinn was furious, and called the assembly to meet there and then in the town. when thorfinn and thorsteinn dromund heard the news, they called all their followers and friends together and went to the meeting in force. the jarl was very wroth, and it was no easy matter to get speech with him. thorfinn was the first to come before the jarl, and he said: "i have come to offer an honourable atonement for the man who has been slain by grettir. the judgment shall remain with you alone if you but spare his life." the jarl replied in great wrath: "it is too late to beg for grettir's life, and you have no case that i can see. he has killed three brothers, one at the feet of the other; men of noble minds who would not weigh each other against their purses. now, thorfinn, it will not avail you to beg for grettir; i will not do such a wrong in the land as to accept atonement for such a crime as this." then bersi the son of skaldtorfa came up and begged the jarl to accept blood-money. "grettir," he said, "is a man of high birth and is my good friend. i offer you what i possess. may you see, my lord, that it is better by sparing one man to earn the goodwill of many and to fix the penalty yourself than to refuse honourable terms and risk whether you can arrest the man or not." the jarl replied: "you do right, bersi; and herein as ever you show your worth. but i do not mean to break the laws of the land by granting life to a man who has forfeited it." then thorsteinn dromund came forward, and he, too, offered blood-money on behalf of grettir, adding many fair words thereto. the jarl asked what moved him to offer blood-money for the man. thorsteinn said grettir was his brother. the jarl said he had not known that. "it shows a manly spirit in you," he said, "that you want to help him. but as i am determined not to accept blood-money in this case, i must treat the requests of all of you alike. i must have grettir's life whatever it cost, directly i can get him." then the jarl rose quickly up and refused to hear any more about atonement. they all went home with thorsteinn and made their preparations, whereupon the jarl ordered all the men of his guard under arms and went forth with a large force. before they came up, grettir's friends had made ready to defend the house. thorfinn, thorsteinn, grettir himself, and bersi were in the forefront, each with a large force of followers behind him. the jarl summoned them to give up grettir, and not to bring trouble on themselves. they repeated their former offers, but the jarl would not listen to them. thorfinn and thorsteinn said that more was at stake for the jarl than the taking of grettir's life. "one fate shall fall upon us all," they cried, "and men shall say that you have given much for the life of one man when we are all laid low with the ground." the jarl said he would spare none of them, and they were on the very verge of a battle when many of the well-disposed men came up to him and begged him not to land himself in such a difficulty. he should bear in mind that these men would work great havoc among his own followers before they fell. the jarl thought this counsel was wise and let himself be somewhat appeased. then the terms of atonement were settled. thorfinn and thorsteinn were ready to pay so long as grettir's life was spared. the jarl said: "you must know that although i agree to this compromise, i do not consider it a full amnesty. only i have no mind to fight against my own men, although they appear to hold me of little account in the matter." thorfinn said: "yours is all the greater honour, my lord, that you will have the fixing of the penalty yourself." the jarl said that grettir should have leave from him to depart from the country in peace for iceland, directly there was a ship leaving, if so it seemed good to them. they agreed and paid the money to the jarl to his satisfaction. they parted with little friendship. grettir went with thorfinn after bidding an affectionate farewell to his brother thorsteinn. thorfinn earned great honour for the support which he had given grettir against such odds as he had to deal with. not one of the men who had helped grettir was ever received into favour again with the jarl, excepting bersi. grettir then spoke: "comrade of odin, thorfinn was born to rescue my life from the fangs of hel. no less was thorsteinn dromund's aid when i was doomed to the realm of the dead." and again: "the prince's retainers withdrew in fear when bersi threatened their hearts to pierce." grettir returned with thorfinn to the north and stayed with him until he found a ship with some traders who were bound for iceland. thorfinn gave him many valuable garments and a coloured saddle with a bridle. they parted with friendship, and thorfinn invited him to come and see him if ever he returned to norway. chapter xxv. events in iceland. thorgils maksson attacked by the foster-brothers and slain asmund longhair was in bjarg whilst grettir was away, and was much respected as a bondi in midfjord. thorkell krafla had died during grettir's absence. thorvald asgeirsson dwelt in ass in vatnsdal and was a great chief. he was the father of dalla who married isleif, afterwards bishop in skalaholt. asmund had great support from thorvald in legal suits and in other matters. there grew up in asmund's household a youth named thorgils maksson, a near kinsman of his. thorgils was a strong man of his body and made much money under asmund's guidance; he dwelt at laekjamot, on a property which asmund had bought for him. thorgils was a good manager and went to strandir every year, where he obtained whales and other things. he was a man of great courage, and went as far as the eastern almenningar. at that time the two foster-brothers thorgeir havarsson and thormod coalbrow-skald were very much to the front; they kept a boat, gathering what they wanted from the country around, and had not the reputation of dealing fairly. one summer thorgils maksson found a whale at the almenningar and went out at once with his men to cut it up. when the two foster-brothers heard of it they went there too, and at first it seemed as if matters would be settled peaceably. thorgils proposed that they should share equally that part of the whale which was yet uncut, but they wanted to have all the uncut part or else to share the entire whale. thorgils positively refused to give up any portion of what had already been cut. they began to use threats and at last took to their arms and fought. thorgeir and thorgils fought each of them desperately together without either prevailing. after a long and furious battle thorgils fell slain by thorgeir. in another place thormod was fighting with the followers of thorgils, and he overcame them, killing three. those who remained of thorgils' party went off after he fell to midfjord, taking his body with them and feeling that they had suffered a great loss. the foster-brothers took possession of the whole whale. the affair is referred to in the memorial poem which thormod composed upon thorgeir. news of the death of his kinsman was brought to asmund longhair, on whom as nearest of kin the blood-feud devolved. he went to the spot, called witnesses to testify to the wounds and brought the case before the all-thing, which appeared to be the proper course in this case where the act had been committed in another quarter. some time was passed over this. chapter xxvi. the feud with the foster-brothers is taken up by asmund and thorsteinn kuggason there was a man named thorsteinn; he was the son of thorkell kuggi, the son of thord yeller, the son of olaf feilan, the son of thorsteinn the red, the son of aud the deep-minded. thorsteinn kuggason's mother was thurid, daughter of asgeir hothead. asgeir was the brother of asmund longhair's father. thorsteinn kuggason was equally responsible in the blood-feud over thorgils' death with asmund longhair, who now sent for him. thorsteinn was a great warrior and very masterful. he came at once to his kinsman asmund and they had a talk together about the suit. thorsteinn was for extreme measures. he said that no blood-money should be accepted; that with their connections they were powerful enough to carry through a sentence of either banishment or death on the slayer. asmund said he would support any measures whatever that he chose to adopt. they rode then north to thorvald their kinsman and asked for his support, which he at once promised them. so the suit was begun against thorgeir and thormod. thorsteinn then rode home to his dwelling at ljarskogar in the hvamm district. skeggi in hvamm also joined thorsteinn. he was a son of thorarin fylsenni, a son of thord the yeller. his mother was fridgerd, a daughter of thord from hofdi. they had a large following at the all-thing and pressed their suit valiantly. asmund and thorvald rode from the north with sixty men, halting several days at ljarskogar. chapter xxvii. sentences on the foster-brothers there dwelt at reykjaholar a man named thorgils, the son of ari, the son of mar, the son of atli the red, the son of ulf squint-eye, the first settler at reykjanes. thorgils' mother was thorgerd the daughter of alf of dalir. alf had another daughter named thorelf, who was the mother of thorgeir the son of havar. thorgeir, therefore, had a very strong backing through his connections, for thorgils was the most powerful chief in the vestfirding quarter. he was very open-handed and gave hospitality to any free-man for as long as he would. there was consequently always a crowd at reykjaholar, and he lived in great grandeur. he was both kindly and wise. thorgeir stayed with him in the winter and went to strandir in the summer. after slaying thorgils the son of mak, thorgeir went to reykjaholar and told thorgils arason what had happened. thorgils told him his house was open to him. "but," he said, "they will press the matter vigorously, and i am most unwilling to involve myself in difficulties. i will send a man now to thorsteinn and offer him blood-money for the thorgils affair; if he will not accept it i will not adopt any violent measures." thorgeir declared that he would submit to his wisdom. in the autumn thorgils sent a messenger to thorsteinn kuggason to try and arrange a settlement. thorsteinn was very disinclined to accept any money in atonement for the slaying of thorgils, although for the others he was willing to follow the advice of men of counsel. thorgils on receiving the report of his messenger called thorgeir to a consultation with him and asked him what support he thought was proper. thorgeir said that if a sentence of banishment were passed upon him he would go. thorgils said that his resolve would be put to the trial. there came a ship into the nordra river in borgarfjord, and thorgils secretly took a passage in her for the two foster-brothers. the winter now passed, and thorgils heard that thorsteinn and his party had assembled in great force for the all-thing and were then in ljarskogar. so he put off his departure, intending that they should arrive from the north before he came up from the west. so it came to pass. thorgils and thorgeir then rode towards the south, thorgeir killing one boggul-torfi on the way at marskelda and two other men named skuf and bjarni at hundadal. thormod sings about this affair in his thorgeir's drapa: "the hem slew the son of mak; there was storm of swords and raven's food. skuf and bjarni he also felled; gladly he bathed his hands in blood." thorgils settled for the slaying of skuf and bjarni there and then in the dale, and was delayed by the affair longer than he intended. thorgeir embarked on the ship and thorgils went to the thing, where he did not arrive before they were proceeding to judgment in thorgils maksson's case. asmund longhair then called for the defence. thorgils appeared before the court and offered blood-money in atonement on condition of thorgeir not being sentenced to banishment. he endeavoured to meet the charge by pleading that finds in the almenningar were free to all. the question whether this was a valid defence or not was referred to the lawman, who at that time was skapti. he upheld asmund's view on account of their kinship together. he declared that this was indeed the law in the case of men equal in position, but that a bondi had precedence over a vagrant. asmund further urged that thorgils had offered to share the uncut portion of the whale with the foster-brothers when they arrived. the defendants were non-suited on that point. then thorsteinn and his party pressed their suit resolutely and said they would not be satisfied with any sentence short of banishment upon thorgeir. thorgils saw that no choice was left to him but either to call up his men and try to carry his case with violence, the issue of which would be uncertain, or else to submit to the sentence demanded by the opposite party, and since thorgeir was already on board his ship thorgils had no desire to press the case further. thorgeir was banished, but thormod was discharged upon payment of blood-money. asmund and thorsteinn gained great glory by this case. the men rode home from the thing. there were some who said that thorgils had not taken much trouble in the case, but he paid little attention and let them say what they pleased. when thorgeir heard that he was banished, he said that if he had his way, those who had brought it about should be repayed in full before it was over. there was a man named gaut, called the son of sleita, a kinsman of thorgils maksson. he was intending to travel in the same ship with thorgeir, with whom he was on very bad terms, and frowned on him. the traders thought it would never do to have them both together in the ship. thorgeir said he did not care what gaut did with his eyebrows. nevertheless they decided that gaut should leave the ship. he went into the northern districts and for that time nothing happened, but the affair brought about a feud between them which broke out later. chapter xxviii. grettir's visit to audun in vididal; offers his services to bardi in the course of that summer grettir asmundsson returned to skagafjord. he had such a reputation for strength that none of the younger men was supposed to be his equal. he soon came to his home in bjarg, and asmund gave him a fitting welcome. atli was then managing the property and the brothers agreed well together, but grettir became so over-weening that he thought nothing was beyond his powers. many of the youths with whom grettir had played at midfjordsvatn before he left were now grown up. audun, the son of asgeir, the son of audun, was now living at audunarstad in vididal. he was a good bondi and a kindly man, and was the strongest of all the men in the northern parts, as well as the most modest. grettir had not forgotten how he had seemingly been worsted by audun at the ball-play, as related above, and he was anxious to try which of them had gained most since. with this object he went at the beginning of the hay-harvest to audunarstad. grettir put on all his finery and rode with the coloured and richly ornamented saddle which thorfinn had given him, on a splendid horse and in his best armour to audun's place, where he arrived early in the day and knocked at the door. few of the men were in the house, and to grettir's question whether audun was at home, they replied that he had gone to the hill-dairy to bring home some produce. grettir took the bridle off his horse. the hay had not been mown in the meadow and the horse went for the part where the grass was thickest. grettir entered the room and sat down on the bench, where he fell asleep. soon audun returned home and saw a horse in the meadow with a coloured saddle on its back. he was bringing two horses loaded with curds in skins tied at the mouth--so-called "curd-bags." audun took the skins off the horses and was carrying them in his arms so that he could not see in front of him. grettir's leg was stretched out before him and audun stumbled over it, falling on the curd-bags which broke at the neck. audun sprang up and asked what rascal that was in his house. grettir told him his name. "that was very awkward of you," said audun. "but what do you want here?" "i want to fight with you." "first i must look after my dairy produce," audun said. "you can do that," answered grettir, "if you have no one else to do it for you." audun bent down, gathered up the skin and threw it right into grettir's breast, telling him to take what he sent him. grettir was all covered with curds, and felt more disgusted than at any wound which audun could have given him. then they went for each other and wrestled pretty smartly. grettir rushed at him, but audun escaped his grasp. he saw, however, that grettir had gained upon him. they drove up and down the room, overthrowing everything that was near them. neither of them spared himself, but grettir had the advantage, and at last audun fell, after tearing off all grettir's weapons. they struggled hard and the din was terrific. then there was a loud noise below. grettir heard a man ride up to the house, get off his horse and come quickly inside. he saw a handsome man in a red jacket wearing a helmet. hearing the commotion going on in the room where they were wrestling, he came in and asked what was in the room. grettir told him his name; "but who is it that wants to know?" he asked. "my name is bardi," answered the stranger. "are you bardi the son of gudmund from asbjarnarnes?" "the same," he replied. "but what are you after?" grettir said: "i and audun are playing here." "i don't know about your play," said bardi. "but you are not alike. you are overbearing and insolent, while he is modest and good-natured. let him get up at once." grettir said: "many a man seizes the lock for the door. you would do better to avenge your brother hall than to come between me and audun when we are contending." "i am always hearing that," said bardi, "and i don't know whether i shall ever obtain my vengeance. but i want you to leave audun in peace, for he is a quiet man." grettir said he was willing to do so because of bardi's intercession, though he did not like it much. bardi asked what they were contending about. grettir replied in a verse: "i know not if for all your pride he may not try your throat to squeeze. thus when within my home i dwelt did he once belabour me." bardi said there was certainly some excuse if he was taking revenge. "let me now settle it between you," he said. "let matters remain as they are and cease your strife." so they consented, for they were kinsmen. but grettir had little liking for bardi or his brothers. they all rode away together. on the way grettir said: "i hear, bardi, that you intend to go south to borgarfjord this summer; i propose that i shall go with you, which i think is more than you deserve." bardi was very pleased with this offer, and at once accepted it most thankfully. then they parted. bardi then turned back and said to grettir: "i would like it to be understood that you only come with me if it meets with thorarin's approval, since all the arrangements for the expedition are with him." "i thought," said grettir, "you were competent to make your arrangements for yourself. i do not leave my affairs to other people to settle. i shall take it very ill if you refuse me." then each went his own way. bardi promised to send grettir word "if thorarin wished him to go." otherwise he could remain quietly at home. grettir then rode to bjarg and bardi to his own home. chapter xxix. horse-fight at langafit that summer there was a great horse-fight at langafit below reykir, whither a great many people came together. atli of bjarg had a good stallion of keingala's race; grey with a dark stripe down his back. both father and son valued the horse highly. the two brothers kormak and thorgils in mel had a very mettlesome brown stallion, and they arranged to match it against that of atli from bjarg. many other excellent stallions were brought. odd the needy-skald, kormak's kinsman, had the charge of their horse on the day. he had grown into a strong man and had a high opinion of himself; he was surly and reckless. grettir asked atli who should have charge of his stallion. "that is not so clear to me," said atli. "would you like me to back him?" "then you must keep very cool, kinsman," he said. "we have men to deal with who are rather overbearing." "let them pay for their bluster," he said, "if they cannot control it." the stallions were led out and the mares tethered together in the front on the bank of the river. there was a large pool just beyond the bank. the horses fought vigorously and there was excellent sport. odd managed his horse pluckily and grettir gave way before him, holding the tail of his horse with one hand and with the other the stick with which he pricked it on. odd stood in the front by his horse, and one could not be sure that he was not pricking off atli's horse from his own. grettir pretended not to notice it. the horses then came near the river. then odd thrust with his pointed stick at grettir and caught him in the shoulder-blade which grettir was turning towards him. he struck pretty hard, and the flesh swelled up, but grettir was little hurt. at the same moment the horses reared. grettir ducked beneath the flank of his horse and drove his stick into odd's side with such violence that three of his ribs were broken and odd fell into the pool with his horse and all the mares that were tethered there by the bank. some people swam out and rescued them. there was great excitement about it. kormak's men on one side and those of bjarg on the other seized their arms, but the men of hrutafjord and vatnsnes came between them and parted them. they all went home in great wrath, but kept quiet for a time. atli said very little, but grettir rather swaggered and said that they should meet again if he had his way. chapter xxx. thorbjorn oxmain and the fray at hrutafjardarhals there was living in thoroddsstad in hrutafjord a man named thorbjorn. he was the son of arnor downy-nose, the son of thorodd who had settled in that side of hrutafjord which lies opposite to bakki. thorbjorn was of all men the strongest, and was called oxmain. he had a brother named thorodd, called drapustuf. their mother was gerd, daughter of bodvar from bodvarsholar. thorbjorn was a great swashbuckler and kept a large troop of followers. he was noted for being worse at getting servants than other men, and scarcely paid them any wages. he was not a man easy to deal with. there was a kinsman of his, also named thorbjorn, called slowcoach. he was a mariner, and the two namesakes were in partnership together. he was always at thoroddsstad and people did not think he made thorbjorn any better. he liked to talk scandal and spoke offensively of several men. there was a man named thorir, a son of thorkell, at bordeyr. he first lived at melar in hrutafjord, and had a daughter named helga who married sleitu-helgi. after the fagrabrekka affair thorir went south to haukadal and lived in skard, selling the property at melar to thorhall the winelander, the son of gamli. thorhall's son gamli married rannveig, the daughter of asmund longhair, grettir's sister. they lived at that time in melar and had a good establishment. thorir of skard had two sons, gunnar and thorgeir, both promising men, who took over the property from their father, but were always with thorbjorn oxmain, and became very overbearing. in the summer of that year kormak and thorgils rode with a kinsman of theirs named narfi south to nordrardal on some business. odd the needy-skald had recovered from the hurts which he had received at the horse-fight and was of the party. while they were south of the heath grettir was journeying from his home at bjarg with two of atli's men. they rode to burfell and then across the neck to hrutafjord, reaching melar in the evening, where they spent three nights. rannveig and gamli gave grettir a friendly reception and invited him to stay, but he wanted to return home. then grettir learned of kormak's company having come from the south, and that they were staying at tunga at night. he prepared to leave melar at once, and gamli offered to send some of his men with him. gamli's brother grim, who was very smart and active, and another rode with grettir. the party, five in number, came to hrutafjardarhals to the west of burfell, where the great stone called grettishaf lies; he struggled a long time with that stone, trying to lift it, and delayed his journey thereby until kormak's party came up. grettir went towards them and both alighted from their horses. grettir said it would be more seemly for free men to set to work with all their might instead of fighting with sticks like tramps. kormak told them to take up the challenge like men and to do their best. so they went for each other. grettir was in front of his men and told them to see that nobody got behind him. they fought for a time and both were hurt. on the same day thorbjorn oxmain had ridden across the neck to burfell, and as he returned with thorbjorn slowcoach, gunnar and thorgeir, the sons of thorir, and thorodd drapustuf, he saw the fight going on. on coming up, thorbjorn called upon his men to go between them, but they were struggling so furiously that nobody could get at them. grettir was making a clean sweep of everything round him. before him were the sons of thorir. he pushed them back and they both fell over. this made them furious, and the consequence was that gunnar gave a blow to one of atli's men which killed him. thorbjorn on seeing that ordered them to separate, saying that he would give his support to whichever side obeyed him. by then two of kormak's men had fallen. grettir saw that it would scarcely do if thorbjorn joined the opposite side, so he gave up the battle. all those who had fought were wounded. grettir was much disgusted at their being separated, but both parties rode home and were not reconciled on this occasion. thorbjorn slowcoach made great game of all this, and the relations between the men of bjarg and thorbjorn oxmain became strained in consequence, until at last there was a regular feud, which however broke out later. no compensation was offered to atli for his man, and he went on as if he knew nothing of it. grettir stayed at bjarg till the tvi-month. it is not known that he and kormak ever met again; at least it is not mentioned anywhere. chapter xxxi. grettir's vain endeavour to provoke bardi bardi the son of gudmund and his brothers rode home to asbjarnarnes when they left grettir. they were the sons of gudmund the son of solmund. solmund's mother was thorlaug, daughter of saemund the southerner, the foster-brother of ingimund the old. bardi was a man of great distinction. soon he went to see his foster-father thorarin the wise, who welcomed him and asked what help he had been able to obtain, for bardi's journey had been arranged beforehand by them both. bardi answered that he had engaged a man whose help he thought worth more than that of two others. thorarin was silent for a moment and then said: "that must be grettir the son of asmund." "the guess of the wise is truth," said bardi. "that is the very man, my foster-father." thorarin answered: "it is true that grettir is beyond all other men of whom there is now choice in the country; nor will he be easily subdued by arms so long as he is sound. but great arrogance is in him now, and i have misgivings as to his luck. it is important for you that all your men on your expedition are not men of an evil star. it is enough if he does not fare with you. he shall not come if my counsel is followed." "i did not expect, my foster-father," said he, "that you would deny me the man who is bravest in all that he undertakes. a man in such straits as i seem to be in cannot provide against everything." "it will be better for you," he replied, "to let me provide." so it came about that as thorarin desired, word was not sent to grettir. bardi went to the south and the battle of the heath was fought. grettir was at bjarg when he received the news that bardi had started on his expedition. he was very angry that word had not been sent to him, and said it should not end there. he found out when they were expected back from the south, and rode off to thoreyjargnup, where he meant to lie in wait for bardi and his men as they rode back. he left the homestead behind and remained at the cliffs. on that day rode bardi back from the battle of the heath from tvidaegra; there were six of them in his party, all sorely wounded. when they came to the homestead bardi said: "there is a man up there on the cliff, very tall and armed. whom do you take him for?" they could not say who he was. bardi said: "i believe it is grettir the son of asmund. if it is, he will be wanting to meet us, for i expect he is little pleased at not having been with us. it seems to me that we are not in a very fit condition if he wants to annoy us. i will send home to thoreyjargnup for some men and not allow myself to be put out by his evil intentions." they said that was the best thing he could do, and it was done. bardi's party rode on; grettir watched where they were going and went there too. they met and greeted each other. grettir asked what the news was, and bardi told him without hesitation. grettir asked who had been with them. bardi answered that his brothers and eyjvolf his brother-in-law had been with him. "you have wiped out your disgrace," said grettir. "now the next thing is for us two here to try which is the stronger." "i have more urgent business," said bardi, "than to fight with you about nothing. i think i may be excused that now." "it seems to me that you are afraid, bardi; that is the reason why you dare not fight me." "call it what you please. if you wish to bully, find some one else; that seems to be what you want, for your insolence passes all bounds." grettir thought luck was against him. he hesitated now whether he should attack any of them; it seemed rather rash as they were six and he was only one. then the men from thoreyjargnup came up and joined bardi's party, so he left them and went back to his horse. bardi and his men went on, and there was no greeting between them when they parted. we are not told that any strife arose between bardi and grettir after this. grettir once said that he would trust himself to fight with most men if there were not more than three against him. even with four he would not give way without trying, but more he would not attempt, except in self-defence. thus he says in a verse: "oh skilled in war! when three are before me i yet will endeavour to fight with them all. but more than four i dare not encounter in the clashing of arms, if the choice is with me." on leaving bardi, grettir returned to bjarg, and was much aggrieved at finding nothing to try his strength on. he sought everywhere for something to fight with. chapter xxxii. the spook at thorhallsstad. glam the shepherd killed by a fiend. his ghost walks there was a man named thorhall living in thorhallsstad in forsaeludal, up from vatnsdal. he was the son of grim, the son of thorhall, the son of fridmund, who was the first settler in forsaeludal. thorhall's wife was named gudrun; they had a son named grim and a daughter named thurid who were just grown up. thorhall was fairly wealthy, especially in live-stock. his property in cattle exceeded that of any other man. he was not a chief, but an honest bondi nevertheless. he had great difficulty in getting a shepherd to suit him because the place was haunted. he consulted many men of experience as to what he should do, but nobody gave him any advice which was of any use. thorhall had good horses, and went every summer to the thing. on one occasion at the all-thing he went to the booth of the lawman skapti the son of thorodd, who was a man of great knowledge and gave good counsel to those who consulted him. there was a great difference between thorodd the father and skapti the son in one respect. thorodd possessed second sight, but was thought by some not to be straight, whereas skapti gave to every man the advice which he thought would avail him, if he followed it exactly, and so earned the name of father-betterer. so thorhall went to skapti's booth, where skapti, knowing that he was a man of wealth, received him graciously, and asked what the news was. "i want some good counsel from you," said thorhall. "i am little fit to give you counsel," he replied; "but what is it that you need?" "it is this: i have great difficulty in keeping my shepherds. some get injured and others cannot finish their work. no one will come to me if he knows what he has to expect." skapti answered: "there must be some evil spirit abroad if men are less willing to tend your flocks than those of other men. now since you have come to me for counsel, i will get you a shepherd. his name is glam, and he came from sylgsdale in sweden last summer. he is a big strong man, but not to everybody's mind." thorhall said that did not matter so long as he looked after the sheep properly. skapti said there was not much chance of getting another if this man with all his strength and boldness should fail. then thorhall departed. this happened towards the end of the thing. two of thorhall's horses were missing, and he went himself to look for them, which made people think he was not much of a man. he went up under sledaass and south along the hill called armannsfell. then he saw a man coming down from godaskog bringing some brushwood with a horse. they met and thorhall asked him his name. he said it was glam. he was a big man with an extraordinary expression of countenance, large grey eyes and wolfgrey hair. thorhall was a little startled when he saw him, but soon found out that this was the man who had been sent to him. "what work can you do best?" he asked. glam said it would suit him very well to mind sheep in the winter. "will you mind my sheep?" thorhall asked. "skapti has given you over to me." "my service will only be of use to you if i am free to do as i please," he said. "i am rather crossgrained when i am not well pleased." "that will not hurt me," said thorhall. "i shall be glad if you will come to me." "i can do so," he said. "are there any special difficulties?" "the place seems to be haunted." "i am not afraid of ghosts. it will be the less dull." "you will have to risk it," said thorhall. "it will be best to meet it with a bold face." terms were arranged and glam was to come in the autumn. then they parted. thorhall found his horses in the very place where he had just been looking for them. he rode home and thanked skapti for his service. the summer passed. thorhall heard nothing of his shepherd and no one knew anything about him, but at the appointed time he appeared at thorhallsstad. thorhall treated him kindly, but all the rest of the household disliked him, especially the mistress. he commenced his work as shepherd, which gave him little trouble. he had a loud hoarse voice. the beasts all flocked together whenever he shouted at them. there was a church in the place, but glam never went to it. he abstained from mass, had no religion, and was stubborn and surly. every one hated him. so the time passed till the eve of yule-tide. glam rose early and called for his meal. the mistress said: "it is not proper for christian men to eat on this day, because to-morrow is the first day of yule and it is our duty to fast to-day." "you have many superstitions," he said; "but i do not see that much comes of them. i do not know that men are any better off than when there was nothing of that kind. the ways of men seemed to me better when they were called heathen. i want my food and no foolery." "i am certain," she said, "that it will fare ill with you to-day if you commit this sin." glam told her that she should bring his food, or that it would be the worse for her. she did not dare to do otherwise than as he bade her. when he had eaten he went out, his breath smelling abominably. it was very dark; there was driving snow, the wind was howling and it became worse as the day advanced. the shepherd's voice was heard in the early part of the day, but less later on. blizzards set in and a terrific storm in the evening. people went to mass and so the time passed. in the evening glam did not return. they talked about going out to look for him, but the storm was so violent and the night so dark that no one went. the night passed and still he had not returned; they waited till the time for mass came. when it was full day some of the men set forth to search. they found the animals scattered everywhere in the snow and injured by the weather; some had strayed into the mountains. then they came upon some well-marked tracks up above in the valley. the stones and earth were torn up all about as if there had been a violent tussle. on searching further they came upon glam lying on the ground a short distance off. he was dead; his body was as black as hel and swollen to the size of an ox. they were overcome with horror and their hearts shuddered within them. nevertheless they tried to carry him to the church, but could not get him any further than the edge of a gully a short way off. so they left him there and went home to report to the bondi what had happened. he asked what could have caused glam's death. they said they had tracked him to a big place like a hole made by the bottom of a cask thrown down and dragged along up below the mountains which were at the top of the valley, and all along the track were great drops of blood. they concluded that the evil spirit which had been about before must have killed glam, but that he had inflicted wounds upon it which were enough, for that spook was never heard of again. on the second day of the festival they went out again to bring in glam's body to the church. they yoked oxen to him, but directly the downward incline ceased and they came to level ground, they could not move him; so they went home again and left him. on the third day they took a priest with them, but after searching the whole day they failed to find him. the priest refused to go again, and when he was not with them they found glam. so they gave up the attempt to bring him to the church and buried him where he was under a cairn of stones. it was not long before men became aware that glam was not easy in his grave. many men suffered severe injuries; some who saw him were struck senseless and some lost their wits. soon after the festival was over, men began to think they saw him about their houses. the panic was great and many left the neighbourhood. next he began to ride on the house-tops by night, and nearly broke them to pieces. almost night and day he walked, and people would scarcely venture up the valley, however pressing their business. the district was in a grievous condition. chapter xxxiii. doings of glam's ghost. awful condition of vatnsdal in the spring thorhall procured servants and built a house on his lands. as the days lengthened out the apparitions became less, until at midsummer a ship sailed up the hunavatn in which was a man named thorgaut. he was a foreigner, very tall and powerful; he had the strength of two men. he was travelling on his own account, unattached, and being without money was looking out for employment. thorhall rode to the ship, saw him and asked if he would take service with him. thorgaut said he would indeed, and that there would be no difficulties. "you must be prepared," said thorhall, "for work which would not be fitting for a weak-minded person, because of the apparitions which have been there lately. i will not deceive you about it." "i shall not give myself up as lost for the ghostlings," he said. "before i am scared some others will not be easy. i shall not change my quarters on that account." the terms were easily arranged and thorgaut was engaged for the sheep during the winter. when the summer had passed away he took over charge of them, and was on good terms with everybody. glam continued his rides on the roofs. thorgaut thought it very amusing and said the thrall must come nearer if he wished to frighten him. thorhall advised him not to say too much, and said it would be better if they did not come into conflict. thorgaut said: "surely all the spirit has gone out of you. i shall not fall dead in the twilight for stories of that sort." yule was approaching. on the eve the shepherd went out with his sheep. the mistress said: "now i hope that our former experiences will not be repeated." "have no fear for that, mistress," he said. "there will be something worth telling of if i come not back." then he went out to his sheep. the weather was rather cold and there was a heavy snowstorm. thorgaut usually returned when it was getting dark, but this time he did not come. the people went to church as usual, but they thought matters looked very much as they did on the last occasion. the bondi wanted them to go out and search for the shepherd, but the churchgoers cried off, and said they were not going to trust themselves into the power of trolls in the night; the bondi would not venture out and there was no search. on yule day after their meal they went out to look for the shepherd, and first went to glam's cairn, feeling sure that the shepherd's disappearance must be due to him. on approaching the cairn they saw an awful sight; there was the shepherd, his neck broken, and every bone in his body torn from its place. they carried him to the church and no one was molested by thorgaut. glam became more rampageous than ever. he was so riotous that at last everybody fled from thorhallsstad, excepting the bondi and his wife. thorhall's cowherd had been a long time in his service and he had become attached to him; for this reason and because he was a careful herdsman he did not want to part with him. the man was very old and thought it would be very troublesome to have to leave; he saw, too, that everything the bondi possessed would be ruined if he did not stay to look after them. one morning after midwinter the mistress went to the cow-house to milk the cows as usual. it was then full day, for no one would venture out of doors till then, except the cowherd, who went directly it was light. she heard a great crash in the cow-house and tremendous bellowing. she rushed in, shouting that something awful, she knew not what, was going on in the cow-house. the bondi went out and found the cattle all goring each other. it seemed not canny there, so he went into the shed and there saw the cowherd lying on his back with his head in one stall and his feet in the other. he went up and felt him, but saw at once that he was dead with his back broken. it had been broken over the flat stone which separated the two stalls. evidently it was not safe to remain any longer on his estate, so he fled with everything that he could carry away. all the live-stock which he left behind was killed by glam. after that glam went right up the valley and raided every farm as far as tunga, while thorhall stayed with his friends during the rest of the winter. no one could venture up the valley with a horse or a dog, for it was killed at once. as the spring went on and the sun rose higher in the sky the spook diminished somewhat, and thorhall wanted to return to his land, but found it not easy to get servants. nevertheless, he went and took up his abode at thorhallsstad. directly the autumn set in, everything began again, and the disturbances increased. the person most attacked was the bondi's daughter, who at last died of it. many things were tried but without success. it seemed likely that the whole of vatnsdal would be devastated unless help could be found. chapter xxxiv. grettir visits his uncle jokull we have now to return to grettir, who was at home in bjarg during the autumn which followed his meeting with warrior-bardi at thoreyjargnup. when the winter was approaching, he rode north across the neck to vididal and stayed at audunarstad. he and audun made friends again; grettir gave him a valuable battle-axe and they agreed to hold together in friendship. audun had long lived there, and had many connections. he had a son named egill, who married ulfheid the daughter of eyjolf, the son of gudmund; their son eyjolf, who was killed at the all-thing, was the father of orin the chaplain of bishop thorlak. grettir rode to the north to vatnsdal and went on a visit to tunga, where dwelt his mother's brother, jokull the son of bard, a big strong man and exceedingly haughty. he was a mariner, very cantankerous, but a person of much consideration. he welcomed grettir, who stayed three nights with him. nothing was talked about but glam's walking, and grettir inquired minutely about all the particulars. jokull told him that no more was said than had really happened. "why, do you want to go there?" he asked. grettir said that it was so. jokull told him not to do it. "it would be a most hazardous undertaking," he said. "your kinsmen incur a great risk with you as you are. there does not seem to be one of the younger men who is your equal. it is ill dealing with such a one as glam. much better fight with human men than with goblins of that sort." grettir said he had a mind to go to thorhallsstad and see how things were. jokull said: "i see there is no use in dissuading you. the saying is true that luck is one thing, brave deeds another." "woe stands before the door of one but enters that of another," answered grettir. "i am thinking how it may fare with you yourself before all is done." "it may be," said jokull, "that we both see what is before us, and yet we may not alter it." then they parted, neither of them well pleased with the other's prophetic saying. chapter xxxv. the fight with glam's ghost grettir rode to thorhallsstad where he was welcomed by the bondi. he asked grettir whither he was bound, and grettir said he wished to spend the night there if the bondi permitted. thorhall said he would indeed be thankful to him for staying there. "few," he said, "think it a gain to stay here for any time. you must have heard tell of the trouble that is here, and i do not want you to be inconvenienced on my account. even if you escape unhurt yourself, i know for certain that you will lose your horse, for no one can keep his beast in safety who comes here." grettir said there were plenty more horses to be had if anything happened to this one. thorhall was delighted at grettir's wishing to remain, and received him with both hands. grettir's horse was placed securely under lock and key and they both went to bed. the night passed without glam showing himself. "your being here has already done some good," said thorhall. "glam has always been in the habit of riding on the roof or breaking open the doors every night, as you can see from the marks." "then," grettir said, "either he will not keep quiet much longer, or he will remain so more than one night. i will stay another night and see what happens." then they went to grettir's horse and found it had not been touched. the bondi thought that all pointed to the same thing. grettir stayed a second night and again the thrall did not appear. the bondi became hopeful and went to see the horse. there he found the stable broken open, the horse dragged outside and every bone in his body broken. thorhall told grettir what had occurred and advised him to look to himself, for he was a dead man if he waited for glam. grettir answered: "i must not have less for my horse than a sight of the thrall." the bondi said there was no pleasure to be had from seeing him: "he is not like any man. i count every hour a gain that you are here." the day passed, and when the hour came for going to bed grettir said he would not take off his clothes, and lay down on a seat opposite to thorkell's sleeping apartment. he had a shaggy cloak covering him with one end of it fastened under his feet and the other drawn over his head so that he could see through the neck-hole. he set his feet against a strong bench which was in front of him. the frame-work of the outer door had been all broken away and some bits of wood had been rigged up roughly in its place. the partition which had once divided the hall from the entrance passage was all broken, both above the cross-beam and below, and all the bedding had been upset. the place looked rather desolate. there was a light burning in the hall by night. when about a third part of the night had passed grettir heard a loud noise. something was going up on to the building, riding above the hall and kicking with its heels until the timbers cracked again. this went on for some time, and then it came down towards the door. the door opened and grettir saw the thrall stretching in an enormously big and ugly head. glam moved slowly in, and on passing the door stood upright, reaching to the roof. he turned to the hall, resting his arms on the cross-beam and peering along the hall. the bondi uttered no sound, having heard quite enough of what had gone on outside. grettir lay quite still and did not move. glam saw a heap of something in the seat, came farther into the hall and seized the cloak tightly with his hand. grettir pressed his foot against the plank and the cloak held firm. glam tugged at it again still more violently, but it did not give way. a third time he pulled, this time with both hands and with such force that he pulled grettir up out of the seat, and between them the cloak was torn in two. glam looked at the bit which he held in his hand and wondered much who could pull like that against him. suddenly grettir sprang under his arms, seized him round the waist and squeezed his back with all his might, intending in that way to bring him down, but the thrall wrenched his arms till he staggered from the violence. then grettir fell back to another bench. the benches flew about and everything was shattered around them. glam wanted to get out, but grettir tried to prevent him by stemming his foot against anything he could find. nevertheless glam succeeded in getting him outside the hall. then a terrific struggle began, the thrall trying to drag him out of the house, and grettir saw that however hard he was to deal with in the house, he would be worse outside, so he strove with all his might to keep him from getting out. then glam made a desperate effort and gripped grettir tightly towards him, forcing him to the porch. grettir saw that he could not put up any resistance, and with a sudden movement he dashed into the thrall's arms and set both his feet against a stone which was fastened in the ground at the door. for that glam was not prepared, since he had been tugging to drag grettir towards him; he reeled backwards and tumbled hind-foremost out of the door, tearing away the lintel with his shoulder and shattering the roof, the rafters and the frozen thatch. head over heels he fell out of the house and grettir fell on top of him. the moon was shining very brightly outside, with light clouds passing over it and hiding it now and again. at the moment when glam fell the moon shone forth, and glam turned his eyes up towards it. grettir himself has related that that sight was the only one which ever made him tremble. what with fatigue and all else that he had endured, when he saw the horrible rolling of glam's eyes his heart sank so utterly that he had not strength to draw his sword, but lay there well-nigh betwixt life and death. glam possessed more malignant power than most fiends, for he now spoke in this wise: "you have expended much energy, grettir, in your search for me. nor is that to be wondered at, if you should have little joy thereof. and now i tell you that you shall possess only half the strength and firmness of heart that were decreed to you if you had not striven with me. the might which was yours till now i am not able to take away, but it is in my power to ordain that never shall you grow stronger than you are now. nevertheless your might is sufficient, as many shall find to their cost. hitherto you have earned fame through your deeds, but henceforward there shall fall upon you exile and battle; your deeds shall turn to evil and your guardian-spirit shall forsake you. you will be outlawed and your lot shall be to dwell ever alone. and this i lay upon you, that these eyes of mine shall be ever before your vision. you will find it hard to live alone, and at last it shall drag you to death." when the thrall had spoken the faintness which had come over grettir left him. he drew his short sword, cut off glam's head and laid it between his thighs. then the bondi came out, having put on his clothes while glam was speaking, but he did not venture to come near until he was dead. thorhall praised god and thanked grettir warmly for having laid this unclean spirit. then they set to work and burned glam to cold cinders, bound the ashes in a skin and buried them in a place far away from the haunts of man or beast. then they went home, the day having nearly broken. grettir was very stiff and lay down to rest. thorhall sent for some men from the next farms and let them know how things had fared. they all realised the importance of grettir's deed when they heard of it; all agreed that in the whole country side for strength and courage and enterprise there was not the equal of grettir the son of asmund. thorhall bade a kindly farewell to grettir and dismissed him with a present of a fine horse and proper clothes, for all that he had been wearing were torn to pieces. they parted in friendship. grettir rode to ass in vatnsdal and was welcomed by thorvald, who asked him all about his encounter with glam. grettir told him everything and said that never had his strength been put to trial as it had been in their long struggle. thorvald told him to conduct himself discreetly; if he did so he might prosper, but otherwise he would surely come to disaster. grettir said that his temper had not improved, that he had even less discretion than before, and was more impatient of being crossed. in one thing a great change had come over him; he had become so frightened of the dark that he dared not go anywhere alone at night. apparitions of every kind came before him. it has since passed into an expression, and men speak of "glam's eyes" or "glam visions" when things appear otherwise than as they are. having accomplished his undertaking grettir rode back to bjarg and spent the winter at home. chapter xxxvi. thorbjorn slowcoach at home thorbjorn oxmain gave a great feast in the autumn at which many were assembled, whilst grettir was in the north in vatnsdal. thorbjorn slowcoach was there and many things were talked about. the hrutafjord people inquired about grettir's adventure on the ridge in the summer. thorbjorn oxmain praised grettir's conduct, and said that kormak would have had the worst of it if no one had come to part them. then thorbjorn slowcoach said: "what i saw of grettir's fighting was not famous; and he seemed inclined to shirk when we came up. he was very ready to leave off, nor did i see him make any attempt to avenge the death of atli's man. i do not believe there is much heart in him, except when he has a sufficient force behind him." thorbjorn went on jeering at him in this way. many of the others had something to say about it, and they thought that grettir would not leave it to rest if he heard what thorbjorn was saying. nothing more happened at the festivities; they all went home, and there was a good deal of ill-will between them all that winter, though no one took any action. nothing more happened that winter. chapter xxxvii. grettir sails for norway and kills thorbjorn slowcoach early in the spring, before the meeting of the thing, there arrived a ship from norway. there was much news to tell, above all of the change of government. olaf the son of harald was now king, having driven away jarl sveinn from the country in the spring which followed the battle of nesjar. many noteworthy things were told of king olaf. men said that he took into favour all men who were skilled in any way and made them his followers. this pleased many of the younger men in iceland and made them all want to leave home. when grettir heard of it he longed to go too, deeming that he merited the king's favour quite as much as any of the others. a ship came up to gasar in eyjafjord; grettir engaged a passage in her and prepared to go abroad. he had not much outfit as yet. asmund was now becoming very infirm and scarcely left his bed. he and asdis had a young son named illugi, a youth of much promise. atli had taken over all the management of the farm and the goods, and things went much better, for he was both obliging and provident. grettir embarked on his ship. thorbjorn slowcoach had arranged to travel in the same vessel without knowing that grettir would be in her. some of his friends tried to dissuade him from travelling in grettir's company, but he insisted upon going. he was rather a long time over his preparations and did not get to gasar before the ship was ready to sail. before he left home asmund longhair was taken ill and was quite confined to his bed. thorbjorn slowcoach arrived on the beach late in the day, when the men were going on board and were washing their hands outside near their booths. when he rode up to the rows of booths they greeted him and asked what news there was. "i have nothing to tell," he said, "except that the valorous asmund at bjarg is now dead." some of them said that a worthy bondi had left the world and asked how it happened. "a poor lot befell his valour," he replied. "he was suffocated by the smoke from the hearth, like a dog. there is no great loss in him, for he was in his dotage." "you talk strangely about such a man as he was," they said. "grettir would not be much pleased if he heard you." "i can endure grettir's wrath," he said. "he must bear his axe higher than he did at hrutafjardarhals if he wishes to frighten me." grettir heard every word that thorbjorn said, but took no notice as long as he was speaking. when he had finished grettir said: "i prophesy, slowcoach, that you will not die of the smoke from the hearth, and yet perhaps you will not die of old age either. it is strange conduct to say shameful things of innocent men." thorbjorn said: "i have nothing to unsay. i never thought you would fire up like this on the day when we got you out of the hands of the men of mel who were belabouring you like an ox's head." then grettir spoke a verse: "too long is the tongue of the spanner of bows. full often he suffers the vengeance due. slowcoach! i tell thee that many a man has paid for less shameful speech with his life." thorbjorn said his life was neither more nor less in danger than it was before. "my prophecies are not generally long-lived," said grettir, "nor shall this one be. defend yourself if you will; you never will have better occasion for it than now." grettir then struck at him. he tried to parry the blow with his arm, but it struck him above the wrist and glanced off on to his neck so that his head flew off. the sailors declared it was a splendid stroke, and that such were the men for the king. no one would grieve, they said, because a man so quarrelsome and scurrilous as thorbjorn had been killed. soon after this they got under way and towards the end of the summer reached the south coast of norway, about hordland, where they learned that king olaf was in the north at thrandheim. grettir took a passage thither with some traders intending to seek audience of the king. chapter xxxviii. grettir fetches fire--the sons of thorir are burnt there was a man named thorir dwelling in gard in adaldal. he was a son of skeggi bodolfsson, who had settled in kelduhverfi, on lands extending right up to keldunes, and had married helga the daughter of thorgeir at fiskilaek. thorir was a great chief, and a mariner. he had two sons whose names were thorgeir and skeggi, both men of promise, and pretty well grown up at that time. thorir had been in norway in the summer in which olaf came east from england, and had won great favour with the king as well as with bishop sigurd. in token of this it is related that thorir asked the bishop to consecrate a large sea-going ship he had built in the forest, and the bishop did so. later he came out to iceland and had his ship broken up because he was tired of seafaring. he set up the figures from her head and stem over his doors, where they long remained foretelling the weather, one howling for a south, the other for a north wind. when thorir heard that olaf had become sole ruler of norway he thought he might expect favour from him, so he dispatched his sons to norway to wait upon the king, hoping that they would be received into his service. they reached the south coast late in the autumn and engaged a rowing vessel to take them up the coast to the north, intending to go to the king. they reached a port to the south of stad, where they put in for a few days. they were well provided with food and drink, and did not go out much because of the bad weather. grettir also sailed to the north along the coast, and as the winter was just beginning he often fell in with dirty weather. when they reached the neighbourhood of stad the weather became worse, and at last one evening they were so exhausted with the snow and frost that they were compelled to put in and lie under a bank where they found shelter for their goods and belongings. the men were very much distressed at not being able to procure any fire; their safety and their lives seemed almost to depend upon their getting some. they lay there in a pitiful condition all the evening, and as night came on they saw a large fire on the other side of the channel which they were in. when grettir's companions saw the fire they began talking and saying that he who could get some of it would be a happy man. they hesitated for some time whether they should put out, but all agreed that it would be too dangerous. then they had a good deal of talk about whether there was any man living doughty enough to get the fire. grettir kept very quiet, but said that there probably had been men who would not have let themselves be baulked. the men said that they were none the better for what had been if there were none now. "but won't you venture, grettir? the people of iceland all talk so much about your prowess, and you know very well what we want." grettir said: "it does not seem to me such a great thing to get the fire, but i do not know whether you will reward it any better than he requires who does it." "why," they said, "should you take us to be men of so little honour that we shall not reward you well?" "well," said grettir, "if you really think it so necessary i will try it; but my heart tells me that no good will come to me therefrom." they said it would not be so, and told him that he should have their thanks. then grettir threw off his clothes and got ready to go into the water. he went in a cloak and breeches of coarse stuff. he tucked up the cloak, tied a cord of bast round his waist, and took a barrel with him. then he jumped overboard, swam across the channel and reached the land on the other side. there he saw a house standing and heard sounds of talking and merriment issuing from it. so he went towards the house. we have now to tell of the people who were in the house. they were the sons of thorir who have been mentioned. they had been there some days waiting for a change of weather and for a wind to carry them to the north. there were twelve of them and they were all sitting and drinking. they had made fast in the inner harbour where there was a place of shelter set up for men who were travelling about the country, and they had carried in a quantity of straw. there was a huge fire on the ground. grettir rushed into the house, not knowing who was there. his cloak had all frozen directly he landed, and he was a portentous sight to behold; he looked like a troll. the people inside were much startled, thinking it was a fiend. they struck at him with anything they could get, and a tremendous uproar there was. grettir pushed them back with his arms. some of them struck at him with firebrands, and the fire spread all through the house. he got away with his fire and returned to his companions, who were loud in praise of his skill and daring, and said there was no one like him. the night passed and they were happy now that they had fire. on the next morning the weather was fine. they all woke early and made ready to continue their journey. it was proposed that they should go and find out who the people were who had had the fire, so they cast off and sailed across the channel. they found no house there, nothing but a heap of ashes and a good many bones of men amongst them. evidently the house with all who were in it had been burned. they asked whether grettir had done it, and declared it was an abominable deed. grettir said that what he expected had come to pass, and that he was ill rewarded for getting the fire for them. he said it was thankless work to help such miserable beings as they were. he suffered much annoyance in consequence, for wherever the traders went they told that grettir had burned the men in the house. soon it became known that it was the sons of thorir of gard and their followers who had been burned. the traders refused to have grettir on board their ship any longer and drove him away. he was so abhorred that scarcely any one would do him a service. his case seemed hopeless, and his only desire was at any cost to appear before the king. so he went north to thrandheim where the king was, and had heard the whole story before grettir came, for many had been busy in slandering him. grettir waited several days in the town before he was able to appear before the king. chapter xxxix. grettir appears before the king and fails to undergo the ordeal one day when the king was sitting in judgment grettir came before him and saluted him respectfully. the king looked at him and said: "are you grettir the strong?" "so i have been called," he replied, "and i have come here in the hope of obtaining deliverance from the slanders which are being spread about me, and to say that i did not do this deed." the king said: "you are worthy enough; but i know not what fortune you will have in defending yourself. it is quite possible that you did not intend to burn the men in the house." grettir said that he was most anxious to prove his innocence if the king would permit him. then the king bade him relate faithfully all that had happened. grettir told him everything exactly as it was, and declared that they were all alive when he escaped with his fire; he was ready to undergo any ordeal which the king considered that the law required. king olaf said: "i decree that you shall bear iron, if your fate so wills it." grettir was quite content with that, and began his fast for the ordeal. when the day for the ceremony arrived the king and the bishop went to the church together with a multitude of people who came out of curiosity to see a man so much talked about as grettir. at last grettir himself was led to the church. when he entered many looked at him and remarked that he excelled most men in strength and stature. as he passed down the aisle there started up a very ill-favoured, overgrown boy and cried to him: "wondrous are now the ways in a land where men should call themselves christians, when evil-doers and robbers and thieves walk in peace to purge themselves. what should a wicked man find better to do than to preserve his life so long as he may? here is now a malefactor convicted of guilt, one who has burnt innocent men in their houses, and yet is allowed to undergo purgation. such a thing is most unrighteous." then he went at grettir, pointing at him with his finger, making grimaces and calling him son of a sea-ogress, with many other bad names. then grettir lost his temper and his self-control. he raised his hand and gave him a box on the ear so that he fell senseless, and some thought he was dead. no one seemed to know whence the boy had come nor what became of him afterwards, but it was generally believed that he was some unclean spirit sent forth for the destruction of grettir. there arose an uproar in the church; people told the king that the man who had come to purge himself was fighting with those around him. king olaf came forward into the church to see what was going on, and said: "you are a man of ill luck, grettir. all was prepared for the ordeal, but it cannot take place now. it is not possible to contend against your ill-fortune." grettir said: "i expected, oh king, more honour from you for the sake of my family than i now seem likely to obtain." then he told again the story as he had done before of what had taken place with the men. "gladly," he said, "would i enter your service; there is many a man with you who is not my better as a warrior." "i know," said the king, "that few are your equals in strength and courage, but your luck is too bad for you to remain with me. you have my leave to depart in peace whithersoever you will for the winter, and then in the summer you may return to iceland, where you are destined to lay your bones." "first i should like to clear myself of the charge of burning, if i may," said grettir; "for i did not do it intentionally." "very likely it is so," said the king; "but since the purgation has come to naught through your impatience you cannot clear yourself further than you have done. impetuosity always leads to evil. if ever a man was doomed to misfortune you are." after that grettir remained for a time in the town, but he got nothing more out of olaf. then he went to the south, intending after that to go east to tunsberg to find his brother thorsteinn dromund. nothing is told of his journey till he came to jadar. chapter xl. adventure with the berserk snaekoll at yule grettir came to a bondi named einar, a man of wealth who had a wife and a marriageable daughter named gyrid. she was a beautiful maiden and was considered an excellent match. einar invited grettir to stay over yule, and he accepted. it was no uncommon thing throughout norway that robbers and other ruffians came down from the forest and challenged men to fight for their women, or carried off their property with violence if there was not sufficient force in the house to protect them. one day at yule-tide there came a whole party of these miscreants to einar's house. their leader was a great berserk named snaekoll. he challenged einar to hand over his daughter to him or else to defend her, if he felt himself man enough to do so. now the bondi was no longer young, and no fighter. he felt that he was in a great difficulty, and asked grettir privately what help he would give him, seeing that he was held to be so famous a man. grettir advised him to consent only to what was not dishonourable. the berserk was sitting on his horse wearing his helmet, the chin-piece of which was not fastened. he held before him a shield bound with iron and looked terribly threatening. he said to the bondi: "you had better choose quickly: either one thing or the other. what does that big fellow standing beside you say? would he not like to play with me himself?" "one of us is as good as the other," said grettir, "neither of us is very active." "all the more afraid will you be to fight with me if i get angry." "that will be seen when it is tried," said grettir. the berserk thought they were trying to get off by talking. he began to howl and to bite the rim of his shield. he held the shield up to his mouth and scowled over its upper edge like a madman. grettir stepped quickly across the ground, and when he got even with the berserk's horse he kicked the shield with his foot from below with such force that it struck his mouth, breaking the upper jaw, and the lower jaw fell down on to his chest. with the same movement he seized the viking's helmet with his left hand and dragged him from his horse, while with his right hand he raised his axe and cut off the berserk's head. snaekoll's followers when they saw what had happened fled, every man of them. grettir did not care to pursue them for he saw that there was no heart in them. the bondi thanked him for what he had done, as did many other men, for the quickness and boldness of his deed had impressed them much. grettir stayed there for yule and was well taken care of till he left, when the bondi dismissed him handsomely. then grettir went east to tunsberg to visit his brother thorsteinn, who received him joyfully and asked him about his adventures. grettir told him how he had killed the berserk, and composed a verse: "the warrior's shield by my foot propelled in conflict came with snaekoll's mouth. his nether jaw hung down on his chest, wide gaped his mouth from the iron ring." "you would be very handy at many things," said thorsteinn, "if misfortune did not follow you." "men will tell of deeds that are done," said grettir. chapter xli. thorsteinn dromund's arms grettir stayed with thorsteinn for the rest of the winter and on into the spring. one morning when thorsteinn and grettir were above in their sleepingroom grettir put out his arm from the bed-clothes and thorsteinn noticed it when he awoke. soon after grettir woke too, and thorsteinn said: "i have been looking at your arms, kinsman, and think it is not wonderful that your blows fall heavily upon some. never have i seen any man's arms that were like yours." "you may know," said grettir, "that i should not have done the deeds i have if i had not been very mighty." "yet methinks it would be of advantage," said thorsteinn, "if your arm were more slender and your fortune better." "true," said grettir, "is the saying that no man shapes his own fortune. let me see your arm." thorsteinn showed it to him. he was a tall lanky man. grettir smiled and said: "there is no need to look long at that; all your ribs are run together. i never saw such a pair of tongs as you carry about! why, you are scarcely as strong as a woman!" "it may be so," said thorsteinn, "and yet you may know that these thin arms of mine and no others will avenge you some day;--if you are avenged." "who shall know how it will be when the end comes?" said grettir; "but that seems unlikely." no more is related of their conversation. the spring came and grettir took a ship for iceland in the summer. the brothers parted with friendship and never saw one another again. chapter xlii. death of asmund longhair we have now to return to where we broke off before. thorbjorn oxmain when he heard of the death of thorbjorn slowcoach flew into a violent passion and said he wished that more men might deal blows in other people's houses. asmund longhair lay sick for some time in the summer. when he thought his end was nigh he called his kinsmen round him and said his will was that atli should take over all the property after his day. "i fear," he said, "that the wicked will scarce leave you in peace. and i wish all my kinsmen to support him to the best of their power. of grettir i can say nothing, for his condition seems to me like a rolling wheel. strong though he is, i fear he will have more dealing with trouble than with kinsmen's support. and illugi, though young now, shall become a man of valiant deeds if he remain unscathed." when asmund had settled everything with his sons according to his wish his sickness grew upon him. he died soon after and was buried at bjarg, where he had had a church built. all felt his loss deeply. atli became a great bondi and kept a large establishment. he was a great dealer in household provisions. towards the end of the summer he went to snaefellsnes to get dried fish. he drove several horses with him and rode from home to melar in hrutafjord to his brother-in-law, gamli. then grim, the son of thorhall, gamli's brother, made ready to accompany him along with another man. they rode west by way of haukadalsskard and the road which leads out to the ness, where they bought much fish and carried it away on seven horses; when all was ready they turned homewards. chapter xliii. the sons of thorir of skard are slain by atli and grim thorbjorn oxmain heard of atli and grim having left home just when gunnar and thorgeir, the sons of thorir of skard, were with him. thorbjorn was jealous of atli's popularity and egged on the two brothers, the sons of thorir, to lie in wait for him as he returned from snaefellsnes. they rode home to skard and waited there for atli returning with his loads. they could see the party from their house as they passed skard, and made ready quickly to pursue them with their servants. atli on seeing them ordered his horses to be unloaded. "perhaps," he said, "they want to offer me compensation for my man whom gunnar slew last summer. we will not be the first to attack, but if they begin fighting us we will defend ourselves." then they came up and at once sprang off their horses. atli greeted them and asked what news there was, and whether gunnar desired to offer him some compensation for his servant. gunnar answered: "you men of bjarg, you deserve something else than that i should pay compensation for him with my goods. thorbjorn whom grettir slew is worth a higher atonement than he." "i have not to answer for that," said atli, "nor are you the representative of thorbjorn." gunnar said it would have to be so nevertheless. "and now," he cried, "let us go for them and profit by grettir being away." there were eight of them, and they set upon atli's six. atli led on his men and drew the sword jokulsnaut which grettir had given him. thorgeir cried: "good men are alike in many things. high did grettir bear his sword last summer on hrutafjardarhals." atli answered: "he is more accustomed to deeds of strength than i am." then they fought. gunnar made a resolute attack on atli, and fought fiercely. after they had battled for a time atli said: "there is nothing to be gained by each of us killing the other's followers. the simplest course would be for us to play together, for i have never fought with weapons before." gunnar, however, would not have it. atli bade his servants look to the packs, and he would see what the others would do. he made such a vigorous onslaught that gunnar's men fell back, and he killed two of them. then he turned upon gunnar himself and struck a blow that severed his shield right across below the handle, and the sword struck his leg below the knee. then with another rapid blow he killed him. in the meantime grim, the son of thorhall, was engaging thorgeir, and a long tussle there was, both of them being men of great valour. when thorgeir saw his brother gunnar fall he wanted to get away, but grim pressed upon him and pursued him until at last his foot tripped and he fell forward. then grim struck him with an axe between the shoulders, inflicting a deep wound. to the three followers who were left they gave quarter. then they bound up their wounds, reloaded the packs on to the horses and went home, giving information of the battle. atli stayed at home with a strong guard of men that autumn. thorbjorn oxmain was not at all pleased, but could do nothing, because atli was very wary. grim was with him for the winter, and his brother-in-law gamli. another brother-in-law, glum the son of ospak from eyr in bitra, was with them too. they had a goodly array of men settled at bjarg, and there was much merriment there during the winter. chapter xliv. settlement of the feud at the hunavatn thing thorbfron oxmain took up the suit arising from the death of thorir's sons. he prepared his case against grim and atli, and they prepared their defence on the grounds that the brothers had attacked them wrongfully and were, therefore, "ohelgir." the case was brought before the hunavatn thing and both sides appeared in force. atli had many connections, and was, therefore, strongly supported. then those who were friends of both came forward and tried to effect a reconciliation; they urged that atli was a man of good position and peacefully disposed, though fearless enough when driven into a strait. thorbjorn felt that no other honourable course was open to him but to agree to a reconciliation. atli made it a condition that there should be no sentence of banishment either from the district or the country. then men were appointed to arbitrate: thorvald asgeirsson on behalf of atli, and solvi the proud on behalf of thorbjorn. this solvi was a son of asbrand, the son of thorbrand, the son of harald ring who had settled in vatnsnes, taking land as far as ambattara to the west, and to the east up to the thvera and across to bjargaoss and the whole side of bjorg as far as the sea. solvi was a person of much display, but a man of sense, and therefore thorbjorn chose him as his arbitrator. the decree of the arbitrators was that half penalties should be paid for thorir's sons and half should be remitted on account of the wrongful attack which they made and their designs on atli's life. the slaying of atli's man at hrutafjardarhals should be set off against the two of theirs who had been killed. grim the son of thorhall was banished from his district and the penalties were to be paid by atli. atli was satisfied with this award, but thorbjorn was not; they parted nominally reconciled, but thorbjorn let drop some words to the effect that it was not over yet if all happened as he desired. atli rode home from the thing after thanking thorvald for his assistance. grim the son of thorhall betook himself to the south to borgarfjord and dwelt at gilsbakki, where he was known as a worthy bondi. chapter xlv. atli murdered by thorbjorn oxmain there was dwelling with thorbjorn oxmain a man whose name was ali, a servant, rather stubborn and lazy. thorbjorn told him he must work better or he would be beaten. ali said he had no mind for work and became abusive. thorbjorn was not going to endure that, and got him down and handled him roughly. after that ali ran away and went to the north across the neck to midfjord; he did not stop till he reached bjarg. atli was at home and asked whither he was going. he said he was seeking an engagement. "are you not a servant of thorbjorn?" atli asked. "we did not get on with our bargain. i was not there long, but it seemed to me a bad place while i was there. our parting was in such a way that his song on my throat did not please me. i will never go back there, whatever becomes of me. and it is true that there is a great difference between you two in the way you treat your servants. i would be glad to take service with you if there is a place, for me." atli said: "i have servants enough without stretching forth my hands for those whom thorbjorn has hired. you seem an impatient man and had better go back to him." "i am not going there of my own free will," said ali. he stayed there for the night, and in the morning went out to work with atli's men, and toiled as if he had hands everywhere. so he continued all the summer; atli took no notice of him, but allowed him his food, for he was pleased with the man's work. soon thorbjorn learned that ali was at bjarg. he rode thither with two others and called to atli to come out and speak with him. atli went out and greeted him. "you want to begin again provoking me to attack you, atli," he said. "why have you taken away my workman? it is a most improper thing to do." atli replied: "it is not very clear to me that he is your workman. i do not want to keep him if you can prove that he belongs to your household; but i cannot drive him out of my house." "you must have your way now," said thorbjorn; "but i claim the man and protest against his working for you. i shall come again, and it is not certain that we shall then part any better friends than we are now." atli rejoined: "i shall stay at home and abide whatever comes to hand." thorbjorn then went off home. when the workmen came back in the evening atli told them of his conversation with thorbjorn and said to ali that he must go his own ways, for he was not going to be drawn into a quarrel for employing him. ali said: "true is the ancient saying: the over-praised are the worst deceivers. i did not think that you would have turned me off now after i had worked here till i broke in the summer. i thought that you would have given me protection. such is your way, however you play the beneficent. now i shall be beaten before your very eyes if you refuse to stand by me." atli's mind was changed after the man had spoken; he no longer wanted to drive him away. so the time passed until the hay-harvest began. one day a little before midsummer thorbjorn oxmain rode to bjarg. he wore a helmet on his head, a sword was girt at his side, and in his hand was a spear which had a very broad blade. the weather was rainy; atli had sent his men to mow the hay, and some were in the north at horn on some work. atli was at home with a few men only. thorbjorn arrived alone towards midday and rode up to the door. the door was shut and no one outside. thorbjorn knocked at the door and then went to the back of the house so that he could not be seen from the door. the people in the house heard some one knocking and one of the women went out. thorbjorn got a glimpse of the woman, but did not let himself be seen, for he was seeking another person. she went back into the room and atli asked her who had come. she said she could see nobody outside. as they were speaking thorbjorn struck a violent blow on the door. atli said: "he wants to see me; perhaps he has some business with me, for he seems very pressing." then he went to the outer door and saw nobody there. it was raining hard, so he did not go outside, but stood holding both the door-posts with his hands and peering round. at that moment thorbjorn sidled round to the front of the door and thrust his spear with both hands into atli's middle, so that it pierced him through. atli said when he received the thrust: "they use broad spear-blades nowadays." then he fell forward on the threshold. the women who were inside came out and saw that he was dead. thorbjorn had then mounted his horse; he proclaimed the slaying and rode home. asdis, the mistress of the house, sent for men; atli's body was laid out and he was buried beside his father. there was much lamentation over his death, for he was both wise and beloved. no blood-money was paid for his death, nor was any demanded, for his representative was grettir, if he should ever return to iceland. the matter rested there during the summer. thorbjorn gained little credit by this deed, but remained quietly at home. chapter xlvi. sentence of outlawry passed upon grettir at the all-thing in that same summer before the assembly of the thing there came a ship out to gasar bringing news of grettir and of his house-burning adventure. thorir of gard was very angry when he heard of it and bethought himself of vengeance for his sons upon grettir. thorir rode with a large retinue to the thing and laid a complaint in respect of the burning, but men thought nothing could be done as long as there was no one to answer the charge. thorir insisted that he would be content with nothing short of banishment for grettir from the whole country after such a crime. then skapti the lawman said: "it certainly was an evil deed if all really happened as has been told. but one man's tale is but half a tale. most people try and manage not to improve a story if there is more than one version of it. i hold that no judgment should be passed for grettir's banishment without further proceedings." thorir was a notable person and possessed great influence in the district; many powerful men were his friends. he pressed his suit so strongly that nothing could be done to save grettir. thorir had him proclaimed an outlaw throughout the country, and was ever afterwards the most bitter of his opponents, as he often found. having put a price upon his head, as it was usual to do with other outlaws, he rode home. many said that the decree was carried more by violence than by law, but it remained in force. nothing more happened until after midsummer. chapter xlvii. grettir returns to bjarg--sveinn and his horse saddle-head later in the summer grettir the son of asmund came back to iceland, landing in the hvita in borgarfjord. people about the district went down to the ship and all the news came at once upon grettir, first that his father was dead, then that his brother was slain, and third that he was declared outlaw throughout the land. then he spoke this verse: "all fell at once upon the bard, exile, father dead and brother. oh man of battle! many an one who breaks the swords shall smart for this." it is told that grettir changed his manner no whit for these tidings, but was just as merry as before. he remained on board his ship for a time because he could not get a horse to suit him. there was a man named sveinn who dwelt at bakki up from thingnes. he was a good bondi and a merry companion; he often composed verses which it was a delight to listen to. he had a brown mare, the swiftest of horses, which he called saddle-head. once grettir left vellir in the night because he did not wish the traders to know of it. he got a black cape and put it over his clothes to conceal himself. he went up past thingnes to bakki, by which time it was light. seeing a brown horse in the meadow he went up and put a bridle on it, mounted on its back and rode up along the hvita river below baer on to the river flokadalsa and up to the road above kalfanes. the men working at bakki were up by then, and told the bondi that a man was riding his horse. he got up and laughed and spoke a verse: "there rode a man upon saddle-head's back; close to the garth the thief has come. frey of the odin's cloud, dreadful of aspect, appears from his strength to be busy with mischief." then he took a horse and rode after him. grettir rode on till he came to the settlement at kropp, where he met a man named halli who said he was going down to the ship at vellir. grettir then spoke a verse: "tell, oh tell in the dwellings abroad tell thou hast met with saddle-head. the handler of dice in sable cowl sat on his back; hasten, oh halli!" then they parted. halli went along the road as far as kalfanes before he met sveinn. they greeted each other hurriedly and sveinn said: "saw you that loafer ride from the dwellings? sorely he means my patience to try. the people about shall deal with him roughly; blue shall his body be if i meet him." "you can know from what i tell you," said halli, "that i met the man who said he was riding saddle-head, and he told me to spread it abroad in the dwellings and the district. he was a huge man in a black cloak." "well, he seems to think something of himself," said the bondi. "i mean to know who he is." then he went on after him. grettir came to deildartunga and found a woman outside. he began to talk to her and spoke a verse: "mistress august! go tell of the jest that the serpent of earth has past on his way. the garrulous brewer of odin's mead will come to gilsbakki before he will rest." the woman learned the verse and grettir rode on. soon after sveinn rode up; she was still outside, and when he came he spoke the verse: "who was the man who a moment ago rode past on a dusky horse in the storm? the hound-eyed rascal, practised in mischief. this day i will follow his steps to the end." she told him as she had been taught. he considered the lines and said: "it is not unlikely that this man is no play-fellow for me. but i mean to catch him." he then rode along the cultivated country. each could see the other's path. the weather was stormy and wet. grettir reached gilsbakki that day, where grim the son of thorhall welcomed him warmly and begged him to stay, which he did. he let saddle-head run loose and told grim how he had come by her. then sveinn came up, dismounted and saw his horse. then he said: "who has ridden on my mare? who will pay me for her hire? who ever saw such an arrant thief? what next will be the cowl-man's game?" grettir had then put off his wet clothes, and heard the ditty. he said: "home i rode the mare to grim's, a better man than the hovel-dweller! nothing will i pay for hire! now we may be friends again." "just so shall it be," said the bondi. "your ride on the horse is fully paid for." then they each began repeating verses, and grettir said he could not blame him for looking after his property. the bondi stayed there the night and they had great jokes about the matter. the verses they made were called "saddle-head verses." in the morning the bondi rode home, parting good friends with grettir. grim told grettir of many things that had been done in midfjord in the north during his absence, and that no blood-money had been paid for atli. thorbjorn oxmain's interest, he said, was so great that there was no certainty of grettir's mother, asdis, being allowed to remain at bjarg if the feud continued. grettir stayed but a few nights with grim, for he did not want it to become known that he was about to travel north across the heath. grim told him to come back to visit him if he needed protection. "yet," he said, "i would gladly avoid the penalty of being outlawed for harbouring you." grettir bade him farewell and said: "it is more likely that i shall need your good services still more later on." then grettir rode north over the tvidaegra heath to bjarg, where he arrived at midnight. all were asleep except his mother. he went to the back of the house and entered by a door which was there, for he knew all the ways about. he entered the hall and went to his mother's bed, groping his way. she asked who was there. grettir told her. she sat up and turned to him, heaving a weary sigh as she spoke: "welcome, my kinsman! my hoard of sons has quickly passed away. he is killed who was most needful to me; you have been declared an outlaw and a criminal; my third is so young that he can do nothing." "it is an ancient saying," said grettir, "that one evil is mended by a worse one. there is more in the heart of man than money can buy; atli may yet be avenged. as for me, there will be some who think they have had enough in their dealings with me." she said that was not unlikely. grettir stayed there for a time, but few knew of it, and he obtained news of the movements of the men of the district. it was not known then that he had come to midfjord. he learned that thorbjorn oxmain was at home with few men. this was after the hay-harvest. chapter xlviii. death of thorbjorn oxmain one fine day grettir rode to the west across the ridge to thoroddsstad, where he arrived about noon and knocked at the door. some women came out and greeted him, not knowing who he was. he asked for thorbjorn, and they told him that he was gone out into the fields to bind hay with his sixteen-year-old son arnor. thorbjorn was a hard worker and was scarcely ever idle. grettir on hearing that bade them farewell and rode off north on the road to reykir. there is some marsh-land stretching away from the ridge with much grass-land, where thorbjorn had made a quantity of hay which was just dry. he was just about to bind it up for bringing in with the help of his son, while a woman gathered up what was left. grettir rode to the field from below, thorbjorn and his son being above him; they had finished one load and were beginning a second. thorbjorn had laid down his shield and sword against the load, and his son had his hand-axe near him. thorbjorn saw a man coming and said to his son: "there is a man riding towards us; we had better stop binding the hay and see what he wants." they did so; grettir got off his horse. he had a helmet on his head, a short sword by his side, and a great spear in his hand without barbs and inlaid with silver at the socket. he sat down and knocked out the rivet which fastened the head in order to prevent thorbjorn from returning the spear upon him. thorbjorn said: "this is a big man. i am no good at judging men if that is not grettir the son of asmund. no doubt he thinks that he has sufficient business with us. we will meet him boldly and show him no signs of fear. we must act with a plan. i will go on ahead towards him and see how we get on together, for i will trust myself against any man if i can meet him alone. do you go round and get behind him; take your axe with both hands and strike him between the shoulders. you need not fear that he will hurt you, for his back will be turned towards you." neither of them had a helmet. grettir went along the marsh and when he was within range launched his spear at thorbjorn. the head was not so firm as he had intended it to be, so it got loose in its flight and fell off on to the ground. thorbjorn took his shield, held it before him, drew his sword and turned against grettir directly he recognised him. grettir drew his sword, and, turning round a little, saw the boy behind him; so he kept continually on the move. when he saw that the boy was within reach he raised his sword aloft and struck arnor's head with the back of it such a blow that the skull broke and he died. then thorbjorn rushed upon grettir and struck at him, but he parried it with the buckler in his left hand and struck with his sword a blow which severed thorbjorn's shield in two and went into his head, reaching the brain. thorbjorn fell dead. grettir gave him no more wounds; he searched for the spear-head but could not find it. he got on to his horse, rode to reykir and proclaimed the slaying. the woman who was out in the field with them witnessed the battle. she ran home terrified and told the news that thorbjorn and his son were killed. the people at home were much taken aback, for no one was aware of grettir's arrival. they sent to the next homestead for men, who came in plenty and carried the body to the church. the blood-feud then fell to thorodd drapustuf, who at once called out his men. grettir rode home to bjarg and told his mother what had happened. she was very glad and said he had now shown his kinship to the vatnsdal race. "and yet," she said, "this is the root and the beginning of your outlawry; for certain i know that your dwelling here will not be for long by reason of thorbjorn's kinsmen, and now they may know that they have the means of annoying you." grettir then spoke a verse: "atli's death was unatoned; fully now the debt is paid." asdis said it was true: "but i know not what counsel you now mean to take." grettir said he meant now to visit his friends and kinsmen in the western regions, and that she should have no unpleasantness on his account. then he made ready to go, and parted with much affection from his mother. first he went to melar in hrutafjord and recounted to his brother-in-law gamli all his adventure with thorbjorn. gamli begged him to betake himself away from hrutafjord while the kinsmen of thorbjorn were abroad with their men, and said they would support him in the suit about atli's slaying to the best of their power. then grettir rode to the west across the laxardal heath and did not stop before he reached ljarskogar, where he stayed some time in the autumn with thorsteinn kuggason. chapter xlix. grettir visits thorsteinn kuggason and snorri godi thorodd drapustuf now made inquiries who it was who had killed thorbjorn and his son. they went to reykir, where they were told that grettir had proclaimed the slaying. thorodd then saw how matters stood and went to bjarg, where he found many people and asked whether grettir was there. asdis said that he was gone, and that he would not hide if he were at home. "you can be well content to leave things as they are. the vengeance for atli was not excessive, if it be reckoned up. no one asked what i had to suffer then, and now it were well for it to rest." then they rode home, and it seemed as if there were nothing to be done. the spear which grettir had lost was never found until within the memory of men now living. it was found in the later days of sturla the lawman, the son of thord, in the very marsh where thorbjorn fell, now called spearmarsh. this is the proof that he was killed there and not in midfitjar, as has been elsewhere asserted. thorbjorn's kinsmen learned of grettir's being in ljarskogar and called together their men with the purpose of going there. gamli heard of this at melar and sent word to thorsteinn and grettir of their approach. thorsteinn sent grettir on to tunga to snorri the godi, with whom he was then at peace, and advised grettir to ask for his protection, and if it were refused to go west to thorgils the son of ari in reykjaholar, "who will surely take you in for the winter. stay there in the western fjords until the affair is settled." grettir said he would follow his counsel. he rode to tunga where he found snorri and asked to be taken in. snorri answered: "i am now an old man, and have no mind to harbour outlaws, unless in a case of necessity. but what has happened that the old man should have turned you out?" grettir said that thorsteinn had often shown him kindness; "but we shall need more than him alone to do any good." snorri said: "i will put in my word on your behalf, if it will be of any use to you. but you must seek your quarters elsewhere than with me." so they parted. grettir then went west to reykjanes. the men of hrutafjord came with their followers to samsstad, where they heard that grettir had left ljarskogar, and went back home. chapter l. grettir winters with thorgils at reykjaholar in company with the foster-brothers grettir came to reykjaholar towards the beginning of the winter and asked thorgils to let him stay the winter with him. thorgils said he was welcome to his entertainment, like other free men; "but," he said, "we do not pay much attention to the preparation of the food." grettir said that would not trouble him. "there is another little difficulty," thorgils continued. "some men are expected here who are a little hot-headed, namely, the foster-brothers thorgeir and thormod. i do not know how it will suit you to be together with them. they shall always have entertainment here whenever they wish for it. you may stay here if you will, but i will not have any of you behaving ill to the others." grettir said that he would not be the first to raise a quarrel with any man, more especially since the bondi had expressed his wish to him. soon after the foster-brothers came up. thorgeir and grettir did not take very kindly to one another, but thormod behaved with propriety. thorgils said to them what he had said to grettir, and so great was the deference paid to him that none of them spoke an improper word to the other, although they did not always think alike. in this way the first part of the winter was passed. men say that the islands called olafseyjar, lying in the fjord about a mile and a half from reykjanes, belonged to thorgils. he had there a valuable ox, which he had not brought away in the autumn. he was always saying that he wanted him to be brought in before yule. one day the foster-brothers prepared to go and fetch the ox, but wanted a third man to help them. grettir offered to go with them and they were very glad to have him. so the three set out in a ten-oared boat. the weather was cold and the wind from the north; the boat was lying at hvalshausholm. when they left the wind had freshened a little; they reached the island and caught the ox. grettir asked whether they preferred to ship the ox or to hold the boat, for there was a high surf running on the shore. they told him to hold the boat. he stood by her middle on the side away from the land, the sea reaching right up to beneath his shoulders, but he held the boat firmly so that she could not drift. thorgeir took the ox by the stern and thormod by the head, and so they hove him into the boat. then they started heading for the bay, thormod taking the bow-oars with thorgeir amidships and grettir in the stern. by the time they reached hafraklett the wind was very high. thorgeir said: "the stern is slackening." grettir said: "the stern will not be left behind if the rowing amidships is all right." thorgeir then bent his back to the oars and pulled so violently that both the rowlocks carried away. he said: "pull on, grettir, whilst i mend the rowlocks." grettir pulled vigorously whilst thorgeir mended the rowlocks. but when thorgeir was about to take over the oars again they were so damaged that on grettir giving them a shake on the gunwale they broke. thormod said it would be better to row less and not to break the ship. then grettir took two spars which were on board, bored two holes in the gunwale, and rowed so energetically that every timber creaked. as the boat was well found and the men in good condition they reached hvalshausholm. grettir asked whether they would go on home with the ox or whether they would beach the boat. they preferred to beach the boat, and they did so with all the water that was in her all frozen. grettir got off the ox, which was very stiff in its limbs and very fat and tired; when they got to titlingsstad it could go no more. the foster-brothers went home, for none of them would help the other at his job. thorgils asked after grettir; they told him how they had parted, and he sent men out to him. when they came below hellisholar they saw a man coming towards them with an ox on his back; it was grettir carrying the ox. they all admired his great feat, but thorgeir became rather jealous of grettir's strength. one day soon after yule grettir went out alone to bathe. thorgeir knew of it and said to thormod: "let us go out now and see what grettir does if i attack him as he comes out of the water." "i don't care to do that," thormod said; "and i do not think you will get any good from him." "i mean to go," thorgeir said. he went down to the bank, carrying his axe aloft. grettir was just coming out of the water, and when they met thorgeir said: "is it true, grettir, that you once said you would not run away from any single person." "i don't know whether i did," grettir said; "but i have scarcely run away from you." thorgeir raised his axe. in a moment grettir ran at him and brought him over with a heavy fall. thorgeir said to thormod: "are you going to stand there while this devil knocks me down?" thormod then got grettir by the leg and tried to drag him off thorgeir but could not. he was wearing a short sword, and was just about to draw it when thorgils came up and told them to behave themselves and not to fight with grettir. they did as he bade and made out that it was all play. they had no more strife, so far as has been told, and men thought thorgils blessed by fortune in having been able to pacify men of such violent tempers. when the spring set in they all departed. grettir went on to thorskafjord. when some one asked him how he liked his entertainment at reykjaholar he answered: "our fare was such that i enjoyed my food very much--when i could get it." then he went west over the heath. chapter li. grettir's case overborne at the all-thing thorgils, the son of ari, rode to the thing with a large following. all the magnates were there from all parts of the country, and he soon met with skapti the lawman and had some talk with him. skapti said: "is it true, thorgils, that you have been giving winter entertainment to three of the most unruly men in the country, all three of them outlaws, and that you kept order so well that none of them did any harm to the other?" thorgils said it was true. skapti said: "well, i think it shows what authority you possess. but how did their characters appear to you? who is the most valorous among them?" "they are all entirely valiant," he answered, "but of two of them i will not say that they never fear; only there is a difference. thormod fears god, and is a man of great piety; and grettir fears the dark. he will not, if he may follow his own inclination, venture anywhere after nightfall. but thorgeir, my kinsman, he i think cannot fear." "they must be each of them as you say," said skapti, and there their conversation ended. at the thing thorodd drapustuf laid his complaint in the matter of the slaying of thorbjorn oxmain, for he had failed in the hunavatn thing through the influence of atli's kinsmen. here he thought that there was less likelihood of his case being overborne. atli's party sought counsel of skapti the lawman; he said that their defence appeared to him a good one, and that full blood-money would have to be paid for atli. then the case was brought before the judges, and the opinion of the majority was that the slaying of atli was set off by that of thorbjorn. skapti when he heard of it went to the judges and asked them on what grounds their decision rested; they said that the two slain bondis were of equal rank. skapti asked: "which happened first, the outlawing of grettir or the death of atli?" they reckoned up and found that a week had elapsed between the two events. grettir was outlawed at the all-thing and atli was killed just after it. "that was what i expected," skapti said. "you have overlooked the facts; you have treated as a party to the suit a man who was an outlaw, a man who was stopped from appearing either as plaintiff or defendant. i maintain that grettir has no standing in the case, and that it must be brought by the kinsmen of the deceased who are nearest at law." thorodd drapustuf said: "who then is to answer for the slaying of my brother thorbjorn?" "see to that yourself," said skapti. "grettir's kinsmen are not liable to pay for his deeds unless his sentence be removed." when thorvald the son of asgeir learned of grettir's status in court having been disallowed, inquiry was made for atli's nearest of kin, and these were found to be skeggi the son of gamli at melar and ospak the son of glum of eyr in bitra. both were valiant and strenuous men. thorodd was then mulcted in blood-money for the slaying of atli and had to pay two hundreds of silver. then snorri the godi spoke: "men of hrutafjord! are you willing now to agree to the remission of the fine in consideration of grettir's sentence being commuted? i expect that as an outlaw he will bite you sorely." grettir's kinsmen welcomed this proposal, and said they did not care about the money if grettir could have peace and freedom. thorodd said he saw that his case was beset with difficulties, and that for his part he was willing to accept the proposal. snorri said that inquiry must first be made whether thorir of gard would agree to grettir being freed. when thorir heard of it he was furious, and said that never should grettir either go or come out of his outlawry. so far from consenting to his being amnestied, he would put a higher price upon his head than was put upon any other outlaw. when they knew that he would take it so ill, nothing more was said about the amnesty. ospak and skeggi took the money that was paid and kept it, while thorodd drapustuf got no compensation for his brother thorbjorn. he and thorir each offered a reward of three marks of silver for grettir's head; this seemed to men to be an innovation, for never before had more than three marks in all been offered. snorri said it was very unwise to make such efforts to keep a man outlawed who could do so much mischief, and that many would suffer for it. then they parted and men rode home from the thing. chapter lii. grettir is captured by farmers and released by thorbjorg grettir went over the thorskafjord heath to langadal, where he let his hands sweep over the property of the smaller cultivators, taking what he wanted from every one. from some he got weapons, from others clothes. they gave up their property very variously, but when he was gone all said that they had been compelled to do it. there dwelt on the vatnsfjord one vermund the slender, a brother of viga-styr, who had married thorbjorg the daughter of olaf peacock, the son of hoskuld, called thorbjorg the fat. at the time when grettir was in langadal vermund was away at the thing. he went across the ridge to laugabol where a man named helgi was living, one of the principal bondis. thence grettir took a good horse belonging to the bondi and rode on to gervidal, where dwelt a man named thorkell. he was well provided but in a small way of business. grettir took from him what he wanted, thorkell daring neither to withhold anything nor to protest. thence grettir went to eyr and on to the coast of the fjord, obtaining food and clothes from every homestead and making himself generally disagreeable, so that men found it hard to live while he was about. grettir went boldly on, taking little care of himself. he went on until he came to vatnsfjardardal and entered a dairy shelter, where he stayed several nights. there he lay sleeping in the forest, fearing for nothing. when the shepherds learned of it they reported in the homesteads that a fiend had come into the place who they thought would be hard to deal with. all the farmers came together and a band of thirty of them concealed themselves in the forest where grettir could not know of them. they set one of the shepherds to watch for an opportunity of seizing him, without however knowing very clearly who the man was. one day when grettir was lying asleep the farmers came up to him. they considered how they should take him with least danger to themselves, and arranged that ten should fall upon him while others laid bonds round his feet. they threw themselves on to him, but grettir struggled so violently that he threw them all off and came down on his hands and knees. then they threw ropes round his feet. grettir kicked two of them in the ears and they fell senseless. one came on after the other; long and hard he struggled, but at last they succeeded in getting him down and binding him. then they began to ask themselves what they were going to do with him. they asked helgi of laugabol to take him over and look after him until vermund returned from the thing. he said: "i have something better to do than to keep my men guarding him. i have labour enough with my lands, and he shall not come in my way." then they asked thorkell of gervidal to take him and said he had sufficient means. he objected strongly and said he had no accommodation for him, "i lie at home with my wife, far from other men. you shall not bring your basket to me." "then you, thoralf of eyr," they said; "you take grettir and look after him well while the thing lasts, or else hand him on to the next farm; only be answerable for his not escaping. give him over bound, just as you receive him." he said: "i am not going to take grettir. i have neither means nor money to keep him, nor was he captured on my property. so far as i can see much more trouble than credit is to be got by taking him or having anything to do with him. he shall not enter my house." each of the bondis was asked, but all refused. some witty person wrote a poem about these confabulations and called it "grettir's faring," adding many jests of his own for the dilectification of men. after parleying for a long time they all came to an agreement that they would not throw away their luck, and set to work to raise a gallows there and then in the forest upon which grettir should hang. their delight over this proposal was uproarious. then they saw three people riding along the valley from below, one of them in a dyed dress. they guessed that it must be thorbjorg the mistress of vatnsfjord on her way to the dairy, and so it was. thorbjorg was a person of great magnificence, and tremendously wise. she was the leading personage of the district and managed everything when vermund was away. she came up to where the crowd was gathered and was lifted from her horse; the bondis saluted her respectfully. she said: "what is your meeting about? who is this thick-necked man sitting there in bonds?" grettir told his name and saluted her. "what has moved you, grettir," she said, "to commit violence upon my thing-men?" "i cannot overlook everything," he said. "i must be somewhere." "you are indeed unfortunate," she said, "that a pack of churls like these should have captured you and that none of them should have paid for it. what are you men going to do with him?" the bondis said that they were going to hoist him on to a gallows for his misdeeds. she said: "it may be that grettir has deserved it, but it will bring trouble upon you men of isafjord if you take the life of a man so renowned and so highly connected as grettir, ill-starred though he be. now what will you do for your life, grettir, if i give it to you?" "what do you wish me to do?" "you shall swear never to commit any violence here in isafjord; nor shall you take revenge upon those who have had a hand in capturing you." grettir said it should be as she desired, and he was released. he said it was the greatest effort of self-restraint that he ever made that he did not thrash the men who were there triumphing over him. thorbjorg told him to come home with her and gave him a horse to ride on. so he went to vatnsfjord and stayed there well cared for by the mistress until vermund returned. she gained great renown from this deed through the district. vermund was very much put out when he got home and asked why grettir was there. thorbjorg told him everything which had happened with the isafjord men. "to what does he owe it that you gave him his life?" he asked. "many reasons there were," she said. "the first is that you might be the more respected as a chief for having a wife who would dare to do such a thing. next, his kinswoman hrefna will surely say that i could not let him be slain; and thirdly, because he is in many respects a man of the highest worth." "you are a wise woman," he said, "in most things. i thank you for what you have done." then he said to grettir: "you have sold yourself very cheap, such a man of prowess as you are, to let yourself be taken by churls. this is what always happens to those who cannot control themselves." grettir then spoke a verse: "full was my cup in isafjord when the old swine held me at ransom." "what were they going to do with you when they took you?" vermund asked. "to sigar's lot my neck was destined when noble thorbjorg came upon them." "would they have hanged you then if they had been left to themselves?" "my neck would soon have been in the noose, had she not wisely saved the bard." "did she invite you to her home?" "she bade me home with her to fare. a steed she gave me, life and peace." "great will your life be and troublous," said vermund; "but now you have learnt to beware of your foes. i cannot keep you here, for it would rouse the enmity of many powerful men against me. your best way is to seek your kinsmen; there are not many who will be willing to take you in if they can do anything else; nor are you one who will easily follow the will of another man." grettir remained for a time in vatnsfjord and went thence to the western fjords and tried several of the leading men there, but something always happened to prevent their taking him in. chapter liii. grettir winters in ljarskogar with thorsteinn kuggason during the autumn grettir returned to the south and did not stop till he came to his kinsman thorsteinn kuggason in ljarskogar, who welcomed him. he accepted thorsteinn's invitation to stay the winter with him. thorsteinn was a man who worked very hard; he was a smith, and kept a number of men working for him. grettir was not one for hard work, so that their dispositions did not agree very well. thorsteinn had had a church built on his lands, with a bridge from his house, made with much ingenuity. outside the bridge, on the beam which supported it, rings were fastened and bells, which could be heard from skarfsstadir half a sea-mile distant when any one walked over the bridge. the building of the bridge had cost thorsteinn, who was a great worker in iron, much labour. grettir was a first-rate hand at forging the iron, but was not often inclined to work at it. he was very quiet during the winter so that there is not much to relate. the men of hrutafjord heard that grettir was with thorsteinn, and gathered their forces in the spring. thorsteinn then told grettir that he must find some other hiding-place for himself, since he would not work. men who did nothing did not suit him. "where do you mean me to go to?" asked grettir. thorsteinn told him to go south to his kinsmen, but to return to him if he found them of no use. grettir did so. he went to borgarfjord in the south to visit grim the son of thorhall, and stayed with him till the thing was over. grim sent him on to skapti the lawman at hjalli. he went south over the lower heaths and did not stop before he reached tunga, where he went to thorhall, the son of asgrim the son of ellidagrim, and paid few visits to the farms around. thorhall knew of grettir through the relations which had been between their ancestors; indeed grettir's name was well known throughout the country because of his exploits. thorhall was a wise man and treated grettir well, but did not want to keep him there for very long. chapter liv. adventure with lopt grettir went from tunga up the haukadal valley northwards to kjol and was there for some time in the summer. for men travelling either to the north or to the south there was no certainty of their not being stripped of what they had on them, for he was hard pressed for the means of living. one day when grettir was keeping to the north near dufunesskeid he saw a man riding south along the kjol valley. he was a tall man on horseback, riding a good horse with a studded bridle, and was leading another horse loaded with sacks. he had a slouched hat on his head, so that his face was not clearly seen. grettir was very pleased to see his horse and his property, and went to meet him and asked him his name. he said it was lopt, and added: "i know what your name is; you are grettir the strong, son of asmund. whither are you going?" "i have not made up my mind yet about that," said grettir. "my present business is to know whether you will lay off some of the property which you are travelling with." "why should i give you what belongs to me? what will you give me for the things?" "have you not heard that i never pay anything? and yet it seems to most people that i get what i want." lopt said: "make this offer to those who seem good to you; i am not going to give my property away for nothing. let us each go our own way." then he whipped on his horse and was about to ride away from grettir. "we shall not part so quickly as that," said grettir, and seized the bridle of lopt's horse in front of his hands, pulled it from him and held it with both hands. "go your own way," said lopt; "you will get nothing from me as long as i am able to hold it." "that shall now be tried," said grettir. lopt reached down along the cheek-strap and got hold of the reins between the end ring and grettir's hands, pulling with such force that grettir let go, and at last lopt wrenched the whole bridle away from him. grettir looked at his palms and thought that this man must have strength in his claws rather than not. then he looked at him and said: "where are you going to now?" he answered: "to the storm-driven den, over ice-clad heights, i ride to the rock and the rest of the hand." grettir said: "there is no certainty to be had from asking where your dwelling is if you do not speak more clearly." then lopt spake and said: "i seek not to hide thy ways from thy ken. 'tis the place which the borgfirdings balljokull call." then they parted. grettir saw that he had no strength against this man. then he spoke a verse: "illugi brave and atli were far. never again may such hap be mine! the bridle was torn away from my hand. her tears will flow when i am afeared." after this grettir left kjol and went south to hjalli where he asked skapti for shelter. skapti said: "i am told that you are acting with violence and are robbing men of their property; that ill becomes a man so highly connected as you are. it would be easier to negotiate if you gave up robbing. now as i am called lawman of this country, it would not be seemly for me to break the law by harbouring outlaws. i would like you to betake yourself somewhere where you do not need to commit robbery." grettir said he would be very glad to, but that he could scarcely live alone owing to his fear of the dark. skapti said he would have to content himself with something short of the best: "and trust no one so fully that what happened to you in the western fjords may be repeated. many have been brought to death by over-confidence." grettir thanked him for his good advice and turned back to borgarfjord in the autumn, when he went to his friend grim, the son of thorhall, and told him what skapti had said. grim advised him to go to the north to fiskivotn in the arnarvatn heath, and he did so. chapter lv. grettir in the arnarvatn heath. death of grim the forest-man grettir went up to the arnarvatn heath and built himself a hut there of which the remains are still to be seen. he went there because he wanted to do anything rather than rob, so he got himself a net and a boat and went out fishing to support himself. it was a weary time for him in the mountains because of his fear of the dark. other outlaws heard of his having come there and wanted to go and see him, thinking that he would be a great protection to them. there was an outlaw from the north named grim. this man was bribed by those of hrutafjord to kill grettir. they promised him pardon and money if he succeeded. he went to visit grettir and asked for his hospitality. grettir said: "i do not see how you will be holpen by coming to me, and you men of the forest are untrustworthy. but it is ill to live alone; i have no choice. only he shall be with me who is willing to work at whatever comes to hand." grim said that was just what he wished and pressed grettir much, until grettir let himself be persuaded and took him in. he stayed there right into the winter, and watched grettir closely, but it seemed no easy matter to attack him, for grettir was suspicious and kept his weapons at hand night and day; when he was awake the man would not venture to approach him. one morning grim came home from fishing and went into the hut stamping with his feet and wanting to know whether grettir was asleep. grettir lay still and did not move. there was a short sword hanging above his head. grim thought he would never have a better opportunity. he made a loud noise to see whether grettir took any notice, but he did not, so grim felt sure that he was asleep. he crept stealthily to the bed, reached up to the sword, took it down and raised it to strike. just at the moment when he raised it grettir sprang up on to the floor, and, seizing the sword with one hand, grim with the other, hurled him over so that he fell nearly senseless. "this is how you have proved yourself with all your friendly seeming," he said. then he got the whole truth out of him and killed him. he learned from this what it was to take in a forest-man. so the winter passed. the hardest thing of all to bear was his fear of the dark. chapter lvi. treachery and death of thorir redbeard thorir of gard now heard where grettir had taken up his abode and meant to leave no stone unturned to get him slain. there was a man named thorir redbeard, a stout man and a great fighter, on which account he had been declared outlaw throughout the country. thorir of gard sent word to him, and when they met asked redbeard to undertake the business of slaying grettir. redbeard said that was no easy task, as grettir was very wide awake and very cautious. thorir told him to try it, saying: "it would be a splendid deed for a valiant man like you; i will get your outlawing removed and give you sufficient money as well." so redbeard agreed and thorir told him how he should go to work to deal with grettir. redbeard then went away into the east in order that grettir might not suspect where he came from. thence he came to the arnarvatn heath, where grettir had then been for one winter, found grettir and asked him for entertainment. he said: "i cannot allow people to play with me again as the man did who came here last autumn, pretending to be very friendly; before he had been here very long he began plotting against my life. i cannot risk taking in anymore forest-men." "i think you have reason," thorir said, "to mistrust forest-men. it may be you have heard tell of me as a man of blood and a disturber of peace, but never did you hear of such a monstrous deed of me as that i betrayed my host. ill is the lot of him who has an ill name; for men think of him but as such; nor would i have come here if i had had any better choice. all is not lost for us if we stand together. you might venture so much to begin with as to try how you like me, and then if you find any unfitness in me turn me away." "well," said grettir, "i will risk it with you; but know of a surety that if i suspect you of any treachery it will be your death." thorir agreed. grettir took him in and found that in whatever he did he had the strength of two men. he was ready for anything that grettir gave him to do. nothing did grettir need to do for himself, and he had never lived so comfortably since he had become an outlaw. nevertheless he was so wary that thorir got no chance. two years was thorir redbeard with grettir on the heath, and at last he began to weary of it. he thought over what he could do to take grettir off his guard. one night in the spring a heavy gale sprang up while they were asleep. grettir awoke and asked where their boat was. thorir sprang up, ran to the boat, broke her all in pieces, and threw the fragments about so that it looked as if the storm had wrecked her. then he returned to the hut and said aloud: "you have had bad luck, my friend. our boat is all broken in pieces and the nets are lying far out in the lake." "get them back then," said grettir. "it seems to me to be your doing that the boat is smashed." "of all things which i can do," said thorir, "swimming is that which suits me least. in almost anything else i think i can hold my own with any ordinary man. you know very well that i have been no burden to you since i came here; nor would i ask you to do this if i were able to do it myself." grettir then arose, took his arms and went to the lake. there was a point of land running out into the lake with a large bay on the further side of it. the water was deep up to the shore. grettir said: "swim out to the nets and let me see what you are able to do." "i told you before," thorir said, "that i cannot swim. i do not know now where all your boldness and daring are gone to." "i could get the nets," he said; "but betray me not if i trust you." "do not think such shameful and monstrous things of me," said thorir. "you will prove yourself what you are," grettir said. then he threw off his clothes and his weapons and swam out to the nets. he gathered them together, returned to the shore and cast them up on to the bank. just as he was about to land thorir quickly seized his short sword and drew it. he ran towards grettir as he stepped on to the bank and aimed a blow at him. grettir threw himself down backwards into the water and sank like a stone. thorir stood by the shore intending to guard it until he came up. grettir swam beneath the water, keeping close to the bank so that thorir could not see him, and so reached the bay behind him, where he landed without letting himself be seen. the first thorir knew of it was when grettir lifted him up over his head and dashed him down with such violence that the sword fell out of his hand. grettir got possession of it and without speaking a word cut off his head. so his life ended. after that grettir refused to take in any forest-men, and yet he could not live alone. chapter lvii. attack on grettir by thorir of gard with eighty men repulsed with the aid of hallmund at the all-thing thorir of gard learned of thorir redbeard having been killed. it was evident that the matter was not so easy to deal with. he now determined to ride from the thing in a westerly direction through the lower heath, and with the aid of about eighty men whom he had with him to take grettir's life. grim the son of thorhall heard of his plans and sent word to grettir, bidding him beware of himself. grettir therefore continued closely to watch the movements of men who came and went. one day he saw a number of men coming in the direction of his place of dwelling. he went into a gorge between two rocks, but did not go right away because he did not see the whole of the troop. thorir then came up with his whole party and bade them go between his head and his body, saying that the scoundrel had but a poor chance now. "a filled cup is not yet drunk," answered grettir. "you have come far to seek me, and some of you shall bear the marks of our game before we part." thorir urged his men on to attack him. the gorge was very narrow so that he could easily defend it from one end, and he wondered much that they did not get round to his rear to hurt him. some of thorir's men fell and some were wounded, but they effected nothing. then thorir said: "i always heard that grettir was distinguished for his courage and daring, but i never knew that he was so skilled in magic as i now see he is; for there fall half as many again behind his back as before his face, and i see that we have to do with a troll instead of a man." so he bade his men retire, and they did so. grettir wondered what the explanation could be, but was terribly exhausted. thorir and his men withdrew and rode into the northern parts. their expedition was considered very disgraceful. thorir had left eighteen men on the ground and had many wounded. grettir then went up the gorge and found there a man of huge stature sitting up against the rock and sorely wounded. grettir asked his name, and he said it was hallmund, adding: "that you may recognise me i may remind you that you thought i gripped the reins rather tightly when i met you in kjol last summer. i think i have now made that good." "indeed," said grettir, "i think you have done me a manly service; whenever i can i will repay it." "now i wish," said hallmund, "that you may come to my home, for it must seem wearisome to you here on the heath." grettir said he would come willingly, and they both went together to the foot of the balljokull, where hallmund had a large cave. there they found his daughter, a fine and well-grown maiden. they treated grettir well, and the daughter nursed both the wounded men to health again. grettir stayed there some time that summer. he composed an ode on hallmund in which the line occurs: "hallmund steps from his mountain hall"; further: "the war-fain sword in arnarvatn went forth to hew its bloody path. heroes inherit kelduhverfi. hallmund the brave came forth from his den." it is said that at that encounter grettir slew six men and hallmund twelve. as the summer passed grettir began to long for the habitations of men, and to see his friends and kinsmen. hallmund told him to visit him when he returned to the south and grettir promised to do so. he went westwards to borgarfjord and thence to breidafjardardalir and sought counsel of thorsteinn kuggason as to where he should go next. thorsteinn said that his enemies were now becoming so numerous that few would care to take him in; but told him to go to myrar and see what he found there. so in the autumn he went to myrar. chapter lviii. grettir visits bjorn the hitdale warrior and takes refuge in the fagraskogafjall there lived in holm bjorn the hitdale warrior, who was the son of arngeir, the son of bersi the godless, the son of balki, who was the first settler in hrutafjord, as has already been told. bjorn was a great chief and a valiant man, always ready to take in outlaws. he received grettir well when he came to holm on account of the friendship which had existed between their former kinsmen. grettir asked if he would give him shelter, and bjorn said that he had so many quarrels throughout the land that men would be reluctant to take him in for fear of being outlawed themselves. "but," he said, "i will give you some help if you will leave the men who are under my protection in peace, whatever you do to others in this part." grettir promised that he would, and bjorn continued: "i have thought of something. in the mountain which stretches away from the hitara river there is a good position for defence, and likewise a good hiding-place if it is skilfully managed. there is a hole through the mountain from which you can see down upon the high road that lies immediately beneath it, and a sandy slope down to the road so steep that few could get up it if it were defended above by one doughty man up in the hollow. it may, i think, be worth your while to consider whether you can stay there; it is easy to go down from there to the myrar to get your supplies, and to reach the sea." grettir said he would trust to his foresight if he would help him a little. then he went to fagraskogafjall and made himself a home there. he hung some grey wadmal in front of the hole, and it looked from the road below as if one could see through. then he began to get in his supplies, but the myramen thought they had an unhappy visitor in grettir. thord the son of kolbeinn was an excellent poet who dwelt in hitarnes. there was a great feud between him and bjorn at that time, and bjorn thought it would be more than half useful to him if grettir were to busy himself with thord's men or his cattle. grettir was a great deal with bjorn and they had many games of strength. it is related in bjorn's saga that they were considered equal in strength, but the opinion of most people is that grettir was the strongest man that had been in the land since the days when orin storolfsson and thoralf skolmsson ceased their trials of strength. grettir and bjorn swam in one course the whole length of the hitara from the lake at its head down to the sea. they brought the stepping-stones into the river which neither floods nor freezing nor icedrifts have since moved from their places. grettir stayed a year in fagraskogafjall without any attack being made upon him, and yet many lost their property through his means and got nothing for it, because his position was strong for defence and he was always in good friendship with those who were nearest to him. chapter lix. the chastisement of gisli there was a man named gisli; he was the son of that thorsteinn whom snorri the godi had caused to be slain. he was a big strong man, very ostentatious in his dress and in his armour, a man with a high opinion of himself and very boastful. he was a mariner, and landed at the hvita river in the summer after grettir had spent a winter in the mountains. thord the son of kolbeinn rode to his ship and was welcomed by gisli, who offered him of his wares whatever he cared to have. thord accepted his offer and they began to have some talk together. gisli asked: "is it true what i hear that you are in difficulty how to rid yourself of a forest-man who is doing you much hurt?" "we have made no attempt yet," said thord, "because a great many think he is difficult to reach, and have found it so." "it seems likely that you will have trouble with bjorn, unless you drive him away. all the worse it is that i must be too far away next winter to give you any help." "it is better for you to know of him only by hearsay." "don't talk to me about grettir," said gisli. "i have been in much greater straits in my campaigns with king knut the mighty and in the western seas, where i was always considered to have held my own. only let me come within reach of him and i will trust myself and my armour." thord answered that he should not do it for nothing if he killed grettir: "there is more money on his head than on that of any other outlaw. first there were six marks of silver, this summer thorir of gard added three more, and men think that he who wins it will have had enough trouble." "everything will be attempted for money," said gisli: "especially with us traders. but we must keep quiet about what we have been saying, for grettir will be more on his guard if he hears that you have taken me into your counsels. i intend next winter to be at olduhrygg; is there any hiding-place of his on my way there? he will not be prepared for this, and i shall not take many men with me to attack him." thord approved of his proposal. he rode home soon after and kept very quiet about it. and now was proved what has often been said, that: off in the woods is a listener nigh. men who were friends of bjorn in hitardal overheard their conversation and reported it accurately to him. bjorn told grettir of it when they met, and said now he should see how to encounter him. "it would be no bad joke," he said, "if you were to injure him in some way without killing him if you can." grettir grinned but said little. towards the time of gathering in the cattle grettir went down to flysjuhverfi to get some sheep and got four wethers. the bondis heard of his having come and went after him. they came up just at about the moment when he reached the foot of his mountain and wanted to drive the sheep away from him. but they would not attack him with weapons. there were six of them and they stood across his path to bar his way. he was concerned about his sheep, got angry, seized three of them and threw them down the hill so that they lay senseless. the others when they saw it went at him, but rather halfheartedly. grettir took the sheep, fastened them together by the horns, threw two over each shoulder and carried them off. then he went up into his den. the bondis turned back feeling they had had the worst of it, and were more discontented with their lot than ever. gisli stayed with his ship that autumn until she was ready to be hauled up. several things happened to delay him, so that he was late in getting away and rode off very little before the winter nights. then he rode north and stayed at hraun on the south bank of the hitara. next morning before he rode out he said to his servants: "now we will ride in red clothes and let the forest-man see that we are not like the other travellers who beat about here every day." there were three of them and they did as he bade. when they had crossed the river he said: "here i am told dwells the forest-man, up in that peak; but the way is not an easy one. would it not please him to come to us and see our array?" they said this was always his habit. that morning grettir had got up early. the weather was cold, it was freezing and some snow had fallen, but very little. he saw three men riding from the south across the hitara, and the light shone from their apparel and from their enamelled shields. it occurred to grettir who it might be, and he thought he would relieve them of some of their accoutrements. he was very curious to meet a man who went about so ostentatiously. so he took his weapons and hurried down the hillside. gisli when he heard the clattering of the stones said: "a man, rather tall, is coming down the hill and wants to meet us. let us act boldly and we shall have good sport." his men said that this fellow had great confidence in himself to run into their hands; but that he who asked should have. then they got off their horses. grettir came up to them and laid hold of a bag of clothes which gisli had behind him on his saddle, saying: "i must have this; i often stoop to little things." gisli said: "you shall not; do not you know with whom you have to do?" grettir said: "no; that is not so clear to me. nor do i make much difference between one man and another since i claim so little." "may be it seems little to you," said gisli; "but i would sooner part with thirty hundred ells of wadmal. it seems that extortion is your way. go for him, boys! let us see what he can do." they obeyed. grettir fell back a little and reached a stone which is still standing by the side of the way and is called grettishaf, where he stood at bay. gisli urged on his men, and grettir saw that he was not quite so valiant as he pretended to be, for he kept well behind them. grettir got tired of being hemmed in, so he made a lunge with his sword and killed one of gisli's men, sprang from his stone and assailed them so vigorously that gisli fell back all along the foot of the hill. then his other man was killed. grettir said: "one would scarcely see that you have achieved much in the world abroad, and you have shamefully forsaken your comrades." gisli answered: "the fire is hottest to him who is in it; it is ill dealing with men from hel." they had exchanged few more blows when gisli threw away his arms and bolted right away along the foot of the mountain. grettir gave him time to throw away whatever he liked, and at every opportunity he threw off something more of his clothes. grettir never followed him so closely that there was not some distance between them. he ran right away from the mountains, across kaldardal, round aslaug's cliff, above kolbeinsstad and out to borgarhraun. by that time he had nothing left on him but his shirt, and was terribly exhausted. grettir still followed, keeping now within reach of him. he pulled off a great branch. gisli did not stop till he reached haffjardara river, which was all swollen and difficult to ford. gisli was going right out into the river when grettir pressed forward and seized him and showed him the difference in their strength. grettir got him down, sat on the top of him and asked: "are you the gisli who wanted to meet grettir?" "i have found him now," he answered; "but i know not how i shall part with him. keep what you have taken and let me go free." grettir said: "you will not understand what i am going to tell you, so i must give you something to remember it by." then he pulled up gisli's shirt over his head and let the rod play on both sides of his back. gisli struggled to get away, but grettir gave him a sound whipping and then let him go. gisli thought that he would sooner not learn anything from grettir than have another such flogging, nor did he do anything more to earn it. directly he got his feet under him again he ran off to a large pool and swam across the river. in the evening he reached the settlement called hrossholt, very exhausted. there he lay for a week, his body covered with blisters, and afterwards went on to his own place. grettir turned back, gathered up all the things which gisli had thrown away and took them home. gisli never got them back again; many thought he had only got what he deserved for his noisy boasting. grettir made a verse about their encounter: "the horse whose fighting teeth are blunted runs from the field before his foe. with many an afterthought ran gisli. gone is his fame, his glory lost!" in the spring after this gisli prepared to go on board his ship and forbade in the strongest terms anything which belonged to him being carried south by the way of the mountains; for he said that the fiend himself was there. gisli when he went south to join his ship kept all the way along the coast and he never met grettir again. nobody considered him worth thinking about, nor do we hear any more of him in this saga. grettir's relations with thord the son of kolbeinn became worse than ever, and thord tried every means to get grettir driven away or killed. chapter lx. the battle with the myramen when grettir had been two winters in fagraskogafjall and the third winter had set in, he went south into myrar to the farm called laekjarbug, where he took six wethers without their owner's permission. then he went down to akrar and drove off two oxen for slaughter with several sheep, and went up south to the hitara. when the bondis heard of his exploits they sent word to thord at hitarnes and asked him to take the lead in the slaying of grettir. he was rather reluctant, but as they had asked him he sent his son arnor, afterwards called jarlsbard, to go with them, and told them not to let grettir escape. messengers were then sent round to all the farms. there was a man named bjarni who dwelt in jorvi in flysjuhverfi. he collected men on the other side of the hitara; the intention was that each band should keep on its own side. grettir had two men with him, one named eyjolf, a stout man, the son of a bondi in fagraskogar, and another. the party came on, about twenty in number, under thorarin from akrar and thorfinn of laekjarbug. grettir tried to get out across the river, but was met by arnor and bjarni coming from the coast. there was a narrow point jutting out into the river on grettir's side, and when he saw the men approaching he drove his animals on to it, for he never would let go anything of which he had once got possession. the myramen prepared to attack in good order and grettir told his companions to guard his rear. they could not all come on at once. there was a hard struggle between them; grettir used his short sword with both hands and they found it not easy to get at him. some of the myramen fell and some were wounded. the men on the other side of the river were rather slow in coming up because there was no ford near. before they had been fighting very long they fell back. thorarin of akrar was a very old man and not able to join in the fighting. when the battle was over there came up his son thrand, his brother ingjald's son thorgils, finnbogi the son of thorgeir, the son of thorhadd of hitardal, and steinolf the son of thorleif of hraundal. they set on their men and there was a hard struggle. grettir saw that there was no choice left but either to flee or else to do his utmost and not spare himself. he pressed on hard and nothing could hold against him, for his foes were so numerous that there was no chance of escaping except by fighting to the last before he fell. he tried always to engage those who seemed most courageous; first he went for steinolf of hraundal and cleft his skull down to his shoulders; then he struck at thorgils the son of ingjald and almost cut him in two. then thrand tried to spring forward and avenge his kinsmen, and grettir hewed at his right thigh, cutting out all the muscles so that he could fight no more. next he gave finnbogi a severe wound. then thorarin ordered them off. "the longer you fight," he said, "the worse you will get from him and the more will he choose out the men from your company." they obeyed and fell back. ten had fallen; five were wounded to death or crippled, and nearly all who had been in the battle were hurt. grettir was terribly fatigued but little wounded. the myramen drew off, having suffered heavy losses, for many a good man had fallen. those who were beyond the river came over slowly and did not arrive till the fight was over, and when they saw the plight of their men arnor would not risk himself any further, for which he was much blamed by his father and by others. men thought he was not much of a warrior. the place where they fought is now called grettisoddi. grettir and his companions were all wounded; they took their horses and rode back along the foot of the mountain. when they reached fagraskogar eyjolf was behind. there was a bondi's daughter there and she asked for their tidings, which grettir told her fully and spoke a verse: "goddess of horn-floods! steinolf's wounds are such that scarcely may be healed. of thorgils' life is little hope; his bones are smashed; eight more are dead." then grettir went to his retreat and spent the winter there. chapter lxi. grettir winters under the geitland glacier the next time that bjorn met grettir he told him that this was a very serious affair, and that he would not be able to stay there in peace much longer. "you have killed kinsmen and friends of mine, but i will not depart from my promise to you so long as you are here." grettir said he was sorry to have given him offence, but that he had to defend his hands and his life. bjorn said it would have to remain so. soon there came to him some of the men who had lost their kinsmen through grettir and petitioned him not to allow such a ruffian as he was to stay there any longer and molest them. bjorn said he would do as they desired directly the winter was over. thrand the son of thorarin of akrar had now recovered from his wound. he was a man of much worth, and had married steinunn the daughter of hrut of kambsnes. steinolf's father thorleif of hraundal was a great man; from him are sprung the hraundal men. no more meetings are told of between grettir and the myramen while he was in the mountains. bjorn continued in friendship with him, but some of bjorn's other friends fell away from him because of his allowing grettir to remain there, for they were annoyed at getting no compensation for the slaying of their kinsmen. when the thing assembled grettir left the myrar district and went to borgarfjord, where he visited grim the son of thorhall and sought counsel of him where he should move to next. grim said he was not powerful enough to keep him there, so grettir went off to his friend hallmund and stayed there till the end of the summer. in the autumn grettir went to geitland, where he stayed till bright weather set in. then he ascended the geitlandsjokull and turned his steps south-east along the glacier, taking with him a kettle and fuel. it is supposed that he went there by the counsel of hallmund, who knew the country far and wide. he went on till he came to a long and rather narrow valley in the glacier, shut in on every side by the ice which overhung the valley. he went about everywhere, and found fair grass-grown banks and brushwood. there were hot springs, and it seemed as if volcanic fires had kept the ice from closing in above the valley. a little stream flowed down the dale with smooth banks on either side. little did the light of the sun enter there, and the number of sheep in the valley seemed to him countless. they were much better and fatter than any which he had ever seen. grettir stayed there and built himself a hut out of logs which he found about. he caught a sheep to eat, and it was better for slaughter than two in other places. there was a ewe there with her lamb; she had a brown head and excelled all the others in size. he was anxious to have the lamb, so he caught it and slaughtered it and got half a measure of suet out of it, and it was better in every way. when brownhead missed her lamb she came up every night to grettir's hut and bleated so that he never could get any sleep. he regretted much having killed the lamb on account of the disturbance which she caused him. every evening when the twilight set in he heard a voice calling in the valley, and then the sheep used to run together into a place of shelter. grettir has told us that a blending ruled over the valley, a giant named thorir, under whose protection he remained. grettir called the valley after him thorisdal. he said that thorir had daughters with whom he had some play, and that they were very pleased, because not many people came there. and when the days of fasting came grettir remembered to tell them that fat and liver should be eaten in lent. nothing particular occurred that winter, and grettir found it so dull that he could not stay there any longer. he left the valley and went to the south through the glacier, reaching the middle of skjaldbreid from the north. there he took up a stone, cut a hole in it and said that if a man put his eye to the hole he could see into the gully which flows out of thorisdal. then he went across the country south and reached the eastern fjords. he spent the summer and the winter on this journey and visited all the great men, but found them all against him so that nowhere could he get lodging or shelter. so he returned to the north and stayed in various places. chapter lxii. hallmund is killed by a forest-man named grim soon after grettir had left the arnarvatn heath there came a man there named grim, the son of a widow at kropp. he had killed the son of eid of ass, the son of skeggi, and been outlawed for it. so there he stayed where grettir had been before him and got plenty of fish out of the lake. hallmund was not at all pleased at grim being there instead of grettir, and said that he should have little advantage from his great catches of fish. one morning grim had caught a hundred fish, which he brought to the hut and arranged outside. the next morning when he went there every fish was gone. he thought it very strange, but returned to the lake and caught this time two hundred. he carried them home and arranged them; again everything happened as before; in the morning all were gone, evidently through the same agency as before. the third day he caught three hundred, carried them home and kept a watch on his hut. he looked out through a hole in the door to see if any one came, and so he remained for a time. when about one third of the night had passed he heard some one walking near and stepping rather heavily; so he immediately took his axe, which was very sharp, and wanted to know what was the matter. there came a man with a big basket on his back; he put it down and looked round, but saw no one outside. he rummaged about among the fish and seemed to think that they would do for him to lay hands upon. he threw them all into his basket and they quite filled it. the fishes were so large that grim thought no horse would be able to carry more. this man then took the load and got beneath it. just as he was about to rise grim rushed out and taking his axe in both hands struck a blow at his neck which went through the skin. he started in surprise and then ran off towards the south of the hill with his basket. grim went after him to see whether he had got him. they went south along the foot of the balljokull where the man entered a cave. there was a bright fire in the cave and a woman standing in it, very tall but shapely. grim heard her greet her father, calling him hallmund. he flung down his load and heaved a great sigh. she asked why he was covered with blood. he answered in a verse: "no man, i see, may trust his might. his luck and heart will fail at death." then she pressed him to say what had happened, and he told her everything. "hear now," he said, "what i tell you of my adventure. i will tell it to you in verse, and you shall cut it in runes on a staff." she did so, and he spoke the hallmundarkvida, in which the following occurs: "i was strong when grettir's bridle i seized i saw him gazing long at his palms. then thorir came on the heath with his men. 'gainst eighty we two had play with our spears. grettir's hands knew how to strike; much deeper the marks that were left by mine. arms and heads then flew as they tried to gain my rear; eighteen of them fell. the giant-kind and the grim rock-dwellers, demons and blendings fell before me, elves and devils have felt my hand." many exploits of his did hallmund recount in the lay, for he had been in every land. the daughter said: "that man was not going to let his catch slip away from him. it was only to be expected, for you treated him very badly. but who is going to avenge you?" "it is not certain that anybody will, but i think that grettir would avenge me if he were able. it will not be easy to go against this man's luck; he is destined to great things." then as the lay continued his strength began to fail. hallmund died almost at the moment when he finished the song. she grieved much for him and wept sorely. then grim came forward and bade her be comforted. "all," he said, "must depart when their fate calls. it was partly his own fault, for i could not look on and see myself robbed." she said he might speak much about that: "the unjust man prospers ill." she was somewhat cheered by the talk with him. grim stayed several nights in the cave and learned the lay; all went well with them. grim was in the arnarvatn heath all the winter after hallmund's death. afterwards thorkell the son of eyjolf came to the heath and fought with him. the meeting ended by grim having thorkell's life in his power, but he would not kill him. thorkell then took him in, sent him abroad and supplied him with means; each was considered to have acted generously towards the other. grim became a great traveller and there is a long saga about him. chapter lxiii. grettir's meeting with thorir on the reykja heath we now return to grettir, who came from the eastern fjords, travelling in disguise and hiding his head because he did not wish to meet thorir. that summer he spent in modrudal heath and other places. for a time too he was on reykja heath. thorir heard of his being on reykja heath, gathered his men and rode thither, determined not to let him escape. grettir scarcely knew of their plans before they came upon him. he was in a hill-dairy a little off the road with another man, and when they saw the troop they had to lay their plans quickly. grettir said they should make their horses lie down inside the house, and they did so. thorir rode forward across the heath in a northerly direction, missed the place, did not find grettir and turned back home. when the troop had ridden round to the west, grettir said: "they will not be pleased with their expedition if they do not meet me. you stay and mind the horses while i go after them. it would be a good jest if they did not recognise me." his companion tried to dissuade him, but he would go. he changed his dress, put on a wide hat which came down over his face and took a stick in his hand. then he went along the road towards them. they addressed him and asked whether he had seen any men riding over the heath. "i have seen the men whom you are seeking," he said, "you very nearly came upon them; they were on your left hand just south of the marshes." on hearing this they galloped off towards the marshes, which were so swampy that they could not get through and had to spend a great part of the day dragging their horses out. they swore much at the supposed traveller for playing a practical joke upon them. grettir returned speedily home to his companion, and when they met spoke a verse: "i will not ride to the warriors' arms; too great the danger is. i dare not meet the storm of vidri; but homeward turn my steps." they rode off as fast as they could westwards towards the homestead in gard before thorir could come there with his company. when they were near the place they met a man on the road who did not know them. there was a young woman standing outside, very much dressed up, and grettir asked who she was. the man who had come up said she was thorir's daughter. then grettir spoke a verse: "maiden, when thy father comes tell him, little though it please him, how i rode his dwelling past; only two who with me rode." from this the man learnt who it was, and rode to the house to tell them that grettir had come round. when thorir returned many men thought that he had been bamboozled by grettir. he then set spies to watch grettir's movements. grettir took the precaution of sending his companion to the western districts with his horse, while he himself went north into the mountains at the beginning of the winter, muffling up his face so that no one should recognise him. every one thought that thorir had fared no better but even worse than at their former encounter. chapter lxiv. ghosts in bardardal there was dwelling at eyjardalsa in bardardal a priest named steinn, a good farmer and wealthy. his son kjartan was grown up and was now a fine young man. thorsteinn the white was a man who dwelt at sandhaugar to the south of eyjardalsa; his wife steinvor was young and of a merry disposition. they had children who at this time were yet young. their place was generally thought to be much haunted by trolls. two winters before grettir came north into those parts, steinvor the mistress of sandhaugar went as usual to spend yule at eyjardalsa, while her husband stayed at home. men lay down to sleep in the evening, and in the night they heard a great noise in the room near the bondi's bed. no one dared to get up to see what was the matter because there were so few of them. the mistress of the house returned home the next morning, but her husband had disappeared and no one knew what had become of him. so the next season passed. the following winter the mistress wanted to go to mass, and told her servant to stay at home; he was very unwilling but said she should be obeyed. it happened just as before; this time the servant disappeared. people thought it very strange and found some drops of blood upon the outer door, so they supposed that some evil spirit must have carried off both the men. the story spread all through the district and came to the ears of grettir, who being well accustomed to deal with ghosts and spectres turned his steps to bardardal and arrived at yule-eve at sandhaugar. he retained his disguise and called himself gest. the lady of the house saw that he was enormously tall, and the servants were terribly afraid of him. he asked for hospitality; the mistress told him that food was ready for him but that he must see after himself. he said he would, and added: "i will stay in the house while you go to mass if you would like it." she said: "you must be a brave man to venture to stay in the house." "i do not care for a monotonous life," he said. then she said: "i do not want to remain at home, but i cannot get across the river." "i will come with you," said gest. then she made ready to go to mass with her little daughter. it was thawing outside; the river was flooded and was covered with ice. she said: "it is impossible for either man or horse to cross the river." "there must be fords," said gest; "do not be afraid." "first carry the maiden over," she said; "she is lighter." "i don't want to make two journeys of it," said he; "i will carry you in my arms." she crossed herself and said: "that is impossible; what will you do with the girl?" "i will find a way," he said, taking them both up and setting the girl on her mother's knee as he bore them both on his left arm, keeping his right arm free. so he carried them across. they were too frightened to cry out. the river came up to his breast, and a great piece of ice drove against him, which he pushed off with the hand that was free. then the stream became so deep that it broke over his shoulder, but he waded on vigorously till he reached the other bank and put them on shore. it was nearly dark by the time he got home to sandhaugar and called for some food. when he had eaten something he told the servants to go to the other end of the hall. then he got some boards and loose logs and laid them across the hall to make a great barricade so that none of the servants could get across. no one dared to oppose him or to object to anything. the entrance was in the side wall of the hall under the back gable, and near it was a cross bench upon which grettir laid himself, keeping on his clothes, with a light burning in the room. so he lay till into the night. the mistress reached eyjardalsa for mass and every one wondered how she had crossed the river. she said she did not know whether it was a man or a troll who had carried her over. the priest said it was certainly a man though unlike other men. "let us keep silence over it; may be that he means to help you in your difficulties." she stayed there the night. chapter lxv. adventure with a troll-woman we return now to tell of gest. towards midnight he heard a loud noise outside, and very soon there walked a huge troll-wife into the room. she carried a trough in one hand and a rather large cutlass in the other. she looked round the room as she entered, and on seeing gest lying there she rushed at him; he started up and attacked her furiously. they fought long together; she was the stronger but he evaded her skilfully. everything near them and the panelling of the back wall were broken to pieces. she dragged him through the hall door out to the porch, where he resisted vigorously. she wanted to drag him out of the house, but before that was done they had broken up all the fittings of the outer door and borne them away on their shoulders. then she strove to get to the river and among the rocks. gest was terribly fatigued, but there was no choice but either to brace himself or be dragged down to the rocks. all night long they struggled together, and he thought he had never met with such a monster for strength. she gripped him so tightly to herself that he could do nothing with either hand but cling to her waist. when at last they reached a rock by the river he swung the monster round and got his right hand loose. then he quickly seized the short sword which he was wearing, drew it and struck at the troll's right shoulder, cutting off her right arm and releasing himself. she sprang among the rocks and disappeared in the waterfall. gest, very stiff and tired, lay long by the rock. at daylight he went home and lay down on his bed, blue and swollen all over. when the lady of the house came home she found the place rather in disorder. she went to gest and asked him what had happened, and why everything was broken to pieces. he told her everything just as it had happened. she thought it a matter of great moment and asked him who he was. he told her the truth, said that he wished to see a priest and asked her to send for one. she did so; steinn came to sandhaugar and soon learnt that it was grettir the son of asmund who had come there under the name of gest. the priest asked him what he thought had become of the men who had disappeared; grettir said he thought that they must have gone among the rocks. the priest said he could not believe his word unless he gave some evidence of it. grettir said that later it would be known, and the priest went home. grettir lay many days in his bed and the lady did all she could for him; thus yule-tide passed. grettir himself declared that the trollwoman sprang among the rocks when she was wounded, but the men of bardardal say that the day dawned upon her while they were wrestling; that when he cut off her arm she broke, and that she is still standing there on the mountain in the likeness of a woman. the dwellers in the valley kept grettir there in hiding. one day that winter after yule grettir went to eyjardalsa and met the priest, to whom he said: "i see, priest, that you have little belief in what i say. now i wish you to come with me to the river and to see what probability there is in it." the priest did so. when they reached the falls they saw a cave up under the rock. the cliff was there so abrupt that no one could climb it, and nearly ten fathoms down to the water. they had a rope with them. the priest said: "it is quite impossible for any one to get down to that." grettir answered: "it is certainly possible; and men of high mettle are those who would feel themselves happiest there. i want to see what there is in the fall. do you mind the rope." the priest said he could do so if he chose. he drove a stake into the ground and laid stones against it. chapter lxvi. grettir slays a giant grettir now fastened a stone in a loop at the end of the rope, and lowered it from above into the water. "which way do you mean to go?" asked the priest. "i don't mean to be bound when i come into the fall," grettir said. "so my mind tells me." then he prepared to go; he had few clothes on and only a short sword; no other arms. he jumped from a rock and got down to the fall. the priest saw the soles of his feet but after that did not know what had become of him. grettir dived beneath the fall. it was very difficult swimming because of the currents, and he had to dive to the bottom to get behind the fall. there was a rock where he came up, and a great cave under the fall in front of which the water poured. he went into the cave, where there was a large fire burning and a horrible great giant most fearful to behold sitting before it. on grettir entering the giant sprang up, seized a pike and struck at him, for he could both strike and thrust with it. it had a wooden shaft and was of the kind called "heptisax." grettir struck back with his sword and cut through the shaft. then the giant tried to reach up backwards to a sword which was hanging in the cave, and at that moment grettir struck at him and cut open his lower breast and stomach so that all his entrails fell out into the river and floated down the stream. the priest who was sitting by the rope saw some debris being carried down all covered with blood and lost his head, making sure that grettir was killed. he left the rope and ran off home, where he arrived in the evening and told them for certain that grettir was dead, and said it was a great misfortune to them to have lost such a man. grettir struck few more blows at the giant before he was dead. he then entered the cave, kindled a light and explored. it is not told how much treasure he found there, but there is supposed to have been some. he stayed there till late into the night and found the bones of two men, which he carried away in a skin. then he came out of the cave, swam to the rope and shook it, thinking the priest was there; finding him gone he had to swarm up the rope and so reached the top. he went home to eyjardalsa and carried the skin with the bones in it into the vestibule of the church together with a rune-staff, upon which were most beautifully carved the following lines: "into the fall of the torrent i went; dank its maw towards me gaped. the floods before the ogress' den mighty against my shoulder played"; and then: "hideous the friend of troll-wife came. hard were the blows i dealt upon him. the shaft of heptisax was severed. my sword has pierced the monster's breast." there too it was told how grettir had brought the bones from the cave. the priest when he came to the church on the next morning found the staff and all that was with it and read the runes. grettir had then returned home to sandhaugar. chapter lxvii. visit to gudmund the mighty when the priest met grettir again he asked him to say exactly what had happened, and grettir told him all about where he had been. he said that the priest had held the rope very faithlessly, and the priest admitted that it was true. men felt no doubt that these monsters were responsible for the disappearance of the men in the valley, nor was there any haunting or ghost-walking there afterwards; grettir had evidently cleared the land of them. the bones were buried by the priest in the churchyard. grettir stayed the winter in bardardal, but unknown to the general public. thorir of gard heard rumours of grettir being in bardardal and set some men on to take his life. men thereupon advised him to depart, and he went into the west to modruvellir, where he met gudmund the mighty and asked him for protection. gudmund said it would not be convenient for him to take him in. "you must," he said, "find a place to settle in where you need be in no fear for your life." grettir said he did not know where such a place was. "there is an island," gudmund said, "in skagafjord, called drangey. it is excellent for defence; no one can get up to it without a ladder. if once you can reach it there is no chance of any one attacking you there with arms or with craft, so long as you guard the ladder well." "that shall be tried," said grettir. "but i am in such dread of the dark that even for the sake of my life i cannot live alone." "it may be that it is so," said gudmund; "but trust no man so well that you trust not yourself better. many are unfit to be trusted." grettir thanked him for his excellent advice and departed from modruvellir. he went on straight to bjarg, where his mother and illugi greeted him joyfully. he stayed there several days and heard of thorsteinn kuggason having been slain in the autumn before he went to bardardal. fate, he thought, was striking hard against him. then he rode south to holtavarda heath, intending to revenge the death of hallmund if he could meet with grim. on reaching nordrardal he learnt that grim had left two or three years before, as has already been related. grettir had not received news of it because he had been in hiding there for two years and a third in thorisdal and had met no one to tell him of what had happened. then he turned his steps towards the breidafjord valleys and waylaid those who passed over brattabrekka. he continued to let his hands sweep over the property of the small farmers during the height of the summer season. when the summer was passing away, steinvor at sandhaugar gave birth to a son who was named skeggi. he was at first fathered on kjartan, the son of steinn the priest at eyjardalsa. skeggi was unlike all his family in his strength and stature. when he was fifteen years old he was the strongest man in the north, and then they put him down to grettir. there seemed a prospect of his growing into something quite extraordinary, but he died when he was seventeen and there is no saga about him. chapter lxviii. fight with thorodd the son of snorri after the death of thorsteinn kuggason, snorri the godi was on bad terms with his son thorodd and with sam the son of bork the fat. it is not clearly stated what they had done to displease him except that they had refused to undertake some important work which he had given them to do; what is known is that snorri turned off his son thorodd and told him not to come back until he had slain some forest-man, and so it remained. thorodd then went to dalir. there dwelt at breidabolstad in sokkolfsdal a certain widow named geirlaug; she kept as her shepherd a grown-up youth who had been outlawed for wounding some one. thorodd snorrason heard of this, rode to breidabolstad and asked where the shepherd was. the woman said he was with the sheep and asked what thorodd wanted with him. "i want to take his life," he said; "he is an outlaw and a forest-man." she said: "such a warrior as you has nothing to gain by killing a miserable creature like him. i will show you a much doughtier deed, should you have a mind to try it." "what is that?" he asked. "up there in the mountains," she said, "is grettir the son of asmund; deal with him; that will be more fitting for you." thorodd liked the proposal and said he would do it. then he put spurs to his horse and rode up along the valleys. on reaching the hills below the austra river he saw a light-coloured horse saddled, with a big man in armour, and at once directed his steps towards them. grettir hailed him and asked who he was. thorodd told his name and asked: "why do you not rather ask my business than my name?" "because," he said, "it is not likely to be very weighty. are you a son of snorri the godi?" "so it is indeed; we shall now try which of us is the stronger." "that is easily done," said grettir, "but have you not heard that i have not proved a mound of wealth to most of those who have had to do with me?" "i know that; but i mean to risk something on it now." then he drew his sword and went valiantly for grettir, who defended himself with his shield but would not use his weapons against thorodd. they fought for a time without his being wounded. grettir then said: "let us stop this play; you will not gain the victory in a battle with me." thorodd struck at him most furiously. grettir was tired of it, so he took hold of him and set him down next to himself, saying: "i could do what i liked with you; but i have no fear of your killing me. i am much more afraid of your grey-headed father, snorri the godi, and of his counsels, which have brought many a man to his knees. you should take up tasks which you are able to accomplish; it is no child's play to fight with me." when thorodd saw that there was nothing to be done he quieted down, and then they parted. he rode home to tunga and told his father of his encounter with grettir. snorri smiled and said: "many a man has a high opinion of himself; but the odds against you were too great. while you were aiming blows at him he was doing what he pleased with you. but he was wise not to kill you, for it would not have been my purpose to leave you unavenged. i will now rather use my influence on his side if i ever have to do with his affairs." snorri showed his approval of grettir's action towards thorodd, for his counsels were always friendly to grettir. chapter lxix. grettir's last visit to bjarg and journey with illugi to drangey soon after thorodd left him grettir rode north to bjarg and remained there in hiding for a time. his fear of the dark grew so upon him that he dared go nowhere after dusk. his mother offered to keep him there, but said she saw that it would not do for him because of the feuds which he had throughout the land. grettir said she should not fall into trouble through him, "but," he said, "i can no longer live alone even to save my life." illugi his brother was then fifteen years old and was a most goodly young man. he heard what they were saying. grettir told his mother what gudmund the mighty had advised him to do, and declared he would try to get to drangey if he could. yet, he said, he could not go there unless he could find some faithful man to stay with him. then illugi said: "i will go with you, brother. i know not whether i shall be a support to you, but i will be faithful to you and will not run from you so long as you stand upright. and i shall know the better how it fares with you if i am with you." grettir answered: "you are such an one amongst men as i most rejoice in. and if my mother be not against it i would indeed that you should go with me." asdis then said: "it has now come to this, that i see two difficulties meeting each other. it is hard for me to lose illugi, but i know that so much may be said for grettir's condition that he will find some way out. and though it is much for one to bid farewell to both of you, yet i will consent to it if grettir's lot is bettered thereby." illugi was pleased at her words, for his heart was set upon going with grettir. she gave them plenty of money to take with them and they made ready for their journey. asdis took them along the road, and before they parted she said: "go forth now, my sons twain. sad will be your death together, nor may any man escape that which is destined for him. i shall see neither of you again; let one fate befall you both. i know not what safety you seek in drangey, but there shall your bones be laid, and many will begrudge you your living there. beware of treachery; yet shall you be smitten with weapons, for strange are the dreams which i have had. guard yourselves against witchcraft, for few things are stronger than the ancient spells." thus she spoke and wept much. grettir said: "weep not, my mother. it shall be said that you had sons and not daughters if we are attacked with arms. live well, and farewell." then they parted. the two travelled north through the districts and visited their kinsmen while the autumn passed into winter. then they turned their steps to skagafjord, then north to vatnsskard on to reykjaskard below saemundarhlid to langholt, reaching glaumbaer as the day was waning. grettir had slung his hat over his shoulder; so he always went when out of doors whether the weather was good or bad. thence they continued their journey, and when they had gone a short way they met a man with a big head, tall and thin and ill clad. he greeted them and each asked the other's name. they told theirs and he said his name was thorbjorn. he was a vagrant, had no mind to work and swaggered much. it was the habit of some to make game of him or fool him. he became very familiar and told them much gossip about the district and the people therein. grettir was much amused. he asked whether they did not want a man to work for them and said he would much like to go with them. so much he got from his talk that they let him join them. it was very cold and there was a driving snow-storm. as the man was so fussy and talkative they gave him a nickname and called him glaum. "the people in glaumbaer," he said, "were much exercised about your going without a hat in this weather, and wanted to know whether you were any the braver for being proof against the cold. there were two sons of bondis there, men of great distinction; the shepherd told them to come out and mind the sheep with him, but they could scarcely get their clothes on for the cold." grettir said: "i saw a young man inside the door putting on his mittens, and another going between the cow-house and the dung-heap. neither of them will frighten me." then they went on to reynines and stayed the night there; then to the sea-shore to a farm called reykir where a man, a good farmer, named thorvald, lived. grettir asked him for shelter and told him of his intention of going to drangey. the bondi said that men of skagafjord would not think his a very friendly visit and drew back. then grettir took the purse of money which his mother had given him and gave it to the bondi. the man's brows unbent when he saw the money and he told three of his servants to take them out in the night by the moonlight. from reykir is the shortest distance to the island, about one sea-mile. when they reached the island grettir thought it looked quite pleasant; it was all overgrown with grass and had steep cliffs down to the sea so that no one could get on to it except where the ladders were. if the upper ladder was pulled up it was impossible for any one to get on to the island. there was also a large crag full of sea birds in the summer, and there were eighty sheep in the island belonging to the bondis, mostly rams and ewes, which were meant for slaughter. there grettir quietly settled down. he had been fifteen or sixteen years an outlaw, so sturla the son of thord has recorded. chapter lxx. the people of skagafjord when grettir came to drangey the following chiefs were in skagafjord: hjalti lived at hof in hjaltadal, the son of thord, the son of hjalti, the son of thord skalp. he was a great chief, very distinguished and very popular. his brother was named thorbjorn angle, a big man, strong and hardy and rather quarrelsome. thord their father had married in his old age, and his then wife was not the mother of these two. she was very much against her stepsons, especially thorbjorn, because he was intractable and headstrong. one day when he was playing at "tables", his stepmother came up and saw that he was playing at "hnettafl"; they played with big peg pieces. she considered that very lazy of him and spoke some words to which he answered hastily. she took up the piece and struck him on the cheek bone with the peg, and it glanced into his eye which hung down on his cheek. he started up and handled her mercilessly so that she was confined to her bed and soon afterwards died; they say that she was pregnant at the time. after that he became a regular ruffian. he took over his property and went first to live in vidvik. halldor the son of thorgeir, the son of thord of hofdi, lived at hof in hofdastrand. he married thordis the daughter of thord, the sister of hjalti and thorbjorn angle. halldor was a worthy bondi and wealthy. bjorn was the name of a man who lived at haganes in fljot, a friend of halldor of hof, and the two held together in every dispute. tungu-steinn dwelt at steinsstadir. he was the son of bjorn, the son of ofeig thinbeard, the son of crow-hreidar, to whom eirik of guddal gave tunga below skalamyr. he was a man of renown. eirik was the son of holmgang-starri, the son of eirik of guddal, the son of hroald, the son of geirmund straightbeard. he lived at hof in guddal. all these were men of high rank. two brothers dwelt at a place called breida in slettahlid, both named thord. they were very strong men, but peaceable. all the men now named had a share in drangey. it is said that the island was owned by no fewer than twenty men, and none of them would part with his share to the others. the largest share belonged to the sons of thord since they were the richest. chapter lxxi. the bondis claim their property in drangey midwinter was passed, and the bondis prepared to bring in their animals from the island for slaughter. they manned a boat and each had a man of his own on board, some two. when they reached the island they saw men on it moving about. they thought it very strange, but supposed that some one had been wrecked and had gone on shore there. so they rowed to where the ladders were. the people on the shore pulled the ladders up. this seemed very strange behaviour and they hailed the men and asked who they were. grettir told his name and those of his companions. the bondis asked who had taken them out to the island. grettir answered: "he brought me out who took me here, and had hands, and was more my friend than yours." the bondis said: "let us take our animals and come to the land with us. you shall have freely whatever you have taken of our property." grettir said: "that is a good offer; but each of us shall have that which he has got. i may tell you at once that hence i go not, unless i am dead or dragged away; nor will i let go that which my hands have taken." the bondis said no more, but thought that most unhappy visitors had come to drangey. they offered money and made many fair promises, but grettir refused them all, and so they had to return home much disgusted, having accomplished nothing. they told all the people of the district of the wolves who had come into the island. this had come upon them unawares and nothing could be done. they talked it over that winter but could think of no way of getting grettir out of the island. chapter lxxii. grettir visits the thing at hegranes the time passed on until the spring, when men assembled at the hegranes thing. they came in great numbers from all the districts under its jurisdiction, and stayed there a long time, both palavering and merry-making, for there were many who loved merriment in the country round. when grettir heard that everybody had gone to the thing he laid a plan with his friends, for he was always on good terms with those who were nearest to him, and for them he spared nothing which he was able to get. he said he would go to the land to get supplies and that illugi and glaum should remain behind. illugi thought it very imprudent but he let grettir have his way. he told them to guard the ladder well since everything depended upon that. then he went to the land and obtained what he wanted. he kept his disguise wherever he went and no one knew that he had come. he heard of the festivities that were going on at the thing and was curious to see them, so he put on some old clothes that were rather shabby and arrived just as they were going from the logretta home to their booths. some of the young men were talking about the weather, said it was good and fair, and that it would be a good thing to have some games and wrestling; they thought it a good proposal. so they sat down in front of their booths. the foremost men in the games were the sons of thord. thorbjorn angle was very uppish and was arranging everything himself for the sports. every one had to do as he bade, and he took them each by the shoulders and pushed them into the field. the wrestling was begun by the less strong ones in pairs, and there was great sport. when most of them had wrestled except the strongest, there was much talk as to who should tackle the two thords mentioned above, and there was no one who would do it. they went round inviting men to wrestle, but the more they asked the more their invitation was declined. thorbjorn angle looked round and saw a big man sitting there, but could not clearly see his face. he seized hold of him and gave a violent tug, but the man sat still and did not move. thorbjorn said: "nobody has held so firm against me to-day as you. but who is this fellow?" "my name is gest." thorbjorn said: "you will be wanting to play with us. you are a welcome guest." "things may change quickly," he said. "i cannot join in your games for i have no knowledge of them." many of them said that they would take it kindly of him if he, a stranger, would play a little with the men. he asked what they wanted him to do, and they asked him to wrestle with some one. he said he had given up wrestling, though he once used to take pleasure in it. as he did not directly refuse they pressed him all the more. "well," he said, "if you want to drag me in you must do one thing for me and grant me peace here at the thing until i reach my home." they all shouted and said they would gladly do that. the man who was foremost in urging that peace should be given was one haf the son of thorarin, the son of haf, the son of thord knapp, who had settled in the land between stifla in fljot and tungua. he lived at knappsstad and was a man of many words. he spoke in favour of the peace with great authority and said: "hereby do i declare peace between all men, in particular between this man here seated who is named gest and all godord's men, full bondis, all men of war and bearers of arms, all other men of this district of the hegranes thing whencesoever they have come, both named and unnamed. i declare peace and full immunity in behoof of this newcomer to us unknown, gest yclept, for the practice of games, wrestling and all kinds of sport, while abiding here, and during his journey home, whether he sail or whether he travel, whether by land or whether by sea. he shall have peace in all places, named and unnamed, for such time as he needeth to reach his home in safety, by our faith confirmed. and i establish this peace on the part of ourselves and of our kinsmen, our friends and belongings, alike of women and of men, bondsmen and thralls, youths and adults. be there any truce-breaker who shall violate this peace and defile this faith, so be he rejected of god and expelled from the community of righteous men; be he cast out from heaven and from the fellowship of the holy; let him have no part amongst mankind and become an outcast from society. a vagabond he shall be and a wolf in places where christians pray and where heathen worship, where fire burneth, where the earth bringeth forth, where the child lispeth the name of mother, where the mother beareth a son, where men kindle fire, where the ship saileth, where shields blink, sun shineth, snow lieth, finn glideth, fir-tree groweth, falcon flieth the live-long day and the fair wind bloweth straight under both her wings, where heaven rolleth and earth is tilled, where the breezes waft mists to the sea, where corn is sown. far shall he dwell from church and christian men, from the sons of the heathen, from house and cave and from every home, in the torments of hel. at peace we shall be, in concord together, each with other in friendly mind, wherever we meet, on mountain or strand, on ship or on snow-shoes, on plains or on glaciers, at sea or on horseback, as friends meet in the water, or brothers by the way, each at peace with other, as son with father, or father with son, in all our dealings. "our hands we lay together, all and every to hold well the peace and the words we have spoken in this our faith, in the presence of god and of holy men, of all who hear my words and here are present." many said that a great word had been spoken. gest said: "you have declared and spoken well; if you go not back upon it, i will not delay to show that of which i am capable." then he cast off his hood and after that all his upper garments. each looked at the other and woe spread over their lips; for they knew that it was grettir who had come to them, by his excelling all other men in stature and vigour. all were silent and haf looked foolish. the men of the district went two and two together, each blaming the other, and most of all blaming him who had declared the peace. then grettir said: "speak plainly to me and declare what is in your minds, for i will not sit here long without my clothes. you have more at stake than i have, whether you hold the peace or not." they answered little and sat themselves down. the sons of thord and their brother-in-law halldor then talked together. some wished to uphold the peace and some not. each nodded to the other. then grettir spoke a verse: "many a man is filled with doubt. a twofold mask has the prover of shields. the skilful tongue is put to shame. they doubt if they shall hold the troth." then said tungu-steinn: "think you so, grettir? which then will the chieftains do? but true it is that you excel all men in courage. see you not how they are putting their noses together?" grettir then said: "together they all their noses laid; they wagged their beards in close converse. they talked with each other by two and two, regretting the peace they afore declared." then said hjalti the son of thord: "it shall not be so; we will hold the peace with you although our minds have altered. i would not that men should have the example of our having broken the peace which we ourselves gave and declared. grettir shall depart unhindered whithersoever he will, and shall have peace till such time as he reach his home from this journey. and then this truce shall have expired whatever happen with us." they all thanked him for his speech, and thought he had acted as a chieftain should under such circumstances. thorbjorn angle was silent. then it was proposed that one or the other of the thords should close with grettir, and he said that they might do as they chose. one of the two brothers thord then came forward. grettir stood upright before him and thord went for him with all his might, but grettir never moved from his place. then grettir stretched over across his back and seizing his breeches tripped up his foot and cast him backwards over his head so that he fell heavily upon his shoulders. then the people said that both the brothers should tackle him together, and they did so. there arose a mighty tussle, each in turn having the advantage, although grettir always had one of them down. now one, now the other was brought to his knees or met with a reverse. so fiercely they gripped that all of them were bruised and bloody. everybody thought it splendid sport, and when they ceased thanked them for their wrestling. those that were sitting near judged that the two together were no stronger than grettir alone, although each had the strength of two strong men. they were so equal that when they strove together neither gained the advantage. grettir did not stay long at the thing. the bondis asked him to give up the island, but this he refused to do, and they accomplished nothing. grettir returned to drangey where illugi rejoiced much at seeing him again. they stayed there in peace and grettir told them of his journeys; so the summer passed. all thought the men of skagafjord had acted most honourably in upholding their peace, and from this may be seen what trusty men lived in those days, after all that grettir had done against them. the less wealthy ones among the bondis began to talk amongst themselves and say that there was little profit in keeping a small share of the island, and now offered to sell their holdings to the sons of thord, but hjalti said he did not want to buy them. the bondis stipulated that any one who wanted to buy a share should either kill grettir or get him away. thorbjorn angle said that he was ready to take the lead, and would spare no pains to attack grettir if they would pay him for it. hjalti his brother resigned to him his share of the island because thorbjorn was the more violent and was unpopular. several other bondis did the same, so that thorbjorn angle got a large part of the island at a small price, but he bound himself to get grettir away. chapter lxxiii. visit of thorbjorn angle to drangey at the end of the summer thorbjorn angle went with a boat fully manned to drangey. grettir and his party came forward on the cliff and they talked together. thorbjorn begged grettir to do so much for his asking as to quit the island. grettir said there was not much hope of that. thorbjorn said: "it may be that i can give you some assistance which will make it worth your while to do this. many of the bondis have now given up the shares which they had in the island to me." grettir said: "now for the very reason that you have just told me, because you own the greater part of the island, i am determined never to go hence. we may now divide the cabbage. it is true that i thought it irksome to have the whole of skagafjord against me, but now neither need spare the other, since neither is suffocated with the love of his fellows. you may as well put off your journeys hither, for the matter is settled so far as i am concerned." "all abide their time," he said, "and you abide evil." "i must risk that," he said. and so they parted. thorbjorn returned home again. chapter lxxiv. the fire goes out in drangey grettir had, it is said, been two years in drangey, and they had slaughtered nearly all the sheep. one ram, it is told, they allowed to live; it was grey below and had large horns. they had much sport with it, for it was very tame and would stand outside and follow them wherever they went. it came to the hut in the evening and rubbed its horns against the door. they lived very comfortably, having plenty to eat from the birds on the island and their eggs, nor had they much trouble in gathering wood for fire. grettir always employed the man to collect the drift, and there were often logs cast ashore there which he brought home for fuel. the brothers had no need to work beyond going to the cliffs, which they did whenever they chose. the thrall began to get very slack at his work; he grumbled much and was less careful than before. it was his duty to mind the fire every night, and grettir bade him be very careful of it as they had no boat with them. one night it came to pass that the fire went out. grettir was very angry and said it would only be right that glaum should have a hiding. the thrall said he had a very poor life of it to have to lie there in exile and be ill-treated and beaten if anything went wrong. grettir asked illugi what was to be done, and he said he could think of nothing else but to wait until a ship brought them some fire. grettir said that would be a very doubtful chance to wait for. "i will venture it," he said, "and see whether i can reach the land." "that is a desperate measure," said illugi. "we shall be done for if you miscarry." "i shall not drown in the channel," he said. "i shall trust the thrall less in future since he has failed in a matter of such moment to us." the shortest passage from the island to the mainland is one sea-mile. chapter lxxv. grettir swims to the mainland for fire grettir then prepared for his swim. he wore a cloak of coarse material with breeches and had his fingers webbed. the weather was fine; he left the island towards the evening. illugi thought his journey was hopeless. grettir had the current with him and it was calm as he swam towards the fjord. he smote the water bravely and reached reykjanes after sunset. he went into the settlement at reykir, bathed in the night in a warm spring, and then entered the hall, where it was very hot and a little smoky from the fire which had been burning there all day. he was very tired and slept soundly, lying on right into the day. when it was a little way on in the morning the servants rose, and the first to enter the room were two women, the maid with the bondi's daughter. grettir was asleep, and his clothes had all fallen off on to the floor. they saw a man lying there and recognised him. the maid said: "as i wish for salvation, sister, here is grettir the son of asmund come. he really is large about the upper part of his body, and is lying bare. but he seems to me unusually small below. it is not at all in keeping with the rest of him." the bondi's daughter said: "how can you let your tongue run on so? you are more than half a fool! hold your tongue!" "i really cannot be silent, my dear sister," said the maid; "i would not have believed it if any one had told me." then she went up to him to look more closely, and kept running back to the bondi's daughter and laughing. grettir heard what she said, sprang up and chased her down the room. when he had caught her he spoke a verse: (verse missing in manuscript) soon afterwards grettir went to the bondi thorvald, told him his difficulty and asked him to take him out to the island again, which he did, lending him a ship and taking him over. grettir thanked him for his courtesy. when it became known that grettir had swum a sea-mile, every one thought his courage extraordinary both on sea and on land. the men of skagafjord blamed thorbjorn angle much for not having ridded drangey of grettir, and all wanted their shares back again. that did not suit him and he asked them to have patience. chapter lxxvi. adventure of haering in drangey that summer a ship came to gonguskardsos, on board of which was a man named haering. he was a young man and very active; he could climb any cliff. he went to visit thorbjorn angle and stayed there into the autumn. he pressed thorbjorn much to take him to drangey, that he might see whether the cliff was so high that he could not get up there. thorbjorn said it should not be for nothing if he succeeded in getting up on to the island and either killing or wounding grettir; he made it appear attractive as a task for haering to undertake. one day they went to drangey and he put the easterner ashore in a certain place, telling him not to let himself be seen if he got to the top. then they set up the ladder and began a conversation with grettir's people. thorbjorn asked him whether he would not leave the island. he said there was nothing on which he was so determined. "you have played much with us," said thorbjorn, "and we do not seem likely to have our revenge, but you have not much fear for yourself." thus they disputed for long, but came to no agreement. we have now to tell of haering. he climbed all about on the cliffs and got to the top in a place which no other man ever reached before or since. on reaching the top he saw the two brothers standing with their backs turned to him. he hoped in a short time to win money and glory from both. they had no inkling of his being there, and thought that nobody could get up except where the ladders were. grettir was occupied with thorbjorn's men, and there was no lack of derisive words on both sides. then illugi looked round and saw a man coming towards them, already quite close. he said: "here is a man coming towards us with his axe in the air; he has a rather hostile appearance." "you deal with him," said grettir, "while i look after the ladder." illugi then advanced against the easterner, who on seeing him turned and ran about all over the island. illugi chased him to the furthest end of the island; on reaching the edge he leaped down and broke every bone in his body; thus his life ended. the place where he perished was afterwards called haering's leap. illugi returned and grettir asked him how he had parted with his man. "he would not trust me to manage for him," he said. "he broke his neck over the cliff. the bondis may pray for him as for a dead man." when angle heard that he told his men to shove off. "i have now been twice to meet grettir," he said. "i may come a third time, and if then i return no wiser than i am now, it is likely that they may stay in drangey, so far as i am concerned. but methinks grettir will not be there so long in the future as he has been in the past." they then returned home and this journey seemed even worse than the one before. grettir stayed in drangey and saw no more of thorbjorn that winter. skapti the lawman died during the winter, whereby grettir suffered a great loss, for he had promised to press for a removal of his sentence when he had been twenty years an outlaw, and the events just related were in the nineteenth year. in the spring died snorri the godi, and much more happened during this winter season which does not belong to our saga. chapter lxxvii. grettir's case before the all-thing that summer at the all-thing grettir's friends spoke much about his outlawry, and some held that his term was fulfilled when he had completed any portion of the twentieth year. this was disputed by the opposite party, who declared that he had committed many acts deserving of outlawry since, and that, therefore, his sentence ought to be all the longer. a new lawman had been appointed, steinn the son of thorgest, the son of steinn the far-traveller, the son of thorir autumn-mist. the mother of steinn the lawman was arnora, the daughter of thord the yeller. he was a wise man, and was asked for his opinion. he told them to make a search to find out whether this was the twentieth year of his outlawry, and they did so. then thorir of gard went to work to put every possible difficulty in the way, and found out that grettir had spent one year of the time in iceland, during which he must be held to have been free of his outlawry. consequently it had only lasted nineteen years. the lawman declared that no man could be outlawed for longer than twenty years in all, even though he committed an outlaw's acts during that time. but before that he would allow no man to be freed. thus the endeavour to remove his sentence broke down for the moment, but there seemed a certainty of his being freed in the following summer. the men of skagafjord were little pleased at the prospect of grettir being freed, and they told thorbjorn angle that he must do one of the two, resign his holding in the island or kill grettir. he was in great straits, for he saw no way of killing grettir, and yet he wanted to keep the island. he tried everything he could think of to get the better of grettir by force or by fraud or in any other way that he could. chapter lxxviii. thorbjorn's foster-mother thorbjorn angle had a foster-mother named thurid. she was very old and of little use to mankind, but she had been very skilled in witchcraft and magic when she was young and the people were heathen. now she seemed to have lost it all. still, although the land was christian, many sparks of heathendom remained. it was not forbidden by the law of the land to sacrifice or perform other heathen rites in private; only the one who performed them openly was sentenced to the minor exile. now it happened to many as it is said: the hand turns to its wonted skill, and that which we have learned in youth is always most familiar to us. so thorbjorn angle, baffled in all his plans, turned for help to the quarter where it would have been least looked for most people, namely, to his foster-mother, and asked her what she could do for him. she replied, "now it seems to me to have come to this, as the saying is: many go to the goat-house to get wool. what would i less than to think myself above the other men of the country, and then to be as nothing when it comes to the trial? i see not that it fares worse with me than with you, even though i scarce rise from my bed. if you will have my counsel then i must have my way in all that is done." he consented, and said that she had long given him counsel for his good. the "double month" of the summer was now approaching. one fine day the old woman said to angle: "the weather is now calm and bright; i will that you go to drangey and pick a quarrel with grettir. i will go with you and learn what caution is in his words. i shall have some surety when i see how far they are prospering, and then i will speak over them such words as i please." angle said: "let us not go to drangey. it is always worse in my mind when i leave that place than when i arrive." the woman said: "i will not help you if you will not let me do as i like." "far be that from me, my foster-mother. i have said that i will go there a third time, that something may come of it for us." "you may venture it," she said, "much labour will you have before grettir is laid in the earth; often your lot will be doubtful and hard will it go with you before it is finished. and yet you are so bound that somehow you must get yourself out of it." then thorbjorn angle had a ten-oared boat manned and went on board with eleven men. the woman was with them and they rowed out to drangey. when the brothers saw them coming they came forward to the ladder and began once more to talk about their case. thorbjorn said he had come once more to hear their answer whether grettir would leave the place. he said he would treat the destruction of his property and grettir's stay there as a light thing, provided they parted in peace. grettir said he had no intention of coming to any terms about his going away. "i have often told you," he said, "that there is no use in talking to me about it. you may do whatever you please; i mean to stay here and abide what happens." thorbjorn saw that his end would not be gained this time, and said: "i knew very well with what men of hel i had to do. it is most likely that some days will pass before i come here again." "it would not hurt me if you never came at all," said grettir. the woman was lying in the stern sheets covered up with clothes. then she began to stir and said: "these men are brave and unfortunate; there is much difference between you; you offer them good and they refuse everything. there are few more certain tokens of evil than not to know how to accept the good. now i say this of you, grettir, that you be deprived of health, of all good luck and fortune, of all protection and counsel, ever the more the longer you live. i wish that your days may be less happy in the future than they have been in the past." when grettir heard that he started violently and said: "what fiend is that in the ship with them?" illugi said: "i think that must be the old woman, thorbjorn's foster-mother." "curse the hag!" he said. "i could have thought of nothing worse! nothing that was ever said startled me more than her words, and i know that some evil will befall me from her and her spells. she shall have something to remind her of her visit here." then he took up an enormous stone and threw it down into the boat. it fell into the heap of clothes. thorbjorn had not thought that any man could throw so far. a loud scream was heard, for the stone had struck her thigh and broken it. illugi said: "i wish you had not done that." "do not blame me for it," said grettir. "i fear it has been just too little. one old woman would not have been too great a price for us two." "how will she pay for us? that will be a small sum for the pair of us." thorbjorn then returned home; no greeting passed between them when he left. he spoke to the old woman and said: "it has happened as i expected. little credit has the journey to the island brought you. you have been injured for the rest of your life, and we have no more honour than we had before; we have to endure unatoned one insult after another." she answered: "this is the beginning of their destruction; i say that from this time onwards they will go downwards. i care not whether i live or not, if i do not have vengeance for the injury they have done me." "you seem to be in high spirits, foster-mother," he said. then they arrived home. the woman lay in bed for nearly a month before her leg was set and she was able to walk again. men laughed much over the journey of thorbjorn and the old woman. little luck had come from the meetings with grettir, first at the peace declaration at the thing, next when haering was killed, and now the third time when the woman's thigh was broken, while nothing had been done on their side. thorbjorn angle suffered much from their talk. chapter lxxix. the spell takes effect the autumn passed and but three weeks remained till the winter. the old woman asked to be driven to the sea-shore. thorbjorn asked what she was going to do. "a small thing only," she said, "yet maybe the signal of greater things to come." they did as she asked them. when they reached the shore she hobbled on by the sea as if directed to a spot where lay a great stump of a tree as large as a man could bear on his shoulder. she looked at it and bade them turn it over before her; the other side looked as if it had been burned and smoothed. she had a small flat surface cut on its smooth side; then she took a knife, cut runes upon it, reddened them with her blood and muttered some spells over it. after that she walked backwards against the sun round it, and spoke many potent words. then she made them push the tree into the sea, and said it should go to drangey and that grettir should suffer hurt from it. then she went back to vidvik. thorbjorn said he did not know what would come of it. the woman said he would know more clearly some day. the wind was towards the land up the fjord, but the woman's stump drifted against the wind, and not more slowly than would have been expected. grettir was sitting in drangey with his companions very comfortably, as has been told. on the day following that on which the old woman had cast her spells upon the tree they went down from the hill to look for firewood. when they got to the western side of the island they found a great stump stranded there. "here is a fine log for fuel," cried illugi, "let us carry it home." grettir gave it a kick with his foot and said: "an ill tree and ill sent. we must find other wood for the fire." he pushed it out into the sea and told illugi to beware of carrying it home, for it was sent for their destruction. then they returned to their hut and said nothing about the tree to the thrall. the next day they found the tree again, nearer to the ladder than on the day before. grettir put it back into the sea and said he would never carry it home. that night passed and dirty weather set in with rain, so that they did not care to go out and told glaum to fetch fuel. he grumbled very much and declared it was cruel to make him plague himself to death in every kind of weather. he descended the ladder and found there the woman's log. he thought himself lucky, laboured home with it to the hut and threw it down with a great noise which grettir heard. "glaum has got something; i must go out and see what it is," he said, and went out, taking his wood-cutting axe with him. "let your cutting up of it be no worse than my carrying of it home!" said glaum. grettir was irritated with the thrall; he used his axe with both hands and did not notice what tree it was. directly the axe touched the tree it turned flat and glanced off into grettir's right leg. it entered above his right knee and pierced to the bone, making a severe wound. grettir turned to the tree and said: "he who meant me evil has prevailed; it will not end with this. this is the very log which i twice rejected. two disasters have you now brought about, glaum; first you let our fire go out, and now you have brought in this tree of ill-fortune. a third mistake will be the death of you and of us all." illugi then bound the wound. it bled little; grettir slept well that night and three days passed without its paining him. when they opened the bandages the flesh had grown together and the wound was almost healed. illugi said: "i do not think that you will suffer very long with this wound." "that would be well," said grettir; "it has happened strangely however it ends; but my mind tells me otherwise." chapter lxxx. the spell continues to work one evening they all went to bed, and about midnight grettir began to toss about. illugi asked him why he was so restless. grettir said his leg was hurting him and he thought there must be some change in its appearance. they fetched a light, unbound the wound and found it swollen and blue as coal. it had opened again and was much worse than at first. he had much pain after that and could not keep quiet, nor would any sleep come to his eyes. grettir said: "we must be prepared for it. this illness of mine is not for nothing; there is witchcraft in it. the old woman has meant to punish me for the stone which i threw at her." illugi said: "i told you that no good would come of that old woman." "it will be all the same in the end," said grettir, and spoke a verse: "often when men have threatened my life i have known to defend it against the foe: but now 'tis a woman has done me to death. truly the spells of the wicked are mighty." "now we must be on the watch; thorbjorn angle will not leave it to end here. you, glaum, must in future guard the ladder every day and pull it up in the evening. do this trustily, for much depends thereon. if you betray us your end will be a short one." glaum promised most faithfully. the weather now became severe. a north-easterly wind set in and it was very cold. every evening grettir asked if the ladder was drawn in. "are we now to look for men?" said glaum. "is any man so anxious to take your life that he will lose his own for it? this weather is much worse than impossible. your warlike mood seems to have left you utterly if you think that everything is coming to kill you." "you will always bear yourself worse than either of us," said grettir, "whatever happens. but now you must mind the ladder however unwilling you may be." they drove him out every morning, much to his disgust. the pain of the wound increased, and the whole leg was swollen; the thigh began to fester both above and below the wound, which spread all round, and grettir thought he was likely to die. illugi sat with him night and day, paying no heed to anything else. they were now in the second week of his illness. chapter lxxxi. thorbjorn again visits drangey thorbjorn angle was now at home in vidvik, much put out at not having been able to overcome grettir. when about a week had passed from the day when the old woman had bewitched the log, she came to speak with thorbjorn and asked whether he did not mean to visit grettir. he said there was nothing about which he was more determined. "but do you wish to meet him, foster-mother?" he asked. "i have no intention of meeting him," she said; "i have sent him my greeting, which i expect he has received. but i advise you to set off at once and go quickly to see him, otherwise it will not be your fate to overcome him." he replied: "i have made so many inglorious journeys there that i am not going again. this weather is reason enough; it would not be possible, however pressing it were." "you are indeed without counsel if you see not through these wiles. now, i will advise you. first go and collect men; ride to your brother-in-law halldor in hof and get help from him. is it too wild a thing to suppose that i may have to do with this breeze that is now playing?" thorbjorn thought it might be that the woman saw further than he supposed, so he sent through the country for men. answer came very quickly that none of those who had given up their shares would do anything to help him. they said that both the island and the grettir affair were thorbjorn's. tungu-steinn gave him two men, hjalti his brother three, eirik in guddal sent him one. of his own he had six. these twelve rode out from vidvik to hof, where halldor invited them to stay and asked their news. thorbjorn told him everything fully. halldor asked who had done it all; he said his foster-mother had urged him much. "that will lead to no good. she is a sorceress, and sorcery is now forbidden." "i cannot overlook everything," said thorbjorn; "i am determined that it shall now be brought to an end somehow. but how shall i go to work to get on to the island?" "it seems to me," said halldor, "that you are relying upon something, but i know not whether it is anything good. if you want to accomplish anything go out to my friend bjorn in haganes in fljot. he has a good boat; ask him from me to lend it to you, and then you will be able to sail on to drangey. it seems to me that if you find grettir well and hearty your journey will have been in vain. one thing know for certain: do not slay him in open fight, for there are enough men to avenge him. do not slay illugi if you can help it. i fear that my counsel may not appear altogether christian." halldor then gave him six men; one was named kar, another thorleif, the third brand. the names of the others are not mentioned. these eighteen men then went to fljot, reached haganes, and gave halldor's message to bjorn. he said it was his duty to do it for halldor's sake, but that he was under no obligation to thorbjorn. he said it was an insane journey to make, and tried hard to dissuade them. they answered that they could not turn back, so they went down to the sea and launched the boat, which was ready with all her gear in the boat-house. then they made ready to sail. all those who were standing on the shore thought it impossible to cross. they hoisted the sail and the boat was soon under way, far out in the fjord. when they got right out to sea the weather quieted and was no longer too heavy. in the evening as it was getting dark they reached drangey. chapter lxxxii. the last battle--death of grettir and illugi it has now to be told how grettir became so ill that he could not stand on his feet. illugi sat with him and glaum had to hold watch. he still continued to object, and said they might think their lives were going to fall out of them, but there was no reason for it. he went out, but most unwillingly. when he came to the ladder he said to himself that there was no need to draw it up. he felt very sleepy, lay down and slept all day, and did not wake until thorbjorn reached the island. they saw then that the ladder was not drawn up. thorbjorn said: "the situation has changed from what it used to be; there are no men moving about, and the ladder is in its place. it may be that more will come of our journey than we expected at first. now let us go to the hut and not let our courage slacken. if they are well we may know for certain that there will be need for each to do his very best." they went up the ladder, looked round and saw close to the ascent a man lying and snoring aloud. thorbjorn recognised glaum, went up to the rascal and told him to wake up, striking his ear with the hilt of his sword and saying: "truly he is in a bad case whose life is entrusted to your keeping." glaum looked up and said: "they are going on as usual. do you think my freedom such a great thing while i am lying here in the cold?" angle said: "have you lost your wits? don't you see that your enemies are upon you and about to kill you all?" glaum said nothing, but on recognising the men cried out as loud as he could. "do one thing or the other," said angle; "either be silent this moment and tell me all about your household, or be killed." glaum was as silent as if he had been dipped in water. thorbjorn said: "are the brothers in the hut? why are they not about?" "that would not be so easy," said glaum, "for grettir is sick and nigh to death and illugi is sitting with him." thorbjorn asked about his condition, and what had happened. then glaum told him all about grettir's wound. angle laughed and said: "true is the ancient saying that old friends are the last to break away, and also this, that it is ill to have a thrall for your friend--such a one as you, glaum! you have shamefully betrayed your liege lord, though there was little good in him." then the others cast reproaches at him for his villainy; they beat him almost helpless and left him lying there. then they went on to the hut and knocked violently at the door. illugi said: "greybelly [ ] is knocking at the door, brother." "he is knocking rather loud," said grettir; "most unmercifully." then the door broke in pieces. illugi rushed to his arms and defended the door so that they could not get in. they assailed it long, but could get nothing in but the points of their spears, all of which illugi severed from their shafts. seeing that they could do nothing, they sprang on to the roof and began to break it in. then grettir got on to his feet, seized a spear and thrust it between the rafters. it struck kar, halldor's man from hof, and went right through him. angle told them to go to work warily and be careful of themselves. "we shall only overcome them," he said, "if we act with caution." then they laid open the end of one of the timbers and bore upon it until it broke. grettir was unable to rise from his knees, but he seized the sword karsnaut at the moment when they all sprang in from the roof, and a mighty fray began. grettir struck with his sword at vikar, a man of hjalti the son of thord, reaching his left shoulder as he sprang from the roof. it passed across his shoulder, out under his right arm, and cut him right in two. his body fell in two parts on the top of grettir and prevented him from recovering his sword as quickly as he wished, so that thorbjorn angle was able to wound him severely between the shoulders. grettir said: "bare is his back who has no brother!" illugi threw his shield before grettir and defended him so valiantly that all men praised his prowess. grettir said to angle: "who showed you the way to the island?" "christ showed us the way," he said. "i guess," said grettir, "that it was the wicked old woman, your foster-mother, who showed you; hers were the counsels that you relied upon." "it shall now be all the same to you," said angle, "upon whom i relied." they returned to the attack; illugi defended himself and grettir courageously, but grettir was unfit for fighting, partly from his wounds, partly from his illness. angle then ordered them to bear illugi down with their shields, saying he had never met with his like amongst older men than he. they did so, and pressed upon him with a wall of armour against which resistance was impossible. they took him prisoner and kept him. he had wounded most of those who were attacking him and killed three. then they went for grettir, who had fallen forward on his face. there was no resistance in him for he was already dead from his wounded leg; his thigh was all mortified up to the rectum. many more wounds they gave him, but little or no blood flowed. when they thought he was quite dead angle took hold of his sword, saying he had borne it long enough, but grettir's fingers were so tightly locked around the hilt that he could not loosen them. many tried before they gave it up, eight of them in turn, but all failed. angle then said: "why should we spare a forest-man? lay his hand upon the log." they did so, and he hewed off the hand at the wrist. then the fingers straightened and were loosed from the hilt. angle took his sword in both hands and hewed at grettir's head. so mighty was the blow that the sword could not hold against it, and a piece was broken out of the edge. when asked why he spoilt a good weapon, he replied: "it will be more easily known if there be any question." they said this was unnecessary, as the man was dead before. "i will do more," he said, and struck two or three blows at grettir's neck before he took off his head. then he said: "now i know for certain that grettir is dead; a great man of war have we laid even with the earth. we will take his head with us, for i have no wish to lose the money which was put upon it. there shall not be any doubt that it was i who slew grettir." they said he might do as he pleased, but they felt much disgusted, and thought his conduct contemptible. then angle said to illugi: "it is a great pity that a man so valiant as you should have committed such a folly as to cast in your lot with this outlaw and follow his evil ways, at last to die unatoned." illugi answered: "when the all-thing is over next summer you shall know who are outlawed. neither you nor the woman, your foster-mother, shall judge this case, for it is your spells and sorcery that have killed grettir, though you bore your iron weapons against him when he was at the door of death. many a base deed did you do over and above your witchcraft." angle said: "you speak bravely, but it shall not be so. i will show how i value you by sparing your life if you will swear by your honour to take no vengeance upon any person who has been with us on this occasion." "i might have thought of it," he said, "if grettir had been able to defend himself or if you had killed him in honourable battle. but now you need not hope that i will try to save my life by becoming a poltroon like you. i tell you at once that if i live no man shall be more burdensome to you than i. long will it be before i forget how you have dealt with grettir; far sooner will i choose to die." then thorbjorn consulted with his companions whether they should allow illugi to live. they said he should decide their doings himself, as he was the leader of the expedition. angle said he was not going to have a man threatening his head who would not promise to hold faith. when illugi knew that they intended to slay him he laughed and said: "now you have resolved upon that which was nearest to my heart." when the day broke they led him to the eastern side of the island and there slew him. all praised his courage, and said there was no man of his years who was like him. they buried both the brothers in the island, but took grettir's head with all weapons and clothes which had any value away with them. his good sword angle would not allow to come amongst the spoils for division, but bore it long himself. they took glaum with them, still complaining and resisting. the weather had calmed down in the night, and in the morning they rowed to the mainland. angle sailed for the most convenient place, and sent the ship on to bjorn. when they came near to osland, glaum became so obstreperous that they refused to carry him any further and slew him there where he was, crying as loud as he could until he was killed. angle went home to vidvik and considered that on this journey he had been successful. they laid grettir's head in salt and put it for the winter in the out-house called grettisbur in vidvik. angle was much blamed for this affair when men came to know that grettir had been overcome by sorcery. he remained quietly at home till after yule. then he went to seek thorir in gard and told him of the slayings, adding that he considered that he had a right to the money which had been put on grettir's head. thorir said that he would not deny that he had brought about grettir's sentence. "i have often suffered wrong from him; but i would not to take his life have become an evil-doer as you have done. i will not pay the money to you, for you seem to me as one who will be doomed to death for magic and witchcraft." angle said: "i think it is much more avarice and meanness on your part than any scruples about the way in which grettir was killed." thorir said there was an easy way of settling it between them; they need only wait for the all-thing and accept what seemed right to the lawman. they then parted with nothing but ill-feeling between thorir and thorbjorn angle. endnotes: [footnote : the tame ram, see chapter lxxiv.] chapter lxxxiii. thorbjorn visits grettir's mother at bjarg the kinsmen of grettir and illugi were deeply grieved when they heard of their death. they held that angle had done a dastardly deed in slaying a man at the point of death, and they also accused him of practising sorcery. they applied to the most learned men, and angle's case was ill-spoken of. four weeks after the beginning of summer he rode westwards to midfjord. when asdis heard of his being in the neighbourhood she gathered her men around her. she had many friends, gamli and glum, skeggi, called short-hand, and ospak, who was mentioned before. so much beloved was she that the whole of midfjord rose to help her, even those who had once been grettir's enemies. chief among these was thorodd drapustuf, who was joined by most of the hrutafjord men. angle reached bjarg with a following of twenty men, bringing grettir's head with him. all those who had promised their support had not yet come in. angle's party entered the room with the head and set it on the floor. the mistress of the house was there and several others; no greeting passed between them. angle spoke a verse: "grettir's head i bring thee here. weep for the red-haired hero, lady. on the floor it lies; 'twere rotten by this, but i laid it in salt. great glory is mine." she sat silent while he spoke his verse; then she said: "the swine would have fled like sheep from the fox if grettir had stood there hearty and strong. shame on the deeds that were done in the north! little the glory you gain from my lay." many said it was small wonder that she had brave sons, so brave was she herself before the insults which she had received. ospak was outside and was talking with those of angle's men who had not gone in. he asked about the fray, and they all praised illugi for the defence that he had made. they also told of grettir's firm grip on his sword after he was dead, and the men thought it marvellous. then a number of men were seen riding from the west; they were the friends of asdis with gamli and skeggi, who had come from melar. angle had intended to have an execution against illugi and to claim all his property, but when all these men came up he saw that it would not do. ospak and gamli were very forward in wanting to fight with angle, but the wiser heads told them to get the advice of their kinsmen thorvald and other chiefs, and said that the more men of knowledge occupied themselves with the affair the worse it would be for angle. through their intervention angle got away and took with him grettir's head, which he intended to produce at the all-thing. he rode home thinking that matters were going badly for him, for nearly all the chiefs in the land were either relations or connections of grettir and illugi. that summer skeggi short-hand married the daughter of thorodd drapustuf, who then took part in the case on the side of grettir's kinsmen. chapter lxxxiv. thorbjorn is exiled at the thing men now rode to the thing. angle's party was smaller than he had expected, because the matter had come to be badly spoken of. halldor asked whether they were to take grettir's head with them to the all-thing. angle said he meant to take it. "that is an ill-advised thing to do," said halldor; "there are quite enough men against you as it is, without your doing such a thing as that to re-awaken their grief." they were then on the road, and meant to ride south by sand, so angle let him take the head and bury it in a sand-hill, which is now called grettisthuf. the thing was very full. angle brought forward his case, making the most of his own deeds. he told them how he had killed the forest-man on whose head the highest price had been laid, and he claimed the money. thorir replied as before. then the lawman was asked for his opinion. he said that he wished to hear whether any counter-charge was made, by which angle should forfeit the outlaw money; if not, the money offered for grettir's head must be paid. then thorvald the son of asgeir asked short-hand to bring the case before the court, and he declared a first summons against thorbjorn angle for witchcraft and sorcery through which grettir had met with his death, and a second for having killed a man who was half dead, crimes which he said were punishable with outlawry. there was a great division of parties, but those who supported thorbjorn were few. it went very unexpectedly for him, for thorvald and his son-in-law isleif held that to do a man to death by sorcery was a crime worthy of death. finally, by the counsel of wise men sentence was passed that thorbjorn was to leave iceland that summer and not to return during the lifetime of any of the men concerned in the case on the side of illugi and grettir. it was enacted as a law that all sorcerers should be outlawed. when thorbjorn saw what his fate was going to be he got away from the thing, for grettir's friends were making preparations to attack him. none of the money that was set upon grettir's head did he get; steinn the lawman would not allow it because of his dishonourable conduct; nor was any blood-money paid for the men who had fallen on his side in drangey; they were set off against illugi, an arrangement, however, with which illugi's kinsmen were not at all pleased. men rode home from the thing, and all the feuds which had arisen on grettir's account were now at an end. skeggi the son of gamli, son-in-law of thorodd drapustuf and sister's son of grettir, went north to skagafjord with the assistance of thorvald asgeirsson and of his son-in-law isleif, who afterwards became bishop of skalaholt. after obtaining the consent of the whole community he took ship and went to drangey, where he found the bodies of grettir and illugi and brought them to reykir in reykjastrand and buried them in the church. testimony of grettir lying there is in the fact that in the days of the sturlungs, when the church at reykir was moved to another place, grettir's bones were dug up, and were found to be enormously big and strong. illugi was buried later on the north side of the church, and grettir's head was buried in the church at his home in bjarg. asdis remained in bjarg and was so beloved that no one molested her any more than they did while grettir was an outlaw. the property at bjarg passed after her death to skeggi short-hand, who became a great man. his son was gamli, the father of skeggi of skarfsstad and of alfdis the mother of odd the monk, from whom many are descended. chapter lxxxv. thorbjorn goes to norway and constantinople thorbjorn angle embarked at gasar with as much of his own property as he was able to get. his lands went to his brother hjalti, including drangey, which angle gave him. hjalti became a great chief later on, but is not mentioned again in our story. angle went to norway and still made himself very important. he was supposed to have done a great deed of valour in slaying grettir, and many who did not know how it really happened honoured him accordingly; but there were some to whom grettir's fame was known. he only told so much of the story as tended to his own glory, but whatever was less creditable to him he omitted. in the autumn his account reached tunsberg and came to the ears of thorsteinn dromund, who kept very quiet, for he had been told that angle was a very doughty man and valiant. he remembered the talk which he had had with grettir in days long past about his arms, and obtained news of angle's movements. they were both in norway that winter, but thorbjorn was in the north and thorsteinn in tunsberg, so that they did not see each other. angle knew, however, that grettir had a brother in norway, and did not feel very secure in a strange country; so he asked advice as to what he had better do. in those days many of the norsemen used to go to mikligard [ ] to take service. thorbjorn thought it would suit him very well to go there and earn wealth and glory instead of staying in the northern parts where there were relations of grettir. so he made ready to leave norway, embarked, and did not stop until he reached constantinople, and obtained service there. endnotes: [footnote : constantinople.] chapter lxxxvi. grettir's death avenged by his brother thorsteinn dromund thorsteinn dromund was a wealthy man and highly thought of. on hearing of angle's departure to constantinople he handed over his property to his kinsmen and followed him, dogging his movements as he went, without angle knowing. he reached constantinople very soon after angle, intending at all costs to kill him. neither knew of the other. both wanted to be received into the varangian guards, and their offer was well received directly it was known that they were norsemen. at that time michael catalactus was king over constantinople. thorsteinn dromund watched for an opportunity of meeting angle where he might recognise him, but failed amidst the crowd, so he kept on the watch, caring little for his own well-being and ever thinking how much he had lost. the next thing that happened was that the varangians were ordered on field service for the defence of the country. the custom and the law were that before they marched a review was held for the inspection of their weapons; this was done on the present occasion. on the day appointed for the review all the varangians and all who were marching with them had to appear and show their arms. thorsteinn and angle both presented themselves. thorbjorn was the first to show his weapons and he presented the sword grettisnaut. as he showed it all marvelled and declared that it was indeed a noble weapon, but said it was a bad fault that a piece was out of the middle of the edge, and they asked how that had come about. angle said that was a tale worth telling. "the first thing i must tell you," he said, "is that out in iceland i slew a hero named grettir the strong. he was a tremendous warrior and so valorous that no one could succeed in killing him until i came. but as i was destined to be his slayer, i overcame him, although he was many times stronger than i am. i cut off his head with this sword and broke a piece out of the edge." those who stood by said he must have had a hard skull, and they showed the sword round. from this thorsteinn came to know which was angle, and asked to be shown the sword with the others. angle willingly showed it to him, for they were all praising his strength and courage, and he, having no notion of its being thorsteinn or any relation of grettir, thought he would do likewise. dromund took the sword, at once raised it aloft and struck a blow at angle. it came into his head with such force that it penetrated to his jaw and thorbjorn fell dead to the ground. thereupon all the men became silent. the officer of the place put thorsteinn under arrest and asked him why he had committed such a breach of discipline in the sanctity of the assembly. thorsteinn said he was a brother of grettir the strong and that he had never been able to obtain his vengeance till that moment. then many of them stood up for him and said there was much excuse for a man who had come such a long way to avenge his brother. the elders of the town thought that this might be true, but as there was no one present to bear out his word they fell back upon their own law, which declared that any man who slew another should lose nothing else than his life. judgment was quickly passed upon thorsteinn, and it was rather hard. he was to sit in a dark chamber in a dungeon and there await his death unless some one came to pay a ransom for him. when he reached the dungeon he found a man who had been there a long time and was all but dead from misery. it was both foul and cold. thorsteinn asked him: "how do you find your life?" "most evil," he replied; "no one will help me, for i have no kinsmen to pay a ransom." "there are many ways out of a difficulty," said thorsteinn, "let us be happy and do something to cheer ourselves." the man said he had no joy in anything. "we will try it," said thorsteinn. then he began to sing songs. he was such a singer that it would be hard to find his like, and he spared nothing. the dungeon was close to the public road and thorsteinn sang so loud that it resounded from the walls; the man who before was half dead had much joy therefrom. in this way he sang every evening. chapter lxxxvii. the lady spes there was a very distinguished lady in that town, the owner of a large establishment, very rich and highly born. her name was spes. her husband's name was sigurd; he too was wealthy, but of lower birth than she was. she had been married to him for his money. there was not much love between them, and the marriage was thought an unhappy one. she was very proud, and had much dignity. one evening when thorsteinn was diverting himself she happened to pass along the street near the dungeon and heard singing so sweet that she declared she had never heard the like. she was walking with several retainers, and told them to go in and find out who it was that had such a magnificent voice. they called out and asked who was there in such close confinement. thorsteinn told his name. spes said: "are you as good at other things as you are at singing?" he said there was not much in that. "what have you done," she asked, "that they should torture you here to death?" he said he had killed a man and avenged his brother; "but i have no witness to prove it," he said; "so i have been put here unless some one comes to release me, of which there seems little hope, since i have no relations here." "a great loss would it be if you were killed," she said. "was your brother then a man of such renown, he whom you avenged?" thorsteinn said he was half as good a man again as himself. she asked what token there was of that. then thorsteinn spoke this verse: "goddess of rings! no eight could meet him, or gain the sword from his vanquished hand. brave was grettir; his foemen doughty severed the hand of the ruler of ships." those who understood the song declared that it told of great nobility. when she heard that she asked: "will you receive your life at my hands if the choice is offered you?" "indeed i will," he said, "if this companion of mine sitting here is released along with me. if not, we must both remain sitting here together." she answered: "i think you are more worth paying for than he is." "however that may be," he said, "either we both of us come out from here together or neither of us comes out." so she went to the varangians' quarters and asked for the release of thorsteinn, offering money. they agreed. with her interest and her wealth she brought it about that both of them were released. directly thorsteinn came out of the dungeon he went to pay his respects to the lady spes. she welcomed him and kept him there secretly. from time to time he went campaigning with the varangians, and was distinguished for his courage in all their engagements. chapter lxxxviii. adventures of thorsteinn and spes at that time harald the son of sigurd [ ] was in constantinople, and thorsteinn became friendly with him. thorsteinn was now a very great personage, for spes kept him well supplied with money, and they became very much attached to one another. she was a great admirer of his skill. her expenses were very great because she tried to keep up many friends. her husband noticed a great change in her character and her behaviour, and especially that she had become very extravagant. treasures of gold and other property which were in her keeping disappeared. one day her husband sigurd spoke with her and said that he was much surprised at her conduct. "you pay no attention to our affairs," he said, "and squander money in many ways. you seem as if you were in a dream, and never wish to be where i am. i am certain that something is going on." she replied: "i told you as i told my kinsmen when we married that i meant to be my own mistress in all matters which concern myself; that is why i do not spare your money. or is there anything more than this that you wish to speak about with me? do you accuse me of anything shameful?" he said: "i am not without my suspicions that you are keeping some man whom you prefer to me." "i do not know," she said, "that there would be very much in that; and yet of a surety there is no truth in what you say. i will not speak with you alone if you bring such improper accusations against me." he dropped the subject for the time. she and thorsteinn continued to carry on as before, and were not very heedful of the talk of evil-minded people; they relied upon her wits and her popularity. they were often sitting together and diverting themselves. one evening when they were sitting in an upper room in which her treasures were kept she asked thorsteinn to sing something, and thinking that her husband was as usual sitting at drink she fastened the door. when he had sung for a time there was a banging at the door, and some one called to them to open it. it was her husband with a number of his followers. the lady had opened a large chest to show thorsteinn the treasures. when she knew who was outside she refused to open the door, and said to thorsteinn: "quickly! jump into the chest and keep very quiet." he did so. she locked the chest and sat upon it. her husband then entered, having forced his way in. she said: "what are you coming here for with all this uproar? are there robbers after you?" he said: "now it is well that you yourself give proof of what you are. where is the man who was letting his voice run on so grandly? no doubt you think his voice is better than mine." "no man is a fool if he keeps silence," she said; "that applies to you. you think yourself very cunning, and would like to fasten your lies on to me, as in this case. well, if you have spoken the truth, find the man. he will not escape through the walls or the roof." he searched all through the room and found nothing. "why don't you take him," she said, "if you are so certain?" he was silent and knew not how he could have been deceived. he asked his men whether they had not heard what he heard, but when they saw that the lady was displeased there was nothing to be got out of them; they said that one was often mistaken about sounds. he then went away, not doubting that he knew the truth, though he could not find the man. after that he ceased for some time to pry into his wife's concerns. on another occasion, much later, thorsteinn and spes were sitting in a tiring-room where dresses were kept which belonged to them, both made up and in the piece. she showed many of the cloths to thorsteinn and spread them out. when they were least expecting it her husband came up with a troop of men and broke into the room. while they were forcing their way in she covered thorsteinn up with a bundle of clothes and leaned against the heap when they entered. "do you again deny," he said, "that there was a man here with you? there are those present here now who saw you both." she told him not to be so violent. "you will not fail to catch him now," she said. "only leave me in peace and do not push me about." they searched the room, but finding nothing had to give it up. "it is always good to have better proofs than people suppose. it was only to be expected that you would not find what was not there. now, my husband, will you admit your folly and free me from this slanderous accusation?" "by no means will i free you," he said, "for i know that what i have accused you of is true, and it will cost you an effort to free yourself of the charge." she said she was quite ready to do that, and therewith they parted. after this thorsteinn remained entirely with the varangians. men say that he acted by the advice of harald the son of sigurd, and it is thought that they would not have got out of it as they did if they had not made use of him and his wits. after a time sigurd gave out that he was about to go abroad on some business. his wife did not try to dissuade him. when he was gone thorsteinn came to spes and they were always together. her house was built on the very edge of the sea and there were some of the rooms under which the sea flowed. here it was that spes and thorsteinn always sat. there was a small trap-door in the floor, known to no one but these two, and it was kept open in case of its being wanted in a hurry. sigurd, it must be told, did not go away, but concealed himself so as to be able to watch his wife's doings. one evening when they were sitting unconcernedly in the room over the sea and enjoying themselves, in came her husband with a party of men, taking them by surprise. he had taken some of the men to the window of the room that they might see whether it was not as he had said. they all said that he had spoken truly, and that it must have been so too on the former occasions. then they rushed into the room. on hearing the noise spes said to thorsteinn: "you must go down here whatever it costs. give me some sign that you have got away from the house." he promised that he would, and descended through the floor. the lady closed the trap-door with her foot, and it fell back into its place so that no one could see any mark of the floor having been touched. sigurd entered the room with his men, searched, and of course found nothing. the room was uninhabited and there was no furniture in it, but only the bare floor and a bed, on which the lady was sitting and twirling her fingers. she paid little attention to them and seemed as if their business did not concern her. sigurd thought it altogether ridiculous and asked his followers if they had not seen the man. they declared that they had seen him most assuredly. the lady said: "now we may say as the proverb has it: all good things are in threes. this is your case, sigurd. three times you have disturbed me, if i remember rightly; and now are you any the wiser than you were in the beginning?" "this time i am not alone to tell the story," he said. "for all that you will have to clear yourself, for on no terms will i allow your shameful deeds to go unpunished." "it seems," she said, "that you require the very thing which i would myself propose. it will please me well to show the falsehood of this accusation, which has been so thoroughly aired that i shall be disgraced if i cannot refute it." "at the same time," he said, "you will have to deny that you have expended my money and my property." she replied: "at the time when i clear myself i will refute all the matters which you brought against me, and you may consider how it will all end. i mean to go at once, to-morrow morning, before the bishop that he may grant me full compurgation from this charge." her husband was satisfied with this and went away with his men. in the meantime thorsteinn had swum away from the house and landed at a convenient place, where he got a firebrand and held it aloft so that it could be seen from the lady's house. she stayed long outside in the evening and the night, for she was anxious to know whether thorsteinn had reached the land. when she saw the light she knew that he had landed, for that was the signal which they had agreed upon. the next morning spes proposed to her husband that they should speak with the bishop on their matter. this he was quite ready to do, so they went before the bishop and sigurd repeated his accusation. the bishop asked whether she had ever been accused of misbehaviour before, but nobody had heard of such a thing. then he asked upon what evidence this charge was brought against her, and sigurd produced the men who had seen her sitting in a room with the door locked and a man with her. her husband said that this was ground enough for supposing that the man meant to seduce her. the bishop said that she might very well purge herself from this accusation if she so desired. she replied that she desired it very much. "i hope," she said, "that i shall have many women to swear for me on this charge." the form of the oath which she was to swear was then communicated to her and the day for the compurgation fixed. she returned home and was quite happy. she and thorsteinn met and laid their plans. endnotes: [footnote : the same harald who, as king of norway, would later challenge king harald i for the throne of england. he lost at the battle of stamford bridge--three weeks before hastings (a.d. ).] chapter lxxxix. the ordeal the day now arrived when spes was to make oath. she invited all her friends and relations, and appeared in the finest clothes that she possessed, with many a fine lady in her train. it was raining heavily and the roads were flooded; on the way to the church there was a swamp to be passed. when spes came with her company to the swamp there was a great crowd on the high road, and a multitude of poor people asking for alms, for all who knew her thought it a duty to give her a greeting and wish her well because of the kindnesses which they had often received from her. amongst these poor people there was a beggar very large of stature and with a long beard. the women halted at the swamp; being people of high rank they did not like to cross the dirty slough. the big beggar, seeing that spes was better dressed than the other ladies, said to her: "good lady, have the condescension to allow me to carry you over the swamp. it is the duty of us gaberlunzies to serve you in whatever way we can." "how can you carry me," she said, "when you can scarcely carry yourself?" "nevertheless, it would be a great condescension. i cannot offer you more than i have, and you will prosper the better in other things for having had no pride with a poor man." "know then for a surety," she said, "that if you carry me not properly the skin shall be flayed from your back." "gladly will i venture upon that," he said, and waded out into the stream. she pretended to dislike very much being carried by him; nevertheless, she got upon his back. he staggered along very slowly, using two crutches, and when they reached the middle he was reeling in every direction. she told him to pull himself together. "if you drop me here," she said, "it shall be the worst journey that you ever made." the poor wretch gathered up all his strength and still went on. by dint of a valiant effort he had all but reached the shore when he struck his foot against something and fell forwards, projecting her on to the bank while he himself fell into the mire up to his armpits. there as he lay he put out his hands, not on her clothes, but on her legs. she sprang up cursing and said she always suffered ill from low vagabonds. "it would only be right that you should have a good beating," she said, "were i not ashamed to beat such a miserable creature as you are." he said: "unequal is the lot of man. i thought to earn some benefit and to receive alms from you, and you only give me abuse and insult without any reward." and he pretended to be very much disgusted. many felt pity for him, but she said he was a very cunning rascal. when they all began to beg for him she took out her purse, wherein was many a golden penny. she shook out the money, saying: "take that, fellow! it would not be right that you should go unpaid for all my scoldings. you are now paid for what you have done." he gathered up the money and thanked her for her liberality. spes then went to the church, which was full of people. sigurd proceeded with energy and told her to clear herself of the charge which he had brought against her. "i pay no heed to your accusation," she said; "but i want to know what man it was whom you pretend to have seen in the room with me, because there is always some proper man near me; there is nothing to be ashamed of in that. but this i will swear, that to no man have i given money and that by no man has my body been defiled excepting by my husband and by that beggar, who put his muddy hands upon my leg to-day when i was carried over the ditch." many then were satisfied and declared that her oath was perfectly good and that she was in no way disgraced by a man having touched her unwittingly. she said she had to tell the story just as it happened, and then she swore the oath in the words appointed for her. many said that she would be observing the saying that: nothing should be omitted from an oath. but she replied that wise men would hold that there was no cause for suspicion. then her relations began to talk with her and said that it was a great insult to a woman of high birth that such lies should be told about her and go unpunished, for they said it was an offence punishable with death if a woman were proved to have been unfaithful to her husband. so spes asked the bishop to divorce her from sigurd, saying that she would not endure the lies which he had told. her kinsmen supported her, and with their help her request was granted. sigurd got little of the property and had to leave the country. so it happened as usual that the weaker had to bow, nor could he accomplish anything although the right was on his side. spes took all the money and was held in high esteem, but when men came to consider her oath they thought it was not altogether above suspicion, and they concluded that very skilful men had composed the latin formula for her. they ferreted out that the beggar who carried her was thorsteinn dromund. but sigurd got no redress. chapter xc. thorsteinn and spes return to norway while the affair was being talked about thorsteinn dromund remained with the varangians, where he was held in such high estimation that his prowess was considered to be beyond that of nearly every man who had come to them. especially harald the son of sigurd did him honour, and claimed kinship with him; it was supposed to have been by his advice that thorsteinn had acted. soon after sigurd was driven from the country thorsteinn proposed marriage to spes; she was quite agreeable, but referred it to her kinsmen. there were family meetings and all agreed that she herself ought to decide. matters were settled between them; their union was most prosperous and they had plenty of money. thorsteinn was considered lucky to have got out of his difficulties in such a way. after they had lived together for two years in constantinople, thorsteinn told her that he would like to visit his property once more in norway. she said he should do as he pleased, and he then sold his property so as to have some ready money. they left the country with a good company of followers and sailed all the way to norway. thorsteinn's kinsmen welcomed them both, and soon saw that spes was both generous and noble; accordingly she quickly became very popular. they had three children, and remained on their property very well contented with their condition. the king of norway was at that time magnus the good. thorsteinn soon went to meet him, and was well received because of the fame which he had earned through having avenged grettir the strong. scarcely an example was known of a man from iceland having been avenged in constantinople, excepting grettir the son of asmund. it is said that thorsteinn entered his bodyguard. thorsteinn remained nine years in norway, both he and his wife being in high honour. after that king harald the son of sigurd returned from constantinople, and king magnus gave him the half of norway. both kings were together in norway for a time. after magnus's death some who had been his friends were less contented, for he was beloved of all, but harald was not easy to get on with, since he was hard and severe. thorsteinn dromund then began to grow old, but was still very vigorous. sixteen winters had now passed since the death of grettir. chapter xci. absolution in rome there were many who urged thorsteinn to visit king harald and become his man, but he would not. spes said to him: "i would not, thorsteinn, that you go to harald, for a larger debt remains unpaid to another king, whereto we must now turn our thoughts. our youth is now passed; we are both becoming old, and we have lived more after our desires than after christian doctrine or regard for righteousness. now i know that neither kinsmen nor wealth may pay this debt if we pay it not ourselves. i would therefore that we now change our way of life and leave the country to betake ourselves to pafagard. [ ] i have hope that so i shall be absolved from my sin." thorsteinn answered: "the matter of which you speak is as well known to me as it is to you. it is right that you should rule now, and most seemly, since you allowed me to rule when our matter was much less hopeful. and so shall it be now in all that you say." this resolve of theirs took men by surprise. thorsteinn was then two years past of sixty-five, but still vigorous in all that he undertook. he summoned all his kinsmen and connections to him and told them his plans. the wiser men approved of his resolve, while holding his departure a great misfortune for themselves. thorsteinn said there was no certainty of his return. he said: "i wish now to thank you all for the care of my goods which you took while i was absent. now i ask you to take over my children along with my property, and to bring them up in your own ways; for i am now come to such an age that even if i live there is much doubt about whether i shall return. manage all that i leave behind as if i should never return to norway." the men answered that matters would be more easily managed if his wife remained to look after them. she answered: "i left my own country and came from mikligard with thorsteinn, i bade farewell to my kinsmen and my possessions, because i wished that one fate should befall us both. and now it has seemed pleasant to me here, but no desire have i to remain in norway or in these northern lands after he has departed. there has always been goodwill between us and no dissension. now we must both depart together; for we ourselves know best about many things which have happened since we first met." when they had thus dealt with their own condition, thorsteinn appointed certain impartial men to divide his property in two parts. thorsteinn's kinsmen took over the half which was to go to the children, and brought them up with their father's relations. they became in time men of the utmost valour, and a large posterity in the vik is sprung from them. thorsteinn and spes divided their share, giving some to the church for the good of their souls and keeping some for themselves. so they set off for rome, bearing the good wishes of many with them. endnotes: [footnote : rome.] chapter xcii. the end of thorsteinn and spes they travelled then the whole way to rome, and appeared before him who was appointed to hear confessions. they related truly all that had happened, all the cunning tricks wherewith they had achieved their union. they submitted with humility to the penances laid upon them, and by reason of their having voluntarily turned their hearts to desire absolution from their sins, without any pressure from the elders of the church, their penance was lightened so far as it was possible, and they were gently admonished to arrange their lives with wisdom for the well-being of their souls, and, after receiving absolution in full, to live henceforward in purity. they were declared to have acted wisely and well. then the lady spes said: "now, i think it has gone well; and now we have not suffered only misfortune together. it may be that foolish men will follow the example of our former lives. let us now end in such way that we may be an example to the good. we will come to an agreement with some men skilled in building to erect for each of us a stone retreat, thus may we atone for all the offences which we have committed against god." so thorsteinn advanced money to stone-masons and such other persons as might be needed, that they might not be without the means of subsistence. when these works were completed and all matters were settled, a fitting time was chosen for them to part company with each other, each to live alone, in order more surely to partake of the eternal life in another world. they remained each in their own retreat, living as long as it pleased god to spare them, and thus ending their lives. most men consider thorsteinn dromund and spes to have been most fortunate in escaping from the difficulties which they had fallen into. none of their children or posterity are mentioned as having come to iceland. chapter xciii. the testimony of sturla the lawman sturla the lawman has declared that no outlaw was ever so distinguished as grettir the strong. for this he assigns three reasons. first, that he was the cleverest, inasmuch as he was the longest time an outlaw of any man without ever being captured, so long as he was sound in health. secondly, that he was the strongest man in the land of his age, and better able than any other to deal with spectres and goblins. thirdly, that his death was avenged in constantinople, a thing which had never happened to any other icelander. further, he says that thorsteinn dromund was a man who had great luck in the latter part of his life. here endeth the story of grettir the son of asmund. university library via www.sagnanet.is, jóhannes birgir jensson, janet blenkinship and the online distributed proofreaders europe at http://dp.rastko.net +---------------------------------------------------------+ |transcriber's note: this is a translation from icelandic | |and there are inconsistencies in punctuation which | |have been left as they were in the original. | +---------------------------------------------------------+ [illustration: the story of burnt njal from the icelandic of njal saga] the story of burnt njal [illustration: gunnar refuses to leave home] "_fair is lithe: so fair that it has never seemed to me so fair; the corn fields are white to harvest, and the home mead is mown: and now i will ride back home, and not fare abroad at all._" the story of burnt njal from the icelandic of the njals saga by the late sir george webbe dasent, d.c.l. _with a prefatory note, and the introduction, abridged, from the original edition of _ new york e. p. dutton & co. london grant richards the aberdeen university press limited _the design of the cover made by the late james drummond, r.s.a., combines the chief weapons mentioned in_ the story of burnt njal: _gunnar's bill, skarphedinn's axe, and kari's sword, bound together by one of the great silver rings found in a viking's hoard in orkney._ prefatory note to the one-volume edition. _sir george dasent's translation of the njals saga, under the title the story of burnt njal, which is reprinted in this volume, was published by messrs. edmonston & douglas in . that edition was in two volumes, and was furnished by the author with maps and plans; with a lengthy introduction dealing with iceland's history, religion and social life; with an appendix and an exhaustive index. copies of this edition can still be obtained from mr. david douglas of edinburgh._ _the present reprint has been prepared in order that this incomparable saga may become accessible to those readers with whom a good story is the first consideration and its bearing upon a nation's history a secondary one--or is not considered at all. for_ burnt njal _may be approached either as a historical document, or as a pure narrative of elemental natures, of strong passions; and of heroic feats of strength. some of the best fighting in literature is to be found between its covers. sir george dasent's version in its capacity as a learned work for the study has had nearly forty years of life; it is now offered afresh simply as a brave story for men who have been boys and for boys who are going to be men._ _we lay down the book at the end having added to our store of good memories the record of great deeds and great hearts, and to our gallery of heroes strong and admirable men worthy to stand beside the strong and admirable men of the iliad--gunnar of lithend and skarphedinn, njal and kari, helgi and kolskegg, beside telamonian aias and patroclus, achilles and hector, ulysses and idomeneus. in two respects these icelanders win more of our sympathy than the greeks and trojans; for they, like ourselves, are of northern blood, and in their mighty strivings are unassisted by the gods._ _in the present volume sir george dasent's preface has been shortened, and his introduction, which everyone who is interested in old icelandic life and history should make a point of reading in the original edition, has been considerably abridged. the three appendices, treating of the vikings, queen gunnhillda, and money and currency in the tenth century, have been also exised, and with them the index. there remains the saga itself (not a word of sir george dasent's simple, forcible, clean prose having been touched), with sufficient introductory matter to assist the reader to its fuller appreciation._ _sir george webbe dasent, d.c.l., the translator of the njals saga, was born in at st. vincent in the west indies, of which island his father was attorney-general. he was educated at westminster school, and at magdalen hall, oxford, where he was distinguished both as a fine athlete and a good classic. he took his degree in , and on coming to london showed an early tendency towards literature and literary society. the sterlings were connected with the island of' st. vincent, and as dasent and john sterling became close friends, he was a constant guest at captain sterlings house in knightsbridge, which was frequented by many who afterwards rose to eminence in the world of letters, including carlyle, to whom dasent dedicated his first book, dasent's appointment in as private secretary to sir james cartwright, the british envoy to the court of sweden, took him to stockholm, where under the advice of jacob grimm, whom he had met in denmark, he began that study of scandinavian literature which has enriched english literature bu the present work, and by the_ norse tales, gísli the outlaw, _and other valuable translations and memoirs. on settling in london again in he joined the_ times _staff as assistant editor to the great delane, who had been his friend at oxford, and whose sister he married in the following year. dasent retained the post during the paper's most brilliant period. in mr. gladstone offered him a civil service commissionership, which he accepted and held until his retirement in , at which time he was the commission's official head. he was knighted "for public services" in , having been created a knight of the danish order of the dannebrög many years earlier._ _in addition, to his scandinavian work, sir george dasent wrote several novels, of which_ the annals of an eventful life _was at once the most popular and the best. he died greatly respected in ._ e. v. lucas. sir george dasent's preface (abridged.) what is a saga? a saga is a story, or telling in prose, sometimes mixed with verse. there are many kinds of sagas, of all degrees of truth. there are the mythical sagas, in which the wondrous deeds of heroes of old time, half gods and half men, as sigurd and ragnar, are told as they were handed down from father to son in the traditions of the northern race. then there are sagas recounting the history of the kings of norway and other countries, of the great line of orkney jarls, and of the chiefs who ruled in faroe. these are all more or less trustworthy, and, in general, far worthier of belief than much that passes for the early history of other races. again, there are sagas relating to iceland, narrating the lives, and feuds, and ends of mighty chiefs, the heads of the great families which dwelt in this or that district of the island. these were told by men who lived on the very spot, and told with a minuteness and exactness, as to time and place, that will bear the strictest examination. such a saga is that of njal, which we now lay before our readers in an english garb. of all the sagas relating to iceland, this tragic story bears away the palm for truthfulness and beauty. to use the words of one well qualified to judge, it is, as compared with all similar compositions, as gold to brass.[ ] like all the sagas which relate to the same period of icelandic story, njala[ ] was not written down till about years after the events which are described in it had happened. in the meantime, it was handed down by word of mouth, told from althing to althing, at spring thing, and autumn leet, at all great gatherings of the people, and over many a fireside, on sea strand or river bank, or up among the dales and hills, by men who had learnt the sad story of njal's fate, and who could tell of gunnar's peerlessness and hallgerda's infamy, of bergthora's helpfulness, of skarphedinn's hastiness, of flosi's foul deed, and kurt's stern revenge. we may be sure that as soon as each event recorded in the saga occurred, it was told and talked about as matter of history, and when at last the whole story was unfolded and took shape, and centred round njal, that it was handed down from father to son, as truthfully and faithfully as could ever be the case with any public or notorious matter in local history. but it is not on njala alone that we have to rely for our evidence of its genuineness. there are many other sagas relating to the same period, and handed down in like manner, in which the actors in our saga are incidentally mentioned by name, and in which the deeds recorded of them are corroborated. they are mentioned also in songs and annals, the latter being the earliest written records which belong to the history of the island, while the former were more easily remembered, from the construction of the verse. much passes for history in other lands on far slighter grounds, and many a story in thucydides or tacitus, or even in clarendon or hume, is believed on evidence not one-tenth part so trustworthy as that which supports the narratives of these icelandic story-tellers of the eleventh century. that with occurrences of undoubted truth, and minute particularity as to time and place, as to dates and distance, are intermingled wild superstitions on several occasions, will startle no reader of the smallest judgment. all ages, our own not excepted, have their superstitions, and to suppose that a story told in the eleventh century,--when phantoms, and ghosts, and wraiths, were implicitly believed in, and when dreams, and warnings, and tokens, were part of every man's creed--should be wanting in these marks of genuineness, is simply to require that one great proof of its truthfulness should be wanting, and that, in order to suit the spirit of our age, it should lack something which was part and parcel of popular belief in the age to which it belonged. to a thoughtful mind, therefore, such stories as that of swan's witchcraft, gunnar's song in his cairn, the wolf's ride before the burning, flosi's dream, the signs and tokens before brian's battle, and even njal's weird foresight, on which the whole story hangs, will be regarded as proofs rather for than against its genuineness.[ ] but it is an old saying, that a story never loses in telling, and so we may expect it must have been with this story. for the facts which the saga-teller related he was bound to follow the narrations of those who had gone before him, and if he swerved to or fro in this respect, public opinion and notorious fame was there to check and contradict him.[ ] but the way in which he told the facts was his own, and thus it comes that some sagas are better told than others, as the feeling and power of the narrator were above those of others. to tell a story truthfully was what was looked for from all men in those days; but to tell it properly and gracefully, and so to clothe the facts in fitting diction, was given to few, and of those few the saga teller who first threw njala into its present shape, was one of the first and foremost. with the change of faith and conversion of the icelanders to christianity, writing, and the materials for writing, first came into the land, about the year . there is no proof that the earlier or runic alphabet, which existed in heathen times, was ever used for any other purposes than those of simple monumental inscriptions, or of short legends on weapons or sacrificial vessels, or horns and drinking cups. but with the roman alphabet came not only a readier means of expressing thought, but also a class of men who were wont thus to express themselves.... saga after saga was reduced to writing, and before the year it is reckoned that all the pieces of that kind of composition which relate to the history of icelanders previous to the introduction of christianity had passed from the oral into the written shape. of all those sagas, none were so interesting as njal, whether as regarded the length of the story, the number and rank of the chiefs who appeared in it as actors, and the graphic way in which the tragic tale was told. as a rounded whole, in which each part is finely and beautifully polished, in which the two great divisions of the story are kept in perfect balance and counterpoise, in which each person who appears is left free to speak in a way which stamps him with a character of his own, while all unite in working towards a common end, no saga had such claims on public attention as njala, and it is certain none would sooner have been committed to writing. the latest period, therefore, that we can assign as the date at which our saga was moulded into its present shape is the year .... it was a foster-father's duty, in old times, to rear and cherish the child which he had taken from the arms of its natural parents, his superiors in rank. and so may this work, which the translator has taken from the house of icelandic scholars, his masters in knowledge, and which he has reared and fostered so many years under an english roof, go forth and fight the battle of life for itself, and win fresh fame for those who gave it birth. it will be reward enough for him who has first clothed it in an english dress if his foster-child adds another leaf to that evergreen wreath of glory which crowns the brows of iceland's ancient worthies. broad sanctuary. _christmas eve, ._ it will be seen that in most cases the names of places throughout the saga have been turned into english, either in whole or in part, as "lithend" for "lfaðrendi," and "bergthorsknoll" for "bergthorshvól". the translator adopted this course to soften the ruggedness of the original names for the english reader, but in every case the icelandic name, with its english rendering, will be found in the maps. the surnames and nicknames have also been turned into english--an attempt which has not a little increased the toil of translation. great allowance must be made for these renderings, as those nicknames often arose out of circumstances of which we know little or nothing. of some, such as "thorgeir craggeir," and "thorkel foulmouth," the saga itself explains the origin. in a state of society where so many men bore the same name, any circumstance or event in a man's life, as well as any peculiarity in form or feature, or in temper and turn of mind, gave rise to a surname or nickname, which clung to him through life as a distinguishing mark. the post office in the united states is said to give persons in the same district, with similar names, an initial of identification, which answers the same purpose, as the icelandic nickname, thus: "john _p_ smith."--"john _q_ smith". as a general rule the translator has withstood the temptation to use old english words. "busk" and "boun" he pleads guilty to, because both still linger in the language understood by few. "busk" is a reflective formed from 'eat búa sik,' "to get oneself ready," and "boun" is the past participle of the active form "búa, búinn," to get ready. when the leader in old ballads says-- "busk ye, busk ye, my bonny, bonny me," he calls on his followers to equip themselves; when they are thus equipped they are "boun". a bride "busks" herself for the bridal; when she is dressed she is "boun". in old times a ship was "busked" for a voyage; when she was filled and ready for sea she was "boun"--whence come our outward "bound" and homeward "bound". these with "redes" for counsels or plans are almost the only words in the translation which are not still in everyday use. sir george dasent's introduction. (abridged). the northmen in iceland. the men who colonized iceland towards the end of the ninth century of the christian æra, were of no savage or servile race. they fled from the overbearing power of the king, from that new and strange doctrine of government put forth by harold fairhair, - , which made them the king's men at all times, instead of his only at certain times for special service, which laid scatts and taxes on their lands, which interfered with vested rights and world-old laws, and allowed the monarch to meddle and make with the freemen's allodial holdings. as we look at it now, and from another point of view, we see that what to them was unbearable tyranny was really a step in the great march of civilization and progress, and that the centralization and consolidation of the royal authority, according to charlemagne's system, was in time to be a blessing to the kingdoms of the north. but to the freeman it was a curse. he fought against it as long as he could; worsted over and over again, he renewed the struggle, and at last, when the isolated efforts, which were the key-stone of his edifice of liberty, were fruitless, he sullenly withdrew from the field, and left the land of his fathers, where, as he thought, no free-born man could now care to live. now it is that we hear of him in iceland, where ingolf was the first settler in the year , and was soon followed by many of his countrymen. now, too, we hear of him in all lands. now france--now italy--now spain, feel the fury of his wrath, and the weight of his arm. after a time, but not until nearly a century has passed, he spreads his wings for a wider flight, and takes service under the great emperor at byzantium, or micklegarth--the great city, the town of towns--and fights his foes from whatever quarter they come. the moslem in sicily and asia, the bulgarians and slavonians on the shores of the black sea and in greece, well know the temper of the northern steel, which has forced many of their chosen champions to bite the dust. wherever he goes the northman leaves his mark, and to this day the lion at the entrance to the arsenal at venice is scored with runes which tell of his triumph. but of all countries, what were called the western lands were his favourite haunt. england, where the saxons were losing their old dash and daring, and settling down into a sluggish sensual race; ireland, the flower of celtic lands, in which a system of great age and undoubted civilization was then fast falling to pieces, afforded a tempting battlefield in the everlasting feuds between chief and chief; scotland, where the power of the picts was waning, while that of the scots had not taken firm hold on the country, and most of all the islands in the scottish main, orkney, shetland, and the outlying faroe isles;--all these were his chosen abode. in those islands he took deep root, established himself on the old system, shared in the quarrels of the chiefs and princes of the mainland, now helped pict and now scot, roved the seas and made all ships prizes, and kept alive his old grudge against harold fairhair and the new system by a long series of piratical incursions on the norway coast. so worrying did these viking cruises at last become, that harold, who meantime had steadily pursued his policy at home, and forced all men to bow to his sway or leave the land, resolved to crush the wasps that stung him summer after summer in their own nest. first of all he sent kettle flatnose, a mighty chief, to subdue the foe; but though kettle waged successful war, he kept what he won for himself. it was the old story of setting a thief to catch a thief; and harold found that if he was to have his work done to his mind he must do it himself. he called on his chiefs to follow him, levied a mighty force, and, sailing suddenly with a fleet which must have seemed an armada in those days, he fell upon the vikings in orkney and shetland, in the hebrides and western isles, in man and anglesey, in the lewes and faroe--wherever he could find them he followed them up with fire and sword. not once, but twice he crossed the sea after them, and tore them out so thoroughly, root and branch, that we hear no more of these lands as a lair of vikings, but as the abode of norse jarls and their udallers (freeholders) who look upon the new state of things at home as right and just, and acknowledge the authority of harold and his successors by an allegiance more or less dutiful at different times, but which was never afterwards entirely thrown off. it was just then, just when the unflinching will of harold had taught this stern lesson to his old foes, and arising in most part out of that lesson, that the great rush of settlers to iceland took place. we have already seen that ingolf and others had settled in iceland from downwards, but it was not until nearly twenty years afterwards that the island began to be thickly peopled. more than half of the names of the first colonists contained in the venerable landnáma book--the book of lots, the doomsday of iceland, and far livelier reading than that of the conqueror--are those of northmen who had been before settled in the british isles. our own country then was the great stepping-stone between norway and iceland; and this one fact is enough to account for the close connection which the icelanders ever afterwards kept up with their kinsmen who had remained behind in the islands of the west.... superstitions of the race. the northman had many superstitions. he believed in good giants and bad giants, in dark elves and bright elves, in superhuman beings who tilled the wide gulf which existed between himself and the gods. he believed, too, in wraiths and fetches and guardian spirits, who followed particular persons, and belonged to certain families--a belief which seems to have sprung from the habit of regarding body and soul as two distinct beings, which at certain times took each a separate bodily shape. sometimes the guardian spirit or fylgja took a human shape; at others its form took that of some animal fancied to foreshadow the character of the man to whom it belonged. thus it becomes a bear, a wolf, an ox, and even a fox, in men. the fylgjur of women were fond of taking the shape of swans. to see one's own fylgja was unlucky, and often a sign that a man was "fey," or death-doomed. so, when thord freedmanson tells njal that he sees the goat wallowing in its gore in the "town" of bergthorsknoll, the foresighted man tells him that he has seen his own fylgja, and that he must be doomed to die. finer and nobler natures often saw the guardian spirits of others. thus njal saw the fylgjur of gunnar's enemies, which gave him no rest the livelong night, and his weird feeling is soon confirmed by the news brought by his shepherd. from the fylgja of the individual it was easy to rise to the still more abstract notion of the guardian spirits of a family, who sometimes, if a great change in the house is about to begin, even show themselves as hurtful to some member of the house. he believed also that some men had more than one shape; that they could either take the shapes of animals, as bears or wolves, and so work mischief; or that, without undergoing bodily change, an access of rage and strength came over them, and more especially towards night, which made them more than a match for ordinary men. such men were called hamrammir, "shape-strong," and it was remarked that when the fit left them they were weaker than they had been before. this gift was looked upon as something "uncanny," and it leads us at once to another class of men, whose supernatural strength was regarded as a curse to the community. these were the baresarks. what the hamrammir men were when they were in their fits the baresarks almost always were. they are described as being always of exceeding, and when their fury rose high, of superhuman strength. they too, like the hamrammir men, were very tired when the fits passed off. what led to their fits is hard to say. in the case of the only class of men like them nowadays, that of the malays running a-muck, the intoxicating fumes of bangh or arrack are said to be the cause of their fury. one thing, however, is certain, that the baresark, like his malay brother, was looked upon as a public pest, and the mischief which they caused, relying partly no doubt on their natural strength, and partly on the hold which the belief in their supernatural nature had on the mind of the people, was such as to render their killing a good work. again, the northman believed that certain men were "fast" or "hard"; that no weapons would touch them or wound their skin; that the mere glance of some men's eyes would turn the edge of the best sword; and that some persons had the power of withstanding poison. he believed in omens and dreams and warnings, in signs and wonders and tokens; he believed in good luck and bad luck, and that the man on whom fortune smiled or frowned bore the marks of her favour or displeasure on his face; he believed also in magic and sorcery, though he loathed them as unholy rites. with one of his beliefs our story has much to do, though this was a belief in good rather than in evil. he believed firmly that some men had the inborn gift, not won by any black arts, of seeing things and events beforehand. he believed, in short, in what is called in scotland "second sight". this was what was called being "forspár" or "framsýnn," "foretelling" and "foresighted ". of such men it was said that their "words could not be broken". njal was one of these men; one of the wisest and at the same time most just and honourable of men. this gift ran in families, for helgi njal's son had it, and it was beyond a doubt one of the deepest-rooted of all their superstitions. social principles. besides his creed and these beliefs the new settler brought with him certain fixed social principles, which we shall do well to consider carefully in the outset.... first and foremost came the father's right of property in his children. this right is common to the infancy of all communities, and exists before all law. we seek it in vain in codes which belong to a later period, but it has left traces of itself in all codes, and, abrogated in theory, still often exists in practice. we find it in the roman law, and we find it among the northmen. thus it was the father's right to rear his children or not at his will. as soon as it was born, the child was laid upon the bare ground; and until the father came and looked at it, heard and saw that it was strong in lung and limb, lifted it in his arms, and handed it over to the women to be reared, its fate hung in the balance, and life or death depended on the sentence of its sire. after it had passed safely through that ordeal, it was duly washed, signed with thor's holy hammer, and solemnly received into the family. if it were a weakly boy, and still more often, if it were a girl, no matter whether she were strong or weak, the infant was exposed to die by ravening beasts, or the inclemency of the climate. many instances occur of children so exposed, who, saved by some kindly neighbour, and fostered beneath a stranger's roof, thus contracted ties reckoned still more binding than blood itself. so long as his children remained under his roof, they were their father's own. when the sons left the paternal roof, they were emancipated, and when the daughters were married they were also free, but the marriage itself remained till the latest times a matter of sale and barter in deed as well as name. the wife came into the house, in the patriarchal state, either stolen or bought from her nearest male relations; and though in later times when the sale took place it was softened by settling part of the dower and portion on the wife, we shall do well to bear in mind, that originally dower was only the price paid by the suitor to the father for his good will; while portion, on the other hand, was the sum paid by the father to persuade a suitor to take a daughter off his hands. let us remember, therefore, that in those times, as odin was supreme in asgard as the great father of gods and men, so in his own house every father of the race that revered odin was also sovereign and supreme. in the second place, as the creed of the race was one that adored the great father as the god of battles; as it was his will that turned the fight; nay, as that was the very way in which he chose to call his own to himself,--it followed, that any appeal to arms was looked upon as an appeal to god. victory was indeed the sign of a rightful cause, and he that won the day remained behind to enjoy the rights which he had won in fair fight, but he that lost it, if he fell bravely and like a man, if he truly believed his quarrel just, and brought it without guile to the issue of the sword, went by the very manner of his death to a better place. the father of the slain wanted him, and he was welcomed by the valkyries, by odin's corse-choosers, to the festive board in valhalla. in every point of view, therefore, war and battle was a holy thing, and the northman went to the battlefield in the firm conviction that right would prevail. in modern times, while we appeal in declarations of war to the god of battles, we do it with the feeling that war is often an unholy thing, and that providence is not always on the side of strong battalions. the northman saw providence on both sides. it was good to live, if one fought bravely, but it was also good to die, if one fell bravely. to live bravely and to die bravely, trusting in the god of battles, was the warrior's comfortable creed. but this feeling was also shown in private life. when two tribes or peoples rushed to war, there odin, the warrior's god, was sure to be busy in the fight, turning the day this way or that at his will; but he was no less present in private war, where in any quarrel man met man to claim or to defend a right. there, too, he turned the scale and swayed the day, and there too an appeal to arms was regarded as an appeal to heaven. hence arose another right older than all law, the right of duel--of wager of battle, as the old english law called it. among the northmen it underlaid all their early legislation, which, as we shall see, aimed rather at regulating and guiding it, by making it a part and parcel of the law, than at attempting to check at once a custom which had grown up with the whole faith of the people, and which was regarded as a right at once so time-honoured and so holy. thirdly, we must never forget that, as it is the christian's duty to forgive his foes, and to be patient and long-suffering under the most grievous wrongs so it was the heathen's bounden duty to avenge all wrongs, and most of all those offered to blood relations, to his kith and kin, to the utmost limit of his power. hence arose the constant blood-feuds between families, of which we shall hear so much in our story, but which we shall fail fully to understand, unless we keep in view, along with this duty of revenge, the right or property which all heads of houses had in their relations. out of these twofold rights, of the right of revenge and the right of property, arose that strange medley of forbearance and blood-thirstiness which stamps the age. revenge was a duty and a right, but property was no less a right; and so it rested with the father of a family either to take revenge, life for life, or to forego his vengeance, and take a compensation in goods or money for the loss he had sustained in his property. out of this latter view arose those arbitrary tariffs for wounds or loss of life, which were gradually developed more or less completely in all the teutonic and scandinavian races, until every injury to life or limb had its proportionate price, according to the rank which the injured person bore in the social scale. these tariffs, settled by the heads of houses, are, in fact, the first elements of the law of nations; but it must be clearly understood that it always rested with the injured family either to follow up the quarrel by private war, or to call on the man who had inflicted the injury to pay a fitting fine. if he refused, the feud might be followed up on the battlefield, in the earliest times, or in later days, either by battle or by law. of the latter mode of proceeding, we shall have to speak at greater length farther on; for the present, we content ourselves with indicating these different modes of settling a quarrel in what we have called the patriarchal state. a fourth great principle of his nature was the conviction of the worthlessness and fleeting nature of all worldly goods. one thing alone was firm and unshaken, the stability of well-earned fame. "goods perish, friends perish, a man himself perishes, but fame never dies to him that hath won it worthily." "one thing i know that never dies, the judgment passed on every mortal man." over all man's life hung a blind, inexorable fate, a lower fold of the same gloomy cloud that brooded over odin and the Æsir. nothing could avert this doom. when his hour came, a man must meet his death, and until his hour came he was safe. it might strike in the midst of the highest happiness, and then nothing could avert the evil, but until it struck he would come safe through the direst peril. this fatalism showed itself among this vigorous pushing race in no idle resignation. on the contrary, the northman went boldly to meet the doom which he felt sure no effort of his could turn aside, but which he knew, if he met it like a man, would secure him the only lasting thing on earth--a name famous in songs and story. fate must be met then, but the way in which it was met, that rested with a man himself, that, at least, was in his own power; there he might show his free will; and thus this principle, which might seem at first to be calculated to blunt his energies and weaken his strength of mind, really sharpened and hardened them in a wonderful way, for it left it still worth everything to a man to fight this stern battle of life well and bravely, while its blind inexorable nature allowed no room for any careful weighing of chances or probabilities, or for any anxious prying into the nature of things doomed once for all to come to pass. to do things like a man, without looking to the right or left, as kari acted when he smote off gunnar's head in earl sigurd's hall, was the northman's pride. he must do them openly too, and show no shame for what he had done. to kill a man and say that you had killed him, was manslaughter; to kill him and not to take it on your hand was murder. to kill men at dead of night was also looked on as murder. to kill a foe and not bestow the rights of burial on his body by throwing sand or gravel over him, was also looked on as murder. even the wicked thiostolf throws gravel over glum in our saga, and thord freedmanson's complaint against brynjolf the unruly was that he had buried atli's body badly. even in killing a foe there was an open gentlemanlike way of doing it, to fail in which was shocking to the free and outspoken spirit of the age. thorgeir craggeir and the gallant kari wake their foes and give them time to arm themselves before they fall upon them; and hrapp, too, the thorough icelander of the common stamp, "the friend of his friends and the foe of his foes," stalks before gudbrand and tells him to his face the crimes which he has committed. robbery and piracy in a good straightforward wholesale way were honoured and respected; but to steal, to creep to a man's abode secretly at dead of night and spoil his goods, was looked upon as infamy of the worst kind. to do what lay before him openly and like a man, without fear of either foes, fiends, or fate; to hold his own and speak his mind, and seek fame without respect of persons; to be free and daring in all his deeds; to be gentle and generous to his friends and kinsmen; to be stern and grim to his foes, but even towards them to feel bound to fulfil all bounden duties; to be as forgiving to some as he was unyielding and unforgiving to others. to be no truce-breaker, nor talebearer nor backbiter. to utter nothing against any man that he would not dare to tell him to his face. to turn no man from his door who sought food or shelter, even though he were a foe--these were other broad principles of the northman's life, further features of that steadfast faithful spirit which he brought with him to his new home.... daily life in njal's time. in the tenth century the homesteads of the icelanders consisted of one main building, in which the family lived by day and slept at night, and of out-houses for offices and farm-buildings, all opening on a yard. sometimes these out-buildings touched the main building, and had doors which opened into it, but in most cases they stood apart, and for purposes of defence, no small consideration in those days, each might be looked upon as a separate house. the main building of the house was the stofa, or sitting and sleeping room. in the abodes of chiefs and great men, this building had great dimensions, and was then called a skáli, or hall. it was also called eldhús, or eldáskáli, from the great fires which burned in it.... it had two doors, the men's or main door, and the women's or lesser door. each of these doors opened into a porch of its own, andyri, which was often wide enough, in the case of that into which the men's door opened, as we see in thrain's house at grit water, to allow many men to stand in it abreast. it was sometimes called forskáli. internally the hall consisted of three divisions, a nave and two low side aisles. the walls of these aisles were of stone, and low enough to allow of their being mounted with ease, as we see happened both with gunner's skáli, and with njal's. the centre division or nave on the other hand, rose high above the others on two rows of pillars. it was of timber, and had an open work timber roof. the roofs of the side aisles were supported by posts as well as by rafters and cross-beams leaning against the pillars of the nave. it was on one of these cross-beams, after it had fallen down from the burning roof, that kari got on to the side wall and leapt out, while skarphedinn, when the burnt beam snapped asunder under his weight, was unable to follow him. there were fittings of wainscot along the walls of the side aisles, and all round between the pillars of the inner row, supporting the roof of the nave, ran a wainscot panel. in places the wainscot was pierced by doors opening into sleeping places shut off from the rest of the hall on all sides for the heads of the family. in other parts of the passages were sleeping places and beds not so shut off, for the rest of the household. the women servants slept in the passage behind the dais at one end of the hall. over some halls there were upper chambers or lofts, in one of which gunnar of lithend slept, and from which he made his famous defence. we have hitherto treated only of the passages and recesses of the side aisles. the whole of the nave within the wainscot, between the inner round pillars, was filled by the hall properly so called. it had long hearths for fires in the middle, with louvres above to let out the smoke. on either side nearest to the wainscot, and in some cases touching it, was a row of benches; in each of these was a high seat, if the hall was that of a great man, that on the south side being the owner's seat. before these seats were tables, boards, which, however, do not seem, any more than our early middle age tables, to have been always kept standing, but were brought in with, and cleared away after, each meal. on ordinary occasions, one row of benches on each side sufficed; but when there was a great feast, or a sudden rush of unbidden guests, as when flosi paid his visit to tongue to take down asgrim's pride, a lower kind of seats, or stools were brought in, on which the men of lowest rank sat, and which were on the outside of the tables, nearest to the fire. at the end of the hall, over against the door, was a raised platform or dais, on which also was sometimes a high seat and benches. it was where the women eat at weddings, as we see from the account of hallgerda's wedding, in our saga, and from many other passages. in later times the seat of honour was shifted from the upper bench to the dais; and this seems to have been the case occasionally with kings and earls in njal's time, if we may judge from the passage in the saga, where hildigunna fits up a high seat on the dais for flosi, which he spurns from under him with the words, that he was "neither king nor earl," meaning that he was a simple man, and would have nothing to do with any of those new-fashions. it was to the dais that asgrim betook himself when flosi paid him his visit, and unless asgrim's hall was much smaller than we have any reason to suppose would be the case in the dwelling of so great a chief, flosi must have eaten his meal not far from the dais, in order to allow of asgrim's getting near enough to aim a blow at him with a pole-axe from the rail at the edge of the platform. on high days and feast days, part of the hall was hung with tapestry, often of great worth and beauty, and over the hangings all along the wainscot, were carvings such as those which ... our saga tells us thorkel foulmouth had carved on the stool before his high seat and over his shut bed, in memory of those deeds of "derring do" which he had performed in foreign lands. against the wainscot in various parts of the hall, shields and weapons were hung up. it was the sound of skarphedinn's axe against the wainscot that woke up njal and brought him out of his shut bed, when his sons set out on their hunt after sigmund the white and skiolld. now let us pass out of the skáli by either door, and cast our eyes at the high gables with their carved projections, and we shall understand at a glance how it was that mord's counsel to throw ropes round the ends of the timbers, and then to twist them tight with levers and rollers, could only end, if carried out, in tearing the whole roof off the house. it was then much easier work for gunnar's foes to mount up on the side-roofs as the easterling, who brought word that his bill was at home, had already done, and thence to attack him in his sleeping loft with safety to themselves, after his bowstring had been cut. some homesteads, like those of gunnar at lithend, and gísli and his brother at hol in hawkdale, in the west firths, had bowers, ladies' chambers, where the women eat and span, and where, in both the houses that we have named, gossip and scandal was talked with the worst results. these bowers stood away from the other buildings.... every icelandic homestead was approached by a straight road which led up to the yard round which the main building and its out-houses and farm-buildings stood. this was fenced in on each side by a wall of stones or turf. near the house stood the "town" or home fields where meadow hay was grown, and in favoured positions where corn would grow, there were also enclosures of arable land near the house. on the uplands and marshes more hay was grown. hay was the great crop in iceland; for the large studs of horses and great herds of cattle that roamed upon the hills and fells in summer needed fodder in the stable and byre in winter, when they were brought home. as for the flocks of sheep, they seem to have been reckoned and marked every autumn, and milked and shorn in summer; but to have fought it out with nature on the hill-side all the year round as they best could. hay, therefore, was the main staple, and haymaking the great end and aim of an icelandic farmer.... gunnar's death in our saga may be set down to the fact that all his men were away in the landisles finishing their haymaking. again, flosi, before the burning, bids all his men go home and make an end of their haymaking, and when that is over, to meet and fall on njal and his sons. even the great duty of revenge gives way to the still more urgent duty of providing fodder for the winter store. hayneed, to run short of hay, was the greatest misfortune that could befall a man, who with a fine herd and stud, might see both perish before his eyes in winter. then it was that men of open heart and hand, like gunnar, helped their tenants and neighbours, often, as we see in gunnar's case, till they had neither hay nor food enough left for their own household, and had to buy or borrow from those that had. then, too, it was that the churl's nature came out in otkell and others, who having enough and to spare, would not part with their abundance for love or money. these men were no idlers. they worked hard, and all, high and low, worked. in no land does the dignity of labour stand out so boldly. the greatest chiefs sow and reap, and drive their sheep, like glum, the speaker's brother, from the fells. the mightiest warriors were the handiest carpenters and smiths. gísli súr's son knew every corner of his foeman's house, because he had built it with his own hands while they were good friends. njal's sons are busy at armourer's work, like the sons of the mythical ragnar before them, when the news comes to them that sigmund has made a mock of them in his songs. gunnar sows his corn with his arms by his side, when otkell rides over him; and hauskuld the whiteness priest is doing the same work when he is slain. to do something, and to do it well, was the icelander's aim in life, and in no land does laziness like that of thorkell meet with such well deserved reproach. they were early risers and went early to bed, though they could sit up late if need were. they thought nothing of long rides before they broke their fast. their first meal was at about seven o'clock, and though they may have taken a morsel of food during the day, we hear of no other regular daily meal till evening, when between seven and eight again they had supper. while the men laboured on the farm or in the smithy, threw nets for fish in the teeming lakes and rivers, or were otherwise at work during the day, the women, and the housewife, or mistress of the house, at their head, made ready the food for the meals, carded wool, and sewed or wove or span. at meal-time the food seems to have been set on the board by the women, who waited on the men, and at great feasts, such as gunnar's wedding, the wives of his nearest kinsmen, and of his dearest friend, thorhillda skaldtongue, thrain's wife, and bergthora, njal's wife, went about from board to board waiting on the guests. in everyday life they were a simple sober people, early to bed and early to rise--ever struggling with the rigour of the climate. on great occasions, as at the yule feasts in honour of the gods, held at the temples, or at "arvel," "heir-ale," feasts, when heirs drank themselves into their father's land and goods, or at the autumn feasts, which friends and kinsmen gave to one another, there was no doubt great mirth and jollity, much eating and hard drinking of mead and fresh-brewed ale; but these drinks are not of a very heady kind, and one glass of spirits in our days would send a man farther on the road to drunkenness than many a horn of foaming mead. they were by no means that race of drunkards and hard livers which some have seen fit to call them. nor were these people such barbarians as some have fancied, to whom it is easier to rob a whole people of its character by a single word than to take the pains to inquire into its history. they were bold warriors and bolder sailors. the voyage between iceland and norway, or iceland and orkney, was reckoned as nothing; but from the west firths of iceland, eric the red--no ruffian as he has been styled, though he had committed an act of manslaughter--discovered greenland; and from greenland the hardy seafarers pushed on across the main, till they made the dreary coast of labrador. down that they ran until they came at last to vineland the good, which took its name from the grapes that grew there. from the accounts given of the length of the days in that land, it is now the opinion of those best fitted to judge on such matters, that this vineland was no other than some part of the north american continent near rhode island or massachusetts, in the united states. their ships were half-decked, high out of the water at stem and stern, low in the waist, that the oars might reach the water, for they were made for rowing as well as for sailing. the after-part had a poop. the fore-part seems to have been without deck, but loose planks were laid there for men to stand on. a distinction was made between long-ships or ships of war, made long for speed, and ... ships of burden, which were built to carry cargo. the common complement was thirty rowers, which in warships made sometimes a third and sometimes a sixth of the crew. all round the warships, before the fight began, shield was laid on shield, on a rim or rail, which ran all round the bulwarks, presenting a mark like the hammocks of our navy, by which a long-ship could be at once detected. the bulwarks in warships could be heightened at pleasure, and this was called "to girdle the ship for war". the merchant ships often carried heavy loads of meal and timber from norway, and many a one of these half-decked yawls no doubt foundered, like flosi's unseaworthy ship, under the weight of her heavy burden of beams and planks, when overtaken by the autumnal gales on that wild sea. the passages were often very long, more than one hundred days is sometimes mentioned as the time spent on a voyage between norway and iceland. as soon as the ship reached the land, she ran into some safe bay or creek, the great landing places on the south and south-east coasts being eyrar, "the eres," as such spots are still called in some parts of the british isles, that is, the sandy beaches opening into lagoons which line the shore of the marsh district called flói; and hornfirth, whence flosi and the burners put to sea after their banishment. there the ship was laid up in a slip, made for her, she was stripped and made snug for the winter, a roof of planks being probably thrown over her, while the lighter portions of her cargo were carried on pack-saddles up the country. the timber seems to have been floated up the firths and rivers as near as it could be got to its destination, and then dragged by trains of horses to the spot where it was to be used. some of the cargo--the meal, and cloth and arms--was wanted at home; some of it was sold to neighbours either for ready money or on trust, it being usual to ask for the debt either in coin or in kind, the spring after. sometimes the account remained outstanding for a much longer time. among these men whose hands were so swift to shed blood, and in that state of things which looks so lawless, but which in truth was based upon fixed principles of justice and law, the rights of property were so safe, that men like njal went lending their money to overbearing fellows like starkad under threecorner for years, on condition that he should pay a certain rate of interest. so also gunnar had goods and money out at interest, out of which he wished to supply unna's wants. in fact the law of debtor and creditor, and of borrowing money at usance, was well understood in iceland, from the very first day that the northmen set foot on its shores. if we examine the condition of the sexes in this state of society, we shall find that men and women met very nearly on equal terms. if any woman is shocked to read how thrain sigfus' son treated his wife, in parting from her, and marrying a new one, at a moment's warning, she must be told that gudruna, in laxdæla, threatened one of her three husbands with much the same treatment, and would have put her threat into execution if he had not behaved as she commanded him. in our saga, too, the gudewife of bjorn the boaster threatens him with a separation if he does not stand faithfully by kari; and in another saga of equal age and truthfulness, we hear of one great lady who parted from her husband, because, in playfully throwing a pillow of down at her, he unwittingly struck her with his finger. in point of fact, the customary law allowed great latitude to separations, at the will of either party, if good reason could be shown for the desired change. it thought that the worst service it could render to those whom it was intended to protect would be to force two people to live together against their will, or even against the will of only one of them, if that person considered him or herself, as the case might be, ill-treated or neglected. gunnar no doubt could have separated himself from hallgerda for her thieving, just as hallgerda could have parted from gunnar for giving her that slap in the face; but they lived on, to gunnar's cost and hallgerda's infamy. in marriage contracts the rights of brides, like unna the great heiress of the south-west, or hallgerda the flower of the western dales, were amply provided for. in the latter case it was a curious fact that this wicked woman retained possession of laugarness, near reykjavik, which was part of her second husband glum's property, to her dying day, and there, according to constant tradition, she was buried in a cairn which is still shown at the present time, and which is said to be always green, summer and winter alike. where marriages were so much matter of barter and bargain, the father's will went for so much and that of the children for so little, love matches were comparatively rare; and if the songs of gunnlaugr snaketongue and kormak have described the charms of their fair ones, and the warmth of their passion in glowing terms, the ordinary icelandic marriage of the tenth century was much more a matter of business, in the first place, than of love. though strong affection may have sprung up afterwards between husband and wife, the love was rather a consequence of the marriage than the marriage a result of the love. when death came it was the duty of the next of kin to close the eyes and nostrils of the departed, and our saga, in that most touching story of rodny's behaviour after the death of her son hauskuld, affords an instance of the custom. when njal asks why she, the mother, as next of kin, had not closed the eyes and nostrils of the corpse, the mother answers, "that duty i meant for skarphedinn". skarphedinn then performs the duty, and, at the same time, undertakes the duty of revenge. in heathen times the burial took place on a "how" or cairn, in some commanding position near the abode of the dead, and now came another duty. this was the binding on of the "hellshoes," which the deceased was believed to need in heathen times on his way either to valhalla's bright hall of warmth and mirth, or to hell's dark realm of cold and sorrow. that duty over, the body was laid in the cairn with goods and arms, sometimes as we see was the case with gunnar in a sitting posture; sometimes even in a ship, but always in a chamber formed of baulks of timber or blocks of stone, over which earth and gravel were piled.... conclusion. we are entitled to ask in what work of any age are the characters so boldly, and yet so delicately, drawn [as in this saga]? where shall we match the goodness and manliness of gunnar, struggling with the storms of fate, and driven on by the wickedness of hallgerda into quarrel after quarrel, which were none of his own seeking, but led no less surely to his own end? where shall we match hallgerda herself--that noble frame, so fair and tall, and yet with so foul a heart, the abode of all great crimes, and also the lurking place of tale-bearing and thieving? where shall we find parallels to skarphedinn's hastiness and readiness, as axe aloft he leapt twelve ells across markfleet, and glided on to smite thrain his death-blow on the slippery ice? where for bergthora's love and tenderness for her husband, she who was given young to njal, and could not find it in her heart to part from him when the house blazed over their heads? where for kari's dash and gallantry, the man who dealt his blows straightforward, even in the earl's hall, and never thought twice about them? where for njal himself, the man who never dipped his hands in blood, who could unravel all the knotty points of the law; who foresaw all that was coming, whether for good or ill, for friend or for foe; who knew what his own end would be, though quite powerless to avert it; and when it came, laid him down to his rest, and never uttered sound or groan, though the flames roared loud around him? nor are the minor characters less carefully drawn, the scolding tongue of thrain's first wife, the mischief-making thiostolf with his pole-axe, which divorced hallgerda's first husband, hrut's swordsmanship, asgrim's dignity, gizur's good counsel, snorri's common sense and shrewdness, gudmund's grandeur, thorgeir's thirst for fame, kettle's kindliness, ingialld's heartiness, and, though last not least, bjorn's boastfulness, which his gudewife is ever ready to cry down--are all sketched with a few sharp strokes which leave their mark for once and for ever on the reader's mind. strange! were it not that human nature is herself in every age, that such forbearance and forgiveness as is shown by njal and hauskuld and hall, should have shot up out of that social soil, so stained and steeped with the blood-shedding of revenge. revenge was the great duty of icelandic life, yet njal is always ready to make up a quarrel, though he acknowledges the duty, when he refuses in his last moments to outlive his children, whom he feels himself unable to revenge. the last words of hauskuld, when he was foully assassinated through the tale-bearing of mord, were, "god help me and forgive you"; nor did the beauty of a christian spirit ever shine out more brightly than in hall, who, when his son ljot, the flower of his flock, fell full of youth, and strength, and promise, in chance-medley at the battle on the thingfield, at once for the sake of peace gave up the father's and the freeman's dearest rights, those of compensation and revenge, and allowed his son to fall unatoned in order that peace might be made. this struggle between the principle of an old system now turned to evil, and that of a new state of things which was still fresh and good, between heathendom as it sinks into superstition, and christianity before it has had time to become superstitious, stands strongly forth in the latter part of the saga; but as yet the new faith can only assert its forbearance and forgiveness in principle. it has not had time, except in some rare instances, to bring them into play in daily life. even in heathen times such a deed as that by which njal met his death, to hem a man in within his house and then to burn it and him together, to choke a freeman, as skarphedinn says, like a fox in his earth, was quite against the free and open nature of the race; and though instances of such foul deeds occur besides those two great cases of blundkettle and njal, still they were always looked upon as atrocious crimes and punished accordingly. no wonder, therefore, then that flosi, after the change of faith, when he makes up his mind to fire njal's house, declares the deed to be one for which they would have to answer heavily before god, "seeing that we are christian men ourselves".... one word and we must bring this introduction to an end; it is merely to point out how calmly and peacefully the saga ends, with the perfect reconciliation of kari and flosi, those generous foes, who throughout the bitter struggle in which they were engaged always treated each other with respect. it is a comfort to find, after the whole fitful story has been worked out, after passing from page to page, every one of which reeks with gore, to find that after all there were even in that bloodthirsty iceland of the tenth century such things as peaceful old age and happy firesides, and that men like flosi and kari, who had both shed so much blood, one in a good and the other in a wicked cause, should after all die, flosi on a trading voyage, an icelandic ulysses, in an unseaworthy ship, good enough, as he said, for an old and death-doomed man, kari at home, well stricken in years, blessed with a famous and numerous offspring, and a proud but loving wife. icelandic chronology. a.d. . birth of harold fairhair. . harold fairhair comes to the throne. . harold fairhair sole king in norway. . ingolf sets out for iceland. . battle of hafrsfirth (hafrsfjöðr). . ingolf and leif go to settle in iceland. . kettle hæng goes to iceland. - . harold fairhair roots out the vikings in the west. . fall of thorstein the red in scotland. - . rush of settlers from the british isles to iceland. . aud the deeply wealthy comes to iceland. - . the third period of the landnámstide. . harold fairhair shares the kingdom with his sons. . hrut hauskuld's brother born. . althing established. . hrafn kettle hæng's son speaker of the law. - . njal born. . the fleetlithe feud begins. . death of harold fairhair. . end of the fleetlithe feud; fiddle mord a man of rank; hamond gunnar's son marries mord's sister rannveiga. . fall of king eric bloodaxe. c. . gunnar of lithend born. - . njal's sons born. . glum marries hallgerda. . fall of king hacon; athelstane's foster-child, harold grayfell, king in norway. . hrut goes abroad. . hrut returns to iceland and marries unna mord's daughter. . unna parts from hrut. . fiddle mord and hrut strive at the althing; fall of king harold grayfell; earl hacon rules in norway. - . fiddle mord's death; gunnar and hrut strive at the althing. . gunnar of lithend goes abroad. . gunnar returns to iceland. . gunnar's marriage with hallgerda. . the slaying of swart. . the slaying of kol. . the slaying of atli. . the slaying of brynjolf the unruly and thord freedmanson. . the slaying of sigmund the white. . hallgerda steals from otkell at kirkby. . the suit for the theft settled at the althing. . otkell rides over gunnar in the spring; fight at rangriver just before the althing; at the althing geir the priest and gunnar strive; in the autumn hauskuld dale-kolli's son, gunnar's father-in-law, dies; birth of hauskuld thrain's son. . the fight at knafahills, and death of hjort gunnar's brother. . the suit for those slain at knafahills settled at the althing. . gunnar goes west to visit olaf the peacock. . slaying of thorgeir otkell's son before, and banishment of gunnar at, the althing; njal's sons, helgi and grim, and thrain sigfus' son, go abroad. . gunnar slain at lithend. . thrain returns to iceland with hrapp; njal's sons ill-treated by earl hacon for his sake. . njal's sons return to iceland, bringing kari with them. . death of earl hacon; olaf tryggvi's son king of norway. . skarphedinn slays thrain. . thangbrand sent by king olaf to preach christianity in iceland. . slaying of arnor of forswaterwood by flosi's brothers at skaptarfells thing; thangbrand's missionary journey; gizur and hjallti go abroad. . hjallti skeggi's son found guilty of blasphemy against the gods at the althing; thangbrand returns to norway. . gizur and hjallti return to iceland; the change of faith and christianity brought into the law at the althing on st. john's day, th june; fall of king olaf tryggvi's son at svoldr, th september. . thorgeir the priest of lightwater gives up the speakership of the law. . grim of mossfell speaker of the law. . grim lays down the speakership. or . skapti thorod's son speaker of the law; the fifth court established; hauskuld thrain's son marries hildigunna flosi's niece and has one of the new priesthoods at whiteness. . duels abolished in legal matters; slaying of hauskuld njal's son by lyting and his brothers. . amund the blind slays lyting; valgard the guileful comes back to iceland; his evil counsel to mord; mord begins to backbite and slander hauskuld and njal's sons to one another. . hauskald the whiteness priest slain early in the spring; suit for his manslaughter at the althing; njal's burning the autumn after. . the suit for the burning and battle at the althing; flosi and the burners banished; kari and thorgeir craggeir carry on the feud. . flosi goes abroad with the burners, and kari follows them; flosi and kari in orkney. . brian's battle on good friday; flosi goes to rome. . flosi returns from rome to norway, and stays with earl eric, earl hacon's son. . flosi returns to iceland; kari goes to rome and returns to caithness; his wife helga dies out in iceland. . kari returns to iceland, id reconciled with flosi, and marries hildigunna hauskuld's widow. contents. introduction the northmen in iceland--superstitions of the race--social principles--daily life in njal's time--conclusion. icelandic chronology chapter i. of fiddle mord ii. hrut woos unna iii. hrut and gunnhillda, kings' mother iv. of hrut's cruise v. atli arnvid son's slaying vi. hrut sails out to iceland vii. unna separates from hrut viii. mord claims his goods from hrut ix. thorwald gets hallgerda to wife x. hallgerda's wedding xi. thorwald's slaying xii. thiostolf's flight xiii. glum's wooing xiv. glum's wedding xv. thiostolf goes to glum's house xvi. glum's sheep hunt xvii. glum's slaying xviii. fiddle mord's death xix. gunnar comes into the story xx. of njal and his children xxi. unna goes to see gunnar xxii. njal's advice xxiii. huckster hedinn xxiv. gunnar and hrut strive at the thing xxv. unna's second wedding xxvi. of asgrim and his children xxvii. helgi njal's son's wooing xxviii. hallvard comes out to iceland xxix. gunnar goes abroad xxx. gunnar goes a-sea-roving xxxi. gunnar goes to king harold gorm's son and earl hacon xxxii. gunnar comes out to iceland xxxiii. gunnar's wooing xxxiv. of thrain sigfus' son xxxv. the visit to bergthorsknoll xxxvi. kol slew swart xxxvii. the slaying of kol, whom atli slew xxxviii. the killing of atli the thrall xxxix. the slaying of brynjolf the unruly xl. gunnar and njal make peace about brynjolf's slaying xli. sigmund comes out to iceland xlii. the slaying of thord freedmanson xliii. njal and gunnar make peace for the slaying of thord xliv. sigmund mocks njal and his sons xlv. the slaying of sigmund and skiolld xlvi. of gizur the white and geir the priest xlvii. of otkell in kirkby xlviii. how hallgerda makes malcolm steal from kirkby xlix. of skamkell's evil counsel l. of skamkell's lying li. of gunnar lii. of runolf, the son of wolf aurpriest liii. how otkell rode over gunnar liv. the fight at rangriver lv. njal's advice to gunnar lvi. gunnar and geir the priest strive at the thing lvii. of starkad and his sons lviii. how gunnar's horse fought lix. of asgrim and wolf uggis' son lx. an attack against gunnar agreed on lxi. gunnar's dream lxii. the slaying of hjort and fourteen men lxiii. njals counsel to gunnar lxiv. of valgard and mord lxv. of fines and atonements lxvi. of thorgeir otkell's son lxvii. of thorgeir starkad's son lxviii. of njal and those namesakes lxix. olaf the peacock's gifts to gunnar lxx. mord's counsel lxxi. the slaying of thorgeir otkell's son lxxii. of the suits for manslaughter at the thing lxxiii. of the atonement lxxiv. kolskegg goes abroad lxxv. the riding to lithend lxxvi. gunnar's slaying lxxvii. gunnar sings a song dead lxxviii. gunnar of lithend avenged lxxix. hogni takes an atonement for gunnar's death lxxx. of kolskegg: how he was baptised lxxxi. of thrain: how he slew kol lxxxii. njal's sons sail abroad lxxxiii. of kari solmund's son lxxxiv. of earl sigurd lxxxv. the battle with the earls lxxxvi. hrapp's voyage from iceland lxxxvii. thrain took to hrapp lxxxviii. earl hacon fights with njal's sons lxxxix. njal's sons and kari come out to iceland xc. the quarrel of njal's sons with thrain sigfus' son xci. thrain sigfus' son's slaying xcii. kettle takes hauskuld as his foster-son xciii. njal takes hauskuld to foster xciv. of flosi thord's son xxcv. of hall of the side xcvi. of the change of faith xcvii. of thangbrand's journeys xcviii. of thangbrand and gudleif xcix. of gest oddleif's son c. of gizur the white and hjallti ci. of thorgeir of lightwater cii. the wedding of hauskuld, the priest of whiteness ciii. the slaying of hauskuld njal's son civ. the slaying of lyting's brothers cv. of amund the blind cvi. of valgard the guileful cvii. of mord and njal's sons cviii. of the slander of mord valgard's son cix. of mord and njal's sons cx. the slaying of hauskuld, the priest whiteness cxi. of hildigunna and mord valgard's son cxii. the pedigree of gudmund the powerful cxiii. of snorri the priest and his stock cxiv. of flosi thord's son cxv. of flosi and hildigunna cxvi. of flosi and mord and the sons of sigfus cxvii. njal and skarphedinn talk together cxviii. asgrim and njal's sons pray men for help cxix. of skarphedinn and thorkel foulmouth cxx. of the pleading of the suit cxxi. of the award of atonement between flosi and njal cxxii. of the judges cxxiii. an attack planned on njal and his sons cxxiv. of portents cxxv. flosi's journey from home cxxvi. of portents at bergthorsknoll cxxvii. the onslaught on bergthorsknoll cxxviii. njal's burning cxxix. skarphedinn's death cxxx. of kari solmund's son cxxxi. njal's and bergthora's bones found cxxxii. flosi's dream cxxxiii. of flosi's journey and his asking for help cxxxiv. of thorhall and kari cxxxv. of flosi and the burners cxxxvi. of thorgeir craggeir cxxxvii. of eyjolf bolverk's son cxxxviii. of asgrim, and gizur, and kari cxxxix. of asgrim and gudmund cxl. of the declarations of the suits cxli. now men go to the courts cxlii. of eyjolf bolverk's son cxliii. the counsel of thorhall asgrim's son cxliv. battle at the althing cxlv. of kari and thorgeir cxlvi. the award of atonement with thorgeir craggeir cxlvii. kari comes to bjorn's house in the mark cxlviii. of flosi and the burners cxlix. of kari and bjorn cl. more of kari and bjorn cli. of kari, and bjorn, and thorgeir clii. flosi goes abroad cliii. kari goes abroad cliv. gunnar lambi's son's slaying clv. of signs and wonders clvi. brian's battle clvii. the slaying of kol thorstein's son clviii. of flosi and kari the story of burnt njal. chapter i. of fiddle mord. there was a man named mord whose surname was fiddle; he was the son of sigvat the red, and he dwelt at the "vale" in the rangrivervales. he was a mighty chief, and a great taker up of suits, and so great a lawyer that no judgments were thought lawful unless he had a hand in them. he had an only daughter, named unna. she was a fair, courteous and gifted woman, and that was thought the best match in all the rangrivervales. now the story turns westward to the broadfirth dales, where, at hauskuldstede, in laxriverdale, dwelt a man named hauskuld, who was dalakoll's son, and his mother's name was thorgerda. he had a brother named hrut, who dwelt at hrutstede; he was of the same mother as hauskuld, but his father's name was heriolf. hrut was handsome, tall and strong, well skilled in arms, and mild of temper; he was one of the wisest of men--stern towards his foes, but a good counsellor on great matters. it happened once that hauskuld bade his friends to a feast, and his brother hrut was there, and sat next him. hauskuld had a daughter named hallgerda, who was playing on the floor with some other girls. she was fair of face and tall of growth, and her hair was as soft as silk; it was so long, too, that it came down to her waist. hauskuld called out to her, "come hither to me, daughter". so she went up to him, and he took her by the chin, and kissed her; and after that she went away. then hauskuld said to hrut, "what dost thou think of this maiden? is she not fair?" hrut held his peace. hauskuld said the same thing to him a second time, and then hrut answered, "fair enough is this maid, and many will smart for it, but this i know not, whence thief's eyes have come into our race". then hauskuld was wroth, and for a time the brothers saw little of each other. chapter ii. hrut woos unna. it happened once that those brothers, hauskuld and hrut, rode to the althing, and there was much people at it. then hauskuld said to hrut, "one thing i wish, brother, and that is, that thou wouldst better thy lot and woo thyself a wife." hrut answered, "that has been long on my mind, though there always seemed to be two sides to the matter; but now i will do as thou wishest; whither shall we turn our eyes?" hauskuld answered, "here now are many chiefs at the thing, and there is plenty of choice, but i have already set my eyes on a spot where a match lies made to thy hand. the woman's name is unna, and she is a daughter of fiddle mord one of the wisest of men. he is here at the thing, and his daughter too, and thou mayest see her if it pleases thee." now the next day, when men were going to the high court, they saw some well-dressed women standing outside the booths of the men from the rangrivervales, then hauskuld said to hrut-- "yonder now is unna, of whom i spoke; what thinkest thou of her?" "well," answered hrut; "but yet i do not know whether we should get on well together." after that they went to the high court, where fiddle mord was laying down the law as was his wont, and alter he had done he went home to his booth. then hauskuld and hrut rose, and went to mord's booth. they went in and found mord sitting in the innermost part of the booth, and they bade him "good day". he rose to meet them, and took hauskuld by the hand and made him sit down by his side, and hrut sat next to hauskuld, so after they had talked much of this and that, at last hauskuld said, "i have a bargain to speak to thee about; hrut wishes to become thy son-in-law, and buy thy daughter, and i, for my part, will not be sparing in the matter". mord answered, "i know that thou art a great chief, but thy brother is unknown to me". "he is a better man than i," answered hauskuld. "thou wilt need to lay down a large sum with him, for she is heir to all i leave behind me," said mord. "there is no need," said hauskuld, "to wait long before thou hearest what i give my word he shall have. he shall have kamness and hrutstede, up as far as thrandargil, and a trading-ship beside, now on her voyage." then said hrut to mord, "bear in mind, now, husband, that my brother has praised me much more than i deserve for love's sake; but if after what thou hast heard, thou wilt make the match, i am willing to let thee lay down the terms thyself". mord answered, "i have thought over the terms; she shall have sixty hundreds down, and this sum shall be increased by a third more in thine house, but if ye two have heirs, ye shall go halves in the goods". then said hrut, "i agree to these terms, and now let us take witness". after that they stood up and shook hands, and mord betrothed his daughter unna to hrut, and the bridal feast was to be at mord's house, half a month after midsummer. now both sides ride home from the thing, and hauskuld and hrut ride westward by hallbjorn's beacon. then thiostolf, the son of biorn gullbera of reykiardale, rode to meet them, and told them how a ship had come out from norway to the white river, and how aboard of her was auzur, hrut's father's brother, and he wished hrut to come to him as soon as ever he could. when hrut heard this, he asked hauskuld to go with him to the ship, so hauskuld went with his brother, and when they reached the ship, hrut gave his kinsman auzur a kind and hearty welcome. auzur asked them into his booth to drink, so their horses were unsaddled, and they went in and drank, and while they were drinking, hrut said to auzur, "now, kinsman, thou must ride west with me, and stay with me this winter." "that cannot be, kinsman, for i have to tell thee the death of thy brother eyvind, and he has left thee his heir at the gula thing, and now thy foes will seize thy heritage, unless thou comest to claim it." "what's to be done now, brother?" said hrut to hauskuld, "for this seems a hard matter, coming just as i have fixed my bridal day." "thou must ride south," said hauskuld, "and see mord, and ask him to change the bargain which ye two have made, and to let his daughter sit for thee three winters as thy betrothed, but i will ride home and bring down thy wares to the ship." then said hrut, "my wish is that thou shouldest take meal and timber, and whatever else thou needest out of the lading". so hrut had his horses brought out, and he rode south, while hauskuld rode home west. hrut came east to the rangrivervales to mord, and had a good welcome, and he told mord all his business, and asked his advice what he should do. "how much money is this heritage?" asked mord, and hrut said it would come to a hundred marks, if he got it all. "well," said mord, "that is much when set against what i shall leave behind me, and thou shalt go for it, if thou wilt." after that they broke their bargain, and unna was to sit waiting for hrut three years as his betrothed. now hrut rides back to the ship, and stays by her during the summer, till she was ready to sail, and hauskuld brought down all hrut's wares and money to the ship, and hrut placed all his other property in hauskuld's hands to keep for him while he was away. then hauskuld rode home to his house, and a little while after they got a fair wind and sail away to sea. they were out three weeks, and the first land they made was hern, near bergen, and so sail eastward to the bay. chapter iii. hrut and gunnhillda, kings mother. at that time harold grayfell reigned in norway; he was the son of eric bloodaxe, who was the son of harold fairhair; his mother's name was gunnhillda, a daughter of auzur toti, and they had their abode east, at the king's crag. now the news was spread, how a ship had come thither east into the bay, and as soon as gunnhillda heard of it, she asked what men from iceland were aboard, and they told her hrut was the man's name, auzur's brother's son. then gunnhillda said, "i see plainly that he means to claim his heritage, but there is a man named soti, who has laid his hands on it". after that she called her waiting-man, whose name was augmund, and said-- "i am going to send thee to the bay to find out auzur and hint, and tell them that i ask them both to spend this winter with me. say, too, that i will be their friend, and if hrut will carry out my counsel, i will see after his suit, and anything else he takes in hand, and i will speak a good word, too, for him to the king." after that he set off and found them; and as soon as they knew that he was gunnhillda's servant, they gave him good welcome. he took them aside and told them his errand, and after that they talked over their plans by themselves. then auzur said to hrut-- "methinks, kinsman, here is little need for long talk, our plans are ready made for us; for i know gunnhillda's temper; as soon as ever we say we will not go to her she will drive us out of the land, and take all our goods by force; but if we go to her, then she will do us such honour as she has promised." augmund went home, and when he saw gunnhillda, he told her how his errand had ended, and that they would come, and gunnhillda said-- "it is only what was to be looked for; for hrut is said to be a wise and well-bred man; and now do thou keep a sharp look out, and tell me as soon as ever they come to the town." hrut and auzur went east to the king's crag, and when they reached the town, their kinsmen and friends went out to meet and welcome them. they asked, whether the king were in the town, and they told them he was. after that they met augmund, and he brought them a greeting from gunnhillda, saying, that she could not ask them to her house before they had seen the king, lest men should say, "i make too much of them". still she would do all she could for them, and she went on, "tell hrut to be outspoken before the king, and to ask to be made one of his body-guard"; "and here," said augmund, "is a dress of honour which she sends to thee, hrut, and in it thou must go in before the king". after that he went away. the next day hrut said-- "let us go before the king." "that may well be," answered auzur. so they went, twelve of them together, and all of them friends or kinsmen, and came into the hall where the king sat over his drink. hrut went first and bade the king "good day," and the king, looking steadfastly at the man who was well-dressed, asked him his name. so he told his name. "art thou an icelander?" said the king. he answered, "yes". "what drove thee hither to seek us?" then hrut answered-- "to see your state, lord; and, besides, because i have a great matter of inheritance here in the land, and i shall have need of your help, if i am to get my rights." the king said-- "i have given my word that every man shall have lawful justice here in norway; but hast thou any other errand in seeking me?" "lord!" said hrut, "i wish you to let me live in your court, and become one of your men." at this the king holds his peace, but gunnhillda said-- "it seems to me as if this man offered you the greatest honour, for me thinks if there were many such men in the body-guard, it would be well filled." "is he a wise man?" asked the king. "he is both wise and willing," said she. "well," said the king, "methinks my mother wishes that thou shouldst have the rank for which thou askest, but for the sake of our honour and the custom of the land, come to me in half a month's time, and then thou shalt be made one of my body-guard. meantime, my mother will take care of thee, but then come to me." then gunnhillda said to augmund-- "follow them to my house, and treat them well." so augmund went out, and they went with him, and he brought them to a hall built of stone, which was hung with the most beautiful tapestry, and there too was gunnhillda's high-seat. then augmund said to hrut-- "now will be proved the truth of all that i said to thee from gunnhillda. here is her high-seat, and in it thou shalt sit, and this seat thou shalt hold, though she comes herself into the hall." after that he made them good cheer, and they had sat down but a little while when gunnhillda came in. hrut wished to jump up and greet her. "keep thy seat!" she says, "and keep it too all the time thou art my guest." then she sat herself down by hrut, and they fell to drink, and at even she said-- "thou shalt be in the upper chamber with me to-night, and we two together." "you shall have your way," he answers. after that they went to sleep, and she locked the door inside. so they slept that night, and in the morning fell to drinking again. thus they spent their life all that half-month, and gunnhillda said to the men who were there-- "ye shall lose nothing except your lives if you say to any one a word of how hrut and i are going on." [when the half-month was over] hrut gave her a hundred ells of household woollen and twelve rough cloaks, and gunnhillda thanked him for his gifts. then hrut thanked her and gave her a kiss and went away. she bade him "farewell". and next day he went before the king with thirty men after him and bade the king "good-day". the king said-- "now, hrut, thou wilt wish me to carry out towards thee what i promised." so hrut was made one of the king's body-guard, and he asked, "where shall i sit?" "my mother shall settle that," said the king. then she got him a seat in the highest room, and he spent the winter with the king in much honour. chapter iv. of hrut's cruise. when the spring came he asked about soti, and found out he had gone south to denmark with the inheritance. then hrut went to gunnhillda and tells her what soti had been about. gunnhillda said-- "i will give thee two long-ships, full manned, and along with them the bravest men. wolf the unwashed, our overseer of guests; but still go and see the king before thou settest off." hrut did so; and when he came before the king, then he told the king of soti's doings, and how he had a mind to hold on after him. the king said, "what strength has my mother handed over to thee?" "two long-ships and wolf the unwashed to lead the men," says hrut. "well given," says the king. "now i will give thee other two ships, and even then thou'lt need all the strength thou'st got." after that he went down with hrut to the ship, and said "fare thee well". then hrut sailed away south with his crews. chapter v. atli arnvid son's slaying. there was a man named atli, son of arnvid, earl of east gothland. he had kept back the taxes from hacon athelstane's foster child, and both father and son had fled away from jemtland to gothland. after that, atli held on with his followers out of the mælar by stock sound, and so on towards denmark, and now he lies out in Öresound.[ ] he is an outlaw both of the dane-king and of the swede-king. hrut held on south to the sound, and when he came into it he saw many ships in the sound. then wolf said-- "what's best to be done now, icelander?" "hold on our course," says hrut, "'for nothing venture, nothing have'. my ship and auzur's shall go first, but thou shalt lay thy ship where thou likest." "seldom have i had others as a shield before me," says wolf, and lays his galley side by side with hrut's ship; and so they hold on through the sound. now those who are in the sound see that ships are coming up to them, and they tell atli. he answered, "then maybe there'll be gain to be got". after that men took their stand on board each ship; "but my ship," says atli, "shall be in the midst of the fleet". meantime hrut's ships ran on, and as soon as either side could hear the other's hail, atli stood up and said-- "ye fare unwarily. saw ye not that war-ships were in the sound? but what's the name of your chief?" hrut tells his name. "whose man art thou?" says atli. "one of king harold grayfell's body-guard." atli said, "'tis long since any love was lost between us, father and son, and your norway kings". "worse luck for thee," says hrut. "well," says atli, "the upshot of our meeting will be, that thou shalt not be left alive to tell the tale;" and with that he caught up a spear and hurled it at hrut's ship, and the man who stood before it got his death. after that the battle began, and they were slow in boarding hrut's ship. wolf, he went well forward, and with him it was now cut, now thrust. atli's bowman's name was asolf; he sprung up on hrut's ship, and was four men's death before hrut was ware of him; then he turned against him, and when they met, asolf thrust at and through hrut's shield, but hrut cut once at asolf, and that was his death-blow. wolf the unwashed saw that stroke, and called out-- "truth to say, hrut, thou dealest big blows, but thou'st much to thank gunnhillda for." "something tells me," says hrut, "that thou speakest with a 'fey' mouth." now atli sees a bare place for a weapon on wolf, and shot a spear through him, and now the battle grows hot: atli leaps up on hrut's ship, and clears it fast round about, and now auzur turns to meet him, and thrust at him, but fell down full length on his back, for another man thrust at him. now hrut turns to meet atli: he cut at once at hrut's shield, and clove it all in two, from top to point; just then atli got a blow on his hand from a stone, and down fell his sword. hrut caught up the sword, and cut his foot from under him. after that he dealt him his death-blow. there they took much goods, and brought away with them two ships which were best, and stayed there only a little while. but meantime soti and his crew had sailed past them, and he held on his course back to norway, and made the land at limgard's side. there soti went on shore, and there he met augmund, gunnhillda's page; he knew him at once, and asks-- "how long meanest thou to be here?" "three nights," says soti. "whither away, then?" says augmund. "west, to england," says soti, "and never to come back again to norway while gunnhillda's rule is in norway." augmund went away, and goes and finds gunnhillda, for she was a little way off at a feast, and gudred, her son, with her. augmund told gunnhillda what soti meant to do, and she begged gudred to take his life. so gudred set off at once, and came unawares on soti, and made them lead up the country, and hang him there. but the goods he took, and brought them to his mother, and she got men to carry them all down to the king's crag, and after that she went thither herself. hrut came back towards autumn, and had gotten great store of goods. he went at once to the king, and had a hearty welcome. he begged them to take whatever they pleased of his goods, and the king took a third. gunnhillda told hrut how she had got hold of the inheritance, and had soti slain. he thanked her, and gave her half of all he had. chapter vi. hrut sails out to iceland. hrut stayed with the king that winter in good cheer, but when spring came he grew very silent. gunnhillda finds that out, and said to him when they two were alone together-- "art thou sick at heart?" "so it is," said hrut, "as the saying runs--'ill goes it with those who are born on a barren land'." "wilt thou to iceland?" she asks. "yes," he answered. "hast thou a wife out there?" she asked; and he answers, "no". "but i am sure that is true," she says; and so they ceased talking about the matter. [shortly after] hrut went before the king and bade him "good day"; and the king said, "what dost thou want now, hrut?" "i am come to ask, lord, that you give me leave to go to iceland." "will thine honour be greater there than here?" asks the king. "no, it will not," said hrut; "but every one must win the work that is set before him." "it is pulling a rope against a strong man," said gunnhillda, "so give him leave to go as best suits him." there was a bad harvest that year in the land, yet gunnhillda gave hrut as much meal as he chose to have; and now he busks him to sail out to iceland, and auzur with him; and when they were all-boun, hrut went to find the king and gunnhillda. she led him aside to talk alone, and said to him-- "here is a gold ring which i will give thee;" and with that she clasped it round his wrist. "many good gifts have i had from thee," said hrut. then she put her hands round his neck and kissed him, and said-- "if i have as much power over thee as i think, i lay this spell on thee that thou mayest never have any pleasure in living with that woman on whom thy heart is set in iceland, but with other women thou mayest get on well enough, and now it is like to go well with neither of us;--but thou hast not believed what i have been saying." hrut laughed when he heard that, and went away; after that he came before the king and thanked him; and the king spoke kindly to him, and bade him "farewell". hrut went straight to his ship, and they had a fair wind all the way until they ran into borgarfirth. as soon as the ship was made fest to the land, hrut rode west home, but auzur stayed by the ship to unload her, and lay her up. hrut rode straight to hauskuldstede, and hauskuld gave him a hearty welcome, and hrut told him all about his travels. after that they sent men east across the rivers to tell fiddle mord to make ready for the bridal feast; but the two brothers rode to the ship, and on the way hauskuld told hrut how his money matters stood, and his goods had gained much since he was away. then hrut said-- "the reward is less worth than it ought to be, but i will give thee as much meal as thou needst for thy household next winter." then they drew the ship on land on rollers, and made her snug in her shed, but all the wares on board her they carried away into the dales westward. hrut stayed at home at hrutstede till winter was six weeks off, and then the brothers made ready, and auzur with them, to ride to hrut's wedding. sixty men ride with them, and they rode east till they came to rangriver plains. there they found a crowd of guests, and the men took their seats on benches down the length of the hall, but the women were seated on the cross benches on the dais, and the bride was rather downcast. so they drank out the feast and it went off well. mord pays down his daughter's portion, and she rides west with her husband and his train. so they ride till they reach home. hrut gave over everything into her hands inside the house, and all were pleased at that; but for all that she and hrut did not pull well together as man and wife, and so things went on till spring, and when spring came hrut had a journey to make to the westfirths, to get in the money for which he had sold his wares; but before he set off his wife says to him-- "dost thou mean to be back before men ride to the thing?" "why dost thou ask?" said hrut. "i will ride to the thing," she said, "to meet my father." "so it shall be," said he, "and i will ride to the thing along with thee." "well and good," she says. after that hrut rode from home west to the firths, got in all his money, and laid it out anew, and rode home again. when he came home he busked him to ride to the thing, and made all his neighbours ride with him. his brother hauskuld rode among the rest. then hrut said to his wife-- "if thou hast as much mind now to go to the thing as thou saidst a while ago, busk thyself and ride along with me." she was not slow in getting herself ready, and then they all rode to the thing. unna went to her father's booth, and he gave her a hearty welcome, but she seemed somewhat heavy-hearted, and when he saw that he said to her-- "i have seen thee with a merrier face. hast thou anything on thy mind?" she began to weep, and answered nothing. then he said to her again, "why dost thou ride to the thing, if thou wilt not tell me thy secret? dost thou dislike living away there in the west?" then she answered him-- "i would give all i own in the world that i had never gone thither." "well!" said mord, "i'll soon get to the bottom of this." then he sends men to fetch hauskuld and hrut, and they came straightway; and when they came in to see mord, he rose up to meet them and gave them a hearty welcome, and asked them to sit down. then they talked a long time in a friendly way, and at last mord said to hauskuld-- "why does my daughter think so ill of life in the west yonder?" "let her speak out," said hrut, "if she has anything to lay to my charge." but she brought no charge against him. then hrut made them ask his neighbours and household how he treated her, and all bore him good witness, saying that she did just as she pleased in the house. then mord said, "home thou shalt go, and be content with thy lot; for all the witness goes better for him than for thee". after that hrut rode home from the thing, and his wife with him, and all went smoothly between them that summer; but when spring came it was the old story over again, and things grew worse and worse as the spring went on. hrut had again a journey to make west to the firths, and gave out that he would not ride to the althing, but unna his wife said little about it. so hrut went away west to the firths. chapter vii. unna separates from hrut. now the time for the thing was coming on, unna spoke to sigmund auzur's son, and asked if he would ride to the thing with her; he said he could not ride if his kinsman hrut set his face against it. "well!" says she, "i spoke to thee because i have better right to ask this from thee than from any one else." he answered, "i will make a bargain with thee: thou must promise to ride back west with me, and to have no underhand dealings against hrut or myself". so she promised that, and then they rode to the thing. her father mord was at the thing, and was very glad to see her, and asked her to stay in his booth white the thing lasted, and she did so. "now," said mord, "what hast thou to tell me of thy mate, hrut?" then she sung him a song, in which she praised hrut's liberality, but said he was not master of himself. she herself was ashamed to speak out. mord was silent a short time, and then said-- "thou hast now that on thy mind i see, daughter, which thou dost not wish that any one should know save myself, and thou wilt trust to me rather than any one else to help thee out of thy trouble." then they went aside to talk, to a place where none could overhear what they said; and then mord said to his daughter-- "now tell me all that is between you two, and don't make more of the matter than it is worth." "so it shall be," she answered, and sang two songs, in which she revealed the cause of their misunderstanding; and when mord pressed her to speak out, she told him how she and hrut could not live together, because he was spell-bound, and that she wished to leave him. "thou didst right to tell me all this," said mord, "and now i will give thee a piece of advice, which will stand thee in good stead, if thou canst carry it out to the letter. first of all, thou must ride home from the thing, and by that time thy husband will have come back, and will be glad to see thee; thou must he blithe and buxom to him, and he will think a good change has come over thee, and thou must show no signs of coldness or ill-temper, but when spring comes thou must sham sickness, and take to thy bed. hrut will not lose time in guessing what thy sickness can be, nor will he scold thee at all, but he will rather beg every one to take all the care they can of thee. after that he will set off west to the firths, and sigmund with him, for he will have to flit all his goods home from the firths west, and he will be away till the summer is far spent. but when men ride to the thing, and after all have ridden from the dales that mean to ride thither, then thou must rise from thy bed and summon men to go along with thee to the thing; and when thou art all-boun, then shalt thou go to thy bed, and the men with thee who are to bear thee company, and thou shalt take witness before thy husband's bed, and declare thyself separated from him by such a lawful separation as may hold good according to the judgment of the great thing, and the laws of the land; and at the man's door [the main door of the house] thou shalt take the same witness. after that ride away, and ride over laxriverdale heath, and so on over holtbeacon heath; for they will look for thee by way of hrutfirth. and so ride on till thou comest to me; then i will see after the matter. but into his hands thou shalt never come more." now she rides home from the thing, and hrut had come back before her, and made her hearty welcome. she answered him kindly, and was blithe and forbearing towards him. so they lived happily together that half-year; but when spring came she fell sick, and kept her bed. hrut set off west to the firths, and bade them tend her well before he went. now, when the time for the thing comes, she busked herself to ride away, and did in every way as had been laid down for her; and then she rides away to the thing. the country folk looked for her, but could not find her. mord made his daughter welcome, and asked her if she had followed his advice; and she says, "i have not broken one tittle of it". then she went to the hill of laws, and declared herself separated from hrut; and men thought this strange news. unna went home with her father, and never went west from that day forward. chapter viii. mord claims his goods from hrut. hrut came home, and knit his brows when he heard his wife was gone, but yet kept his feelings well in hand, and stayed at home all that half-year, and spoke to no one on the matter. next summer he rode to the thing, with his brother hauskuld, and they had a great following. but when he came to the thing, he asked whether fiddle mord were at the thing, and they told him he was; and all thought they would come to words at once about their matter, but it was not so. at last, one day when the brothers and others who were at the thing went to the hill of laws, mord took witness and declared that he had a money-suit against hrut for his daughter's dower, and reckoned the amount at ninety hundreds in goods, calling on hrut at the same time to pay and hand it over to him, and asking for a fine of three marks. he laid the suit in the quarter court, into which it would come by law, and gave lawful notice, so that all who stood on the hill of laws might hear. but when he had thus spoken, hrut said-- "thou hast undertaken this suit, which belongs to thy daughter, rather for the greed of gain and love of strife than in kindliness and manliness. but i shall have something to say against it; for the goods which belong to me are not yet in thy hands. now, what i have to say is this, and i say it out, so that all who hear me on this hill may bear witness: i challenge thee to fight on the island; there on one side shall be laid all thy daughter's dower, and on the other i will lay down goods worth as much, and whoever wins the day shall have both dower and goods; but if thou wilt not fight with me, then thou shalt give up all claim to these goods." then mord held his peace, and took counsel with his friends about going to fight on the island, and jorund the priest gave him an answer. "there is no need for thee to come to ask us for counsel in this matter, for thou knowest if thou fightest with hrut thou wilt lose both life and goods. he has a good cause, and is besides mighty in himself and one of the boldest of men." then mord spoke out, that he would not fight with hrut, and there arose a great shout and hooting on the hill, and mord got the greatest shame by his suit. after that men ride home from the thing, and those brothers hauskuld and hrut ride west to reykiardale, and turned in as guests at lund, where thiostolf, biorn gullbera's son, then dwelt. there had been much rain that day, and men got wet, so long-fires were made down the length of the hall. thiostolf, the master of the house, sat between hauskuld and hrut, and two boys, of whom thiostolf had the rearing, were playing on the floor, and a girl was playing with them. they were great chatterboxes, for they were too young to know better. so one of them said-- "now, i will be mord, and summon thee to lose thy wife because thou hast not been a good husband to her." then the other answered-- "i will be hrut, and i call on thee to give up all claim to thy goods, if thou darest not to fight with me." this they said several times, and all the household burst out laughing. then hauskuld got wroth, and struck the boy who called himself mord with a switch, and the blow fell on his face, and graced the skin. "get out with thee," said hauskuld to the boy, "and make no game of us;" but hrut said, "come hither to me," and the boy did so. then hrut drew a ring from his finger and gave it to him, and said-- "go away, and try no man's temper henceforth." then the boy went away saying-- "thy manliness i will bear in mind all my life." from this matter hrut got great praise, and after that they went home; and that was the end of mord's and hrut's quarrel. chapter ix. thorwald gets hallgerda to wife. now, it must be told how hallgerda, hauskuld's daughter, grows up, and is the fairest of women to look on; she was tall of stature, too, and therefore she was called "longcoat". she was fair-haired, and had so much of it that she could hide herself in it; but she was lavish and hard-hearted. her foster-father's name was thiostolf; he was a south islander[ ] by stock; he was a strong man, well skilled in arms, and had slain many men, and made no atonement in money for one of them. it was said, too, that his rearing had not bettered hallgerda's temper. there was a man named thorwald; he was oswif's son, and dwelt out on middlefells strand, under the fell. he was rich and well to do, and owned the islands called bear-isles, which lie out in broadfirth, whence he got meal and stock fish. this thorwald was a strong and courteous man, though somewhat hasty in temper. now, it fell out one day that thorwald and his father were talking together of thorwald's marrying, and where he had best look for a wife, and it soon came out that he thought there wasn't a match fit for him far or near. "well," said oswif, "wilt thou ask for hallgerda longcoat, hauskuld's daughter?" "yes! i will ask for her," said thorwald. "but that is not a match that will suit either of you," oswif went on to say, "for she has a will of her own, and thou art stern-tempered and unyielding." "for all that i will try my luck there," said thorwald, "so it's no good trying to hinder me." "ay!" said oswif, "and the risk is all thine own." after that they set off on a wooing journey to hauskuldstede, and had a hearty welcome. they were not long in telling hauskuld their business, and began to woo; then hauskuld answered-- "as for you, i know how you both stand in the world, but for my own part i will use no guile towards you. my daughter has a hard temper, but as to her looks and breeding you can both see for yourselves." "lay down the terms of the match," answered thorwald, "for i will not let her temper stand in the way of our bargain." then they talked over the terms of the bargain, and hauskuld never asked his daughter what she thought of it, for his heart was set on giving her away, and so they came to an understanding as to the terms of the match. after that thorwald betrothed himself to hallgerda, and rode away home when the matter was settled. chapter x. hallgerda's wedding. hauskuld told hallgerda of the bargain he had made, and she said-- "now that has been put to the proof which i have all along been afraid of, that thou lovest me not so much as thou art always saying, when thou hast not thought it worth while to tell me a word of all this matter. besides, i do not think the match as good a one as thou hast always promised me." so she went on, and let them know in every way that she thought she was thrown away. then hauskuld said-- "i do not set so much store by thy pride as to let it stand in the way of my bargains; and my will, not thine, shall carry the day if we fell out on any point." "the pride of all you kinsfolk is great," she said, "and so it is not wonderful if i have some of it." with that she went away, and found her foster-father thiostolf, and told him what was in store for her, and was very heavy-hearted. then thiostolf said-- "be of good cheer, for thou wilt be married a second time, and then they will ask thee what thou thinkest of the match; for i will do in all things as thou wishest, except in what touches thy father or hrut." after that they spoke no more of the matter, and hauskuld made ready the bridal feast, and rode off to ask men to it. so he came to hrutstede and called hrut out to speak with him. hrut went out, and they began to talk, and hauskuld told him the whole story of the bargain, and bade him to the feast, saying-- "i should be glad to know that thou dost not feel hurt though i did not tell thee when the bargain was being made." "i should be better pleased," said hrut, "to have nothing at all to do with it; for this match will bring luck neither to him nor to her; but still i will come to the feast if thou thinkest it will add any honour to thee." "of course i think so," said hauskuld, and rode off home. oswif and thorwald also asked men to come, so that no fewer than one hundred guests were asked. there was a man named swan, who dwelt in bearfirth, which lies north from steingrimsfirth. this swan was a great wizard, and he was hallgerda's mother's brother. he was quarrelsome, and hard to deal with, but hallgerda asked him to the feast, and sends thiostolf to him; so he went, and it soon got to friendship between him and swan. now men come to the feast, and hallgerda sat upon the cross-bench, and she was a very merry bride. thiostolf was always talking to her, though he sometimes found time to speak to swan, and men thought their talking strange. the feast went off well, and hauskuld paid down hallgerda's portion with the greatest readiness. after he had done that, he said to hrut-- "shall i bring out any gifts beside?" "the day will come," answered hrut, "when thou wilt have to waste thy goods for hallgerda's sake, so hold thy hand now." chapter xi. thorwald's slaying. thorwald rode home from the bridal feast, and his wife with him, and thiostolf, who rode by her horse's side, and still talked to her in a low voice. oswif turned to his son and said-- "art thou pleased with thy match? and how went it when ye talked together?" "well," said he, "she showed all kindness to me. thou mightst see that by the way she laughs at every word i say." "i don't think her laughter so hearty as thou dost," answered oswif, "but this will be put to the proof by and by." so they ride on till they come home, and at night she took her seat by her husband's side, and made room for thiostolf next herself on the inside. thiostolf and thorwald had little to do with each other, and few words were thrown away between them that winter, and so time went on. hallgerda was prodigal and grasping, and there was nothing that any of their neighbours had that she must not have too, and all that she had, no matter whether it were her own or belonged to others, she waited. but when the spring came there was a scarcity in the house, both of meal and stock fish, so hallgerda went up to thorwald and said-- "thou must not be sitting indoors any longer, for we want for the house both meal and fish." "well," said thorwald, "i did not lay in less for the house this year than i laid in before, and then it used to last till summer." "what care i," said hallgerda, "if thou and thy father have made your money by starving yourselves." then thorwald got angry and gave her a blow on the face and drew blood, and went away and called his men and ran the skiff down to the shore. then six of them jumped into her and rowed out to the bear-isles, and began to load her with meal and fish. meantime it is said that hallgerda sat out of doors heavy at heart. thiostolf went up to her and saw the wound on her face, and said-- "who has been playing thee this sorry trick?" "my husband thorwald," she said, "and thou stoodst aloof, though thou wouldst not if thou hadst cared at all for me." "because i knew nothing about it," said thiostolf, "but i will avenge it." then he went away down to the shore and ran out a six-oared boat, and held in his hand a great axe that he had with a haft overlaid with iron. he steps into the boat and rows out to the bear-isles, and when he got there all the men had rowed away but thorwald and his followers, and he stayed by the skiff to load her, while they brought the goods down to him. so thiostolf came up just then and jumped into the skiff and began to load with him, and after a while he said-- "thou canst do but little at this work, and that little thou dost badly." "thinkest thou thou canst do it better?" said thorwald. "there's one thing to be done which i can do better than thou," said thiostolf, and then he went on-- "the woman who is thy wife has made a bad match, and you shall not live much longer together." then thorwald snatched up a fishing-knife that lay by him, and made a stab at thiostolf; he had lifted his axe to his shoulder and dashed it down. it came on thorwald's arm and crushed the wrist, but down fell the knife. then thiostolf lifted up his axe a second time and gave thorwald a blow on the head, and he fell dead on the spot. chapter xii. thiostolf's flight. while this was going on, thorwald's men came down with their load, but thiostolf was not slow in his plans. he hewed with both hands at the gunwale of the skiff and cut it down about two planks; then he leapt into his boat, but the dark blue sea poured into the skiff, and down she went with all her freight. down too sank thorwald's body, so that his men could not see what had been done to him, but they knew well enough that he was dead, thiostolf rowed away up the firth, but they shouted after him wishing him ill luck. he made them no answer, but rowed on till he got home, and ran the boat up on the beach, and went up to the house with his axe, all bloody as it was, on his shoulder. hallgerda stood out of doors, and said-- "thine axe is bloody; what hast thou done?" "i have done now what will cause thee to be wedded a second time." "thou tellest me then that thorwald is dead?" she said. "so it is," said he, "and now look out for my safety." "so i will," she said; "i will send thee north to bearfirth, to swanshol, and swan, my kinsman, will receive thee with open arms. he is so mighty a man that no one will seek thee thither." so he saddled a horse that she had, and jumped on his back, and rode off north to bearfirth, to swanshol, and swan received him with open arms, and said-- "that's what i call a man who does not stick at trifles! and now i promise thee if they seek thee here, they shall get nothing but the greatest shame." now, the story goes back to hallgerda, and how she behaved. she called on liot the black, her kinsman, to go with her, and bade him saddle their horses, for she said--"i will ride home to my father". while he made ready for their journey, she went to her chests and unlocked them, and called all the men of her house about her, and gave each of them some gift; but they all grieved at her going. now she rides home to her father; and he received her well, for as yet he had not heard the news. but hrut said to hallgerda-- "why did not thorwald come with thee?" and she answered-- "he is dead." then said hauskuld-- "that was thiostolf's doing?" "it was," she said. "ah!" said hauskuld, "hrut was not for wrong when he told me that this bargain would draw mickle misfortune after it. but there's no good in troubling one's self about a thing that's done and gone." now the story must go back to thorwald's mates, how there they ate, and how they begged the loan of a boat to get to the mainland. so a boat was lent them at once, and they rowed up the firth to reykianess, and found oswif, and told him these tidings. he said, "ill luck is the end of ill redes, and now i see how it has all gone. hallgerda must have sent thiostolf to bearfirth, but she herself must have ridden home to her father. let us now gather folk and follow him up thither north." so they did that, and went about asking for help, and got together many men. and then they all rode off to steingrims river, and so on to liotriverdale and selriverdale, till they came to bearfirth. now swan began to speak, and gasped much. "now oswif's fetches are seeking us out." then up sprung thiostolf, but swan said, "go thou out with me, there won't be need of much". so they went out both of them, and swan took a goatskin and wrapped it about his own head, and said, "become mist and fog, become fright and wonder mickle to all those who seek thee". now, it must be told how oswif, his friends, and his men are riding along the ridge; then came a great mist against them, and oswif said, "this is swan's doing; 'twere well if nothing worse followed". a little after a mighty darkness came before their eyes, so that they could see nothing, and then they fell off their horses' backs, and lost their horses, and dropped their weapons, and went over head and ears into bogs, and some went astray into the wood, till they were on the brink of bodily harm. then oswif said, "if i could only find my horse and weapons, then i'd turn back"; and he had scarce spoken these words than they saw somewhat, and found their horses and weapons. then many still egged the others on to look after the chase once more; and so they did, and at once the same wonders befell them, and so they fared thrice. then oswif said, "though the course be not good, let us still turn back. now, we will take counsel a second time, and what now pleases my mind best, is to go and find hauskuld, and ask atonement for my son; for there's hope of honour where there's good store of it." so they rode thence to the broadfirth dales, and there is nothing to be told about them till they come to hauskuldstede, and hrut was there before them. oswif called out hauskuld and hrut, and they both went out and bade him good-day. after that they began to talk. hauskuld asked oswif whence he came. he said he had set out to search for thiostolf, but couldn't find him. hauskuld said he must have gone north to swanshol, "and thither it is not every man's lot to go to find him". "well," says oswif, "i am come hither for this, to ask atonement for my son from thee." hauskuld answered--"i did not slay thy son, nor did i plot his death; still it may be forgiven thee to look for atonement somewhere". "nose is next of kin, brother, to eyes," said hrut, "and it is needful to stop all evil tongues, and to make him atonement for his son, and so mend thy daughter's state, for that will only be the case when this suit is dropped, and the less that is said about it the better it will be." hauskuld said--"wilt thou undertake the award?" "that i will," says hrut, "nor will i shield thee at all in my award; for if the truth must be told thy daughter planned his death." then hrut held his peace some little while, and afterwards he stood up, and said to oswif--"take now my hand in handsel as a token that thou lettest the suit drop". so oswif stood up and said--"this is not an atonement on equal terms when thy brother utters the award, but still thou (speaking to hrut) hast behaved so well about it that i trust thee thoroughly to make it" then he stood up and took hauskuld's hand, and came to an atonement in the matter, on the understanding that hrut was to make up his mind and utter the award before oswif went away. after that, hrut made his award, and said--"for the slaying of thorwald i award two hundred in silver"--that was then thought a good price for a man--"and thou shalt pay it down at once, brother, and pay it too with an open hand". hauskuld did so, and then hrut said to oswif--"i will give thee a good cloak which i brought with me from foreign lands". he thanked him for his gift, and went home well pleased at the way in which things had gone. after that hauskuld and hrut came to oswif to share the goods, and they and oswif came to a good agreement about that too, and they went home with their share of the goods, and oswif is now out of our story. hallgerda begged hauskuld to let her come back home to him, and he gave her leave, and for a long time there was much talk about thorwald's slaying. as for hallgerda'a goods they went on growing till they were worth a great sum. chapter xiii. glum's wooing. now three brothers are named in the story. one was called thorarin, the second ragi, and the third glum. they were the sons of olof the halt, and were men of much worth and of great wealth in goods. thorarin's surname was ragi's brother; he had the speakership of the law after rafn heing's son. he was a very wise man, and lived at varmalek, and he and glum kept house together. glum had been long abroad; he was a tall, strong, handsome man. ragi their brother was a great man-slayer. those brothers owned in the south engey and laugarness. one day the brothers thorarin and glum were talking together, and thorarin asked glum whether he meant to go abroad, as was his wont. he answered--"i was rather thinking now of leaving off trading voyages". "what hast thou then in thy mind? wilt thou woo thee a wife?" "that i will," says he, "if i could only get myself well matched." then thorarin told off all the women who were unwedded in borgarfirth, and asked him if he would have any of these--"say the word, and i will ride with thee!" but glum answered--"i will have none of these". "say then the name of her thou wishest to have," says thorarin. glum answered--"if thou must know, her name is hallgerda, and she is hauskuld's daughter away west in the dales". "well," says thorarin, "'tis not with thee as the saw says, 'be warned by another's woe'; for she was wedded to a man, and she plotted his death." glum said--"may be such ill-luck will not befall her a second time, and sure i am she will not plot my death. but now, if thou wilt show me any honour, ride along with me to woo her." thorarin said--"there's no good striving against it, for what must be is sure to happen". glum often talked the matter over with thorarin, but he put it off a long time. at last it came about that they gathered men together and rode off ten in company, west to the dales, and came to hauskuldstede. hauskuld gave them a hearty welcome, and they stayed there that night. but early next morning, hauskuld sends hrut, and he came thither at once; and hauskuld was out of doors when he rode into the "town". then hauskuld told hrut what men had come thither. "what may it be they want?" asked hrut "as yet," says hauskuld, "they have not let out to me that they have any business." "still," says hrut, "their business must be with thee. they will ask the hand of thy daughter, hallgerda. if they do, what answer wilt thou make?" "what dost thou advise me to say?" says hauskuld. "thou shalt answer well," says hrut; "but still make a clean breast of all the good and all the ill thou knowest of the woman." but while the brothers were talking thus, out came the guests. hauskuld greeted them well, and hrut bade both thorarin and his brothers good morning. after that they all began to talk, and thorarin said-- "i am come hither, hauskuld, with my brother glum on this errand, to ask for hallgerda thy daughter, at the hand of my brother glum. thou must know that he is a man of worth." "i know well," says hauskuld, "that ye are both of you powerful and worthy men; but i must tell you right out, that i chose a husband for her before, and that turned out most unluckily for us." thorarin answered--"we will not let that stand in the way of the bargain; for one oath shall not become all oaths, and this may prove to be a good match, though that turned out ill; besides thiostolf had most hand in spoiling it". then hrut spoke: "now i will give you a bit of advice--this: if ye will not let all this that has already happened to hallgerda stand in the way of the match, mind you do not let thiostolf go south with her if the match comes off, and that he is never there longer than three nights at a time, unless glum gives him leave, but fall an outlaw by glum's hand without atonement if he stay there longer. of course, it shall be in glum's power to give him leave; but he will not if he takes my advice. and now this match, shall not be fulfilled, as the other was, without hallgerda's knowledge. she shall now know the whole course of this bargain, and see glum, and herself settle whether she will have him or not; and then she will not be able to lay the blame on others if it does not turn out well. and all this shall be without craft or guile." then thorarin said--"now, as always, it will prove best if thy advice be taken". then they sent for hallgerda, and she came thither, and two women with her. she had on a cloak of rich blue wool, and under it a scarlet kirtle, and a silver girdle round her waist, but her hair came down on both sides of her bosom, and she had turned the locks up under her girdle. she sat down between hrut and her father, and she greeted them all with kind words, and spoke well and boldly, and asked what was the news. after that she ceased speaking. then glum said--"there has been some talk between thy father and my brother thorarin and myself about a bargain. it was that i might get thee, hallgerda, if it be thy will, as it is theirs; and now, if thou art a brave woman, thou wilt say right out whether the match is at all to thy mind; but if thou hast anything in thy heart against this bargain with us, then we will not say anything more about it." hallgerda said--"i know well that you are men of worth and might, ye brothers. i know too that now i shall be much better wedded than i was before; but what i want to know is, what you have said already about the match, and how far you have given your words in the matter. but so far as i now see of thee, i think i might love thee well if we can but hit it off as to temper." so glum himself told her all about the bargain, and left nothing out, and then he asked hauskuld and hrut whether he had repeated it right. hauskuld said he had; and then hallgerda said--"ye have dealt so well with me in this matter, my father and hrut, that i will do what ye advise, and this bargain shall be struck as ye have settled it". then hrut said--"methinks it were best that hauskuld and i should name witnesses, and that hallgerda should betroth herself, if the lawman thinks that right and lawful". "right and lawful it is," says thorarin. after that hallgerda's goods were valued, and glum was to lay down as much against them, and they were to go shares, half and half, in the whole. then glum bound himself to hallgerda as his betrothed, and they rode away home south; but hauskuld was to keep the wedding-feast at his house. and now all is quiet till men ride to the wedding. chapter xiv. glum's wedding. those brothers gathered together a great company, and they were all picked men. they rode west to the dales and came to hauskuldstede, and there they found a great gathering to meet them. hauskuld and hrut, and their friends, filled one bench, and the bridegroom the other. hallgerda sat upon the cross-bench on the dais, and behaved well. thiostolf went about with his axe raised in air, and no one seemed to know that he was there, and so the wedding went off well. but when the feast was over, hallgerda went away south with glum and his brothers. so when they came south to varmalek, thorarin asked hallgerda if she would undertake the housekeeping, "no, i will not," she said. hallgerda kept her temper down that winter, and they liked her well enough. but when the spring came, the brothers talked about their property, and thorarin said--"i will give up to you the house at varmalek, for that is readiest to your hand, and i will go down south to laugarness and live there, but engey we will have both of us in common". glum was willing enough to do that. so thorarin went down to the south of that district, and glum and his wife stayed behind there, and lived in the house at varmalek. now hallgerda got a household about her; she was prodigal in giving, and grasping in getting. in the summer she gave birth to a girl. glum asked her what name it was to have. "she shall be called after my father's mother, and her name shall be thorgerda," for she came down from sigurd fafnir's-bane on the father's side, according to the family pedigree. so the maiden was sprinkled with water, and had this name given her, and there she grew up, and got like her mother in looks and feature. glum and hallgerda agreed well together, and so it went on for a while. about that time these tidings were heard from the north and bearfirth, how swan had rowed out to fish in the spring, and a great storm came down on him from the east, and how he was driven ashore at fishless, and he and his men were there lost. but the fishermen who were at kalback thought they saw swan go into the fell at kalbackshorn, and that he was greeted well; but some spoke against that story, and said there was nothing in it. but this all knew that he was never seen again either alive or dead. so when hallgerda heard that, she thought she had a great loss in her mother's brother. glum begged thorarin to change lands with him, but he said he would not; "but," said he, "if i outlive you, i mean to have varmalek to myself". when glum told this to hallgerda, she said, "thorarin has indeed a right to expect this from us". chapter xv. thiostolf goes to glum's house. thiostolf had beaten one of hauskuld's house-carles, so he drove him away. he took his horse and weapons, and said to hauskuld-- "now, i will go away and never come back." "all will be glad at that," says hauskuld. thiostolf rode till he came to varmalek, and there he got a hearty welcome from hallgerda, and not a bad one from glum. he told hallgerda how her father had driven him away, and begged her to give him her help and countenance. she answered him by telling him she could say nothing about his staying there before she had seen glum about it. "does it go well between you?" he says. "yes," she says, "our love runs smooth enough." after that she went to speak to glum, and threw her arms round his neck and said-- "wilt thou grant me a boon which i wish to ask of thee?" "grant it i will," he says, "if it be right and seemly; but what is it thou wishest to ask?" "well," she said, "thiostolf has been driven away from the west, and what i want thee to do is to let him stay here; but i will not take it crossly if it is not to thy mind." glum said--"now that thou behavest so well, i will grant thee thy boon; but i tell thee, if he takes to any ill he shall be sent off at once". she goes then to thiostolf and tells him, and he answered-- "now, thou art still good, as i had hoped." after that he was there, and kept himself down a little white, but then it was the old story, he seemed to spoil all the good he found; for he gave way to no one save to hallgerda alone, but she never took his side in his brawls with others. thorarin, glum's brother, blamed him for letting him be there, and said ill luck would come of it, and all would happen as had happened before if he were there. glum answered him well and kindly, but still kept on in his own way. chapter xvi. glum's sheep hunt. now once on a time when autumn came, it happened that men had hard work to get their flocks home, and many of glum's wethers were missing. then glum said to thiostolf-- "go thou up on the fell with my house-carles and see if ye cannot find out anything about the sheep." "'tis no business of mine," says thiostolf, "to hunt up sheep, and this one thing is quite enough to hinder it. i won't walk in thy thralls' footsteps. but go thyself, and then i'll go with thee." about this they had many words. the weather was good, and hallgerda was sitting out of doors. glum went up to her and said-- "now thiostolf and i have had a quarrel, and we shall not live much longer together." and so he told her all that they had been talking about. then hallgerda spoke up for thiostolf, and they had many words about him. at last glum gave her a blow with his hand, and said-- "i will strive no longer with thee," and with that he went away. now she loved him much, and could not calm herself, but wept out loud. thiostolf went up to her and said-- "this is sorry sport for thee, and so it must not be often again." "nay," she said, "but thou shalt not avenge this, nor meddle at all whatever passes between glum and me." he went off with a spiteful grin. chapter xvii. glum's slaying. now glum called men to follow him, and thiostolf got ready and went with them. so they went up south reykiardale and then up along by baugagil and so south to crossfell. but some of his band he sent to the sulafells, and they all found very many sheep. some of them, too, went by way of scoradale, and it came about at last that those twain, glum and thiostolf, were left alone together. they went south from crossfell and found there a flock of wild sheep, and they went from the south towards the fell, and tried to drive them down; but still the sheep got away from them up on the fell. then each began to scold the other, and thiostolf said at last that glum had no strength save to tumble about in hallgerda's arms. then glum said-- "'a man's foes are those of his own house.' shall i take upbraiding from thee, runaway thrall as thou art?" thiostolf said-- "thou shalt soon have to own that i am no thrall, for i will not yield an inch to thee." then glum got angry, and cut at him with his hand-axe, but he threw his axe in the way, and the blow fell on the haft with a downward stroke and bit into it about the breadth of two fingers. thiostolf cut at him at once with his axe, and smote him on the shoulder, and the stroke hewed asunder the shoulderbone and collarbone, and the wound bled inwards. glum grasped at thiostolf with his left hand so fast that he fell; but glum could not hold him, for death came over him. then thiostolf covered his body with stones, and took off his gold ring. then he went straight to varmalek. hallgerda was sitting out of doors, and saw that his axe was bloody. he said-- "i know not what thou wilt think of it, but i tell thee glum is slain." "that must be thy deed?" she says. "so it is," he says. she laughed and said-- "thou dost not stand for nothing in this sport." "what thinkest thou is best to be done now?" he asked. "go to hrut, my father's brother," she said, "and let him see about thee." "i do not know," says thiostolf, "whether this is good advice; but still i will take thy counsel in this matter." so he took his horse, and rode west to hrutstede that night. he binds his horse at the back of the house, and then goes round to the door, and gives a great knock. after that he walks round the house, north about. it happened that hrut was awake. he sprang up at once, and put on his jerkin and pulled on his shoes. then he took up his sword, and wrapped a cloak about his left arm, up as far as the elbow. men woke up just as he went out; there he saw a tall stout man at the back of the house, and knew it was thiostolf. hrut asked him what news. "i tell thee glum is slain," says thiostolf. "who did the deed?" says hrut. "i slew him," says thiostolf. "why rodest thou hither?" says hrut. "hallgerda sent me to thee," says thiostolf. "then she has no hand in this deed," says hrut, and drew his sword. thiostolf saw that, and would not be behind hand, so he cuts at hrut at once. hrut got out of the way of the stroke by a quick turn, and at the same time struck the back of the axe so smartly with a side-long blow of his left hand, that it flew out of thiostolf's grasp. then hrut made a blow with the sword in his right hand at thiostolf's leg, just above the knee, and cut it almost off so that it hung by a little piece, and sprang in upon him at the same time, and thrust him hard back. after that he smote him on the head, and dealt him his death-blow. thiostolf fell down on his back at full length, and then out came hrut's men, and saw the tokens of the deed. hrut made them take thiostolf away, and throw stones over his body, and then he went to find hauskuld, and told him of glum's slaying, and also of thiostolf's. he thought it harm that glum was dead and gone, but thanked him for killing thiostolf. a little while after, thorarin ragi's brother hears of his brother glum's death, then he rides with eleven men behind him west to hauskuldstede, and hauskuld welcomed him with both hands, and he is there the night. hauskuld sent at once for hrut to come to him, and he went at once, and next day they spoke much of the slaying of glum, and thorarin said--"wilt thou make me any atonement for my brother, for i have had a great loss?" hauskuld answered--"i did not slay thy brother, nor did my daughter plot his death; but as soon as ever hrut knew it he slew thiostolf". then thorarin held his peace, and thought the matter had taken a bad turn. but hrut said--"let us make his journey good; he has indeed had a heavy loss, and if we do that we shall be well spoken of. so let us give him gifts, and then he will be our friend ever afterwards." so the end of it was that those brothers gave him gifts, and he rode back south. he and hallgerda changed homesteads in the spring, and she went south to laugarness and he to varmalek. and now thorarin is out of the story. chapter xviii. fiddle mord's death. now it must be told how fiddle mord took a sickness and breathed his last; and that was thought great scathe. his daughter unna took all the goods he left behind him. she was then still unmarried the second time. she was very lavish, and unthrifty of her property; so that her goods and ready money wasted away, and at last she had scarce anything left but land and stock. chapter xix. gunnar comes into the story. there was a man whose name was gunnar. he was one of unna's kinsmen, and his mother's name was rannveig. gunnar's father was named hamond. gunnar hamond's son dwelt at lithend, in the fleetlithe. he was a tall man in growth, and a strong man--best skilled in arms of all men. he could cut or thrust or shoot if he chose as well with his left as with his right hand, and he smote so swiftly with his sword, that three seemed to flash through the air at once. he was the best shot with the bow of all men, and never missed his mark. he could leap more than his own height, with all his war-gear, and as far backwards as forwards. he could swim like a seal, and there was no game in which it was any good for anyone to strive with him; and so it has been said that no man was his match. he was handsome of feature, and fair skinned. his nose was straight, and a little turned up at the end. he was blue-eyed and bright-eyed, and ruddy-cheeked. his hair thick, and of good hue, and hanging down in comely curls. the most courteous of men was he, of sturdy frame and strong will, bountiful and gentle, a fast friend, but hard to please when making them. he was wealthy in goods. his brother's name was kolskegg; he was a tall strong man, a noble fellow, and undaunted in everything. another brother's name was hjort; he was then in his childhood. orm skogarnef was a base-born brother of gunnar's; he does not come into this story. arnguda was the name of gunnar's sister. hroar, the priest at tongue, had her to wife. chapter xx. of njal and his children. there was a man whose name was njal. he was the son of thorgeir gelling, the son of thorolf. njal's mother's name was asgerda. njal dwelt at bergthorsknoll in the land-isles; he had another homestead on thorolfsfell. njal was wealthy in goods, and handsome of face; no beard grew on his chin. he was so great a lawyer, that his match was not to be found. wise too he was, and foreknowing and foresighted.[ ] of good counsel, and ready to give it, and all that he advised men was sure to be the best for them to do. gentle and generous, he unravelled every man's knotty points who came to see him about them. bergthora was his wife's name; she was skarphedinn's daughter, a very high-spirited, brave-hearted woman, but somewhat hard-tempered. they had six children, three daughters and three sons, and they all come afterwards into this story. chapter xxi. unna goes to see gunnar. now it must be told how unna had lost all her ready money. she made her way to lithend, and gunnar greeted his kinswoman well. she stayed there that night, and the next morning they sat out of doors and talked. the end of their talk was that she told him how heavily she was pressed for money. "this is a bad business," he said. "what help wilt thou give me out of my distress?" she asked. he answered--"take as much money as thou needest from what i have out at interest". "nay," she said, "i will not waste thy goods." "what then dost thou wish?" "i wish thee to get back my goods out of hrut's hands," she answered. "that, methinks, is not likely," said he, "when thy father could not get them back, and yet he was a great lawyer, but i know little about law." she answered--"hrut pushed that matter through rather by boldness than by law; besides, my father was old, and that was why men thought it better not to drive things to the uttermost. and now there is none of my kinsmen to take this suit up if thou hast not daring enough." "i have courage enough," he replied, "to get these goods back; but i do not know how to take the suit up." "well!" she answered, "go and see njal of bergthorsknoll, he will know how to give thee advice. besides, he is a great friend of thine." "'tis like enough he will give me good advice, as he gives it to every one else," says gunnar. so the end of their talk was, that gunnar undertook her cause, and gave her the money she needed for her housekeeping, and after that she went home. now gunnar rides to see njal, and he made him welcome, and they began to talk at once. then gunnar said--"i am come to seek a bit of good advice from thee". njal replied--"many of my friends are worthy of this, but still i think i would take more pains for none than for thee". gunnar said--"i wish to let thee know that i have undertaken to get unna's goods back from hrut". "a very hard suit to undertake," said njal, "and one very hazardous how it will go; but still i will get it up for thee in the way i think likeliest to succeed, and the end will be good if thou breakest none of the rules i lay down; if thou dost, thy life is in danger." "never fear; i will break none of them," said gunnar. then njal held his peace for a little while, and after that he spoke as follows:-- chapter xxii. njal's advice. "i have thought over the suit, and it will do so. thou shalt ride from home with two men at thy back. over all thou shalt have a great rough cloak, and under that, a russet kirtle of cheap stuff, and under all, thy good clothes. thou must take a small axe in thy hand, and each of you must have two horses, one fat, the other lean. thou shalt carry hardware and smith's work with thee hence, and ye must ride off early to-morrow morning, and when ye are come across whitewater westwards, mind and slouch thy hat well over thy brows. then men will ask who is this tall man, and thy mates shall say--'here is huckster hedinn the big, a man from eyjafirth, who is going about with smith's work for sale'. this hedinn is ill-tempered and a chatterer--a fellow who thinks he alone knows everything. very often he snatches back his wares, and flies at men if everything is not done as he wishes. so thou shalt ride west to borgarfirth offering all sorts of wares for sale, and be sure often to cry off thy bargains, so that it will be noised abroad that huckster hedinn is the worst of men to deal with, and that no lies have been told of his bad behaviour. so thou shalt ride to northwaterdale, and to hrutfirth, and laxriverdale, till thou comest to hauskuldstede. there thou must stay a night, and sit in the lowest place, and hang thy head down. hauskuld will tell them all not to meddle nor make with huckster hedinn, saying he is a rude unfriendly fellow. next morning thou must be off early and go to the farm nearest hrutstede. there thou must offer thy goods for sale, praising up all that is worst, and tinkering up the faults. the master of the house will pry about and find out the faults. thou must snatch the wares away from him, and speak ill to him. he will say--'twas not to be hoped that thou wouldst behave well to him, when thou behavest ill to every one else. then thou shalt fly at him, though it is not thy wont, but mind and spare thy strength, that thou mayest not be found out. then a man will be sent to hrutstede to tell hrut he had best come and part you. he will come at once and ask thee to his house, and thou must accept his offer. thou shalt greet hrut, and he will answer well. a place will be given thee on the lower bench over against hrut's high-seat. he will ask if thou art from the north, and thou shalt answer that thou art a man of eyjafirth. he will go on to ask if there are very many famous men there. 'shabby fellows enough and to spare,' thou must answer. 'dost thou know reykiardale and the parts about?' he will ask. to which thou must answer--'i know all iceland by heart'. "are there any stout champions left in reykiardale?' he will ask. 'thieves and scoundrels,' thou shalt answer. then hrut will smile and think it sport to listen. you two will go on to talk of the men in the eastfirth quarter, and thou must always find something to say against them. at last your talk will come to rangrivervale, and then thou must say, there is small choice of men left in those parts since fiddle mord died. at the same time sing some stave to please hrut, for i know thou art a skald. hrut will ask what makes thee say there is never a man to come in mord's place; and then thou must answer, that he was so wise a man and so good a taker up of suits, that he never made a false step in upholding his leadership. he will ask--'dost thou know how matters fared between me and him?' "'i know all about it,' thou must reply, 'he took thy wife from thee, and thou hadst not a word to say.' "then hrut will ask--'dost thou not think it was some disgrace to him when he could not get back his goods, though he set the suit on foot?' "'i can answer thee that well enough,' thou must say, 'thou challengedst him to single combat; but he was old, and so his friends advised him not to fight with thee, and then they let the suit fall to the ground.' "'true enough," hrut will say. 'i said so, and that passed for law among foolish men; but the suit might have been taken up again at another thing if he had the heart.' "'i know all that,' thou must say. "then he will ask--'dost thou know anything about law?" "'up in the north i am thought to know something about it,' thou shalt say. 'but still i should like thee to tell me how this suit should be taken up.' "'what suit dost thou mean?' he will ask. "'a suit,' thou must answer, 'which does not concern me. i want to know how a man must set to work who wishes to get back unna's dower.' "then hrut will say--'in this suit i must be summoned so that i can hear the summons, or i must be summoned here in my lawful house'. "'recite the summons, then,' thou must say, and i will say it after thee.' "then hrut will summon himself; and mind and pay great heed to every word he says. after that hrut will bid thee repeat the summons, and thou must do so, and say it all wrong, so that no more than every other word is right. "then hrut will smile and not mistrust thee, but say that scarce a word is right. thou must throw the blame on thy companions, and say they put thee out, and then thou must ask him to say the words first, word by word, and to let thee say the words after him. he will give thee leave, and summon himself in the suit, and thou shalt summon after him there and then, and this time say every word right. when it is done, ask hrut if that were rightly summoned, and he will answer 'there is no flaw to be found in it'. then thou shalt say in a loud voice, so that thy companions may hear-- "'i summon thee in the suit which unna mord's daughter has made over to me with her plighted hand.' "but when men are sound asleep, you shall rise and take your bridles and saddles, and tread softly, and go out of the house, and put your saddles on your fat horses in the fields, and so ride off on them, but leave the others behind you. you must ride up into the hills away from the home pastures and stay there three nights, for about so long will they seek you. after that ride home south, riding always by night and resting by day. as for us we will then ride this summer to the thing, and help thee in thy suit." so gunnar thanked njal, and first of all rode home. chapter xxiii. huckster hedinn. gunnar rode from home two nights afterwards, and two men with him; they rode along until they got on bluewoodheath, and then men on horseback met them and asked who that tall man might be of whom so little was seen. but his companions said it was huckster hedinn. then the others said a worse was not to be looked for behind, when such a man as he went before. hedinn at once made as though he would have set upon them, but yet each went their way. so gunnar went on doing everything as njal had laid it down for him, and when he came to hauskuldstede he stayed there the night, and thence he went down the dale till he came to the next farm to hrutstede. there he offered his wares for sale, and hedinn fell at once upon the farmer. this was told to hrut, and he sent for hedinn, and hedinn went at once to see hrut, and had a good welcome. hrut seated him over against himself, and their talk went pretty much as njal had guessed; but when they came to talk of rangrivervale, and hrut asked about the men there, gunnar sung this stave-- men in sooth are slow to find,-- so the people speak by stealth, often this hath reached my ears,-- all through rangar's rolling vales. still i trow that fiddle mord, tried his hand in fight of yore; sure was never gold-bestower, such a man for might and wit. then hrut said, "thou art a skald, hedinn. but hast thou never heard how things went between me and mord?" then hedinn sung another stave-- once i ween i heard the rumour, how the lord of rings[ ] bereft thee; from thine arms earth's offspring[ ] tearing, trickful he and trustful thou. then the men, the buckler-bearers, begged the mighty gold-begetter, sharp sword oft of old he reddened, not to stand in strife with thee. so they went on, till hrut, in answer told him how the suit must be taken up, and recited the summons. hedinn repeated it all wrong, and hrut burst out laughing, and had no mistrust. then he said, hrut must summon once more, and hrut did so. then hedinn repeated the summons a second time, and this time right, and called his companions to witness how he summoned hrut in a suit which unna mord's daughter had made over to him with her plighted hand. at night he went to sleep like other men, but as soon as ever hrut was sound asleep, they took their clothes and arms, and went out and came to their horses, and rode off across the river, and so up along the bank by hiardarholt till the dale broke off among the hills, and so there they are upon the fells between laxriverdale and hawkdale, having got to a spot where no one could find them unless he had fallen on them by chance. hauskuld wakes up that night at hauskuldstede, and roused all his household, "i will tell you my dream," he said. "i thought i saw a great bear go out of this house, and i knew at once this beast's match was not to be found; two cubs followed him, wishing well to the bear, and they all made for hrutstede, and went into the house there. after that i woke. now i wish to ask if any of you saw aught about yon tall man." then one man answered him--"i saw how a golden fringe and a bit of scarlet cloth peeped out at his arm, and on his right arm he had a ring of gold". hauskuld said--"this beast is no man's fetch, but gunnar's of lithend, and now methinks i see all about it. up! let us ride to hrutstede." and they did so. hrut lay in his locked bed, and asks who have come there? hauskuld tells who he is, and asked what guests might be there in the house. "only huckster hedinn is here," says hrut. "a broader man across the back, it will be, i fear," says hauskuld, "i guess here must have been gunnar of lithend." "then there has been a pretty trial of cunning," says hrut. "what has happened?" says hauskuld. "i told him how to take up unna's suit, and i summoned myself and he summoned after, and now he can use this first step in the suit, and it is right in law." "there has, indeed, been a great falling off of wit on one side," said hauskuld, "and gunnar cannot have planned it all by himself; njal must be at the bottom of this plot, for there is not his match for wit in all the land." now they look for hedinn, but he is already off and away; after that they gathered folk, and looked for them three days, but could not find them. gunnar rode south from the fell to hawkdale and so east of skard, and north to holtbeaconheath, and so on until he got home. chapter xxiv. gunnar and hrut strive at the thing. gunnar rode to the althing, and hrut and hauskuld rode thither too with a very great company. gunnar pursues his suit, and began by calling on his neighbours to bear witness, but hrut and his brother had it in their minds to make an onslaught on him, but they mistrusted their strength. gunnar next went to the court of the men of broadfirth, and bade hrut listen to his oath and declaration of the cause of the suit, and to all the proofs which he was about to bring forward. after that he took his oath, and declared his case. after that he brought forward his witnesses of the summons, along with his witnesses that the suit had been handed over to him. all this time njal was not at the court. now gunnar pursued his suit till he called on the defendant to reply. then hrut took witness, and said the suit was naught, and that there was a flaw in the pleading; he declared that it had broken down because gunnar had failed to call those three witnesses which ought to have been brought before the court. the first, that which was taken before the marriage-bed, the second, before the man's door, the third, at the hill of laws. by this time njal was come to the court and said the suit and pleading might still he kept alive if they chose to strive in that way. "no," says gunnar, "i will not have that; i will do the same to hrut as he did to mord my kinsman;--or, are those brothers hrut and hauskuld so near that they may hear my voice?" "hear it we can," says hrut. "what dost thou wish?" gunnar said--"now all men here present be ear-witnesses, that i challenge thee hrut to single combat, and we shall fight to-day on the holm, which is here in axewater. but if thou wilt not fight with me, then pay up all the money this very day." after that gunnar sung a stave-- yes, so must it be, this morning-- now my mind is full of fire-- hrut with me on yonder island raises roar of helm and shield. all that hear my words bear witness, warriors grasping woden's guard, unless the wealthy wight down payeth dower of wife with flowing veil. after that gunnar went away from the court with all his followers. hrut and hauskuld went home too, and the suit was never pursued nor defended from that day forth. hrut said, as soon as he got inside the booth, "this has never happened to me before, that any man has offered me combat and i have shunned it". "then thou must mean to fight," says hauskuld, "but that shall not be if i have my way; for thou comest no nearer to gunnar than mord would have come to thee, and we had better both of us pay up the money to gunnar." after that the brothers asked the householders of their own country what they would lay down, and they one and all said they would lay down as much as hrut wished. "let us go then," says hauskuld, "to gunner's booth, and pay down the money out of hand." that was told to gunnar, and he went out into the doorway of the booth, and hauskuld said-- "now it is thine to take the money." gunnar said-- "pay it down, then, for i am ready to take it." so they paid down the money truly out of hand, and then hauskuld said--"enjoy it now, as thou hast gotten it". then gunnar sang another stave-- men who wield the blade of battle hoarded wealth may well enjoy, guileless gotten this at least, golden meed i fearless take; but if we for woman's quarrel, warriors born to brandish sword, glut the wolf with manly gore, worse the lot of both would be. hrut answered--"ill will be thy meed for this". "be that as it may," says gunnar. then hauskuld and his brother went home to their booth, and he had much upon his mind, and said to hrut-- "will this unfairness of gunnar's never be avenged?" "not so," says hrut; "'twill be avenged on him sure enough, but we shall have no share nor profit in that vengeance. and after all it is most likely that he will turn to our stock to seek for friends." after that they left off speaking of the matter. gunnar showed njal the money, and he said--"the suit has gone off well". "ay," says gunnar, "but it was all thy doing." now men rode home from the thing, and gunnar got very great honour from the suit. gunnar handed over all the money to unna, and would have none of it, but said he thought he ought to look for more help from her and her kin hereafter than from other men. she said, so it should be. chapter xxv. unna's second wedding. there was a man named valgard, he kept house at hof by rangriver, he was the son of jorund the priest, and his brother was wolf aurpriest. those brothers. wolf aurpriest, and valgard the guileful, set off to woo unna, and she gave herself away to valgard without the advice of any of her kinsfolk. but gunnar and njal, and many others thought ill of that, for he was a cross-grained man and had few friends. they begot between them a son, whose name was mord, and he is long in this story. when he was grown to man's estate, he worked ill to his kinsfolk, but worst of all to gunnar. he was a crafty man in his temper, but spiteful in his counsels. now we will name njal's sons. skarphedinn was the eldest of them. he was a tall man in growth and strong withal; a good swordsman; he could swim like a seal, the swiftest-footed of men, and bold and dauntless; he had a great flow of words and quick utterance; a good skald too; but still for the most part he kept himself well in hand; his hair was dark brown, with crisp curly locks; he had good eyes; his features were sharp, and his face ashen pale, his nose turned up and his front teeth stuck out, and his mouth was very ugly. still he was the most soldier-like of men. grim was the name of njal's second son. he was fair of face and wore his hair long. his hair was dark, and he was comelier to look on than skarphedinn. a tall strong man. helgi was the name of njal's third son. he too was fair of face and had fine hair. he was a strong man and well-skilled in arms. he was a man of sense and knew well how to behave. they were all unwedded at that time, njal's sons. hauskuld was the fourth of njal's sons. he was base-born. his mother was rodny, and she was hauskuld's daughter, the sister of ingialld of the springs. njal asked skarphedinn one day if he would take to himself a wife. he bade his father settle the matter. then njal asked for his hand thorhilda, the daughter of ranvir of thorolfsfell, and that was why they had another homestead there after that. skarphedinn got thorhilda, but he stayed still with his father to the end. grim wooed astrid of deepback; she was a widow and very wealthy. grim got her to wife, and yet lived on with njal. chapter xxvi. of asgrim and his children. there was a man named asgrim. he was ellidagrim's son. the brother of asgrim ellidagrim's son was sigfus. asgrim had two sons, and both of them were named thorhall. they were both hopeful men. grim was the name of another of asgrim's sons, and thorhalla was his daughter's name. she was the fairest of women, and well behaved. njal came to talk with his son helgi, and said, "i have thought of a match for thee, if thou wilt follow my advice". "that i will surely," says he, "for i know that thou both meanest me well, and canst do well for me; but whither hast thou turned thine eyes?" "we will go and woo asgrim ellidagrim's son's daughter, for that is the best choice we can make." chapter xxvii. helgi njal's son's wooing. a little after they rode out across thurso water, and fared till they came into tongue. asgrim was at home, and gave them a hearty welcome; and they were there that night. next morning they began to talk, and then njal raised the question of the wooing, and asked for thorhalla for his son helgi's hand. asgrim answered that well, and said there were no men with whom he would be more willing to make this bargain than with them. they fell a-talking then about terms, and the end of it was that asgrim betrothed his daughter to helgi, and the bridal day was named. gunnar was at that feast, and many other of the best men. after the feast njal offered to foster in his house thorhall, asgrim's son, and he was with njal long after. he loved njal more than his own father. njal taught him law, so that he became the greatest lawyer in iceland in those days. chapter xxviii. hallvard comes out to iceland. there came a ship out from norway, and ran into arnbæl's oyce,[ ] and the master of the ship was hallvard, the white, a man from the bay.[ ] he went to stay at lithend, and was with gunnar that winter, and was always asking him to fare abroad with him. gunnar spoke little about it, but yet said more unlikely things might happen; and about spring he went over to bergthorsknoll to find out from njal whether he thought it a wise step in him to go abroad. "i think it is wise," says njal; "they will think thee there an honourable man, as thou art." "wilt thou perhaps take my goods into thy keeping while i am away, for i wish my brother kolskegg to fare with me; but i would that thou shouldst see after my household along with my mother." "i will not throw anything in the way of that," says njal; "lean on me in this thing as much as thou likest." "good go with thee for thy words," says gunnar, and he rides then home. the easterling [the norseman hallvard] fell again to talk with gunnar that he should fare abroad. gunnar asked if he had ever sailed to other lands? he said he had sailed to every one of them that lay between norway and russia, and so, too, i have sailed to biarmaland.[ ] "wilt thou sail with me eastward ho?" says gunnar. "that i will of a surety," says he. then gunnar made up his mind to sail abroad with him. njal took all gunnar's goods into his keeping. chapter xxix. gunnar goes abroad. so gunnar fared abroad, and kolskegg with him. they sailed first to tönsberg,[ ] and were there that winter. there had then been a shift of rulers in norway, harold grayfell was then dead, and so was gunnhillda. earl hacon the bad, sigurd's son, hacon's son, gritgarth's son, then ruled the realm. the mother of hacon was bergliot, the daughter of earl thorir. her mother was olof harvest-heal. she was harold fair-hair's daughter. hallvard asks gunnar if he would make up his mind to go to earl hacon? "no; i will not do that," says gunnar. "hast thou ever a long-ship?" "i have two," he says. "then i would that we two went on warfare; and let us get men to go with us." "i will do that," says hallvard. after that they went to the bay, and took with them two ships, and fitted them out thence. they had good choice of men, for much praise was said of gunnar. "whither wilt thou first fare?" says gunnar. "i wish to go south-east to hisingen, to see my kinsman oliver," says hallvard. "what dost thou want of him?" says gunnar. he answered--"he is a fine brave fellow, and he will be sure to get us some more strength for our voyage". "then let us go thither," says gunnar. so, as soon as they were "boun," they held on east to hisingen, and had there a hearty welcome. gunnar had only been there a short time ere oliver made much of him. oliver asks about his voyage, and hallvard says that gunnar wishes to go a-warfaring to gather goods for himself. "there's no use thinking of that," says oliver, "when ye have no force." "well," says hallvard, "then you may add to it." "so i do mean to strengthen gunnar somewhat," says oliver; "and though thou reckonest thyself my kith and kin, i think there is more good in him." "what force, now, wilt thou add to ours?" he asks. "two long-ships, one with twenty, and the other with thirty seats for rowers." "who shall man them?" asks hallvard. "i will man one of them with my own house-carles, and the freemen around shall man the other. but still i have found out that strife has come into the river, and i know not whether ye two will be able to get away; for _they_ are in the river." "who?" says hallvard. "brothers twain," says oliver; "one's name is vandil and the other's karli, sons of sjolf the old, east away out of gothland." hallvard told gunnar that oliver had added some ships to theirs, and gunnar was glad at that. they busked them for their voyage thence, till they were "all-boun". then gunnar and hallvard went before oliver, and thanked him; he bade them fare warily for the sake of those brothers. chapter xxx. gunnar goes a-sea-roving. so gunnar held on out of the river, and he and kolskegg were both on board one ship. but hallvard was on board another. now, they see the ships before them, and then gunnar spoke, and said-- "let us be ready for anything if they turn towards us! but else let us have nothing to do with them." so they did that, and made all ready on board their ships. the others patted their ships asunder, and made a fareway between the ships. gunnar fared straight on between the ships, but vandil caught up a grappling-iron, and cast it between their ships and gunnar's ship, and began at once to drag it towards him. oliver had given gunnar a good sword; gunnar now drew it, and had not yet put on his helm. he leapt at once on the forecastle of vandil's ship, and gave one man his death-blow. karli ran his ship alongside the other side of gunnar's ship, and hurled a spear athwart the deck, and aimed at him about the waist. gunnar sees this, and turned him about so quickly, that no eye could follow him, and caught the spear with his left hand, and hurled it back at karli's ship, and that man got his death who stood before it. kolskegg snatched up a grapnel and casts it at karli's ship, and the fluke fell inside the hold, and went out through one of the planks, and in rushed the coal-blue sea, and all the men sprang on board other ships. now gunnar leapt back to his own ship, and then hallvard came up, and now a great battle arose. they saw now that their leader was unflinching, and every man did as well as he could. sometimes gunnar smote with the sword, and sometimes he hurled the spear, and many a man had his bane at his hand. kolskegg backed him well. as for karli, he hastened in a ship to his brother vandil, and thence they fought that day. during the day kolskegg took a rest on gunnar's ship, and gunnar sees that. then he sung a song-- for the eagle ravine-eager, raven of my race, to-day better surely hast thou catered, lord of gold, than for thyself; here the morn come greedy ravens, many a rill of wolf[ ] to sup, but thee burning thirst down-beareth, prince of battle's parliament! after that kolskegg took a beaker full of mead, and drank it off and went on fighting afterwards; and so it came about that those brothers sprang up on the ship of vandil and his brother, and kolskegg went on one side, and gunnar on the other. against gunnar came vandil, and smote at once at him with his sword, and the blow fell on his shield. gunnar gave the shield a twist as the sword pierced it, and broke it short off at the hilt. then gunnar smote back at vandil, and three swords seemed to be aloft, and vandil could not see how to shun the blow. then gunnar cut both his legs from under him, and at the same time kolskegg ran karli through with a spear. after that they took great war spoil. thence they held on south to denmark, and thence east to smoland,[ ] and had victory wherever they went. they did not come back in autumn. the next summer they held on to reval, and fell in there with sea-rovers, and fought at once, and won the fight. after that they steered east to osel,[ ] and lay there somewhile under a ness. there they saw a man coming down from the ness above them; gunnar went on shore to meet the man, and they had a talk. gunnar asked him his name, and he said it was tofi. gunnar asked again what he wanted. "thee i want to see," says the man. "two warships lie on the other side under the ness, and i will tell thee who command them: two brothers are the captains--one's name is hallgrim, and the other's kolskegg. i know them to be mighty men of war; and i know too that they have such good weapons that the like are not to be had. hallgrim has a bill which he had made by seething-spells; and this is what the spells say, that no weapon shall give him his death-blow save that bill. that thing follows it too that it is known at once when a man is to be slain with that bill, for something sings in it so loudly that it may be heard a long way off--such a strong nature has that bill in it." then gunnar sang a song-- soon shall i that spearhead seize, and the bold sea-rover slay, him whose blows on headpiece ring, heaper up of piles of dead. then on endil's courser[ ] bounding, o'er the sea-depths i will ride, while the wretch who spells abuseth, life shall lose in sigar's storm.[ ] "kolskegg has a short sword; that is also the best of weapons. force, too, they have--a third more than ye. they have also much goods, and have stowed them away on land, and i know clearly where they are. but they have sent a spy-ship off the ness, and they know all about you. now they are getting themselves ready as fast as they can; and as soon as they are 'boun,' they mean to run out against you. now you have either to row away at once, or to busk yourselves as quickly as ye can; but if ye win the day, then i will lead you to all their store of goods." gunnar gave him a golden finger-ring, and went afterwards to his men and told them that war-ships lay on the other side of the ness, "and they know all about us; so let us take to our arms, and busk us well, for now there is gain to be got". then they busked them; and just when they were boun they see ships coming up to them. and now a fight sprung up between them, and they fought long, and many men fell. gunnar slew many a man. hallgrim and his men leapt on board gunnar's ship, gunnar turns to meet him, and hallgrim thrust at him with his bill. there was a boom athwart the ship, and gunnar leapt nimbly back over it, gunnar's shield was just before the boom, and hallgrim thrust his bill into it, and through it, and so on into the boom. gunnar cut at hallgrim's arm hard, and lamed the forearm, but the sword would not bite. then down fell the bill, and gunnar seized the bill, and thrust hallgrim through, and then sang a song-- slain is he who spoiled the people, lashing them with flashing steel: heard have i how hallgrim's magic helm-rod forged in foreign land; all men know, of heart-strings doughty, how this bill hath come to me, deft in fight, the wolf's dear feeder. death alone us two shall part. and that vow gunnar kept, in that he bore the bill while he lived. those namesakes [the two kolskeggs] fought together, and it was a near thing which would get the better of it. then gunnar came up, and gave the other kolskegg his death-blow. after that the sea-rovers begged for mercy. gunnar let them have that choice, and he let them also count the slain, and take the goods which the dead men owned, but he gave the others whom he spared their arms and their clothing, and bade them be off to the lands that fostered them. so they went off and gunnar took all the goods that were left behind. tofi came to gunnar after the battle, and offered to lead him to that store of goods which the sea-rovers had stowed away, and said that it was both better and larger than that which they had already got. gunnar said he was willing to go, and so he went ashore, and tofi before him, to a wood, and gunnar behind him. they came to a place where a great heap of wood was piled together. tofi says the goods were under there, then they tossed off the wood, and found under it both gold and silver, clothes and good weapons. they bore those goods to the ships, and gunnar asks tofi in what way he wished him to repay him. tofi answered, "i am a dansk man by race, and i wish thou wouldst bring me to my kinsfolk". gunnar asks why he was there away east? "i was taken by sea-rovers," says tofi, "and they put me on land here in osel, and here i have been ever since." chapter xxxi. gunnar goes to king harold gorm's son and earl hacon. gunnar took tofi on board, and said to kolskegg and hallvard, "now we will hold our course for the north lands". they were well pleased at that, and bade him have his way. so gunnar sailed from the east with much goods. he had ten ships, and ran in with them to heidarby in denmark. king harold gorm's son was there up the country, and he was told about gunnar, and how too that there was no man his match in all iceland. he sent men to him to ask him to come to him, and gunnar went at once to see the king, and the king made him a hearty welcome, and sat him down next to himself. gunnar was there half a month. the king made himself sport by letting gunnar prove himself in divers feats of strength against his men, and there were none that were his match even in one feat. then the king said to gunnar, "it seems to me as though thy peer is not to be found far or near," and the king offered to get gunnar a wife, and to raise him to great power if he would settle down there. gunnar thanked the king for his offer and said--"i will first of all sail back to iceland to see my friends and kinsfolk". "then thou wilt never come back to us," says the king. "fate will settle that, lord," says gunnar. gunnar gave the king a good long-ship, and much goods besides, and the king gave him a robe of honour, and golden-seamed gloves, and a fillet with a knot of gold on it, and a russian hat. then gunnar fared north to hisingen. oliver welcomed him with both hands, and he gave back to oliver his ships, with their lading, and said that was his share of the spoil. oliver took the goods, and said gunnar was a good man and true, and bade him stay with him some while. hallvard asked gunnar if he had a mind to go to see earl hacon. gunnar said that was near his heart, "for now i am somewhat proved, but then i was not tried at all when thou badest me do this before". after that they fared north to drontheim to see earl hacon, and he gave gunnar a hearty welcome, and bade him stay with him that winter, and gunnar took that offer, and every man thought him a man of great worth. at yule the earl gave him a gold ring. gunnar set his heart on bergliota, the earl's kinswoman, and it was often to be seen from the earl's way, that he would have given her to him to wife if gunnar had said anything about that. chapter xxxii. gunnar comes out to iceland. when the spring came, the earl asks gunnar what course he meant to take. he said he would go to iceland. the earl said that had been a bad year for grain, "and there will be little sailing out to iceland, but still thou shalt have meal and timber both in thy ship". gunnar fitted out his ship as early as he could, and hallvard fared out with him and kolskegg. they came out early in the summer, and made arnbæl's oyce before the thing met. gunnar rode home from the ship, but got men to strip her and lay her up. but when they came home all men were glad to see them. they were blithe and merry to their household, nor had their haughtiness grown while they were away. gunnar asks if njal were at home; and he was told that he was at home; then he let them saddle his horse, and those brothers rode over to bergthorsknoll. njal was glad at their coming, and begged them to stay there that night, and gunnar told him of his voyages. njal said he was a man of the greatest mark, "and thou hast been much proved; but still thou wilt be more tried hereafter; for many will envy thee". "with all men i would wish to stand well," says gunnar. "much bad will happen," says njal, "and thou wilt always have some quarrel to ward off." "so be it, then," says gunnar, "so that i have a good ground on my side." "so will it be too," says njal, "if thou hast not to smart for others." njal asked gunnar if he would ride to the thing. gunnar said he was going to ride thither, and asks njal whether he were going to ride; but he said he would not ride thither, "and if i had my will thou wouldst do the like". gunnar rode home, and gave njal good gifts, and thanked him for the care he had taken of his goods, kolskegg urged him on much to ride to the thing, saying, "there thy honour will grow, for many will flock to see thee there". "that has been little to my mind," says gunnar, "to make a show of myself; but i think it good and right to meet good and worthy men." hallvard by this time was also come thither, and offered to ride to the thing with them. chapter xxxiii. gunnar's wooing. so gunnar rode, and they all rode. but when they came to the thing they were so well arrayed that none could match them in bravery; and men came out of every booth to wonder at them. gunnar rode to the booths of the men of rangriver, and was there with his kinsmen. many men came to see gunnar, and ask tidings of him; and he was easy and merry to all men, and told them all they wished to hear. it happened one day that gunnar went away from the hill of laws, and passed by the booths of the men from mossfell; then he saw a woman coming to meet him, and she was in goodly attire; but when they met she spoke to gunnar at once. he took her greeting well, and asks what woman she might be. she told him her name was hallgerda, and said she was hauskuld's daughter, dalakoll's son. she spoke up boldly to him, and bade him tell her of his voyages; but he said he would not gainsay her a talk. then they sat them down and talked. she was so clad that she had on a red kirtle, and had thrown over her a scarlet cloak trimmed with needlework down to the waist. her hair came down to her bosom, and was both fair and full. gunnar was clad in the scarlet clothes which king harold gorm's son had given him; he had also the gold ring on his arm which earl hacon had given him. so they talked long out loud, and at last it came about that he asked whether she were unmarried. she said, so it was, "and there are not many who would run the risk of that". "thinkest thou none good enough for thee?" "not that," she says, "but i am said to be hard to please in husbands." "how wouldst thou answer were i to ask for thee?" "that can not be in thy mind," she says. "it is though," says he. "if thou hast any mind that way, go and see my father." after that they broke off their talk. gunnar went straightway to the dalesmen's booths, and met a man outside the doorway, and asks whether hauskuld were inside the booth? the man says that he was. then gunnar went in, and hauskuld and hrut made him welcome. he sat down between them, and no one could find out from their talk that there had ever been any misunderstanding between them. at last gunnar's speech turned thither; how these brothers would answer if he asked for hallgerda? "well," says hauskuld, "if that is indeed thy mind." gunnar says that he is in earnest, "but we so parted last time, that many would think it unlikely that we should ever be bound together". "how thinkest thou, kinsman hrut?" says hauskuld. hrut answered, "methinks this is no even match". "how dost thou make that out?" says gunnar. hrut spoke--"in this wise will i answer thee about this matter, as is the very truth. thou art a brisk brave man, well to do, and unblemished; but she is much mixed up with ill report, and i will not cheat thee in anything." "good go with thee for thy words," says gunnar, "but still i shall hold that for true, that the old feud weighs with ye, if ye will not let me make this match." "not so," says hrut, "'tis more because i see that thou art unable to help thyself; but though we make no bargain, we would still be thy friends." "i have talked to her about it," says gunnar, "and it is not far from her mind." hrut says--"i know that you have both set your hearts on this match; and, besides, ye two are those who run the most risk as to how it turns out". hrut told gunnar unasked all about hallgerda's temper, and gunnar at first thought that there was more than enough that was wanting; but at last it came about that they struck a bargain. then hallgerda was sent for, and they talked over the business when she was by, and now, as before, they made her betroth herself. the bridal feast was to be at lithend, and at first they were to set about it secretly; but the end after all was that every one knew of it. gunnar rode home from the thing, and came to bergthorsknoll, and told njal of the bargain he had made. he took it heavily. gunnar asks njal why he thought this so unwise? "because from her," says njal, "will arise all kind of ill if she comes hither east." "never shall she spoil our friendship," says gunnar. "ah! but yet that may come very near," says njal; "and, besides, thou wilt have always to make atonement for her." gunnar asked njal to the wedding, and all those as well whom he wished should be at it from njal's house. njal promised to go; and after that gunnar rode home, and then rode about the district to bid men to his wedding. chapter xxxiv. of thrain sigfus' son. there was a man named thrain, he was the son of sigfus, the son of sighvat the red. he kept house at gritwater on fleetlithe. he was gunnar's kinsman, and a man of great mark. he had to wife thorhilda skaldwife; she had a sharp tongue of her own, and was giving to jeering. thrain loved her little. he and his wife were bidden to the wedding, and she and bergthora, skarphedinn's daughter, njal's wife, waited on the guests with meat and drink. kettle was the name of the second son of sigfus; he kept house in the mark, east of markfleet. he had to wife thorgerda, njal's daughter. thorkell was the name of the third son of sigfus; the fourth's name was mord; the fifth's lambi; the sixth's sigmund; the seventh's sigurd. these were all gunnar's kinsmen, and great champions. gunnar bade them all to the wedding. gunnar had also bidden valgard the guileful, and wolf aurpriest, and their sons runolf and mord. hauskuld and hrut came to the wedding with a very great company, and the sons of hauskuld, torleik, and olof, were there; the bride, too, came along with them, and her daughter thorgerda came also, and she was one of the fairest of women; she was then fourteen winters old. many other women were with her, and besides there were thorkatla asgrim ellidagrim's son's daughter, and njal's two daughters, thorgerda and helga. gunnar had already many guests to meet them, and he thus arranged his men. he sat on the middle of the bench, and on the inside, away from him, thrain sigfus' son, then wolf aurpriest, then valgard the guileful, then mord and runolf, then the other sons of sigfus, lambi sat outermost of them. next to gunnar on the outside, away from him, sat njal, then skarphedinn, then helgi, then grim, then hauskuld njal's son, then hafr the wise, then ingialld from the springs, then the sons of thorir from holt away east. thorir would sit outermost of the men of mark, for every one was pleased with the seat he got. hauskuld, the bride's father, sat on the middle of the bench over against gunnar, but his sons sat on the inside away from him; hrut sat on the outside away from hauskuld, but it is not said how the others were placed. the bride sat in the middle of the cross-bench on the dais; but on one hand of her sat her daughter thorgerda, and on the other thorkatla asgrim ellidagrim's son's daughter. thorhillda went about waiting on the guests, and bergthora bore the meat on the board. now thrain sigfus' son kept staring at thorgerda glum's daughter; his wife thorhillda saw this, and she got wroth, and made a couplet upon him. "thrain," she says, "gaping mouths are no wise good, goggle eyne are in thy head," he rose at once up from the board, and said he would put thorhillda away, "i will not bear her jibes and jeers any longer;" and he was so quarrelsome about this, that he would not be at the feast unless she were driven away. and so it was, that she went away; and now each man sat in his place, and they drank and were glad. then thrain began to speak--"i will not whisper about that which is in my mind. this i will ask thee, hauskuld dalakoll's son, wilt thou give me to wife thorgerda, thy kinswoman?" "i do not know that," says hauskuld; "methinks thou art ill parted from the one thou hadst before. but what kind of man is he, gunnar?" gunnar answers--"i will not say aught about the man, because he is near of kin; but say thou about him, njal," says gunnar, "for all men will believe it". njal spoke, and said--"that is to be said of this man, that the man is well to do for wealth, and a proper man in all things. a man, too, of the greatest mark; so that ye may well make this match with him." then hauskuld spoke--"what thinkest thou we ought to do, kinsman hrut?" "thou mayst make the match, because it is an even one for her," says hrut. then they talk about the terms of the bargain, and are soon of one mind on all points. then gunnar stands up, and thrain too, and they go to the cross-bench. gunnar asked that mother and daughter whether they would say yes to this bargain. they said they would find no fault with it, and hallgerda betrothed her daughter. then the places of the women were shifted again, and now thorhalla sate between the brides. and now the feast sped on well, and when it was over, hauskuld and his company ride west, but the men of rangriver rode to their own abode. gunnar gave many men gifts, and that made him much liked. hallgerda took the housekeeping under her, and stood up for her rights in word and deed. thorgerda took to housekeeping at gritwater, and was a good housewife. chapter xxxv. the visit to bergthorsknoll. now it was the custom between gunnar and njal, that each made the other a feast, winter and winter about, for friendship's sake; and it was gunnar's turn to go to feast at njal's. so gunnar and hallgerda set off for bergthorsknoll, and when they got there helgi and his wife were not at home. njal gave gunnar and his wife a hearty welcome, and when they had been there a little while, helgi came home with thorhalla his wife. then bergthora went up to the cross-bench, and thorhalla with her, and bergthora said to hallgerda-- "thou shalt give place to this woman." she answered--"to no one will i give place, for i will not be driven into the corner for any one". "i shall rule here," said bergthora, after that thorhalla sat down, and bergthora went round the table with water to wash the guests' hands. then hallgerda took hold of bergthora's hand, and said-- "there's not much to choose, though, between you two. thou hast hangnails on every finger, and njal is beardless." "that's true," says bergthora, "yet neither of us finds fault with the other for it; but thorwald, thy husband, was not beardless, and yet thou plottedst his death." then hallgerda said--"it stands me in little stead to have the bravest man in iceland if thou dost not avenge this, gunnar!" he sprang up and strode across away from the board, and said--"home i will go, and it were more seemly that thou shouldest wrangle with those of thine own household, and not under other men's roofs; but as for njal, i am his debtor for much honour, and never will i be egged on by thee like a fool". after that they set off home. "mind this, bergthora," said hallgerda, "that we shall meet again." bergthora said she should not be better off for that. gunnar said nothing at all, but went home to lithend, and was there at home all the winter. and now the summer was running on towards the great thing. chapter xxxvi. kol slew swart. gunnar rode away to the thing, but before he rode from home he said to hallgerda--"be good now while i am away, and show none of thine ill temper in anything with which my friends have to do". "the trolls take thy friends," says hallgerda. so gunnar rode to the thing, and saw it was not good to come to words with her. njal rode to the thing too, and all his sons with him. now it must be told of what tidings happened at home. njal and gunnar owned a wood in common at redslip; they had not shared the wood, but each was wont to hew in it as he needed, and neither said a word to the other about that. hallgerda's grieve's[ ] name was kol; he had been with her long, and was one of the worst of men. there was a man named swart; he was njal's and bergthora's house-carle; they were very fond of him. now bergthora told him that he must go up into redslip and hew wood; but she said--"i will get men to draw home the wood". he said he would do the work she set him to win; and so he went up into redslip, and was to be there a week. some gangrel men came to lithend from the east across markfleet, and said that swart had been in redslip, and hewn wood, and done a deal of work. "so," says hallgerda, "bergthora must mean to rob me in many things, but i'll take care that he does not hew again." rannveig, gunnar's mother, heard that, and said--"there have been good housewives before now, though they never set their hearts on manslaughter". now the night wore away, and early next morning hallgerda came to speak to kol, and said--"i have thought of some work for thee"; and with that she put weapons into his hands, and went on to say--"fare thou to redslip; there wilt thou find swart". "what shall i do to him?" he says. "askest thou that when thou art the worst of men?" she says. "thou shalt kill him." "i can get that done," he says, "but 'tis more likely that i shall lose my own life for it." "everything grows big in thy eyes," she says, "and thou behavest ill to say this after i have spoken up for thee in everything. i must get another man to do this if thou darest not." he took the axe, and was very wroth, and takes a horse that gunnar owned, and rides now till he comes east of markfleet. there he got off and bided in the wood, till they had carried down the firewood, and swart was left alone behind. then kol sprang on him, and said--"more folk can hew great strokes than thou alone"; and so he laid the axe on his head, and smote him his death-blow, and rides home afterwards, and tells hallgerda of the slaying. she said--"i shall take such good care of thee, that no harm shall come to thee". "may be so," says he, "but i dreamt all the other way as i slept ere i did the deed." now they come up into the wood, and find swart slain, and bear him home. hallgerda sent a man to gunnar at the thing to tell him of the slaying. gunnar said no hard words at first of hallgerda to the messenger, and men knew not at first whether he thought well or ill of it. a little after he stood up, and bade his men go with him: they did so, and fared to njal's booth. gunnar sent a man to fetch njal, and begged him to come out. njal went out at once, and he and gunnar fell a-talking, and gunnar said-- "i have to tell thee of the slaying of a man, and my wife and my grieve kol were those who did it; but swart, thy house-carle, fell before them." njal held his peace while he told him the whole story. then njal spoke-- "thou must take heed not to let her have her way in everything." gunnar said--"thou thyself shall settle the terms". njal spoke again--"'twill be hard work for thee to atone for all hallgerda's mischief; and somewhere else there will be a broader trail to follow than this which we two now have a share in, and yet, even here there will be much awanting before all be well; and herein we shall need to bear in mind the friendly words that passed between us of old; and something tells me that thou wilt come well out of it, but still thou wilt be sore tried". then njal took the award into his own hands from gunnar, and said-- "i will not push this matter to the uttermost; thou shalt pay twelve ounces of silver; but i will add this to my award, that if anything happens from our homestead about which thou hast to utter an award, thou wilt not be less easy in thy terms". gunnar paid up the money out of hand, and rode home afterwards. njal, too, came home from the thing, and his sons. bergthora saw the money, and said-- "this is very justly settled; but even as much money shall be paid for kol as time goes on." gunnar came home from the thing and blamed hallgerda. she said, better men lay unatoned in many places, gunnar said, she might have her way in beginning a quarrel, "but how the matter is to be settled rests with me". hallgerda was for ever chattering of swart's slaying, but bergthora liked that ill. once njal and her sons went up to thorolfsfell to see about the housekeeping there, but that selfsame day this thing happened when bergthora was out of doors: she sees a man ride up to the house on a black horse. she stayed there and did not go in, for she did not know the man. that man had a spear in his hand, and was girded with a short sword. she asked this man his name. "atli is my name," says he. she asked whence he came. "i am an eastfirther," he says. "whither shalt thou go?" she says. "i am a homeless man," says he, "and i thought to see njal and skarphedinn, and know if they would take me in." "what work is handiest to thee?" says she. "i am a man used to field-work," he says, "and many things else come very handy to me; but i will not hide from thee that i am a man of hard temper and it has been many a man's lot before now to bind up wounds at my hand." "i do not blame thee," she says, "though thou art no milksop." atli said--"hast thou any voice in things here?" "i am njal's wife," she says, "and i have as much to say to our housefolk as he." "wilt thou take me in then?" says he. "i will give thee thy choice of that," says she. "if thou wilt do all the work that i set before thee, and that though i wish to send thee where a man's life is at stake." "thou must have so many men at thy beck," says he, "that thou wilt not need me for such work." "that i will settle as i please," she says. "we will strike a bargain on these terms," says he. then she took him into the household. njal and his sons came home and asked bergthora what man that might be? "he is thy house-carle," she says, "and i took him in." then she went on to say he was no sluggard at work. "he will be a great worker enough, i daresay," says njal, "but i do not know whether he will be such a good worker." skarphedinn was good to atli. njal and his sons ride to the thing in the course of the summer; gunnar was also at the thing. njal took out a purse of money. "what money is that, father?" "here is the money that gunnar paid me for our house-carle last summer." "that will come to stand thee in some stead," says skarphedinn, and smiled as he spoke. chapter xxxvii. the slaying of kol, whom atli slew. now we must take up the story, and say that atli asked bergthora what work he should do that day. "i have thought of some work for thee," she says; "thou shall go and look for kol until thou find him; for now shalt thou slay him this very day, if thou wilt do my will." "this work is well fitted," says atli, "for each of us two are bad fellows; but still i will so lay myself out for him that one or other of us shall die." "well mayest thou fare," she says, "and thou shalt not do this deed for nothing." he took his weapons and his horse, and rode up to fleetlithe, and there met men who were coming down from lithend. they were at home east in the mark. they asked atli whither he meant to go? he said he was riding to look for an old jade. they said that was a small errand for such a workman, "but still 'twould be better to ask those who have been about last night". "who are they?" says he. "killing-kol," say they, "hallgerda's house-carle, fared from the fold just now, and has been awake all night." "i do not know whether i dare to meet him," says atli, "he is bad-tempered, and may be that i shall let another's wound be my warning." "thou bearest that look beneath the brows as though thou wert no coward," they said, and showed him where kol was. then he spurred his horse and rides fast, and when he meets kol, atli said to him-- "go the pack-saddle bands well?" "that's no business of thine, worthless fellow, nor of any one else whence thou comest." atli said--"thou hast something behind that is earnest work, but that is to die". after that atli thrust at him with his spear, and struck him about his middle. kol swept at him with his axe, but missed him, and fell off his horse, and died at once. atli rode till he met some of hallgerda's workmen, and said, "go ye up to the horse yonder, and look to kol, for he has fallen off, and is dead". "hast thou slain him?" say they. "well, 'twill seem to hallgerda as though he has not fallen by his own hand." after that atli rode home and told bergthora; she thanked him for this deed, and for the words which he had spoken about it. "i do not know," says he, "what njal will think of this." "he will take it well upon his hands," she says, "and i will tell thee one thing as a token of it, that he has earned away with him to the thing the price of that thrall which we took last spring, and that money will now serve for kol; but though peace be made thou must still beware of thyself, for hallgerda will keep no peace." "wilt thou send at all a man to njal to tell him of the slaying?" "i will not," she says, "i should like it better that kol were unatoned." then they stopped talking about it. hallgerda was told of kol's slaying, and of the words that atli had said. she said atli should be paid off for them. she sent a man to the thing to tell gunnar of kol's slaying; he answered little or nothing, and sent a man to tell njal. he too made no answer, but skarphedinn said-- "thralls are men of more mettle than of yore; they used to fly at each other and fight, and no one thought much harm of that; but now they will do naught but kill," and as he said this he smiled. njal pulled down the purse of money which hung up in the booth, and went out; his sons went with him to gunnar's booth. skarphedinn said to a man who was in the doorway of the booth-- "say thou to gunnar that my father wants to see him." he did so, and gunnar went out at once and gave njal a hearty welcome. after that they began to talk. "'tis ill done," says njal, "that my housewife should have broken the peace, and let thy house-carle be slain." "she shall not have blame for that," says gunnar. "settle the award thyself," says njal. "so i will do," say gunnar, "and i value those two men at an even price, swart and kol. thou shalt pay me twelve ounces in silver." njal took the purse of money and handed it to gunnar. gunnar knew the money, and saw it was the same that he had paid njal. njal went away to his booth, and they were just as good friends as before. when njal came home, he blamed bergthora; but she said she would never give way to hallgerda. hallgerda was very cross with gunnar, because he had made peace for kol's slaying, gunnar told her he would never break with njal or his sons, and she flew into a great rage; but gunnar took no heed of that, and so they sat for that year, and nothing noteworthy happened. chapter xxxviii. the killing of atli the thrall. next spring njal said to atli--"i wish that thou wouldst change thy abode to the east firths, so that hallgerda may not put an end to thy life". "i am not afraid of that," says atli, "and i will willingly stay at home if i have the choice." "still that is less wise," says njal. "i think it better to lose my life in thy house than to change my master; but this i will beg of thee, if i am slain, that a thrall's price shall not be paid for me." "thou shalt be atoned for as a free man; but perhaps bergthora will make thee a promise which she will fulfil, that revenge, man for man, shall be taken for thee." then he made up his mind to be a hired servant there. now it must be told of hallgerda that she sent a man west to bearfirth, to fetch brynjolf the unruly, her kinsman. he was a base son of swan, and he was one of the worst of men. gunnar knew nothing about it. hallgerda said he was well fitted to be a grieve. so brynjolf came from the west, and gunnar asked what he was to do there? he said he was going to stay there. "thou wilt not better our household," says gunnar, "after what has been told me of thee, but i will not turn away any of hallgerda's kinsmen, whom she wishes to be with her." gunnar said little, but was not unkind to him, and so things went on till the thing. gunnar rides to the thing and kolskegg rides too, and when they came to the thing they and njal met, for he and his sons were at the thing, and all went well with gunnar and them. bergthora said to atli--"go thou up into thorolfsfell and work there a week". so he went up thither, and was there on the sly, and burnt charcoal in the wood. hallgerda said to brynjolf--"i have been told atli is not at home, and he must be winning work on thorolfsfell". "what thinkest thou likeliest that he is working at?" says he. "at something in the wood," she says. "what shall i do to him?" he asks. "thou shalt kill him," says she. he was rather slow in answering her, and hallgerda said-- "'twould grow less in thiostolf's eyes to kill atli if he were alive." "thou shalt have no need to goad me on much more," he says, and then he seized his weapons, and takes his horse and mounts, and rides to thorolfsfell. there he saw a great reek of coal smoke east of the homestead, so he rides thither, and gets off his horse and ties him up, but he goes where the smoke was thickest. then he sees where the charcoal pit is, and a man stands by it. he saw that he had thrust his spear in the ground by him. brynjolf goes along with the smoke right up to him, but he was eager at his work, and saw him not. brynjolf gave him a stroke on the head with his axe, and he turned so quick round that brynjolf loosed his hold of the axe, and atli grasped the spear, and hurled it after him. then brynjolf cast himself down on the ground, but the spear flew away over him. "lucky for thee that i was not ready for thee," says atli, "but now hallgerda will be well pleased, for thou wilt tell her of my death; but it is a comfort to know that thou wilt have the same fate soon; but come now, take thy axe which has been here." he answered him never a word, nor did he take the axe before he was dead. then he rode up to the house on thorolfsfell, and told of the slaying, and after that rode home and told hallgerda. she sent men to bergthorsknoll, and let them tell bergthora, that now kol's slaying was paid for. after that hallgerda sent a man to the thing to tell gunnar of atli's killing. gunnar stood up, and kolskegg with him, and kolskegg said-- "unthrifty will hallgerda's kinsmen be to thee." then they go to see njal, and gunnar said-- "i have to tell thee of atli's killing." he told him also who slew him, and went on, "and now i will bid thee atonement for the deed, and thou shall make the award thyself". njal said--"we two have always meant never to come to strife about anything; but still i cannot make him out a thrall". gunnar said that was all right, and stretched out his hand. njal named his witnesses, and they made peace on those terms. skarphedinn said, "hallgerda does not let our house-carles die of old age". gunnar said--"thy mother will take care that blow goes for blow between the houses". "ay, ay," says njal, "there will be enough of that work." after that njal fixed the price at a hundred in silver, but gunnar paid it down at once. many who stood by said that the award was high; gunnar got wroth, and said that a full atonement was often paid for those who were no brisker men than atli. with that they rode home from the thing. bergthora said to njal when she saw the money--"thou thinkest thou hast fulfilled thy promise, but now my promise is still behind". "there is no need that thou shouldst fulfil it," says njal. "nay," says she, "thou hast guessed it would be so; and so it shall be." hallgerda said to gunnar-- "hast thou paid a hundred in silver for atli's slaying, and made him a free man?" "he was free before," says gunnar, "and besides, i will not make njal's household outlaws who have forfeited their rights." "there's not a pin to choose between you," she said, "for both of you are so blate." "that's as things prove," says he. then gunnar was for a long time very short with her, till she gave way to him; and now all was still for the rest of that year; in the spring njal did not increase his household, and now men ride to the thing about summer. chapter xxxix. the slaying of brynjolf the unruly. there was a man named thord, he was surnamed freedmanson. sigtrygg was his father's name, and he had been the freedman of asgerd, and he was drowned in markfleet. that was why thord was with njal afterwards. he was a tall man and a strong, and he had fostered all njal's sons. he had set his heart on gudfinna thorolf's daughter, njal's kinswoman; she was housekeeper at home there, and was then with child. now bergthora came to talk with thord freedmanson; she said-- "thou shalt go to kill brynjolf, hallgerda's kinsman." "i am no man-slayer," he says, "but still i will do what ever thou wilt." "this is my will," she says. after that he went up to lithend, and made them call hallgerda out, and asked where brynjolf might be. "what's thy will with him?" she says. "i want him to tell me where he has hidden atli's body; i have heard say that he has buried it badly." she pointed to him, and said he was down yonder in acretongue. "take heed," says thord, "that the same thing does not befall him as befell atli." "thou art no man-slayer," she says, "and so nought will come of it even if ye two do meet." "never have i seen man's blood, nor do i know how i should feel if i did," he says, and gallops out of the "town" and down to acretongue. rannveig, gunnar's mother, had heard their talk. "thou goadest his mind much, hallgerda," she says, "but i think him a dauntless man, and that thy kinsman will find." they met on the beaten way, thord and brynjolf; and thord said--"guard thee, brynjolf, for i will do no dastard's deed by thee". brynjolf rode at thord, and smote at him with his axe. he smote at him at the same time with his axe, and hewed in sunder the haft just above brynjolf s hands, and then hewed at him at once a second time, and struck him on the collarbone, and the blow went straight into his trunk. then he fell from horseback, and was dead on the spot. thord met hallgerda'a herdsman, and gave out the slaying as done by his hand, and said where he lay, and bade him tell hallgerda of the slaying. after that he rode home to bergthorsknoll, and told bergthora of the slaying, and other people too. "good luck go with thy hands," she said. the herdsman told hallgerda of the slaying; she was snappish at it, and said much ill would come of it, if she might have her way. chapter xl. gunnar and njal make peace about brynjolf's slaying. now these tidings come to the thing, and njal made them tell him the tale thrice, and then he said-- "more men now become man-slayers than i weened." skarphedinn spoke--"that man, though, must have been twice fey," he says, "who lost his life by our foster-father's hand, who has never seen man's blood. and many would think that we brothers would sooner have done this deed with the turn of temper that we have." "scant apace wilt thou have," says njal, "ere the like befalls thee; but need will drive thee to it." then they went to meet gunnar, and told him of the slaying. gunnar spoke and said that was little manscathe, "but yet he was a free man". njal offered to make peace at once, and gunnar said yes, and he was to settle the terms himself. he made his award there and then, and laid it at one hundred in silver. njal paid down the money on the spot, and they were at peace after that. chapter xli. sigmund comes out to iceland. there was a man whose name was sigmund. he was the son of lambi, the son of sighvat the red. he was a great voyager, and a comely and a courteous man; tall too, and strong. he was a man of proud spirit, and a good skald, and well trained in most feats of strength. he was noisy and boisterous, and given to jibes and mocking. he made the land east in hornfirth. skiolld was the name of his fellow-traveller; he was a swedish man, and ill to do with. they took horse and rode from the east out of hornfirth, and did not draw bridle before they came to lithend, in the fleetlithe. gunnar gave them a hearty welcome, for the bonds of kinship were close between them. gunnar begged sigmund to stay there that winter, and sigmund said he would take the offer if skiolld his fellow might be there too. "well, i have been so told about him," said gunnar, "that he is no better of thy temper; but as it is, thou rather needest to have it bettered. this, too, is a bad house to stay at, and i would just give both of you a bit of advice, my kinsmen, not to fire up at the egging on of my wife hallgerda; for she takes much in hand that is far from my will." "his hands are clean who warns another," says sigmund. "then mind the advice given thee," says gunnar, "for thou art sure to be sore tried; and go along always with me, and lean upon my counsel." after that they were in gunnar's company. hallgerda was good to sigmund; and it soon came about that things grew so warm that she loaded him with money, and tended him no worse than her own husband; and many talked about that, and did not know what lay under it. one day hallgerda said to gunnar--"it is not good to be content with that hundred in silver which thou tookest for my kinsman brynjolf. i shall avenge him if i may," she says. gunnar said he had no mind to bandy words with her, and went away. he met kolskegg, and said to him, "go and see njal; and tell him that thord must beware of himself though peace has been made, for, methinks, there is faithlessness somewhere". he rode off and told njal, but njal told thord, and kolskegg rode home, and njal thanked them for their faithfulness. once on a time they two were out in the "town," njal and thord; a he-goat was wont to go up and down in the "town," and no one was allowed to drive him away. then thord spoke and said-- "well, this _is_ a wondrous thing!" "what is it that thou see'st that seems after a wondrous fashion?" says njal. "methinks the goat lies here in the hollow, and he is all one gore of blood." njal said that there was no goat there, nor anything else. "what is it then?" says thord. "thou must be a 'fey' man," says njal, "and thou must have seen the fetch that follows thee, and now be ware of thyself." "that will stand me in no stead," says thord, "if death is doomed for me." then hallgerda came to talk with thrain sigfus' son, and said--"i would think thee my son-in-law indeed," she says, "if thou slayest thord freedmanson". "i will not do that," he says, "for then i shall have the wrath of my kinsman gunnar; and besides, great things hang on this deed, for this slaying would soon be avenged." "who will avenge it?" she asks; "is it the beardless carle?" "not so," says he; "his sons will avenge it." after that they talked long and low, and no man knew what counsel they took together. once it happened that gunnar was not at home, but those companions were. thrain had come in from gritwater, and then he and they and hallgerda sat out of doors and talked. then hallgerda said-- "this have ye two brothers in arms, sigmund and skiolld, promised to slay thord freedmanson; but thrain thou hast promised me that thou wouldst stand by them when they did the deed." they all acknowledged that they had given her this promise. "now i will counsel you how to do it," she says: "ye shall ride east into hornfirth after your goods, and come home about the beginning of the thing, but if ye are at home before it begins, gunnar will wish that ye should ride to the thing with him. njal will be at the thing and his sons and gunnar, but then ye two shall slay thord." they all agreed that this plan should be carried out. after that they busked them east to the firth, and gunnar was not aware of what they were about, and gunnar rode to the thing. njal sent thord freedmanson away east under eyjafell, and bade him be away there one night. so he went east, but he could not get back from the east, for the fleet had risen so high that it could not be crossed on horseback ever so far up. njal waited for him one night, for he had meant him to have ridden with him; and njal said to bergthora, that she must send thord to the thing as soon as ever he came home. two nights after, thord came from the east, and bergthora told him that he must ride to the thing, "but first thou shalt ride up into thorolfsfell and see about the farm there, and do not be there longer than one or two nights." chapter xlii. the slaying of thord freedsmanson. then sigmund came from the east and those companions. hallgerda told them that thord was at home, but that he was to ride straightway to the thing after a few nights' space. "now ye will have a fair chance at him," he says, "but if this goes off, ye will never get nigh him". men came to lithend from thorolfsfell, and told hallgerda that thord was there. hallgerda went to thrain sigfus' son, and his companions, and said to him, "now is thord on thorolfsfell, and now your best plan is to fall on him and kill him as he goes home". "that we will do," says sigmund. so they went out, and took their weapons and horses and rode on the way to meet him. sigmund said to thrain, "now thou shalt have nothing to do with it; for we shall not need all of us". "very well, so i will," says he. then thord rode up to them a little while after, and sigmund said to him-- "give thyself up," he says, "for now shalt thou die." "that shall not be," says thord, "come thou to single combat with me." "that shall not be either," says sigmund, "we will make the most of our numbers; but it is not strange that skarphedinn is strong, for it is said that a fourth of a foster-child's strength comes from the foster-father." "thou wilt feel the force of that," says thord, "for skarphedinn will avenge me." after that they fall on him, and he breaks a spear of each of them, so well did he guard himself. then skiolld cut off his hand, and he still kept them off with his other hand for some time, till sigmund thrust him through. then he fell dead to earth. they threw over him turf and stones; and thrain said--"we have won an ill work, and njal's sons will take this slaying ill when they hear of it". they ride home and tell hallgerda. she was glad to hear of the slaying, but rannveig, gunnar's mother, said-- "it is said 'but a short while is hand fain of blow,' and so it will be here; but still gunnar will set thee free from this matter. but if hallgerda makes thee take another fly in thy mouth, then that will be thy bane." hallgerda sent a man to bergthorsknoll, to tell the slaying, and another man to the thing, to tell it to gunnar. bergthora said she would not fight against hallgerda with ill worth about such a matter; "that," quoth she, "would be no revenge for so great a quarrel". chapter xliii. njal and gunnar make peace for the slaying of thord. but when the messenger came to the thing to tell gunnar of the slaying, then gunnar said-- "this has happened ill, and no tidings could come to my ears which i should think worse; but yet we will now go at once and see njal. i still hope he may take it well, though he be sorely tried." so they went to see njal, and called him to come out and talk to them. he went out at once to meet gunnar, and they talked, nor were there any more men by at first than kolskegg. "hard tidings have i to tell thee," says gunnar; "the slaying of thord freedmanson, and i wish to offer thee self-doom for the slaying." njal held his peace some while, and then said-- "that is well offered, and i will take it; but yet it is to be looked for, that i shall have blame from my wife or from my sons for that, for it will mislike them much; but still i will run the risk, for i know that i have to deal with a good man and true; nor do i wish that any breach should arise in our friendship on my part." "wilt thou let thy sons be by, pray?" says gunnar. "i will not," says njal, "for they will not break the peace which i make, but if they stand by while we make it, they will not pull well together with us." "so it shall be," says gunnar. "see thou to it alone." then they shook one another by the hand, and made peace well and quickly. then njal said--"the award that i make is two hundred in silver, and that thou wilt think much". "i do not think it too much," says gunnar, and went home to his booth. njal's sons came home, and skarphedinn asked whence that great sum of money came, which his father held in his hand. njal said--"i tell you of your foster-father's thord's slaying, and we two, gunnar and i, have now made peace in the matter, and he has paid an atonement for him as for two men". "who slew him?" says skarphedinn. "sigmund and skiolld, but thrain was standing near too," says njal. "they thought they had need of much strength," says skarphedinn, and sang a song-- bold in deeds of derring-do, burdeners of ocean's steeds, strength enough it seems they needed all to slay a single man; when shall we our hands uplift? we who brandish burnished steel-- famous men erst reddened weapons, when? if now we quiet sit? "yes! when shall the day come when we shall lift our hands?" "that will not be long off," says njal, "and then thou shalt not be baulked; but still, methinks, i set great store on your not breaking this peace that i have made." "then we will not break it," says skarphedinn, "but if anything arises between us, then we will bear in mind the old feud." "then i will ask you to spare no one," says njal. chapter xliv. sigmund mocks njal and his sons. now men ride home from the thing; and when gunnar came home, he said to sigmund-- "thou art a more unlucky man than i thought, and turnest thy good gifts to thine own ill. but still i have made peace for thee with njal and his sons; and now, take care that thou dost not let another fly come into thy mouth. thou art not at all after my mind, thou goest about with jibes and jeers, with scorn and mocking; but that is not my turn of mind. that is why thou gettest on so well with hallgerda, because ye two have your minds more alike." gunnar scolded him a long time, and he answered him well, and said he would follow his counsel more for the time to come than he had followed it hitherto. gunnar told him then they might get on together. gunnar and njal kept up their friendship though the rest of their people saw little of one another. it happened once that some gangrel women came to lithend from bergthorsknoll; they were great gossips and rather spiteful tongued. hallgerda had a bower, and sate often in it, and there sate with her daughter thorgerda, and there too were thrain and sigmund, and a crowd of women. gunnar was not there nor kolskegg. these gangrel women went into the bower, and hallgerda greeted them, and made room for them; then she asked them for news, but they said they had none to tell. hallgerda asked where they had been over night; they said at bergthorsknoll. "what was njal doing?" she says. "he was hard at work sitting still," they said. "what were njal's sons doing?" she says; "they think themselves men at any rate." "tall men they are in growth," they say, "but as yet they are all untried; skarphedinn whetted an axe, grim fitted a spearhead to the shaft, helgi rivetted a hilt on a sword, hauskuld strengthened the handle of a shield." "they must be bent on some great deed," says hallgerda. "we do not know that," they say. "what were njal's house-carles doing?" she asks. "we don't know what some of them were doing, but one was carting dung up the hill-side." "what good was there in doing that?" she asks. "he said it made the swathe better there than any where else," they reply. "witless now is njal," says hallgerda, "though he knows how to give counsel on every thing." "how so?" they ask. "i will only bring forward what is true to prove it," says she; "why doesn't he make them cart dung over his beard that he may be like other men? let us call him 'the beardless carle': but his sons we will call 'dung-beardlings'; and now do pray give some stave about them, sigmund, and let us get some good by thy gift of song." "i am quite ready to do that," says he, and sang these verses-- lady proud with hawk in hand. prithee why should dungbeard boys, reft of reason, dare to hammer handle fast on battle shield? for these lads of loathly feature-- lady scattering swanbath's beams[ ]-- shall not shun this ditty shameful which i shape upon them now. he the beardless carle shall listen while i lash him with abuse, loon at whom our stomachs sicken. soon shall hear these words of scorn; far too nice for such base fellows is the name my bounty gives, eën my muse her help refuses, making mirth of dungbeard boys. here i find a nickname fitting for those noisome dungbeard boys-- loath am i to break my bargain linked with such a noble man-- knit we all our taunts together-- known to me is mind of man-- call we now with outburst common, him, that churl, the beardless carle. "thou art a jewel indeed," says hallgerda; "how yielding thou art to what i ask!" just then gunnar came in. he had been standing outside the door of the bower, and heard all the words that had passed. they were in a great fright when they saw him come in, and then all held their peace, but before there had been bursts of laughter. gunnar was very wroth, and said to sigmund, "thou art a foolish man, and one that cannot keep to good advice, and thou revilest njal's sons, and njal himself who is most worth of all; and this thou doest in spite of what thou hast already done. mind, this will be thy death. but if any man repeats these words that thou hast spoken, or these verses that thou hast made, that man shall be sent away at once, and have my wrath beside." but they were all so sore afraid of him, that no one dared to repeat those words. after that he went away, but the gangrel women talked among themselves, and said that they would get a reward from bergthora if they told her all this. they went then away afterwards down thither, and took bergthora aside and told her the whole story of their own free will. bergthora spoke and said, when men sate down to the board, "gifts have been given to all of you, father and sons, and ye will be no true men unless ye repay them somehow". "what gifts are these?" asks skarphedinn. "you, my sons," says bergthora, "have got one gift between you all. ye are nick-named 'dung-beardlings,' but my husband 'the beardless carle'." "ours is no woman's nature," says skarphedinn, "that we should fly into a rage at every little thing." "and yet gunnar was wroth for your sakes," says she, "and he is thought to be good-tempered. but if ye do not take vengeance for this wrong, ye will avenge no shame." "the carline, our mother, thinks this fine sport," says skarphedinn, and smiled scornfully as he spoke, but still the sweat burst out upon his brow, and red flecks came over his cheeks, but that was not his wont. grim was silent and bit his lip. helgi made no sign, and he said never a word. hauskuld went off with bergthora; she came into the room again, and fretted and foamed much. njal spoke and said, "'slow and sure,' says the proverb, mistress! and so it is with many things, though they try men's tempers, that there are always two sides to a story, even when vengeance is taken". but at even when njal was come into his bed, he heard that an axe came against the panel and rang loudly, but there was another shut bed, and there the shields were hung up, and he sees that they are away. he said, "who have taken down our shields?" "thy sons went out with them," says bergthora. njal pulled his shoes on his feet, and went out at once, and round to the other side of the house, and sees that they were taking their course right up the slope; he said, "whither away, skarphedinn?" "to look after thy sheep," he answers. "you would not then be armed," said njal, "if you meant that, and your errand must be something else." then skarphedinn sang a song-- squanderer of hoarded wealth, some there are that own rich treasure, ore of sea that clasps the earth, and yet care to count their sheep; those who forge sharp songs of mocking, death songs, scarcely can possess sense of sheep that crop the grass; such as these i seek in fight; and said afterwards-- "we shall fish for salmon, father." "'twould be well then if it turned out so that the prey does not get away from you." they went their way, but njal went to his bed, and he said to bergthora, "thy sons were out of doors all of them, with arms, and now thou must have egged them on to something". "i will give them my heartfelt thanks," said bergthora, "if they tell me the slaying of sigmund." chapter xlv. the slaying of sigmund and skiolld. now they, njal's sons, fare up to fleetlithe, and were that night under the lithe, and when the day began to break, they came near to lithend. that same morning both sigmund and skiolld rose up and meant to go to the stud-horses; they had bits with them, and caught the horses that were in the "town" and rode away on them. they found the stud-horses between two brooks. skarphedinn caught sight of them, for sigmund was in bright clothing. skarphedinn said, "see you now the red elf yonder, lads?" they looked that way, and said they saw him. skarphedinn spoke again: "thou, hauskuld, shalt have nothing to do with it, for thou wilt often be sent about alone without due heed; but i mean sigmund for myself; methinks that is like a man; but grim and helgi, they shall try to slay skiolld". hauskuld sat him down, but they went until they came up to them. skarphedinn said to sigmund-- "take thy weapons and defend thyself; that is more needful now, than to make mocking songs on me and my brothers." sigmund took up his weapons, but skarphedinn waited the while. skiolld turned against grim and helgi, and they fell hotly to fight. sigmund had a helm on his head, and a shield at his side, and was girt with a sword, his spear was in his hand; now he turns against skarphedinn, and thrusts at once at him with his spear, and the thrust came on his shield. skarphedinn dashes the spearhaft in two, and lifts up his axe and hews at sigmund, and cleaves his shield down to below the handle. sigmund drew his sword and cut at skarphedinn, and the sword cuts into his shield, so that it stuck fast. skarphedinn gave the shield such a quick twist, that sigmund let go his sword. then skarphedinn hews at sigmund with his axe, the "ogress of war". sigmund had on a corselet, the axe came on his shoulder. skarphedinn cleft the shoulder-blade right through, and at the same time pulled the axe towards him, sigmund fell down on both knees, but sprang up again at once. "thou hast lifted low to me already," says skarphedinn, "but still thou shalt fall upon thy mother's bosom ere we two part." "ill is that then," says sigmund. skarphedinn gave him a blow on his helm, and after that dealt sigmund his death-blow. grim cut off skiolld's foot at the ankle-joint, but helgi thrust him through with his spear, and he got his death there and then. skarphedinn saw hallgerda's shepherd, just as he had hewn off sigmund's head; he handed the head to the shepherd, and bade him bear it to hallgerda, and said she would know whether that head had made jeering songs about them, and with that he sang a song. here! this head shall thou, that heapest hoards from ocean-caverns won,[ ] bear to hallgerd with my greeting, her that hurries men to fight; sure am i, o firewood splitter! that yon spendthrift knows it well, and will answer if it ever uttered mocking songs on us. the shepherd casts the head down as soon as ever they parted, for he dared not do so while their eyes were on him. they fared along till they met some men down by markfleet, and told them the tidings. skarphedinn gave himself out as the slayer of sigmund; and grim and helgi as the slayers of skiolld; then they fared home and told njal the tidings. he answers them-- "good luck to your hands! here no self-doom will come to pass as things stand." now we must take up the story, and say that the shepherd came home to lithend. he told hallgerda the tidings. "skarphedinn put sigmund's head into my hands," he says, "and bade me bring it thee; but i dared not do it, for i knew not how thou wouldst like that." "'twas ill that thou didst not do that," she says; "i would have brought it to gunnar, and then he would have avenged his kinsman, or have to bear every man's blame." after that she went to gunnar and said, "i tell thee of thy kinsman sigmund's slaying: skarphedinn slew him, and wanted them to bring me the head". "just what might be looked for to befall him," says gunnar, "for ill redes bring ill luck, and both you and skarphedinn have often done one another spiteful turns". then gunnar went away; he let no steps be taken towards a suit for manslaughter, and did nothing about it. hallgerda often put him in mind of it, and kept saying that sigmund had fallen unatoned. gunnar gave no heed to that. now three things passed away, at each of which men thought that he would follow up the suit: then a knotty point came on gunnar's hands, which he knew not how to set about, and then he rode to find njal. he gave gunnar a hearty welcome. gunnar said to njal, "i am come to seek a bit of good counsel at thy hands about a knotty point". "thou art worthy of it," says njal, and gave him counsel what to do. then gunnar stood up and thanked him. njal then spoke and said, and took gunnar by the hand, "over long hath thy kinsman sigmund been unatoned". "he has been long ago atoned," says gunnar, "but still i will not fling back the honour offered me." gunnar had never spoken an ill word of njal's sons. njal would have nothing else than that gunnar should make his own award in the matter. he awarded two hundred in silver, but let skiolld fall without a price. they paid down all the money at once. gunnar declared this their atonement at the thingskala thing, when most men were at it, and laid great weight on the way in which they (njal and his sons) had behaved; he told too those bad words which cost sigmund his life, and no man was to repeat them or sing the verses, but if any sung them, the man who uttered them was to fall without atonement. both gunnar and njal gave each other their words that no such matters should ever happen that they would not settle among themselves; and this pledge was well kept ever after, and they were always friends. chapter xlvi. of gizur the white and geir the priest. there was a man named gizur the white; he was teit's son; kettlebjorn the old's son, of mossfell. gizur the white kept house at mossfell, and was a great chief. that man is also named in this story, whose name was geir the priest; his mother was thorkatla, another daughter of kettlebjorn the old of mossfell. geir kept house at lithe. he and gizur backed one another in every matter. at that time mord valgard's son kept house at hof on the rangrivervales; he was crafty and spiteful. valgard his father was then abroad, but his mother was dead. he was very envious of gunnar of lithend. he was wealthy, so far as goods went, but had not many friends. chapter xlvii. of otkell in kirkby. there was a man named otkell; he was the son of skarf, the son of hallkell, who fought with gorm of gormness, and felled him on the holm.[ ] this hallkell and kettlebjorn the old were brothers. otkell kept house at kirkby; his wife's name was thorgerda; she was a daughter of mar, the son of runolf, the son of naddad of the faroe isles. otkell was wealthy in goods. his son's name was thorgeir; he was young in years, and a bold dashing man. skamkell was the name of another man; he kept house at another farm called hof; he was well off for money, but he was a spiteful man and a liar; quarrelsome too, and ill to deal with. he was otkell's friend. hallkell was the name of otkell's brother; he was a tall strong man, and lived there with otkell; their brother's name was hallbjorn the white; he brought out to iceland a thrall, whose name was malcolm; he was irish and had not many friends. hallbjorn went to stay with otkell, and so did his thrall malcolm. the thrall was always saying that he should think himself happy if otkell owned him. otkell was kind to him, and gave him a knife and belt, and a full suit of clothes, but the thrall turned his hand to any work that otkell wished. otkell wanted to make a bargain with his brother for the thrall; he said he would give him the thrall, but said too, that he was a worse treasure than he thought. and as soon as otkell owned the thrall, then he did less and less work. otkell often said outright to hallbjorn, that he thought the thrall did little work; and he told otkell that there was worse in him yet to come. at that time came a great scarcity, so that men fell short both of meat and hay, and that spread over all parts of iceland. gunnar shared his hay and meat with many men; and all got them who came thither, so long as his stores lasted. at last it came about that gunnar himself fell short both of hay and meat. then gunnar called on kolskegg to go along with him; he called too on thrain sigfus' son, and lambi sigurd's son. they fared to kirkby, and called otkell out. he greeted them, and gunnar said, "it so happens that i am come to deal with thee for hay and meat, if there be any left". otkell answers, "there is store of both, but i will sell thee neither". "wilt thou give me them then," says gunnar, "and run the risk of my paying thee back somehow?" "i will not do that either," says otkell. skamkell all the while was giving him bad counsel. then thrain sigfus' son said, "it would serve him right if we take both hay and meat and lay down the worth of them instead". skamkell answered, "all the men of mossfell must be dead and gone then, if ye, sons of sigfus, are to come and rob them". "i will have no hand in any robbery," says gunnar. "wilt thou buy a thrall of me?" says otkell. "i'll not spare to do that," says gunnar. after that gunnar bought the thrall, and fared away as things stood. njal hears of this, and said, "such things are ill done, to refuse to let gunnar buy; and it is not a good outlook for others if such men as he cannot get what they want". "what's the good of thy talking so much about such a little matter?" says bergthora; "far more like a man would it be to let him have both meat and hay, when thou lackest neither of them." "that is clear as day," says njal, "and i will of a surety supply his need somewhat." then he fared up to thorolfsfell, and his sons with him, and they bound hay on fifteen horses; but on five horses they had meat. njal came to lithend, and called gunnar out. he greeted them kindly. "here is hay and meat," said njal, "which i will give thee; and my wish is, that thou shouldst never look to any one else than to me if thou standest in need of any thing." "good are thy gifts," says gunnar, "but methinks thy friendship is still more worth, and that of thy sons." after that njal fared home, and now the spring passes away. chapter xlviii. how hallgerda makes malcolm steal from kirkby. now gunnar is about to ride to the thing, but a great crowd of men from the side east turned in as guests at his house. gunnar bade them come and be his guests again, as they rode back from the thing; and they said they would do so. now they ride to the thing, and njal and his sons were there. that thing was still and quiet. now we must take up the story, and say that hallgerda comes to talk with malcolm the thrall. "i have thought of an errand to send thee on," she says; "thou shalt go to kirkby." "and what shall i do there?" he says. "thou shalt steal from thence food enough to load two horses, and mind and have butter and cheese; but thou shalt lay fire in the storehouse, and all will think that it has arisen out of heedlessness, but no one will think that there has been theft." "bad have i been," said the thrall, "but never have i been a thief." "hear a wonder!" says hallgerda, "thou makest thyself good, thou that hast been both thief and murderer; but thou shalt not dare to do aught else than go, else will i let thee be slain." he thought he knew enough of her to be sure that she would so do if he went not; so he took at night two horses and laid pack-saddles on them, and went his way to kirkby. the house-dog knew him and did not bark at him, and ran and fawned on him. after that he went to the storehouse and loaded the two horses with food out of it, but the storehouse he burnt, and the dog he slew. he went up along by rangriver, and his shoe-thong snapped; so he takes his knife and makes the shoe right, but he leaves the knife and belt lying there behind him. he fares till he comes to lithend; then he misses the knife, but dares not to go back. now he brings hallgerda the food, and she showed herself well pleased at it. next morning when men came out of doors at kirkby there they saw great scathe. then a man was sent to the thing to tell otkell, he bore the loss well, and said it must have happened because the kitchen was next to the storehouse; and all thought that that was how it happened. now men ride home from the thing, and many rode to lithend. hallgerda set food on the hoard, and in came cheese and butter. gunnar knew that such food was not to be looked for in his house, and asked hallgerda whence it came? "thence," she says, "whence thou mightest well eat of it; besides, it is no man's business to trouble himself with housekeeping." gunnar got wroth and said, "ill indeed is it if i am a partaker with thieves"; and with that he gave her a slap on the cheek. she said she would bear that slap in mind and repay it if she could. so she went off and he went with her, and then all that was on the board was cleared away, but flesh-meat was brought in instead, and all thought that was because the flesh was thought to have been got in a better way. now the men who had been at the thing fare away. chapter xlix. of skamkell's evil counsel. now we must tell of skamkell. he rides after some sheep up along rangriver, and he sees something shining in the path. he finds a knife and belt, and thinks he knows both of them. he fares with them to kirkby; otkell was out of doors when skamkell came. he spoke to him and said-- "knowest thou aught of these pretty things?" "of a surety," says otkell, "i know them." "who owns them?" asks skamkell. "malcolm the thrall," says otkell. "then more shall see and know them than we two," says skamkell, "for true will i be to thee in counsel." they showed them to many men, and all knew them. then skamkell said-- "what counsel wilt thou now take?" "we shall go and see mord valgard's son," answers otkell, "and seek counsel of him." so they went to hof, and showed the pretty things to mord, and asked him if he knew them? he said he knew them well enough, but what was there in that? "do you think you have a right to look for anything at lithend?" "we think it hard for us," says skamkell, "to know what to do, when such mighty men have a hand in it." "that is so, sure enough," says mord, "but yet i will get to know those things out of gunnar's household, which none of you will ever know." "we would give thee money," they say, "if thou wouldst search out this thing." "that money i shall buy full dear," answered mord, "but still, perhaps, it may be that i will look at the matter." they gave him three marks of silver for lending them his help. then he gave them this counsel, that women should go about from house to house with small wares, and give them to the housewives, and mark what was given them in return. "for," he says, "'tis the turn of mind of all men first to give away what has been stolen, if they have it in their keeping, and so it will be here also, if this hath happened by the hand of man. ye shall then come and show me what has been given to each in each house, and i shall then be free from further share in this matter, if the truth comes to light." to this they agreed, and went home afterwards. mord sends women about the country, and they were away half a month. then they came back, and had big bundles. mord asked where they had most given them? they said that at lithend most was given them, and hallgerda had been most bountiful to them. he asked what was given them there? "cheese," say they. he begged to see it, and they showed it to him, and it was in great slices. these he took and kept. a little after, mord fared to see otkell, and bade that he would bring thorgerda's cheese-mould; and when that was done, he laid the slices down in it, and lo! they fitted the mould in every way. then they saw, too, that a whole cheese had been given to them. then mord said, "now may ye see that hallgerda must have stolen the cheese"; and they all passed the same judgment; and then mord said, that now he thought he was free of this matter. after that they parted. shortly after kolskegg fell to talking with gunnar, and said-- "ill is it to tell, but the story is in every man's mouth, that hallgerda must have stolen, and that she was at the bottom of all that great scathe that befell at kirkby." gunnar said that he too thought that must be so. "but what is to be done now?" kolskegg answered, "that wilt think it thy most bounden duty to make atonement for thy wife's wrong, and methinks it were best that thou farest to see otkell, and makest him a handsome offer." "this is well spoken," says gunnar, "and so it shall be." a little after gunnar sent after thrain sigfus' son, and lambi sigurd's son, and they came at once. gunnar told them whither he meant to go, and they were well pleased. gunnar rode with eleven men to kirkby, and called otkell out. skamkell was there too, and said, "i will go out with thee, and it will be best now to have the balance of wit on thy side. and i would wish to stand closest by thee when thou needest it most, and now this will be put to the proof. methinks it were best that thou puttest on an air of great weight." then they, otkell and skamkell, and hallkell and hallbjorn, went out all of them. they greeted gunnar, and he took their greeting well. otkell asks whither he meant to go? "no farther than here," says gunnar, "and my errand hither is to tell thee about that bad mishap--how it arose from the plotting of my wife and that thrall whom i bought from thee." "'tis only what was to be looked for," says hallbjorn. "now i will make thee a good offer," says gunnar, "and the offer is this, that the best men here in the country round settle the matter." "this is a fair-sounding offer," said skamkell, "but an unfair and uneven one. thou art a man who has many friends among the householders, but otkell has not many friends." "well," says gunnar, "then i will offer thee that i shall make an award, and utter it here on this spot, and so we will settle the matter, and my good-will shall follow the settlement. but i will make thee an atonement by paying twice the worth of what was lost." "this choice shalt thou not take," said skamkell; "and it is unworthy to give up to him the right to make his own award, when thou oughtest to have kept it for thyself." so otkell said, "i will not give up to thee, gunnar, the right to make thine own award." "i see plainly," said gunnar, "the help of men who will be paid off for it one day i daresay; but come now, utter an award for thyself." otkell leant toward skamkell and said, "what shall i answer now?" "this thou shalt call a good offer, but still put thy suit into the hands of gizur the white, and geir the priest, and then many will say this, that thou behavest like hallkell, thy grandfather, who was the greatest of champions." "well offered is this, gunnar," said otkell, "but still my will is thou wouldst give me time to see gizur the white." "do now whatever thou likest in the matter," said gunnar; "but men will say this, that thou couldst not see thine own honour when thou wouldst have none of the choices i offer thee." then gunnar rode home, and when he had gone away, hallbjorn said, "here i see how much man differs from man. gunnar made thee good offers, but thou wouldst take none of them; or how dost thou think to strive with gunnar in a quarrel, when no one is his match in fight. but now he is still so kind-hearted a man that it may be he will let these offers stand, though thou art only ready to take them afterwards. methinks it were best that thou farest to see gizur the white and geir the priest now this very hour." otkell let them catch his horse, and made ready in every way. otkell was not sharpsighted, and skamkell walked on the way along with him, and said to otkell-- "methought it strange that thy brother would not take this toil from thee, and now i will make thee an offer to fare instead of thee, for i know that the journey is irksome to thee." "i will take that offer," says otkell, "but mind and be as truthful as ever thou canst." "so it shall be," says skamkell. then skamkell took his horse and cloak, but otkell walks home. hallbjorn was out of doors, and said to otkell-- "ill is it to have a thrall for one's bosom friend, and we shall rue this for ever that thou hast turned back, and it is an unwise step to send the greatest liar on an errand, of which one may so speak that men's lives hang on it." "thou wouldst be sore afraid," says otkell, "if gunnar had his bill aloft, when thou art so scared now." "no one knows who will be most afraid then," said hallbjorn; "but this thou wilt have to own, that gunnar does not lose much time in brandishing his bill when he is wroth." "ah!" said otkell, "ye are all of you for yielding but skamkell." and then they were both wroth. chapter l. of skamkell's lying. skamkell came to mossfell, and repeated all the offers to gizur. "it so seems to me," says gizur, "as though these have been bravely offered; but why took he not these offers?" "the chief cause was," answers skamkell, "that all wished to show thee honour, and that was why he waited for thy utterance; besides, that is best for all." so skamkell stayed there the night over, but gizur sent a man to fetch geir the priest; and he came there early. then gizur told him the story and said-- "what course is to be taken now?" "as thou no doubt hast already made up thy mind--to make the best of the business for both sides." "now we will let skamkell tell his tale a second time, and see how he repeats it." so they did that, and gizur said-- "thou must have told this story right; but still i have seen thee to be the wickedest of men, and there is no faith in faces if thou turnest out well." skamkell fared home, and rides first to kirkby and calls otkell out. he greets skamkell well, and skamkell brought him the greeting of gizur and geir. "but about this matter of the suit," he says, "there is no need to speak softly, how that it is the will of both gizur and geir that this suit should not be settled in a friendly way. they gave that counsel that a summons should be set on foot, and that gunnar should be summoned for having partaken of the goods, but hallgerda for stealing them." "it shall be done," said otkell, "in everything as they have given counsel." "they thought most of this," says skamkell, "that thou hadst behaved so proudly; but as for me, i made as great a man of thee in everything as i could." now otkell tells all this to his brothers, and hallbjorn said-- "this must be the biggest lie." now the time goes on until the last of the summoning days before the althing came. then otkell called on his brothers and skamkell to ride on the business of the summons to lithend. hallbjorn said he would go, but said also that they would rue this summoning as time went on. now they rode twelve of them together to lithend, but when they came into the "town," there was gunnar out of doors, and knew naught of their coming till they had ridden right up to the house. he did not go indoors then, and otkell thundered out the summons there and then; but when they had made an end of the summoning skamkell said-- "is it all right, master?" "ye know that best," says gunnar, "but i will put thee in mind of this journey one of these days, and of thy good help." "that will not harm us," says skamkell, "if thy bill be not aloft." gunnar was very wroth and went indoors, and told kolskegg, and kolskegg said-- "ill was it that we were not out of doors; they should have come here on the most shameful journey, if we had been by." "everything bides its time," says gunnar; "but this journey will not turn out to their honour." a little after gunnar went and told njal. "let it not worry thee a jot," said njal, "for this will be the greatest honour to thee, ere this thing comes to an end. as for us, we will all back thee with counsel and force." gunnar thanked him and rode home. otkell rides to the thing, and his brothers with him and skamkell. chapter li. of gunnar. gunnar rode to the thing and all the sons of sigfus; njal and his sons too, they all went with gunnar; and it was said that no band was so well knit and hardy as theirs. gunnar went one day to the booth of the dalemen; hrut was by the booth and hauskuld, and they greeted gunnar well. now gunnar tells them the whole story of the suit up to that time. "what counsel gives njal?" asks hrut. "he bade me seek you brothers," says gunnar, "and said he was sure that he and you would look at the matter in the same light." "he wishes then," says hrut, "that i should say what i think for kinship's sake; and so it shall be. thou shalt challenge gizur the white to combat on the island, if they do not leave the whole award to thee; but kolskegg shall challenge geir the priest. as for otkell and his crew, men must be got ready to fall on them; and now we have such great strength all of us together, that thou mayst carry out whatever thou wilt." gunnar went home to his booth and told njal. "just what i looked for," said njal. wolf aurpriest got wind of this plan, and told gizur, and gizur said to otkell-- "who gave thee that counsel that thou shouldst summon gunnar?" "skamkell told me that was the counsel of both geir the priest and thyself." "but where is that scoundrel," says gizur, "who has thus lied?" "he lies sick up at our booth," says otkell. "may he never rise from his bed," says gizur, "now we must all go to see gunnar, and offer him the right to make his own award; but i know not whether he will take that now." many men spoke ill of skamkell, and he lay sick all through the thing. gizur and his friends went to gunnar's booth; their coming was known, and gunnar was told as he sat in his booth, and then they all went out and stood in array. gizur the white came first, and after a while he spoke and said-- "this is our offer--that thou, gunnar, makest thine own award in this suit." "then," says gunnar, "it was no doubt far from thy counsel that i was summoned." "i gave no such counsel," says gizur, "neither i nor geir." "then thou must clear thyself of this charge by fitting proof." "what proof dost thou ask?" says gizur. "that thou takest an oath," says gunnar. "that i will do," says gizur, "if thou wilt take the award into thine own hands." "that was the offer i made a while ago," says gunnar; "but now, methinks, i have a greater matter to pass judgment on." "it will not be right to refuse to make thine own award," said njal; "for the greater the matter, the greater the honour in making it." "well," said gunnar, "i will do this to please my friends, and utter my award; but i give otkell this bit of advice, never to give me cause for quarrel hereafter." then hrut and hauskuld were sent for, and they came thither, and then gizur the white and geir the priest took their oaths; but gunnar made his award, and spoke with no man about it, and afterwards he uttered it as follows:-- "this is my award," he says; "first, i lay it down that the storehouse must be paid for, and the food that was therein; but for the thrall, i will pay thee no fine, for that thou hiddest his faults; but i award him back to thee; for as the saying is, 'birds of a feather flock most together'. then, on the other hand, i see that thou hast summoned me in scorn and mockery, and for that i award to myself no less a sum than what the house that was burnt and the stores in it were worth; but if ye think it better that we be not set at one again, then i will let you have your choice of that, but if so i have already made up my mind what i shall do, and then i will fulfil my purpose." "what we ask," said gizur, "is that thou shouldst not be hard on otkell, but we beg this of thee, on the other hand, that thou wouldst be his friend." "that shall never be," said gunnar, "so long as i live; but he shall have skamkell's friendship; on that he has long leant." "well," answers gizur, "we will close with thee in this matter, though thou alone layest down the terms." then all this atonement was made and hands were shaken on it, and gunnar said to otkell-- "it were wiser to go away to thy kinsfolk; but if thou wilt be here in this country, mind that thou givest me no cause of quarrel." "that is wholesome counsel," said gizur; "and so he shall do." so gunnar had the greatest honour from that suit, and afterwards men rode home from the thing. now gunnar sits in his house at home, and so things are quiet for a while. chapter lii. of runolf, the son of wolf aurpriest. there was a man named runolf, the son of wolf aurpriest, he kept house at the dale, east of markfleet. he was otkell's guest once when he rode from the thing. otkell gave him an ox, all black, without a spot of white, nine winters old. runolf thanked him for the gift, and bade him come and see him at home whenever he chose to go; and this bidding stood over for some while, so that he had not paid the visit. runolf often sent men to him and put him in mind that he ought to come; and he always said he would come, but never went. now otkell had two horses, dun coloured, with a black stripe down the back; they were the best steeds to ride in all the country round, and so fond of each other, that whenever one went before, the other ran after him. there was an easterling staying with otkell, whose name was audulf; he had set his heart on signy otkell's daughter. audulf was a tall man in growth, and strong. chapter liii. how otkell rode over gunnar. it happened next spring that otkell said that they would ride east to the dale, to pay runolf a visit, and all showed themselves well pleased at that. skamkell and his two brothers, and audulf and three men more, went along with otkell. otkell rode one of the dun horses, but the other ran loose by his side. they shaped their course east towards markfleet; and now otkell gallops ahead, and now the horses race against each other, and they break away from the path up towards the fleetlithe. now, otkell goes faster than he wished, and it happened that gunnar had gone away from home out of his house all alone; and he had a corn-sieve in one hand, but in the other a hand-axe. he goes down to his seed field and sows his corn there, and had laid his cloak of fine stuff and his axe down by his aide, and so he sows the corn a while. now, it must be told how otkell rides faster than he would. he had spurs on his feet, and so he gallops down over the ploughed field, and neither of them sees the other; and just as gunnar stands upright, otkell rides down upon him, and drives one of the spurs into gunnar's ear, and gives him a great gash, and it bleeds at once much. just then otkell's companions rode up. "ye may see, all of you," says gunnar, "that thou hast drawn my blood, and it is unworthy to go on so. first thou hast summoned me, but now thou treadest me under foot, and ridest over me." skamkell said, "well it was no worse, master, but thou wast not one whit less wroth at the thing, when thou tookest the self-doom and clutchedst thy bill." gunnar said, "when we two next meet thou shalt see the bill." after that they part thus, and skamkell shouted out and said, "ye ride hard, lads!" gunnar went home, and said never a word to any one about what had happened, and no one thought that this wound could have come by man's doing. it happened, though, one day that he told it to his brother kolskegg, and kolskegg said-- "this thou shalt tell to more men, so that it may not be said that thou layest blame on dead men; for it will be gainsaid if witnesses do not know beforehand what has passed between you." then gunnar told it to his neighbours, and there was little talk about it at first. otkell comes east to the dale, and they get a hearty welcome there, and sit there a week. skamkell told runolf all about their meeting with gunnar, and how it had gone off; and one man had happened to ask how gunnar behaved. "why," said skamkell, "if it were a low-born man it would have been said that he had wept." "such things are ill spoken," says runolf, "and when ye two next meet, thou wilt have to own that there is no voice of weeping in his frame of mind; and it will be well if better men have not to pay for thy spite. now it seems to me best when ye wish to go home that i should go with you, for gunnar will do me no harm." "i will not have that," says otkell; "but i will ride across the fleet lower down." runolf gave otkell good gifts, and said they should not see one another again. otkell bade him then to bear his sons in mind if things turned out so. chapter liv. the fight at rangriver. now we must take up the story, and say that gunnar was out of doors at lithend, and sees his shepherd galloping up to the yard. the shepherd rode straight into the "town"; and gunnar said, "why ridest thou so hard?" "i would be faithful to thee," said the man; "i saw men riding down along markfleet, eight of them together, and four of them were in coloured clothes." gunnar said, "that must be otkell". the lad said, "i have often heard many temper-trying words of skamkell's; for skamkell spoke away there east at dale, and said that thou sheddest tears when they rode over thee; but i tell it thee because i cannot bear to listen to such speeches of worthless men". "we must not be word-sick," says gunnar, "but from this day forth thou shalt do no other work than what thou choosest for thyself." "shall i say aught of this to kolskegg thy brother?" asked the shepherd. "go thou and sleep," says gunnar; "i will tell kolskegg." the lad laid him down and fell asleep at once, but gunnar took the shepherd's horse and laid his saddle on him; he took his shield, and girded him with his sword, oliver's gift; he sets his helm on his head; takes his bill, and something sung loud in it, and his mother, rannveig, heard it. she went up to him and said, "wrathful art thou now, my son, and never saw i thee thus before". gunnar goes out, and drives the butt of his spear into the earth, and throws himself into the saddle, and rides away. his mother, rannveig, went into the sitting-room, where there was a great noise of talking. "ye speak loud," she says, "but yet the bill gave a louder sound when gunnar went out." kolskegg heard what she said, and spoke, "this betokens no small tidings". "that is well," says hallgerda, "now they will soon prove whether he goes away from them weeping." kolskegg takes his weapons and seeks him a horse, and rides after gunnar as fast as he could. gunnar rides across acretongue, and so to geilastofna, and thence to rangriver, and down the stream to the ford at hof. there were some women at the milking-post there. gunnar jumped off his horse and tied him up. by this time the others were riding up towards him; there were flat stones covered with mud in the path that led down to the ford. gunnar called out to them and said, "now is the time to guard yourselves; here now is the bill, and here now ye will put it to the proof whether i shed one tear for all of you". then they all of them sprang off their horses' backs and made towards gunnar. hallbjorn was the foremost. "do not thou come on," says gunnar; "thee last of all would i harm; but i will spare no one if i have to fight to my life." "that i cannot do," says hallbjorn; "thou wilt strive to kill my brother for all that, and it is a shame if i sit idly by." and as he said this he thrust at gunnar with a great spear which he held in both hands. gunnar threw his shield before the blow, but hallbjorn pierced the shield through. gunnar thrust the shield down so hard that it stood fast in the earth,[ ] but he brandished his sword so quickly that no eye could follow it, and he made a blow with the sword, and it fell on hallbjorn's arm above the wrist, so that it cut it off. skamkell ran behind gunnar's back and makes a blow at him with a great axe. gunnar turned short round upon him and parries the blow with the bill, and caught the axe under one of its horns with such a wrench that it flew out of skamkell's hand away into the river. then gunnar sang a song. once thou askedst, foolish fellow, of this man, this sea-horse racer, when as fast as feet could foot it forth ye fled from farm of mine, whether that were rightly summoned? now with gore the spear we redden, battle-eager and avenge us thus on thee, vile source of strife. gunnar gives another thrust with his bill, and through skamkell, and lifts him up and casts him down in the muddy path on his head. audulf the easterling snatches up a spear and launches it at gunnar. gunnar caught the spear with his hand in the air, and hurled it back at once, and it flew through the shield and the easterling too, and so down into the earth. otkell smites at gunnar with his sword, and aims at his leg just below the knee, but gunnar leapt up into the air and he misses him. then gunnar thrusts at him the bill, and the blow goes through him. then kolskegg comes up, and rushes at once at hallkell and dealt him his death-blow with his short sword. there and then they slay eight men. a woman who saw all this, ran home and told mord, and besought him to part them. "they alone will be there," he says, "of whom i care not though they slay one another." "thou canst not mean to say that," she says, "for thy kinsman gunnar, and thy friend otkell will be there." "baggage that thou art," he says, "thou art always chattering," and so he lay still indoors while they fought. gunnar and kolskegg rode home after this work, and they rode hard up along the river bank, and gunnar slipped off his horse and came down on his feet. then kolskegg said, "hard now thou ridest, brother!" "ay," said gunnar, "that was what skamkell said when he uttered those very words when they rode over me." "well! thou hast avenged that now," says kolskegg. "i would like to know," says gunnar, "whether i am by so much the less brisk and bold than other men, because i think more of killing men than they?" chapter lv. njal's advice to gunnar. now those tidings are heard far and wide, and many say that they thought they had not happened before it was likely. gunnar rode to bergthorsknoll and told njal of these deeds. njal said, "thou hast done great things, but thou hast been sorely tried." "how will it now go henceforth?" says gunnar. "wilt thou that i tell thee what hath not yet come to pass?" asks njal. "thou wilt ride to the thing, and thou wilt abide by my counsel and get the greatest honour from this matter. this will be the beginning of thy manslayings." "but give me some cunning counsel," says gunnar. "i will do that," says njal: "never slay more than one man in the same stock, and never break the peace which good men and true make between thee and others, and least of all in such a matter as this." gunnar said, "i should have thought there was more risk of that with others than with me." "like enough," says njal, "but still thou shalt so think of thy quarrels that, if that should come to pass of which i have warned thee, then thou wilt have but a little while to live; but otherwise, thou wilt come to be an old man." gunnar said, "dost thou know what will be thine own death?" "i know it," says njal. "what?" asks gunnar. "that," says njal, "which all would be the last to think." after that gunnar rode home. a man was sent to gizur the white and geir the priest, for they had the blood-feud after otkell. then they had a meeting, and had a talk about what was to be done; and they were of one mind that the quarrel should be followed up at law. then some one was sought who would take the suit up, but no one was ready to do that. "it seems to me," says gizur, "that now there are only two courses, that one of us two undertakes the suit, and then we shall have to draw lots who it shall be, or else the man will be unatoned. we may make up our minds, too, that this will be a heavy suit to touch; gunnar has many kinsmen and is much beloved; but that one of us who does not draw the lot shall ride to the thing and never leave it until the suit comes to an end." after that they drew lots, and geir the priest drew the lot to take up the suit. a little after, they rode from the west over the river, and came to the spot where the meeting had been by rangriver, and dug up the bodies, and took witness to the wounds. after that they gave lawful notice and summoned nine neighbours to bear witness in the suit. they were told that gunnar was at home with about thirty men; then geir the priest asked whether gizur would ride against him with one hundred men. "i will not do that," says he, "though the balance of force is great on our side." after that they rode back home. the news that the suit was set on foot was spread all over the country, and the saying ran that the thing would be very noisy and stormy. chapter lvi. gunnar and geir the priest strive at the thing. there was a man named skapti. he was the son of thorod. that father and son were great chiefs, and very well skilled in law. thorod was thought to be rather crafty and guileful. they stood by gizur the white in every quarrel. as for the lithemen and the dwellers by rangriver, they came in a great body to the thing. gunnar was so beloved that all said with one voice that they would back him. now they all come to the thing and fit up their booths. in company with gizur the white were these chiefs: skapti thorod's son, asgrim ellidagrim's son, oddi of kidberg, and halldor ornolf's son. now one day men went to the hill of laws, and then geir the priest stood up and gave notice that he had a suit of manslaughter against gunnar for the slaying of otkell. another suit of manslaughter he brought against gunnar for the slaying of hallbjorn the white; then too he went on in the same way as to the slaying of audulf, and so too as to the slaying of skamkell. then too he laid a suit of manslaughter against kolskegg for the slaying of hallkell. and when he had given due notice of all his suits of manslaughter it was said that he spoke well. he asked, too, in what quarter court the suits lay, and in what house in the district the defendants dwelt. after that men went away from the hill of laws, and so the thing goes on till the day when the courts were to be set to try suits. then either side gathered their men together in great strength. geir the priest and gizur the white stood at the court of the men of rangriver looking north, and gunnar and njal stood looking south towards the court. geir the priest bade gunnar to listen to his oath, and then he took the oath, and afterwards declared his suit. then he let men bear witness of the notice given of the suit; then he called upon the neighbours who were to form the inquest to take their seats; then he called on gunnar to challenge the inquest; and then he called on the inquest to utter their finding. then the neighbours who were summoned on the inquest went to the court and took witness, and said that there was a bar to their finding in the suit as to audulf's slaying, because the next of kin who ought to follow it up was in norway, and so they had nothing to do with that suit. after that they uttered their finding in the suit as to otkell, and brought in gunnar as truly guilty of killing him. then geir the priest called on gunnar for his defence, and took witness of all the steps in the suit which had been proved. then gunnar, in his turn, called on geir the priest to listen to his oath, and to the defence which he was about to bring forward in the suit. then he took the oath and said-- "this defence i make to this suit, that i took witness and outlawed otkell before my neighbours for that bloody wound which i got when otkell gave me a hurt with his spur; but thee, geir the priest, i forbid by a lawful protest made before a priest to pursue this suit, and so, too, i forbid the judges to hear it; and with this i make all the steps hitherto taken in this suit void and of none-effect. i forbid thee by a lawful protest, a full, fair, and binding protest, as i have a right to forbid thee by the common custom of the thing and by the law of the land. "besides, i will tell thee something else which i mean to do," says gunnar. "what!" says geir, "wilt thou challenge me to the island as thou art wont, and not bear the law?" "not that," says gunnar; "i shall summon thee at the hill of laws for that thou calledst those men on the inquest who had no right to deal with audulf's slaying, and i will declare thee for that guilty of outlawry." then njal said, "things must not take this turn, for the only end of it will be that this strife will be carried to the uttermost. each of you, as it seems to me, has much on his side. there are some of these manslaughters, gunnar, about which thou canst say nothing to hinder the court from finding thee guilty; but thou hast set on foot a suit against geir, in which he, too, must be found guilty. thou too, geir the priest, shalt know that this suit of outlawry which hangs over thee shall not fall to the ground if thou wilt not listen to my words." thorod the priest said, "it seems to us as though the most peaceful way would be that a settlement and atonement were come to in the suit. but why sayest thou so little, gizur the white?" "it seems to me," says gizur, "as though we shall need to have strong props for our suit; we may see, too, that gunnar's friends stand near him, and so the best turn for us that things can take will be that good men and true should utter an award on the suit, if gunnar so wills it." "i have ever been willing to make matters up," says gunnar; "and, besides, ye have much wrong to follow up, but still i think i was hard driven to do as i did." and now the end of those suits was, by the counsel of the wisest men, that all the suits were put to arbitration; six men were to make this award, and it was uttered there and then at the thing. the award was that skamkell should be unatoned. the blood money for otkell's death was to be set off against the hurt gunnar got from the spur; and as for the rest of the manslaughters, they were paid for after the worth of the men, and gunnar's kinsmen gave money so that all the fines might be paid up at the thing. then geir the priest and gizur the white went up and gave gunnar pledges that they would keep the peace in good faith. gunnar rode home from the thing, and thanked men for their help, and gave gifts to many, and got the greatest honour from the suit. now gunnar sits at home in his honour. chapter lvii. of starkad and his sons. there was a man named starkad; he was a son of bork the waxytoothed-blade, the son of thorkell clubfoot, who took the land round about threecorner as the first settler. his wife's name was hallbera. the sons of starkad and hallbera were these: thorgeir and bork and thorkell. hildigunna the leech was their sister. they were very proud men in temper, hard-hearted and unkind. they treated men wrongfully. there was a man named egil; he was a son of kol, who took land as a settler between storlek and reydwater. the brother of egil was aunund of witchwood, father of hall the strong, who was at the slaying of holt-thorir with the sons of kettle the smooth-tongued. egil kept house at sandgil; his sons were these: kol and ottar and hauk. their mother's name was steinvor; she was starkad's sister. egil's sons were tall and strifeful; they were most unfair men. they were always on one side with starkad's sons. their sister was gudruna nightsun, and she was the best-bred of women. egil had taken into his house two easterlings; the one's name was thorir and the other's thorgrim. they were not long come out hither for the first time, and were wealthy and beloved by their friends; they were well skilled in arms, too, and dauntless in everything. starkad had a good horse of chesnut hue, and it was thought that no horse was his match in fight. once it happened that these brothers from sandgil were away under the threecorner. they had much gossip about all the householders in the fleetlithe, and they fell at last to asking whether there was any one that would fight a horse against them. but there were some men there who spoke so as to flatter and honour them, that not only was there no one who would dare do that, but that there was no one that had such a horse. then hildigunna answered, "i know that man who will dare to fight horses with you". "name him," they say. "gunnar has a brown horse," she says, "and he will dare to fight his horse against you, and against any one else." "as for you women," they say, "you think no one can be gunnar's match; but though geir the priest or gizur the white have come off with shame from before him, still it is not settled that we shall fare in the same way." "ye will fare much worse," she says; and so there arose out of this the greatest strife between them. then starkad said-- "my will is that ye try your hands on gunnar last of all; for ye will find it hard work to go against his good luck." "thou wilt give us leave, though, to offer him a horse-fight?" "i will give you leave, if ye play him no trick." they said they would be sure to do what their father said. now they rode to lithend; gunnar was at home, and went out, and kolskegg and hjort went with him, and they gave them a hearty welcome, and asked whither they meant to go? "no farther than hither," they say. "we are told that thou hast a good horse, and we wish to challenge thee to a horse-fight." "small stories can go about my horse," says gunnar; "he is young and untried in every way." "but still thou wilt be good enough to have the fight, for hildigunna guessed that thou wouldst be easy in matching thy horse." "how came ye to talk about that?" says gunnar. "there were some men," say they, "who were sure that no one would dare to fight his horse with ours." "i would dare to fight him," says gunnar; "but i think that was spitefully said." "shall we look upon the match as made, then?" they asked. "well, your journey will seem to you better if ye have your way in this; but still i will beg this of you, that we so fight our horses that we make sport for each other, but that no quarrel may arise from it, and that ye put no shame upon me; but if ye do to me as ye do to others, then there will be no help for it but that i shall give you such a buffet as it will seem hard to you to put up with. in a word, i shall do then just as ye do first." then they ride home. starkad asked how their journey had gone off; they said that gunnar had made their going good. "he gave his word to fight his horse, and we settled when and where the horse-fight should be; but it was plain in everything that he thought he fell short of us, and he begged and prayed to get off." "it will often be found," says hildigunna, "that gunnar is slow to be drawn into quarrels, but a hard hitter if he cannot avoid them." gunnar rode to see njal, and told him of the horse-fight, and what words had passed between them, "but how dost thou think the horse-fight will turn out?" "thou wilt be uppermost," says njal, "but yet many a man's bane will arise out of this fight." "will my bane perhaps come out of it?" asks gunnar. "not out of this," says njal; "but still they will bear in mind both the old and the new feud who fate against thee, and thou wilt have naught left, for it but to yield." then gunnar rode home. chapter lviii. how gunnar's horse fought. just then gunnar heard of the death of his father-in-law hauskuld; a few nights after, thorgerda, thrain's wife, was delivered at gritwater, and gave birth to a boy child. then she sent a man to her mother, and bade her choose whether it should be called glum or hauskuld. she bade call it hauskuld. so that name was given to the boy. gunnar and hallgerda had two sons, the one's name was hogni and the other's grani. hogni was a brave man of few words, distrustful and slow to believe, but truthful. now men ride to the horse-fight, and a very great crowd is gathered together there. gunnar was there and his brothers, and the sons of sigfus. njal and all his sons. there too was come starkad and his sons, and egil and his sons, and they said to gunnar that now they would lead the horses together. gunner said, "that was well". skarphedinn said, "wilt thou that i drive thy horse, kinsman gunnar?" "i will not have that," says gunnar. "it wouldn't be amiss though," says skarphedinn; "we are hot-headed on both sides." "ye would say or do little," says gunnar, "before a quarrel would spring up; but with me it will take longer, though it will be all the same in the end." after that the horses were led together; gunnar busked him to drive his horse, but skarphedinn led him out. gunnar was in a red kirtle, and had about his loins a broad belt, and a great riding-rod in his hand. then the horses run at one another, and bit each other long, so that there was no need for any one to touch them, and that was the greatest sport. then thorgeir and kol made up their minds that they would push their horse forward just as the horses rushed together, and see if gunnar would fall before him. now the horses ran at one another again, and both thorgeir and kol ran alongside their horse's flank. gunnar pushes his horse against them, and what happened in a trice was this, that thorgeir and his brother fall down flat on their backs, and their horse a-top of them. then they spring up and rush at gunnar, gunnar swings himself free and seizes kol, casts him down on the field, so that he lies senseless, thorgeir starkad's son smote gunnar's horse such a blow that one of his eyes started out. gunnar smote thorgeir with his riding-rod, and down falls thorgeir senseless; but gunnar goes to his horse, and said to kolskegg, "cut off the horse's head; he shall not live a maimed and blemished beast". so kolskegg cut the head off the horse. then thorgeir got on his feet and took his weapons, and wanted to fly at gunnar, but that was stopped, and there was a great throng and crush. skarphedinn said, "this crowd wearies me, and it is far more manly that men should fight it out with weapons"; and so he sang a song,-- at the thing there is a throng; past all bounds the crowding comes; hard 'twill be to patch up peace 'twixt the men: this wearies me; worthier is it far for men weapons red with gore to stain; i for one would sooner tame hunger huge of cub of wolf. gunnar was still, so that one man held him, and spoke no ill words. njal tried to bring about a settlement, or to get pledges of peace; but thorgeir said he would neither give nor take peace; far rather, he said, would he see gunnar dead for the blow. kolskegg said, "gunnar has before now stood too fast than that he should have fallen for words alone, and so it will be again". now men ride away from the horse-field, every one to his home. they make no attack on gunnar, and so that half-year passed away. at the thing, the summer after, gunnar met olaf the peacock, his cousin, and he asked him to come and see him, but yet bade him beware of himself; "for," says he, "they will do us all the harm they can, and mind and fare always with many men at thy back". he gave him much good counsel beside, and they agreed that there should be the greatest friendship between them. chapter lix. of asgrim and wolf uggis' son. asgrim ellidagrim's son had a suit to follow up at the thing against wolf uggis' son. it was a matter of inheritance, asgrim took it up in such a way as was seldom his wont; for there was a bar to his suit, and the bar was this, that he had summoned five neighbours to bear witness, when he ought to have summoned nine. and now they have this as their bar. then gunnar spoke and said, "i will challenge thee to single combat on the island, wolf uggis' son, if men are not to get their rights by law; and njal and my friend helgi would like that i should take some share in defending thy cause, asgrim, if they were not here themselves." "but," says wolf, "this quarrel is not one between thee and me." "still it shall be as good as though it were," says gunnar. and the end of the suit was, that wolf had to pay down all the money. then asgrim said to gunnar, "i will ask thee to come and see me this summer, and i will ever be with thee in lawsuits, and never against thee". gunnar rides home from the thing, and a little while after, he and njal met, njal besought gunnar to be ware of himself, and said he had been told that those away under the threecorner meant to fall on him, and bade him never go about with a small company, and always to have his weapons with him. gunnar said so it should be, and told him that asgrim had asked him to pay him a visit, "and i mean to go now this harvest." "let no men know before thou farest how long thou wilt be away," said njal; "but, besides, i beg thee to let my sons ride with thee, and then no attack will be made on thee." so they settled that among themselves. "now the summer wears away till it was eight weeks to winter," and then gunnar says to kolskegg, "make thee ready to ride, for we shall ride to a feast at tongue". "shall we say anything about it to njal's sons?" said kolskegg. "no," says gunnar; "they shall fall into no quarrels for me." chapter lx. an attack against gunnar agreed on. they rode three together, gunnar and his brothers. gunnar had the bill and his sword, oliver's gift; but kolskegg had his short sword; hjort, too, had proper weapons. now they rode to tongue, and asgrim gave them a hearty welcome, and they were there some while. at last they gave it out that they meant to go home there and then. asgrim gave them good gifts, and offered to ride east with them, but gunnar said there was no need of any such thing; and so he did not go. sigurd swinehead was the name of a man who dwelt by thurso water. he came to the farm under the threecorner, for he had given his word to keep watch on gunnar's doings, and so he went and told them of his journey home; "and," quoth he, "there could never be a finer chance than just now, when he has only two men with him". "how many men shall we need to have to lie in wait for him?" says starkad. "weak men shall be as nothing before him," he says; "and it is not safe to have fewer than thirty men." "where shall we lie in wait?" "by knafahills," he says; "there he will not see us before he comes on us." "go thou to sandgil and tell egil that fifteen of them must busk themselves thence, and now other fifteen will go hence to knafahills." thorgeir said to hildigunna, "this hand shall show thee gunnar dead this very night". "nay, but i guess," says she, "that thou wilt hang thy head after ye two meet." so those four, father and sons, fare away from the threecorner, and eleven men besides, and they fared to knafahills, and lay in wait there. sigurd swinehead came to sandgil and said, "hither am i sent by starkad and his sons to tell thee, egil, that ye, father and sons, must fare to knafahills to lie in wait for gunnar". "how many shall we fare in all?" says egil. "fifteen, reckoning me," he says. kol said, "now i mean to try my hand on kolskegg". "then i think thou meanest to have a good deal on thy hands," says sigurd. egil begged his easterlings to fare with them. they said they had no quarrel with gunnar; "and besides," says thorir, "ye seem to need much help here, when a crowd of men shall go against three men". then egil went away and was wroth. then the mistress of the house said to the easterling: "in an evil hour hath my daughter gudruna humbled herself, and broken the point of her maidenly pride, and lain by thy side as thy wife, when thou wilt not dare to follow thy father-in-law, and thou must be a coward," she says. "i will go," he says, "with thy husband, and neither of us two shall come back." after that he went to thorgrim his messmate, and said, "take thou now the keys of my chests; for i shall never unlock them again. i bid thee take for thine own whatever of our goods thou wilt; but sail away from iceland, and do not think of revenge for me. but if thou dost not leave the land, it will be thy death." so the easterling joined himself to their band. chapter lxi. gunnar's dream. now we must go back and say that gunnar rides east over thurso water, but when he had gone a little way from the river he grew very drowsy, and bade them lie down and rest there. they did so. he fell fast asleep, and struggled much as he slumbered. then kolskegg said, "gunnar dreams now". but hjort said, "i would like to wake him". "that shall not be," said kolskegg, "but he shall dream his dream out". gunnar lay a very long while, and threw off his shield from him, and he grew very warm. kolskegg said, "what hast thou dreamt, kinsman?" "that have i dreamt," says gunnar, "which if i had dreamt it there i would never have ridden with so few men from tongue." "tell us thy dream," says kolskegg. then gunnar sang a song. chief, that chargest foes in fight! now i fear that i have ridden short of men from tongue, this harvest; raven's fast i sure shall break. lord, that scatters ocean's fire![ ] this at least, i long to say, kite with wolf shall fight for marrow, ill i dreamt with wandering thought. "i dreamt, methought, that i was riding on by knafahills, and there i thought i saw many wolves, and they all made at me; but i turned away from them straight towards rangriver, and then methought they pressed hard on me on all sides, but i kept them at bay, and shot all those that were foremost, till they came so close to me that i could not use my bow against them. then i took my sword, and i smote with it with one hand, but thrust at them with my bill with the other. shield myself then i did not, and methought then i knew not what shielded me. then i slew many wolves, and thou, too, kolskegg; but hjort methought they pulled down, and tore open his breast, and one methought had his heart in his maw; but i grew so wroth that i hewed that wolf asunder just below the brisket, and after that methought the wolves turned and fled. now my counsel is, brother hjort, that thou ridest back west to tongue." "i will not do that," says hjort; "though i know my death is sure, i will stand by thee still." then they rode and came east by knafahills, and kolskegg said-- "seest thou, kinsman! many spears stand up by the hills, and men with weapons." "it does not take me unawares," says gunnar, "that my dream comes true." "what is best to be done now?" says kolskegg; "i guess thou wilt not run away from them." "they shall not have that to jeer about," says gunnar, "but we will ride on down to the ness by rangriver; there is some vantage ground there." now they rode on to the ness, and made them ready there, and as they rode on past them kol called out and said-- "whither art thou running to now, gunnar?" but kolskegg said, "say the same thing farther on when this day has come to an end". chapter lxii. the slaying of hjort and fourteen men. after that starkad egged on his men, and then they turn down upon them into the ness. sigurd swinehead came first and had a red targe, but in his other hand he held a cutlass. gunnar sees him and shoots an arrow at him from his bow; he held the shield up aloft when he saw the arrow flying high, and the shaft passes through the shield and into his eye, and so came out at the nape of his neck, and that was the first man slain. a second arrow gunnar shot at ulfhedinn, one of starkad's men, and that struck him about the middle and he fell at the feet of a yeoman, and the yeoman over him. kolskegg cast a stone and struck the yeoman on the head, and that was his death-blow. then starkad said, "'twill never answer our end that he should use his bow, but let us come on well and stoutly". then each man egged on the other, and gunnar guarded himself with his bow and arrows as long as he could; after that he throws them down, and then he takes his bill and sword and fights with both hands. there is long the hardest fight, but still gunnar and kolskegg slew man after man. then thorgeir starkad's son said, "i vowed to bring hildigunna thy head, gunnar." then gunnar sang a song-- thou, that battle-sleet down bringeth, scarce i trow thou speakest truth; she, the girl with golden armlets, cannot care for such a gift; but, o serpent's hoard despoiler! if the maid must have my head-- maid whose wrist rhine's fire[ ] wreatheth, closer come to crash of spear. "she will not think that so much worth having," says gunnar; "but still to get it thou wilt have to come nearer!" thorgeir said to his brothers-- "let us run all of us upon him at once; he has no shield and we shall have his life in our hands." so bork and thorkel both ran forward and were quicker than thorgeir. bork made a blow at gunnar, and gunnar threw his bill so hard in the way that the sword flew out of bork's hand; then he sees thorkel standing on his other hand within stroke of sword. gunnar was standing with his body swayed a little on one side, and he makes a sweep with his sword, and caught thorkel on the neck, and off flew his head. kol egil's son said, "let me get at kolskegg," and turning to kolskegg he said, "this i have often said, that we two would be just about an even match in fight". "that we can soon prove," says kolskegg. kol thrust at him with his spear; kolskegg had just slain a man and had his hands full, and so he could not throw his shield before the blow, and the thrust came upon his thigh, on the outside of the limb and went through it. kolskegg turned sharp round, and strode towards him, and smote him with his short sword on the thigh, and cut off his leg, and said, "did it touch thee or not?" "now," says kol, "i pay for being bare of my shield." so he stood a while on his other leg and looked at the stump. "thou needest not to look at it," said kolskegg; "'tis even as thou seest, the leg is off." then kol fell down dead. but when egil sees this, he runs at gunnar and makes a cut at him; gunnar thrusts at him with the bill and struck him in the middle, and gunnar hoists him up on the bill and hurls him out into rangriver. then starkad said, "wretch that thou art indeed, thorir easterling, when thou sittest by; but thy host and father-in-law egil is slain." then the easterling sprung up and was very wroth. hjort had been the death of two men, and the easterling leapt on him and smote him full on the breast. then hjort fell down dead on the spot. gunnar sees this and was swift to smite at the easterling, and cuts him asunder at the waist. a little while after gunnar hurls the bill at bork, and struck him in the middle, and the bill went through him and stuck in the ground. then kolskegg cut off hauk egil's son's head, and gunnar smites off otter's hand at the elbow-joint. then starkad said-- "let us fly now. we have not to do with men!" gunnar said, "ye two will think it a sad story if there is naught on you to show that ye have both been in the battle". then gunnar ran after starkad and thorgeir, and gave them each a wound. after that they parted; and gunnar and his brothers had then wounded many men who got away from the field, but fourteen lost their lives, and hjort the fifteenth. gunnar brought hjort home, laid out on his shield, and he was buried in a cairn there. many men grieved for him, for he had many dear friends. starkad came home, too, and hildigunna dressed his wounds and thorgeir's, and said, "ye would have given a great deal not to have fallen out with gunnar". "so we would," says starkad. chapter lxiii. njal's counsel to gunnar. steinvor, at sandgil, besought thorgrim the easterling to take in hand the care of her goods, and not to sail away from iceland, and so to keep in mind the death of his messmate and kinsman. "my messmate thorir," said he, "foretold that i should fall by gunnar's hand if i stayed here in the land, and he must have foreseen that when he foreknew his own death." "i will give thee," she says, "gudruna my daughter to wife, and all my goods into the bargain." "i knew not," he said, "that thou wouldest pay such a long price." after that they struck the bargain that he shall have her, and the wedding feast was to be the next summer. now gunnar rides to bergthorsknoll, and kolskegg with him. njal was out of doors and his sons, and they went to meet gunnar and gave them a hearty welcome. after that they fell a-talking, and gunnar said-- "hither am i come to seek good counsel and help at thy hand." "that is thy due," said njal. "i have fallen into a great strait," says gunnar, "and slain many men, and i wish to know what thou wilt make of the matter?" "many will say this," said njal, "that thou hast been driven into it much against thy will; but now thou shalt give me time to take counsel with myself." then njal went away all by himself, and thought over a plan, and came back and said-- "now have i thought over the matter somewhat, and it seems to me as though this must be carried through--if it be carried through at all--with hardihood and daring. thorgeir has got my kinswoman thorfinna with child, and i will hand over to thee the suit for seduction. another suit of outlawry against starkad i hand over also to thee, for having hewn trees in my wood on the threecorner ridge. both these suits shalt thou take up. thou shalt fare too to the spot where ye fought, and dig up the dead, and name witnesses to the wounds, and make all the dead outlaws, for that they came against thee with that mind to give thee and thy brothers wounds or swift death. but if this be tried at the thing, and it be brought up against thee that thou first gave thorgeir a blow, and so mayest neither plead thine own cause nor that of others, then i will answer in that matter, and say that i gave thee back thy rights at the thingskala-thing, so that thou shouldest be able to plead thine own suit as well as that of others, and then there will be an answer to that point. thou shalt also go to see tyrfing of berianess, and he must hand over to thee a suit against aunund of witchwood, who has the blood feud after his brother egil." then first of all gunnar rode home; but a few nights after njal's sons and gunnar rode thither where the bodies were, and dug them up that were buried there. then gunnar summoned them all as outlaws for assault and treachery, and rode home after that. chapter lxiv. of valgard and mord. that same harvest valgard the guileful came out to iceland, and fared home to hof. then thorgeir went to see valgard and mord, and told them what a strait they were in if gunnar were to be allowed to make all those men outlaws whom he had slain. valgard said that must be njal's counsel, and yet every thing had not come out yet which he was likely to have taught him. then thorgeir begged those kinsmen for help and backing, but they held out a long while, and at last asked for and got a large sum of money. that, too, was part of their plan, that mord should ask for thorkatla, gizur the white's daughter, and thorgeir was to ride at once west across the river with valgard and mord. so the day after they rode twelve of them together and came to mossfell. there they were heartily welcomed, and they put the question to gizur about the wooing, and the end of it was that the match should be made, and the wedding feast was to be in half a month's space at mossfell. they ride home, and after that they ride to the wedding, and there was a crowd of guests to meet them, and it went off well. thorkatla went home with mord and took the housekeeping in hand but valgard went abroad again the next summer. now mord eggs on thorgeir to set his suit on foot against gunnar, and thorgeir went to find aunund; he bids him now to begin a suit for manslaughter for his brother egil and his sons; "but i will begin one for the manslaughter of my brothers, and for the wounds of myself and my father". he said he was quite ready to do that, and then they set out, and give notice of the manslaughter, and summon nine neighbours who dwelt nearest to the spot where the deed was done. this beginning of the suit was heard of at lithend; and then gunnar rides to see njal, and told him, and asked what he wished them to do next. "now," says njal, "thou shalt summon those who dwell next to the spot, and thy neighbours; and call men to witness before the neighbours, and choose out kol as the slayer in the manslaughter of hjort thy brother: for that is lawful and right; then thou shalt give notice of the suit for manslaughter at kol's hand, though he be dead. then shall thou call men to witness, and summon the neighbours to ride to the althing to bear witness of the fact, whether they, kol and his companions, were on the spot, and in onslaught when hjort was slain. thou shalt also summon thorgeir for the suit of seduction, and aunund at the suit of tyrfing." gunnar now did in everything as njal gave him counsel. this men thought a strange beginning of suits, and now these matters come before the thing. gunnar rides to the thing, and njal's sons and the sons of sigfus. gunnar had sent messengers to his cousins and kinsmen, that they should ride to the thing, and come with as many men as they could, and told them that this matter would lead to much strife. so they gathered together in a great band from the west. mord rode to the thing and runolf of the dale, and those under the threecorner, and aunund of witchwood. but when they come to the thing, they join them in one company with gizur the white and geir the priest. chapter lxv. of fines and atonements. gunnar, and the sons of sigfus, and njal's sons, went altogether in one band, and they marched so swiftly and closely that men who came in their way had to take heed lest they should get a fall; and nothing was so often spoken about over the whole thing as these great lawsuits. gunnar went to meet his cousins, and olaf and his men greeted him well. they asked gunnar about the fight, but he told them all about it, and was just in all he said; he told them, too, what steps he had taken since. then olaf said, "'tis worth much to see how close njal stands by thee in all counsel". gunnar said he should never be able to repay that, but then he begged them for help; and they said that was his due. now the suits on both sides came before the court, and each pleads his cause. mord asked--"how it was that a man could have the right to set a suit on foot who, like gunnar, had already made himself an outlaw by striking thorgeir a blow?" "wast thou," answered njal, "at thingskala-thing last autumn?" "surely i was," says mord. "heardest thou," asks njal, "how gunnar offered him full atonement? then i gave back gunnar his right to do all lawful deeds." "that is right and good law," says mord, "but how does the matter stand if gunnar has laid the slaying of hjort at kol's door, when it was the easterling that slew him?" "that was right and lawful," says njal, "when he chose him as the slayer before witnesses." "that was lawful and right, no doubt," says mord; "but for what did gunnar summon them all as outlaws?" "thou needest not to ask about that," says njal, "when they went out to deal wounds and manslaughter." "yes," says mord, "but neither befell gunnar." "gunnar's brothers," said njal, "kolskegg and hjort, were there, and one of them got his death and the other a flesh wound." "thou speakest nothing but what is law," says mord, "though it is hard to abide by it." then hjallti skeggis son of thursodale, stood forth and said-- "i have had no share in any of your lawsuits; but i wish to know whether thou wilt do something, gunnar, for the sake of my words and friendship." "what askest thou?" says gunnar. "this," he says, "that ye lay down the whole suit to the award and judgment of good men and true." "if i do so," said gunnar, "then thou shalt never be against me, whatever men i may have to deal with." "i will give my word to that," says hjallti. after that he tried his best with gunnar's adversaries, and brought it about that they were all set at one again. and after that each side gave the other pledges of peace; but for thorgeir's wound came the suit for seduction, and for the hewing in the wood, starkad's wound. thorgeir's brothers were atoned for by half fines, but half fell away for the onslaught on gunnar. egil's staying and tyrfing's lawsuit were set off against each other. for hjort's slaying, the slaying of kol and of the easterling were to come, and as for all the rest, they were atoned for with half fines. njal was in this award, and asgrim ellidagrim's son, and hjallti skeggi's son. njal had much money out at interest with starkad, and at sandgil too, and he gave it all to gunnar to make up these fines. so many friends had gunnar at the thing, that he not only paid up there and then all the fines on the spot, but gave besides gifts to many chiefs who had lent him help; and he had the greatest honour from the suit; and all were agreed in this, that no man was his match in all the south quarter. so gunnar rides home from the thing and sits there in peace, but still his adversaries envied him much for his honour. chapter lxvi. of thorgeir otkell's son. now we must tell of thorgeir otkell's son; he grew up to be a tall strong man, true-hearted and guileless, but rather too ready to listen to fair words. he had many friends among the best men, and was much beloved by his kinsmen. once on a time thorgeir starkad's son had been to see his kinsman mord. "i can ill brook," he says, "that settlement of matters which we and gunnar had, but i have bought thy help so long as we two are above ground; i wish thou wouldest think out some plan and lay it deep; this is why i say it right out, because i know that thou art gunnar's greatest foe, and he too thine. i will much increase thine honour if thou takest pains in this matter." "it will always seem as though i were greedy of gain, but so it must be. yet it will be hard to take care that thou mayest not seem to be a truce-breaker, or peace-breaker, and yet carry out thy point. but now i have been told that kolskegg means to try a suit, and regain a fourth part of moeidsknoll, which was paid to thy father as an atonement for his son. he has taken up this suit for his mother, but this too is gunnar's counsel, to pay in goods and not to let the land go. we must wait till this comes about, and then declare that he has broken the settlement made with you. he has also taken a cornfield from thorgeir otkell's son, and so broken the settlement with him too. thou shalt go to see thorgeir otkell's son, and bring him into the matter with thee, and then fall on gunnar; but if ye fail in aught of this, and cannot get him hunted down, still ye shall set on him over and over again, i must tell thee that njal has 'spaed' his fortune, and foretold about his life, if he slays more than once in the same stock, that it would lead him to his death, if it so fell out that he broke the settlement made after the deed. therefore shalt thou bring thorgeir into the suit, because he has already slain his father; and now, if ye two are together in an affray, thou shalt shield thyself; but he will go boldly on, and then gunnar will slay him. then he has slain twice in the same stock, but thou shalt fly from the fight. and if this is to drag him to his death he will break the settlement afterwards, and so we may wait till then." after that thorgeir goes home and tells his father secretly. then they agreed among themselves that they should work out this plot by stealth. chapter lxvii. of thorgeir starkad's son. sometime after thorgeir starkad's son fared to kirkby to see his namesake, and they went aside to speak, and talked secretly all day; but at the end thorgeir starkad's son, gave his namesake a spear inlaid with gold, and rode home afterwards; they made the greatest friendship the one with the other. at the thingskala-thing in the autumn, kolskegg laid claim to the land at moeidsknoll, but gunnar took witness, and offered ready money, or another piece of land at a lawful price to those under the threecorner. thorgeir took witness also, that gunnar was breaking the settlement made between them. after that the thing was broken up, and so the next year wore away. those namesakes were always meeting, and there was the greatest friendship between them. kolskegg spoke to gunnar and said-- "i am told that there is great friendship between those namesakes, and it is the talk of many men that they will prove untrue, and i would that thou wouldst be ware of thyself." "death will come to me when it will come," says gunnar, "wherever i may be, if that is my fate." then they left off talking about it. about autumn, gunnar gave out that they would work one week there at home, and the next down in the isles, and so make an end of their haymaking. at the same time, he let it be known that every man would have to leave the house, save himself and the women. thorgeir under threecorner goes to see his namesake, but as soon as they met they began to talk after their wont, and thorgeir starkad's son, said-- "i would that we could harden our hearts and fall on gunnar." "well," says thorgeir otkell's son, "every struggle with gunnar has had but one end, that few have gained the day; besides, methinks it sounds ill to be called a peace-breaker." "they have broken the peace, not we," says thorgeir starkad's son. "gunnar took away from thee thy cornfield; and he has taken moeidsknoll from my father and me." and so they settle it between them to fall on gunnar; and then thorgeir said that gunnar would be all alone at home in a few nights' space, "and then thou shalt come to meet me with eleven men, but i will have as many". after that thorgeir rode home. chapter lxviii. of njal and those namesakes. now when kolskegg and the house-carles had been three nights in the isles, thorgeir starkad's son had news of that, and sends word to his namesake that he should come to meet him on threecorner ridge. after that thorgeir of the threecorner busked him with eleven men; he rides up on the ridge and there waits for his namesake. and now gunnar is at home in his house, and those namesakes ride into a wood hard by. there such a drowsiness came over them that they could do naught else but sleep. so they hung their shields up in the boughs, and tethered their horses, and laid their weapons by their sides. njal was that night up in thorolfsfell, and could not sleep at all, but went out and in by turns. thorhilda asked njal why he could not sleep? "many things now flit before my eyes," said he; "i see many fetches of gunnar's bitter foes, and what is very strange is this, they seem to be mad with rage, and yet they fare without plan or purpose." a little after, a man rode up to the door and got off his horse's back and went in, and there was come the shepherd of thorhilda and her husband. "didst thou find the sheep?" she asked. "i found what might be more worth," said he. "what was that?" asked njal. "i found twenty-four men up in the wood yonder; they had tethered their horses, but slept themselves. their shields they had hung up in the boughs." but so closely had he looked at them that he told of all their weapons and war-gear and clothes, and then njal knew plainly who each of them must have been, and said to him-- "'twere good hiring if there were many such shepherds; and this shall ever stand to thy good; but still i will send thee on an errand." he said at once he would go. "thou shalt go," says njal, "to lithend and tell gunnar that he must fare to gritwater, and then send after men; but i will go to meet with those who are in the wood and scare them away. this thing hath well come to pass, so that they shall gain nothing by this journey, but lose much." the shepherd set off and told gunnar as plainly as he could the whole story. then gunnar rode to gritwater and summoned men to him. now it is to be told of njal how he rides to meet these namesakes. "unwarily ye lie here," he says, "or for what end shall this journey have been made? and gunnar is not a man to be trifled with. but if the truth must be told then, this is the greatest treason. ye shall also know this, that gunnar is gathering force, and he will come here in the twinkling of an eye, and slay you all, unless ye ride away home." they bestirred them at once, for they were in great fear, and took their weapons, and mounted their horses and galloped home under the threecorner. njal fared to meet gunnar and bade him not to break up his company. "but i will go and seek for an atonement; now they will be finely frightened; but for this treason no less a sum shall be paid when one has to deal with all of them, than shall be paid for the slaying of one or other of those namesakes, though such a thing should come to pass. this money i will take into my keeping, and so lay it out that it may be ready to thy hand when thou hast need of it." chapter lxix. olaf the peacock's gifts to gunnar. gunnar thanked njal for his aid, and njal rode away under the threecorner, and told those namesakes that gunnar would not break up his band of men before he had fought it out with them. they began to offer terms for themselves, and were full of dread, and bade njal to come between them with an offer of atonement. njal said that could only be if there were no guile behind. then they begged him to have a share in the award, and said they would hold to what he awarded. njal said he would make no award unless it were at the thing, and unless the best men were by; and they agreed to that. then njal came between them, so that they gave each other pledges of peace and atonement. njal was to utter the award, and to name as his fellows those whom he chose. a little while after those namesakes met mord valgard's son, and mord blamed them much for having laid the matter in njal's hands, when he was gunnar's great friend. he said that would turn out ill for them. now men ride to the althing after their wont, and now both sides are at the thing. njal begged for a hearing, and asked all the best men who were come thither, what right at law they thought gunnar had against those namesakes for their treason. they said they thought such a man had great right on his side. njal went on to ask, whether he had a right of action against all of them, or whether the leaders had to answer for them all in the suit? they say that most of the blame would fall on the leaders, but a great deal still on them all. "many will say this," said mord, "that it was not without a cause when gunnar broke the settlement made with those namesakes." "that is no breach of settlement," says njal, "that any man should take the law against another; for with law shall our land be built up and settled, and with lawlessness wasted and spoiled." then njal tells them that gunnar had offered land for moeidsknoll, or other goods. then those namesakes thought they had been beguiled by mord, and scolded him much, and said that this fine was all his doing. njal named twelve men as judges in the suit, and then every man paid a hundred in silver who had gone out, but each of those namesakes two hundred. njal took this money into his keeping, but either side gave the other pledges of peace, and njal gave out the terms. then gunnar rode from the thing west to the dales, till he came to hjardarholt, and olaf the peacock gave him a hearty welcome. there he sat half a month, and rode far and wide about the dales, and all welcomed him with joyful hands. but at their parting olaf said-- "i will give thee three things of price, a gold ring, and a cloak which moorkjartan the erse king owned, and a hound that was given me in ireland; he is big, and no worse follower than a sturdy man. besides, it is part of his nature that he has man's wit, and he will bay at every man whom he knows is thy foe, but never at thy friends; he can see, too, in any man's face, whether he means thee well or ill, and he will lay down his life to be true to thee. this hound's name is sam." after that he spoke to the hound, "now shalt thou follow gunnar, and do him all the service thou canst". the hound went at once to gunnar and laid himself down at his feet. olaf bade gunnar to be ware of himself, and said he had many enviers, "for now thou art thought to be a famous man throughout all the land". gunnar thanked him for his gifts and good counsel, and rode home. now gunnar sits at home for some time, and all is quiet. chapter lxx. mord's counsel. a little after, those namesakes and mord met, and they were not at all of one mind. they thought they had lost much goods for mord's sake, but had got nothing in return; and they bade him set on foot some other plot which might do gunnar harm. mord said so it should be. "but now this is my counsel, that thou, thorgeir otkell's son shouldest beguile ormilda, gunnar's kinswoman; but gunnar will let his displeasure grow against thee at that, and then i will spread that story abroad that gunnar will not suffer thee to do such things." "then ye two shall some time after make an attack on gunnar, but still ye must not seek him at home, for there is no thinking of that while the hound is alive." so they settled this plan among them that it should be brought about. thorgeir began to turn his steps towards ormilda, and gunnar thought that ill, and great dislike arose between them. so the winter wore away. now comes the summer, and their secret meetings went on oftener than before. as for thorgeir of the threecorner and mord, they were always meeting; and they plan an onslaught on gunnar, when he rides down to the isles to see after the work done by his house-carles. one day mord was ware of it when gunnar rode down to the isles, and sent a man off under the threecorner to tell thorgeir that then would be the likeliest time to try to fall on gunnar. they bestirred them at once, and fare thence twelve together, but when they came to kirkby there they found thirteen men waiting for them. then they made up their minds to ride down to rangriver and lie in wait there for gunnar. but when gunnar rode up from the isles, kolskegg rode with him. gunnar had his bow and his arrows and his bill. kolskegg had his short sword and weapons to match. chapter lxxi. the slaying of thorgeir otkell's son. that token happened as gunnar and his brother rode up towards rangriver, that much blood burst out on the bill. kolskegg asked what that might mean. gunnar says, "if such tokens took place in other lands, it was called 'wound-drops,' and master oliver told me also that this only happened before great fights". so they rode on till they saw men sitting by the river on the other side, and they had tethered their horses. gunnar said, "now we have an ambush". kolskegg answered, "long have they been faithless; but what is best to be done now?" "we will gallop up alongside them to the ford," says gunnar, "and there make ready for them." the others saw that and turned at once towards them. gunnar strings his bow, and takes his arrows and throws them on the ground before him, and shoots as soon as ever they come within shot; by that gunnar wounded many men, but some he slew. then thorgeir otkell's son spoke and said, "this is no use; let us make for him as hard as we can". they did so, and first went aunund the fair, thorgeir's kinsman. gunnar hurled the bill at him, and it fell on his shield and clove it in twain, but the bill rushed through aunund. augmund shockhead rushed at gunnar behind his back. kolskegg saw that and cut off at once both augmund's legs from under him, and hurled him out into rangriver, and he was drowned there and then. then a hard battle arose; gunnar cut with one hand and thrust with the other. kolskegg slew some men and wounded many. thorgeir's starkad's son called out to his namesake, "it looks very little as though thou hadst a father to avenge". "true it is," he answers, "that i do not make much way, but yet thou hast not followed in my footsteps; still i will not bear thy reproaches." with that he rushes at gunnar in great wrath, and thrust his spear through his shield, and so on through his arm. gunnar gave the shield such a sharp twist that the spearhead broke short off at the socket. gunnar sees that another man was come within reach of his sword, and he smites at him and deals him his death-blow. after that, he clutches his bill with both hands; just then thorgeir otkell's son had come near him with a drawn sword, and gunnar turns on him in great wrath, and drives the bill through him, and lifts him up aloft, and casts him out into rangriver, and he drifts down towards the ford, and stuck fast there on a stone; and the name of that ford has since been thorgeir's ford. then thorgeir starkad's son said, "let us fly now; no victory will be fated to us this time". so they all turned and fled from the field. "let us follow them up now," says kolskegg, "and take thou thy bow and arrows, and thou wilt come within bow-shot of thorgeir starkad's son." then gunnar sang a song. reaver of rich river-treasure, plundered will our purses be, though to-day we wound no other warriors wight in play of spears; aye, if i for all these sailors lowly lying, fines must pay-- this is why i hold my hand, hearken, brother dear, to me. "our purses will be emptied," says gunnar, "by the time that these are atoned for who now lie here dead." "thou wilt never lack money," says kolskegg; "but thorgier will never leave off before he compasses thy death." gunnar sung another song. lord of water-skates[ ] that skim sea-king's fields, more good as he, shedding wounds' red stream, must stand in my way ere i shall wince. i, the golden armlets' warder, snakelike twined around my wrist, ne'er shall shun a foeman's faulchion flashing bright in din of fight. "he, and a few more as good as he," says gunnar, "must stand in my path ere i am afraid of them." after that they ride home and tell the tidings. hallgerda was well pleased to hear them, and praised the deed much. rannveig said, "may be the deed is good; but somehow," she says, "i feel too downcast about it to think that good can come of it". chapter lxxii. of the suits for manslaughter at the thing. these tidings were spread far and wide, and thorgeir's death was a great grief to many a man. gizur the white and his men rode to the spot and gave notice of the manslaughter, and called the neighbours on the inquest to the thing. then they rode home west. njal and gunnar met and talked about the battle. then njal said to gunnar-- "now be ware of thyself! now hast thou slain twice in the same stock; and so now take heed to thy behaviour, and think that it is as much as thy life is worth, if thou dost not hold to the settlement that is made." "nor do i mean to break it in any way," says gunnar, "but still i shall need thy help at the thing." "i will hold to my faithfulness to thee," said njal, "till my death day." then gunnar rides home. now the thing draws near; and each side gather a great company; and it is a matter of much talk at the thing how these suits will end. those two, gizur the white, and geir the priest, talked with each other as to who should give notice of the suit of manslaughter after thorgeir, and the end of it was that gizur took the suit on his hand, and gave notice of it at the hill of laws, and spoke in these words:-- "i gave notice of a suit for assault laid down by law against gunnar hamond's son; for that he rushed with an onslaught laid down by law on thorgeir otkell's son, and wounded him with a body wound, which proved a death wound, so that thorgeir got his death. "i say on this charge he ought to become a convicted outlaw, not to be fed, not to be forwarded, not to be helped or harboured in any need. "i say that his goods are forfeited, half to me and half to the men of the quarter, whose right it is by law to seize the goods of outlaws. "i give notice of this charge in the quarter court, into which this suit ought by law to come. "i give this lawful notice in the hearing of all men at the hill of laws. "i give notice now of this suit, and of full forfeiture and outlawry against gunnar hamond's son." a second time gizur took witness, and gave notice of a suit against gunnar hamond's son, for that he had wounded thorgeir otkell's son with a body wound which was a death wound, and from which thorgeir got his death, on such and such a spot when gunnar first sprang on thorgeir with an onslaught, laid down by law. after that he gave notice of this declaration as he had done of the first. then he asked in what quarter court the suit lay, and in what house in the district the defendant dwelt. when that was over men left the hill of laws, and all said that he spoke well. gunnar kept himself well in hand and said little or nothing. now the thing wears away till the day when the courts were to be set. then gunnar stood looking south by the court of the men of rangriver, and his men with him. gizur stood looking north, and calls his witnesses, and bade gunnar to listen to his oath, and to his declaration of the suit, and to all the steps and proofs which he meant to bring forward. after that he took his oath, and then he brought forward the suit in the same shape before the court, as he had given notice of it before. then he made them bring forward witness of the notice, then he bade the neighbours on the inquest to take their seats, and called upon gunnar to challenge the inquest. chapter lxxiii. of the atonement. then njal spoke and said-- "now i can no longer sit still and take no part. let us go to where the neighbours sit on the inquest." they went thither and challenged four neighbours out of the inquest, but they called on the five that were left to answer the following question in gunnar's favour "whether those namesakes had gone out with that mind to the place of meeting to do gunnar a mischief if they could?" but all bore witness at once that so it was. then njal called this a lawful defence to the suit, and said he would bring forward proof of it unless they gave over the suit to arbitration. then many chiefs joined in praying for an atonement, and so it was brought about that twelve men should utter an award in the matter. then either side went and handselled this settlement to the other. afterwards the award was made, and the sum to be paid settled, and it was all to be paid down then and there at the thing. but besides, gunnar was to go abroad and kolskegg with him, and they were to be away three winters; but if gunnar did not go abroad when he had a chance of a passage, then he was to be slain by the kinsmen of those whom he had killed. gunnar made no sign, as though he thought the terms of atonement were not good. he asked njal for that money which he had handed over to him to keep. njal had laid the money out at interest and paid it down all at once, and it just came to what gunnar had to pay for himself. now they ride home. gunnar and njal rode both together from the thing, and then njal said to gunnar-- "take good care, messmate, that thou keepest to this atonement, and bear in mind what we have spoken about; for though thy former journey abroad brought thee to great honour, this will be a far greater honour to thee. thou wilt come back with great glory, and live to be an old man, and no man here will then tread on thy heel; but if thou dost not fare away, and so breakest thy atonement, then thou wilt be slain here in the land, and that is ill knowing for those who are thy friends." gunnar said he had no mind to break the atonement, and he rides home and told them of the settlement. rannveig said it was well that he fared abroad, for then they must find some one else to quarrel. chapter lxxiv. kolskegg goes abroad. thrain sigfus' son said to his wife that he meant to fare abroad that summer. she said that was well. so he took his passage with hogni the white. gunnar took his passage with arnfin of the bay; and kolskegg was to go with him. grim and helgi, njal's sons, asked their father's leave to go abroad too, and njal said-- "this foreign voyage ye will find hard work, so hard that it will be doubtful whether ye keep your lives; but still ye two will get some honour and glory, but it is not unlikely that a quarrel will arise out of your journey when ye come back." still they kept on asking their father to let them go, and the end of it was that he bade them go if they chose. then they got them a passage with bard the black, and olaf kettle's son of elda; and it is the talk of the whole country that all the better men in that district were leaving it. by this time gunnar's sons, hogni and grani, were grown up; they were men of very different turn of mind. grani had much of his mother's temper, but hogni was kind and good. gunnar made men bear down the wares of his brother and himself to the ship, and when all gunnar's baggage had come down, and the ship was all but "boun," then gunnar rides to bergthorsknoll, and to other homesteads to see men, and thanked them all for the help they had given him. the day after he gets ready early for his journey to the ship, and told all his people that he would ride away for good and all, and men took that much to heart, but still they said that they looked to his coming back afterwards. gunnar threw his arms round each of the household when he was "boun," and every one of them went out of doors with him; he leans on the butt of his spear and leaps into the saddle, and he and kolskegg ride away. they ride down along markfleet, and just then gunnar's horse tripped and threw him off. he turned with his face up towards the lithe and the homestead at lithend, and said-- "fair is the lithe; so fair that it has never seemed to me so fair; the corn fields are white to harvest, and the home mead is mown; and now i will ride back home, and not fare abroad at all." "do not this joy to thy foes," says kolskegg, "by breaking thy atonement, for no man could think thou wouldst do thus, and thou mayst be sure that all will happen as njal has said." "i will not go away any whither," says gunnar, "and so i would thou shouldest do too." "that shall not be," says kolskegg; "i will never do a base thing in this, nor in anything else which is left to my good faith; and this is that one thing that could tear us asunder; but tell this to my kinsmen and to my mother, that i never mean to see iceland again, for i shall soon learn that thou art dead, brother, and then there will be nothing left to bring me back." so they parted there and then. gunnar rides home to lithend, but kolskegg rides to the ship, and goes abroad. hallgerda was glad to see gunnar when he came home, but his mother said little or nothing. now gunnar sits at home that fall and winter, and had not many men with him. now the winter leaves the farmyard. olaf the peacock asked gunnar and hallgerda to come and stay with him; but as for the farm, to put it into the hands of his mother and his son hogni. gunnar thought that a good thing at first, and agreed to it, but when it came to the point he would not do it. but at the thing next summer, gizur the white, and geir the priest, gave notice of gunnar's outlawry at the hill of laws; and before the thing broke up gizur summoned all gunnar's foes to meet in the "great rift".[ ] he summoned starkad under the threecorner, and thorgeir his son; mord and valgard the guileful; geir the priest and hjalti skeggi's son; thorbrand and asbrand, thorleik's sons; eyjulf, and aunund his son, aunund of witchwood and thorgrim the easterling of sandgil. then gizur spoke and said, "i will make you all this offer, that we go out against gunnar this summer and slay him". "i gave my word to gunnar," said hjalti, "here at the thing, when he showed himself most willing to yield to my prayer, that i would never be in any attack upon him; and so it shall be." then hjalti went away, but those who were left behind made up their minds to make an onslaught on gunnar, and shook hands on the bargain, and laid a fine on any one that left the undertaking. mord was to keep watch and spy out when there was the best chance of falling on him, and they were forty men in this league, and they thought it would be a light thing for them to hunt down gunnar, now that kolskegg was away, and thrain and many other of gunnar's friends. men ride from the thing, and njal went to see gunnar, and told him of his outlawry, and how an onslaught was planned against him. "me thinks thou art the best of friends," says gunnar; "thou makest me aware of what is meant." "now," says njal, "i would that skarphedinn should come to thy house, and my son hauskuld; they will lay down their lives for thy life." "i will not," says gunnar, "that thy sons should be slain for my sake, and thou hast a right to look for other things from me." "all thy care will come to nothing," says njal; "quarrels will turn thitherward where my sons are as soon as thou art dead and gone." "that is not unlikely," says gunnar, "but still it would mislike me that they fell into them for me; but this one thing i will ask of thee, that ye see after my son hogni, but i say naught of grani, for he does not behave himself much after my mind." njal rode home, and gave his word to do that. it is said that gunnar rode to all meetings of men, and to all lawful things, and his foes never dared to fall on him. and so some time went on that he went about as a free and guiltless man. chapter lxxv. the riding to lithend. next autumn mord valgard's son, sent word that gunnar would be all alone at home, but all his people would be down in the isles to make an end of their haymaking. then gizur the white and geir the priest rode east over the rivers as soon as ever they heard that, and so east across the sands to hof. then they sent word to starkad under the threecorner, and there they all met who were to fall on gunnar, and took counsel how they might best bring it about. mord said that they could not come on gunnar unawares, unless they seized the farmer who dwelt at the next homestead, whose name was thorkell, and made him go against his will with them to lay hands on the hound sam, and unless he went before them to the homestead to do this. then they set out east for lithend, but sent to fetch thorkell. they seized him and bound him, and gave him two choices--one that they would slay him, or else he must lay hands on the hound; but he chooses rather to save his life, and went with them. there was a beaten sunk road, between fences, above the farm yard at lithend, and there they halted with their band. master thorkell went up to the homestead, and the tyke lay on the top of the house, and he entices the dog away with him into a deep hollow in the path. just then the hound sees that there are men before them, and he leaps on thorkell and tears his belly open. aunund of witchwood smote the hound on the head with his axe, so that the blade sunk into the brain. the hound gave such a great howl that they thought it passing strange, and he fell down dead. chapter lxxvi. gunnar's slaying. gunnar woke up in his hall and said-- "thou hast been sorely treated, sam, my fosterling, and this warning is so meant that our two deaths will not be far apart." gunnar's hall was made all of wood, and roofed with beams above, and there were window-slits under the beams that carried the roof, and they were fitted with shutters. gunnar slept in a loft above the hall, and so did hallgerda and his mother. now when they were come near to the house they knew not whether gunnar were at home, and bade that some one would go straight up to the house and see if he could find out. but the rest sat them down on the ground. thorgrim the easterling went and began to climb up on the hall; gunnar sees that a red kirtle passed before the windowslit, and thrusts out the bill, and smote him on the middle. thorgrim's feet slipped from under him, and he dropped his shield, and down he toppled from the roof. then he goes to gizur and his band as they sat on the ground. gizur looked at him and said-- "well, is gunnar at home?" "find that out for yourselves," said thorgrim; "but this i am sure of, that his bill is at home," and with that he fell down dead. then they made for the buildings. gunnar shot out arrows at them, and made a stout defence, and they could get nothing done. then some of them got into the out-houses and tried to attack him thence, but gunnar found them out with his arrows there also, and still they could get nothing done. so it went on for while, then they took a rest, and made a second onslaught. gunnar still shot out at them, and they could do nothing, and fell off the second time. then gizur the white said- "let us press on harder; nothing comes of our onslaught." then they made a third bout of it, and were long at it, and then they fell off again. gunnar said, "there lies on arrow outside on the wall, and it is one of their shafts; i will shoot at them with it, and it will be a shame to them if they get a hurt from their own weapons". his mother said, "do not so, my son; nor rouse them again when they have already fallen off from the attack". but gunnar caught up the arrow and shot it after them, and struck eylif aunund's son, and he got a great wound; he was standing all by himself, and they knew not that he was wounded. "out came an arm yonder," says gizur, "and there was a gold ring on it, and took an arrow from the roof and they would not look outside for shafts if there were enough in doors; and now ye shall make a fresh onslaught." "let us burn him house and all," said mord. "that shall never be," says gizur, "though i knew that my life lay on it; but it is easy for thee to find out some plan, such a cunning man as thou art said to be." some ropes lay there on the ground, and they were often used to strengthen the roof. then mord said--"let us take the ropes and throw one end over the end of the carrying beams, but let us fasten the other end to these rocks and twist them tight with levers, and so pull the roof off the hall." so they took the ropes and all lent a hand to carry this out, and before gunnar was aware of it, they had pulled the whole roof off the hall. then gunnar still shoots with his bow so that they could never come nigh him. then mord said again that they must burn the house over gunnar's head. but gizur said-- "i know not why thou wilt speak of that which no one else wishes, and that shall never be." just then thorbrand thorleik's son sprang up on the roof, and cuts asunder gunnar's bowstring. gunnar clutches the bill with both hands, and turns on him quickly and drives it through him, and hurls him down on the ground. then up sprung asbrand his brother. gunnar thrusts at him with the bill, and he threw his shield before the blow, but the bill passed clean through the shield and broke both his arms, and down he fell from the wall. gunnar had already wounded eight men and slain those twain.[ ] by that time gunnar had got two wounds, and all men said that he never once winced either at wounds or death. then gunnar said to hallgerda, "give me two locks of thy hair, and ye two, my mother and thou, twist them together into a bowstring for me." "does aught lie on it?" she says. "my life lies on it," he said; "for they will never come to close quarters with me if i can keep them off with my bow." "well!" she says, "now i will call to thy mind that slap on the face which thou gavest me; and i care never a whit whether thou holdest out a long while or a short." then gunnar sang a song-- each who hurls the gory javelin hath some honour of his own, now my helpmeet wimple-hooded hurries all my fame to earth. no one owner of a war-ship often asks for little things, woman, fond of frodi's flour,[ ] wends her hand as she is wont. "every one has something to boast of," says gunnar, "and i will ask thee no more for this." "thou behavest ill," said rannveig, "and this shame shall long be had in mind." gunnar made a stout and bold defence, and now wounds other eight men with such sore wounds that many lay at death's door. gunnar keeps them all off until he fell worn out with toil. then they wounded him with many and great wounds, but still he got away out of their hands, and held his own against them a while longer, but at last it came about that they slew him. of this defence of his, thorkell the skald of göta-elf sang in the verses which follow-- we have heard how south in iceland gunnar guarded well himself, boldly battle's thunder wielding, fiercest iceman on the wave; hero of the golden collar, sixteen with the sword he wounded; in the shock that odin loveth, two before him lasted death. but this is what thormod olaf's son sang-- none that scattered sea's bright sunbeams,[ ] won more glorious fame than gunnar, so runs fame of old in iceland, fitting fame of heathen men; lord of fight when helms were crashing, lives of foeman twain he took, wielding bitter steel he sorely wounded twelve, and four besides. then gizur spoke and said: "we have now laid low to earth a mighty chief, and hard work has it been, and the fame of this defence of his shall last as long as men live in this land". after that he went to see rannveig and said, "wilt thou grant us earth here for two of our men who are dead, that they may lie in a cairn here?" "all the more willingly for two," she says, "because i wish with all my heart i had to grant it to all of you." "it must be forgiven thee," he says, "to speak thus, for thou hast had a great loss." then he gave orders that no man should spoil or rob anything there. after that they went away. then thorgeir starkad's son said, "we may not be in our house at home for the sons of sigfus, unless thou gizur or thou geir be here south some little while". "this shall be so," says gizur, and they cast lots, and the lot fell on geir to stay behind. after that he came to the point, and set up his house there; he had a son whose name was hroald; he was base born, and his mother's name was biartey; he boasted that he had given gunnar his death-blow. hroald was at the point with his father. thorgeir starkad's son boasted of another wound which he had given to gunnar. gizur sat at home at mossfell. gunnar's slaying was heard of, and ill spoken of throughout the whole country, and his death was a great grief to many a man. chapter lxxvii. gunnar sings a song dead. njal could ill brook gunnar's death, nor could the sons of sigfus brook it either. they asked whether njal thought they had any right to give notice of a suit of manslaughter for gunnar, or to set the suit on foot. he said that could not be done, as the man had been outlawed; but said it would be better worth trying to do something to wound their glory, by slaying some men in vengeance after him. they cast a cairn over gunnar, and made him sit upright in the cairn. rannveig would not hear of his bill being buried in the cairn, but said he alone should have it as his own, who was ready to avenge gunnar. so no one took the bill. she was so hard on hallgerda, that she was on the point of killing her; and she said that she had been the cause of her son's slaying. then hallgerda fled away to gritwater, and her son grani with her, and they shared the goods between them; hogni was to have the land at lithend and the homestead on it, but grani was to have the land let out on lease. now this token happened at lithend, that the neat-herd and the serving-maid were driving cattle by gunnar's cairn. they thought that he was merry, and that he was singing inside the cairn. they went home and told rannveig, gunnar's mother, of this token, but she bade them go and tell njal. then they went over to bergthorsknoll and told njal, but he made them tell it three times over. after that, he had a long talk all alone with skarphedinn; and skarphedinn took his weapons and goes with them to lithend. rannveig and hogni gave him a hearty welcome, and were very glad to see him. rannveig asked him to stay there some time, and he said he would. he and hogni were always together, at home and abroad. hogni was a brisk, brave man, well-bred and well-trained in mind and body, but distrustful and slow to believe what he was told, and that was why they dared not tell him of the token. now those two, skarphedinn and hogni, were out of doors one evening by gunnar's cairn on the south side. the moon and stars were shining clear and bright, but every now and then the clouds drove over them. then all at once they thought they saw the cairn standing open, and lo! gunnar had turned himself in the cairn and looked at the moon. they thought they saw four lights burning in the cairn, and none of them threw a shadow. they saw that gunnar was merry, and he wore a joyful face. he sang a song, and so loud, that it might have been heard though they had been farther off. he that lavished rings in largesse, when the fight's red rain-drops fell, bright of face, with heart-strings hardy, hogni's father met his fate; then his brow with helmet shrouding, bearing battle-shield, he spake, "i will die the prop of battle, sooner die than yield an inch. yes, sooner die than yield an inch". after that the cairn was shut up again. "wouldst thou believe these tokens if njal or i told them to thee?" says skarphedinn. "i would believe them," he says, "if njal told them, for it is said he never lies." "such tokens as these mean much," says skarphedinn, "when he shows himself to us, he who would sooner die than yield to his foes; and see how he has taught us what we ought to do." "i shall be able to bring nothing to pass," says hogni, "unless thou wilt stand by me." "now," says skarphedinn, "will i bear in mind how gunnar behaved after the slaying of your kinsman sigmund; now i will yield you such help as i may. my father gave his word to gunnar to do that whenever thou or thy mother had need of it." after that they go home to lithend. chapter lxxviii. gunnar of lithend avenged. "now we shall set off at once," says skarphedinn, "this very night; for if they learn that i am here, they will be more wary of themselves." "i will fulfil thy counsel," says hogni. after that they took their weapons when all men were in their beds. hogni takes down the bill, and it gave a sharp ringing sound. rannveig sprang up in great wrath and said-- "who touches the bill, when i forbade every one to lay hand on it?" "i mean," says hogni, "to bring it to my father, that he may bear it with him to valhalla, and have it with him when the warriors meet." "rather shalt thou now bear it," she answered, "and avenge thy father; for the bill has spoken of one man's death or more." then hogni went out, and told skarphedinn all the words that his grandmother had spoken. after that they fare to the point, and two ravens flew along with them all the way. they came to the point while it was still night. then they drove the flock before them up to the house, and then hroald and tjorfi ran out and drove the flock up the hollow path, and had their weapons with them. skarphedinn sprang up and said, "thou needest not to stand and think if it be really as it seems. men are here." then skarphedinn smites tjorfi his death-blow. hroald had a spear in his hand, and hogni rushes at him; hroald thrusts at him, but hogni hewed asunder the spear-shaft with his bill, and drives the bill through him. after that they left them there dead, and turn away thence under the threecorner. skarphedinn jumps up on the house and plucks the grass, and those who were inside the house thought it was cattle that had come on the roof. starkad and thorgeir took their weapons and upper clothing, and went out and round about the fence of the yard. but when starkad sees skarphedinn he was afraid, and wanted to turn back. skarphedinn cut him down by the fence. then hogni comes against thorgeir and slays him with the bill. thence they went to hof, and mord was outside in the field, and begged for mercy, and offered them full atonement. skarphedinn told mord the slaying of those four men, and sang a song. four who wielded warlike weapons we have slain, all men of worth, them at once, gold-greedy fellow, thou shalt follow on the spot; let us press this pinch-purse so, pouring fear into his heart; wretch! reach out to gunnar's son right to settle all disputes. "and the like journey," says skarphedinn, "shalt thou also fare, or hand over to hogni the right to make his own award, if he will take these terms." hogni said his mind had been made up not to come to any terms with the slayers of his father; but still at last he took the right to make his own award from mord. chapter lxxix. hogni takes an atonement for gunnar's death. njal took a share in bringing those who had the blood-feud after starkad and thorgeir to take an atonement, and a district meeting was called together, and men were chosen to make the award, and every matter was taken into account, even the attack on gunnar, though he was an outlaw; but such a fine as was awarded, all that mord paid; for they did not close their award against him before the other matter was already settled, and then they set off one award against the other. then they were all set at one again, but at the thing there was great talk, and the end of it was, that geir the priest and hogni were set at one again, and that atonement they held to ever afterwards. geir the priest dwelt in the lithe till his death-day, and he is out of the story. njal asked as a wife for hogni alfeida the daughter of weatherlid the skald, and she was given away to him. their son was ari, who sailed for shetland, and took him a wife there; from him is come einar the shetlander, one of the briskest and boldest of men. hogni kept up his friendship with njal, and he is now out of the story. chapter lxxx. of kolskegg: how he was baptised. now it is to be told of kolskegg how he comes to norway, and is in the bay east that winter. but the summer after he fares east to denmark, and bound himself to sweyn forkbeard the dane-king, and there he had great honour. one night he dreamt that a man came to him; he was bright and glistening, and he thought he woke him up. he spoke, and said to him-- "stand up and come with me." "what wilt thou with me?" he asks. "i will get thee a bride, and thou shalt be my knight." he thought he said yea to that, and after that he woke up. then he went to a wizard and told him the dream, but he read it so that he should fare to southern lands and become god's knight. kolskegg was baptised in denmark, but still he could not rest there, but fared east to russia, and was there one winter. then he fared thence out to micklegarth,[ ] and there took service with the emperor. the last that was heard of him was, that he wedded a wife there, and was captain over the varangians, and stayed there till his death-day; and he, too, is out of this story. chapter lxxxi. of thrain: how he slew kol. now we must take up the story, and say how thrain sigfus' son came to norway. they made the land north in helgeland, and held on south to drontheim, and so to hlada.[ ] but as soon as earl hacon heard of that, he sent men to them, and would know what men were in the ship. they came back and told him who the men were. then the earl sent for thrain sigfus' son, and he went to see him. the earl asked of what stock he might be. he said that he was gunnar of lithend's near kinsman. the earl said-- "that shall stand thee in good stead; for i have seen many men from iceland, but none his match." "lord," said thrain, "is it your will that i should be with you this winter?" the earl took to him, and thrain was there that winter, and was thought much of. there was a man named kol, he was a great sea-rover. he was the son of asmund ashside, east out of smoland. he lay east in the göta-elf, and had five ships, and much force. thence kol steered his course out of the river to norway, and landed at fold,[ ] in the bight of the "bay," and came on hallvard soti unawares, and found him in a loft. he kept them off bravely till they set fire to the house, then he gave himself up; but they slew him, and took there much goods, and sailed thence to lödese.[ ] earl hacon heard these tidings, and made them make kol an outlaw over all his realm, and set a price upon his head. once on a time it so happened that the earl began to speak thus-- "too far off from us now is gunnar of lithend. he would slay my outlaw if he were here; but now the icelanders will slay him, and it is ill that he hath not fared to us." then thrain sigfus' son answered-- "i am not gunnar, but still i am near akin to him, and i will undertake this voyage." the earl said, "i should be glad of that, and thou shalt be very well fitted out for the journey". after that his son eric began to speak, and said-- "your word, father, is good to many men, but fulfilling it is quite another thing. this is the hardest undertaking; for this sea-rover is tough and ill to deal with, wherefore thou wilt need to take great pains, both as to men and ships for this voyage." thrain said, "i will set out on this voyage, though it looks ugly". after that the earl gave him five ships, and all well trimmed and manned. along with thrain was gunnar lambi's son, and lambi sigurd's son. gunnar was thrain's brother's son, and had come to him young, and each loved the other much. eric, the earl's son, went heartily along with them, and looked after strength for them, both in men and weapons, and made such changes in them as he thought were needful. after they were "boun," eric got them a pilot. then they sailed south along the land; but wherever they came to land, the earl allowed them to deal with whatever they needed as their own. so they held on east to lödese, and then they heard that kol was gone to denmark. then they shaped their course south thither; but when they came south to helsingborg, they met men in a boat, who said that kol was there just before them, and would be staying there for a while. one day when the weather was good, kol saw the ships as they sailed up towards him, and said he had dreamt of earl hacon the night before, and told his people he was sure these must be his men, and bade them all to take their weapons. after that they busked them, and a fight arose; and they fought long, so that neither side had the mastery. then kol sprang up on thrain's ship, and cleared the gangways fast, and slays many men. he had a gilded helm. now thrain sees that this is no good, and now he eggs on his men to go along with him, but he himself goes first and meets kol. kol hews at him, and the blow fell on thrain's shield, and cleft it down from top to bottom. then kol got a blow on the arm from a stone, and then down fell his sword. thrain hews at kol, and the stroke came on his leg so that it cut it off. after that they slew kol, and thrain cut off his head, and they threw the trunk over-board, but kept his head. there they took much spoil, and then they held on north to drontheim, and go to see the earl. the earl gave thrain a hearty welcome, and he showed the earl kol's head, but the earl thanked him for that deed. eric said it was worth more than words alone, and the earl said so it was, and bade them come along with him. they went thither, where the earl had made them make a good ship that was not made like a common long-ship. it had a vulture's head, and was much carved and painted. "thou art a great man for show, thrain," said the earl, "and so have both of you, kinsmen, been, gunnar and thou; and now i will give thee this ship, but it is called the 'vulture'. along with it shall go my friendship; and my will is that thou stayest with me as long as thou wilt." he thanked him for his goodness, and said he had no longing to go to iceland just yet. the earl had a journey to make to the marches of the land to meet the swede-king. thrain went with him that summer, and was a shipmaster and steered the vulture, and sailed so fast that few could keep up with him, and he was much envied. but it always came out that the earl laid great store on gunnar, for he set down sternly all who tried thrain's temper. so thrain was all that winter with the earl, but next spring the earl asked thrain whether he would stay there or fare to iceland; but thrain said he had not yet made up his mind, and said that he wished first to know tidings from iceland. the earl said that so it should be as he thought it suited him best; and thrain was with the earl. then those tidings were heard from iceland, which many thought great news, the death of gunnar of lithend. then the earl would not that thrain should fare out to iceland, and so there he stayed with him. chapter lxxxii. njal's sons sail abroad. now it must be told how njal's sons, grim and helgi, left iceland the same summer that thrain and his fellows went away; and in the ship with them were olaf kettle's son of elda, and bard the black. they got so strong a wind from the north that they were driven south into the main; and so thick a mist came over them that they could not tell whither they were driving, and they were out a long while. at last they came to where was a great ground sea, and thought then they must be near land. so then njal's sons asked bard if he could tell at all to what land they were likely to be nearest. "many lands there are," said he, "which we might hit with the weather we have had--the orkneys, or scotland, or ireland." two nights after, they saw land on both boards, and a great surf running up in the firth. they cast anchor outside the breakers, and the wind began to fall; and next morning it was calm. then they see thirteen ships coming out to them. then bard spoke and said, "what counsel shall we take now, for these men are going to make an onslaught on us?" so they took counsel whether they should defend themselves or yield, but before they could make up their minds, the vikings were upon them. then each side asked the other their names, and what their leaders were called. so the leaders of the chapmen told their names, and asked back who led that host. one called himself gritgard, and the other snowcolf, sons of moldan of duncansby in scotland, kinsmen of malcolm the scot king. "and now," says gritgard, "we have laid down two choices, one that ye go on shore, and we will take your goods; the other is, that we fall on you and slay every man that we can catch." "the will of the chapmen," answers helgi, "is to defend themselves." but the chapmen called out, "wretch that thou art to speak thus! what defence can we make? lading is less than life." but grim, he fell upon a plan to shout out to the vikings, and would not let them hear the bad choice of the chapmen. then bard and olaf said, "think ye not that these icelanders will make game of you sluggards; take rather your weapons and guard your goods". so they all seized their weapons, and bound themselves, one with another, never to give up so long as they had strength to fight. chapter lxxxiii. of kari solmund's son. then the vikings shot at them and the fight began, and the chapmen guard themselves well. snowcolf sprang aboard and at olaf, and thrust his spear through his body, but grim thrust at snowcolf with his spear, and so stoutly, that he fell over-board. then helgi turned to meet grim, and they too drove down all the vikings as they tried to board, and njal's sons were ever where there was most need. then the vikings called out to the chapmen and bade them give up, but they said they would never yield. just then some one looked seaward, and there they see ships coming from the south round the ness, and they were not fewer than ten, and they row hard and steer thitherwards. along their sides were shield on shield, but on that ship that came first stood a man by the mast, who was clad in a silken kirtle, and had a gilded helm, and his hair was both fair and thick; that man had a spear inlaid with gold in his hand. he asked, "who have here such an uneven game?" helgi tells his name, and said that against them are gritgard and snowcolf. "but who are your captains?" he asks. helgi answered, "bard the black, who lives, but the other, who is dead and gone, was called olaf". "are ye men from iceland?" says he. "sure enough we are," helgi answers. he asked whose sons they were, and they told him, then he knew them and said-- "well known names have ye all, father and sons both." "who art thou?" asks helgi. "my name is kari, and i am solmund's son." "whence comest thou?" says helgi. "from the southern isles." "then thou art welcome," says helgi, "if thou wilt give us a little help." "i'll give ye all the help ye need," says kari; "but what do ye ask?" "to fall on them," says helgi. kari says that so it shall be. so they pulled up to them, and then the battle began the second time; but when they had fought a little while, kari springs up on snowcolf's ship; he turns to meet him and smites at him with his sword. kari leaps nimbly backwards over a beam that lay athwart the ship, and snowcolf smote the beam so that both edges of the sword were hidden. then kari smites at him, and the sword fell on his shoulder, and the stroke was so mighty that he cleft in twain shoulder, arm, and all, and snowcolf got his death there and then. gritgard hurled a spear at kari, but kari saw it and sprang up aloft, and the spear missed him. just then helgi and grim came up both to meet kari, and helgi springs on gritgard and thrusts his spear through him, and that was his death blow; after that they went round the whole ship on both boards, and then men begged for mercy. so they gave them all peace, but took all their goods. after that they ran all the ships out under the islands. chapter lxxxiv. of earl sigurd. sigurd was the name of an earl who ruled over the orkneys; he was the son of hlodver, the son of thorfinn the scull-splitter, the son of turf-einar, the son of rognvald, earl of m[oe]ren, the son of eystein the noisy. kari was one of earl sigurd's body-guard, and had just been gathering scatts in the southern isles from earl gilli. now kari asks them to go to hrossey,[ ] and said the earl would take to them well. they agreed to that, and went with kari and came to hrossey. kari led them to see the earl, and said what men they were. "how came they," says the earl, "to fall upon thee?" "i found them," says kari, "in scotland's firths, and they were fighting with the sons of earl moldan, and held their own so well that they threw themselves about between the bulwarks, from side to side, and were always there where the trial was greatest, and now i ask you to give them quarters among your body-guard." "it shall be as thou choosest," says the earl, "thou hast already taken them so much by the hand." then they were there with the earl that winter, and were worthily treated, but helgi was silent as the winter wore on. the earl could not tell what was at the bottom of that, and asked why he was so silent, and what was on his mind. "thinkest thou it not good to be here?" "good, methinks, it is here," he says. "then what art thou thinking about?" asks the earl. "hast thou any realm to guard in scotland?" asks helgi. "so we think," says the earl, "but what makes thee think about that, or what is the matter with it?" "the scots," says helgi, "must have taken your steward's life, and stopped all the messengers; that none should cross the pentland firth." "hast thou the second sight?" said the earl. "that has been little proved," answers helgi. "well," says the earl, "i will increase thy honour if this be so, otherwise thou shalt smart for it." "nay," says kari, "helgi is not that kind of man, and like enough his words are sooth, for his father has the second sight." after that the earl sent men south to straumey[ ] to arnljot, his steward there, and after that arnljot sent them across the pentland firth, and they spied out and learnt that earl hundi and earl melsnati had taken the life of havard in thraswick, earl sigurd's brother-in-law. so arnljot sent word to earl sigurd to come south with a great host and drive those earls out of his realm, and as soon as the earl heard that, he gathered together a mighty host from all the isles. chapter lxxxv. the battle with the earls. after that the earl set out south with his host, and kari went with him, and njal's sons too. they came south to caithness. the earl had these realms in scotland, ross and moray, sutherland, and the dales. there came to meet them men from those realms, and said that the earls were a short way off with a great host. then earl sigurd turns his host thither, and the name of that place is duncansness, above which they met, and it came to a great battle between them. now the scots had let some of their host go free from the main battle, and these took the earl's men in flank, and many men fell there till njal's sons turned against the foe, and fought with them and put them to flight; but still it was a hard fight, and then njal's sons turned back to the front by the earl's standard, and fought well. now kari turns to meet earl melsnati, and melsnati hurled a spear at him, but kari caught the spear and threw it back and through the earl. then earl hundi fled, but they chased the fleers until they learnt that malcolm was gathering a host at duncansby. then the earl took counsel with his men, and it seemed to all the best plan to turn back, and not to fight with such a mighty land force; so they turned back. but when the earl came to straumey they shared the battle-spoil. after that he went north to hrossey, and njal's sons and kari followed him. then the earl made a great feast, and at that feast he gave kari a good sword, and a spear inlaid with gold; but he gave helgi a gold ring and a mantle, and grim a shield and sword. after that he took helgi and grim into his body-guard, and thanked them for their good help. they were with the earl that winter and the summer after, till kari went sea-roving; then they went with him, and harried far and wide that summer, and everywhere won the victory. they fought against godred, king of man, and conquered him; and after that they fared back, and had gotten much goods. next winter they were still with the earl, and when the spring came njal's sons asked leave to go to norway. the earl said they should go or not as they pleased, and he gave them a good ship and smart men. as for kari, he said he must come that summer to norway with earl hacon's scatts, and then they would meet; and so it fell out that they gave each other their word to meet. after that njal's sons put out to sea and sailed for norway, and made the land north near drontheim. chapter lxxxvi. hrapp's voyage from iceland. there was a man named kolbein, and his surname was arnljot's son; he was a man from drontheim; he sailed out to iceland that same summer in which kolskegg and njal's sons went abroad. he was that winter east in broaddale; but the spring after, he made his ship ready for sea in gautawick; and when men were almost "boun," a man rowed up to them in a boat, and made the boat fast to the ship, and afterwards he went on board the ship to see kolbein. kolbein asked that man for his name. "my name is hrapp," says he. "what wilt thou with me?" says kolbein. "i wish to ask thee to put me across the iceland main." "whose son art thou?" asks kolbein. "i am a son of aurgunleid, the son of geirolf the fighter." "what need lies on thee," asked kolbein, "to drive thee abroad?" "i have slain a man," says hrapp. "what manslaughter was that," says kolbein, "and what men have the blood-feud?" "the men of weaponfirth," says hrapp, "but the man i slew was aurlyg, the son of aurlyg, the son of roger the white." "i guess this," says kolbein, "that he will have the worst of it who bears thee abroad." "i am the friend of my friend," said hrapp, "but when ill is done to me i repay it. nor am i short of money to lay down for my passage." then kolbein took hrapp on board, and a little while after a fair breeze sprung up, and they sailed away on the sea. hrapp ran short of food at sea, and then he sate him down at the mess of those who were nearest to him. they sprang up with ill words, and so it was that they came to blows, and hrapp, in a trice, has two men under him. then kolbein was told, and he bade hrapp to come and share his mess, and he accepted that. now they come off the sea, and lie outside off agdirness. then kolbein asked where that money was which he had offered to pay for his fare? "it is out in iceland," answers hrapp. "thou wilt beguile more men than me, i fear," says kolbein; "but now i will forgive thee all the fare." hrapp bade him have thanks for that. "but what counsel dost thou give as to what i ought to do?" "that first of all," he says, "that thou goest from the ship as soon as ever thou canst, for all easterlings will bear thee bad witness; but there is yet another bit of good counsel which i will give thee, and that is, never to cheat thy master." then hrapp went on shore with his weapons, and he had a great axe with an iron-bound haft in his hand. he fares on and on till he comes to gudbrand of the dale. he was the greatest friend of earl hacon. they two had a shrine between them, and it was never opened but when the earl came thither. that was the second greatest shrine in norway, but the other was at hlada. thrand was the name of gudbrand's son, but his daughter's name was gudruna. hrapp went in before gudbrand, and hailed him well. he asked whence he came and what was his name. hrapp told him about himself, and how he had sailed abroad from iceland. after that he asks gudbrand to take him into his household as a guest. "it does not seem," said gudbrand, "to look on thee, as though thou wert a man to bring good luck." "methinks, then," says hrapp, "that all i have heard about thee has been great lies; for it is said that thou takest every one into thy house that asks thee; and that no man is thy match for goodness and kindness, far or near; but now i shall have to speak against that saying, if thou dost not take me in." "well, thou shalt stay here," said gudbrand. "to what seat wilt thou show me?" says hrapp. "to one on the lower bench, over against my high seat." then hrapp went and took his seat. he was able to tell of many things, and so it was at first that gudbrand and many thought it sport to listen to him; but still it came about that most men thought him too much given to mocking, and the end of it was that he took to talking alone with gudruna, so that many said that he meant to beguile her. but when gudbrand was aware of that, he scolded her much for daring to talk alone with him, and bade her beware of speaking aught to him if the whole household did not hear it. she gave her word to be good at first, but still it was soon the old story over again as to their talk. then gudbrand got asvard, his overseer, to go about with her, out of doors and in, and to be with her wherever she went. one day it happened that she begged for leave to go into the nut-wood for a pastime, and asvard went along with her. hrapp goes to seek for them and found them, and took her by the hand, and led her away alone. then asvard went to look for her, and found them both together stretched on the grass in a thicket. he rushes at them, axe in air, and smote at hrapp's leg, but hrapp gave himself a second turn, and he missed him. hrapp springs on his feet as quick as he can, and caught up his axe. then asvard wished to turn and get away, but hrapp hewed asunder his backbone. then gudruna said, "now hast thou done that deed which will hinder thy stay any longer with my father; but still there is something behind which he will like still less, for i go with child". "he shall not learn this from others," says hrapp, "but i will go home and tell him both these tidings." "then," she says, "thou will not come away with thy life." "i will run the risk of that," he says. after that he sees her back to the other women, but he went home. gudbrand sat in his high seat, and there were few men in the hall. hrapp went in before him, and bore his axe high. "why is thine axe bloody?" asks gudbrand. "i made it so by doing a piece of work on thy overseer asvard's back," says hrapp. "that can be no good work," says gudbrand; "thou must have slain him." "so it is, be sure," says hrapp. "what did ye fall out about?" asks gudbrand. "oh!" says hrapp, "what you would think small cause enough. he wanted to hew off my leg." "what hast thou done first?" asked gudbrand. "what he had no right to meddle with," says hrapp. "still thou wilt tell me what it was." "well!" said hrapp, "if thou must know, i lay by thy daughter's side, and he thought that bad." "up men!" cried gudbrand, "and take him. he shall be slain out of hand." "very little good wilt thou let me reap of my son-in-lawship," says hrapp, "but thou hast not so many men at thy back as to do that speedily." up they rose, but he sprang out of doors. they run after him, but he got away to the wood, and they could not lay hold of him. then gudbrand gathers people, and lets the wood be searched; but they find him not, for the wood was great and thick. hrapp fares through the wood till he came to a clearing; there he found a house, and saw a man outside cleaving wood. he asked that man for his name, and he said his name was tofi. tofi asked him for his name in turn, and hrapp told him his true name. hrapp asked why the householder had set up his abode so far from other men? "for that here," he says, "i think i am less likely to have brawls with other men." "it is strange how we beat about the bush in out talk," says hrapp, "but i will first tell thee who i am. i have been with gudbrand of the dale, but i ran away thence because i slew his overseer; but now i know that we are both of us bad men; for thou wouldst not have come hither away from other men unless thou wert some man's outlaw. and now i give thee two choices, either that i will tell where thou art,[ ] or that we two have between us, share and share alike, all that is here." "this is even as thou sayest," said the householder; "i seized and carried off this woman who is here with me, and many men have sought for me." then he led hrapp in with him; there was a small house there, but well built. the master of the house told his mistress that he had taken hrapp into his company. "most men will get ill luck from this man," she says; "but thou wilt have thy way." so hrapp was there after that. he was a great wanderer, and was never at home. he still brings about meetings with gudruna; her father and brother, thrand and gudbrand, lay in wait for him, but they could never get nigh him, and so all that year passed away. gudbrand sent and told earl hacon what trouble he had had with hrapp, and the earl let him be made an outlaw, and laid a price upon his head. he said too, that he would go himself to look after him; but that passed off, and the earl thought it easy enough for them to catch him when he went about so unwarily. chapter lxxxvii. thrain took to hrapp. that same summer njal's sons fared to norway from the orkneys, as was before written, and they were there at the fair during the summer. then thrain sigfus' son busked his ship for iceland, and was all but "boun". at that time earl hacon went to a feast at gudbrand's house. that night killing-hrapp came to the shrine of earl hacon and gudbrand, and he went inside the house, and there he saw thorgerda shrinebride sitting, and she was as tall as a full-grown man. she had a great gold ring on her arm, and a wimple on her head; he strips her of her wimple, and takes the gold ring from off her. then he sees thor's car, and takes from him a second gold ring; a third he took from irpa; and then dragged them all out, and spoiled them of all their gear. after that he laid fire to the shrine, and burnt it down, and then he goes away just as it began to dawn. he walks across a ploughed field, and there six men sprung up with weapons, and fall upon him at once; but he made a stout defence, and the end of the business was that he slays three men, but wounds thrand to the death, and drives two to the woods, so that they could bear no news to the earl. he then went up to thrand and said-- "it is now in my power to slay thee if i will, but i will not do that; and now i will set more store by the ties that are between us than ye have shown to me." now hrapp means to turn back to the wood, but now he sees that men have come between him and the wood, so he dares not venture to turn thither, but lays him down in a thicket, and so lies there a while. earl hacon and gudbrand went that morning early to the shrine and found it burnt down; but the three gods were outside, stripped of all their bravery. then gudbrand began to speak, and said-- "much might is given to our gods, when here they have walked of themselves out of the fire!" "the gods can have naught to do with it," says the earl; "a man must have burnt the shrine, and borne the gods out; but the gods do not avenge everything on the spot. that man who has done this will no doubt be driven away out of valhalla, and never come in thither." just then up ran four of the earl's men, and told them ill tidings; for they said they had found three men slain in the field, and thrand wounded to the death. "who can have done this?" says the earl. "killing-hrapp," they say. "then he must have burnt down the shrine," says the earl. they said they thought he was like enough to have done it. "and where may he be now?" says the earl. they said that thrand had told them that he had laid down in a thicket. the earl goes thither to look for him, but hrapp was off and away. then the earl set his men to search for him, but still they could not find him. so the earl was in the hue and cry himself, but first he bade them rest a while. then the earl went aside by himself, away from other men, and bade that no man should follow him, and so he stays a while. he fell down on both his knees, and held his hands before his eyes; after that he went back to them, and then he said to them, "come with me". so they went along with him. he turns short away from the path on which they had walked before, and they came to a dell. there up sprang hrapp before them, and there it was that he had hidden himself at first. the earl urges on his men to run after him, but hrapp was so swift-footed that they never came near him. hrapp made for hlada. there both thrain and njal's sons lay "boun" for sea at the same time. hrapp runs to where njal's sons are. "help me, like good men and true," he said, "for the earl will slay me." helgi looked at him and said-- "thou lookest like an unlucky man, and the man who will not take thee in will have the best of it." "would that the worst might befall you from me," says hrapp. "i am the man," says helgi, "to avenge me on thee for this as time rolls on." then hrapp turned to thrain sigfus' son, and bade him shelter him. "what hast thou on thy hand?" says thrain. "i have burnt a shrine under the earl's eyes, and slain some men, and now he will be here speedily, for he has joined in the hue and cry himself." "it hardly beseems me to do this," says thrain, "when the earl has done me so much good." then he showed thrain the precious things which he had borne out of the shrine, and offered to give him the goods, but thrain said he could not take them unless he gave him other goods of the same worth for them. "then," said hrapp, "here will i take my stand, and here shall i be slain before thine eyes, and then thou wilt have to abide by every man's blame." then they see the earl and his band of men coming, and then thrain took hrapp under his safeguard, and let them shove off the boat, and put out to his ship. then thrain said, "now this will be thy best hiding place, to knock out the bottoms of two casks, and then thou shalt get into them". so it was done, and he got into the casks, and then they were lashed together, and lowered over-board. then comes the earl with his band to njal's sons, and asked if hrapp had come there. they said that he had come. the earl asked whither he had gone thence. they said they had not kept eyes on him, and could not say. "he," said the earl, "should have great honour from me who would tell me where hrapp was." then grim said softly to helgi-- "why should we not say. what know i whether thrain will repay us with any good?" "we should not tell a whit more for that," says helgi, "when his life lies at stake." "maybe," said grim, "the earl will turn his vengeance on us, for he is so wroth that some one will have to fall before him." "that must not move us," says helgi, "but still we will pull our ship out, and so away to sea as soon as ever we get a wind." so they rowed out under an isle that lay there, and wait there for a fair breeze. the earl went about among the sailors, and tried them all, but they, one and all, denied that they knew aught of hrapp. then the earl said, "now we will go to thrain, my brother-in-arms, and he will give hrapp up, if he knows anything of him". after that they took a long-ship and went off to the merchant ship. thrain sees the earl coming, and stands up and greets him kindly. the earl took his greeting well and spoke thus-- "we are seeking for a man whose name is hrapp, and he is an icelander. he has done us all kind of ill; and now we will ask you to be good enough to give him up, or to tell us where he is." "ye know, lord," said thrain, "that i slew your outlaw, and then put my life in peril, and for that i had of you great honour." "more honour shalt thou now have," says the earl. now thrain thought within himself, and could not make up his mind how the earl would take it, so he denies that hrapp is there, and bade the earl to look for him. he spent little time on that, and went on land alone, away from other men, and was then very wroth, so that no man dared to speak to him. "show me to njal's sons," said the earl, "and i will force them to tell me the truth." then he was told that they had put out of the harbour. "then there is no help for it," says the earl, "but still there were two water-casks alongside of thrain's ship, and in them a man may well have been hid, and if thrain has hidden him, there he must be; and now we will go a second time to see thrain." thrain sees that the earl means to put off again and said-- "however wroth the earl was last time, now he will be half as wroth again, and now the life of every man on board the ship lies at stake." they all gave their words to hide the matter, for they were all sore afraid. then they took some sacks out of the lading, and put hrapp down into the hold in their stead, and other sacks that were tight were laid over him. now comes the earl, just as they were done stowing hrapp away. thrain greeted the earl well. the earl was rather slow to return it, and they saw that the earl was very wroth. then said the earl to thrain-- "give thou up hrapp, for i am quite sure that thou hast hidden him." "where shall i have hidden him, lord?" says thrain. "that thou knowest best," says the earl; "but if i must guess, then i think that thou hiddest him in the water-casks a while ago." "well!" says thrain, "i would rather not be taken for a liar, far sooner would i that ye should search the ship." then the earl went on board the ship and hunted and hunted, but found him not. "dost thou speak me free now?" says thrain. "far from it," says the earl, "and yet i cannot tell why we cannot find him, but methinks i see through it all when i come on shore, but when i come here, i can see nothing." with that he made them row him ashore. he was so wroth that there was no speaking to him. his son sweyn was there with him, and he said, "a strange turn of mind this to let guiltless men smart for one's wrath!" then the earl went away alone aside from other men, and after that he went back to them at once, and said-- "let us row out to them again," and they did so. "where can he have been hidden?" says sweyn. "there's not much good in knowing that," says the earl, "for now he will be away thence; two sacks lay there by the rest of the lading, and hrapp must have come into the lading in their place." then thrain began to speak, and said-- "they are running off the ship again, and they must mean to pay us another visit. now we will take him out of the lading, and stow other things in his stead, but let the sacks still lie loose. they did so, and then thrain spoke-- "now let us fold hrapp in the sail." it was then brailed up to the yard, and they did so. then the earl comes to thrain and his men, and he was very wroth, and said, "wilt thou now give up the man, thrain?" and he is worse now than before. "i would have given him up long ago," answers thrain, "if he had been in my keeping, or where can he have been?" "in the lading," says the earl. "then why did ye not seek him there?" says thrain. "that never came into our mind," says the earl. after that they sought him over all the ship, and found him not. "will you now hold me free?" says thrain. "surely not," says the earl, "for i know that thou hast hidden away the man, though i find him not; but i would rather that thou shouldest be a dastard to me than i to thee," says the earl, and then they went on shore. "now," says the earl, "i seem to see that thrain has hidden away hrapp in the sail." just then up sprung a fair breeze, and thrain and his men sailed out to sea. he then spoke these words which have long been held in mind since-- let us make the vulture fly, nothing now gars thrain flinch. but when the earl heard of thrain's words, then he said-- "tis not my want of foresight which caused this, but rather their ill-fellowship, which will drag them both to death." thrain was a short time out on the sea, and so came to iceland, and fared home to his house. hrapp went along with thrain, and was with him that year; but the spring after, thrain got him a homestead at hrappstede, and he dwelt there; but yet he spent most of his time at gritwater. he was thought to spoil everything there, and some men even said that he was too good friends with hallgerda, and that he led her astray, but some spoke against that. thrain gave the vulture to his kinsman, mord the reckless; that mord slew oddi haldor's son, east in gautawick by berufirth. all thrain's kinsmen looked on him as a chief. chapter lxxxviii. earl hacon fights with njal's sons. now we must take up the story, and say how, when earl hacon missed thrain, he spoke to sweyn his son, and said-- "let us take four long-ships, and let us fare against njal's sons and slay them, for they must have known all about it with thrain." "'tis not good counsel," says sweyn, "to throw the blame on guiltless men, but to let him escape who is guilty." "i shall have my way in this," says the earl. now they hold on after njal's sons, and seek for them, and find them under an island. grim first saw the earl's ships and said to helgi-- "here are war ships sailing up, and i see that here is the earl, and he can mean to offer us no peace." "it is said," said helgi, "that he is the boldest man who holds his own against all comers, and so we will defend ourselves." they all bade him take the course he thought best, and then they took to their arms. now the earl comes up and called out to them, and bade them give themselves up. helgi said that they would defend themselves so long as they could. then the earl offered peace and quarter to all who would neither defend themselves nor helgi; but helgi was so much beloved that all said they would rather die with him. then the earl and his men fall on them, but they defended themselves well, and njal's sons were ever where there was most need. the earl often offered peace, but they all made the same answer, and said they would never yield. then aslak of longisle pressed them hard, and came on board their ship thrice. then grim said-- "thou pressest on hard, and 'twere well that thou gettest what thou seekest;" and with that he snatched up a spear and hurled it at him, and hit him under the chin, and aslak got his death wound there and then. a little after, helgi slew egil the earl's banner-bearer. then sweyn, earl bacon's son, fell on them, and made men hem them in and bear them down with shields, and so they were taken captive. the earl was for letting them all be slain at once, but sweyn said that should not be, and said too that it was night. then the earl said, "well, then, slay them to-morrow, but bind them fast to-night". "so, i ween, it must be," says sweyn; "but never yet have i met brisker men than these, and i call it the greatest manscathe to take their lives." "they have slain two of our briskest men," said the earl, "and for that they shall be slain." "because they were brisker men themselves," says sweyn; "but still in this it must be done as thou wiliest." so they were bound and fettered. after that the earl fell asleep; but when all men slept, grim spoke to helgi, and said, "away would i get if i could". "let us try some trick then," says helgi. grim sees that there lies an axe edge up, so grim crawled thither, and gets the bowstring which bound him cut asunder against the axe, but still he got great wounds on his arms. then he set helgi loose, and after that they crawled over the ship's side, and got on shore, so that neither hacon nor his men were ware of them. then they broke off their fetters and walked away to the other side of the island. by that time it began to dawn. there they found a ship, and knew that there was come kari solmund's son. they went at once to meet him, and told him of their wrongs and hardships, and showed him their wounds, and said the earl would be then asleep. "ill is it," said karl, "that ye should suffer such wrongs for wicked men; but what now would be most to your minds?" "to fall on the earl," they say, "and slay him." "this will not be fated," says kari; "but still ye do not lack heart, but we will first know whether he is there now." after that they fared thither, and then the earl was up and away. then kari sailed in to hlada to meet the earl, and brought him the orkney scatts; so the earl said-- "hast thou taken njal's sons into thy keeping?" "so it is, sure enough," says kari. "wilt thou hand njal's sons over to me?" asks the earl. "no, i will not," said kari. "wilt thou swear this," says the earl, "that thou wilt not fall on me with njal's sons?" then eric, the earl's son, spoke and said-- "such things ought not to be asked. kari has always been our friend, and things should not have gone as they have, had i been by. njal's sons should have been set free from all blame, but they should have had chastisement who had wrought for it. methinks now it would be more seemly to give njal's sons good gifts for the hardships and wrongs which have been put upon them, and the wounds they have got." "so it ought to be, sure enough," says the earl, "but i know not whether they will take an atonement." then the earl said that kari should try the feeling of njal's sons as to an atonement. after that kari spoke to helgi, and asked whether he would take any amends from the earl or not. "i will take them," said helgi, "from his son eric, but i will have nothing to do with the earl." then kari told eric their answer. "so it shall be," says eric. "he shall take the amends from me if he thinks it better; and tell them this too, that i bid them to my house, and my father shall do them no harm." this bidding they took, and went to eric's house, and were with him till kari was ready to sail west across the sea to meet earl sigurd. then eric made a feast for kari, and gave him gifts, and njal's sons gifts too. after that kari fared west across the sea, and met earl sigurd, and he greeted them very well, and they were with the earl that winter. but when the spring came, kari asked njal's sons to go on warfare with him, but grim said they would only do so if he would fare with them afterwards out to iceland. kari gave his word to do that, and then they fared with him a-sea-roving. they harried south about anglesea and all the southern isles. thence they held on to cantyre, and landed there, and fought with the landsmen, and got thence much goods, and so fared to their ships. thence they fared south to wales, and harried there. then they held on for man, and there they met godred, and fought with him, and got the victory, and slew dungal the king's son. there they took great spoil. thence they held on north to coll, and found earl gilli there, and he greeted them well, and there they stayed with him a while. the earl fared with them to the orkneys to meet earl sigurd, but next spring earl sigurd gave away his sister nereida to earl gilli, and then he fared back to the southern isles. chapter lxxxix. njal's sons and kari come out to iceland. that summer kari and njal's sons busked them for iceland, and when they were "all-boun" they went to see the earl. the earl gave them good gifts, and they parted with great friendship. now they put to sea and have a short passage, and they got a fine fair breeze, and made the land at eyrar. then they got them horses and ride from the ship to bergthorsknoll, but when they came home all men were glad to see them. they flitted home their goods and laid up the ship, and kari was there that winter with njal. but the spring after, kari asked for njal's daughter, helga, to wife, and helgi and grim backed his suit; and so the end of it was that she was betrothed to kari, and the day for the wedding-feast was fixed, and the feast was held half a month before mid-summer, and they were that winter with njal. then kari bought him land at dyrholms, east away by mydale, and set up a farm there; they put in there a grieve and housekeeper to see after the farm, but they themselves were ever with njal. chapter xc. the quarrel of njal's sons with thrain sigfus' son. hrapp owned a farm at hrappstede, but for all that he was always at gritwater, and he was thought to spoil everything there. thrain was good to him. once on a time it happened that kettle of the mark was at bergthorsknoll; then njal's sons told him of their wrongs and hardships, and said they had much to lay at thrain sigfus' son's door, whenever they chose to speak about it. njal said it would be best that kettle should talk with his brother thrain about it, and he gave his word to do so. so they gave kettle breathing-time to talk to thrain. a little after they spoke of the matter again to kettle, but he said that he would repeat few of the words that had passed between them, "for it was pretty plain that thrain thought i set too great store on being your brother-in-law". then they dropped talking about it, and thought they saw that things looked ugly, and so they asked their father for his counsel as to what was to be done, but they told him they would not let things rest as they then stood. "such things," said njal, "are not so strange. it will be thought that they are slain without a cause, if they are slain now, and my counsel is, that as many men as may be should be brought to talk with them about these things, that thus as many as we can find may be ear-witnesses if they answer ill as to these things. then kari shall talk about them too, for he is just the man with the right turn of mind for this; then the dislike between you will grow and grow, for they will heap bad words on bad words when men bring the matter forward, for they are foolish men. it may also well be that it may be said that my sons are slow to take up a quarrel, but ye shall bear that for the sake of gaining time, for there are two sides to everything that is done, and ye can always pick a quarrel; but still ye shall let so much of your purpose out, as to say that if any wrong be put upon you that ye do mean something. but if ye had taken counsel from me at first, then these things should never have been spoken about at all, and then ye would have gotten no disgrace from them; but now ye have the greatest risk of it, and so it will go on ever growing and growing with your disgrace, that ye will never get rid of it until ye bring yourselves into a strait, and have to fight your way out with weapons; but in that there is a long and weary night in which ye will have to grope your way." after that they ceased speaking about it; but the matter became the daily talk of many men. one day it happened that those brothers spoke to kari and bade him go to gritwater. kari said he thought he might go elsewhither on a better journey, but still he would go if that were njal's counsel. so after that kari fares to meet thrain, and then they talk over the matter, and they did not each look at it in the same way. kari comes home, and njal's sons ask how things had gone between thrain and him. kari said he would rather not repeat the words that had passed, "but," he went on, "it is to be looked for that the like words will be spoken when ye yourselves can hear them". thrain had fifteen house-earles trained to arms in his house, and eight of them rode with him whithersoever he went. thrain was very fond of show and dress, and always rode in a blue cloak, and had on a guilded helm, and the spear--the earl's gift--in his hand, and a fair shield, and a sword at his belt. along with him always went gunnar lambi's son, and lambi sigurd's son, and grani, gunnar of lithend's son. but nearest of all to him went killing-hrapp. lodinn was the name of his serving-man, he too went with thrain when he journeyed; tjorvi was the name of loddin's brother, and he too was one of thrain's band. the worst of all, in their words against njal's sons, were hrapp and grani; and it was mostly their doing that no atonement was offered to them. njal's sons often spoke to kari that he should ride with them; and it came to that at last, for he said it would be well that they heard thrain's answer. then they busked them, four of njal's sons, and kari the fifth, and so they fare to gritwater. there was a wide porch in the homestead there, so that many men might stand in it side by side. there was a woman out of doors, and she saw their coming, and told thrain of it; he bade them to go out into the porch, and take their arms, and they did so. thrain stood in mid-door, killing-hrapp and grani gunnar's son stood on either hand of him; then next stood gunnar lambi's son, then lodinn and tjorvi, then lambi sigurd's son; then each of the others took his place right and left; for the house-earles were all at home. skarphedinn and his men walk up from below, and he went first, then kari, then hauskuld, then grim, then helgi. but when they had come up to the door, then not a word of welcome passed the lips of those who stood before them. "may we all be welcome here?" said skarphedinn. hallgerda stood in the porch, and had been talking low to hrapp, then she spoke out loud-- "none of those who are here will say that ye are welcome." then skarphedinn sang a song. prop of sea-waves' fire,[ ] thy fretting cannot cast a weight on us, warriors wight; yes, wolf and eagle willingly i feed to-day; carline thrust into the ingle, or a tramping whore, art thou; lord of skates that skim the sea-belt,[ ] odin's mocking cup[ ] i mix. "thy words," said skarphedinn, "will not be worth much, for thou art either a hag, only fit to sit in the ingle, or a harlot." "these words of thine thou shalt pay for," she says, "ere thou farest home." "thee am i come to see, thrain," said helgi, "and to know if thou will make me any amends for those wrongs and hardships which befell me for thy sake in norway." "i never knew," said thrain, "that ye two brothers were wont to measure your manhood by money; or, how long shall such a claim for amends stand over?" "many will say," says helgi, "that thou oughtest to offer us atonement, since thy life was at stake." then hrapp said, "'twas just luck that swayed the balance, when he got stripes who ought to bear them; and she dragged you under disgrace and hardship, but us away from them." "little good luck was there in that," says helgi, "to break faith with the earl, and to take to thee instead." "thinkest thou not that thou hast some amends to seek from me?" says hrapp, "i will atone thee in a way that, methinks, were fitting." "the only dealings we shall have," says helgi, "will be those which will not stand thee in good stead." "don't bandy words with hrapp," said skarphedinn, "but give him a red skin for a grey."[ ] "hold thy tongue, skarphedinn," said hrapp, "or i will not spare to bring my axe on thy head." "'twill be proved soon enough, i dare say," says skarphedinn, "which of us is to scatter gravel over the other's head." "away with you home, ye 'dung-beardlings!'" says hallgerda, "and so we will call you always from this day forth; but your father we will call 'the beardless carle'." they did not fare home before all who were there had made themselves guilty of uttering those words, save thrain; he forbade men to utter them. then njal's sons went away, and fared till they came home; then they told their father. "did ye call any men to witness of those words?" says njal. "we called none," says skarphedinn; "we do not mean to follow that suit up except on the battlefield." "no one will now think," says bergthora, "that ye have the heart to lift your weapons." "spare thy tongue, mistress!" says kari, "in egging on thy sons, for they will be quite eager enough." after that they all talk long in secret, njal and his sons, and kari solmund's son, their brother-in-law. chapter xci. thrain sigfus' son's slaying. now there was great talk about this quarrel of theirs, and all seemed to know that it would not settle down peacefully. runolf, the son of wolf aurpriest, east in the dale, was a great friend of thrain's, and had asked thrain to come and see him, and it was settled that he should come east when about three weeks or a month were wanting to winter. thrain bade hrapp, and grani, and gunnar lambi's son, and lambi sigurd's son, and lodinn, and tjorvi, eight of them in all, to go on this journey with him. hallgerda and thorgerda were to go too. at the same time thrain gave it out that he meant to stay in the mark with his brother kettle, and said how many nights he meant to be away from home. they all of them had full arms. so they rode east across markfleet, and found there some gangrel women, and they begged them to put them across the fleet west on their horses, and they did so. then they rode into the dale, and had a hearty welcome; there kettle of the mark met them, and there they sate two nights. both runolf and kettle besought thrain that he would make up his quarrel with njal's sons; but he said he would never pay any money, and answered crossly, for he said he thought himself quite a match for njal's sons wherever they met. "so it may be," says runolf; "but so far as i can see, no man has been their match since gunnar of lithend died, and it is likelier that ye will both drag one another down to death." thrain said that was not to be dreaded. then thrain fared up into the mark, and was there two nights more; after that he rode down into the dale, and was sent away from both houses with fitting gifts. now the markfleet was then flowing between sheets of ice on both sides, and there were tongues of ice bridging it across every here and there. thrain said that he meant to ride home that evening, but runolf said that he ought not to ride home; he said, too, that it would be more wary not to fare back as he had said he would before he left home. "that is fear, and i will none of it," answers thrain. now those gangrel women whom they had put across the fleet came to bergthorsknoll, and bergthora asked whence they came, but they answered, "away east under eyjafell". "then, who put you across markfleet?" said bergthora. "those," said they, "who were the most boastful and bravest clad of men." "who?" asked bergthora. "thrain sigfus' son," said they, "and his company, but we thought it best to tell thee that they were so full-tongued and foul-tongued towards this house, against thy husband and his sons." "listeners do not often hear good of themselves," says bergthora. after that they went their way, and bergthora gave them gifts on their going, and asked them when thrain might be coming home. they said that he would be from home four or five nights. after that bergthora told her sons and her son-in-law kari, and they talked long and low about the matter. but that same morning, when thrain and his men rode from the east, njal woke up early and heard how skarphedinn's axe came against the panel. then njal rises up, and goes out, and sees that his sons are all there with their weapons, and karl, his son-in-law too. skarphedinn was foremost. he was in a blue cape, and had a targe, and his axe aloft on his shoulder. next to him went helgi; he was in a red kirtle, had a helm on his head, and a red shield, on which a hart was marked. next to him went kari; he had on a silken jerkin, a gilded helm and shield, and on it was drawn a lion. they were all in bright holiday clothes. njal called out to skarphedinn-- "whither art thou going, kinsman?" "on a sheep hunt," he said. "so it was once before," said njal, "but then ye hunted men." skarphedinn laughed at that, and said-- "hear ye what the old man says? he is not without his doubts." "when was it that thou spokest thus before?" asks kari. "when i slew sigmund the white," says skarphedinn, "gunnar of lithend's kinsman." "for what?" asks kari. "he had slain thord freedmanson, my foster-father." njal went home, but they fared up into the redslips, and bided there; thence they could see the others as soon as ever they rode from the east out of the dale. there was sunshine that day and bright weather. now thrain and his men ride down out of the dale along the river bank. lambi sigurd's son said-- "shields gleam away yonder in the redslips when the sun shines on them, and there must be some men lying in wait there." "then," says thrain, "we will turn our way lower down the fleet, and then they will come to meet us if they have any business with us." so they turn down the fleet. "now they have caught sight of us," said skarphedinn, "for lo! they turn their path elsewhither, and now we have no other choice than to run down and meet them." "many men," said kari, "would rather not lie in wait if the balance of force were not more on their side than it is on ours; they are eight, but we are five." now they turn down along the fleet, and see a tongue of ice bridging the stream lower down and mean to cross there. thrain and his men take their stand upon the ice away from the tongue, and thrain said-- "what can these men want? they are five, and we are eight." "i guess," said lambi sigurd's son, "that they would still run the risk though more men stood against them." thrain throws off his cloak, and takes off his helm. now it happened to skarphedinn, as they ran down along the fleet, that his shoe-string snapped asunder, and he stayed behind. "why so slow, skarphedinn?" quoth grim. "i am tying my shoe," he says. "let us get on ahead," says kari; "methinks he will not be slower than we." so they turn off to the tongue, and run as fast as they can. skarphedinn sprang up as soon as he was ready, and had lifted his axe, "the ogress of war," aloft, and runs right down to the fleet. but the fleet was so deep that there was no fording it for a long way up or down. a great sheet of ice had been thrown up by the flood on the other side of the fleet as smooth and slippery as glass, and there thrain and his men stood in the midst of the sheet. skarphedinn takes a spring into the air, and leaps over the stream between the icebanks, and does not check his course, but rushes still onwards with a slide. the sheet of ice was very slippery, and so he went as fast as a bird flies. thrain was just about to put his helm on his head; and now skarphedinn bore down on them, and hews at thrain with his axe, "the ogress of war," and smote him on the head, and clove him down to the teeth, so that his jaw-teeth fell out on the ice. this feat was done with such a quick sleight that no one could get a blow at him; he glided away from them at once at full speed. tjorvi, indeed, threw his shield before him on the ice, but he leapt over it, and still kept his feet, and slid quite to the end of the sheet of ice. there kari and his brothers came to meet him. "this was done like a man," says kari. "your share is still left," says skarphedinn, and sang a song. to the strife of swords not slower, after all, i came than you, for with ready stroke the sturdy squanderer of wealth i felled; but since grim's and helgi's sea-stag[ ] norway's earl erst took and stripped, now 'tis time for sea-fire bearers[ ] such dishonour to avenge. and this other song he sang-- swiftly down i dashed my weapon, gashing giant, byrnie-breacher,[ ] she, the noisy ogre's namesake,[ ] soon with flesh the ravens glutted; now your words to hrapp remember, on broad ice now rouse the storm, with dull crash war's eager ogress battle's earliest note hath sung. "that befits us well, and we wilt do it well," says helgi. then they turn up towards them. both grim and helgi see where hrapp is, and they turned on him at once. hrapp hews at grim there and then with his axe; helgi sees this and cuts at hrapp's arm, and cut it off, and down fell the axe. "in this," says hrapp, "thou hast done a most needful work, for this hand hath wrought harm and death to many a man." "and so here an end shall be put to it," says grim; and with that he ran him through with a spear, and then hrapp fell down dead. tjorvi turns against kari and hurls a spear at him. kari leapt up in the air, and the spear flew below his feet. then kari rushes at him, and hews at him on the breast with his sword, and the blow passed at once into his chest, and he got his death there and then. then skarphedinn seizes both gunnar lambi's son, and grani gunnar's son, and said-- "here have i caught two whelps! but what shall we do with them?" "it is in thy power," says helgi, "to slay both or either of them, if you wish them dead." "i cannot find it in my heart to do both--help hogni and slay his brother," says skarphedinn. "then the day will once come," says helgi, "when thou wilt wish that thou hadst slain him, for never will he be true to thee, nor will any one of the others who are now here." "i shall not fear them," answers skarphedinn. after that they gave peace to grani gunnar's son, and gunnar lambi's son, and lambi sigurd's son, and lodinn. after that they went down to the fleet where skarphedinn had leapt over it, and kari and the others measured the length of the leap with their spear-shafts, and it was twelve ells (about eighteen feet, according to the old norse measure). then they turned homewards, and njal asked what tidings. they told him all just as it had happened, and njal said-- "these are great tidings, and it is more likely that hence will come the death of one of my sons, if not more evil." gunnar lambi's son bore the body of thrain with him to gritwater, and he was laid in a cairn there. chapter xcii. kettle takes hauskuld as his foster-son. kettle of the mark had to wife thorgerda, njal's daughter, but he was thrain's brother, and he thought he was come into a strait, so he rode to njal's house, and asked whether he were willing to atone in any way for thrain's slaying? "i will atone for it handsomely," answered njal; "and my wish is that thou shouldst look after the matter with thy brothers who have to take the price of the atonement, that they may be ready to join in it." kettle said he would do so with all his heart, and kettle rode home first; a little after, he summoned all his brothers to lithend, and then he had a talk with them; and hogni was on his side all through the talk; and so it came about that men were chosen to utter the award; and a meeting was agreed on, and the fair price of a man was awarded for thrain's slaying, and they all had a share in the blood-money who had a lawful right to it. after that pledges of peace and good faith were agreed to, and they were settled in the most sure and binding way. njal paid down all the money out of hand well and bravely; and so things were quiet for a while. one day njal rode up into the mark, and he and kettle talked together the whole day, njal rode home at even, and no man knew of what they had taken counsel. a little after kettle fares to gritwater, and he said to thorgerda-- "long have i loved my brother thrain much, and now i will show it, for i will ask hauskuld thrain's son to be my foster-child." "thou shalt have thy choice of this," she says; "and thou shalt give this lad all the help in thy power when he is grown up, and avenge him if he is slain with weapons, and bestow money on him for his wife's dower; and besides, thou shalt swear to do all this." now hauskuld fares home with kettle, and is with him some time. chapter xciii. njal takes hauskuld to foster. once on a time njal rides up into the mark, and he had a hearty welcome. he was there that night, and in the evening njal called out to the lad hauskuld, and he went up to him at once. njal had a ring of gold on his hand, and showed it to the lad. he took hold of the gold, and looked at it, and put it on his finger. "wilt thou take the gold as a gift?" said njal. "that i will," said the lad. "knowest thou," says njal, "what brought thy father to his death?" "i know," answers the lad, "that skarphedinn slew him; but we need not keep that in mind, when an atonement has been made for it, and a full price paid for him." "better answered than asked," said njal; "and thou wilt live to be a good man and true," he adds. "methinks thy forecasting," says hauskuld, "is worth having, for i know that thou art foresighted and unlying." "now i will offer to foster thee," said njal, "if thou wilt take the offer." he said he would be willing to take both that honour and any other good offer which he might make. so the end of the matter was, that hauskuld fared home with njal as his foster-son. he suffered no harm to come nigh the lad, and loved him much. njal's sons took him about with them, and did him honour in every way. and so things go on till hauskuld is full grown. he was both tall and strong; the fairest of men to look on, and well-haired; blithe of speech, bountiful, well-behaved; as well trained to arms as the best; fairspoken to all men, and much beloved. njal's sons and hauskuld were never apart, either in word or deed. chapter xciv. of flosi thord's son. there was a man named flosi, he was the son of thord freyspriest. flosi had to wife steinvora, daughter of hall of the side. she was base born, and her mother's name was solvora, daughter of herjolf the white. flosi dwelt at swinefell, and was a mighty chief. he was tall of stature, and strong withal, the most forward and boldest of men. his brother's name was starkad; he was not by the same mother as flosi. the other brothers of flosi were thorgeir and stein, kolbein and egil. hildigunna was the name of the daughter of starkad flosi's brother. she was a proud, high-spirited maiden, and one of the fairest of women. she was so skilful with her hands, that few women were equally skilful. she was the grimmest and hardest-hearted of all women; but still a woman of open hand and heart when any fitting call was made upon her. chapter xcv. of hall of the side. hall was the name of a man who was called hall of the side. he was the son of thorstein baudvar's son. hall had to wife joreida, daughter of thidrandi the wise. thorstein was the name of hall's brother, and he was nick-named broadpaunch. his son was kol, whom kari slays in wales. the sons of hall of the side were thorstein and egil, thorwald and ljot, and thidrandi, whom, it is said, the goddesses slew. there was a man named thorir, whose surname was holt-thorir; his sons were these: thorgeir craggeir, and thorleif crow, from whom the wood-dwellers are come, and thorgrim the big. chapter xcvi. of the change of faith. there had been a change of rulers in norway, earl hacon was dead and gone, but in his stead was come olaf tryggvi's son. that was the end of earl hacon, that kark, the thrall, cut his throat at rimul in gaulardale. along with that was heard that there had been a change of faith in norway; they had cast off the old faith, but king olaf had christened the western lands, shetland, and the orkneys, and the faroe isles. then many men spoke so that njal heard it, that it was a strange and wicked thing to throw off the old faith. then njal spoke and said-- "it seems to me as though this new faith must be much better, and he will be happy who follows this rather than the other; and if those men come out hither who preach this faith, then i will back them well." he went often alone away from other men and muttered to himself. that same harvest a ship came out into the firths east to berufirth, at a spot called gautawick. the captain's name was thangbrand. he was a son of willibald, a count of saxony, thangbrand was sent out hither by king olaf tryggvi's son, to preach the faith. along with him came that man of iceland whose name was gudleif. gudleif was a great man-slayer, and one of the strongest of men, and hardy and forward in everything. two brothers dwelt at beruness; the name of the one was thorleif, but the other was kettle. they were sons of holmstein, the son of auzur of broaddale. these brothers held a meeting, and forbade men to have any dealings with them. this hall of the side heard. he dwelt at thvattwater in alftafirth; he rode to the ship with twenty-nine men, and he fares at once to find thangbrand, and spoke to him and asked him-- "trade is rather dull, is it not?" he answered that so it was. "now will i say my errand," says hall; "it is, that i wish to ask you all to my house, and run the risk of my being able to get rid of your wares for you." thangbrand thanked him, and fared to thvattwater that harvest. it so happened one morning that thangbrand was out early and made them pitch a tent on land, and sang mass in it, and took much pains with it, for it was a great high day. hall spoke to thangbrand and asked, "in memory of whom keepest thou this day?" "in memory of michael the archangel," says thangbrand. "what follows that angel?" asks hall. "much good," says thangbrand. "he will weigh all the good that thou doest, and he is so merciful, that whenever any one pleases him, he makes his good deeds weigh more." "i would like to have him for my friend," says hall. "that thou mayest well have," says thangbrand, "only give thyself over to him by god's help this very day." "i only make this condition," says hall, "that thou givest thy word for him that he will then become my guardian angel." "that i will promise," says thangbrand. then hall was baptised, and all his household. chapter xcvii. of thangbrand's journeys. the spring after thangbrand set out to preach christianity, and hall went with him. but when they came west across lonsheath to staffell, there they found a man dwelling named thorkell. he spoke most against the faith, and challenged thangbrand to single combat. then thangbrand bore a rood-cross[ ] before his shield, and the end of their combat was that thangbrand won the day and slew thorkell. thence they fared to hornfirth and turned in as guests at borgarhaven, west of heinabergs sand. there hilldir the old dwelt,[ ] and then hilldir and all his household took upon them the new faith. thence they fared to fellcombe, and went in as guests to calffell. there dwelt kol thorstein's son, hall's kinsman, and he took upon him the faith and all his house. thence they fared to swinefell, and flosi only took the sign of the cross, but gave his word to back them at the thing. thence they fared west to woodcombe, and went in as guests at kirkby. there dwelt surt asbjorn's son, the son of thorstein, the son of kettle the foolish. these had all of them been christians from father to son. after that they fared out of woodcombe on to headbrink. by that time the story of their journey was spread far and wide. there was a man named sorcerer-hedinn who dwelt in carlinedale. there heathen men made a bargain with him that he should put thangbrand to death with all his company. he fared upon arnstacksheath, and there made a great sacrifice when thangbrand was riding from the east. then the earth burst asunder under his horse, but he sprang off his horse and saved himself on the brink of the gulf, but the earth swallowed up the horse and all his harness, and they never saw him more. then thangbrand praised god. chapter xcviii. of thangbrand and gudleif. gudleif now searches for sorcerer-hedinn and finds him on the heath, and chases him down into carlinedale, and got within spearshot of him, and shoots a spear at him and through him. thence they fared to dyrholms and held a meeting there, and preached the faith there, and there ingialld, the son of thorsteinn highbankawk, became a christian. thence they fared to the fleetlithe and preached the faith there. there weatherlid the skald, and ari his son, spoke most against the faith, and for that they slew weatherlid, and then this song was sung about it-- he who proved his blade on bucklers, south went through the land to whet brand that oft hath felled his foeman, 'gainst the forge which foams with song;[ ] mighty wielder of war's sickle made his sword's avenging edge hard on hero's helm-prop rattle,[ ] skull of weatherlid the skald. thence thangbrand fared to bergthorsknoll, and njal took the faith and all his house, but mord and valgard went much against it, and thence they fared out across the rivers; so they went on into hawkdale and there they baptised hall,[ ] and he was then three winters old. thence thangbrand fared to grimsness, there thorwald the scurvy gathered a band against him, and sent word to wolf uggi's son, that he must fare against thangbrand and slay him, and made this song on him-- to the wolf in woden's harness, uggi's worthy warlike son, i, steel's swinger dearly loving, this my simple bidding send; that the wolf of gods[ ] he chaseth,-- man who snaps at chink of gold-- wolf who base our gods blasphemeth, i the other wolf[ ] will crush. wolf sang another song in return-- swarthy skarf from month that skimmeth of the man who speaks in song never will i catch, though surely wealthy warrior it hath sent; tender of the sea-horse snorting, e'en though ill deeds are on foot, still to risk mine eyes are open; harmful 'tis to snap at flies.[ ] "and," says he, "i don't mean to be made a catspaw by him, but let him take heed lest his tongue twists a noose for his own neck." and after that the messenger fared back to thorwald the scurvy and told him wolf's words. thorwald had many men about him, and gave it out that he would lie in wait for them on bluewoodheath. now those two, thangbrand and gudleif, ride out of hawkdale, and there they came upon a man who rode to meet them. that man asked for gudleif, and when he found him he said-- "thou shalt gain by being the brother of thorgil of reykiahole, for i will let thee know that they have set many ambushes, and this too, that thorwald the scurvy is now with his band at hestbeck on grimsness." "we shall not the less for all that ride to meet him," says gudleif, and then they turned down to hestbeck. thorwald was then come across the brook, and gudleif said to thangbrand-- "here is now thorwald; let us rush on him now." thangbrand shot a spear through thorwald, but gudleif smote him on the shoulder and hewed his arm off, and that was his death. after that they ride up to the thing, and it was a near thing that the kinsmen of thorwald had fallen on thangbrand, but njal and the eastfirthers stood by thangbrand. then hjallti skeggi's son sang this rhyme at the hill of laws-- ever will i gods blaspheme freyja methinks a dog does seem, freyja a dog? aye! let them be both dogs together odin and she.[ ] hjallti fared abroad that summer and gizur the white with him, but thangbrand's ship was wrecked away east at bulandsness, and the ship's name was "bison". thangbrand and his messmate fared right through the west country, and steinvora, the mother of ref the skald, came against him; she preached the heathen faith to thangbrand and made him a long speech. thangbrand held his peace while she spoke, but made a long speech after her, and turned all that she had said the wrong way against her. "hast thou heard," she said, "how thor challenged christ to single combat, and how he did not dare to fight with thor?" "i have heard tell," says thangbrand, "that thor was naught but dust and ashes, if god had not willed that he should live." "knowest thou," she says, "who it was that shattered thy ship?" "what hast thou to say about that?" he asks. "that i will tell thee," she says. he that giant's offspring[ ] slayeth broke the new-field's bison stout,[ ] thus the gods, bell's warder[ ] grieving. crushed the falcon of the strand;[ ] to the courser of the causeway[ ] little good was christ i ween, when thor shattered ships to pieces gylfi's hart[ ] no god could help. and again she sang another song-- thangbrand's vessel from her moorings, sea-king's steed, thor wrathful tore, shook and shattered all her timbers, hurled her broadside on the beach; ne'er again shall viking's snow-shoe,[ ] on the briny billows glide, for a storm by thor awakened, dashed the bark to splinters small. after that thangbrand and steinvora parted, and they fared west to bardastrand. chapter xcix. of gest oddleif's son. gest oddleif's son dwelt at hagi on bardastrand, he was one of the wisest of men, so that he foresaw the fates and fortunes of men. he made a feast for thangbrand and his men. they fared to hagi with sixty men. then it was said that there were two hundred heathen men to meet them, and that a baresark was looked for to come thither, whose name was otrygg, and all were afraid of him. of him such great things as these were said, that he feared neither fire nor sword, and the heathen men were sore afraid at his coming. then thangbrand asked if men were willing to take the faith, but all the heathen men spoke against it. "well," says thangbrand, "i will give you the means whereby ye shall prove whether my faith is better. we will hallow two fires. the heathen men shall hallow one and i the other, but a third shall he unhallowed; and if the baresark is afraid of the one that i hallow, but treads both the others, then ye shall take the faith." "that is well-spoken," says gest, "and i will agree to this for myself and my household." and when gest had so spoken, then many more agreed to it. then it was said that the baresark was coming up to the homestead, and then the fires were made and burned strong. then men took their arms and sprang up on the benches, and so waited. the baresark rushed in with his weapons. he comes into the room, and treads at once the fire which the heathen men had hallowed, and so comes to the fire that thangbrand had hallowed, and dares not to tread it, but said that he was on fire all over. he hews with his sword at the bench, but strikes a cross-beam as he brandished the weapon aloft. thangbrand smote the arm of the baresark with his crucifix, and so mighty a token followed that the sword fell from the baresark's hand. then thangbrand thrusts a sword into his breast, and gudleif smote him on the arm and hewed it off. then many went up and slew the baresark. after that thangbrand asked if they would take the faith now? gest said he had only spoken what he meant to keep to. then thangbrand baptised gest and all his house and many others. then thangbrand took counsel with gest whether he should go any further west among the firths, but gest set his face against that, and said they were a hard race of men there, and ill to deal with, "but if it be foredoomed that this faith shall make its way, then it will be taken as law at the althing, and then all the chiefs out of the districts will be there". "i did all that i could at the thing," says thangbrand, "and it was very uphill work." "still thou hast done most of the work," says gest, "though it may be fated that others shall make christianity law; but it is here as the saying runs, 'no tree falls at the first stroke'." after that gest gave thangbrand good gifts, and he fared back south. thangbrand fared to the southlander's quarter, and so to the eastfirths. he turned in as a guest at bergthorsknoll, and njal gave him good gifts. thence he rode east to alftafirth to meet hall of the side. he caused his ship to be mended, and heathen man called it "iron-basket". on board that ship thangbrand fared abroad, and gudleif with him. chapter c. of gizur the white and hjallti. that same summer hjallti skeggi's son was outlawed at the thing for blasphemy against the gods. thangbrand told king olaf of all the mischief that the icelanders had done to him, and said that they were such sorcerers there that the earth burst asunder under his horse and swallowed up the horse. then king olaf was so wroth that he made them seize all the men from iceland and set them in dungeons, and meant to slay them. then they, gizur the white and hjallti, came up and offered to lay themselves in pledge for those men, and fare out to iceland and preach the faith. the king took this well, and they got them all set free again. then gizur and hjallti busked their ship for iceland, and were soon "boun". they made the land at eyrar when ten weeks of summer had passed; they got them horses at once, but left other men to strip their ship. then they ride with thirty men to the thing, and sent word to the christian men that they must be ready to stand by them. hjallti stayed behind at reydarmull, for he had heard that he had been made an outlaw for blasphemy, but when they came to the "boiling kettle"[ ] down below the brink of the rift,[ ] there came hjallti after them, and said he would not let the heathen men see that he was afraid of them. then many christian men rode to meet them, and they ride in battle array to the thing. the heathen men had drawn up their men in array to meet them, and it was a near thing that the whole body of the thing had come to blows, but still it did not go so far. chapter ci. of thorgeir of lightwater. there was a man named thorgeir who dwelt at lightwater; he was the son of tjorfi, the son of thorkel the long, the son of kettle longneck. his mother's name was thoruna, and she was the daughter of thorstein, the son of sigmund, the son of bard of the nip. gudrida was the name of his wife; she was a daughter of thorkel the black of hleidrargarth. his brother was worm wallet-back, the father of hlenni the old of saurby. the christian men set up their booths, and gizur the white and hjallti were in the booths of the men from mossfell. the day after both sides went to the hill of laws, and each, the christian men as well as the heathen, took witness, and declared themselves out of the other's laws, and then there was such an uproar on the hill of laws that no man could hear the other's voice. after that men went away, and all thought things looked like the greatest entanglement. the christian men chose as their speaker hall of the side, but hall went to thorgeir, the priest of lightwater, who was the old speaker of the law, and gave him three marks of silver to utter what the law should be, but still that was most hazardous counsel, since he was an heathen. thorgeir lay all that day on the ground, and spread a cloak over his head, so that no man spoke with him; but the day after men went to the hill of laws, and then thorgeir bade them be silent and listen, and spoke thus-- "it seems to me as though our matters were come to a dead lock, if we are not all to have one and the same law; for if there be a sundering of the laws, then there will be a sundering of the peace, and we shall never be able to live in the land. now, i will ask both christian men and heathen whether they will hold to those laws which i utter". they all say they would. he said he wished to take an oath of them, and pledges that they would hold to them, and they all said "yea" to that, and so he took pledges from them. "this is the beginning of our laws," he said, "that all men shall be christian here in the land, and believe in one god, the father, the son, and the holy ghost, but leave off all idol-worship, not expose children to perish, and not eat horseflesh. it shall be outlawry if such things are proved openly against any man; but if these things are done by stealth, then it shall be blameless." but all this heathendom was all done away with within a few years' space, so that those things were not allowed to be done either by stealth or openly. thorgeir then uttered the law as to keeping the lord's day and fast days, yuletide and easter, and all the greatest highdays and holidays. the heathen men thought they had been greatly cheated; but still the true faith was brought into the law, and so all men became christian here in the land. after that men fare home from the thing. chapter cii. the wedding of hauskuld, the priest of whiteness. now we must take up the story, and say that njal spoke thus to hauskuld, his foster-son, and said-- "i would seek thee a match." hauskuld bade him settle the matter as he pleased, and asked whether he was most likely to turn his eyes. "there is a woman called hildigunna," answers njal, "and she is the daughter of starkad, the son of thord freyspriest. she is the best match i know of." "see thou to it, foster-father," said hauskuld; "that shall be my choice which thou choosest." "then we will look thitherward," says njal. a little while after, njal called on men to go along with him. then the sons of sigfus, and njal's sons, and kari solmund's son, all of them fared with him and they rode east to swinefell. there they got a hearty welcome. the day after, njal and flosi went to talk alone, and the speech of njal ended thus, that he said-- "this is my errand here, that we have set out on a wooing-journey, to ask for thy kinswoman hildigunna." "at whose hand?" says flosi. "at the hand of hauskuld my foster-son," says njal. "such things are well meant," says flosi, "but still ye run each of you great risk, the one from the other; but what hast thou to say of hauskuld?" "good i am able to say of him," says njal; "and besides, i will lay down as much money as will seem fitting to thy niece and thyself, if thou wilt think of making this match." "we will call her hither," says flosi, "and know how she looks on the man." then hildigunna was called, and she came thither. flosi told her of the wooing, but she said she was a proud-hearted woman. "and i know not how things will turn out between me and men of like spirit; but this, too, is not the least of my dislike, that this man has no priesthood or leadership over men, but thou hast always said that thou wouldest not wed me to a man who had not the priesthood." "this is quite enough," says flosi, "if thou wilt not be wedded to hauskuld, to make me take no more pains about the match." "nay!" she says, "i do not say that i will not be wedded to hauskuld if they can get him a priesthood or a leadership over men; but otherwise i will have nothing to say to the match." "then," said njal, "i will beg thee to let this match stand over for three winters, that i may see what i can do." flosi said that so it should be. "i will only bargain for this one thing," says hildigunna, "if this match comes to pass, that we shall stay here away east." njal said he would rather leave that to hauskuld, but hauskuld said that he put faith in many men, but in none so much as his foster-father. now they ride from the east. njal sought to get a priesthood and leadership for hauskuld, but no one was willing to sell his priesthood, and now the summer passes away till the althing. there were great quarrels at the thing that summer, and many a man then did as was their wont, in faring to see njal; but he gave such counsel in men's lawsuits as was not thought at all likely, so that both the pleadings and the defence came to naught, and out of that great strife arose, when the lawsuits could not be brought to an end, and men rode home from the thing unatoned. now things go on till another thing comes. njal rode to the thing, and at first all is quiet until njal says that it is high time for men to give notice of their suits. then many said that they thought that came to little, when no man could get his suit settled, even though the witnesses were summoned to the althing, "and so," say they, "we would rather seek our rights with point and edge." "so it must not be," says njal, "for it will never do to have no law in the land. but yet ye have much to say on your side in this matter, and it behoves us who know the law, and who are bound to guide the law, to set men at one again, and to ensue peace. 'twere good counsel, then, methinks, that we call together all the chiefs and talk the matter over." then they go to the court of laws, and njal spoke and said-- "thee, skapti thorod's son and you other chiefs, i call on, and say, that methinks our lawsuits have come into a deadlock, if we have to follow up our suits in the quarter courts, and they get so entangled that they can neither be pleaded nor ended. methinks, it were wiser if we had a fifth court, and there pleaded those suits which cannot be brought to an end in the quarter courts." "how," said skapti, "wilt thou name a fifth court, when the quarter court is named for the old priesthoods, three twelves in each quarter?" "i can see help for that," says njal, "by setting up new priesthoods, and filling them with the men who are best fitted in each quarter, and then let those men who are willing to agree to it, declare themselves ready to join the new priest's thing." "well," says skapti, "we will take this choice; but what weighty suits shall come before the court?" "these matters shall come before it," says njal--"all matters of contempt of the thing, such as if men bear false witness, or utter a false finding; hither, too, shall come all those suits in which the judges are divided in opinion in the quarter court; then they shall be summoned to the fifth court; so, too, if men offer bribes, or take them, for their help in suits. in this court all the oaths shall be of the strongest kind, and two men shall follow every oath, who shall support on their words of honour what the others swear. so it shall be also, if the pleadings on one side are right in form, and the other wrong, that the judgment shall be given for those that are right in form. every suit in this court shall be pleaded just as is now done in the quarter court, save and except that when four twelves are named in the fifth court, then the plaintiff shall name and set aside six men out of the court, and the defendant other six; but if he will not set them aside, then the plaintiff shall name them and set them aside as he has done with his own six; but if the plaintiff does not set them aside, then the suit comes to naught, for three twelves shall utter judgment on all suits. we shall also have this arrangement in the court of laws, that those only shall have the right to make or change laws who sit on the middle bench, and to this bench those only shall be chosen who are wisest and best. there, too, shall the fifth court sit; but if those who sit in the court of laws are not agreed as to what they shall allow or bring in as law, then they shall clear the court for a division, and the majority shall bind the rest; but if any man who has a seat in the court be outside the court of laws and cannot get inside it, or thinks himself overborne in the suit, then he shall forbid them by a protest, so that they can hear it in the court, and then he has made all their grants and all their decisions void and of none effect, and stopped them by his protest." after that, skapti thorod's son brought the fifth court into the law, and all that was spoken of before. then men went to the hill of laws, and men set up new priesthoods: in the northlanders' quarter were these new priesthoods. the priesthood of the melmen in midfirth, and the laufesingers' priesthood in the eyjafirth. then njal begged for a hearing, and spoke thus-- "it is known to many men what passed between my sons and the men of gritwater when they slew thrain sigfus' son. but for all that we settled the matter; and now i have taken hauskuld into my house, and planned a marriage for him if he can get a priesthood anywhere; but no man will sell his priesthood, and so i will beg you to give me leave to set up a new priesthood at whiteness for hauskuld." he got this leave from all, and after that he set up the new priesthood for hauskuld; and he was afterwards called hauskuld, the priest of whiteness. after that, men ride home from the thing, and njal stayed but a short time at home ere he rides east to swinefell, and his sons with him, and again stirs in the matter of the marriage with flosi; but flosi said he was ready to keep faith with them in everything. then hildigunna was betrothed to hauskuld, and the day for the wedding feast was fixed, and so the matter ended. they then ride home, but they rode again shortly to the bridal, and flosi paid down all her goods and money after the wedding, and all went off well. they fared home to bergthorsknoll, and were there the next year, and all went well between hildigunna and bergthora. but the next spring njal bought land in ossaby, and hands it over to hauskuld, and thither he fares to his own abode. njal got him all his household, and there was such love between them all, that none of them thought anything that he said or did any worth unless the others had a share in it. hauskuld dwelt long at ossaby, and each backed the other's honour, and njal's sons were always in hauskuld's company. their friendship was so warm, that each house bade the other to a feast every harvest, and gave each other great gifts; and so it goes on for a long while. chapter ciii. the slaying of hauskuld njal's son. there was a man named lyting; he dwelt at samstede, and he had to wife a woman named steinvora; she was a daughter of sigfus, and thrain's sister. lyting was tall of growth and a strong man, wealthy in goods and ill to deal with. it happened once that lyting had a feast in his house at samstede, and he had bidden thither hauskuld and the sons of sigfus, and they all came. there, too, was grani gunnar's son, and gunnar lambi's son, and lambi sigurd's son. hauskuld njal's son and his mother had a farm at holt, and he was always riding to his farm from bergthorsknoll, and his path lay by the homestead at samstede. hauskuld had a son called amund; he had been born blind, but for all that he was tall and strong. lyting had two brothers--the one's name was hallstein, and the other's hallgrim. they were the most unruly of men, and they were ever with their brother, for other men could not bear their temper. lyting was out of doors most of that day, but every now and then he went inside his house. at last he had gone to his seat, when in came a woman who had been out of doors, and she said-- "you were too far off to see outside how that proud fellow rode by the farmyard!" "what proud fellow was that," says lyting, "of whom thou speakest?" "hauskuld njal's son rode here by the yard," she says. "he rides often here by the farmyard," said lyting, "and i can't say that it does not try my temper; and now i will make thee an offer, hauskuld [sigfus' son], to go along with thee if thou wilt avenge thy father and slay hauskuld njal's son." "that i will not do," says hauskuld, "for then i should repay njal, my foster father, evil for good, and mayst thou and thy feasts never thrive henceforth." with that he sprang up away from the board, and made them catch his horses, and rode home. then lyting said to grani gunnar's son-- "thou wert by when thrain was slain, and that will still be in thy mind; and thou, too, gunnar lambi's son, and thou, lambi sigurd's son. now, my will is that we ride to meet him this evening, and slay him." "no," says grani, "i will not fall on njal's son, and so break the atonement which good men and true have made." with like words spoke each man of them, and so, too, spoke all the sons of sigfus; and they took that counsel to ride away. then lyting said, when they had gone away-- "all men know that i have taken no atonement for my brother-in-law thrain, and i shall never be content that no vengeance--man for man--shall be taken for him." after that he called on his two brothers to go with him, and three house-carles as well. they went on the way to meet hauskuld [njal's son] as he came back, and lay in wait for him north of the farmyard in a pit; and there they bided till it was about mid-even [six o'clock p.m.]. then hauskuld rode up to them. they jump up all of them with their arms, and fall on him. hauskuld guarded himself well, so that for a long while they could not get the better of him; but the end of it was at last that he wounded lyting on the arm, and slew two of his serving-men, and then fell himself. they gave hauskuld sixteen wounds, but they hewed not off the head from his body. they fared away into the wood east of rangriver, and hid themselves there. that same evening, rodny's shepherd found hauskuld dead, and went home and told rodny of her son's slaying. "was he surely dead?" she asks; "was his head off?" "it was not," he says. "i shall know if i see," she says; "so take thou my horse and driving gear." he did so, and got all things ready, and then they went thither where hauskuld lay. she looked at the wounds, and said-- "'tis even as i thought, that he could not be quite dead, and njal no doubt can cure greater wounds." after that they took the body and laid it on the sledge and drove to bergthorsknoll, and drew it into the sheepcote, and made him sit upright against the wall. then they went both of them and knocked at the door, and a house-carle went to the door. she steals in by him at once, and goes till she comes to njal's bed. she asked whether njal were awake? he said he had slept up to that time, but was then awake. "but why art thou come hither so early?" "rise thou up," said rodny, "from thy bed by my rival's side, and come out, and she too, and thy sons, to see thy son hauskuld." they rose and went out. "let us take our weapons," said skarphedinn, "and have them with us." njal said naught at that, and they ran in and came out again armed. she goes first till they come to the sheepcote; she goes in and bade them follow her. then she lit a torch and held it up and said-- "here, njal, is thy son hauskuld, and he hath gotten many wounds upon him, and now he will need leechcraft." "i see death marks on him," said njal, "but no signs of life; but why hast thou not closed his eyes and nostrils? see, his nostrils are still open!" "that duty i meant for skarphedinn," she says. then skarphedinn went to close his eyes and nostrils, and said to his father-- "who, sayest thou, hath slain him?" "lyting of samstede and his brothers must have slain him," says njal. then rodny said, "into thy hands, skarphedinn, i leave it to take vengeance for thy brother, and i ween that thou wilt take it well, though he be not lawfully begotten, and that thou wilt not be slow to take it". "wonderfully do ye men behave," said bergthora, "when ye slay men for small cause, but talk and tarry over such wrongs as this until no vengeance at all is taken; and now tidings of this will soon come to hauskuld, the priest of whiteness, and he will be offering you atonement, and you will grant him that, but now is the time to act about it, if ye seek for vengeance." "our mother eggs us on now with a just goading," said skarphedinn, and sang a song. well we know the warrior's temper,[ ] one and all, well, father thine, but atonement to the mother, snake-land's stem[ ] and thee were base; he that hoardeth ocean's fire[ ] hearing this will leave his home; wound of weapon us hath smitten, worse the lot of those that wait! after that they all ran out of the sheepcote, but rodny went indoors with njal, and was there the rest of the night. chapter civ. the slaying of lyting's brothers. now we must speak of skarphedinn and his brothers, how they bend their course up to rangriver. then skarphedinn said-- "stand we here and listen, and let us go stilly, for i hear the voices of men up along the river's bank. but will ye, helgi and grim, deal with lyting single-handed, or with both his brothers?" they said they would sooner deal with lyting alone. "still," says skarphedinn, "there is more game in him, and methinks it were ill if he gets away, but i trust myself best for not letting him escape." "we will take such steps," says helgi, "if we get a chance at him, that he shall not slip through our fingers." then they went thitherward, where they heard the voices of men, and see where lyting and his brothers are by a stream. skarphedinn leaps over the stream at once, and alights on the sandy brink on the other side. there upon it stands hallgrim and his brother. skarphedinn smites at hallgrim's thigh, so that he cut the leg clean off, but he grasps hallstein with his left hand. lyting thrust at skarphedinn, but helgi came up then and threw his shield before the spear, and caught the blow on it. lyting took up a stone and hurled it at skarphedinn, and he lost his hold on hallstein. hallstein sprang up the sandy bank, but could get up it in no other way than by crawling on his hands and knees. skarphedinn made a side blow at him with his axe, "the ogress of war," and hews asunder his backbone. now lyting turns and flies, but helgi and grim both went after him, and each gave him a wound, but still lyting got across the river away from them, and so to the horses, and gallops till he comes to ossaby. hauskuld was at home, and meets him at once. lyting told him of these deeds. "such things were to be looked for by thee," says hauskuld. "thou hast behaved like a madman, and here the truth of the old saw will be proved: 'but a short while is hand fain of blow'. methinks what thou hast got to look to now is whether thou wilt be able to save thy life or not." "sure enough," says lyting, "i had hard work to get away, but still i wish now that thou wouldest get me atoned with njal and his sons, so that i might keep my farm." "so it shall be," says hauskuld. after that hauskuld made them saddle his horse, and rode to bergthorsknoll with five men. njal's sons were then come home and had laid them down to sleep. hauskuld went at once to see njal, and they began to talk. "hither am i come," said hauskuld to njal, "to beg a boon on behalf of lyting, my uncle. he has done great wickedness against you and yours, broken his atonement and slain thy son." "lyting will perhaps think," said njal, "that he has already paid a heavy fine in the loss of his brothers, but if i grant him any terms, i shall let him reap the good of my love for thee, and i will tell thee before i utter the award of atonement, that lyting's brothers shall fall as outlaws. nor shall lyting have any atonement for his wounds, but on the other hand, he shall pay the full blood-fine for hauskuld." "my wish," said hauskuld, "is, that thou shouldest make thine own terms." "well," says njal, "then i will utter the award at once if thou wilt." "wilt thou," says hauskuld, "that thy sons should be by?" "then we should be no nearer an atonement than we were before," says njal, "but they will keep to the atonement which i utter." then hauskuld said, "let us close the matter then, and handsel him peace on behalf of thy sons". "so it shall be," says njal. "my will then is that he pays two hundred in silver for the slaying of hauskuld, but he may still dwell at samstede; and yet i think it were wiser if he sold his land and changed his abode; but not for this quarrel; neither i nor my sons will break our pledges of peace to him: but methinks it may be that some one may rise up in this country against whom he may have to be on his guard. yet, lest it should seem that i make a man an outcast from his native place, i allow him to be here in this neighbourhood, but in that case he alone is answerable for what may happen." after that hauskuld fared home, and njal's sons woke up as he went, and asked their father who had come, but he told them that his foster-son hauskuld had been there. "he must have come to ask a boon for lyting then," said skarphedinn. "so it was," says njal "ill was it then," says grim. "hauskuld could not have thrown his shield before him," says njal, "if thou hadst slain him, as it was meant thou shouldst." "let us throw no blame on our father," says skarphedinn. now it is to be said that this atonement was kept between them afterwards. chapter cv. of amund the blind. that event happened three winters after at the thingskala-thing that amund the blind was at the thing; he was the son of hauskuld njal's son. he made men lead him about among the booths, and so he came to the booth inside which was lyting of samstede. he made them lead him into the booth till he came before lyting. "is lyting of samstede here?" he asked. "what dost thou want?" says lyting. "i want to know," says amund, "what atonement thou wilt pay me for my father, i am base-born, and i have touched no fine." "i have atoned for the slaying of thy father," says lyting, "with a full price, and thy father's father and thy father's brothers took the money; but my brothers fell without a price as outlaws; and so it was that i had both done an ill-deed, and paid dear for it." "i ask not," says amund, "as to thy having paid an atonement to them. i know that ye two are now friends, but i ask this, what atonement thou wilt pay to me?" "none at all," says lyting. "i cannot see," says amund, "how thou canst have right before god, when thou hast stricken me so near the heart; but all i can say is, that if i were blessed with the sight of both my eyes, i would have either a money fine for my father, or revenge man for man; and so may god judge between us." after that he went out; but when he came to the door of the booth, he turned short round towards the inside. then his eyes were opened, and he said-- "praised be the lord! now i see what his will is." with that he ran straight into the booth until he comes before lyting, and smites him with an axe on the head, so that it sunk in up to the hammer, and gives the axe a pull towards him. lyting fell forwards and was dead at once. amund goes out to the door of the booth, and when he got to the very same spot on which he had stood when his eyes were opened, lo! they were shut again, and he was blind all his life after. then he made them lead him to njal and his sons, and he told them of lyting's slaying. "thou mayest not be blamed for this," says njal, "for such things are settled by a higher power; but it is worth while to take warning from such events, lest we cut any short who have such near claims as amund had." after that njal offered an atonement to lyting's kinsmen. hauskuld the priest of whiteness had a share in bringing lyting's kinsmen to take the fine, and then the matter was put to an award, and half the fines fell away for the sake of the claim which he seemed to have on lyting. after that men came forward with pledges of peace and good faith, and lyting's kinsmen granted pledges to amund. men rode home from the thing; and now all is quiet for a long while. chapter cvi. of valgard the guileful. valgard the guileful came back to iceland that summer; he was then still heathen. he fared to hof to his son mord's house, and was there the winter over. he said to mord-- "here i have ridden far and wide all over the neighbourhood, and methinks i do not know it for the same. i came to whiteness, and there i saw many tofts of booths and much ground levelled for building, i came to thingskala-thing, and there i saw all our booths broken down. what is the meaning of such strange things?" "new priesthoods," answers mord, "have been set up here, and a law for a fifth court, and men have declared themselves out of my thing, and have gone over to hauskuld's thing." "ill hast thou repaid me," said valgard, "for giving up to thee my priesthood, when thou hast handled it so little like a man, and now my wish is that thou shouldst pay them off by something that will drag them all down to death; and this thou canst do by setting them by the ears by tale-bearing, so that njal's sons may slay hauskuld; but there are many who will have the blood-feud after him, and so njal's sons will be slain in that quarrel." "i shall never be able to get that done," says mord. "i will give thee a plan," says valgard; "thou shalt ask njal's sons to thy house, and send them away with gifts, but thou shalt keep thy tale-bearing in the back ground until great friendship has sprung up between you, and they trust thee no worse than their own selves. so wilt thou be able to avenge thyself on skarphedinn for that he took thy money from thee after gunnar's death; and in this wise, further on, thou wilt be able to seize the leadership when they are all dead and gone." this plan they settled between them should be brought to pass; and mord said-- "i would, father, that thou wouldst take on thee the new faith. thou art an old man." "i will not do that," says valgard. "i would rather that thou shouldst cast off the faith, and see what follows then." mord said he would not do that. valgard broke crosses before mord's face, and all holy tokens. a little after valgard took a sickness and breathed his last, and he was laid in a cairn by hof. chapter cvii. of mord and njal's sons. some while after mord rode to bergthorsknoll and saw skarphedinn there; he fell into very fair words with them, and so he talked the whole day, and said he wished to be good friends with them, and to see much of them. skarphedinn took it all well, but said he had never sought for anything of the kind before. so it came about that he got himself into such great friendship with them, that neither side thought they had taken any good counsel unless the other had a share in it. njal always disliked his coming thither, and it often happened that he was angry with him. it happened one day that mord came to bergthorsknoll, and mord said to njal's sons-- "i have made up my mind to give a feast yonder, and i mean to drink in my heirship after my father, but to that feast i wish to bid you, njal's sons, and kari; and at the same time i give you my word that ye shall not fare away giftless." they promised to go, and now he fares home and makes ready the feast. he bade to it many householders, and that feast was very crowded. thither came njal's sons and kari. mord gave skarphedinn a brooch of gold, and a silver belt to kari, and good gifts to grim and helgi. they come home and boast of these gifts, and show them to njal. he said they would be bought full dear, "and take heed that ye do not repay the giver in the coin which he no doubt wishes to get". chapter cviii. of the slander of mord valgard's son. a little after njal's sons and hauskuld were to have their yearly feasts, and they were the first to bid hauskuld to come to them. skarphedinn had a brown horse four winters old, both tall and sightly. he was a stallion, and had never yet been matched in fight. that horse skarphedinn gave to hauskuld, and along with him two mares. they all gave hauskuld gifts, and assured him of their friendship. after that hauskuld bade them to his house at ossaby, and had many guests to meet them, and a great crowd. it happened that he had just then taken down his hall, but he had built three out-houses, and there the beds were made. so all that were bidden came, and the feast went off very well. but when men were to go home hauskuld picked out good gifts for them, and went a part of the way with njal's sons. the sons of sigfus followed him and all the crowd, and both sides said that nothing should ever come between them to spoil their friendship. a little while after mord came to ossaby and called hauskuld out to talk with him, and they went aside and spoke. "what a difference in manliness there is," said mord, "between thee and njal's sons! thou gavest them good gifts, but they gave thee gifts with great mockery." "how makest thou that out?" says hauskuld. "they gave thee a horse which they called a 'dark horse,' and that they did out of mockery at thee, because they thought thee too untried, i can tell thee also that they envy thee the priesthood, skarphedinn took it up as his own at the thing when thou camest not to the thing at the summoning of the fifth court, and skarphedinn never means to let it go." "that is not true," says hauskuld, "for i got it back at the folkmote last harvest." "then that was njal's doing," says mord. "they broke, too, the atonement about lyting." "i do not mean to lay that at their door," says hauskuld. "well," says mord, "thou canst not deny that when ye two, skarphedinn and thou, were going east towards markfleet, an axe fell out from under his belt, and he meant to have slain thee then and there." "it was his woodman's axe," says hauskuld, "and i saw how he put it under his belt; and now, mord, i will just tell thee this right out, that thou canst never say so much ill of njal's sons as to make me believe it; but though there were aught in it, and it were true as thou sayest, that either i must slay them or they me, then would i far rather suffer death at their hands than work them any harm. but as for thee, thou art all the worse a man for having spoken this." after that mord fares home. a little after mord goes to see njal's sons, and he talks much with those brothers and kari. "i have been told," says mord, "that hauskuld has said that thou, skarphedinn, hast broken the atonement made with lyting; but i was made aware also that he thought that thou hadst meant some treachery against him when ye two fared to markfleet. but still, methinks that was no less treachery when he bade you to a feast at his house, and stowed you away in an outhouse that was farthest from the house, and wood was then heaped round the outhouse all night, and he meant to burn you all inside; but it so happened that hogni gunnar's son came that night, and naught came of their onslaught, for they were afraid of him. after that he followed you on your way and great band of men with him, then he meant to make another onslaught on you, and set grani gunnar's son, and gunnar lambi's son to kill thee; but their hearts failed them, and they dared not to fall on thee." but when he had spoken thus, first of all they spoke against it, but the end of it was that they believed him, and from that day forth a coldness sprung up on their part towards hauskuld, and they scarcely ever spoke to him when they met; but hauskuld showed them little deference, and so things went on for a while. next harvest hauskuld fared east to swinefell to a feast, and flosi gave him a hearty welcome. hildigunna was there too. then flosi spoke to hauskuld and said-- "hildigunna tells me that there is great coldness with you and njal's sons, and methinks that is ill, and i will beg thee not to ride west, but i will get thee a homestead in skaptarfell, and i will send my brother, thorgeir, to dwell at ossaby." "then some will say," says hauskuld, "that i am flying thence for fear's sake, and that i will not have said." "then it is more likely that great trouble will arise," says flosi. "ill is that then," says hauskuld, "for i would rather fall unatoned, than that many should reap ill for my sake." hauskuld busked him to ride home a few nights after, but flosi gave him a scarlet cloak, and it was embroidered with needlework down to the waist. hauskuld rode home to ossaby, and now all is quiet for a while. hauskuld was so much beloved that few men were his foes, but the same ill-will went on between him and njal's sons the whole winter through. njal had taken as his foster-child, thord, the son of kari. he had also fostered thorhall, the son of asgrim ellidagrim's son. thorhall was a strong man, and hardy both in body and mind, he had learnt so much law that he was the third greatest lawyer in iceland. next spring was an early spring, and men are busy sowing their corn. chapter cix. of mord and njal's sons. it happened one day that mord came to bergthorsknoll. he and kari and njal's sons fell a-talking at once, and mord slanders hauskuld after his wont, and has now many new tales to tell, and does naught but egg skarphedinn and them on to slay hauskuld, and said he would be beforehand with them if they did not fall on him at once. "i will let thee have thy way in this," says skarphedinn, "if thou wilt fare with us, and have some hand in it." "that i am ready to do," says mord, and so they bound that fast with promises, and he was to come there that evening. bergthora asked njal-- "what are they talking about out of doors?" "i am not in their counsels," says njal, "but i was seldom left out of them when their plans were good." skarphedinn did not lie down to rest that evening, nor his brothers, nor kari. that same night, when it was well-nigh spent, came mord valgard's son, and njal's sons and kari took their weapons and rode away. they fared till they came to ossaby, and bided there by a fence. the weather was good, and the sun just risen. chapter cx. the slaying of hauskuld, the priest of whiteness. about that time hauskuld, the priest of whiteness, awoke; he put on his clothes, and threw over him his cloak, flosi's gift. he took his corn-sieve, and had his sword in his other hand, and walks towards the fence, and sows the corn as he goes. skarphedinn and his band had agreed that they would all give him a wound. skarphedinn sprang up from behind the fence, but when hauskuld saw him he wanted to turn away, then skarphedinn ran up to him and said-- "don't try to turn on thy heel, whiteness priest," and hews at him, and the blow came on his head, and he fell on his knees. hauskuld said these words when he fell-- "god help me, and forgive you!" then they all ran up to him and gave him wounds. after that mord said-- "a plan comes into my mind." "what is that?" says skarphedinn. "that i shall fare home as soon as i can, but after that i will fare up to gritwater, and tell them the tidings, and say 'tis an ill deed; but i know surely that thorgerda will ask me to give notice of the slaying, and i will do that, for that will be the surest way to spoil their suit. i will also send a man to ossaby, and know how soon they take any counsel in the matter, and that man will learn all these tidings thence, and i will make believe that i have heard them from him." "do so by all means," says skarphedinn. those brothers fared home, and kari with them, and when they came home they told njal the tidings. "sorrowful tidings are these," says njal, "and such are ill to hear, for sooth to say this grief touches me so nearly, that methinks it were better to have lost two of my sons and that hauskuld lived." "it is some excuse for thee," says skarphedinn, "that thou art an old man, and it is to be looked for that this touches thee nearly." "but this," says njal, "no less than old age, is why i grieve, that i know better than thou what will come after." "what will come after?" says skarphedinn. "my death," says njal, "and the death of my wife and of all my sons." "what dost thou foretell for me?" says kari. "they will have hard work to go against thy good fortune, for thou wilt be more than a match for all of them." this one thing touched njal so nearly that he could never speak of it without shedding tears. chapter cxi. of hildigunna and mord valgard's son. hildigunna woke up and found that hauskuld was away out of his bed. "hard have been my dreams," she said, "and not good; but go and search for _him_, hauskuld." so they searched for him about the homestead and found him not. by that time she had dressed herself; then she goes and two men with her, to the fence, and there they find hauskuld slain. just then, too, came up mord valgard's son's shepherd, and told her that njal's sons had gone down thence, "and," he said, "skarphedinn called out to me and gave notice of the slaying as done by him". "it were a manly deed," she says, "if one man had been at it." she took the cloak and wiped off all the blood with it, and wrapped the gouts of gore up in it, and so folded it together and laid it up in her chest. now she sent a man up to gritwater to tell the tidings thither, but mord was there before him, and had already told the tidings. there, too, was come kettle of the mark. thorgerda said to kettle-- "now is hauskuld dead as we know, and now bear in mind what thou promisedst to do when thou tookest him for thy foster-child." "it may well be," says kettle, "that i promised very many things then, for i thought not that these days would ever befall us that have now come to pass; but yet i am come into a strait, for 'nose is next of kin to eyes,' since i have njal's daughter to wife." "art thou willing, then," says thorgerda, "that mord should give notice of the suit for the slaying?" "i know not that," says kettle, "for methinks ill comes from him more often than good." but as soon as ever mord began to speak to kettle he fared the same as others, in that he thought as though mord would be true to him, and so the end of their council was that mord should give notice of the slaying, and get ready the suit in every way before the thing. then mord fared down to ossaby, and thither came nine neighbours who dwelt nearest the spot. mord had ten men with him. he shows the neighbours hauskuld's wounds, and takes witness to the hurts, and names a man as the dealer of every wound save one; that he made as though he knew not who had dealt it, but that wound he had dealt himself. but the slaying he gave notice of at skarphedinn's hand, and the wounds at his brothers' and kari's. after that he called on nine neighbours who dwelt nearest the spot to ride away from home to the althing on the inquest. after that he rode home. he scarce ever met njal's sons, and when he did meet them, he was cross, and that was part of their plan. the slaying of hauskuld was heard over all the land, and was ill-spoken of. njal's sons went to see asgrim ellidagrim's son, and asked him for aid. "ye very well know that ye may look that i shall help you in all great suits, but still my heart is heavy about this suit, for there are many who have the blood feud, and this slaying is ill-spoken of over all the land." now njal's sons fare home. chapter cxii. the pedigree of gudmund the powerful. there was a man named gudmund the powerful, who dwelt at modruvale in eyjafirth. he was the son of eyjolf the son of einar. gudmund was a mighty chief, wealthy in goods; he had in his house a hundred hired servants. he overbore in rank and weight all the chiefs in the north country, so that some left their homesteads, but some he put to death, and some gave up their priesthoods for his sake, and from him are come the greatest part of all the picked and famous families in the land, such as "the point-dwellers" and the "sturlungs" and the "hvamdwellers," and the "fleetmen," and kettle the bishop, and many of the greatest men. gudmund was a friend of asgrim ellidagrim's son, and so he hoped to get his help. chapter cxiii. of snorri the priest, and his stock. there was a man named snorri, who was surnamed the priest. he dwelt at helgafell before gudruna oswif's daughter bought the land of him, and dwelt there till she died of old age; but snorri then went and dwelt at hvamsfirth on sælingdale's tongue. thorgrim was the name of snorri's father, and he was a son of thorstein codcatcher. snorri was a great friend of asgrim ellidagrim's son, and he looked for help there also. snorri was the wisest and shrewdest of all these men in iceland who had not the gift of foresight. he was good to his friends, but grim to his foes. at that time there was a great riding to the thing out of all the quarters, and men had many suits set on foot. chapter cxiv. of flosi thord's son. flosi hears of hauskuld's slaying, and that brings him much grief and wrath, but still he kept his feelings well in hand. he was told how the suit had been set on foot, as has been said, for hauskuld's slaying, and he said little about it. he sent word to hall of the side, his father-in-law, and to ljot his son, that they must gather in a great company at the thing. ljot was thought the most hopeful man for a chief away there east. it had been foretold that if he could ride three summers running to the thing, and come safe and sound home, that then he would be the greatest chief in all his family, and the oldest man. he had then ridden one summer to the thing, and now he meant to ride the second time. flosi sent word to kol thorstein's son, and glum the son of hilldir the old, the son of gerleif, the son of aunund wallet-back, and to modolf kettle's son, and they all rode to meet flosi. hall gave his word, too, to gather a great company, and flosi rode till he came to kirkby, to surt asbjorn's son. then flosi sent after kolbein egil's son, his brother's son, and he came to him there. thence he rode to headbrink. there dwelt thorgrim the showy, the son of thorkel the fair. flosi begged him to ride to the althing with him, and he said yea to the journey, and spoke thus to flosi-- "often hast thou been more glad, master, than thou art now, but thou hast some right to be so." "of a truth," said flosi, "that hath now come on my hands, which i would give all my goods that it had never happened. ill seed has been sown, and so an ill crop will spring from it." thence he rode over arnstacksheath, and so to solheim that evening. there dwelt lodmund wolf's son, but he was a great friend of flosi, and there he stayed that night, and next morning lodmund rode with him into the dale. there dwelt runolf, the son of wolf aurpriest. flosi said to runolf-- "here we shall have true stories as to the slaying of hauskuld, the priest of whiteness. thou art a truthful man, and hast got at the truth by asking, and i will trust to all that thou tellest me as to what was the cause of quarrel between them." "there is no good in mincing the matter," said runolf, "but we must say outright that he has been slain for less than no cause; and his death is a great grief to all men. no one thinks it so much a loss as njal, his foster-father." "then they will be ill off for help from men," says flosi; "and they will find no one to speak up for them." "so it will be," says runolf, "unless it be otherwise foredoomed." "what has been done in the suit?" says flosi. "now the neighbours have been summoned on the inquest," says runolf, "and due notice given of the suit for manslaughter." "who took that step?" asks flosi. "mord valgard's son," says runolf. "how far is that to be trusted?" says flosi. "he is of my kin," says runolf; "but still, if i tell the truth of him, i must say that more men reap ill than good from him. but this one thing i will ask of thee, flosi, that thou givest rest to thy wrath, and takest the matter up in such a way as may lead to the least trouble. for njal will make a good offer, and so will others of the best men." "ride thou then to the thing, runolf," said flosi, "and thy words shall have much weight with me, unless things turn out worse than they should." after that they cease speaking about it, and runolf promised to go to the thing. runolf sent word to hatr the wise, his kinsman, and he rode thither at once. thence flosi rode to ossaby. chapter cxv. of flosi and hildigunna. hildigunna was out of doors, and said, "now shall all the men of my household be out of doors when flosi rides into the yard; but the women shall sweep the house and deck it with hangings, and make ready the high-seat for flosi." then flosi rode into the town, and hildigunna turned to him and said-- "come in safe and sound and happy kinsman, and my heart is fain at thy coming hither." "here," says flosi, "we will break our fast, and then we will ride on." then their horses were tethered, and flosi went into the sitting-room and sat him down, and spurned the high-seat away from him on the dais, and said-- "i am neither king nor earl, and there is no need to make a high-seat for me to sit on, nor is there any need to make a mock of me." hildigunna was standing close by, and said-- "it is ill if it mislikes thee, for this we did with a whole heart." "if thy heart is whole towards me, then what i do will praise itself if it be well done, but it will blame itself if it be ill done." hildigunna laughed a cold laugh, and said-- "there is nothing new in that, we will go nearer yet ere we have done." she sat her down by flosi, and they talked long and low. after that the board was laid, and flosi and his band washed their hands. flosi looked hard at the towel and saw that it was all in rags, and had one end torn off. he threw it down on the bench and would not wipe himself with it, but tore off a piece of the table-cloth, and wiped himself with that, and then threw it to his men. after that flosi sat down to the board and bade men eat. then hildigunna came into the room and went before flosi, and threw her hair off her eyes and wept. "heavy-hearted art thou now, kinswoman," said flosi, "when thou weepest, but still it is well that thou shouldst weep for a good husband." "what vengeance or help shall i have of thee?" she says. "i will follow up thy suit," said flosi, "to the utmost limit of the law, or strive for that atonement which good men and true shall say that we ought to have as full amends." "hauskuld would avenge thee," she said, "if he had the blood-feud after thee." "thou lackest not grimness," answered flosi, "and what thou wantest is plain." "arnor ornolf's son, of forswaterwood," said hildigunna, "had done less wrong towards thord frey's priest thy father; and yet thy brothers kolbein and egil slew him at skaptarfells-thing." then hildigunna went back into the hall and unlocked her chest, and then she took out the cloak, flosi's gift, and in it hauskuld had been slain, and there she had kept it, blood and all. then she went back into the sitting room with the cloak; she went up silently to flosi. flosi had just then eaten his full, and the board was cleared. hildigunna threw the cloak over flosi, and the gore rattled down all over him. then she spoke and said-- "this cloak, flosi, thou gavest to hauskuld, and now i will give it back to thee; he was slain in it, and i call god and all good men to witness, that i adjure thee, by all the might of thy christ, and by thy manhood and bravery, to take vengeance for all those wounds which he had on his dead body, or else to be called every man's dastard." flosi threw the cloak off him and hurled it into her lap, and said-- "thou art the greatest hell-hag, and thou wishest that we should take that course which will be the worst for all of us. but 'women's counsel is ever cruel'." flosi was so stirred at this, that sometimes he was bloodred in the face, and sometimes ashy pale as withered grass, and sometimes blue as death. flosi and his men rode away; he rode to holtford, and there waits for the sons of sigfus and other of his men. ingialld dwelt at the springs; he was the brother of rodny, hauskuld njal's son's mother. ingialld had to wife thraslauga, the daughter of egil, the son of thord frey's priest. flosi sent word to ingialld to come to him, and ingialld went at once, with fourteen men. they were all of his household. ingialld was a tall man and a strong, and slow to meddle with other men's business, one of the bravest of men, and very bountiful to his friends. flosi greeted him well, and said to him, "great trouble hath now come on me and my brothers-in-law, and it is hard to see our way out of it; i beseech thee not to part from my suit until this trouble is past and gone." "i am come into a strait myself," said ingialld, "for the sake of the ties that there are between me and njal and his sons, and other great matters which stand in the way." "i thought," said flosi, "when i gave away my brother's daughter to thee, that thou gavest me thy word to stand by me in every suit." "it is most likely," says ingialld, "that i shall do so, but still i will now, first of all, ride home, and thence to the thing." chapter cxvi. of flosi and mord and the sons of sigfus. the sons of sigfus heard how flosi was at holtford, and they rode thither to meet him, and there were kettle of the mark, and lambi his brother, thorkell and mord, the sons of sigfus, sigmund their brother, and lambi sigurd's son, and gunnar lambi's son, and grani gunnar's son, and vebrand hamond's son. flosi stood up to meet them, and greeted them gladly. so they went down to the river. flosi had the whole story from them about the slaying, and there was no difference between them and kettle of the mark's story. flosi spoke to kettle of the mark, and said-- "this now i ask of thee; how tightly are your hearts knit as to this suit, thou and the other sons of sigfus?" "my wish is," said kettle, "that there should be peace between us, but yet i have sworn an oath not to part from this suit till it has been brought somehow to an end, and to lay my life on it." "thou art a good man and true," said flosi, "and it is well to have such men with one." then grani gunnar's son and lambi sigurd's son both spoke together, and said-- "we wish for outlawry and death." "it is not given us," said flosi, "both to share and choose, we must take what we can get." "i have had it in my heart," says grani, "ever since they slew thrain by markfleet, and after that his son hauskuld, never to be atoned with them by a lasting peace, for i would willingly stand by when they were all slain, every man of them." "thou hast stood so near to them," said flosi, "that thou mightest have avenged these things hadst thou had the heart and manhood. methinks thou and many others now ask for what ye would give much money hereafter never to have had a share in. i see this clearly, that though we slay njal or his sons, still they are men of so great worth, and of such good family, that there will be such a blood feud and hue and cry after them, that we shall have to fall on our knees before many a man, and beg for help, ere we get an atonement and find our way out of this strait. ye may make up your minds, then, that many will become poor who before had great goods, but some of you will lose both goods and life." mord valgard's son rode to meet flosi, and said he would ride to the thing with him with all his men. flosi took that well, and raised a matter of a wedding with him, that he should give away rannveiga his daughter to starkad flosi's brother's son, who dwelt at staffell. flosi did this because he thought he would so make sure both of his faithfulness and force. mord took the wedding kindly, but handed the matter over to gizur the white, and bade him talk about it at the thing. mord had to wife thorkatla, gizur the white's daughter. they two, mord and flosi, rode both together to the thing, and talked the whole day, and no man knew aught of their counsel. chapter cxvii. njal and skarphedinn talk together. now, we must say how njal said to skarphedinn-- "what plan have ye laid down for yourselves, thou and thy brothers and kari?" "little reck we of dreams in most matters," said skarphedinn; "but if thou must know, we shall ride to tongue to asgrim ellidagrim's son, and thence to the thing; but what meanest thou to do about thine own journey, father?" "i shall ride to the thing," says njal, "for it belongs to my honour not to be severed from your suit so long as i live. i ween that many men will have good words to say of me, and so i shall stand you in good stead, and do you no harm." there, too, was thorhall asgrim's son, and njal's foster-son. the sons of njal laughed at him because he was clad in a coat of russet, and asked how long he meant to wear that? "i shall have thrown it off," he said, "when i have to follow up the blood-feud for my foster father." "there will ever be most good in thee," said njal, "when there is most need of it." so they all busked them to ride away from home, and were nigh thirty men in all, and rode till they came to thursowater. then came after them njal's kinsmen, thorleif crow, and thorgrim the big; they were holt-thorir's sons, and offered their help and following to njal's sons, and they took that gladly. so they rode altogether across thursowater, until they came on laxwater bank, and took a rest and baited their horses there, and there hjallti's skeggi's son came to meet them, and njal's sons fell to talking with him, and they talked long and low. "now, i will show," said hjallti, "that i am not black-hearted; njal has asked me for help, and i have agreed to it, and given my word to aid him; he has often given me and many others the worth of it in cunning counsel." hjallti tells njal all about flosi's doings. they sent thorhall on to tongue to tell asgrim that they would be there that evening; and asgrim made ready at once, and was out of doors to meet them when njal rode into the town. njal was clad in a blue cape, and had a felt hat on his head, and a small axe in his hand. asgrim helped njal off his horse, and led him and sate him down in his own seat. after that they all went in, njal's sons and kari. then asgrim went out. hjallti wished to turn away, and thought there were too many there; but asgrim caught hold of his reins, and said he should never have his way in riding off, and made men unsaddle their horses, and led hjallti in and sate him down by njal's aide; but thorleif and his brother sat on the other bench and their men with them. asgrim sate him down on a stool before njal, and asked-- "what says thy heart about our matter?" "it speaks rather heavily," says njal, "for i am afraid that we shall have no lucky men with us in the suit; but i would, friend, that thou shouldest send after all the men who belong to thy thing, and ride to the althing with me." "i have always meant to do that," says asgrim; "and this i will promise thee at the same time--that i will never leave thy cause while i can get any men to follow me." but all those who were in the house thanked him, and said, that was bravely spoken. they were there that night, but the day after all asgrim's band came thither. and after that they all rode together till they come up on the thingfield, and fit up their booths. chapter cxviii. asgrim and njal's sons pray men for help. by that time flosi had come to the thing, and filled all his booths. runolf filled the dale-dwellers' booths, and mord the booths of the men from rangriver. hall of the side had long since come from the east, but scarce any of the other men; but still hall of the side had come with a great band, and joined this at once to flosi's company, and begged him to take an atonement and to make peace. hall was a wise man and good-hearted, flosi answered him well in everything, but gave way in nothing. hall asked what men had promised him help? flosi named mord valgard's son, and said he had asked for his daughter at the hand of his kinsman starkad. hall said she was a good match, but it was ill dealing with mord, "and that thou wilt put to the proof ere this thing be over". after that they ceased talking. one day njal and asgrim had a long talk in secret. then all at once asgrim sprang up and said to njal's sons-- "we must set about seeking friends, that we may not be overborne by force; for this suit will be followed up boldly." then asgrim went out, and helgi njal's son next; then kari solmund's son; then grim njal's son; then skarphedinn; then thorhall; then thorgrim the big; then thorleif crow. they went to the booth of gizur the white and inside it. gizur stood up to meet them, and bade them sit down and drink. "not thitherward," says asgrim, "tends our way, and we will speak our errand out loud, and not mutter and mouth about it. what help shall i have from thee, as thou art my kinsman?" "jorunn my sister," said gizur, "would wish that i should not shrink from standing by thee; and so it shall be now and hereafter, that we will both of us have the same fate." asgrim thanked him, and went away afterwards. then skarphedinn asked, "whither shall we go now?" "to the booths of the men of olfus," says asgrim. so they went thither, and asgrim asked whether skapti thorod's son were in the booth? he was told that he was. then they went inside the booth. skapti sate on the cross bench, and greeted asgrim, and he took the greeting well. skapti offered asgrim a seat by his side, but asgrim said he should only stay there a little while, "but still we have an errand to thee". "let me hear it," says skapti. "i wish to beg thee for thy help, that thou wilt stand by us in our suit." "one thing i had hoped," says skapti, "and that is, that neither you nor your troubles would ever come into my dwelling." "such things are ill-spoken," says asgrim, "when a man is the last to help others, when most lies on his aid." "who is yon man," says skapti, "before whom four men walk, a big burly man, and pale-faced, unlucky-looking, well-knit, and troll-like?" "my name is skarphedinn," he answers, "and thou hast often seen me at the thing; but in this i am wiser than thou, that i have no need to ask what thy name is. thy name is skapti thorod's son, but before thou calledst thyself 'bristle-poll,' after thou hadst slain kettle of elda; then thou shavedst thy poll, and puttedst pitch on thy head, and then thou hiredst thralls to cut up a sod of turf, and thou creptest underneath it to spend the night. after that thou wentest to thorolf lopt's son of eyrar, and he took thee on board, and bore thee out here in his meal sacks." after that asgrim and his band went out, and skarphedinn asked-- "whither shall we go now?" "to snorri the priest's booth," says asgrim. then they went to snorri's booth. there was a man outside before the booth, and asgrim asked whether snorri were in the booth. the man said he was. asgrim went into the booth, and all the others. snorri was sitting on the cross bench, and asgrim went and stood before him, and hailed him well. snorri took his greeting blithely, and bade him sit down. asgrim said he should be only a short time there, "but we have an errand with thee". snorri bade him tell it. "i would," said asgrim, "that thou wouldst come with me to the court, and stand by me with thy help, for thou art a wise man, and a great man of business." "suits fall heavy on us now," says snorri the priest, "and now many men push forward against us, and so we are slow to take up the troublesome suits of other men from other quarters." "thou mayest stand excused," says asgrim, "for thou art not in our debt for any service." "i know," says snorri, "that thou art a good man and true, and i will promise thee this, that i will not be against thee, and not yield help to thy foes." asgrim thanked him, and snorri the priest asked-- "who is that man before whom four go, pale-faced, and sharp-featured, and who shows his front teeth, and has his axe aloft on his shoulder?" "my name is hedinn," he says, "but some men call me skarphedinn by my full name; but what more hast thou to say to me?" "this," said snorri the priest, "that methinks thou art a well-knit, ready-handed man, but yet i guess that the best part of thy good fortune is past, and i ween thou hast not long to live." "that is well," says skarphedinn, "for that is a debt we all have to pay, but still it were more needful to avenge thy father than to foretell my fate in this way." "many have said that before," says snorri, "and i will not be angry at such words." after that they went out, and got no help there. then they fared to the booths of the men of skagafirth. there hafr the wealthy had his booth. the mother of hafr was named thoruna, she was a daughter of asbjorn baldpate of myrka, the son of hrosbjorn. asgrim and his band went into the booth, and hafr sate in the midst of it, and was talking to a man. asgrim went up to him, and hailed him well; he took it kindly, and bade him sit down. "this i would ask of thee," said asgrim, "that thou wouldst grant me and my sons-in-law help." hafr answered sharp and quick, and said he would have nothing to do with their troubles. "but still i must ask who that pale-faced man is before whom four men go, so ill-looking, as though he had come out of the sea-crags." "never mind, milksop that thou art!" said skarphedinn, "who i am, for i will dare to go forward wherever thou standest before me, and little would i fear though such striplings were in my path. 'twere rather thy duty, too, to get back thy sister swanlauga, whom eydis ironsword and his messmate stediakoll took away out of thy house, but thou didst not dare to do aught against them." "let us go out," said asgrim, "there is no hope of help here." then they went out to the booths of men of modruvale, and asked whether gudmund the powerful were in the booth, but they were told he was. then they went into the booth. there was a high seat in the midst of it, and there sate gudmund the powerful. asgrim went and stood before him, and hailed him. gudmund took his greeting well, and asked him to sit down. "i will not sit," said asgrim, "but i wish to pray thee for help, for thou art a bold man and a mighty chief." "i will not be against thee," said gudmund, "but if i see fit to yield thee help, we may well talk of that afterwards," and so he treated them well and kindly in every way. asgrim thanked him for his words, and gudmund said-- "there is one man in your band at whom i have gazed for awhile, and he seems to me more terrible than most men that i have seen." "which is he?" says asgrim. "four go before him," says gudmund; "dark brown is his hair, and pale is his face; tall of growth and sturdy. so quick and shifty in his manliness, that i would rather have his following than that of ten other men; but yet the man is unlucky-looking." "i know," said skarphedinn, "that thou speakest at me, but it does not go in the same way as to luck with me and thee. i have blame, indeed, from the slaying of hauskuld, the whiteness priest, as is fair and right; but both thorkel foulmouth and thorir helgi's son spread abroad bad stories about thee, and that has tried thy temper very much." then they went out, and skarphedinn said-- "whither shall we go now?" "to the booths of the men of lightwater," said asgrim. there thorkel foulmouth had set up his booth. thorkel foulmouth had been abroad and worked his way to fame in other lands. he had slain a robber east in jemtland's wood, and then he fared on east into sweden, and was a messmate of saurkvir the churl, and they harried eastward ho; but to the east of baltic side.[ ] thorkel had to fetch water for them one evening; then he met a wild man of the woods,[ ] and struggled against him long; but the end of it was that he slew the wild man. thence he fared east into adalsyssla, and there he slew a flying fire-drake. after that he fared back to sweden, and thence to norway, and so out to iceland, and let these deeds of derring do be carved over his shut bed, and on the stool before his high-seat. he fought, too, on lightwater way with his brothers against gudmund the powerful, and the men of lightwater won the day. he and thorir helgi's son spread abroad bad stories about gudmund. thorkel said there was no man in iceland with whom he would not fight in single combat, or yield an inch to, if need were. he was called thorkel foulmouth, because he spared no one with whom he had to do either in word or deed. chapter cxix. of skarphedinn and thorkel foulmouth. asgrim and his fellows went to thorkel foulmouth's booth, and asgrim said then to his companions, "this booth thorkel foulmouth owns, a great champion, and it were worth much to us to get his help. we must here take heed in everything, for he is self-willed and bad tempered; and now i will beg thee, skarphedinn, not to let thyself be led into our talk." skarphedinn smiled at that. he was so clad, he had on a blue kirtle and gray breeks, and black shoes on his feet, coming high up his leg; he had a silver belt about him, and that same axe in his hand with which he slew thrain, and which he called the "ogress of war," a round buckler, and a silken band round his brow, and his hair was brushed back behind his ears. he was the most soldier-like of men, and by that all men knew him. he went in his appointed place, and neither before nor behind. now they went into the booth and into its inner chamber. thorkel sate in the middle of the cross-bench, and his men away from him on all sides. asgrim hailed him, and thorkel took the greeting well, and asgrim said to him-- "for this have we come hither, to ask help of thee, and that thou wouldst come to the court with us." "what need can ye have of my help," said thorkel, "when ye have already gone to gudmund; he must surely have promised thee his help?" "we could not get his help," says asgrim. "then gudmund thought the suit likely to make him foes," said thorkel; "and so no doubt it will be, for such deeds are the worst that have ever been done; nor do i know what can have driven you to come hither to me, and to think that i should be easier to undertake your suit than gudmund, or that i would back a wrongful quarrel." then asgrim held his peace, and thought it would be hard work to win him over. then thorkel went on and said, "who is that big and ugly fellow, before whom four men go, pale-faced and sharp-featured, and unlucky-looking, and cross-grained?" "my name is skarphedinn," said skarphedinn, "and thou hast no right to pick me out, a guiltless man, for thy railing. it never has befallen me to make my father bow down before me, or to have fought against him, as thou didst with thy father. thou hast ridden little to the althing, or toiled in quarrels at it, and no doubt it is handier for thee to mind thy milking pails at home than to be here at axewater in idleness. but stay, it were as well if thou pickedst out from thy teeth that steak of mare's rump which thou atest ere thou rodest to the thing, while thy shepherd looked on all the while, and wondered that thou couldst work such filthiness!" then thorkel sprang up in mickle wrath, and clutched his short sword and said-- "this sword i got in sweden when i slew the greatest champion, but since then i have slain many a man with it, and as soon as ever i reach thee i will drive it through thee, and thou shall take that for thy bitter words." skarphedinn stood with his axe aloft, and smiled scornfully and said-- "this axe i had in my hand when i leapt twelve ells across markfleet, and slew thrain sigfus' son, and eight of them stood before me, and none of them could touch me. never have i aimed weapon at man that i have not smitten him." and with that he tore himself from his brothers, and kari his brother-in-law, and strode forward to thorkel. then skarphedinn said-- "now, thorkel foulmouth, do one of these two things: sheathe thy sword and sit thee down, or i drive the axe into thy head and cleave thee down to the chine." then thorkel sate him down and sheathed the sword, and such a thing never happened to him either before or since. then asgrim and his band go out, and skarphedinn said-- "whither shall we now go?" "home to out booths," answered asgrim. "then we fare hack to our booths wearied of begging," says skarphedinn. "in many places," said asgrim, "hast thou been rather sharp-tongued, but here now, in what thorkel had a share methinks thou hast only treated him as is fitting." then they went home to their booths, and told njal, word for word, all that had been done. "things," he said, "draw on to what must be." now gudmund the powerful heard what had passed between thorkel and skarphedinn, and said-- "ye all know how things fared between us and the men of lightwater, but i have never suffered such scorn and mocking at their hands as has befallen thorkel from skarphedinn, and this is just as it should be." then he said to einar of thvera, his brother, "thou shalt go with all my band, and stand by njal's sons when the courts go out to try suits; but if they need help next summer, then i myself will yield them help". einar agreed to that, and sent and told asgrim, and asgrim said-- "there is no man like gudmund for nobleness of mind," and then he told it to njal. chapter cxx. of the pleading of the suit. the next day asgrim, and gizur the white, and hjallti skeggi's son, and einar of thvera, met together. there too was mord valgard's son; he had then let the suit fall from his hand, and given it over to the sons of sigfus. then asgrim spoke. "thee first i speak to about this matter, gizur the white, and thee hjallti, and thee einar, that i may tell you how the suit stands. it will be known to all of you that mord took up the suit, but the truth of the matter is, that mord was at hauskuld's slaying, and wounded him with that wound, for giving which no man was named. it seems to me, then, that this suit must come to nought by reason of a lawful flaw." "then we will plead it at once," says hjallti. "it is not good counsel," said thorhall asgrim's son, "that this should not be hidden until the courts are set." "how so?" asks hjallti. "if," said thorhall, "they knew now at once that the suit has been wrongly set on foot, then they may still save the suit by sending a man home from the thing, and summoning the neighbours from home over again, and calling on them to ride to the thing, and then the suit will be lawfully set on foot." "thou art a wise man, thorhall," say they, "and we will take thy counsel." after that each man went to his booth. the sons of sigfus gave notice of their suits at the hill of laws, and asked in what quarter courts they lay, and in what house in the district the defendants dwelt. but on the friday night the courts were to go out to try suits, and so the thing was quiet up to that day. many sought to bring about an atonement between them, but flosi was steadfast; but others were still more wordy, and things looked ill. now the time comes when the courts were to go out, on the friday evening. then the whole body of men at the thing went to the courts. flosi stood south at the court of the men of rangriver, and his band with him. there with him was hall of the side, and runolf of the dale, wolf aurpriest's son, and those other men who had promised flosi help. but north of the court of the men of rangriver stood asgrim ellidagrim's son, and gizur the white, hjallti skeggi's son, and einar of thvera. but njal's sons were at home at their booth, and kari and thorleif crow, and thorgeir craggeir, and thorgrim the big. they sate all with their weapons, and their band looked safe from onslaught. njal had already prayed the judges to go into the court, and now the sons of sigfus plead their suit. they took witness and bade njal's sons to listen to their oath; after that they took their oath, and then they declared their suit; then they brought forward witness of the notice, then they bade the neighbours on the inquest to take their seats, then they called on njal's sons to challenge the inquest. then up stood thorhall asgrim's son, and took witness, and forbade the inquest by a protest to utter their finding; and his ground was, that he who had given notice of the suit was truly under the ban of the law, and was himself an outlaw. "of whom speakest thou this?" says flosi. "mord valgard's son," said thorhall, "fared to hauslkuld's slaying with njal's sons, and wounded him with that wound for which no man was named when witness was taken to the death-wounds; and ye can say nothing against this, and so the suit comes to naught." chapter cxxi. of the award of atonement between flosi and njal. then njal stood up and said-- "this i pray, hall of the side, and flosi, and all the sons of sigfus, and all our men too, that ye will not go away, but listen to my words." they did so, and then he spoke thus-- "it seems to me as though this suit were come to naught, and it is likely it should, for it hath sprung from an ill root. i will let you all know that i loved hauskuld more than my own sons, and when i heard that he was slain, methought the sweetest light of my eyes was quenched, and i would rather have lost all my sons, and that he were alive. now i ask thee, hall of the side, and thee runolf of the dale, and thee hjallti skeggi's son, and thee einar of thvera, and thee hafr the wise, that i may be allowed to make an atonement for the slaying of hauskuld on my sons' behalf; and i wish that those men who are best fitted to do so shall utter the award." gizur, and hafr, and einar, spoke each on their own part, and prayed flosi to take an atonement, and promised him their friendship in return. flosi answered them well in all things, but still did not give his word. then hall of the side said to flosi-- "wilt thou now keep thy word, and grant me my boon which thou hast already promised me, when i put beyond sea thorgrim, the son of kettle the fat, thy kinsman, when he had slain halli the red." "i will grant it thee, father-in-law," said flosi, "for that alone wilt thou ask which will make my honour greater than it erewhile was." "then," said hall, "my wish is that thou shouldst be quickly atoned, and lettest good men and true make an award, and so buy the friendship of good and worthy men." "i will let you all know," said flosi, "that i will do according to the word of hall, my father-in-law, and other of the worthiest men, that he and others of the best men on each side, lawfully named, shall make this award. methinks njal is worthy that i should grant him this." njal thanked him and all of them, and others who were by thanked them too, and said that flosi had behaved well. then flosi said-- "now will i name my daysmen [arbitrators]--first, i name hall, my father-in-law; auzur from broadwater; surt asbjorn's son of kirkby; modolf kettle's son"--he dwelt then at asar--"hafr the wise; and runolf of the dale; and it is scarce worth while to say that these are the fittest men out of all my company." now he bade njal to name his daysmen, and then njal stood up, and said-- "first of these i name, asgrim ellidagrim's son; and hjallti skeggi's son; gizur the white; einar of thvera; snorri the priest; and gudmund the powerful." after that njal and flosi, and the sons of sigfus shook hands, and njal pledged his hand on behalf of all his sons, and of kari, his son-in-law, that they would hold to what those twelve men doomed; and one might say that the whole body of men at the thing was glad at that. then men were sent after snorri and gudmund, for they were in their booths. then it was given out that the judges in this award would sit in the court of laws, but all the others were to go away. chapter cxxii. of the judges. then snorri the priest spoke thus--"now are we here twelve judges to whom these suits are handed over, now i will beg you all that we may have no stumbling-blocks in these suits, so that they may not be atoned". "will ye," said gudmund, "award either the lesser or the greater outlawry? shall they be banished from the district, or from the whole land?" "neither of them," says snorri, "for those banishments are often ill fulfilled, and men have been slain for that sake, and atonements broken, but i will award so great a money fine that no man shall have had a higher price here in the land than hauskuld." they all spoke well of his words. then they talked over the matter, and could not agree which should first utter how great he thought the fine ought to be, and so the end of it was that they cast lots, and the lot fell on snorri to utter it. then snorri said, "i will not sit long over this, i will now tell you what my utterance is, i will let hauskuld be atoned for with triple manfines, but that is six hundred in silver. now ye shall change it, if ye think it too much or too little." they said that they would change it in nothing. "this too shall be added," he said, "that all the money shall be paid down here at the thing." then gizur the white spoke and said-- "methinks that can hardly be, for they will not have enough money to pay their fines." "i know what snorri wishes," said gudmund the powerful, "he wants that all we daysmen should give such a sum as our bounty will bestow, and then many will do as we do." hall of the side thanked him, and said he would willingly give as much as any one else gave, and then all the other daysmen agreed to that. after that they went away, and settled between them that hall should utter the award at the court of laws. so the bell was rung, and all men went to the court of laws, and hall of the side stood up and spoke-- "in this suit, in which we have come to an award, we have been all well agreed, and we have awarded six hundred in silver, and half this sum we the daysmen will pay, but it must all be paid up here at the thing. but it is my prayer to all the people that each man will give something for god's sake." all answered well to that, and then hall took witness to the award, that no one should be able to break it. njal thanked them for their award, but skarphedinn stood by, and held his peace, and smiled scornfully. then men went from the court of laws and to their booths, but the daysmen gathered together in the freeman's church-yard the money which they had promised to give. njal's sons handed over that money which they had by them, and kari did the same, and that came to a hundred in silver. njal took out that money which he had with him, and that was another hundred in silver. so this money was all brought before the court of laws, and then men gave so much, that not a penny was wanting. then njal took a silken scarf and a pair of boots and laid them on the top of the heap. after that, hall said to njal, that he should go to fetch his sons, "but i will go for flosi, and now each must give the other pledges of peace". then njal went home to his booth, and spoke to his sons and said, "now, are our suits come into a fair way of settlement, now are we men atoned, for all the money has been brought together in one place; and now either side is to go and grant the other peace and pledges of good faith. i will therefore ask you this, my sons, not to spoil these things in any way." skarphedinn stroked his brow, and smiled scornfully. so they all go to the court of laws. hall went to meet flosi and said-- "go thou now to the court of laws, for now all the money has been bravely paid down, and it has been brought together in one place." then flosi bade the sons of sigfus to go up with him, and they all went out of their booths. they came from the east, but njal went from the west to the court of laws, and the sons with him. skarphedinn went to the middle bench and stood there. flosi went into the court of laws to look closely at his money, and said-- "this money is both great and good, and well paid down, as was to be looked for." after that he took up the scarf, and waved it, and asked-- "who may have given this?" but no man answered him. a second time he waved the scarf, and asked-- "who may have given this?" and laughed, but no man answered him. then flosi said-- "how is it that none of you knows who has owned this gear, or is it that none dares to tell me?" "who?" said skarphedinn, "dost thou think, has given it?" "if thou must know," said flosi, "then i will tell thee; i think that thy father the 'beardless carle' must have given it, for many know not who look at him whether he is more a man than a woman." "such words are ill-spoken," said skarphedinn, "to make game of him, an old man, and no man of any worth has ever done so before. ye may know, too, that he is a man, for he has had sons by his wife, and few of our kinsfolk have fallen unatoned by our house, so that we have not had vengeance for them." then skarphedinn took to himself the silken scarf, but threw a pair of blue breeks to flosi, and said he would need them more. "why," said flosi, "should i need these more?" "because," said skarphedinn, "thou art the sweetheart of the swinefell's goblin, if, as men say, he does indeed turn thee into a woman every ninth night." then flosi spurned the money, and said he would not touch a penny of it, and then he said he would only have one of two things: either that hauskuld should fall unatoned, or they would have vengeance for him. then flosi would neither give nor take peace, and he said to the sons of sigfus-- "go we now home; one fate shall befall us all." then they went home to their booth, and hall said-- "here most unlucky men have a share in this suit." njal and his sons went home to their booth, and njal said-- "now comes to pass what my heart told me long ago, that this suit would fall heavy on us." "not so," says skarphedinn; "they can never pursue us by the laws of the land." "then that will happen," says njal, "which will be worse for all of us." those men who had given the money spoke about it, and said that they should take it back; but gudmund the powerful said-- "that shame i will never choose for myself, to take back what i have given away, either here or elsewhere." "that is well spoken," they said; and then no one would take it back. then snorri the priest said, "my counsel is, that gizur the white and hjallti skeggi's son keep the money till the next althing; my heart tells me that no long time will pass ere there may be need to touch this money". hjallti took half the money and kept it safe, but gizur took the rest. then men went home to their booths. chapter cxxiii. an attack planned on njal and his sons. flosi summoned all his men up to the "great rift," and went thither himself. so when all his men were come, there were one hundred and twenty of them. then flosi spake thus to the sons of sigfus-- "in what way shall i stand by you in this quarrel, which will be most to your minds?" "nothing will please us," said gunnar lambi's son, "until those brothers, njal's sons, are all slain." "this," said flosi, "will i promise to you, ye sons of sigfus, not to part from this quarrel before one of us bites the dust before the other, i will also know whether there be any man here who will not stand by us in this quarrel." but they all said they would stand by him. then flosi said-- "come now all to me, and swear an oath that no man will shrink from this quarrel." then all went up to flosi and swore oaths to him; and then flosi said-- "we will all of us shake hands on this, that he shall have forfeited life and land who quits this quarrel ere it be over." these were the chiefs who were with flosi:--kol the son of thorstein broadpaunch, the brother's son of hall of the side, hroald auzur's son from broadwater, auzur son of anund wallet-back, thorstein the fair the son of gerleif, glum hilldir's son, modolf kettle's son, thorir the son of thord illugi's son of mauratongue, kolbein and egil flosi's kinsmen, kettle sigfus' son, and mord his brother, ingialld of the springs, thorkel and lambi, grani gunnar's son, gunnar lambi's son, and sigmund sigfus' son, and hroar from hromundstede. then flosi said to the sons of sigfus-- "choose ye now a leader, whomsoever ye think best fitted; for some one man must needs be chief over the quarrel." then kettle of the mark answered-- "if the choice is to be left with us brothers, then we will soon choose that this duty should fall on thee; there are many things which lead to this. thou art a man of great birth, and a mighty chief, stout of heart, and strong of body, and wise withal, and so we think it best that thou shouldst see to all that is needful in the quarrel." "it is most fitting," said flosi, "that i should agree to undertake this as your prayer asks; and now i will lay down the course which we shall follow, and my counsel is, that each man ride home from the thing and look after his household during the summer, so long as men's haymaking lasts. i, too, will ride home, and be at home this summer; but when that lord's day comes on which winter is eight weeks off, then i will let them sing me a mass at home, and afterwards ride west across loomnips sand; each of our men shall have two horses. i will not swell our company beyond those which have now taken the oath, for we have enough and to spare if all keep true tryst. i will ride all the lord's day and the night as well, but at even on the second day of the week, i shall ride up to threecorner ridge about mid-even. there shall ye then be all come who have sworn an oath in this matter. but if there be any one who has not come, and who has joined us in this quarrel, then that man shall lose nothing save his life, if we may have our way." "how does that hang together," said kettle, "that thou canst ride from home on the lord's day, and come the second day of the week to threecorner ridge?" "i will ride," said flosi, "up from skaptartongue, and north of the eyjafell jokul, and so down into godaland, and it may be done if i ride fast. and now i will tell you my whole purpose, that when we meet there all together, we shall ride to bergthorsknoll with all our band, and fall on njal's sons with fire and sword, and not turn away before they are all dead. ye shall hide this plan, for our lives lie on it. and now we will take to our horses and ride home." then they all went to their booths. after that flosi made them saddle his horses, and they waited for no man, and rode home. flosi would not stay to meet hall his father-in-law, for he knew of a surety that hall would set his face against all strong deeds. njal rode home from the thing and his sons. they were at home that summer. njal asked kari his son-in-law whether he thought at all of riding east to dyrholms to his own house. "i will not ride east," answered kari, "for one fate shall befall me and thy sons." njal thanked him, and said that was only what was likely from him. there were nearly thirty fighting men in njal's house, reckoning the house-carles. one day it happened that rodny hauskuld's daughter, the mother of hauskuld njal's son, came to the springs. her brother ingialld greeted her well, but she would not take his greeting, but yet bade him go out with her. ingialld did so, and went out with her; and so they walked away from the farmyard both together. then she clutched hold of him and they both sat down, and rodny said-- "is it true that thou hast sworn an oath to fall on njal, and slay him and his sons?" "true it is," said he. "a very great dastard art thou," she says, "thou, whom njal hath thrice saved from outlawry." "still it hath come to this," says ingialld, "that my life lies on it if i do not this." "not so," says she, "thou shalt live all the same, and be called a better man, if thou betrayest not him to whom thou oughtest to behave best." then she took a linen hood out of her bag, it was clotted with blood all over, and torn and tattered, and said, "this hood, hauskuld njal's son, and thy sister's son, had on his head when they slew him; methinks, then, it is ill owing to stand by those from whom this mischief sprang". "well!" answers ingialld, "so it shall be that i will not be against njal whatever follows after, but still i know that they will turn and throw trouble on me." "now mightest thou," said rodny, "yield njal and his sons great help, if thou tellest him all these plans." "that i will not do," says ingialld, "for then i am every man's dastard, if i tell what was trusted to me in good faith; but it is a manly deed to sunder myself from this quarrel when i know that there is a sure looking for of vengeance; but tell njal and his sons to beware of themselves all this summer, for that will be good counsel, and to keep many men about them." then she fared to bergthorsknoll, and told njal all this talk; and njal thanked her, and said she had done well, "for there would be more wickedness in his falling on me than of all men else". she fared home, but he told this to his sons. there was a carline at bergthorsknoll, whose name was saevuna. she was wise in many things, and foresighted; but she was then very old, and njal's sons called her an old dotard, when she talked so much, but still some things which she said came to pass. it fell one day that she took a cudgel in her hand, and went up above the house to a stack of vetches. she beat the stack of vetches with her cudgel, and wished it might never thrive, "wretch that it was!" skarphedinn laughed at her, and asked why she was so angry with the vetch stack. "this stack of vetches," said the carline, "will be taken and lighted with fire when njal my master is burnt, house and all, and bergthora my foster-child. take it away to the water, or burn it up as quick as you can." "we will not do that," says skarphedinn, "for something else will be got to light a fire with, if that were foredoomed, though this stack were not here." the carline babbled the whole summer about the vetch-stack that it should be got indoors, but something always hindered it. chapter cxxiv. of portents. at reykium on skeid dwelt one runolf thorstein's son. his son's name was hildiglum. he went out on the night of the lord's day, when nine weeks were still to winter; he heard a great crash, so that he thought both heaven and earth shook. then he looked into the west "airt," and he thought he saw thereabouts a ring of fiery hue, and within the ring a man on a gray horse. he passed quickly by him, and rode hard. he had a flaming firebrand in his hand, and he rode so close to him that he could see him plainly. he was as black as pitch, and he sung this song with a mighty voice-- here i ride swift steed, his flank flecked with rime, rain from his mane drips, horse mighty for harm; flames flare at each end, gall glows in the midst, so fares it with flosi's redes as this flaming brand flies; and so fares it with flosi's redes as this flaming brand flies. then he thought he hurled the firebrand east towards the fells before him, and such a blaze of fire leapt up to meet it that he could not see the fells for the blaze. it seemed as though that man rode east among the flames and vanished there. after that he went to his bed, and was senseless a long time, but at last he came to himself. he bore in mind all that had happened, and told his father, but he bade him tell it to hjallti skeggi's son. so he went and told hjallti, but he said he had seen "'the wolfs ride,' and that comes ever before great tidings". chapter cxxv. flosi's journey from home. flosi busked him from the east when two months were still to winter, and summoned to him all his men who had promised him help and company. each of them had two horses and good weapons, and they all came to swinefell, and were there that night. flosi made them say prayers betimes on the lord's day, and afterwards they sate down to meat. he spoke to his household, and told them what work each was to do while he was away. after that he went to his horses. flosi and his men rode first west on the sand.[ ] flosi bade them not to ride too hard at first; but said they would do well enough at that pace, and he bade all to wait for the others if any of them had need to stop. they rode west to woodcombe, and came to kirkby. flosi there bade all men to come into the church, and pray to god, and men did so. after that they mounted their horses, and rode on the fell, and so to fishwaters, and rode a little to the west of the lakes, and so struck down west on to the sand.[ ] then they left eyjafell jokul on their left hand, and so came down into godaland, and so on to markfleet, and came about nones[ ] on the second day of the week to threecorner ridge, and waited till mid-even. then all had came thither save ingialld of the springs. the sons of sigfus spoke much ill of him, but flosi bade them not blame ingialld when he was not by, "but we will pay him for this hereafter". chapter cxxvi. of portents at bergthorsknoll. now we must take up the story, and turn to bergthorsknoll, and say that grim and helgi go to holar. they had children out at foster there, and they told their mother that they should not come home that evening. they were in holar all the day, and there came some poor women and said they had come from far. those brothers asked them for tidings, and they said they had no tidings to tell, "but still we might tell you one bit of news". they asked what that might be, and bade them not hide it. they said so it should be. "we came down out of fleetlithe, and we saw all the sons of sigfus riding fully armed--they made for threecorner ridge, and were fifteen in company. we saw, too, grani gunnar's son and gunnar lambi's son, and they were five in all. they took the same road, and one may say now that the whole country-side is faring and flitting about." "then," said helgi njal's son, "flosi must have come from the east, and they must have all gone to meet him, and we two, grim, should be where skarphedinn is." grim said so it ought to be, and they fared home. that same evening bergthora spoke to her household, and said, "now shall ye choose your meat to-night, so that each may have what he likes best; for this evening is the last that i shall set meat before my household". "that shall not be," they said. "it will be though," she says, "and i could tell you much more if i would, but this shall be a token, that grim and helgi will be home ere men have eaten their full to-night; and if this turns out so, then the rest that i say will happen too." after that she set meat on the board, and njal said, "wondrously now it seems to me. methinks i see all round the room, and it seems as though the gable wall were thrown down, but the whole board and the meat on it is one gore of blood." all thought this strange but skarphedinn, he bade men not be downcast, nor to utter other unseemly sounds, so that men might make a story out of them. "for it befits us surely more than other men to bear us well, and it is only what is looked for from us." grim and helgi came home ere the board was cleared, and men were much struck at that. njal asked why they had returned so quickly, but they told what they had heard. njal bade no man go to sleep, but to beware of themselves. chapter cxxvii. the onslaught on bergthorsknoll. now flosi speaks to his men-- "now we will ride to bergthorsknoll, and come thither before supper-time." they do so. there was a dell in the knoll, and they rode thither, and tethered their horses there, and stayed there till the evening was far spent. then flosi said, "now we will go straight up to the house, and keep close, and walk slow, and see what counsel they will take". njal stood out of doors, and his sons, and kari and all the serving-men, and they stood in array to meet them in the yard, and they were near thirty of them. flosi halted and said--"now we shall see what counsel they take, for it seems to me, if they stand out of doors to meet us, as though we should never get the mastery over them". "then is our journey bad," says grani gunnar's son, "if we are not to dare to fall on them." "nor shall that be," says flosi; "for we will fall on them though they stand out of doors; but we shall pay that penalty, that many will not go away to tell which side won the day." njal said to his men, "see ye now what a great band of men they have". "they have both a great and well-knit band," says skarphedinn; "but this is why they make a halt now, because they think it will be a hard struggle to master us." "that cannot be why they halt," says njal; "and my will is that our men go indoors, for they had hard work to master gunnar of lithend, though he was alone to meet them; but here is a strong house as there was there, and they will be slow to come to close quarters." "this is not to be settled in that wise," says skarphedinn, "for those chiefs fell on gunnar's house, who were so noble-minded, that they would rather turn back than burn him, house and all; but these will fall on us at once with fire, if they cannot get at us in any other way, for they will leave no stone unturned to get the better of us; and no doubt they think, as is not unlikely, that it will be their deaths if we escape out of their hands. besides, i am unwilling to let myself be stifled indoors like a fox in his earth." "now," said njal, "as often it happens, my sons, ye set my counsel at naught, and show me no honour, but when ye were younger ye did not so, and then your plans were better furthered." "let us do," said helgi, "as our father wills; that will be best for us." "i am not so sure of that," says skarphedinn, "for now he is 'fey'; but still i may well humour my father in this, by being burnt indoors along with him, for i am not afraid of my death." then he said to kari, "let us stand by one another well, brother-in-law, so that neither parts from the other". "that i have made up my mind to do," says kari; "but if it should be otherwise doomed,--well! then it must be as it must be, and i shall not be able to fight against it." "avenge us, and we will avenge thee," says skarphedinn, "if we live after thee." kari said so it should be. then they all went in, and stood in array at the door. "now are they all 'fey,'" said flosi, "since they have gone indoors, and we will go right up to them as quickly as we can, and throng as close as we can before the door, and give heed that none of them, neither kari nor njal's sons, get away; for that were our bane." so flosi and his men came up to the house, and set men to watch round the house, if there were any secret doors in it. but flosi went up to the front of the house with his men. then hroald auzur's son ran up to where skarphedinn stood, and thrust at him. skarphedinn hewed the spearhead off the shaft as he held it, and made another stroke at him, and the axe fell on the top of the shield, and dashed back the whole shield on hroald's body, but the upper horn of the axe caught him on the brow, and he fell at full length on his back, and was dead at once. "little chance had that one with thee, skarphedinn," said kari, "and thou art our boldest." "i'm not so sure of that," says skarphedinn, and he drew up his lips and smiled. kari, and grim, and helgi, threw out many spears, and wounded many men; but flosi and his men could do nothing. at last flosi said, "we have already gotten great manscathe in our men; many are wounded, and he slain whom we would choose last of all. it is now clear that we shall never master them with weapons; many now there be who are not so forward in fight as they boasted, and yet they were those who goaded us on most. i say this most to grani gunnar's son, and gunnar lambi's son, who were the least willing to spare their foes. but still we shall have to take to some other plan for ourselves, and now there are but two choices left, and neither of them good. one is to turn away, and that is our death; the other, to set fire to the house, and burn them inside it; and that is a deed which we shall have to answer for heavily before god, since we are christian men ourselves; but still we must take to that counsel." chapter cxxviii. njal's burning. now they took fire, and made a great pile before the doors. then skarphedinn said. "what, lads! are ye lighting a fire, or are ye taking to cooking?" "so it shall be," answered grani gunnar's son; "and thou shalt not need to be better done." "thou repayest me," said skarphedinn, "as one may look for from the man that thou art. i avenged thy father, and thou settest most store by that duty which is farthest from thee." then the women threw whey on the fire, and quenched it as fast as they lit it. some, too, brought water, or slops. then kol thorstein's son said to flosi-- "a plan comes into my mind; i have seen a loft over the hall among the crosstrees, and we will put the fire in there, and light it with the vetch-stack that stands just above the house." then they took the vetch-stack and set fire to it, and they who were inside were not aware of it till the whole hall was ablaze over their heads. then flosi and his men made a great pile before each of the doors, and then the women folk who were inside began to weep and to wail. njal spoke to them and said, "keep up your hearts, nor utter shrieks, for this is but a passing storm, and it will be long before ye have another such; and put your faith in god, and believe that he is so merciful that he will not let us burn both in this world and the next." such words of comfort had he for them all, and others still more strong. now the whole house began to blaze. then njal went to the door and said-- "is flosi so near that he can hear my voice?" flosi said that he could hear it. "wilt thou," said njal, "take an atonement from my sons, or allow any men to go out?" "i will not," answers flosi, "take any atonement from thy sons, and now our dealings shall come to an end once for all, and i will not stir from this spot till they are all dead; but i will allow the women and children and house-carles to go out." then njal went into the house, and said to the folk-- "now all those must go out to whom leave is given, and so go thou out thorhalla asgrim's daughter, and all the people also with thee who may." then thorhalla said-- "this is another parting between me and helgi than i thought of a while ago; but still i will egg on my father and brothers to avenge this manscathe which is wrought here." "go, and good go with thee," said njal, "for thou art a brave woman." after that she went out and much folk with her. then astrid of deepback said to helgi njal's son-- "come thou out with me, and i will throw a woman's cloak over thee, and tire thy head with a kerchief." he spoke against it at first, but at last he did so at the prayer of others. so astrid wrapped the kerchief round helgi's head, but thorhilda, skarphedinn's wife, threw the cloak over him, and he went out between them, and then thorgerda njal's daughter, and helga her sister, and many other folk went out too. but when helgi came out flosi said-- "that is a tall woman and broad across the shoulders that went yonder, take her and hold her." but when helgi heard that, he cast away the cloak. he had got his sword under his arm, and hewed at a man, and the blow fell on his shield and cut off the point of it, and the man's leg as well. then flosi came up and hewed at helgi's neck, and took off his head at a stroke. then flosi went to the door and called out to njal, and said he would speak with him and bergthora. now njal does so, and flosi said-- "i will offer thee, master njal, leave to go out, for it is unworthy that thou shouldst burn indoors." "i will not go out," said njal, "for i am an old man, and little fitted to avenge my sons, but i will not live in shame." then flosi said to bergthora-- "come thou out, housewife, for i will for no sake burn thee indoors." "i was given away to njal young," said bergthora, "and i have promised him this, that we would both share the same fate." after that they both went back into the house. "what counsel shall we now take?" said bergthora. "we will go to our bed," says njal, "and lay us down; i have long been eager for rest." then she said to the boy thord, kari's son-- "thee will i take out, and thou shalt not burn in here." "thou hast promised me this, grandmother," says the boy, "that we should never part so long as i wished to be with thee; but methinks it is much better to die with thee and njal than to live after you." then she bore the boy to her bed, and njal spoke to his steward and said-- "now shalt thou see where we lay us down, and how i lay us out, for i mean not to stir an inch hence, whether reek or burning smart me, and so thou wilt be able to guess where to look for our bones." he said he would do so. there had been an ox slaughtered and the hide lay there. njal told the steward to spread the hide over them, and he did so. so there they lay down both of them in their bed, and put the boy between them. then they signed themselves and the boy with the cross, and gave over their souls into god's hand, and that was the last word that men heard them utter. then the steward took the hide and spread it over them, and went out afterwards. kettle of the mark caught hold of him, and dragged him out, he asked carefully after his father-in-law njal, but the steward told him the whole truth. then kettle said-- "great grief hath been sent on us, when we have had to share such ill-luck together." skarphedinn saw how his father laid him down, and how he laid himself out, and then he said-- "our father goes early to bed, and that is what was to be looked for, for he is an old man." then skarphedinn, and kari, and grim, caught the brands as fast as they dropped down, and hurled them out at them, and so it went on a while. then they hurled spears in at them, but they caught them all as they flew, and sent them back again. then flosi bade them cease shooting, "for all feats of arms will go hard with us when we deal with them; ye may well wait till the fire overcomes them". so they do that, and shoot no more. then the great beams out of the roof began to fall, and skarphedinn said-- "now must my father be dead, and i have neither heard groan nor cough from him." then they went to the end of the hall, and there had fallen down a cross-beam inside which was much burnt in the middle. kari spoke to skarphedinn, and said--"leap thou out here, and i will help thee to do so, and i will leap out after thee, and then we shall both get away if we set about it so, for hitherward blows all the smoke." "thou shalt leap first," said skarphedinn; "but i will leap straightway on thy heels." "that is not wise," says kari, "for i can get out well enough elsewhere, though it does not come about here." "i will not do that," says skarphedinn; "leap thou out first, but i will leap after thee at once." "it is bidden to every man," says kari, "to seek to save his life while he has a choice, and i will do so now; but still this parting of ours will be in such wise that we shall never see one another more; for if i leap out of the fire, i shall have no mind to leap back into the fire to thee, and then each of us will have to fare his own way." "it joys me, brother-in-law," says skarphedinn, "to think that if thou gettest away thou wilt avenge me." then kari took up a blazing bench in his hand, and runs up along the cross-beam, then he hurls the bench out at the roof, and it fell among those who were outside. then they ran away, and by that time all kari's upper-clothing and his hair were ablaze, then he threw himself down from the roof, and so crept along with the smoke. then one man said who was nearest-- "was that a man that leapt out at the roof?" "far from it," says another; "more likely it was skarphedinn who hurled a firebrand at us." after that they had no more mistrust. kari ran till he came to a stream, and then, he threw himself down into it, and so quenched the fire on him. after that he ran along under shelter of the smoke into a hollow, and rested him there, and that has since been called kari's hollow. chapter cxxix. skarphedinn's death. now it is to be told of skarphedinn that he runs out on the cross-beam straight after kari, but when he came to where the beam was most burnt, then it broke down under him. skarphedinn came down on his feet, and tried again the second time, and climbs up the wall with a run, then down on him came the wall-plate, and he toppled down again inside. then skarphedinn said--"now one can see what will come;" and then he went along the side wall. gunnar lambi's son leapt up on the wall and sees skarphedinn; he spoke thus-- "weepest thou now, skarphedinn?" "not so," says skarphedinn, "but true it is that the smoke makes one's eyes smart, but is it as it seems to me, dost thou laugh?" "so it is surely," says gunnar, "and i have never laughed since thou slewest thrain on markfleet." then skarphedinn said--"he now is a keepsake for thee;" and with that he took out of his purse the jaw-tooth which he had hewn out of thrain, and threw it at gunnar, and struck him in the eye, so that it started out and lay on his cheek. then gunnar fell down from the roof. skarphedinn then went to his brother grim, and they held one another by the hand and trode the fire; but when they came to the middle of the hall grim fell down dead. then skarphedinn went to the end of the house, and then there was a great crash, and down fell the roof. skarphedinn was then shut in between it and the gable, and so he could not stir a step thence. flosi and his band stayed by the fire until it was broad daylight; then came a man riding up to them. flosi asked him for his name, but he said his name was geirmund, and that he was a kinsman of the sons of sigfus. "ye have done a mighty deed," he says. "men," says flosi, "will call it both a mighty deed and an ill deed, but that can't be helped now." "how many men have lost their lives here?" asks geirmund. "here have died," says flosi, "njal and bergthora and all their sons, thord kari's son, kari solmund's son, but besides these we cannot say for a surety, because we know not their names." "thou tellest him now dead," said geirmund, "with whom we have gossipped this morning." "who is that?" says flosi. "we two," says geirmund, "i and my neighbour bard, met kari solmund's son, and bard gave him his horse, and his hair and his upper clothes were burned off him." "had he any weapons?" asks flosi. "he had the sword 'life-luller,'" says geirmund, "and one edge of it was blue with fire, and bard and i said that it must have become soft, but he answered thus, that he would harden it in the blood of the sons of sigfus or the other burners." "what said he of skarphedinn?" said flosi. "he said both he and grim were alive," answers geirmund, "when they parted; but he said that now they must be dead." "thou hast told us a tale," said flosi, "which bodes us no idle peace, for that man hath now got away who comes next to gunnar of lithend in all things; and now, ye sons of sigfus, and ye other burners, know this, that such a great blood feud, and hue and cry will be made about this burning, that it will make many a man headless, but some will lose all their goods. now i doubt much whether any man of you, ye sons of sigfus, will dare to stay in his house; and that is not to be wondered at; and so i will bid you all to come and stay with me in the east, and let us all share one fate." they thanked him for his offer, and said they would be glad to take it. then modolf kettle's son sang a song. but one prop of njal's house liveth, all the rest inside are burnt, all but one,--those bounteous spenders, sigfus' stalwart sons wrought this; son of gollnir[ ] now is glutted vengeance for brave hauskuld's death, brisk flew fire through thy dwelling, bright flames blazed above thy roof. "we shall have to boast of something else than that njal has been burnt in his house," says flosi, "for there is no glory in that." then he went up on the gable, and glum hilldir's son, and some other men. then glum said, "is skarphedinn dead, indeed?" but the others said he must have been dead long ago. the fire sometimes blazed up fitfully and sometimes burned low, and then they heard down in the fire beneath them that this song was sung-- deep, i ween, ye ogre offspring! devilish brood of giant birth, would ye groan with gloomy visage had the fight gone to my mind; but my very soul it gladdens that my friends[ ] who now boast high, wrought not this foul deed, their glory, save with footsteps filled with gore. "can skarphedinn, think ye, have sung this song dead or alive?" said grani gunnar's son. "i will go into no guesses about that," says flosi. "we will look for skarphedinn," says grani, "and the other men who have been here burnt inside the house." "that shall not be," says flosi, "it is just like such foolish men as thou art, now that men will be gathering force all over the country; and when they do come, i trow the very same man who now lingers will be so scared that he will not know which way to run; and now my counsel is that we all ride away as quickly as ever we can." then flosi went hastily to his horse and all his men. then flosi said to geirmund-- "is ingialld, thinkest thou, at home, at the springs?" geirmund said he thought he must be at home. "there now is a man," says flosi, "who has broken his oath with us and all good faith." then flosi said to the sons of sigfus--"what course will ye now take with ingialld; will ye forgive him, or shall we now fall on him and slay him?" they all answered that they would rather fall on him and slay him. then flosi jumped on his horse, and all the others, and they rode away. flosi rode first, and shaped his course for rangriver, and up along the river bank. then he saw a man riding down on the other bank of the river, and he knew that there was ingialld of the springs. flosi calls out to him. ingialld halted and turned down to the river bank; and flosi said to him-- "thou hast broken faith with us, and hast forfeited life and goods. here now are the sons of sigfus, who are eager to slay thee; but methinks thou hast fallen into a strait, and i will give thee thy life if thou will hand over to me the right to make my own award." "i will sooner ride to meet kari," said ingialld, "than grant thee the right to utter thine own award, and my answer to the sons of sigfus is this, that i shall be no whit more afraid of them than they are of me." "bide thou there," says flosi, "if thou art not a coward, for i will send thee a gift." "i will bide of a surety," says ingialld. thorstein kolbein's son, flosi's brother's son, rode up by his side and had a spear in his hand, he was one of the bravest of men, and the most worthy of those who were with flosi. flosi snatched the spear from him, and launched it at ingialld, and it fell on his left side, and passed through the shield just below the handle, and clove it all asunder, but the spear passed on into his thigh just above the knee-pan, and so on into the saddle-tree, and there stood fast. then flosi said to ingialld-- "did it touch thee?" "it touched me sure enough," says ingialld, "but i call this a scratch and not a wound." then ingialld plucked the spear out of the wound, and said to flosi-- "now bide thou, if thou art not a milksop." then he launched the spear back over the river. flosi sees that the spear is coming straight for his middle, and then he backs his horse out of the way, but the spear flew in front of flosi's horse, and missed him, but it struck thorstein's middle, and down he fell at once dead off his horse. now ingialld tuns for the wood, and they could not get at him. then flosi said to his men-- "now have we gotten manscathe, and now we may know, when such things befall us, into what a luckless state we have got. now it is my counsel that we ride up to threecorner ridge; thence we shall be able to see where men ride all over the country, for by this time they will have gathered together a great band, and they will think that we have ridden east to fleetlithe from threecorner ridge; and thence they will think that we are riding north up on the fell, and so east to our own country, and thither the greater part of the folk will ride after us; but some will ride the coast road east to selialandsmull, and yet they will think there is less hope of finding us thitherward, but i will now take counsel for all of us, and my plan is to ride up into threecorner-fell, and bide there till three suns have risen and set in heaven." chapter cxxx. of kari solmund's son. now it is to be told of kari solmund's son that he fared away from that hollow in which he had rested himself until he met bard, and those words passed between them which geirmund had told. thence kari rode to mord, and told him the tidings, and he was greatly grieved. kari said there were other things more befitting a man than to weep for them dead, and bade him rather gather folk and come to holtford. after that he rode into thursodale to hjallti skeggi's son, and as he went along thurso water, he sees a man riding fast behind him. kari waited for the man, and knows that he was ingialld of the springs. he sees that he is very bloody about the thigh; and kari asked ingialld who had wounded him, and he told him. "where met ye two?" says kari. "by rangwater side," says ingialld, "and he threw a spear over at me." "didst thou aught for it?" asks kari. "i threw the spear back," says ingialld, "and they said that it met a man, and he was dead at once." "knowest thou not," said kari, "who the man was?" "methought he was like thorstein flosi's brother's son," says ingialld. "good luck go with thy hand," says kari. after that they rode both together to see hjallti skeggi's son, and told him the tidings. he took these deeds ill, and said there was the greatest need to ride after them and slay them all. after that he gathered men and roused the whole country; now he and kari and ingialld ride with this band to meet mord valgard's son, and they found him at holtford, and mord was there waiting for them with a very great company. then they parted the hue and cry; some fared the straight road by the east coast to selialandsmull, but some went up to fleetlithe, and other-some the higher road thence to threecorner ridge, and so down into godaland. thence they rode north to sand. some too rode as far as fishwaters, and there turned back. some the coast road east to holt, and told thorgeir the tidings, and asked whether they had not ridden by there. "this is how it is," said thorgeir, "though i am not a mighty chief, yet flosi would take other counsel than to ride under my eyes, when he has slain njal, my father's brother, and my cousins; and there is nothing left for any of you but e'en to turn back again, for ye should have hunted longer nearer home; but tell this to kari, that he must ride hither to me and be here with me if he will; but though he will not come hither east, still i will look after his farm at dyrholms if he will, but tell him too that i will stand by him and ride with him to the althing. and he shall also know this, that we brothers are the next of kin to follow up the feud, and we mean so to take up the suit, that outlawry shall follow and after that revenge, man for man, if we can bring it about; but i do not go with you now, because i know naught will come of it, and they will now be as wary as they can of themselves." now they ride back, and all met at hof and talked there among themselves, and said that they had gotten disgrace since they had not found them. mord said that was not so. then many men were eager that they should fare to fleetlithe, and pull down the homesteads of all those who had been at those deeds, but still they listened for mord's utterance. "that," he said, "would be the greatest folly." they asked why he said that. "because," he said, "if their houses stand, they will be sure to visit them to see their wives; and then, as time rolls on, we may hunt them down there; and now ye shall none of you doubt that i will be true to thee kari, and to all of you, and in all counsel, for i have to answer for myself." hjallti bade him do as he said. then hjallti bade kari to come and stay with him; he said he would ride thither first. they told him what thorgeir had offered him, and he said he would make use of that offer afterwards, but said his heart told him it would be well if there were many such. after that the whole band broke up. flosi and his men saw all these tidings from where they were on the fell; and flosi said-- "now we will take our horses and ride away, for now it will be some good." the sons of sigfus asked whether it would be worth while to get to their homes and tell the news. "it must be mord's meaning," says flosi, "that ye will visit your wives; and my guess is, that his plan is to let your houses stand unsacked; but my plan is that not a man shall part from the other, but all ride east with me." so every man took that counsel, and then they all rode east and north of the jokul, and so on till they came to swinefell. flosi sent at once men out to get in stores, so that nothing might fall short. flosi never spoke about the deed, but no fear was found in him, and he was at home the whole winter till yule was over. chapter cxxxi. njal's and bergthora's bones found. kari bade hjallti to go and search for njal's bones, "for all will believe in what thou sayest and thinkest about them". hjallti said he would be most willing to bear njal's bones to church; so they rode thence fifteen men. they rode east over thurso-water, and called on men there to come with them till they had one hundred men, reckoning njal's neighbours. they came to bergthorsknoll at mid-day. hjallti asked kari under what part of the house njal might be lying, but kari showed them to the spot, and there was a great heap of ashes to dig away. there they found the hide underneath, and it was as though it were shrivelled with the fire. they raised up the hide, and lo! they were unburnt under it. all praised god for that, and thought it was a great token. then the boy was taken up who had lain between them, and of him a finger was burnt off which he had stretched out from under the hide. njal was borne out, and so was bergthora, and then all men went to see their bodies. then hjallti said--"what like look to you these bodies?" they answered, "we will wait for thy utterance". then hjallti said, "i shall speak what i say with all freedom of speech. the body of bergthora looks as it was likely she would look, and still fair; but njal's body and visage seem to me so bright that i have never seen any dead man's body so bright as this." they all said they thought so too. then they sought for skarphedinn, and the men of the household showed them to the spot where flosi and his men heard the song sung, and there the roof had fallen down by the gable, and there hjallti said that they should look. then they did so, and found skarphedinn's body there, and he had stood up hard by the gable-wall, and his legs were burnt off him right up to the knees, but all the rest of him was unburnt. he had bitten through his under lip, his eyes were wide open and not swollen nor starting out of his head; he had driven his axe into the gable-wall so hard that it had gone in up to the middle of the blade, and that was why it was not softened. after that the axe was broken out of the wall, and hjallti took up the axe, and said-- "this is a rare weapon, and few would be able to wield it." "i see a man," said kari, "who shall bear the axe." "who is that?" says hjallti. "thorgeir craggeir," says kari, "he whom i now think to be the greatest man in all their family." then skarphedinn was stripped of his clothes, for they were unburnt; he had laid his hands in a cross, and the right hand uppermost. they found marks on him; one between his shoulders and the other on his chest, and both were branded in the shape of a cross, and men thought that he must have burnt them in himself. all men said that they thought that it was better to be near skarphedinn dead than they weened, for no man was afraid of him. they sought for the bones of grim, and found them in the midst of the hall. they found, too, there, right over-against him under the side wall, thord freedmanson; but in the weaving-room they found saevuna the carline, and three men more. in all they found there the bones of nine souls. now they carried the bodies to the church, and then hjallti rode home and kari with him. a swelling came on ingialld's leg, and then he fared to hjallti, and was healed there, but still he limped ever afterwards. kari rode to tongue to asgrim ellidagrim's son. by that time thorhalla was come home, and she had already told the tidings. asgrim took kari by both hands, and bade him be there all that year. kari said so it should be. asgrim asked besides all the folk who had been in the house at bergthorsknoll to stay with him. kari said that was well offered, and said he would take it on their behalf. then all the folk were flitted thither. thorhall asgrim's son was so startled when he was told that his foster-father njal was dead, and that he had been burnt in his house, that he swelled all over, and a stream of blood burst out of both his ears, and could not be staunched, and he fell into a swoon, and then it was staunched. after that he stood up, and said he had behaved like a coward, "but i would that i might be able to avenge this which has befallen me on some of those who burnt him". but when others said that no one would think this a shame to him, he said he could not stop the mouths of the people from talking about it. asgrim asked kari what trust and help he thought he might look for from those east of the rivers. kari said that mord valgard's son, and hjallti, skeggi's son, would yield him all the help they could, and so, too, would thorgeir craggeir, and all those brothers. asgrim said that was great strength. "what strength shall we have from thee?" says kari. "all that i can give," says asgrim, "and i will lay down my life on it." "so do," says kari. "i have also," says asgrim, "brought gizur the white into the suit, and have asked his advice how we shall set about it." "what advice did he give?" asks kari. "he counselled," answers asgrim, "'that we should hold us quite still till spring, but then ride east and set the suit on foot against flosi for the manslaughter of helgi, and summon the neighbours from their homes, and give due notice at the thing of the suits for the burning, and summon the same neighbours there too on the inquest before the court. i asked gizur who should plead the suit for manslaughter, but he said that mord should plead it whether he liked it or not, and now,' he went on, 'it shall fall most heavily on him that up to this time all the suits he has undertaken have had the worst ending. kari shall also be wroth whenever he meets mord, and so, if he be made to fear on one side, and has to look to me on the other, then he will undertake the duty.'" then kari said, "we will follow thy counsel as long as we can, and thou shalt lead us". it is to be told of kari that he could not sleep of nights. asgrim woke up one night and heard that kari was awake, and asgrim said--"is it that thou canst not sleep at night?" then kari sang this song-- bender of the bow of battle, sleep will not my eyelids seal, still my murdered messmates' bidding haunts my mind the livelong night; since the men their brands abusing burned last autumn guileless njal, burned him house and home together, mindful am i of my hurt. kari spoke of no men so often as of njal and skarphedinn, and bergthora and helgi. he never abused his foes, and never threatened them. chapter cxxxii. flosi's dream. one night it so happened that flosi struggled much in his sleep. glum hilldir's son woke him up, and then flosi said-- "call me kettle of the mark." kettle came thither, and flosi said, "i will tell thee my dream". "i am ready to hear it," says kettle. "i dreamt," says flosi, "that methought i stood below loom-nip, and went out and looked up to the nip, and all at once it opened, and a man came out of the nip, and he was clad in goatskins, and had an iron staff in his hand. he called, as he walked, on many of my men, some sooner and some later, and named them by name. first he called grim the red my kinsman, and arni kol's son. then methought something strange followed, methought he called eyjolf bolverk's son, and ljot son of hall of the side, and some six men more. then he held his peace awhile. after that he called five men of our band, and among them were the sons of sigfus, thy brothers; then he called other six men, and among them were lambi, and modolf, and glum. then he called three men. last of all he called gunnar lambi's son, and kol thorstein's son. after that he came up to me; i asked him 'what news'. he said he had tidings enough to tell. then i asked him for his name, but he called himself irongrim. i asked him whither he was going; he said he had to fare to the althing. 'what shalt thou do there?' i said. 'first i shall challenge the inquest,' he answers, 'and then the courts, then clear the field for fighters.' after that he sang this song-- "'soon a man death's snake-strokes dealing high shall lift his head on earth, here amid the dust low rolling battered brainpans men shall see: now upon the hills in hurly buds the blue steel's harvest bright; soon the bloody dew of battle thigh-deep through the ranks shall rise.' "then he shouted with such a mighty shout that methought everything near shook, and dashed down his staff, and there was a mighty crash. then he went back into the fell, but fear clung to me; and now i wish thee to tell me what thou thinkest this dream is." "it is my foreboding," says kettle, "that all those who were called must be 'fey'. it seems to me good counsel that we tell this dream to no man just now." flosi said so it should be. now the winter passes away till yule was over. then flosi said to his men-- "now i mean that we should fare from home, for methinks we shall not be able to have an idle peace. now we shall fare to pray for help, and now that will come true which i told you, that we should have to bow the knee to many ere this quarrel were ended." chapter cxxxiii. of flosi's journey and his asking for help. after that they busked them from home all together. flosi was in long-hose because he meant to go on foot, and then he knew that it would seem less hard to the others to walk. then they fared from home to knappvale, but the evening after to broadwater, and then to calffell, thence by bjornness to hornfirth, thence to staffell in lon, and then to thvattwater to hall of the side. flosi had to wife steinvora, his daughter. hall gave them a very hearty welcome, and flosi said to hall-- "i will ask thee, father-in-law, that thou wouldst ride to the thing with me with all thy thingmen." "now," answered hall, "it has turned out as the saw says, 'but a short while is hand fain of blow'; and yet it is one and the same man in thy band who now hangs his head, and who then goaded thee on to the worst of deeds when it was still undone. but my help i am bound to lend thee in all such places as i may." "what counsel dost thou give me," said flosi, "in the strait in which i now am?" "thou shalt fare," said hall, "north, right up to weaponfirth, and ask all the chiefs for aid, and thou wilt yet need it all before the thing is over." flosi stayed there three nights, and rested him, and fared thence east to geitahellna, and so to berufirth; there they were the night. thence they fared east to broaddale in haydale. there hallbjorn the strong dwelt. he had to wife oddny the sister of saurli broddhelgi's son, and flosi had a hearty welcome there. hallbjorn asked how far north among the firths flosi meant to go. he said he meant to go as far as weaponfirth. then flosi took a purse of money from his belt, and said he would give it to hallbjorn. he took the money, but yet said he had no claim on flosi for gifts, but still i would be glad to know in what thou wilt that i repay thee. "i have no need of money," says flosi, "but i wish thou wouldst ride to the thing with me, and stand by me in my quarrel, but still i have no ties or kinship to tell towards thee." "i will grant thee that," said hallbjorn, "to ride to the thing with thee, and to stand by thee in thy quarrel as i would by my brother." flosi thanked him, and hallbjorn asked much about the burning, but they told him all about it at length. thence flosi fared to broaddale's heath, and so to hrafnkelstede, there dwelt hrafnkell, the son of thorir, the son of hrafnkell raum. flosi had a hearty welcome there, and sought for help and a promise to ride to the thing from hrafnkell, but he stood out a long while, though the end of it was that he gave his word that his son thorir should ride with all their thingmen, and yield him such help as the other priests of the same district. flosi thanked him and fared away to bersastede. there holmstein son of bersi the wise dwelt, and he gave flosi a very hearty welcome. flosi begged him for help. holmstein said he had been long in his debt for help. thence they fared to waltheofstede--there saurli broddhelgi's son, bjarni's brother, dwelt. he had to wife thordisa, a daughter of gudmund the powerful, of modruvale. they had a hearty welcome there. but next morning flosi raised the question with saurli that he should ride to the althing with him, and bid him money for it. "i cannot tell about that," says saurli, "so long as i do not know on which side my father-in-law gudmund the powerful stands, for i mean to stand by him on whichever side he stands." "oh!" said flosi, "i see by thy answer that a woman rules in this house." then flosi stood up and bade his men take their upper clothing and weapons, and then they fared away, and got no help there. so they fared below lagarfleet and over the heath to njardwick; there two brothers dwelt, thorkel the allwise, and thorwalld his brother; they were sons of kettle, the son of thidrandi the wise, the son of kettle rumble, son of thorir thidrandi. the mother of thorkel the allwise and thorwalld was yngvillda, daughter of thorkel the wise. flosi got a hearty welcome there; he told those brothers plainly of his errand, and asked for their help; but they put him off until he gave three marks of silver to each of them for their aid; then they agreed to stand by flosi. their mother yngvillda was by when they gave their words to ride to the althing, and wept. thorkel asked why she wept; and she answered-- "i dreamt that thy brother thorwalld was clad in a red kirtle, and methought it was so tight as though it were sewn on him; methought too that he wore red hose on his legs and feet, and bad shoethongs were twisted round them; methought it ill to see when i knew he was so uncomfortable, but i could do naught for him." they laughed and told her she had lost her wits, and said her babble should not stand in the way of their ride to the thing. flosi thanked them kindly, and fared thence to weaponfirth and came to hof. there dwelt bjarni broddhelgi's son. bjarni took flosi by both hands, and flosi bade bjarni money for his help. "never," says bjarni, "have i sold my manhood or help for bribes, but now that thou art in need of help, i will do thee a good turn for friendship's sake, and ride to the thing with thee, and stand by thee as i would by my brother." "then thou hast thrown a great load of debt on my hands," said flosi, "but still i looked for as much from thee." thence flosi and his men fared to crosswick. thorkel geiti's son was a great friend of his. flosi told him his errand, and thorkel said it was but his duty to stand by him in every way in his power, and not to part from his quarrel. thorkel gave flosi good gifts at parting. thence they fared north to weaponfirth and up into the fleetdale country, and turned in as guests at holmstein's, the son of bersi the wise. flosi told him that all had backed him in his need and business well, save saurli broddhelgi's son. holmstein said the reason of that was that he was not a man of strife. holmstein gave flosi good gifts. flosi fared up fleetdale, and thence south on the fell across oxenlava and down swinehorndale, and so out by alftafirth to the west, and did not stop till he came to thvattwater to his father-in-law hall's house. there he stayed half a month, and his men with him and rested him. flosi asked hall what counsel he would now give him, and what he should do next, and whether he should change his plans. "my counsel," said hall, "is this, that thou goest home to thy house, and the sons of sigfus with thee, but that they send men to set their homesteads in order. but first of all fare home, and when ye ride to the thing, ride all together, and do not scatter your band. then let the sons of sigfus go to see their wives on the way. i too will ride to the thing, and ljot my son with all our thingmen, and stand by thee with such force as i can gather to me." flosi thanked him, and hall gave him good gifts at parting. then flosi went away from thvattwater, and nothing is to be told of his journey till he comes home to swinefell. there he stayed at home the rest of the winter, and all the summer right up to the thing. chapter cxxxiv. of thorhall and kari. thorhall asgrim's son, and kari solmund's son, rode one day to mossfell to see gizur the white; he took them with both hands, and there they were at his house a very long while. once it happened as they and gizur talked of njal's burning, that gizur said it was very great luck that kari had got away. then a song came into kari's mouth. i who whetted helmet-hewer,[ ] i who oft have burnished brand, from the fray went all unwilling when njal's rooftree crackling roared; out i leapt when bands of spearmen lighted there a blaze of flame! listen men unto my moaning, mark the telling of my grief. then gizur said, "it must be forgiven thee that thou art mindful, and so we will talk no more about it just now". kari says that he will ride home; and gizur said "i will now make a clean breast of my counsel to thee. thou shalt not ride home, but still thou shalt ride away, and east under eyjafell, to see thorgeir craggeir, and thorleif crow. they shall ride from the east with thee. they are the next of kin in the suit, and with them shall ride thorgrim the big, their brother. ye shall ride to mord valgard's son's house, and tell him this message from me, that he shall take up the suit for manslaughter for helgi njal's son against flosi. but if he utters any words against this, then shalt thou make thyself most wrathful, and make believe as though thou wouldst let thy axe fall on his head; and in the second place, thou shalt assure him of my wrath if he shows any ill will. along with that shalt thou say, that i will send and fetch away my daughter thorkatla, and make her come home to me; but that he will not abide, for he loves her as the very eyes in his head." kari thanked him for his counsel. kari spoke nothing of help to him, for he thought he would show himself his good friend in this as in other things. thence kari rode east over the rivers, and so to fleetlithe, and east across markfleet, and so on to selialandsmull. so they ride east to holt. thorgeir welcomed them with the greatest kindliness. he told them of flosi's journey, and how great help he had got in the east firths. kari said it was no wonder that he, who had to answer for so much, should ask for help for himself. then thorgeir said, "the better things go for them, the worse it shall be for them; we will only follow them up so much the harder". kari told thorgeir of gizur's advice. after that they ride from the east to rangrivervale to mord valgard's son's house. he gave them a hearty welcome. kari told him the message of gizur his father-in-law. he was slow to take the duty on him, and said it was harder to go to law with flosi than with any other ten men. "thou behavest now as he [gizur] thought," said kari; "for thou art a bad bargain in every way; thou art both a coward and heartless, but the end of this shall be as is fitting, that thorkatla shall fare home to her father." she busked her at once, and said she had long been "boun" to part from mord. then he changed his mood and his words quickly, and begged off their wrath, and took the suit upon him at once. "now," said kari, "thou hast taken the suit upon thee, see that thou pleadest it without fear, for thy life lies on it." mord said he would lay his whole heart on it to do this well and manfully. after that mord summoned to him nine neighbours--they were all near neighbours to the spot where the deed was done. then mord took thorgeir by the hand and named two witnesses to bear witness, "that thorgeir thorir's son hands me over a suit for manslaughter against flosi thord's son, to plead it for the slaying of helgi njal's son, with all those proofs which have to follow the suit. thou handest over to me this suit to plead and to settle, and to enjoy all rights in it, as though i were the rightful next of kin. thou handest it over to me by law, and i take it from thee by law." a second time mord named his witnesses, "to bear witness," said he, "that i give notice of an assault laid down by law against flosi thord's son, for that he dealt helgi njal's son a brain, or a body, or a marrow wound, which proved a death wound; and from which helgi got his death. i give notice of this before five witnesses"--here he named them all by name--"i give this lawful notice, i give notice of a suit which thorgeir thorir's son has handed over to me." again he named witnesses to "bear witness that i give notice of a brain, of a body, or a marrow wound against flosi thord's son, for that wound which proved a death wound, but helgi got his death therefrom on such and such a spot, when flosi thord's son first rushed on helgi njal's son with an assault laid down by law. i give notice of this before five neighbours "--then he named them all by name--"i give this lawful notice. i give notice of a suit which thorgeir thorir's son has handed over to me." then mord named his witnesses again "to bear witness," said he, "that i summon these nine neighbours who dwell nearest the spot"--here he named them all by name--"to ride to the althing, and to sit on the inquest to find whether flosi thord's son rushed with an assault laid down by law on helgi njal's son, on that spot where flosi thord's son dealt helgi njal's son a brain, or a body, or a marrow wound, which proved a death wound, and from which helgi got his death. i call on you to utter all those words which ye are bound to find by law, and which i shall call on you to utter before the court, and which belong to this suit; i call upon you by a lawful summons--i call on you so that ye may yourselves hear--i call on you in the suit which thorgeir thorir's son has handed over to me." again mord named his witnesses, "to bear witness, that i summon these nine neighbours who dwell nearest to the spot to ride to the althing, and to sit on an inquest to find whether flosi thord's son wounded helgi njal's son with a brain, or body, or marrow wound, which proved a death wound, and from which helgi got his death, on that spot where flosi thord's son first rushed on helgi njal's son with an assault laid down by law. i call on you to utter all those words which ye are bound to find by law, and which i shall call on you to utter before the court, and which belong to this suit i call upon you by a lawful summons--i call on you so that ye may yourselves hear--i call on you in the suit which thorgeir thorir's son has handed over to me." then mord said-- "now is the suit set on foot as ye asked, and now i will pray thee, thorgeir craggeir, to come to me when thou ridest to the thing, and then let us both ride together, each with our band, and keep as close as we can together, for my band shall be ready by the very beginning of the thing, and i will be true to you in all things." they showed themselves well pleased at that, and this was fast bound by oaths, that no man should sunder himself from another till kari willed it, and that each of them should lay down his life for the other's life. now they parted with friendship, and settled to meet again at the thing. now thorgeir rides back east, but kari rides west over the rivers till he came to tongue, to asgrim's house. he welcomed them wonderfully well, and kari told asgrim all gizur the white's plan, and of the setting on foot of the suit. "i looked for as much from him," says asgrim, "that he would behave well, and now he has shown it." then asgrim went on-- "what heardest thou from the east of flosi?" "he went east all the way to weaponfirth," answers kari, "and nearly all the chiefs have promised to ride with him to the althing, and to help him. they look, too, for help from the reykdalesmen, and the men of lightwater, and the axefirthers." then they talked much about it, and so the time passes away up to the althing. thorhall asgrim's son took such a hurt in his leg that the foot above the ankle was as big and swollen as a woman's thigh, and he could not walk save with a staff. he was a man tall in growth, and strong and powerful, dark of hue in hair and skin, measured and guarded in his speech, and yet hot and hasty tempered. he was the third greatest lawyer in all iceland. now the time comes that men should ride from home to the thing, asgrim said to kari-- "thou shalt ride at the very beginning of the thing, and fit up our booths, and my son thorhall with thee. thou wilt treat him best and kindest, as he is footlame, but we shall stand in the greatest need of him at this thing. with you two, twenty men more shall ride." after that they made ready for their journey, and then they rode to the thing, and set up their booths, and fitted them out well. chapter cxxxv. of flosi and the burners. flosi rode from the east and those hundred and twenty men who had been at the burning with him. they rode till they came to fleetlithe. then the sons of sigfus looked after their homesteads and tarried there that day, but at even they rode west over thurso-water, and slept there that night. but next morning early they saddled their horses and rode off on their way. then flosi said to his men-- "now will we ride to tongue to asgrim to breakfast, and trample down his pride a little." they said that were well done. they rode till they had a short way to tongue. asgrim stood out of doors, and some men with him. they see the band as soon as ever they could do so from the house. then asgrim's men said-- "there must be thorgeir craggeir." "not he," said asgrim. "i think so all the more because these men fare with laughter and wantonness; but such kinsmen of njal as thorgeir is would not smile before some vengeance is taken for the burning, and i will make another guess, and maybe ye will think that unlikely. my meaning is, that it must be flosi and the burners with him, and they must mean to humble us with insults, and we will now go indoors all of us." now they do so, and asgrim made them sweep the house and put up the hangings, and set the boards and put meat on them. he made them place stools along each bench all down the room. flosi rode into the "town," and bade men alight from their horses and go in. they did so, and flosi and his men went into the hall, asgrim sate on the cross-bench on the dais. flosi looked at the benches and saw that all was made ready that men needed to have. asgrim gave them no greeting, but said to flosi-- "the boards are set, so that meat may be free to those that need it." flosi sat down to the board, and all his men; but they laid their arms up against the wainscot. they sat on the stools who found no room on the benches; but four men stood with weapons just before where flosi sat while they ate. asgrim kept his peace during the meat, but was as red to look on as blood. but when they were full, some women cleared away the boards, while others brought in water to wash their hands. flosi was in no greater hurry than if he had been at home. there lay a pole-axe in the corner of the dais. asgrim caught it up with both hands, and ran up to the rail at the edge of the dais, and made a blow at flosi's head. glum hilldir's son happened to see what he was about to do, and sprang up at once, and got hold of the axe above asgrim's hands, and turned the edge at once on asgrim; for glum was very strong. then many more men ran up and seized asgrim, but flosi said that no man was to do asgrim any harm, "for we put him to too hard a trial, and he only did what he ought, and showed in that that he had a big heart". then flosi said to asgrim, "here, now, we shall part safe and sound, and meet at the thing, and there begin our quarrel over again". "so it will be," says asgrim; "and i would wish that, ere this thing be over, ye should have to take in some of your sails." flosi answered him never a word, and then they went out, and mounted their horses, and rode away. they rode till they came to laugarwater, and were there that night; but next morning they rode on to baitvale, and baited their horses there, and there many bands rode to meet them. there was hall of the side, and all the eastfirthers. flosi greeted them well, and told them of his journeys and dealings with asgrim. many praised him for that, and said such things were bravely done. then hall said, "i look on this in another way than ye do, for methinks it was a foolish prank; they were sure to bear in mind their griefs, even though they were not reminded of them anew; but those men who try others so heavily must look for all evil". it was seen from hall's way that he thought this deed far too strong. they rode thence all together, till they came to the upper field, and there they set their men in array, and rode down on the thing. flosi had made them fit out byrgir's booth ere he rode to the thing; but the eastfirthers rode to their own booths. chapter cxxxvi. of thorgeir craggeir. thorgeir craggeir rode from the east with much people. his brothers were with him, thorleif crow and thorgrim the big. they came to hof, to mord valgard's son's house, and bided there till he was ready. mord had gathered every man who could bear arms, and they could see nothing about him but that he was most steadfast in everything, and now they rode until they came west across the rivers. then they waited for hjallti skeggi's son. he came after they had waited a short while, and they greeted him well, and rode afterwards all together till they came to reykia in bishop's-tongue, and bided there for asgrim ellidagrim's son, and he came to meet them there. then they rode west across bridgewater. then asgrim told them all that had passed between him and flosi; and thorgeir said-- "i would that we might try their bravery ere the thing closes." they rode until they came to baitvale. there gizur the white came to meet them with a very great company, and they fell to talking together. then they rode to the upper field, and drew up all their men in array there, and so rode to the thing. flosi and his men all took to their arms, and it was within an ace that they would fall to blows. but asgrim and his friends and their followers would have no hand in it, and rode to their booths; and now all was quiet that day, so that they had naught to do with one another. thither were come chiefs from all the quarters of the land; there had never been such a crowded thing before, that men could call to mind. chapter cxxxvii. of eyjolf bolverk's son. there was a man named eyjolf. he was the son of bolverk, the son of eyjolf the guileful, of otterdale. eyjolf was a man of great rank, and best skilled in law of all men, so that some said he was the third best lawyer in iceland. he was the fairest in face of all men, tall and strong, and there was the making of a great chief in him. he was greedy of money, like the rest of his kinsfolk. one day flosi went to the booth of bjarni broddhelgi's son. bjarni took him by both hands, and sat flosi down by his side. they talked about many things, and at last flosi said to bjarni-- "what counsel shall we now take?" "i think," answered bjarni, "that it is now hard to say what to do, but the wisest thing seems to me to go round and ask for help, since they are drawing strength together against you. i will also ask thee, flosi, whether there be any very good lawyer in your band; for now there are but two courses left; one to ask if they will take an atonement, and that is not a bad choice, but the other is to defend the suit at law, if there be any defence to it, though that will seem to be a bold course; and this is why i think this last ought to be chosen, because ye have hitherto fared high and mightily, and it is unseemly now to take a lower course." "as to thy asking about lawyers," said flosi, "i will answer thee at once that there is no such man in our band; nor do i know where to look for one except it be thorkel geiti's son, thy kinsman." "we must not reckon on him," said bjarni, "for though he knows something of law, he is far too wary, and no man need hope to have him as his shield; but he will back thee as well as any man who backs thee best, for he has a stout heart; besides, i must tell thee that it will be that man's bane who undertakes the defence in this suit for the burning, but i have no mind that this should befall my kinsman thorkel, so ye must turn your eyes elsewhither." flosi said he knew nothing about who were the best lawyers. "there is a man named eyjolf," said bjarni; "he is bolverk's son, and he is the best lawyer in the westfirther's quarter; but you will need to give him much money if you are to bring him into the suit, but still we must not stop at that. we must also go with our arms to all law business, and be most wary of ourselves, but not meddle with them before we are forced to fight for our lives. and now i will go with thee, and set out at once on our begging for help, for now methinks the peace will be kept but a little while longer." after that they go out of the booth, and to the booths of the axefirthers. then bjarni talks with lyting and bleing, and hroi arnstein's son, and he got speedily whatever he asked of them. then they fared to see kol, the son of killing-skuti, and eyvind thorkel's son, the son of askel the priest, and asked them for their help; but they stood out a long while, but the end of it was that they took three marks of silver for it, and so went into the suit with them. then they went to the booths of the men of lightwater, and stayed there some time. flosi begged the men of lightwater for help, but they were stubborn and hard to win over, and then flosi said, with much wrath, "ye are ill-behaved! ye are grasping and wrongful at home in your own country, and ye will not help men at the thing, though they need it. no doubt you will be held up to reproach at the thing, and very great blame will be laid on you if ye bare not in mind that scorn and those biting words which skarphedinn hurled at you men of lightwater." but on the other hand, flosi dealt secretly with them, and bade them money for their help, and so coaxed them over with fair words, until it came about that they promised him their aid, and then became so steadfast that they said they would fight for flosi, if need were. then bjarni said to flosi-- "well done! well done! thou art a mighty chief, and a bold outspoken man, and reckest little what thou sayest to men." after that they fared away west across the river, and so to the hladbooth. they saw many men outside before the booth. there was one man who had a scarlet cloak over his shoulders, and a gold band round his head, and an axe studded with silver in his hand. "this is just right," said bjarni, "here now is the man i spoke of, eyjolf bolverk's son, if thou wilt see him, flosi." then they went to meet eyjolf, and hailed him. eyjolf knew bjarni at once, and greeted him well. bjarni took eyjolf by the hand, and led him up into the "great rift". flosi's and bjarni's men followed after, and eyjolf's men went also with him. they bade them stay upon the lower brink of the rift, and look about them, but flosi, and bjarni, and eyjolf went on till they came to where the path leads down from the upper brink of the rift. flosi said it was a good spot to sit down there, for they could see around them far and wide. then they sat them down there. they were four of them together, and no more. then bjarni spoke to eyjolf, and said-- "thee, friend, have we come to see, for we much need thy help in every way." "now," said eyjolf, "there is good choice of men here at the thing, and ye will not find it hard to fall on those who will be a much greater strength to you than i can be." "not so," said bjarni, "thou hast many things which show that there is no greater man than thou at the thing; first of all, that thou art so well-born, as all those men are who are sprung from ragnar hairybreeks; thy forefathers, too, have always stood first in great suits, both here at the thing, and at home in their own country, and they have always had the best of it; we think, therefore, it is likely that thou wilt be lucky in winning suits, like thy kinsfolk." "thou speakest well, bjarni," said eyjolf; "but i think that i have small share in all this that thou sayest." then flosi said-- "there is no need beating about the bush as to what we have in mind. we wish to ask for thy help, eyjolf, and that thou wilt stand by us in our suits, and go to the court with us, and undertake the defence, if there be any, and plead it for us, and stand by us in all things that may happen at this thing." eyjolf jumped up in wrath, and said that no man had any right to think that he could make a catspaw of him, or drag him on if he had no mind to go himself. "i see, too, now," he says, "what has led you to utter all those fair words with which ye began to speak to me." then hallbjorn the strong caught hold of him and sate him down by his side, between him and bjarni, and said-- "no tree falls at the first stroke, friend, but sit here awhile by us." then flosi drew a gold ring off his arm. "this ring will i give thee, eyjolf, for thy help and friendship, and so show thee that i will not befool thee. it will be best for thee to take the ring, for there is no man here at the thing to whom i have ever given such a gift." the ring was such a good one, and so well made, that it was worth twelve hundred yards of russet stuff. hallbjorn drew the ring on eyjolf's arm; and eyjolf said-- "it is now most fitting that i should take the ring, since thou behavest so handsomely; and now thou mayest make up thy mind that i will undertake the defence, and do all things needful." "now," said bjarni, "ye behave handsomely on both sides, and here are men well fitted to be witnesses, since i and hallbjorn are here, that thou hast undertaken the suit." then eyjolf arose, and flosi too, and they took one another by the hand; and so eyjolf undertook the whole defence of the suit off flosi's hands, and so, too, if any suit arose out of the defence, for it often happens that what is a defence in one suit, is a plaintiff's plea in another. so he took upon him all the proofs and proceedings which belonged to those suits, whether they were to be pleaded before the quarter court or the fifth court. flosi handed them over in lawful form, and eyjolf took them in lawful form, and then he said to flosi and bjarni. "now i have undertaken this defence just as ye asked, but my wish it is that ye should still keep it secret at first; but if the matter comes into the fifth court, then be most careful not to say that ye have given goods for my help." then flosi went home to his booth, and bjarni with him, but eyjolf went to the booth of snorri the priest, and sate down by him, and they talked much together. snorri the priest caught hold of eyjolf's arm, and turned up the sleeve, and sees that he had a great ring of gold on his arm. then snorri the priest said-- "pray, was this ring bought or given?" eyjolf was put out about it, and had never a word to say. then snorri said-- "i see plainly that thou must have taken it as a gift, and may this ring not be thy death!" eyjolf jumped up and went away, and would not speak about it; and snorri said, as eyjolf arose-- "it is very likely that thou wilt know what kind of gift thou hast taken by the time this thing is ended." then eyjolf went to his booth. chapter cxxxviii. of asgrim, and gizur, and kari. now asgrim ellidagrim's son talks to gizur the white, and kari solmund's son, and to hjallti skeggi's son, mord valgard's son, and thorgeir craggeir, and says-- "there is no need to have any secrets here, for only those men are by who know all our counsel. now i will ask you if ye know anything of their plans, for if you do, it seems to me that we must take fresh counsel about our own plans." "snorri the priest," answers gizur the white, "sent a man to me, and bade him tell me that flosi had gotten great help from the northlanders; but that eyjolf bolverk's son, his kinsman, had had a gold ring given him by some one, and made a secret of it, and snorri said it was his meaning that eyjolf bolverk's son must be meant to defend the suit at law, and that the ring must have been given him for that." they were all agreed that it must be so. then gizur spoke to them-- "now has mord valgard's son, my son-in-law, undertaken a suit, which all must think most hard, to prosecute flosi; and now my wish is that ye share the other suits amongst you, for now it will soon be time to give notice of the suits at the hill of laws. we shall need also to ask for more help." asgrim said so it should be, "but we will beg thee to go round with us when we ask for help". gizur said he would be ready to do that. after that gizur picked out all the wisest men of their company to go with him as his backers. there was hjallti skeggi's son, and asgrim, and kari, and thorgeir craggeir. then gizur the white said-- "now will we first go to the booth of skapti thorod's son," and they do so. gizur the white went first, then hjallti, then kari, then asgrim, then thorgeir craggeir, and then his brothers. they went into the booth. skapti sat on the cross-bench on the dais, and when he saw gizur the white he rose up to meet him, and greeted him and all of them well, and bade gizur to sit down by him, and he does so. then gizur said to asgrim-- "now shalt thou first raise the question of help with skapti, but i will throw in what i think good." "we are come hither," said asgrim, "for this sake, skapti, to seek help and aid at thy hand." "i was thought to be hard to win the last time," said skapti, "when i would not take the burden of your trouble on me." "it is quite another matter now," said gizur. "now the feud is for master njal and mistress bergthora, who were burnt in their own house without a cause, and for njal's three sons, and many other worthy men, and thou wilt surely never be willing to yield no help to men, or to stand by thy kinsmen and connections." "it was in my mind," answers skapti, "when skarphedinn told me that i had myself borne tar on my own head, and cut up a sod of turf and crept under it, and when he said that i had been so afraid that thorolf lopt's son of eyrar bore me abroad in his ship among his meal-sacks, and so carried me to iceland, that i would never share in the blood feud for his death." "now there is no need to bear such things in mind," said gizur the white, "for he is dead who said that, and thou wilt surely grant me this, though thou wouldst not do it for other men's sake." "this quarrel," says skapti, "is no business of thine, except thou choosest to be entangled in it along with them." then gizur was very wrath, and said-- "thou art unlike thy father, though he was thought not to be quite clean-handed; yet was he ever helpful to men when they needed him most." "we are unlike in temper," said skapti. "ye two, asgrim and thou, think that ye have had the lead in mighty deeds; thou, gizur the white, because thou overcamest gunnar of lithend; but asgrim, for that he slew gauk, his foster-brother." "few," said asgrim, "bring forward the better if they know the worse, but many would say that i slew not gauk ere i was driven to it. there is some excuse for thee for not helping us, but none for heaping reproaches on us; and i only wish before this thing is out that thou mayest get from this suit the greatest disgrace, and that there may be none to make thy shame good." then gizur and his men stood up all of them, and went out, and so on to the booth of snorri the priest. snorri sat on the cross-bench in his booth; they went into the booth, and he knew the men at once, and stood up to meet them, and bade them all welcome, and made room for them to sit by him. after that, they asked one another the news of the day. then asgrim spoke to snorri, and said-- "for that am i and my kinsman gizur come hither, to ask thee for thy help." "thou speakest of what thou mayest always be forgiven for asking, for help in the blood-feud after such connections as thou hadst. we, too, got many wholesome counsels from njal, though few now bear that in mind; but as yet i know not of what ye think ye stand most in need." "we stand most in need," answers asgrim, "of brisk lads and good weapons, if we fight them here at the thing." "true it is," said snorri, "that much lies on that, and it is likeliest that ye will press them home with daring, and that they will defend themselves so in likewise, and neither of you will allow the other's right. then ye will not bear with them and fall on them, and that will be the only way left; for then they will seek to pay you off with shame for manscathe, and with dishonour for loss of kin." it was easy to see that he goaded them on in everything. then gizur the white said-- "thou speakest well, snorri, and thou behavest ever most like a chief when most lies at stake." "i wish to know," said asgrim, "in what way thou wilt stand by us if things turn out as thou sayest." "i will show thee those marks of friendship," said snorri, "on which all your honour will hang, but i will not go with you to the court. but if ye fight here on the thing, do not fall on them at all unless ye are all most steadfast and dauntless, for you have great champions against you. but if ye are over-matched, ye must let yourselves be driven hither towards us, for i shall then have drawn up my men in array hereabouts, and shall be ready to stand by you. but if it falls out otherwise, and they give way before you, my meaning is that they will try to run for a stronghold in the 'great rift'. but if they come thither, then ye will never get the better of them. now i will take that on my hands, to draw up my men there, and guard the pass to the stronghold, but we will not follow them whether they turn north or south along the river. and when you have slain out of their band about as many as i think ye will be able to pay blood-fines for, and yet keep your priesthoods and abodes, then i will run up with all my men and part you. then ye shall promise to do us i bid you, and stop the battle, if i on my part do what i have now promised." gizur thanked him kindly, and said that what he had said was just what they all needed, and then they all went out. "whither shall we go now?" said gizur. "to the northlanders' booth," said asgrim. then they fared thither. chapter cxxxix. of asgrim and gudmund. and when they came into the booth then they saw where gudmund the powerful sate and talked with einer conal's son, his foster-child; he was a wise man. then they come before him, and gudmund welcomed them very heartily, and made them clear the booth for them, that they might all be able to sit down. then they asked what tidings, and asgrim said-- "there is no need to mutter what i have to say. we wish, gudmund, to ask for thy steadfast help." "have ye seen any other chiefs before?" said gudmund. they said they had been to see skapti thorod's son and snorri the priest, and told him quietly how they had fared with each of them. then gudmund said-- "last time i behaved badly and meanly to you. then i was stubborn, but now ye shall drive your bargain with me all the more quickly because i was more stubborn then, and now i will go myself with you to the court with all my thingmen, and stand by you in all such things as i can, and fight for you though this be needed, and lay down my life for your lives. i will also pay skapti out in this way, that thorstein gapemouth his son shall be in the battle on our side, for he will not dare to do aught else than i will, since he has jodisa my daughter to wife, and then skapti will try to part us." they thanked him, and talked with him long and low afterwards, so that no other men could hear. then gudmund bade them not to go before the knees of any other chiefs, for he said that would be little-hearted. "we will now run the risk with the force that we have. ye must go with your weapons to all law-business, but not fight as things stand." then they went all of them home to their booths, and all this was at first with few men's knowledge. so now the thing goes on. chapter cxl. of the declarations of the suits. it was one day that men went to the hill of laws, and the chiefs were so placed that asgrim ellidagrim's son, and gizur the white, and gudmund the powerful, and snorri the priest, were on the upper hand by the hill of laws; but the eastfirthers stood down below. mord valgard's son stood next to gizur his father-in-law; he was of all men the readiest-tongued. gizur told him that he ought to give notice of the suit for manslaughter, and bade him speak up, so that all might hear him well. then mord took witness and said--"i take witness to this that i give notice of an assault laid down by law against flosi thord's son, for that he rushed at helgi njal's son and dealt him a brain, or a body, or a marrow wound, which proved a death-wound, and from which helgi got his death. i say that in this suit he ought to be made a guilty man, an outlaw, not to be fed, not to be forwarded, not to be helped or harboured in any need. i say that all his goods are forfeited, half to me, and half to the men of the quarter, who have a right by law to take his forfeited goods. i give notice of this suit for manslaughter in the quarter court into which this suit ought by law to come. i give notice of this lawful notice; i give notice in the hearing of all men on the hill of laws; i give notice of this suit to be pleaded this summer, and of full outlawry against flosi thord's son; i give notice of a suit which thorgeir thorir's son has handed over to me." then a great shout was uttered at the hill of laws, that mord spoke well and boldly. then mord begun to speak a second time. "i take you to witness to this," says he, "that i give notice of a suit against flosi thord's son, i give notice for that he wounded helgi njal's son with a brain, or a body, or a marrow wound, which proved a death-wound, and from which helgi got his death on that spot where flosi thord's son had first rushed on helgi njal's son with an assault laid down by law. i say that thou, flosi, ought to be made in this suit a guilty man, an outlaw, not to be fed, not to be forwarded, not to be helped or harboured in any need. i say that all thy goods are forfeited, half to me and half to the men of the quarter, who have a right by law to take the goods which have been forfeited by thee. i give notice of this suit in the quarter court into which it ought by law to come; i give notice of this lawful notice; i give notice of it in the hearing of all men on the hill of laws; i give notice of this suit to be pleaded this summer, and of full outlawry against flosi thord's son, i give notice of the suit which thorgeir thorir's son hath handed over to me." after that mord sat him down. flosi listened carefully, but said never a word the while. then thorgeir craggeir stood up and took witness, and said--"i take witness to this, that i give notice of a suit against glum hilldir's son, in that he took firing and lit it, and bore it to the house at bergthorsknoll, when they were burned inside it, to wit, njal thorgeir's son, and bergthora skarphedinn's daughter, and all those other men who were burned inside it there and then. i say that in this suit he ought to be made a guilty man, an outlaw, not to be fed, not to be forwarded, not to be helped or harboured in any need. i say that all his goods are forfeited, half to me, and half to the men of the quarter, who have a right by law to take his forfeited goods; i give notice of this suit in the quarter court into which it ought by law to come. i give notice in the hearing of all men on the hill of laws. i give notice of this suit to be pleaded this summer, and of full outlawry against glum hilldir's son." kari solmund's son declared his suits against kol thorstein's son, and gunnar lambi's son, and grani gunnar's son, and it was the common talk of men that he spoke wondrous well. thorleif crow declared his suit against all the sons of sigfus, but thorgrim the big, his brother, against modolf kettle's son, and lambi sigurd's son, and hroar hamond's son, brother of leidolf the strong. asgrim ellidagrim's son declared his suit against leidolf and thorstein geirleif's son. arni kol's son, and grim the red. and they all spoke well. after that other men gave notice of their suits, and it was far on in the day that it went on so. then men fared home to their booths. eyjolf bolverk's son went to his booth with flosi; they passed east around the booth, and flosi said to eyjolf-- "see'st thou any defence in these suits?" "none," says eyjolf. "what counsel is now to be taken?" says flosi. "i will give thee a piece of advice," said eyjolf. "now thou shalt hand over thy priesthood to thy brother thorgeir, but declare that thou hast joined the thing of askel the priest the son of thorkettle, north away in reykiardale; but if they do not know this, then may be that this will harm them, for they will be sure to plead their suit in the eastfirther's court, but they ought to plead it in the northlanders' court, and they will overlook that, and it is a fifth court matter against them if they plead their suit in another court than that in which they ought, and then we will take that suit up, but not until we have no other choice left." "may be," said flosi, "that we shall get the worth of the ring." "i don't know that," says eyjolf; "but i will stand by thee at law, so that men shall say that there never was a better defence. now, we must send for askel, but thorgeir shall come to thee at once, and a man with him." a little while after thorgeir came, and then he took on him flosi's leadership and priesthood. by that time askel was come thither too, and then flosi declared that he had joined his thing, and this was with no man's knowledge save theirs. now all is quiet till the day when the courts were to go out to try suits. chapter cxli. now men go to the courts. now the time passes away till the courts were to go out to try suits. both sides then made them ready to go thither, and armed them. each side put war-tokens on their helmets. then thorhall asgrim's son said-- "walk hastily in nothing, father mine, and do everything as lawfully and rightly as ye can, but if ye fall into any strait let me know as quickly as ye can, and then i will give you counsel." asgrim and the others looked at him, and his face was as though it were all blood, but great teardrops gushed out of his eyes. he bade them bring him his spear, that had been a gift to him from skarphedinn, and it was the greatest treasure. asgrim said as they went away-- "our kinsman thorhall was not easy in his mind as we left him behind in the booth, and i know not what he will be at." then asgrim said again-- "now we will go to mord valgard's son, and think of naught else but the suit, for there is more sport in flosi than in very many other men." then asgrim sent a man to gizur the white, and hjallti skeggi's son, and gudmund the powerful. now they all came together, and went straight to the court of eastfirthers. they went to the court from the south, but flosi and all the eastfirthers with him went to it from the north. there were also the men of reykdale and the axefirthers with flosi. there, too, was eyjolf bolverk's son. flosi looked at eyjolf, and said-- "all now goes fairly, and may be that it will not be far off from thy guess." "keep thy peace about it," says eyjolf, "and then we shall be sure to gain our point." now mord took witness, and bade all those men who had suits of outlawry before the court to cast lots who should first plead or declare his suit, and who next, and who last; he bade them by a lawful bidding before the court, so that the judges heard it. then lots were cast as to the declarations, and he, mord, drew the lot to declare his suit first. now mord valgard's son took witness the second time, and said-- "i take witness to this, that i except all mistakes in words in my pleading, whether they be too many or wrongly spoken, and i claim the right to amend all my words until i have put them into proper lawful shape. i take witness to myself of this." again mord said-- "i take witness to this, that i bid flosi thord's son, or any other man who has undertaken the defence made over to him by flosi, to listen for him to my oath, and to my declaration of my suit, and to all the proofs and proceedings which i am about to bring forward against him; i bid him by a lawful bidding before the court, so that the judges may hear it across the court." again mord valgard's son said-- "i take witness to this, that i take an oath on the book, a lawful until, and i say it before god, that i will so plead this suit in the most truthful, and most just, and most lawful way, so far as i know; and that i will bring forward all my proofs in due form, and utter them faithfully so long as i am in this suit." after that he spoke in these words-- "i have called thorodd as my first witness, and thorbjorn as my second; i have called them to bear witness that i gave notice of an assault laid down by law against flosi thord's son, on that spot where he, flosi thord's son, rushed with an assault laid down by law on helgi njal's son, when flosi thord's son, wounded helgi njal's son with a brain, or a body, or a marrow wound, which proved a death-wound, and from which helgi got his death. i said that he ought to be made in this suit a guilty man, an outlaw, not to be fed, not to be forwarded, not to be helped or harboured in any need; i said that all his goods were forfeited, half to me and half to the men of the quarter who have the right by law to take the goods which he has forfeited; i gave notice of the suit in the quarter court into which the suit ought by law to come; i gave notice of that lawful notice; i gave notice in the hearing of all men at the hill of laws; i gave notice of this suit to be pleaded now this summer, and of full outlawry against flosi thord's son. i gave notice of a suit which thorgeir thorir's son had handed heard it. then lots were cast as to the declarations, and he, mord, drew the lot to declare his suit first". now mord valgard's son took witness the second time, and said-- "i take witness to this, that i except all mistakes in words in my pleading, whether they be too many or wrongly spoken, and i claim the right to amend all my words until i have put them into proper lawful shape. i take witness to myself of this." again mord said-- "i take witness to this, that i bid flosi thord's son, or any other man who has undertaken the defence made over to him by flosi, to listen for him to my oath, and to my declaration of my suit, and to all the proofs and proceedings which i am about to bring forward against him; i bid him by a lawful bidding before the court, so that the judges may hear it across the court." again mord valgard's son said-- "i take witness to this, that i take an oath on the book, a lawful oath, and i say it before god, that i will so plead this suit in the most truthful, and most just, and most lawful way, so far as i know; and that i will bring forward all my proofs in due form, and utter them faithfully so long as i am in this suit." after that he spoke in these words-- "i have called thorodd as my first witness, and thorbjorn as my second; i have called them to bear witness that i gave notice of an assault laid down by law against flosi thord's son, on that spot where he, flosi thord's son, rushed with an assault laid down by law on helgi njal's son, when flosi thord's son, wounded helgi njal's son with a brain, or a body, or a marrow wound, which proved a death-wound, and from which helgi got his death. i said that he ought to be made in this suit a guilty man, an outlaw, not to be fed, not to be forwarded, not to be helped or harboured in any need; i said that all his goods were forfeited, half to me and half to the men of the quarter who have the right by law to take the goods which he has forfeited; i gave notice of the suit in the quarter court into which the suit ought by law to come; i gave notice of that lawful notice; i gave notice in the hearing of all men at the hill of laws; i gave notice of this suit to be pleaded now this summer, and of full outlawry against flosi thord's son. i gave notice of a suit which thorgeir thorir's son had handed over to me; and i had all these words in my notice which i have now used in this declaration of my suit. i now declare this suit of outlawry in this shape before the court of the eastfirthers over the head of john, as i uttered it when i gave notice of it." then mord spoke again-- "i have called thorodd as my first witness, and thorbjorn as my second. i have called them to bear witness that i gave notice of a suit against flosi thord's son for that he wounded helgi njal's son with a brain, or a body, or a marrow wound, which proved a death-wound, and from which helgi got his death. i said that he ought to be made in this suit a guilty man, an outlaw, not he fed, not to be forwarded, not to be helped or harboured in any need; i said that all his goods were forfeited, half to me and half to the men of the quarter who have the right by law to take the goods which he has forfeited; i gave notice of the suit in the quarter court into which the suit ought by law to come; i gave notice of that lawful notice; i gave notice in the hearing of all men at the hill of laws; i gave notice of this suit to be pleaded now this summer, and of full outlawry against flosi thord's son. i gave notice of a suit which thorgeir thorir's son had handed over to me; and i had all these words in my notice which i have now used in this declaration of my suit. i now declare this suit of outlawry in this shape before the court of the eastfirthers over the head of john, as i uttered it when i gave notice of it." then mord's witnesses to the notice came before the court, and spake so that one uttered their witness, but both confirmed it by their common consent in this form, "i bear witness that mord called thorodd as his first witness, and me as his second, and my name is thorbjorn"--then he named his father's name--"mord called us two as his witnesses that he gave notice of an assault laid down by law against flosi thord's son when he rushed on helgi njal's son, in that spot where flosi thord's son dealt helgi njal's son a brain, or a body, or a marrow wound, that proved a death-wound, and from which helgi got his death. he said that flosi ought to be made in this suit a guilty man, an outlaw, not to be fed, not to be forwarded, not to be helped or harboured by any man; he said that all his goods were forfeited, half to himself and half to the men of the quarter who have the right by law to take the goods which he had forfeited; he gave notice of the suit in the quarter court into which the suit ought by law to come; he gave notice of that lawful notice; he gave notice in the hearing of all men at the hill of laws; he gave notice of this suit to be pleaded now this summer, and of full outlawry against flosi thord's son. he gave notice of a suit which thorgeir thorir's son had handed over to him. he used all those words in his notice which he used in the declaration of his suit, and which we have used in bearing witness; we have now borne our witness rightly and lawfully, and we are agreed in bearing it; we bear this witness in this shape before the eastfirthers' court over the head of john,[ ] as mord uttered it when he gave his notice." a second time they bore their witness of the notice before the court, and put the wounds first and the assault last, and used all the same words as before, and bore their witness in this shape before the eastfirthers' court just as mord uttered them when he gave his notice. then mord's witnesses to the handing over of the suit went before the court, and one uttered their witness, and both confirmed it by common consent, and spoke in these words--"that those two, mord valgard's son and thorgeir thorir's son, took them to witness that thorgeir thorir's son handed over a suit for manslaughter to mord valgard's son against flosi thord's son for the laying of helgi njal's son; he handed over to him then the suit, with all the proofs and proceedings which belonged to the suit, he handed it over to him to plead and to settle, and to make use of all rights as though he were the rightful next of kin; thorgeir handed it over lawfully, and mord took it lawfully". they bore this witness of the handing over of the suit in this shape before the eastfirthers' court over the head of john, just as mord or thorgeir had called them as witnesses to prove. they made all these witnesses swear an oath ere they bore witness, and the judges too. again mord valgard's son took witness. "i take witness to this," said he, "that i bid those nine neighbours whom i summoned when i laid this suit against flosi thord's son, to take their seats west on the river-bank, and i call on the defendant to challenge this inquest, i call on him by a lawful bidding before the court so that the judges may hear." again mord took witness. "i take witness to this, that i bid flosi thord's son, or that other man who has the defence handed over to him, to challenge the inquest which i have caused to take their seats west on the river-bank. i bid thee by a lawful bidding before the court so that the judges may hear." again mord took witness. "i take witness to this, that now are all the first steps and proofs brought forward which belong to the suit. summons to hear my oath, oath taken, suit declared, witness borne to the notice, witness borne to the handing over of the suit, the neighbours on the inquest bidden to take their seats, and the defendant bidden to challenge the inquest. i take this witness to these steps and proofs which are now brought forward, and also to this that i shall not be thought to have left the suit though i go away from the court to look up proofs, or on other business." now flosi and his men went thither where the neighbours on the inquest sate. then flosi said to his men-- "the sons of sigfus must know best whether these are the rightful neighbours to the spot who are here summoned." kettle of the mark answered-- "here is that neighbour who held mord at the font when he was baptised, but another is his second cousin by kinship." then they reckoned up his kinship, and proved it with an oath. then eyjolf took witness that the inquest should do nothing till it was challenged. a second time eyjolf took witness-- "i take witness to this," said he, "that i challenge both these men out of the inquest, and set them aside"--here he named them by name, and their fathers as well--"for this sake, that one of them is mord's second cousin by kinship, but the other for gossipry,[ ] for which sake it is lawful to challenge a neighbour on the inquest; ye two are for a lawful reason incapable of uttering a finding, for now a lawful challenge has overtaken you, therefore i challenge and set you aside by the rightful custom of pleading at the althing, and by the law of the land; i challenge you in the cause which flosi thord's son has handed over to me." now all the people spoke out, and said that mord's suit had come to naught, and all were agreed in this that the defence was better than the prosecution. then asgrim said to mord-- "the day is not yet their own, though they think now that they have gained a great step; but now some one shall go to see thorhall my son, and know what advice he gives us." then a trusty messenger was sent to thorhall, and told him as plainly as he could how far the suit had gone, and how flosi and his men thought they had brought the finding of the inquest to a dead lock. "i will so make it out," says thorhall, "that this shall not cause you to lose the suit; and tell them not to believe it, though quirks and quibbles be brought against them, for that wiseacre eyjolf has now overlooked something. but now thou shalt go back as quickly as thou canst, and say that mord valgard's son must go before the court, and take witness that their challenge has come to naught," and then he told him step by step how they must proceed. the messenger came and told them thorhall's advice. then mord valgard's son went to the court and took witness. "i take witness to this," said he, "that i make eyjolf's challenge void and of none effect; and my ground is, that he challenged them not for their kinship to the true plaintiff, the next of kin, but for their kinship to him who pleaded the suit; i take this witness to myself, and to all those to whom this witness will be of use." after that he brought that witness before the court. now he went whither the neighbours sate on the inquest, and bade those to sit down again who had risen up, and said they were rightly called on to share in the finding of the inquest. then all said that thorhall had done great things, and all thought the prosecution better than the defence. then flosi said to eyjolf--"thinkest thou that this is good law?" "i think so, surely," he says, "and beyond a doubt we overlooked this; but still we will have another trial of strength with them." then eyjolf took witness. "i take witness to this," said he, "that i challenge these two men out of the inquest"--here he named them both--"for that sake that they are lodgers, but not householders; i do not allow you two to sit on the inquest, for now a lawful challenge has overtaken you; i challenge you both and set you aside out of the inquest, by the rightful custom of the althing and by the law of the land." now eyjolf said he was much mistaken if that could be shaken; and then all said that the defence was better than the prosecution. now all men praised eyjolf, and said there was never a man who could cope with him in lawcraft. mord valgard's son and asgrim ellidagrim's son now sent a man to thorhall to tell him how things stood; but when thorhall heard that, he asked what goods they owned, or if they were paupers? the messenger said that one gained his livelihood by keeping milch-kine, and "he has both cows and ewes at his abode; but the other has a third of the land which he and the freeholder farm, and finds his own food; and they have one hearth between them, he and the man who lets the land, and one shepherd". then thorhall said-- "they will fare now as before, for they must have made a mistake, and i will soon upset their challenge, and this though eyjolf had used such big words that it was law." now thorhall told the messenger plainly, step by step, how they must proceed; and the messenger came back and told mord and asgrim all the counsel that thorhall bad given. then mord went to the court and took witness, "i take witness to this, that i bring to naught eyjolf bolverk's son's challenge, for that he has challenged those men out of the inquest who have a lawful right to lie there; every man has a right to sit on an inquest of neighbours, who owns three hundreds in land or more, though he may have no dairy-stock; and he too has the same right who lives by dairy-stock worth the same sum, though he leases no land." then he brought this witness before the court, and then he went whither the neighbours on the inquest were, and bade them sit down, and said they were rightfully among the inquest. then there was a great shout and cry, and then all men said that flosi's and eyjolf's cause was much shaken, and now men were of one mind as to this, that the prosecution was better than the defence. then flosi said to eyjolf-- "can this be law?" eyjolf said he had not wisdom enough to know that for a surety, and then they sent a man to skapti, the speaker of the law, to ask whether it were good law, and he sent them back word that it was surely good law, though few knew it. then this was told to flosi, and eyjolf bolverk's son asked the sons of sigfus as to the other neighbours who were summoned thither. they said there were four of them who were wrongly summoned; "for those sit now at home who were nearer neighbours to the spot". then eyjolf took witness that he challenged all those four men out of the inquest, and that he did it with lawful form of challenge. after that he said to the neighbours-- "ye are bound to render lawful justice to both sides, and now ye shall go before the court when ye are called, and take witness that ye find that bar to uttering your finding; that ye are but five summoned to utter your finding, but that ye ought to be nine; and now thorhall may prove and carry his point in every suit, if he can cure this flaw in this suit." and now it was plain in everything that flosi and eyjolf were very boastful; and there was a great cry that now the suit for the burning was quashed, and that again the defence was better than the prosecution. then asgrim spoke to mord-- "they know not yet of what to boast ere we have seen my son thorhall. njal told me that he had so taught thorhall law, that he would turn out the best lawyer in iceland when ever it were put to the proof." then a man was sent to thorhall to tell him how things stood, and of flosi's and eyjolf's boasting, and the cry of the people that the suit for the burning was quashed in mord's bands. "it will be well for them," says thorhall, "if they get not disgrace from this. thou shalt go and tell mord to take witness, and swear an oath, that the greater part of the inquest is rightly summoned, and then he shall bring that witness before the court, and then he may set the prosecution on its feet again; but he will have to pay a fine of three marks for every man that he has wrongly summoned; but he may not be prosecuted for that at this thing; and now thou shalt go back." he does so, and told mord and asgrim all, word for word, that thorhall had said. then mord went to the court, and took witness, and swore an oath that the greater part of the inquest was rightly summoned, and said then that he had set the prosecution on its feet again, and then he went on, "and so our foes shall have honour from something else than from this, that we have here taken a great false step". then there was a great roar that mord handled the suit well; but it was said that flosi and his men betook them only to quibbling and wrong. flosi asked eyjolf if this could be good law, but he said he could not surely tell, but said the lawman must settle this knotty point. then thorkel geiti's son went on their behalf to tell the lawman how things stood, and asked whether this were good law that mord had said. "more men are great lawyers now," says skapti, "than i thought i must tell thee, then, that this is such good law in all points, that there is not a word to say against it; but still i thought that i alone would know this, now that njal was dead, for he was the only man i ever knew who knew it." then thorkel went back to flosi and eyjolf, and said that this was good law. then mord valgard's son went to the court and took witness. "i take witness to this," he said, "that i bid those neighbours on the inquest in the suit which i set on foot against flosi thord's son now to utter their finding, and to find it either against him or for him; i bid them by a lawful bidding before the court, so that the judges may bear it across the court." then the neighbours on mord's inquest went to the court, and one uttered their finding, but all confirmed it by their consent; and they spoke thus, word for word-- "mord valgard's son summoned nine of us thanes on this inquest, but here we stand five of us, but four have been challenged and set aside, and now witness has been borne as to the absence of the four who ought to have uttered this finding along with us, and now we are bound by law to utter our finding. we were summoned to bear this witness, whether flosi thord's son rushed with an assault laid down by law on helgi njal's son, on that spot where flosi thord's son wounded helgi njal's son with a brain, or a body, or a marrow wound, which proved a death wound, and from which helgi got his death. he summoned us to utter all those words which it was lawful for us to utter, and which he should call on us to answer before the court, and which belong to this suit; he summoned us, so that we heard what he said; he summoned us in a suit which thorgeir thorir's son had handed over to him, and now we have all sworn an oath, and found our lawful finding, and are all agreed, and we utter our finding against flosi, and we say that he is truly guilty in this suit. we nine men on this inquest of neighbours so shapen, utter this our finding before the eastfirthers' court over the head of john, as mord summoned us to do; but this is the finding of all of us." again a second time they uttered their finding against flosi, and uttered it first about the wounds, and last about the assault, but all their other words they uttered just as they had before uttered their finding against flosi, and brought him in truly guilty in the suit. then mord valgard's son went before the court, and took witness that those neighbours whom he had summoned in the suit which he had set on foot against flosi thord's son had now uttered their finding, and brought him in truly guilty in the suit; he took witness to this for his own part, or for those who might wish to make use of this witness. again a second time mord took witness and said-- "i take witness to this that i call on flosi, or that man who has to undertake the lawful defence which he has handed over to him, to begin his defence to this suit which i have set on foot against him, for now all the steps and proofs have been brought forward which belong by law to this suit; all witness borne, the finding of the inquest uttered and brought in, witness taken to the finding, and to all the steps which have gone before; but if any such thing arises in their lawful defence which i need to turn into a suit against them, then i claim the right to set that suit on foot against them. i bid this my lawful bidding before the court, so that the judges may hear." "it gladdens me now, eyjolf," said flosi, "in my heart to think what a wry face they will make, and how their pates will tingle when thou bringest forward our defence." chapter cxlii. of eyjolf bolverk's son. then eyjolf bolverk's son went before the court, and took witness to this-- "i take witness that this is a lawful defence in this cause, that ye have pleaded the suit in the eastfirthers' court, when ye ought to have pleaded it in the northlanders' court; for flosi has declared himself one of the thingmen of askel the priest; and here now are those two witnesses who were by, and who will bear witness that flosi handed over his priesthood to his brother thorgeir, but afterwards declared himself one of askel the priest's thingmen. i take witness to this for my own part, and for those who may need to make use of it." again eyjolf took witness--"i take witness," he said, "to this, that i bid mord who pleads this suit, or the next of kin, to listen to my oath, and to my declaration of the defence which i am about to bring forward; i bid him by a lawful bidding before the court, so that the judges may hear me". again eyjolf took witness-- "i take witness to this, that i swear an oath on the book, a lawful oath, and say it before god, that i will so defend this cause, in the most truthful, and most just, and most lawful way, so far as i know, and so fulfil all lawful duties which belong to me at this thing." then eyjolf said-- "these two men i take to witness that i bring forward this lawful defence that this suit was pleaded in another quarter court, than that in which it ought to have been pleaded; and i say that for this sake their suit has come to naught; i utter this defence in this shape before the eastfirthers' court." after that he let all the witness be brought forward which belonged to the defence, and then he took witness to all the steps in the defence to prove that they had all been duly taken. after that eyjolf again took witness and said-- "i take witness to this, that i forbid the judges, by a lawful protest before the priest, to utter judgment in the suit of mord and his friends, for now a lawful defence has been brought before the court. i forbid you by a protest made before a priest; by a full, fair, and binding protest; as i have a right to forbid you by the common custom of the althing, and by the law of the land." after that he called on the judges to pronounce for the defence. then asgrim and his friends brought on the other suits for the burning, and those suits took their course. chapter cxliii. the counsel of thorhall asgrim's son. now asgrim and his friends sent a man to thorhall, and let him be told in what a strait they had come. "too far off was i now," answers thorhall, "for this cause might still not have taken this turn if i had been by. i now see their course that they must mean to summon you to the fifth court for contempt of the thing. they must also mean to divide the eastfirthers' court in the suit for the burning, so that no judgment may be given, for now they behave so as to show that they will stay at no ill. now shalt thou go back to them as quickly as thou canst, and say that mord must summon them both, both flosi and eyjolf, for having brought money into the fifth court, and make it a case of lesser outlawry. then he shall summon them with a second summons for that they have brought forward that witness which had nothing to do with their cause, and so were guilty of contempt of the thing; and tell them that i say this, that if two suits for lesser outlawry hang over one and the same man, that he shall be adjudged a thorough outlaw at once. and for this ye must set your suits on foot first, that then ye will first go to trial and judgment." now the messenger went his way back and told mord and asgrim. after that they went to the hill of laws, and mord valgard's son took witness. "i take witness to this that i summon flosi thord's son, for that he gave money for his help here at the thing to eyjolf bolverk's son. i say that he ought on this charge to be made a guilty outlaw, for this sake alone to be forwarded or to be allowed the right of frithstow [sanctuary], if his fine and bail are brought forward at the execution levied on his house and goods, but else to become a thorough outlaw. i say all his goods are forfeited, half to me and half to the men of the quarter who have the right by law to take his goods after he has been outlawed. i summon this cause before the fifth court, whither the cause ought to come by law; i summon it to be pleaded now and to full outlawry. i summon with a lawful summons. i summon in the hearing of all men at the hill of laws." with a like summons he summoned eyjolf bolverk's son, for that he had taken and received the money, and he summoned him for that sake to the fifth court. again a second time he summoned flosi and eyjolf, for that sake that they had brought forward that witness at the thing which had nothing lawfully to do with the cause of the parties, and had so been guilty of contempt of the thing; and he laid the penalty for that at lesser outlawry. then they went away to the court of laws, there the fifth court was then set. now when mord and asgrim had gone away, then the judges in the eastfirthers' court could not agree how they should give judgment, for some of them wished to give judgment for flosi, but some for mord and asgrim. then flosi and eyjolf tried to divide the court, and there they stayed, and lost time over that while the summoning at the hill of laws was going on. a little while after flosi and eyjolf were told that they had been summoned at the hill of laws into the fifth court, each of them with two summons. then eyjolf said-- "in an evil hour have we loitered here while they have been before us in quickness of summoning. now hath come out thorhall's cunning, and no man is his match in wit. now they have the first right to plead their cause before the court, and that was everything for them; but still we will go to the hill of laws, and set our suit on foot against them, though that will now stand us in little stead." then they fared to the hill of laws, and eyjolf summoned them for contempt of the thing. after that they went to the fifth court. now we must say that when mord and asgrim came to the fifth court, mord took witness and bade them listen to his oath and the declaration of his suit, and to all those proofs and steps which he meant to bring forward against flosi and eyjolf. he bade them by a lawful bidding before the court, so that the judges could hear him across the court. in the fifth court vouchers had to follow the oaths of the parties, and they had to take an oath after them. mord took witness. "i take witness," he said, "to this, that i take a fifth court oath. i pray god so to help me in this light and in the next, as i shall plead this suit as i know to be most truthful, and just, and lawful. i believe with all my heart that flosi is truly guilty in this suit, if i may bring forward my proofs; and i have not brought money into this court in this suit, and i will not bring it. i have not taken money, and i will not take it, neither for a lawful nor for an unlawful end." the men who were mord's vouchers then went two of them before the court, and took witness to this-- "we take witness that we take an oath on the book, a lawful oath; we pray god so to help us two in this light and in the next, as we lay it on our honour that we believe with all our hearts that mord will so plead this suit as he knows to be most truthful, and most just, and most lawful, and that he hath not brought money into this court in this suit to help himself, and that he will not offer it, and that he hath not taken money, nor will he take it, either for a lawful or unlawful end." mord had summoned nine neighbours who lived next to the thingfield on the inquest in the suit, and then mord took witness, and declared those four suits which he had set on foot against flosi and eyjolf; and mord used all those words in his declaration that he had used in his summons. he declared his suits for outlawry in the same shape before the fifth court as he had uttered them when he summoned the defendants. mord took witness, and bade those nine neighbours on the inquest to take their seats west on the river-bank. mord took witness again, and bade flosi and eyjolf to challenge the inquest. they went up to challenge the inquest, and looked narrowly at them, but could get none of them set aside; then they went away as things stood, and were very ill pleased with their case. then mord took witness, and bade those nine neighbours whom he had before called on the inquest, to utter their finding, and to bring it in either for or against flosi. then the neighbours on mord's inquest came before the court, and one uttered the finding, but all the rest confirmed it by their consent. they had all taken the fifth court oath, and they brought in flosi as truly guilty in the suit, and brought in their finding against him. they brought it in in such a shape before the fifth court over the head of the same man over whose head mord had already declared his suit. after that they brought in all those findings which they were bound to bring in in all the other suits, and all was done in lawful form. eyjolf bolverk's son and flosi watched to find a flaw in the proceedings, but could get nothing done. then mord valgard's son took witness. "i take witness," said he, "to this, that these nine neighbours whom i called on these suits which i have had hanging over the heads of flosi thord's son, and eyjolf bolverk's son, have now uttered their finding, and have brought them in truly guilty in these suits." he took this witness for his own part. again mord took witness. "i take witness," he said, "to this, that i bid flosi thord's son, or that other man who has taken his lawful defence in hand, now to begin their defence; for now all the steps and proofs have been brought forward in the suit, summons to listen to oaths, oaths taken, suit declared, witness taken to the summons, neighbours called on to take their seats on the inquest, defendant called on to challenge the inquest, finding uttered, witness taken to the finding." he took this witness to all the steps that had been taken in the suit. then that man stood up over whose head the suit had been declared and pleaded, and summed up the case. he summed up first how mord had bade them listen to his oath, and to his declaration of the suit, and to all the steps and proofs in it; then he summed up next how mord took his oath and his vouchers theirs; then he summed up how mord pleaded his suit, and used the very words in his summing up that mord had before used in declaring and pleading his suit, and which he had used in his summons, and he said that the suit came before the fifth court in the same shape as it was when he uttered it at the summoning. then he summed up that men had borne witness to the summoning, and repeated all those words that mord had used in his summons, and which they had used in bearing their witness, "and which i now," he said, "have used in my summing up, and they bore their witness in the same shape before the fifth court as he uttered them at the summoning". after that he summed up that mord bade the neighbours on the inquest to take their seats, then he told next of all how he bade flosi to challenge the inquest, or that man who had undertaken this lawful defence for him; then he told how the neighbours went to the court, and uttered their finding, and brought in flosi truly guilty in the suit, and how they brought in the finding of an inquest of nine men in that shape before the fifth court. then he summed up how mord took witness to all the steps in the suit, and how he had bidden the defendant to begin his defence. after that mord valgard's son took witness. "i take witness," he said, "to this, that i forbid flosi thord's son, or that other man who has undertaken the lawful defence for him, to set up his defence; for now are all the steps taken which belong to the suit, when the case has been summed up and the proofs repeated." after that the foreman added these words of mord to his summing up. then mord took witness, and prayed the judges to give judgment in this suit. then gizur the white said, "thou wilt have to do more yet, mord, for four twelves can have no right to pass judgment." now flosi said to eyjolf, "what counsel is to be taken now?" then eyjolf said, "now we must make the best of a bad business; but still, we will bide our time, for now i guess that they will make a false step in their suit, for mord prayed for judgment at once in the suit, but they ought to call and set aside six men out of the court, and after that they ought to offer us to call and set aside six other men, but we will not do that, for then they ought to call and set aside those six men, and they will perhaps overlook that; then all their case has come to naught if they do not do that, for three twelves have to judge in every cause". "thou art a wise man, eyjolf," said flosi, "so that few can come nigh thee." mord valgard's son took witness. "i take witness," he said, "to this, that i call and set aside these six men out of the court"--and named them all by name--"i do not allow you to sit in the court; i call you out and set you aside by the rightful custom of the althing, and the law of the land." after that he offered eyjolf and flosi, before witnesses, to call out by name and set aside other six men, but flosi and eyjolf would not call them out. then mord made them pass judgment in the cause; but when the judgment was given, eyjolf took witness, and said that all their judgment had come to naught, and also everything else that had been done, and his ground was that three twelves and one half had judged, when three only ought to have given judgment. "and now we will follow up our suits before the fifth court," said eyjolf, "and make them outlaws." then gizur the white said to mord valgard's son-- "thou hast made a very great mistake in taking such a false step, and this is great ill-luck; but what counsel shall we now take, kinsman asgrim?" says gizur. then asgrim said--"now we will send a man to my son thorhall, and know what counsel he will give us". chapter cxliv. battle at the althing. now snorri the priest hears how the causes stood, and then he begins to draw up his men in array below the "great rift," between it and hadbooth, and laid down beforehand to his men how they were to behave. now the messenger comes to thorhall asgrim's son, and tells him how things stood, and how mord valgard's son and his friends would all be made outlaws, and the suits for manslaughter be brought to naught. but when he heard that, he was so shocked at it that he could not utter a word. he jumped up then from his bed, and clutched with both hands his spear, skarphedinn's gift, and drove it through his foot; then flesh clung to the spear, and the eye of the boil too, for he had cut it clean out of the foot, but a torrent of blood and matter poured out, so that it fell in a stream along the floor. now he went out of the booth unhalting, and walked so hard that the messenger could not keep up with him, and so he goes until he came to the fifth court. there he met grim the red, flosi's kinsman, and as soon as ever they met, thorhall thrust at him with the spear, and smote him on the shield and clove it in twain, but the spear passed right through him, so that the point came out between his shoulders. thorhall cast him off his spear. then kari solmund's son caught sight of that, and said to asgrim-- "here, now, is come thorhall thy son, and has straightway slain a man, and this is a great shame, if he alone shall have the heart to avenge the burning." "that shall not be," says asgrim, "but let us turn on them now." then there was a mighty cry all over the host, and then they shouted their war-cries. flosi and his friends then turned against their foes, and both sides egged on their men fast. kari solmund's son turned now thither where arni kol's son and hallbjorn the strong were in front, and as soon as ever hallbjorn saw kari, he made a blow at him, and aimed at his leg, but kari leapt up into the air, and hallbjorn missed him. kari turned on arni kol's son and cut at him, and smote him on the shoulder, and cut asunder the shoulder blade and collar bone, and the blow went right down into his breast, and arni fell down dead at once to earth. after that he hewed at hallbjorn and caught him on the shield, and the blow passed through the shield, and so down and cut off his great toe. holmstein hurled a spear at kari, but he caught it in the air, and sent it back, and it was a man's death in flosi's band. thorgeir craggeir came up to where hallbjorn the strong was in front, and thorgeir made such a spear-thrust at him with his left hand that hallbjorn fell before it, and had hard work to get on his feet again, and turned away from the fight there and then. then thorgeir met thorwalld kettle rumble's son, and hewed at him at once with the axe, "the ogress of war," which skarphedinn had owned. thorwalld threw his shield before him, and thorgeir hewed the shield and cleft it from top to bottom, but the upper horn of the axe made its way into his breast, and passed into his trunk, and thorwalld fell and was dead at once. now it must be told how asgrim ellidagrim's son, and thorhall his son, hjallti skeggi's son, and gizur the white, made an onslaught where flosi and the sons of sigfus, and the other burners were; then there was a very hard fight, and the end of it was that they pressed on so hard, that flosi and his men gave way before them. gudmund the powerful, and mord valgard's son, and thorgeir craggeir, made their onslaught where the axefirthers and eastfirthers, and the men of reykdale stood, and there too there was a very hard fight. kari solmund's son came up where bjarni broddhelgi's son had the lead. kari caught up a spear and thrust at him, and the blow fell on his shield. bjarni slipped the shield on one side of him, else it had gone straight through him. then he cut at kari and aimed at his leg, but kari drew back his leg and turned short round on his heel, and bjarni missed him. kari cut at once at him, and then a man ran forward and threw his shield before bjarni. kari cleft the shield in twain, and the point of the sword caught his thigh, and ripped up the whole leg down to the ankle. that man fell there and then, and was ever after a cripple so long as he lived. then kari clutched his spear with both hands, and turned on bjarni and thrust at him; he saw he had no other chance but to throw himself down side-long away from the blow, but as soon as ever bjarni found his feet, away he fell back out of the fight. thorgeir craggeir and gizur the white fell on there where holmstein the son of bersi the wise, and thorkel geiti's son were leaders, and the end of the struggle was, that holmstein and thorkel gave way, and then arose a mighty hooting after them from the men of gudmund the powerful. thorwalld tjorfi's son of lightwater got a great wound; he was shot in the forearm, and men thought that halldor gudmund the powerful's son had hurled the spear, but he bore that wound about with him all his life long, and got no atonement for it. now there was a mighty throng. but though we hear tell of some of the deeds that were done, still there are far many more of which men have handed down no stories. flosi had told them that they should make for the stronghold in the great rift if they were worsted, "for there," said he, "they will only be able to attack us on one side". but the band which hall of the side and his son ljot led, had fallen away out of the fight before the onslaught of that father and son, asgrim and thorhall. they turned down east of axewater, and hall said-- "this is a sad state of things when the whole host of men at the thing fight, and i would, kinsman ljot, that we begged us help even though that be brought against us by some men, and that we part them. thou shalt wait for me at the foot of the bridge, and i will go to the booths and beg for help." "if i see," said ljot, "that flosi and his men need help from our men, then i will at once run up and aid them." "thou wilt do in that as thou pleasest," says hall, "but i pray thee to wait for me here." now flight breaks out in flosi's band, and they all fly west across axewater; but asgrim and gizur the white went after them and all their host. flosi and his men turned down between the river and the outwork booth. snorri the priest had drawn up his men there in array, so thick that they could not pass that way, and snorri the priest called out then to flosi-- "why are ye in such haste, or who chase you?" "thou askest not this," answered flosi, "because thou dost not know it already; but whose fault is it that we cannot get to the stronghold in the great rift?" "it is not my fault," says snorri, "but it is quite true that i know whose fault it is, and i will tell thee if thou wilt; it is the fault of thorwalld cropbeard and kol." they were both then dead, but they had been the worst men in all flosi's band. again snorri said to his men-- "now do both, cut at them and thrust at them, and drive them away hence, they will then hold out but a short while here, if the others attack them from below; but then ye shall not go after them, but let both sides shift for themselves." the son of skapti thorod's son was thorstein gapemouth, as was written before, he was in the battle with gudmund the powerful, his father-in-law, and as soon as skapti knew that, he went to the booth of snorri the priest, and meant to beg for help to part them; but just before he had got as far as the door of snorri's booth, there the battle was hottest of all. asgrim and his friends and his men were just coming up thither, and then thorhall said to his father asgrim-- "see there now is skapti thorod's son, father." "i see him, kinsman," said asgrim, and then he shot a spear at skapti, and struck him just below where the calf was fattest, and so through both his legs. skapti fell at the blow, and could not get up again, and the only counsel they could take who were by, was to drag skapti flat on his face into the booth of a turf-cutter. then asgrim and his men came up so fast that flosi and his men gave way before them south along the river to the booths of the men of modruvale. there there was a man outside one booth whose name was solvi; he was boiling broth in a great kettle, and had just then taken the meat out, and the broth was boiling as hotly as it could. solvi cast his eyes on the eastfirthers us they fled, and they were then just over against him, and then he said--"can all these cowards who fly here be eastfirthers, and yet thorkel geiti's son, he ran by as fast as any one of them, and very great lies have been told about him when men say that he is all heart, but now no one ran faster than he". hallbjorn the strong was near by them, and said-- "thou shalt not have it to say that we are all cowards." and with that he caught hold of him, and lifted him up aloft, and thrust him head down into the broth-kettle. solvi died at once; but then a rush was made at hallbjorn himself, and he had to turn and fly. flosi threw a spear at bruni haflidi's son, and caught him at the waist, and that was his bane; he was one of gudmund the powerful's band. thorstein hlenni's son took the spear out of the wound, and hurled it back at flosi, and hit him on the leg, and he got a great wound and fell; he rose up again at once. then they passed on to the waterfirther's booth, and then hall and ljot came from the east across the river, with all their band; but just when they came to the lava, a spear was hurled out of the band of gudmund the powerful, and it struck ljot in the middle, and he fell down dead at once; and it was never known surely who had done that manslaughter. flosi and his men turned up round the waterfirther's booth, and then thorgeir craggeir said to kari solmund's son-- "look, yonder now is eyjolf bolverk's son, if thou hast a mind to pay him off for the ring." "that i ween is not far from my mind," says kari, and snatched a spear from a man, and hurled it at eyjolf, and it struck him in the waist, and went through him, and eyjolf then fell dead to earth. then there was a little lull in the battle, and then snorri the priest came up with his band, and skapti was there in his company, and they ran in between them, and so they could not get at one another to fight. then hall threw in his people with theirs, and was for parting them there and then, and so a truce was set, and was to be kept throughout the thing, and then the bodies were laid out and borne to the church, and the wounds of those men were bound up who were hurt. the day after men went to the hill of laws. then hall of the side stood up and asked for a hearing, and got it at once; and he spoke thus-- "here there have been hard happenings in lawsuits and loss of life at the thing, and now i will show again that i am little-hearted, for i will now ask asgrim and the others who take the lead in these suits, that they grant us an atonement on even terms;" and so he goes on with many fair words. kari solmund's son said-- "though all others take an atonement in their quarrels, yet will i take no atonement in my quarrel; for ye will wish to weigh these manslayings against the burning, and we cannot bear that." in the same way spoke thorgeir craggeir. then skapti thorod's son stood up and said-- "better had it been for thee, kari, not to have run away from thy father-in-law and thy brothers-in-law, than now to sneak out of this atonement." then kari sang these verses-- warrior wight that weapon wieldest spare thy speering why we fled, oft for less falls hail of battle, forth we fled to wreak revenge; who was he, faint-hearted foeman, who, when tongues of steel sung high, stole beneath the booth for shelter, while his beard blushed red for shame? many fetters skapti fettered when the men, the gods of fight, from the fray fared all unwilling where the skald scarce held his shield; then the suttlers dragged the lawyer stout in scolding to their booth, laid him low amongst the riffraff, how his heart then quaked for fear. men who skim the main on sea stag well in this ye showed your sense, making game about the burning, mocking helgi, grim, and njal; now the moor round rocky swinestye,[ ] as men run and shake their shields, with another grunt shall rattle when this thing is past and gone. then there was great laughter. snorri the priest smiled, and sang this between his teeth, but so that many heard-- skill hath skapti us to tell whether asgrim's shaft flew well; holmstein hurried swift to flight, thorstein turned him soon to fight. now men burst out in great fits of laughter. then hall of the side said-- "all men know what a grief i have suffered in the loss of my son ljot; many will think that he would be valued dearest of all those men who have fallen here; but i will do this for the sake of an atonement--i will put no price on my son, and yet will come forward and grant both pledges and peace to those who are my adversaries. i beg thee, snorri the priest, and other of the best men, to bring this about, that there may be an atonement between us." now he sits him down, and a great hum in his favour followed, and all praised his gentleness and good-will. then snorri the priest stood up and made a long and clever speech, and begged asgrim and the others who took the lead in the quarrel to look towards an atonement. then asgrim said-- "i made up my mind when flosi made an inroad on my house that i would never be atoned with him; but now snorri the priest, i will take an atonement from him for thy word's sake and other of our friends." in the same way spoke thorleif crow and thorgrim the big, that they were willing to be atoned, and they urged in every way their brother thorgeir craggeir to take an atonement also; but he hung back, and says he would never part from kari. then gizur the white said-- "now flosi must see that he must make his choice, whether he will be atoned on the understanding that some will be out of the atonement." flosi says he will take that atonement; "and methinks it is so much the better," he says, "that i have fewer good men and true against me". then gudmund the powerful said-- "i will offer to hansel peace on my behalf for the slayings that have happened here at the thing, on the understanding that the suit for the burning is not to fall to the ground." in the same way spoke gizur the white and hjallti skeggi's son, asgrim ellidagrim's son and mord valgard's son. in this way the atonement came about, and then hands were shaken on it, and twelve men were to utter the award; and snorri the priest was the chief man in the award, and others with him. then the manslaughters were set off the one against the other, and those men who were over and above were paid for in fines. they also made an award in the suit about the burning. njal was to be atoned for with a triple fine, and bergthora with two. the slaying of skarphedinn was to be set off against that of hauskuld the whiteness priest. both grim and helgi were to be paid for with double fines; and one full man-fine should be paid for each of those who had been burnt in the house. no atonement was taken for the slaying of thord kari's son. it was also in the award that flosi and all the burners should go abroad into banishment, and none of them was to sail the same summer unless he chose; but if he did not sail abroad by the time that three winters were spent, then he and all the burners were to become thorough outlaws. and it was also said that their outlawry might be proclaimed either at the harvest-thing or spring-thing, whichever men chose; and flosi was to stay abroad three winters. as for gunnar lambi's son, and grani gunnar's son. glum hilldir's son, and kol thorstein's son, they were never to be allowed to come back. then flosi was asked if he would wish to have a price put upon his wound, but he said he would not take bribes for his hurt. eyjolf bolverk's son had no fine awarded for him, for his unfairness and wrongfulness. and now the settlement and atonement was handselled, and was well kept afterwards. asgrim and his friends gave snorri the priest good gifts, and he had great honour from these suits. skapti got a fine for his hurt. gizur the white, and hjallti skeggi's son, and asgrim ellidagrim's son, asked gudmund the powerful to come and see them at home. he accepted the bidding, and each of them gave him a gold ring. now gudmund rides home north, and had praise from every man for the part he had taken in these quarrels. thorgeir craggeir asked kari to go along with him, but yet first of all they rode with gudmund right up to the fells north. kari gave gudmund a golden brooch, but thorgeir gave him a silver belt, and each was the greatest treasure. so they parted with the utmost friendship, and gudmund is out of this story. kari and thorgeir rode south from the fell, and down to the rapes,[ ] and so to thurso-water. flosi, and the burners along with him, rode east to fleetlithe, and he allowed the sons of sigfus to settle their affairs at home. then flosi heard that thorgeir and kari had ridden north with gudmund the powerful, and so the burners thought that kari and his friend must mean to stay in the north country; and then the sons of sigfus asked leave to go east under eyjafell to get in their money, for they had money out on call at headbrink. flosi gave them leave to do that, but still bade them be ware of themselves, and be as short a time about it as they could. then flosi rode up by godaland, and so north of eyjafell jokul, and did not draw bridle before he came home east to swinefell. now it must be said that hall of the side had suffered his son to fall without a fine, and did that for the sake of an atonement, but then the whole host of men at the thing agreed to pay a fine for him, and the money so paid was not less than eight hundred in silver, but that was four times the price of a man; but all the others who had been with flosi got no fines paid for their hurts, and were very ill pleased at it. chapter cxlv. of kari and thorgeir. those two, kari solmund's and thorgeir craggeir, rode that day east across markfleet, and so on east to selialandsmull. they found there some women. the wives knew them, and said to them-- "ye two are less wanton than the sons of sigfus yonder, but still ye fare unwarily." "why do ye talk thus of the sons of sigfus, or what do ye know about them?" "they were last night," they said, "at raufarfell, and meant to get to myrdale to-night, but still we thought they must have some fear of you, for they asked when he would be likely to come home." then kari and thorgeir went on their way and spurred their horses. "what shall we lay down for ourselves to do now," said thorgeir, "or what is most to thy mind? wilt thou that we ride on their track?" "i will not hinder this," answers kari, "nor will i say what ought to be done, for it may often be that those live long who are slain with words alone;[ ] but i well know what thou meanest to take on thyself, thou must mean to take on thy hands eight men, and after all that is less than it was when thou slewest those seven in the sea-crags,[ ] and let thyself down by a rope to get at them; but it is the way with all you kinsmen, that ye always wish to be doing some famous feat, and now i can do no less than stand by thee and have my share in the story. so now we two alone will ride after them, for i see that thou hast so made up thy mind." after that they rode east by the upper way, and did not pass by holt, for thorgeir would not that any blame should be laid at his brother's door for what might be done. then they rode east to myrdale, and there they met a man who had turf-panniers on his horse. he began to speak thus-- "too few men, messmate thorgeir, hast thou now in thy company." "how is that?" says thorgeir. "why," said the other, "because the prey is now before thy hand. the sons of sigfus rode by a while ago, and mean to sleep the whole day east in carlinedale, for they mean to go no farther to-night than to headbrink." after that they rode on their way east on arnstacks heath, and there is nothing to be told of their journey before they came to carlinedale-water. the stream was high, and now they rode up along the river, for they saw their horses with saddles. they rode now thitherward, and saw that there were men asleep in a dell and their spears were standing upright in the ground a little below them. they took the spears from them, and threw them into the river. then thorgeir said-- "wilt thou that we wake them?" "thou hast not asked this," answers kari, "because thou hast not already made up thy mind not to fall on sleeping men, and so to slay a shameful manslaughter." after that they shouted to them, and then they all awoke and grasped at their arms. they did not fall on them till they were armed. thorgeir craggeir runs thither where thorkel sigfus' son stood, and just then a man ran behind his back, but before he could do thorgeir any hurt, thorgeir lifted the axe, "the ogress of war," with both hands, and dashed the hammer of the axe with a back-blow into the head of him that stood behind him, so that his skull was shattered to small bits. "slain is this one," said thorgeir; and down the man fell at once, and was dead. but when he dashed the axe forward, he smote thorkel on the shoulder, and hewed it off, arm and all. against kari came mord sigfus' son, and sigmund sigfus' son, and lambi sigurd's son; the last ran behind kari's back, and thrust at him with a spear; kari caught sight of him, and leapt up as the blow fell, and stretched his legs far apart, and so the blow spent itself on the ground, but kari jumped down on the spear-shaft, and snapped it in sunder. he had a spear in one hand, and a sword in the other, but no shield. he thrust with the right hand at sigmund sigfus' son, and smote him on his breast, and the spear came out between his shoulders, and down he fell and was dead at once. with his left hand he made a cut at mord, and smote him on the hip, and cut it asunder, and his backbone too; he fell flat on his lace, and was dead at once. after that he turned sharp round on his heel like a whipping-top, and made at lambi sigurd's son, but he took the only way to save himself, and that was by running away as hard as he could. now thorgeir turns against leidolf the strong, and each hewed at the other at the same moment, and leidolf's blow was so great that it shore off that part of the shield on which it fell. thorgeir had hewn with "the ogress of war," holding it with both hands, and the lower horn fell on the shield and clove it in twain, but the upper caught the collar bone and cut it in two, and tore on down into the breast and trunk. kari came up just then, and cut off leidolf's leg at mid-thigh, and then leidolf fell and died at once. kettle of the mark said--"we will now run for our horses, for we cannot hold our own here, for the overbearing strength of these men". then they ran for their horses, and leapt on their backs; and thorgeir said-- "wilt thou that we chase them? if so, we shall yet slay some of them." "he rides last," says kari, "whom i would not wish to slay, and that is kettle of the mark, for we have two sisters to wife; and besides, he has behaved best of all of them as yet in our quarrels." then they got on their horses, and rode till they came home to holt. then thorgeir made his brothers fare away east to skoga, for they had another farm there, and because thorgeir would not that his brothers should be called truce-breakers. then thorgeir kept many men there about him, so that there were never fewer than thirty fighting men there. then there was great joy there, and men thought thorgeir had grown much greater, and pushed himself on; both he and kari too. men long kept in mind this hunting of theirs, how they two rode upon fifteen men and slew those five, but put those ten to flight who got away. now it is to be told of kettle, that they rode as they best might till they came home to swinefell, and told how bad their journey had been. flosi said it was only what was to be looked for; "and this is a warning that ye should never do the like again". flosi was the merriest of men, and the best of hosts, and it is so said that he had most of the chieftain in him of all the men of his time. he was at home that summer, and the winter too. but that winter, after yule, hall of the side came from the east, and kol his son. flosi was glad at his coming, and they often talked about the matter of the burning. flosi said they had already paid a great fine, and hall said it was pretty much what he had guessed would come of flosi's and his friends' quarrel. then he asked him what counsel he thought best to be taken, and hall answers-- "the counsel i give is, that thou beest atoned with thorgeir if there be a choice, and yet he will be hard to bring to take any atonement." "thinkest thou that the manslaughters will then be brought to an end?" asks flosi. "i do not think so," says hall; "but you will have to do with fewer foes if kari be left alone; but if thou art not atoned with thorgeir, then that will be thy bane." "what atonement shall we offer him?" asks flosi. "you will all think that atonement hard," says hall, "which he will take, for he will not hear of an atonement unless he be not called on to pay any fine for what he has just done, but he will have fines for njal and his sons, so far as his third share goes." "that is a hard atonement," says flosi. "for thee at least," says hall, "that atonement is not hard, for thou hast not the blood-feud after the sons of sigfus; their brothers have the blood-feud, and hamond the halt after his son; but thou shalt now get an atonement from thorgeir, for i will now ride to his house with thee, and thorgeir will in anywise receive me well; but no man of those who are in this quarrel will dare to sit in his house on fleetlithe if they are out of the atonement, for that will be their bane; and, indeed, with thorgeir's turn of mind, it is only what must be looked for." now the sons of sigfus were sent for, and they brought this business before them; and the end of their speech was, on the persuasion of hall, that they all thought what he said right, and were ready to be atoned. grani gunnar's son and gunnar lambi's son said-- "it will be in our power, if kari be left alone behind, to take care that he be not less afraid of us than we of him." "easier said than done," says hall, "and ye will find it a dear bargain to deal with him. ye will have to pay a heavy fine before you have done with him." after that they ceased speaking about it. chapter cxlvi. the award of atonement with thorgeir craggeir. hall of the side and his son kol, seven of them in all, rode west over loomnip's sand, and so west over arnstacksheath, and did not draw bridle till they came into myrdale. there they asked whether thorgeir would be at home at holt, and they were told that they would find him at home. the men asked whither hall meant to go. "thither to holt," he said. they said they were sure he went on a good errand. he stayed there some while and baited their horses, and after that they mounted their horses and rode to solheim about even, and they were there that night, but the day-after they rode to holt. thorgeir was out of doors, and kari too, and their men, for they had seen hall's coming. he rode in a blue cape, and had a little axe studded with silver in his hand; but when they came into the "town," thorgeir went to meet him, and helped him off his horse, and both he and kari kissed him and led him in between them into the sitting-room, and sate him down in the high seat on the dais, and they asked him tidings about many things. he was there that night. next morning hall raised the question of the atonement with thorgeir, and told him what terms they offered him; and he spoke about them with many fair and kindly words. "it may be well known to thee," answers thorgeir, "that i said i would take no atonement from the burners." "that was quite another matter then," says hall; "ye were then wroth with fight, and, besides, ye have done great deeds in the way of manslaying since." "i daresay ye think so," says thorgeir, "but what atonement do ye offer to kari?" "a fitting atonement shall be offered him," says hall, "if he will take it." then kari said-- "i pray this of thee, thorgeir, that thou wilt be atoned, for thy lot cannot be better than good." "methinks," says thorgeir, "it is ill done to take an atonement, and sunder myself from thee, unless thou takest the same atonement as i." "i will not take any atonement," says kari, "but yet i say that we have avenged the burning; but my son, i say, is still unavenged, and i mean to take that on myself alone, and see what i can get done." but thorgeir would take no atonement before kari said that he would take it ill if he were not atoned. then thorgeir handselled a truce to flosi and his men, as a step to a meeting for atonement; but hall did the same on behalf of flosi and the sons of sigfus. but ere they parted, thorgeir gave hall a gold ring and a scarlet cloak, but kari gave him a silver brooch, and there were hung to it four crosses of gold. hall thanked them kindly for their gifts, and rode away with the greatest honour. he did not draw bridle till he came to swinefell, and flosi gave him a hearty welcome. hall told flosi all about his errand and the talk he had with thorgeir, and also that thorgeir would not take the atonement till kari told him he would quarrel with him if he did not take it; but that kari would take no atonement. "there are few men like kari," said flosi, "and i would that my mind were shapen altogether like his." hall and kol stayed there some while, and afterwards they rode west at the time agreed on to the meeting for atonement, and met at headbrink, as had been settled between them. then thorgeir came to meet them from the west, and then they talked over their atonement, and all went off as hall had said. before the atonement, thorgeir said that kari should still have the right to be at his house all the same if he chose. "and neither side shall do the others any harm at my house; and i will not have the trouble of gathering in the fines from each of the burners; but my will is that flosi alone shall be answerable for them to me, but he must get them in from his followers. my will also is that all that award which was made at the thing about the burning shall be kept and held to; and my will also is, flosi, that thou payest me up my third share in unclipped coin." flosi went quickly into all these terms. thorgeir neither gave up the banishment nor the outlawry. now flosi and hall rode home east, and then hall said to flosi-- "keep this atonement well, son-in-law, both as to going abroad and the pilgrimage to rome,[ ] and the fines, and then thou wilt be thought a brave man, though thou hast stumbled into this misdeed, if thou fulfillest handsomely all that belongs to it." flosi said it should be so. now hall rode home east, but flosi rode home to swinefell, and was at home afterwards. chapter cxlvii. kari comes to bjorn's house in the mark. thorgeir craggeir rode home from the peace-meeting, and kari asked whether the atonement had come about. thorgeir said that they now fully atoned. then kari took his horse and was for riding away. "thou hast no need to ride away," says thorgeir, "for it was laid down in our atonement that thou shouldst be here as before if thou chosest." "it shall not be so, cousin, for as soon as ever i slay a man they will be sure to say that thou wert in the plot with me, and i will not have that; but i wish this, that thou wouldst let me hand over in trust to thee my goods, and the estates of me and my wife helga njal's daughter, and my three daughters, and then they will not be seized by those adversaries of mine." thorgeir agreed to what kari wished to ask of him, and then thorgeir had kari's goods handed over to him in trust. after that kari rode away. he had two horses and his weapons and outer clothing, and some ready money in gold and silver. now kari rode west by selialandsmull and up along markfleet, and so on up into thorsmark. there there are three farms all called "mark". at the midmost farm dwelt that man whose name was bjorn, and his surname was bjorn the white; he was the son of kadal, the son of bjalfi. bjalfi had been the freedman of asgerda, the mother of njal and holt-thorir; bjorn had to wife valgerda, she was the daughter of thorbrand, the son of asbrand. her mother's name was gudlauga, she was a sister of hamond, the father of gunnar of lithend; she was given away to bjorn for his money's sake, and she did not love him much, but yet they had children together, and they had enough and to spare in the house. bjorn was a man who was always boasting and praising himself, but his housewife thought that bad. he was sharpsighted and swift of foot. thither kari turned in as a guest, and they took him by both hands, and he was there that night. but the next morning kari said to bjorn-- "i wish thou wouldst take me in, for i should think myself well housed here with thee. i would too that thou shouldst be with me in my journeyings, as thou art a sharpsighted, swift-footed man, and besides i think thou wouldst be dauntless in an onslaught." "i can't blame myself," says bjorn, "for wanting either sharp sight, or dash, or any other bravery; but no doubt thou camest hither because all thy other earths are stopped. still, at thy prayer, kari, i will not look on thee as an everyday man; i will surely help thee in all that thou askest." "the trolls take thy boasting and bragging," said his housewife, "and thou shouldst not utter such stuff and silliness to any one than thyself. as for me, i will willingly give kari meat and other good things, which i know will be useful to him; but on bjorn's hardihood, kari, thou shalt not trust, for i am afraid that thou wilt find it quite otherwise than he says." "often hast thou thrown blame upon me," said bjorn, "but for all that i put so much faith in myself that though i am put to the trial i will never give way to any man; and the best proof of it is this, that few try a tussle with me because none dare to do so." kari was there some while in hiding, and few men knew of it. now men think that kari must have ridden to the north country to see gudmund the powerful, for kari made bjorn tell his neighbours that he had met kari on the beaten track, and that he rode thence up into godaland, and so north to goose-sand, and then north to gudmund the powerful at modruvale. so that story was spread over all the country. chapter cxlviii. of flosi and the burners. now flosi spoke to the burners, his companions-- "it will no longer serve our turn to sit still, for now we shall have to think of our going abroad and of our fines, and of fulfilling our atonement as bravely as we can, and let us take a passage wherever it seems most likely to get one." they bade him see to all that. then flosi said-- "we will ride east to hornfirth; for there that ship is laid up, which is owned by eyjolf nosy, a man from drontheim, but he wants to take to him a wife here, and he will not get the match made unless he settles himself down here. we will buy the ship of him, for we shall have many men and little freight. the ship is big and will take us all." then they ceased talking of it. but a little after they rode east, and did not stop before they came east to bjornness in hornfirth, and there they found eyjolf, for he had been there as a guest that winter. there flosi and his men had a hearty welcome, and they were there the night. next morning flosi dealt with the captain for the ship, but he said he would not be hard to sell the ship if he could get what he wanted for her. flosi asked him in what coin he wished to be paid for her; the easterling says he wanted land for her near where he then was. then eyjolf told flosi all about his dealings with his host, and flosi says he will pull an oar with him, so that his marriage bargain might be struck, and buy the ship of him afterwards. the easterling was glad at that. flosi offered him land at borgarhaven, and now the easterling holds on with his suit to his host when flosi was by, and flosi threw in a helping word, so that the bargain was brought about between them. flosi made over the land at borgarhaven to the easterling, but shook hands on the bargain for the ship. he got also from the easterling twenty hundreds in wares, and that was also in their bargain for the land. now flosi rode back home. he was so beloved by his men that their wares stood free to him to take either on loan or gift, just as he chose. he rode home to swinefell, and was at home a while. then flosi sent kol thorstein's son and gunnar lambi's son east to hornfirth. they were to be there by the ship, and to fit her out, and set up booths, and sack the wares, and get all things together that were needful. now we must tell of the sons of sigfus how they say to flosi that they will ride west to fleetlithe to set their houses in order, and get wares thence, and such other things as they needed. "kari is not there now to be guarded against," they say, "if he is in the north country as is said." "i know not," answers flosi, "as to such stories, whether there be any truth in what is said of kari's journeyings; methinks, we have often been wrong in believing things which are nearer to learn than this. my counsel is that ye go many of you together, and part as little as ye can, and be as wary of yourselves as ye may. thou, too, kettle of the mark, shalt bear in mind that dream which i told thee, and which thou prayedst me to hide; for many are those in thy company who were then called." "all must come to pass as to man's life," said kettle, "as it is foredoomed; but good go with thee for thy warning." now they spoke no more about it. after that the sons of sigfus busked them and those men with them who were meant to go with them. they were eight in all, and then they rode away, and ere they went they kissed flosi, and he bade them farewell, and said he and some of those who rode away would not see each other more. but they would not let themselves be hindered. they rode now on their way, and flosi said that they should take his wares in middleland, and carry them east, and do the same in landsbreach and woodcombe. after that they rode to skaptartongue, and so on the fell, and north of eyjafell jokul, and down into godaland, and so down into the woods in thorsmark. bjorn of the mark caught sight of them coming, and went at once to meet them. then they greeted each other well, and the sons of sigfus asked after kari solmund's son. "i met kari," said bjorn, "and that is now very long since; he rode hence north on goose-sand, and meant to go to gudmund the powerful, and methought if he were here now, he would stand in awe of you, for he seemed to be left all alone." grani gunnar's son said-- "he shall stand more in awe of us yet before we have done with him, and he shall learn that as soon as ever he comes within spearthrow of us; but as for us, we do not fear him at all, now that he is all alone." kettle of the mark bade them be still, and bring out no big words. bjorn asked when they would be coming back. "we shall stay near a week in fleetlithe," said they; and so they told him when they should be riding back on the fell. with that they parted. now the sons of sigfus rode to their homes, and their households were glad to see them. they were there near a week. now bjorn comes home and sees kari, and told him all about the doings of the sons of sigfus, and their purpose. kari said he had shown in this great faithfulness to him, and bjorn said-- "i should have thought there was more risk of any other man's failing in that than of me if i had pledged my help or care to any one." "ah," said his mistress, "but you may still be bad and yet not be so bad as to be a traitor to thy master." kari stayed there six nights after that. chapter cxlix. of kari and bjorn. now kari talks to bjorn and says-- "we shall ride east across the fell and down into skaptartongue, and fare stealthily over flosi's country, for i have it in my mind to get myself carried abroad east in alftafirth." "this is a very riskful journey," said bjorn, "and few would have the heart to take it save thou and i." "if thou backest kari ill," said his housewife, "know this, that thou shalt never come afterwards into my bed, and my kinsmen shall share our goods between us." "it is likelier, mistress," said he, "that thou wilt have to look out for something else than this if thou hast a mind to part from me; for i will bear my own witness to myself what a champion and daredevil i am when weapons clash." now they rode that day east on the fell to the north of the jokul, but never on the highway, and so down into skaptartongue, and above all the homesteads to skaptarwater, and led their horses into a dell, but they themselves were on the look-out, and had so placed themselves that they could not be seen. then kari said to bjorn-- "what shall we do now if they ride down upon us here from the fell?" "are there not but two things to be done," said bjorn; "one to ride away from them north under the crags, and so let them ride by us, or to wait and see if any of them lag behind, and then to fall on them." they talked much about this, and one while bjorn was for flying as fast as he could in every word he spoke, and at another for staying and fighting it out with them, and kari thought this the greatest sport. the sons of sigfus rode from their homes the same day that they had named to bjorn. they came to the mark and knocked at the door there, and wanted to see bjorn; but his mistress went to the door and greeted them. they asked at once for bjorn, and she said he had ridden away down under eyjafell, and so east under selialandsmull, and on east to holt, "for he has some money to call in thereabouts," she said. they believed this, for they knew that bjorn had money out at call there. after that they rode east on the fell, and did not stop before they came to skaptartongue, and so rode down along skaptarwater, and baited their horses just where kari had thought they would. then they split their band. kettle of the mark rode east into middleland, and eight men with him, but the others laid them down to sleep, and were not ware of aught until kari and bjorn came up to them. a little ness ran out there into the river; into it kari went and took his stand, and bade bjorn stand back to back with him, and not to put himself too forward, "but give me all the help thou canst". "well," says bjorn, "i never had it in my head that any man should stand before me as a shield, but still as things are thou must have thy way; but for all that, with my gift of wit and my swiftness i may be of some use to thee, and not harmless to our foes." now they all rose up and ran at them, and modolf kettle's son was quickest of them, and thrust at kari with his spear. kari had his shield before him, and the blow fell on it, and the spear stuck fast in the shield. then kari twists the shield so smartly, that the spear snapped short off, and then he drew his sword and smote at modolf; but modolf made a cut at him too, and kari's sword fell on modolf's hilt, and glanced off it on to modolph's wrist, and took the arm off, and down it fell, and the sword too. then kari's sword passed on into modolf's side, and between his ribs, and so modolf fell down and was dead on the spot. grani gunnar's son snatched up a spear and hurled it at kari, but kari thrust down his shield so hard that the point stood fast in the ground, but with his left hand he caught the spear in the air, and hurled it back at grani, and caught up his shield again at once with his left hand. grani had his shield before him, and the spear came on the shield and passed right through it, and into grani's thigh just below the small guts, and through the limb, and so on, pinning him to the ground, and he could not get rid of the spear before his fellows drew him off it, and carried him away on their shields, and laid him down in a dell. there was a man who ran up to kari's side, and meant to cut off his leg, but bjorn cut off that man's arm, and sprang back again behind kari, and they could not do him any hurt. kari made a sweep at that same man with his sword, and cut him asunder at the waist. then lambi sigfus' son rushed at kari, and hewed at him with his sword. kari caught the blow sideways on his shield, and the sword would not bite; then kari thrust at lambi with his sword just below the breast, so that the point came out between his shoulders, and that was his death-blow. then thorstein geirleif's son rushed at kari, and thought to take him in flank, but kari caught sight of him, and swept at him with his sword across the shoulders, so that the man was cleft asunder at the chine. a little while after he gave gunnar of skal, a good man and true, his death-blow. as for bjorn, he had wounded three men who had tried to give kari wounds, and yet he was never so far forward that he was in the least danger, nor was he wounded, nor was either of those companions hurt in that fight, but all those that got away were wounded. then they ran for their horses, and galloped them off across skaptarwater as hard as they could; and they were so scared that they stopped at no house, nor did they dare to stay and tell the tidings anywhere. kari and bjorn hooted and shouted after them as they galloped off. so they rode east to woodcombe, and did not draw bridle till they came to swinefell. flosi was not at home when they came thither, and that was why no hue and cry was made thence after kari. this journey of theirs was thought most shameful by all men. kari rode to skal, and gave notice of these manslayings as done by his hand; there, too, he told them of the death of their master and five others, and of grani's wound, and said it would be better to bear him to the house if he were to live. bjorn said he could not bear to slay him, though he said he was worthy of death; but those who answered him said they were sure few had bitten the dust before him. but bjorn told them he had it now in his power to make as many of the sidemen as he chose bite the dust; to which they said it was a bad look out. then kari and bjorn ride away from the house. chapter cl. more of kari and bjorn. then kari asked bjorn-- "what counsel shall we take now? now i will try what thy wit is worth." "dost thou think now," answered bjorn, "that much lies on our being as wise as ever we can?" "ay," said kari, "i think so surely." "then our counsel is soon taken," says bjorn. "we will cheat them all as though they were giants; and now we will make as though we were riding north on the fell, but as soon as ever we are out of sight behind the brae, we will turn down along skaptarwater, and hide us there where we think handiest, so long as the hue and cry is hottest, if they ride after us." "so will we do," said kari; "and this i had meant to do all along." "and so you may put it to the proof," said bjorn, "that i am no more of an everyday body in wit than i am in bravery." now kari and his companion rode as they had purposed down along skaptarwater, till they came where a branch of the stream ran away to the south-east; then they turned down along the middle branch, and did not draw bridle till they came into middleland, and on that moor which is called kringlemire; it has a stream of lava all around it. then kari said to bjorn that he must watch their horses, and keep a good look-out; "but as for me," he says, "i am heavy with sleep". so bjorn watched the horses, but kari lay him down, and slept but a very short while ere bjorn waked him up again, and he had already led their horses together, and they were by their side. then bjorn said to kari-- "thou standest in much need of me, though! a man might easily have run away from thee if he had not been as brave-hearted as i am; for now thy foes are riding upon thee, and so thou must up and be doing." then kari went away under a jutting crag, and bjorn said-- "where shall i stand now?" "well!" answers kari, "now there are two choices before thee; one is, that thou standest at my back and have my shield to cover thyself with, if it can be of any use to thee; and the other is, to get on thy horse and ride away as fast as thou canst." "nay," says bjorn, "i will not do that, and there are many things against it; first of all, may be, if i ride away, some spiteful tongues might begin to say that i ran away from thee for faintheartedness; and another thing is, that i well know what game they will think there is in me, and so they will ride after me, two or three of them, and then i should be of no use or help to thee after all. no! i will rather stand by thee and keep them off so long as it is fated." then they had not long to wait ere horses with pack-saddles were driven by them over the moor, and with them went three men. then kari said-- "these men see us not." "then let us suffer them to ride on," said bjorn. so those three rode on past them; but the six others then came riding right up to them, and they all leapt off their horses straightway in a body, and turned on kari and his companion. first, glum hilldir's son rushed at them, and thrust at kari with a spear; kari turned short round on his heel, and glum missed him, and the blow fell against the rock. bjorn sees that, and hewed at once the head off glum's spear. kari leant on one side and smote at glum with his sword, and the blow fell on his thigh, and took off the limb high up in the thigh, and glum died at once. then vebrand and asbrand the sons of thorbrand ran up to kari, but kari flew at vebrand and thrust his sword through him, but afterwards he hewed off both of asbrand's feet from under him. in this bout both kari and bjorn were wounded. then kettle of the mark rushed at kari, and thrust at him with his spear. kari threw up his leg, and the spear stuck in the ground, and kari leapt on the spear-shaft, and snapped it in sunder. then kari grasped kettle in his arms, and bjorn ran up just then, and wanted to slay him, but kari said-- "be still now. i will give kettle peace; for though it may be that kettle's life is in my power, still i will never slay him." kettle answers never a word, but rode away after his companions, and told those the tidings who did not know them already. they told also these tidings to the men of the hundred, and they gathered together at once a great force of armed men, and went straightway up all the water-courses, and so far up on the fell that they were three days in the chase; but after that they turned back to their own homes, but kettle and his companions rode east to swinefell, and told the tidings there. flosi was little stirred at what had befallen them, but said no one could tell whether things would stop there, "for there is no man like kari of all that are now left in iceland". chapter cli. of kari and bjorn and thorgeir. now we must tell of bjorn and kari that they ride down on the sand, and lead their horses under the banks where the wild oats grew, and cut the oats for them, that they might not die of hunger. kari made such a near guess, that he rode away thence at the very time that they gave over seeking for him. he rode by night up through the hundred, and after that he took to the fell; and so on all the same way as they had followed when they rode east, and did not stop till they came to midmark. then bjorn said to kari-- "now shalt thou be my great friend before my mistress, for she will never believe one word of what i say; but everything lies on what you do, so now repay me for the good following which i have yielded to thee." "so it shall be; never fear," says kari. after that they ride up to the homestead, and then the mistress asked them what tidings, and greeted them well. "our troubles have rather grown greater, old lass!" she answered little, and laughed; and then the mistress went on to ask-- "how did bjorn behave to thee, kari?" "bare is back," he answers, "without brother behind it, and bjorn behaved well to me. he wounded three men, and, besides, he is wounded himself, and he stuck as close to me as he could in everything." they were three nights there, and after that they rode to holt to thorgeir, and told him alone these tidings, for those tidings had not yet been heard there. thorgeir thanked him, and it was quite plain that he was glad at what he heard. he asked kari what now was undone which he meant to do. "i mean," answers kari, "to kill gunnar lambi's son and kol thorstein's son, if i can get a chance. then we have slain fifteen men, reckoning those five whom we two slew together. but one boon i will now ask of thee." thorgeir said he would grant him whatever he asked. "i wish, then, that thou wilt take under thy safeguard this man whose name is bjorn, and who has been in these slayings with me, and that thou wilt change farms with him, and give him a farm ready stocked here close by thee, and so hold thy hand over him that no vengeance may befall him; but all this will be an easy matter for thee who art such a chief." "so it shall be," says thorgeir. then he gave bjorn a ready-stocked farm at asolfskal, but he took the farm in the mark into his own hands. thorgeir flitted all bjorn's household stuff and goods to asolfskal, and all his live stock; and thorgeir settled all bjorn's quarrels for him, and he was reconciled to them with a full atonement. so bjorn was thought to be much more of a man than he had been before. then kari rode away, and did not draw rein till he came west to tongue to asgrim ellidagrim's son. he gave kari a most hearty welcome, and kari told him of all the tidings that had happened in these slayings. asgrim was well pleased at them, and asked what kari meant to do next. "i mean," said kari, "to fare abroad after them, and so dog their footsteps and slay them, if i can get at them." asgrim said there was no man like him for bravery and hardihood. he was there some nights, and after that he rode to gizur the white, and he took him by both hands. kari stayed there some while, and then he told gizur that he wished to ride down to eyrar. gizur gave kari a good sword at parting. now he rode down to eyrar, and took him a passage with kolbein the black; he was an orkneyman and an old friend of kari, and he was the most forward and brisk of men. he took kari by both hands, and said that one fate should befall both of them. chapter clii. flosi goes abroad. now flosi rides east to hornfirth, and most of the men in his thing followed him, and bore his wares east, as well as all his stores and baggage which he had to take with him. after that they busked them for their voyage, and fitted out their ship. now flosi stayed by the ship until they were "boun". but as soon as ever they got a fair wind they put out to sea. they had a long passage and hard weather. then they quite lost their reckoning, and sailed on and on, and all at once three great waves broke over their ship, one after the other. then flosi said they must be near some land, and that this was a ground-swell. a great mist was on them, but the wind rose so that a great gale overtook them, and they scarce knew where they were before they were dashed on shore at dead of night, and the men were saved, but the ship was dashed all to pieces, and they could not save their goods. then they had to look for shelter and warmth for themselves, and the day after they went up on a height. the weather was then good. flosi asked if any man knew this land, and there were two men of their crew who had fared thither before, and said they were quite sure they knew it, and, say they-- "we are come to hrossey in the orkneys." "then we might have made a better landing," said flosi, "for grim and helgi, njal's sons, whom i slew, were both of them of earl sigurd hlodver's son's bodyguard." then they sought for a hiding-place, and spread moss over themselves, and so lay for a while, but not for long, ere flosi spoke and said-- "we will not lie here any longer until the landsmen are ware of us." then they arose, and took counsel, and then flosi said to his men-- "we will go all of us and give ourselves up to the earl; for there is naught else to do, and the earl has our lives at his pleasure if he chooses to seek for them." then they all went away thence, and flosi said that they must tell no man any tidings of their voyage, or what manner of men they were, before he told them to the earl. then they walked on until they met men who showed them to the town, and then they went in before the earl, and flosi and all the others hailed him. the earl asked what men they might be, and flosi told his name, and said out of what part of iceland he was. the earl had already heard of the burning, and so he knew the men at once, and then the earl asked flosi--"what hast thou to tell me about helgi njal's son, my henchman?" "this," said flosi, "that i hewed off his head." "take them all," said the earl. then that was done, and just then in came thorstein, son of hall of the side. flosi had to wife steinvora, thorstein's sister. thorstein was one of earl sigurd's bodyguard, but when he saw flosi seized and held, he went in before the earl, and offered for flosi all the goods he had. the earl was very wroth a long time, but at last the end of it was, by the prayer of good men and true, joined to those of thorstein, for he was well backed by friends, and many threw in their word with his, that the earl took an atonement from them, and gave flosi and all the rest of them peace. the earl held to that custom of mighty men that flosi took that place in his service which helgi njal's son had filled. so flosi was made earl sigurd's henchman, and he soon won his way to great love with the earl. chapter cliii. kari goes abroad. those messmates kari and kolbein the black put out to sea from eyrar half a month later than flosi and his companions from hornfirth. they got a fine fair wind, and were but a short time out. the first land they made was the fair isle; it lies between shetland and the orkneys. there that man whose name was david the white took kari into his house, and he told him all that he had heard for certain about the doings of the burners. he was one of kari's greatest friends, and kari stayed with him for the winter. there they heard tidings from the west out of the orkneys of all that was done there. earl sigurd bade to his feast at yule earl gilli, his brother-in-law, out of the southern isles; he had to wife swanlauga, earl sigurd's sister; and then too came to see earl sigurd that king from ireland whose name was sigtrygg. he was a son of olaf rattle, but his mother's name was kormlada; she was the fairest of all women, and best gifted in everything that was not in her own power, but it was the talk of men that she did all things ill over which she had any power. brian was the name of the king who first had her to wife, but they were then parted. he was the best-natured of all kings. he had his seat in connaught, in ireland; his brother's name was wolf the quarrelsome, the greatest champion and warrior; brian's foster-child's name was kerthialfad. he was the son of king kylfi, who had many wars with king brian, and fled away out of the land before him, and became a hermit; but when king brian went south on a pilgrimage, then he met king kylfi, and then they were atoned, and king brian took his son kerthialfad to him, and loved him more than his own sons. he was then full grown when these things happened, and was the boldest of all men. duncan was the name of the first of king brian's sons; the second was margad; the third, takt, whom we call tann, he was the youngest of them; but the elder sons of king brian were full grown, and the briskest of men. kormlada was not the mother of king brian's children, and so grim was she against king brian after their parting, that she would gladly have him dead. king brian thrice forgave all his outlaws the same fault, but if they misbehaved themselves oftener, then he let them be judged by the law; and from this one may mark what a king he must have been. kormlada egged on her son sigtrygg very much to kill king brian, and she now sent him to earl sigurd to beg for help. king sigtrygg came before yule to the orkneys, and there, too, came earl gilli, as was written before. the men were so placed that king sigtrygg sat in a high seat in the middle, but on either side of the king sat one of the earls. the men of king sigtrygg and earl gilli sate on the inner side away from him, but on the outer side away from earl sigurd, sate flosi and thorstein, son of hall of the side, and the whole hall was full. now king sigtrygg and earl gilli wished to hear of these tidings which had happened at the burning, and so, also, what had befallen since. then gunnar lambi's son was got to tell the tale, and a stool was set for him to sit upon. chapter cliv. gunnar lambi's son's slaying. just at that very time kari and kolbein and david the white came to hrossey unawares to all men. they went straightway up on land, but a few men watched their ship. kari and his fellows went straight to the earl's homestead, and came to the hall about drinking time. it so happened that just then gunnar was telling the story of the burning, but they were listening to him meanwhile outside. this was on yule-day itself. now king sigtrygg asked-- "how did skarphedinn bear the burning?" "well at first for a long time," said gunnar, "but still the end of it was that he wept." and so he went on giving an unfair leaning in his story, but every now and then he laughed out loud. kari could not stand this, and then he ran in with his sword drawn, and sang this song-- men of might, in battle eager, boast of burning njal's abode, have the princes heard how sturdy seahorse racers sought revenge? hath not since, on foemen holding high the shield's broad orb aloft, all that wrong been fully wroken? raw flesh ravens got to tear. so he ran in up the hall, and smote gunnar lambi's son on the neck with such a sharp blow, that his head spun off on to the board before the king and the earls, and the board was all one gore of blood, and the earl's clothing too. earl sigurd knew the man that had done the deed, and called out-- "seize kari and kill him." kari had been one of earl sigurd's bodyguard, and he was of all men most beloved by his friends; and no man stood up a whit more for the earl's speech. "many would say, lord," said kari, "that i have done this deed on your behalf, to avenge your henchman." then flosi said--"kari hath not done this without a cause; he is in no atonement with us, and he only did what he had a right to do". so kari walked away, and there was no hue and cry after him. kari fared to his ship, and his fellows with him. the weather was then good, and they sailed off at once south to caithness, and went on shore at thraswick to the house of a worthy man whose name was skeggi, and with him they stayed a very long while. those behind in the orkneys cleansed the board, and bore out the dead man. the earl was told that they had set sail south for scotland, and king sigtrygg said-- "this was a mighty bold fellow, who dealt his stroke so stoutly, and never thought twice about it!" then earl sigurd answered-- "there is no man like kari for dash and daring." now flosi undertook to tell the story of the burning, and he was fair to all; and therefore what he said was believed. then king sigtrygg stirred in his business with earl sigurd, and bade him go to the war with him against king brian. the earl was long steadfast, but the end of it was that he let the king have his way, but said he must have his mother's hand for his help, and be king in ireland, if they slew brian. but all his men besought earl sigurd not to go into the war, but it was all no good. so they parted on the understanding that earl sigurd gave his word to go; but king sigtrygg promised him his mother and the kingdom. it was so settled that earl sigurd was to come with all his host to dublin by palm sunday. then king sigtrygg fared south to ireland, and told his mother kormlada that the earl had undertaken to come, and also what he had pledged himself to grant him. she showed herself well pleased at that, but said they must gather greater force still. sigtrygg asked whence this was to be looked for? she said there were two vikings lying off the west of man; and that they had thirty ships, and, she went on, "they are men of such hardihood that nothing can withstand them. the one's name is ospak, and the other's brodir. thou shalt fare to find them, and spare nothing to get them into thy quarrel, whatever price they ask." now king sigtrygg fares and seeks the vikings, and found them lying outside off man; king sigtrygg brings forward his errand at once, but brodir shrank from helping him until he, king sigtrygg, promised him the kingdom and his mother, and they were to keep this such a secret that earl sigurd should know nothing about it; brodir too was to come to dublin on palm sunday. so king sigtrygg fared home to his mother, and told her how things stood. after that those brothers, ospak and brodir, talked together, and then brodir told ospak all that he and sigtrygg had spoken of, and bade him fare to battle with him against king brian, and said he set much store on his going. but ospak said he would not fight against so good a king. then they were both wroth, and sundered their band at once. ospak had ten ships and brodir twenty. ospak was a heathen, and the wisest of all men. he laid his ships inside in a sound, but brodir lay outside him. brodir had been a christian man and a mass-deacon by consecration, but he had thrown off his faith and become god's dastard, and now worshipped heathen fiends, and he was of all men most skilled in sorcery. he had that coat of mail on which no steel would bite. he was both tall and strong, and had such long locks that he tucked them under his belt. his hair was black. chapter clv. of signs and wonders. it so happened one night that a great din passed over brodir and his men, so that they all woke, and sprang up and put on their clothes. along with that came a shower of boiling blood. then they covered themselves with their shields, but for all that many were scalded. this wonder lasted all till day, and a man had died on board every ship. then they slept during the day, but the second night there was again a din, and again they all sprang up. then swords leapt out of their sheaths, and axes and spears flew about in the air and fought. the weapons pressed them so hard that they had to shield themselves, but still many were wounded, and again a man died out of every ship. this wonder lasted all till day. then they slept again the day after. but the third night there was a din of the same kind, and then ravens flew at them, and it seemed to them as though their beaks and claws were of iron. the ravens pressed them so hard that they had to keep them off with their swords, and covered themselves with their shields, and so this went on again till day, and then another man had died in every ship. then they went to sleep first of all, but when brodir woke up, he drew his breath painfully, and bade them put off the boat. "for," he said, "i will go to see ospak." then he got into the boat and some men with him, but when he found ospak he told him of the wonders which had befallen them, and bade him say what he thought they boded. ospak would not tell him before he pledged him peace, and brodir promised him peace, but ospak still shrank from telling him till night fell. then ospak spoke and said--"when blood rained on you, therefore shall ye shed many men's blood, both of your own and others. but when ye heard a great din, then ye must have been shown the crack of doom, and ye shall all die speedily. but when weapons fought against you, that must forbode a battle; but when ravens pressed you, that marks the devils which ye put faith in, and who will drag you all down to the pains of hell." then brodir was so wroth that he could answer never a word, but he went at once to his men, and made them lay his ships in a line across the sound, and moor them by bearing their cables on shore at either end of the line, and meant to slay them all next morning. ospak saw all their plan, and then he vowed to take the true faith, and to go to king brian, and follow him till his death-day. then he took that counsel to lay his ships in a line, and punt them along the shore with poles, and cut the cables of brodir's ships. then the ships of brodir's men began to fall aboard of one another when they were all fast asleep; and so ospak and his men got out of the firth, and so west to ireland, and came to connaught. then ospak told king brian all that he had learnt, and took baptism, and gave himself over into the king's hand. after that king brian made them gather force over all his realm, and the whole host was to come to dublin in the week before palm sunday. chapter clvi. brian's battle. earl sigurd hlodver's son busked him from the orkneys, and flosi offered to go with him. the earl would not have that, since he had his pilgrimage to fulfil. flosi offered fifteen men of his band to go on the voyage, and the earl accepted them, but flosi fared with earl gilli to the southern isles. thorstein, the son of hall of the side, went along with earl sigurd, and hrafn the red, and erling of straumey. he would not that hareck should go, but said he would be sure to be the first to tell him the tidings of his voyage. the earl came with all his host on palm sunday to dublin, and there too was come brodir with all his host. brodir tried by sorcery how the fight would go, but the answer ran thus, that if the fight were on good friday king brian would fall but win the day; but if they fought before, they would all fall who were against him. then brodir said that they must not fight before the friday. on the fifth day of the week a man rode up to kormlada and her company on an apple-grey horse, and in his hand he held a halberd; he talked long with them. king brian came with all his host to the burg, and on the friday the host fared out of the burg, and both armies were drawn up in array. brodir was on one wing of the battle, but king sigtrygg on the other. earl sigurd was in the mid battle. now it must be told of king brian that he would not fight on the fast-day, and so a shieldburg[ ] was thrown round him, and his host was drawn up in array in front of it. wolf the quarrelsome was on that wing of the battle against which brodir stood; but on the other wing, where sigtrygg stood against them, were ospak and his sons. but in mid battle was kerthialfad, and before him the banners were borne. now the wings fall on one another, and there was a very hard fight, brodir went through the host of the foe, and felled all the foremost that stood there, but no steel would bite on his mail. wolf the quarrelsome turned then to meet him, and thrust at him thrice so hard that brodir fell before him at each thrust, and was well-nigh not getting on his feet again; but as soon as ever he found his feet, he fled away into the wood at once. earl sigurd had a hard battle against kerthialfad, and kerthialfad came on so fast that he laid low all who were in the front rank, and he broke the array of earl sigurd right up to his banner, and slew the banner-bearer. then he got another man to bear the banner, and there was again a hard fight. kerthialfad smote this man too his death blow at once, and so on one after the other all who stood near him. then earl sigurd called on thorstein the son of hall of the side, to bear the banner, and thorstein was just about to lift the banner, but then asmund the white said-- "don't bear the banner! for all they who bear it get their death." "hrafn the red!" called out earl sigurd, "bear thou the banner." "bear thine own devil thyself," answered hrafn. then the earl said-- "'tis fittest that the beggar should bear the bag;" and with that he took the banner from the staff and put it under his cloak. a little after asmund the white was slain, and then the earl was pierced through with a spear. ospak had gone through all the battle on his wing, he had been sore wounded, and lost both his sons ere king sigtrygg fled before him. then flight broke out throughout all the host. thorstein hall of the side's son stood still while all the others fled, and tied his shoe-string. then kerthialfad asked why he ran not as the others. "because," said thorstein, "i can't get home to-night, since i am at home out in iceland." kerthialfad gave him peace. hrafn the red was chased out into a certain river; he thought he saw there the pains of hell down below him, and he thought the devils wanted to drag him to them. then hrafn said-- "thy dog,[ ] apostle peter! hath run twice to rome, and he would run the third time if thou gavest him leave." then the devils let him loose, and hrafn got across the river. now brodir saw that king brian's men were chasing the fleers, and that there were few men by the shieldburg. then he rushed out of the wood, and broke through the shieldburg, and hewed at the king. the lad takt threw his arm in the way, and the stroke took it off and the king's head too, but the king's blood came on the lad's stump, and the stump was healed by it on the spot. then brodir called out with a loud voice-- "now let man tell man that brodir felled brian." then men ran after those who were chasing the fleers, and they were told that king brian had fallen, and then they turned back straightway, both wolf the quarrelsome and kerthialfad. then they threw a ring round brodir and his men, and threw branches of trees upon them, and so brodir was taken alive. wolf the quarrelsome cut open his belly, and led him round and round the trunk of a tree, and so wound all his entrails out of him, and he did not die before they were all drawn out of him. brodir's men were slain to a man. after that they took king brian's body and laid it out. the king's head had grown fast to the trunk. fifteen men of the burners fell in brian's battle, and there, too, fell halldor the son of gudmund the powerful, and erling of straumey. on good friday that event happened in caithness that a man whose name was daurrud went out. he saw folk riding twelve together to a bower, and there they were all lost to his sight. he went to that bower and looked in through a window slit that was in it, and saw that there were women inside, and they had set up a loom. men's heads were the weights, but men's entrails were the warp and wed, a sword was the shuttle, and the reels were arrows. they sang these songs, and he learnt them by heart-- ~the woof of war.~ see! warp is stretched for warriors' fall, lo! weft in loom 'tis wet with blood; now fight foreboding, 'neath friends' swift fingers, our gray woof waxeth with war's alarms, our warp bloodred, our weft corseblue. this woof is y-woven with entrails of men, this warp is hardweighted with heads of the slain, spears blood-besprinkled for spindles we use, our loom ironbound, and arrows our reels; with swords for our shuttles this war-woof we work; so weave we, weird sisters, our warwinning woof. now war-winner walketh to weave in her turn. now swordswinger steppeth, now swiftstroke, now storm; when they speed the shuttle how spear-heads shall flash! shields crash, and helmgnawer[ ] on harness bite hard! wind we, wind swiftly our warwinning woof. woof erst for king youthful foredoomed as his own, forth now we will ride, then through the ranks rushing be busy where friends blows blithe give and take. wind we, wind swiftly our warwinning woof, after that let us steadfastly stand by the brave king; then men shall mark mournful their shields red with gore, how swordstroke and spearthrust stood stout by the prince. wind we, wind swiftly our warwinning woof; when sword-bearing rovers to banners rush on, mind, maidens, we spare not one life in the fray! we corse-choosing sisters have charge of the slain. now new-coming nations that island shall rule. who on outlying headlands abode ere the fight; i say that king mighty to death now is done, now low before spearpoint that earl bows his head. soon over all ersemen sharp sorrow shall fall, that woe to those warriors shall wane nevermore; our woof now is woven. now battle-field waste, o'er land and o'er water war tidings shall leap. now surely 'tis gruesome to gaze all around, when bloodred through heaven drives cloudrack o'er head; air soon shall be deep hued with dying men's blood when this our spaedom comes speedy to pass. so cheerily chant we charms for the young king, come maidens lift loudly his warwinning lay; let him who now listens learn well with his ears, and gladden brave swordsmen with bursts of war's song. now mount we our horses, now bare we our brands, now haste we hard, maidens, hence far, far away. then they plucked down the woof and tore it asunder, and each kept what she had hold of. now daurrud goes away from the slit, and home; but they got on their steeds and rode six to the south, and the other six to the north. a like event befell brand gneisti's son in the faroe isles. at swinefell, in iceland, blood came on the priest's stole on good friday, so that he had to put it off. at thvattwater the priest thought he saw on good friday a long deep of the sea hard by the altar, and there he saw many awful sights, and it was long ere he could sing the prayers. this event happened in the orkneys, that hareck thought he saw earl sigurd, and some men with him. then hareck took his horse and rode to meet the earl. men saw that they met and rode under a brae, but they were never seen again, and not a scrap was ever found of hareck. earl gilli in the southern isles dreamed that a man came to him and said his name was hostfinn, and told him he was come from ireland. the earl thought he asked him for tidings thence, and then he sang this song-- i have been where warriors wrestled, high in erin sang the sword, boss to boss met many bucklers. steel rung sharp on rattling helm; i can tell of all their struggle; sigurd fell in flight of spears; brian fell, but kept his kingdom ere he lost one drop of blood. those two, flosi and the earl, talked much of this dream. a week after, hrafn the red came thither, and told them all the tidings of brian's battle, the fall of the king, and of earl sigurd, and brodir, and all the vikings. "what," said flosi, "hast thou to tell me of my men?" "they all fell there," says hrafn, "but thy brother-in-law thorstein took peace from kerthialfad, and is now with him." flosi told the earl that he would now go away, "for we have our pilgrimage south to fulfil". the earl bade him go as he wished, and gave him a ship and all else that he needed, and much silver. then they sailed to wales, and stayed there a while. chapter clvii. the slaying of kol thorstein's son. kari solmund's son told master skeggi that he wished he would get him a ship. so master skeggi gave kari a long-ship, fully trimmed and manned, and on board it went kari, and david the white, and kolbein the black. now kari and his fellows sailed south through scotland's firths, and there they found men from the southern isles. they told kari the tidings from ireland, and also that flosi was gone to wales, and his men with him. but when kari heard that, he told his messmates that he would hold on south to wales, to fall in with flosi and his band. so he bade them then to part from his company, if they liked it better, and said that he would not wish to beguile any man into mischief, because he thought he had not yet had revenge enough on flosi and his band. all chose to go with him; and then he sails south to wales, and there they lay in hiding in a creek out of the way. that morning kol thorstein's son went into the town to buy silver. he of all the burners had used the bitterest words. kol had talked much with a mighty dame, and he had so knocked the nail on the head, that it was all but fixed that he was to have her, and settle down there. that same morning kari went also into the town. he came where kol was telling the silver. kari knew him at once, and ran at him with his drawn sword and smote him on the neck; but he still went on telling the silver, and his head counted "ten" just as it spun off the body. then kari said-- "go and tell this to flosi, that kari solmund's son hath slain kol thorstein's son. i give notice of this slaying as done by my hand." then kari went to his ship, and told his shipmates of the manslaughter. then they sailed north to beruwick, and laid up their ship, and fared up into whitherne in scotland, and were with earl malcolm that year. but when flosi heard of kol's slaying, he laid out his body, and bestowed much money on his burial. flosi never uttered any wrathful words against kari. thence flosi fared south across the sea and began his pilgrimage, and went on south, and did not stop till he came to rome. there he got so great honour that he took absolution from the pope himself, and for that he gave a great sum of money. then he fared back again by the east road, and stayed long in towns, and went in before mighty men, and had from them great honour. he was in norway the winter after, and was with earl eric till he was ready to sail, and the earl gave him much meal, and many other men behaved handsomely to him. now he sailed out to iceland, and ran into hornfirth, and thence fared home to swinefell. he had then fulfilled all the terms of his atonement, both in fines and foreign travel. chapter clviii. of flosi and kari. now it is to be told of kari that the summer after he went down to his ship and sailed south across the sea, and began his pilgrimage in normandy, and so went south and got absolution and fared back by the western way, and took his ship again in normandy, and sailed in her north across the sea to dover in england. thence he sailed west, round wales, and so north, through scotland's firths, and did not stay his course till he came to thraswick in caithness, to master skeggi's house. there he gave over the ship of burden to kolbein and david, and kolbein sailed in that ship to norway, but david stayed behind in the fair isle. kari was that winter in caithness. in this winter his housewife died out in iceland. the next summer kari busked him for iceland. skeggi gave him a ship of burden, and there were eighteen of them on board her. they were rather late "boun," but still they put to sea, and had a long passage, but at last they made ingolf's head. there their shin was dashed all to pieces, but the men's lives were saved. then, too, a gale of wind came on them. now they ask kari what counsel was to be taken; but he said their best plan was to go to swinefell and put flosi's manhood to the proof. so they went right up to swinefell in the storm. flosi was in the hall. he knew kari as soon as ever he came into the hall, and sprang up to meet him, and kissed him, and sate him down in the high-seat by his side. flosi asked kari to be there that winter, and kari took his offer. then they were atoned with a full atonement. then flosi gave away his brother's daughter hildigunna, whom hauskuld the priest of whiteness had had to wife, to kari, and they dwelt first of all at broadwater. men say that the end of flosi's life was, that he fared abroad, when he had grown old, to seek for timber to build him a hall; and he was in norway that winter, but the next summer he was late "boun"; and men told him that his ship was not seaworthy. flosi said she was quite good enough for an old and death-doomed man, and bore his goods on shipboard and put out to sea. but of that ship no tidings were ever heard. these were the children of kari solmund's son and helga njal's daughter--thorgerda and ragneida, valgerda, and thord who was burnt in njal's house. but the children of hildigunna and kari were these, starkad, and thord, and flosi. the son of burning-flosi was kolbein, who has been the most famous man of any of that stock. and here we end the story of burnt njal. footnotes: [footnote : guðbrandr vigfússon.] [footnote : this word is invented like laxdæla, gretla, and others, to escape the repetition or the word saga, after that of the person or place to which the story belongs. it combines the idea of the subject and the telling in one word.] [footnote : many particulars mentioned in the saga as wonderful are no wonders to us. thus in the case of gunnar's bill, when we are told that it gave out a strange sound before great events, this probably only means that the shaft on which it was mounted was of some hard ringing wood unknown in the north. it was a foreign weapon, and if the shaft were of lance wood, the sounds it gave out when brandished or shaken would be accounted for at once without a miracle.] [footnote : there can be no doubt that it was considered a grave offence to public morality to tell a saga untruthfully. respect to friends and enemies alike, when they were dead and gone, demanded that the histories of their lives, and especially of their last moments, should be told as the events had actually happened. our own saga affords a good illustration of this, and shows at the same time how a saga naturally arose out of great events. when king sigtrygg was earl sigurd's guest at yule, and flosi and the other burners were about the earl's court, the irish king wished to hear the story of the burning, and gunnar lambi's son was put forward to tell it at the feast on christmas day. it only added to kari's grudge against him to hear gunnar tell the story with such a false leaning, when he gave it out that skarphedinn had wept for fear of the fire, and the vengeance which so speedily overtook the false teller was looked upon as just retribution. but when flosi took up the story, he told it fairly and justly for both sides, "and therefore," says the saga, "what he said was believed".] [footnote : Öresound, the gut between denmark and sweden, at the entrance of the baltic, commonly called in english, the sound.] [footnote : that is, he came from what we call the western isles or hebrides. the old appellation still lingers in "sodor (i.e. the south isles) and man".] [footnote : this means that njal was one of those gifted beings who, according to the firm belief of that age, had a more than human insight into things about to happen. it answers very nearly to the scottish "second sight".] [footnote : lord of rings, a periphrasis for a chief, that is, mord.] [footnote : earth's offspring, a periphrasis for woman, that is, unna.] [footnote : "oyce," a north country word for the mouth of a river, from the icelandic _ós_] [footnote : "the bay," the name given to the great bay in the east of norway, the entrance of which from the north sea is the cattegat, and at the end of which is the christiania firth. the name also applies to the land round the bay, which thus formed a district, the boundary of which, on the one side, was the promontory called lindesnæs, or the naze, and on the other, the göta-elf, the river on which the swedish town of gottenburg stands, and off the mouth of which lies the island of hisingen, mentioned shortly after.] [footnote : permia, the country one comes to after doubling the north cape.] [footnote : a town at the mouth of the christiania firth. it was a great place for traffic in early times, and was long the only mart in the south-east of norway.] [footnote : rill of wolf--stream of blood.] [footnote : a province of sweden.] [footnote : an island in the baltic, off the coast of esthonia.] [footnote : endil's courser--periphrasis for a ship.] [footnote : sigar's storm--periphrasis for a sea-fight.] [footnote : grieve, i.e., bailiff, head workman.] [footnote : swanbath's beams, periphrasis for gold.] [footnote : "thou, that heapest hoards," etc.--merely a periphrasis for man, and scarcely fitting, except in irony, to a splitter of firewood.] [footnote : that is, slew him in a duel.] [footnote : this shows that the shields were oblong, running down to a point.] [footnote : "ocean's fire," a periphrasis for "gold". the whole line is a periphrasis for "bountiful chief".] [footnote : "rhine's fire," a periphrasis for gold.] [footnote : "water-skates," a periphrasis for ships.] [footnote : "great rift," almannagjá--the great volcanic rift, or "geo," as it would be called in orkney and shetland, which bounds the plain of the althing on one side.] [footnote : thorgrim easterling and thorbrand.] [footnote : "frodi's flour," a periphrasis for gold.] [footnote : "sea's bright sunbeams," a periphrasis for gold.] [footnote : constantinople.] [footnote : hlada or lada, and sometimes in the plural ladir, was the old capital of drontheim, before nidaios--the present drontheim--was founded. drontheim was originally the name of the country round the firth of the same name, and is not used in the old sagas for a town.] [footnote : the country round the christiania firth, at the top of the "bay".] [footnote : a town in sweden on the göta-elf.] [footnote : the mainland of orkney, now pomona.] [footnote : now stroma, in the pentland firth.] [footnote : by so doing hrapp would have cleared himself of his own outlawry.] [footnote : "prop of sea-waves' fire," a periphrasis for a woman that bears gold on her arm.] [footnote : "skates that skim," etc., a periphrasis for ships.] [footnote : "odin's mocking cup," mocking songs.] [footnote : an allusion to the beast epic, where the cunning fox laughs at the flayed condition of his stupid foes, the wolf and bear. we should say, "don't stop to speak with him, but rather beat him black and blue".] [footnote : "sea-stag," periphrasis for ship.] [footnote : "sea-fire bearers," the bearers of gold, men, that is, helgi and grim.] [footnote : "byrnie-breacher," piercer of coats of mail.] [footnote : "noisy ogre's namesake," an allusion to the name of skarphedinn's axe, "the ogress of war".] [footnote : rood-cross, a crucifix.] [footnote : his son was glum who fared to the burning with flosi.] [footnote : "forge which foams with song," the poet's head, in which songs are forged, and gush forth like foaming mead.] [footnote : "hero's helm-prop," the hero's, man's, head which supports his helm.] [footnote : it is needless to say that this hall was not hall of the side.] [footnote : "wolf of gods," the "_caput lupinum_," the outlaw of heaven, the outcast from valhalla, thangbrand.] [footnote : "the other wolf," gudleif.] [footnote : "swarthy skarf," the skarf, or _pelecanus cardo_, the cormorant. he compares the message of thorwald to the cormorant shimming over the waves, and says he will never take it. "snap at flies," a very common icelandic metaphor from fish rising to a fly.] [footnote : maurer thinks the allusion is here to some mythological legend on odin's adventures which has not come dawn to us.] [footnote : "he that giant's," etc., thor.] [footnote : "mew-field's bison," the sea-going ship, which sails over he plain of the sea-mew.] [footnote : "bell's warder," the christian priest whose bell-ringing formed part of the rites of the new faith.] [footnote : "falcon of the strand," ship.] [footnote : "courser of the causeway," ship.] [footnote : "gylfi's hart," ship.] [footnote : "viking's snow-shoe," sea-king's ship.] [footnote : "boiling kettle," this was a hver, or hot spring.] [footnote : this was the "raven's rift," opposite to the "great rift" on the other side of the thingfield.] [footnote : "warrior's temper," the temper of hauskuld of whiteness.] [footnote : "snake-land's stem," a periphrasis for woman, rodny.] [footnote : "he that hoardeth ocean's fire," a periphrasis for man, hauskuld of whiteness.] [footnote : "baltic side." this probably means a part of the finnish coast in the gulf of bothnia.] [footnote : "wild man of the woods." in the original finngálkn, a fabulous monster, half man and half beast.] [footnote : "sand," skeidará sand.] [footnote : "sand," mælifell's sand.] [footnote : "nones," the well-known canonical hour of the day, the ninth hour from six a.m., that is, about three o'clock p.m., when one of the church services took place.] [footnote : "son of gollnir," njal, who was the son of thorgeir gelling or gollnir.] [footnote : "my friends," ironically of course.] [footnote : "helmet-hewer," sword.] [footnote : john for a man, and gudruna for a woman, were standing names in the formularies of the icelandic code, answering to the "m or n" in our liturgy, or to those famous fictions of english law. "john doe and richard roe".] [footnote : "gossipry," that is, because they were gossips, _god's sib_, relations by baptism.] [footnote : "swinestye," ironically for swinefell, where flosi lived.] [footnote : this is the english equivalent for the icelandic hrepp, a district. it still lingers in "the rape of bramber," and other districts in sussex and the south-east.] [footnote : "with words alone," the english proverb, "threatened men live long".] [footnote : "sea crags." hence thorgeir got his surname "craggeir".] [footnote : "pilgrimage to rome." this condition had not been mentioned before.] [footnote : "shieldburg" that is, a ring of men holding their shields locked together.] [footnote : "thy dog," etc. meaning that he would go a third time on a pilgrimage to rome if st. peter helped him out of this strait.] [footnote : "helmgnawer," the sword that bites helmets.] fritiofs saga by esaias tegnÉr introduction, bibliography, notes, and vocabulary _edited by_ andrew a. stomberg preface. ever since the establishment, many years ago, of courses in swedish in a few american colleges and universities the need of swedish texts, supplied with vocabularies and explanatory notes after the model of the numerous excellent german and french editions, has been keenly felt. this need has become particularly pressing the last three years during which swedish has been added to the curricula of a large number of high schools. the teachers in swedish in these high schools as well as in colleges and universities have been greatly handicapped in their work by the lack of properly edited texts. it is clearly essential to the success of their endeavor to create an interest in the swedish language and its literature, at the same time maintaining standards of scholarship that are on a level with those maintained by other modern foreign language departments, that a plentiful and varied supply of text material be furnished. the present edition of tegnér's fritiofs saga aims to be a modest contribution to the series of swedish texts that in the most recent years have been published in response to this urgent demand. sweden has since the days of tegnér been prolific in the creation of virile and wholesome literary masterpieces, but fritiofs saga by tegnér is still quite generally accorded the foremost place among the literary products of the nation. tegnér is still hailed as the prince of swedish song by an admiring people and fritiofs saga remains, in popular estimation at least, the grand national epic. fritiofs saga has appeared in a larger number of editions than any other scandinavian work with the possible exception of hans christian andersen's fairy tales. it has been translated into fourteen european languages, and the different english translations alone number approximately twenty. in german the number is almost as high. several school editions having explanatory notes have appeared in swedish and in dr. george t. flom, professor of scandinavian languages and literature of the university of illinois edited a text with introduction, bibliography and explanatory notes in english, designed for use in american colleges and universities, but the present edition is the first one, as far as the editor is aware, to appear with an english vocabulary. fritiofs saga abounds in mythological names and terms, as well as in idiomatic expressions, and the preparation of the explanatory notes has therefore been a perplexing task. a fairly complete statement under each mythological reference would in the aggregate reach the proportions of a treatise on norse mythology, but the limitations of space made such elaboration impossible. while brevity of expression has thus been the hard rule imposed by the necessity of keeping within bounds, it is hoped that the notes may nevertheless be found reasonably adequate in explaining the text. many mythological names occur frequently and in different parts of the text, and as constant cross references in the notes would likely be found monotonous, an effort has been made to facilitate the matter of consulting and reviewing explanatory statements for these terms by adding an index table. it has not been thought necessary or desirable to translate many idiomatic expressions in the text, as the vocabulary ought to enable the student, without the assistance of a lavish supply of notes, to get at the meaning. it would seem that the study of a foreign text would be most stimulating and invigorating to a student, if he himself be given a chance to wrestle with difficult sentences. the introduction that precedes the text makes no pretension of being anything more than an attempt to state in broad outline the salient facts in the life of tegnér and in the genesis and development of the fritiofs saga theme. the text in the present edition has been modernized to conform with the orthography officially adopted in sweden in . this new edition of the great masterpiece is accompanied by the editor's sincere hope that it may in a measure at least serve to create an increased interest in the study of the sonorous swedish language and its rich literature and give a clearer conception of the seriousness and strength of swedish character. the book owes much to the kindly suggestions and corrections of those who have examined it in proof or manuscript. special acknowledgment is due professor a. louis elmquist of northwestern university, who carefully revised the vocabulary, and to mr. e. w. olson of rock island, ill., whose accuracy and scholarship has been of invaluable assistance throughout. university of minnesota, december, . a. a. s. introduction. i. in the personality of esaias tegnér the vigor and idealism of the swedish people find their completest and most brilliant incarnation. a deep love of the grandeurs of nature, keen delight in adventure and daring deeds, a charming juvenility of spirit that at least in the prime of his life caused him to battle bravely and hopefully for great ideas, a clearness of perception and integrity of purpose that abhor shams and narrow prejudices and with reckless frankness denounce evils and abuses, a disposition tending at times to brooding and melancholy, all these elements, combined in tegnér, have made him the idealized type of the swedish people. he was cast in a heroic mold and his countrymen continue to regard him as the completed embodiment of their national ideals. and in the same measure that tegnér stands forth as an expression of swedish race characteristics it may be said that fritiofs saga is the quintessence of his own sentiments and ideals. tegnér, according to his own words, "was born and reared in a remote mountain region where nature herself composes noble but wild music, and where the ancient gods apparently still wander about on winter evenings." his ancestry went back for several generations through the sturdy bonde class, though his father was a preacher and his mother the daughter of a preacher. the father's people dwelt in the province of småland and the mother's ancestors had lived in the picturesque province of värmland. the future poet was born on the of november, , at kyrkerud, värmland, his father holding a benefice in that province. while he was yet a mere child of nine the father died and the family was left in poverty. a friend of the tegnér family, the judicial officer branting, gave the young esaias a home in his house. the lad soon wrote a good hand and was given a desk and a high, three-legged chair in the office. branting took a fancy to the young clerk and soon fell into the habit of inviting him to accompany the master upon the many official journeys that had to be made through the bailiwick. thus esaias came to see the glories of nature in his native province, and deep and lasting impressions were left upon his mind. his quick imagination was further stirred by the heroic sagas of the north, in the reading of which he at times became so absorbed that the flight of the hours or the passing events were entirely unnoticed by him. branting, who had become convinced that his young clerk was by nature endowed for a much higher station than a lowly clerkship offered, generously provided esaias with an opportunity for systematic study. in he wrote a good friend in whose home an elder brother of esaias was then acting as tutor, suggesting that the younger brother be given a home there also and thus have the advantage of the brother's tutelage. a ready acquiescence meeting this proposal, esaias now went to malma, the home of captain löwenhjelm, and at once plunged into the study of latin, french and greek under the brother's guidance. independently of the instructor he at the same time acquired a knowledge of english and read principally the poems of ossian, which greatly delighted him. the following year the elder brother accepted a more profitable position as tutor in the family of the great iron manufacturer myhrman at rämen in värmland and thither esaias accompanied him. here he could drink deep from the fountain of knowledge for at rämen he found a fine library of french, latin and greek classics. he worked prodigiously and this, coupled with a remarkably retentive memory, enabled him to make remarkably rapid progress in his studies. he would have remained in the library all the time poring over his dear classic authors but for the fortunate intervention of the young members of the myhrman family, seven in all, who frequently would storm into his room and carry him off by sheer force to their boisterous frolics. to one of these playmates, anna myhrman, the youngest daughter of the family, he soon became attached by the tender ties of love. in tegnér was enabled, through the generosity of branting and myhrman, to repair to lund and enter the university of that place. here he made a brilliant record as a student, particularly in the classics, and after three years he was awarded the master's degree. in recognition of his remarkable scholarship he was soon after made instructor in aesthetics, secretary to the faculty of philosophy and assistant librarian. in he claimed anna myhrman as his bride. we have the testimony of tegnér himself that already as a child he began to write poetry, in fact these efforts began so early in his life that he could not remember when he for the first time exercised the power that later was to win him an abiding fame. as early as his clerkship days in the office of branting he wrote a poem in alexandrine verse with the subject taken from the old norse sagas. his numerous productions before attracted little attention and failed to get any prize for the young author. but in the above mentioned year he sprang into immediate popularity by the stirring "war song of the scanian reserves" (krigssång för skånska lantvärnet), the marseillaise of the swedish nation. sweden had just suffered great reverses in war, her very existence as an independent power seemed to hang in the balance, and confusion and discouragement were evident on every hand. then came tegnér's patriotic bugle blast, stirring the nation to renewed hope and courage. speaking of this poem professor boyesen says: "as long as we have wars we must have martial bards and with the exception of the german theodore körner i know none who can bear comparison with tegnér. english literature can certainly boast no war poem which would not be drowned in the mighty music of tegnér's 'svea', 'the scanian reserves', and that magnificent dithyrambic declamation, 'king charles, the young hero'. tennyson's 'charge of the light brigade' is technically a finer poem than anything tegnér has written, but it lacks the deep, virile bass, the tremendous volume of breath and voice, and the captivating martial lilt which makes the heart beat willy nilly to the rhythm of the verse" (essays on scandinavian literature, ). the ability evinced by tegnér as an instructor, but principally the enthusiasm aroused by his "song to the scanian reserves", gave him in a call to the greek professorship at lund. he did not, however, enter into this position until . in the meantime tegnér had given to his native land the solemn didactic poem "svea". in stately alexandrine verse he scathingly rebukes his countrymen for their foolish aping after foreign manners and depending on foreign goods to satisfy their desires. the people, says the poet, can become strong again only by a return to the simple life and homely virtues of the great past. not on the arena of war but through faithful endeavor in industry, science and art may the swedish people restore to their fatherland its former power and glory. as though transported by this noble thought into a state of ecstasy, the bard then, in the concluding portion of the poem, pictures in magnificent dithyrambic song the titanic struggle that ensues and enthrones peace as the beneficent ruler of the land. "svea" won the prize of the swedish academy and firmly established tegnér in the affection of his countrymen. the most productive and brilliant period of tegnér's literary activity is contemporaneous with his incumbency of the greek professorship at lund ( - ). in this period he enriches swedish literature with a series of lyrics which still rank among the best both in point of lucidity of thought and brilliance of diction. only a few that stand out most prominently in a list of about one hundred poems from this period can receive mention here. the intolerance and bitterness of the reaction that followed close upon the downfall of napoleon and found its cruel instrument of oppression in the holy alliance aroused the bitter opposition of tegnér. his vision was not obscured, a fate that befell so many in that day, but he saw clearly the nobility and necessity of tolerance, freedom and democracy. it is to the great glory of tegnér that he consistently used his brilliant powers in battling against the advancing forces of obscurantism and tyranny. his enlightened and humanitarian ideas find a beautiful utterance in the poem "tolerance" (fördragsamhet) which dates from , but later was rewritten and appeared under the title "voices of peace" (fridsröster). in "the awakened eagle" (den vaknade örnen), , he celebrates the return of napoleon from elba, the union of norway and sweden stirs tegnér to write a poem "nore", a high-minded protest against politics of aggression and a plea for justice and a spirit of fraternity. in "the new year " (nyåret ) he scores the holy alliance in bitter and sarcastic terms. the liberal ideas of tegnér are further elucidated in a famous address, delivered in at the celebration of the three hundredth anniversary of the lutheran reformation. in this event the poet saw the unfolding of the great forces that led to the spiritual and intellectual emancipation of man, and ushered in a new era of freedom and progress. the reactionaries in the realm of literature become the object of his attack in "epilogue at the master's presentation" (epilog vid magisterpromotionen). other poems of this period, as "the children of the lord's supper" (nattvardsbarnen), admirably translated by longfellow, "axel", the tragic tale of one of the warriors of charles xii., and his fair russian bride, "karl xii", which breathes the defiant spirit not only of the hero king but of the nation, "address to the sun" (sång till solen), an eloquent eulogy to the marvelous beauty of the king of day, merely served to establish tegnér more firmly in the affection of the people. but his fame was to be placed on a still firmer foundation when the greatest creation of his fertile mind, fritiofs saga, appeared. ii. the genesis of fritiofs saga is to be found partly in the renascence of a strong national sentiment in sweden after the disastrous wars and loss of finland, early in the nineteenth century, partly in tegnér's personality and in his profound knowledge and warm admiration of the old norse sagas. we have seen how already as a boy he had read the sagas with keen zest and even tried his hand at a heroic poem in stately alexandrine verse. to the thoughtful minds of that day it seemed clear that the cause of sweden's misfortunes was to be found in her loss of a strong manhood, due to a senseless readiness in adopting enervating foreign customs and to a fatal relaxation in morals. in a handful of enthusiastic students, mostly from tegnér's native province of värmland, formed the gothic union (götiska förbundet) for the purpose of working with united efforts for the regeneration of the nation. this, they believed, could best be achieved by reviving the memories of the old goths, merely another name for the people of the saga period, which in turn would help to bring back the vigorous integrity and dauntless courage of the past. the ancient sagas must therefore be popularized. tegnér, who already in his "svea" had bewailed the loss of national power and urged his people to become independent and strong again, joined the gothic union, at the same time expressing his disapproval of a too pronounced and narrow-minded imitation of old gothic life and thought. erik gustaf geijer, the great historian and poet, also a native of värmland and in power of mind and loftiness of ideals almost the peer of tegnér, published in iduna, the organ of the gothic union, a few poems that faithfully reproduce the old northern spirit and in strength and simplicity stand almost unsurpassed. an extremist in the camp was per henrik ling, an ardent patriot, who, inspired by danish and german romanticism, would rehabilitate the nation by setting before it in a series of epics the strong virtues of the past, albeit that these often appeared in uncouth and brutal forms. for the physical improvement of his countrymen ling worked out a scientific system of exercise, and though his epics were failures, largely because they set up coarse models for an age that aesthetically had risen superior to them, his system of physical training entitles him to an honored place among the great men of scandinavia. tegner had been greatly grieved at ling's literary mistakes. it seemed to him deplorable that a worthy cause should be doomed to ignominious failure just because unskilled hands had undertaken to do the work. this feeling prompted him to undertake the writing of a great epic based on the old sagas, but excluding their crudities. but it would be a mistake to think that this was the only force that impelled him to write. tegnér has now reached the heyday of his wonderful poetic powers and he must give expression to the great ideas that stir his soul. and so he proceeds to paint a picture of fritiof the bold and his times. the great danish poet oehlenschläger had already published "helge", an old norse cycle of poems which tegnér warmly admired. this poem revealed to him the possibilities of the old saga themes in the hands of a master. fritiofs saga did not appear as a completed work at first, but merely in installments of a certain number of cantos at a time and these not in consecutive order. in the summer of , cantos - , being the first installments or "fragments," as tegnér himself called them, appeared in iduna; the five concluding cantos were completed and published two years later, and not until then did the poet proceed to write the first part. the work was finally completed in . although the first cantos published had received a most enthusiastic reception on the part of the people and won unstinted praise from most of the great literary men, even from many who belonged to opposing literary schools, an enthusiasm that grew in volume and sincerity as the subsequent portions appeared, tegnér became increasingly dissatisfied and discouraged because of the task that confronted him and the serious defects that he saw in his creation. tegnér was at all times his own severest critic and there is found in him an utter absence of vanity or illusion. "speaking seriously", he wrote in , "i have never regarded myself as a poet in the higher significance of the word. -- -- -- i am at best a john the baptist who is preparing the way for him who is to come." [tegnér, samlade skrifter, ii, .] iii. as the basis for tegnér's epic lies the ancient story of fritiof the bold, which was probably put in writing in the thirteenth century, although the events are supposed to have transpired in the eighth century. but tegnér has freely drawn material from other old norse sagas and songs, and this, and not a little of his own personal experience, he has woven into the story with the consummate skill of a master. he made full use of his poetic license and eliminated and added, reconstructed and embellished just as was convenient for his plan. "my object", he says, "was to represent a poetical image of the old northern hero age. it was not fritiof as an individual whom i would paint; it was the epoch of which he was chosen as the representative." [tegnér, samlade skrifter, ii, .] it was tegnér's firm conviction that the poet writes primarily for the age in which he himself lives, and since he wrote for a civilized audience he must divest fritiof of his raw and barbarous attributes, though still retaining a type of true northern manhood. on this point tegnér says: "it was important not to sacrifice the national, the lively, the vigorous and the natural. there could, and ought to, blow through the song that cold winter air, that fresh northern wind which characterizes so much both the climate and the temperament of the north. but neither should the storm howl till the very quicksilver froze and all the more tender emotions of the breast were extinguished." "it is properly in the bearing of fritiof's character that i have sought the solution of this problem. the noble, the high-minded, the bold--which is the great feature of all heroism--ought not of course to be missing there, and sufficient material abounded both in this and many other sagas. but together with this more general heroism, i have endeavored to invest the character of fritiof with something individually northern-- that fresh-living, insolent, daring rashness which belongs, or at least formerly belonged to the national temperament. ingeborg says of fritiof (canto ): 'how glad, how daring, how inspired with hope, against the breast of norn he sets the point of his good sword, commanding: "thou shalt yield!"' these lines contain the key to fritiof's character and in fact to the whole poem." [tegnér, samlade skrifter, ii, p. . the entire treatise is found in english translation in andersen's viking tales.] in what manner tegnér modernizes his story by divesting the original saga of its grotesque and repugnant features can most readily be illustrated in a comparison between his account of fritiof's encounter with king helge in balder's temple (canto ) and the original story. the latter tells how fritiof unceremoniously enters the temple, having first given orders that all the king's ships should be broken to pieces, and threw the tribute purse so violently at the king's nose that two teeth were broken out of his mouth and he fell into a swoon in his high seat. but as fritiof was passing out of the temple, he saw the ring on the hand of helge's wife, who was warming an image of balder by the fire. he seized the ring on her hand, but it stuck fast and so he dragged her along the floor toward the door and then the image fell into the fire. the wife of halfdan tried to come to her assistance, only to let the image she was warming by the fire fall into the flames. as the image had previously been anointed, the flames shot up at once and soon the whole house was wrapped in fire. fritiof, however, got the ring before he went away. but as he walked out of the temple, said the people, he flung a firebrand at the roof, so that all the house was wrapped in flames. of the violent feeling that, according to tegnér, racked fritiof's soul as he went into exile or of the deep sense of guilt that latter hung as a pall over his life there is no mention in the original. here we touch upon the most thoroughgoing change that tegnér made in the character of his hero. he invested him with a sentimentality, a disposition towards melancholy, an accusing voice of conscience that torments his soul until full atonement has been won, that are modern and christian in essence and entirely foreign to the pagan story. on this point tegnér: "another peculiarity common to the people of the north is a certain disposition for melancholy and heaviness of spirit common to all deeper characters. like some elegiac key-note, its sound pervades all our old national melodies, and generally whatever is expressive in our annals, for it is found in the depths of the nation's heart. i have somewhere or other said of bellman, the most national of our poets: 'and work the touch of gloom his brow o'shading, a northern minstrel-look, a grief in rosy red!' for this melancholy, so far from opposing the fresh liveliness and cheering vigor common to the nation, only gives them yet more strength and elasticity. there is a certain kind of life-enjoying gladness (and of this, public opinion has accused the french) which finally reposes on frivolity; that of the north is built on seriousness. and therefore i have also endeavored to develop in fritiof somewhat of this meditative gloom. his repentant regret at the unwilling temple fire, his scrupulous fear of balder (canto ) who-- 'sits in the sky, cloudy thoughts sending down, ever veiling my spirit in gloom', and his longing for the final reconciliation and for calm within him, are proofs not only of a religious craving, but also and still more of a national tendency to sorrowfulness common to every serious mind, at least in the north of europe." [tegnér, samlade skrifter, ii, p. .] tegnér thus found it easy to justify the sentimentality that characterizes fritiof's love for ingeborg, an element in fritiofs saga that has been most severely condemned by the critics. to the criticism that this love is too modern and platonic, tegnér correctly answers that reverence for the sex was from the earliest times a characteristic of the german people so that the light and coarse view that prevailed among the most cultivated nations of antiquity was a thing quite foreign to the habits of the north. ingeborg like fritiof is idealized by the poet although here the departure from the original is not as wide. that delicacy of sentiment which is inseparable from ingeborg and guides her right in the great crisis is not, he maintains, a trait merely of the woman of ancient scandinavia but is inherent in each noble female, no matter when or where she lives. and tegnér, who surely was no realist after the fashion of strindberg, chooses to picture woman as she appears in her loveliest forms. the brooding and melancholy spirit that tegnér had infused into the soul of fritiof had in a large measure come from his own life. the depression of mind that had cast its shadows over him in the years that saw the creation of fritiofs saga grew steadily worse. the period that followed immediately upon the completion of this work was filled with doubt and despair. the explanation for this must be found partly in the insidious progress of a physical disease, partly to a change of place and environment. certain hereditary tendencies, which caused him to fear that the light of reason would desert him, also played a part in this. in he gave up the greek professorship at lund to become bishop of the diocese of växiö in the province of småland, but the duties of the new position were not congenial to him. the spiritual and intellectual life of the diocese was on a low plane and tegnér threw himself with tremendous earnestness into the work of reform, but the prejudice and inertia of clergy and people stood constantly in the way. in his efforts to purge the church of some unworthy ecclesiastics he encountered bitter opposition and suffered some humiliations. he took a special interest in the schools of his diocese and his many pedagogical addresses are models in point of clearness and practical good sense. the many and varied duties imposed on him by the episcopal office, particularly official inspection trips, attendance upon the sessions of the riksdag, and serving on numerous important committees made it impossible for tegnér to continue his literary activities in the manner of his university days, but occasionally he would give to his countrymen a literary masterpiece that showed that the brilliant mind had not been dimmed. his mental and physical ailments grew steadily worse and after there came periods of insanity which expressed itself in the most chimerical plans for travel, literary activities, and great national enterprises. light came to his reason again, but his strength had been permanently broken. he died on november , , and his body was laid to rest in the cemetery at växiö, where a simple monument of marble and swedish granite marks his final resting place. fritiofs saga i. fritiof och ingeborg. där växte uti hildings gård två plantor under fostrarns vård. ej norden förr sett två så sköna, de växte härligt i det gröna. den ena som en ek sköt fram, och som en lans är hennes stam; men kronan, som i vinden skälver, liksom en hjälm sin rundel välver. den andra växte som en ros, när vintern nyss har flytt sin kos; men våren, som den rosen gömmer, i knoppen ligger än och drömmer. men stormen skall kring jorden gå, med honom brottas eken då, och vårsol skall på himmeln glöda, då öppnar rosen läppar röda. så växte de i fröjd och lek, och fritiof var den unga ek; men rosen uti dalar gröna hon hette ingeborg den sköna. såg du de två i dagens ljus, du tänkte dig i frejas hus, där månget litet brudpar svingar med gula hår och rosenvingar. men såg du dem i månens sken kringdansa under lummig gren, du tänkte: under lundens kransar älvkungen med sin drottning dansar. det var så glatt, det var så kärt, när han sin första runa lärt. en kung var ej som han i ära; den runan fick han ingborg lära. hur glättigt sam han i sin slup med henne över mörkblå djup! hur hjärtligt, när han seglen vänder, hon klappar i små vita händer! det fanns ej fågelbo så högt, som han för henne ej besökt. själv örnen, som i molnen gungar, blev plundrad båd' på ägg och ungar. det fanns ej bäck, hur strid han var, varöver han ej ingborg bar. det är så skönt, när forsen larmar, att tryckas av små vita armar. den första blomma, våren fött, det första smultron, som blev rött, det första ax, vars guld blev moget, dem bjöd han henne glatt och troget.-- men barnets dagar flyga bort, där står en yngling innan kort med eldig blick, som ber och hoppas, där står en mö med barm, som knoppas. ung fritiof drog på jakt alltjämt; den jakten skulle mången skrämt, ty utan spjut och utan klinga den djärve ville björnen tvinga. då kämpade de, bröst mot bröst, och jägarn, segrande, fast klöst, med ludet byte kom tillbaka; hur skulle jungfrun det försaka? ty mannens mod är kvinnan kärt, det starka är det sköna värt: de bägge passa för varannan, som hjälmen passar sig för pannan. men läste han i vinterkväll vid eldsken ifrån spiselna häll en sång om strålande valhalla, om gudar och gudinnor alla, han tänkte: gult är frejas hår, ett kornland, som för vinden går. från det kan jag ej ingborgs skilja, ett nät av guld kring ros och lilja. idunas barm är rik, och skönt han hoppar under silke grönt; jag vet ett silke, där det hoppar ljusalfer två med rosenknoppar. och friggas ögon äro blå som himmeln till att se uppå; jag känner ögon: mot de båda är ljusblå vårdag mörk att skåda. vi prisas gerdas kinder så, en nyfälld snö med norrsken på? jag kinder sett: en dag, som tänder två morgonrodnader i sänder. jag vet ett hjärta, lika ömt som nannas, fast ej så berömt. med rätta prisas du av skalder, du nannas lyckelige balder! o! att som du jag finge dö, begråten av en trogen mö, så öm, så trogen som din nanna; hos hel jag ville gärna stanna.-- men kungadottern satt och kvad en hjältesång och vävde glad i duken in den hjältens under och vågor blå och gröna lunder. där växte in i snövit ull de sköldar utav spolat gull, och röda flögo stridens lansar, men styvt av silver var vart pansar. dock, hur hon väver, dag från dag, får hjälten fritiofs anletsdag, och som de blicka fram ur väven, då rodnar hon men glädes även. men fritiof skär, var han går fram, ett i, ett f i björkens stam. de runor gro med fröjd och gamman, liksom de ungas hjärtan, samman. när dagen uppå fästet står, världskungen med de gyllne hår, och livet rörs och mänskor vandra, då tänka de blott på varandra. när natten uppå fästet står, världsmodern med de mörka hår, och tystnad rår och stjärnor vandra, då drömma de blott om varandra. "du jord, som smyckar dig var vår med blommor i ditt gröna hår, giv mig de skönsta! jag vill vira en krans av dem att fritiof sira." "du hav, som satt din dunkla sal med pärlor full i tusental, giv mig de skönaste, de bästa! kring ingborgs hals vill jag dem fästa." "du knapp på odens kungastol, du världens öga, gyllne sol! var du blott min, din blanka skiva till sköld jag ville fritiof giva." "du lykta i allfaders hus, du måne med ditt bleka ljus! var du blott min, jag gav dig gärna till smycke åt min sköna tärna."-- men hilding sade: "fosterson, den älskog vänd din håg ifrån! ej lika falla ödets lotter, den tärnan är kung beles dotter. till oden själv i stjärnklar sal uppstiger hennes ättartal; du är blott torstens son; giv vika! ty lika trives bäst med lika." men fritiof log: "mitt ättartal går nedåt i de dödas dal. nyss slog jag skogens kung så luden, hans anor ärvde jag med huden. friboren man ej vika vill, ty världen hör den frie till. vad lyckan bröt, kan hon försona, och hoppet bär en konungs krona. högättad är all kraft, ty tor, dess ättefar, i trudvang bor. han väger börden ej men värdet: en väldig friare är svärdet. jag kämpar om min unga brud, om ock det var med dundrets gud. väx trygg, väx glad, min vita lilja, ve den, som dig och mig vill skilja!" ii. kung bele och torsten vikingsson. kung bele, stödd på svärdet, i kungssal stod, hos honom torsten vikingsson, den bonde god, hans gamle vapenbroder, snart hundraårig, och ärrig som en runsten och silverhårig. de stodo, som bland bergen två offerhus, åt hedna gudar vigda, nu halvt i grus; men visdomsrunor många på muren täljas, och höga forntidsminnen i valven dväljas. "det lider emot kvällen", sad' bele kung, "ej mjödet vill mig smaka, och hjälm känns tung, inför mitt öga mörkna de mänskoöden, men valhall skiner närmre, jag anar döden. jag kallat mina söner och din också, ty de tillsammans höra, liksom vi två. en varning vill jag giva de örnar unga, förrn orden somnat alla på död mans tunga."-- då trädde de i salen, som kung befallt, och främst bland dem gick helge, en mörk gestalt. han dvaldes helst bland spåmän kring altarrunden och kom med blod på händren ur offerlunden. därefter syntes halvdan, ljuslockig sven; vart anletsdrag var ädelt men vekligt än. till lek han tycktes bära ett svärd vid bälte och liknade en jungfru, förklädd till hjälte. men efter dem kom fritiof i mantel blå, ett huvud var han högre än bägge två. han stod emellan brödren, som dag står mogen emellan rosig morgon och natt i skogen. "i söner", sade kungen, "min sol går ned. i endräkt styren riket, i brödrafred! ty endräkt håller samman: hon är som ringen på lansen; den förutan hans kraft är ingen. låt styrkan stå som dörrsven vid landets port och friden blomstra inom å hägnad ort! till skygd blev svärdet givet men ej till skada, och sköld är smidd till hänglås för bondens lada. sitt eget land förtrycker dåraktig man, ty kungen kan allenast vad folket kan. grönlummig krona vissnar, så snart som märgen i stammen är förtorkad på nakna bergen. på pelarstoder fyra står himlens rund, men tronen vilar endast på lagens grund. när våld på tinget dömer, står ofärd nära; men rätt är landets fromma och kungens ära. väl dväljas gudar, helge, i disarsal, men ej som snäckan dväljes i slutet skal. så långt som dagsljus skiner, som stämma ljudar, så långt som tanke flyger, bo höge gudar. nog svika lungans tecken i offrad falk, och flärd är mången runa, som skärs på balk; men redligt hjärta, helge, och friskt tillika, skrev oden fullt med runor, som aldrig svika. var icke hård, kung helge, men endast fast! det svärd, som bitar skarpast, är böjligast. milt sinne pryder kungen, som blommor skölden, och vårdag bringar mera än vinterkölden. en man förutan vänner, om än så stark, dör hän, som stam i öken med skalad bark. men vänsäll man han trives som träd i lunden, där bäcken vattnar roten och storm är bunden. yvs ej af fädrens ära! envar har dock blott sin; kan du ej spänna bågen, är han ej din. vad vill du med det värde, som är begravet? stark ström med egna vågor går genom havet. du halvdan, glättigt sinne är vis mans vinst; men joller höves ingen, och kungen minst. med humle brygges mjödet, ej blott med honung; lägg stål i svärd och allvar i leken, konung! för mycket vett fick ingen, hur vis han het, men litet nog vet mången, som intet vet. fåkunnig gäst i högbänk försmås, men vitter har ständigt lagets öra, hur lågt han sitter. till trofast vän, o halvdan, till fosterbror är vägen gen, om också han fjärran bor; men däremot avsides, långt hän belägen är oväns gård, om även han står vid vägen. välj icke till förtrogen vemhelst som vill! tomt hus står gärna öppet, men rikt stängs till. välj _en_, onödigt är det den andra leta, och världen vet, o halvdan, vad trenne veta."-- därefter uppstod torsten och talte så: "ej höves kung att ensam till oden gå. vi delat livets skiften ihop, kung bele, och döden, vill jag hoppas, vi också dele. son fritiof, ålderdomen har viskat mig i örat mången varning, den ger jag dig. på ätthög odens fåglar slå ned i norden, men på den gamles läppar mångvisa orden. främst vörda höga gudar! ty ont och gott, som storm och solsken, komma från himlen blott. de se i hjärtats lönvalv fast det är slutet, och långa år få gälda, vad stunden brutit. lyd kungen! _en_ skall styra med kraft och vett: skum natt har många ögon, men dagen ett. helt lätt den bättre, fritiof, fördrar den bäste, och egg har svärdet nödig men även fäste. hög kraft är gudars gåva; men, fritiof, minns, att styrka båtar föga, där vett ej finns. tolvmannakraft har björnen, av _en_ man slagen; mot svärdshugg hålles skölden, mot våldet lagen. av få den stolte fruktas men hatas av envar, och övermod, o fritiof, är fallets far. högt såg jag mången flyga, nu stödd på krycka, ty vädret rår för årsväxt, och vind för lycka. dag skall du prisa, fritiof, sen bärgad sol sig döljt, och öl, när det är drucket, och råd, när följt. på mången sak förlitar sig ungersvennen, men striden prövar klingan, och nöden vännen. nattgammal is tro icke, ej vårdags snö, ej somnad orm, ej talet av knäsatt mö; ty kvinnans bröst är svarvat på hjul, som rullar, och vankelmod bor under de liljekullar. du själv dör hän, och hän dör vad dig tillhör; men en ting vet jag, fritiof, som aldrig dör, och det är domen över död man: därföre vad ädelt är, du vilje, vad rätt, du göre"-- så varnade de gamle i kungasal, som skalden varnat sedan i havamal. från släkt till släkte gingo kärnfulla orden, och djupt ur kumlen viska de än i norden. därefter talte bägge mång' hjärtligt ord allt om sin trogna vänskap, berömd i nord; hur trofast intill döden, i nöd och gamman, två knäppta händer lika, de hållit samman. "med rygg mot rygg vi stodo, och varifrån som nornan kom, hon stötte på sköld, min son! nu före er till valhall vi gamle ile; men edra fäders ande på eder vile!"-- och mycket talte kungen om fritiofs mod, om hjältekraft, som mer är än kungablod. och mycket talte torsten om glans, som kröner de höga nordlands kungar, de asasöner. "och hållen i tillhopa, i söner tre, er överman--det vet jag--skall nord ej se; ty kraft, till kungahöghet osvikligt sluten, hon är som mörkblå stålrand, kring guldsköld gjuten. och halsen till min dotter, den rosenknopp! i lugn, som det sig hövdes, har hon växt opp; omhägnen henne, låten ej stormen komma och fästa i sin hjälmhatt min späda blomma! på dig, o helge, lägger jag faderns sorg, o, älska som en dotter min ingeborg ! tvång retar ädelt sinne, men saktmod leder båd' man och kvinna, helge, till rätt och heder.-- men läggen oss, i söner, i högar två på var sin sida fjärden vid bölja blå; ty hennes sång är ljuvlig ännu för anden, och som ett drapa klinga dess slag vid stranden. när månen strör kring bergen sitt bleka sken och midnattsdaggen faller på bautasten, då sitta vi, o torsten, på högar runda och spraka över vattnet om ting, som stunda. och nu farväl, i söner! gån mer ej hit! vår gång är till allfader; vi längta dit, liksom till havet längtar den trötta floden; men frej välsigne eder, och tor och oden!" iii. fritiof tager arv efter sin fader. voro nu satta i hög kung bele och torsten den gamle, där de själva befallt: på var sin sida om fjärden högarna lyfte sin rund, två bröst, dem döden har åtskilt. helge och halvdan, på folkets beslut, nu togo i sam-arv riket efter sin far; men fritiof, som endaste sonen, delte med ingen och fäste i lugn sin boning på framnäs, tre mil sträckte sig kring den gårdens ägor: på tre håll dalar och kullar och berg, men på fjärde sidan var havet. björkskog krönte de kullarnas topp, men på sluttande sidor frodades gyllene korn, och manshög vaggade rågen. sjöar, många i tal, sin spegel höllo för bergen, höllo för skogarna opp, i vars djup höghornade älgar hade sin kungliga gång och drucko av hundrade bäckar. men i dalarna vida omkring där bette i grönskan hjordar med glänsande hull och med juver, som längta till stävan. mellan dem spriddes än hit och än dit en oräknelig skara av vitulliga får, som du ser vitaktiga strömoln flockvis spridda på himmelens valv, när det blåser om våren. springare två gånger tolv, bångstyriga, fjättrade vindar, stampande stodo i spiltornas rad och tuggade vallhö, manarna knutna med rött och hovarna blanka av järnskor. dryckessalen, ett hus för sig själv, var timrad av kärnfur. ej fem hundrade män--till tio tolfter på hundrat-- fyllde den rymliga sal, när de samlats att dricka om julen. genom salen, så lång som han var, gick bordet av stenek, bonat och blankt som av stål; högsätes-pelarna båda stodo för ändan därav, två gudar, skurna av almträd: oden med härskareblick och frej med solen på hatten. nyss emellan de två på sin björnhud--huden var kolsvart, gapet scharlakansrött, men klorna skodda med silver-- torsten bland vännerna satt, som gästfriheten bland glädjen. ofta, när månen bland skyarna flög, förtalde den gamle under från främmande land, dem han sett, och vikingafärder fjärran i Östervåg och i västersaltet och gandvik. tyst satt lyssnande lag, och dess blickar hängde vid gubbens läppar, som bi't vid sin ros; men skalden tänkte på brage, när med sitt silfverskägg och med runor på tungan han sitter under den lumimiga bok och förtäljer en saga vid mimers evigt sorlande våg, han själv en levande saga. mitt på golvet--med halm var det strött--brann lågan beständigt glatt på sin murade häll, och igenom det luftiga rökfång blickade stjärnorna in, de himmelska vänner, i salen. men kring väggen, på naglar av stål, där hängde det radvis brynja och hjälm vid varann, och här och där dem emellan blixtrade neder ett svärd, som i vinterkvällen ett stjärnskott. mera än hjälmar och svärd dock sköldarna lyste i salen, blanka som solens rund eller månens skiva av silver. gick där stundom en mö kring bordet och fyllde i hornen, slog hon ögonen ned och rodnade: bilden i skölden rodnade även som hon; det gladde de drickande kämpar.-- rikt var huset: varhelst som du skådade, mötte ditt öga fyllda källrar och proppade skåp och rågade visthus. många klenoder jämväl där gömdes, byten av segern, guld med runor uppå och det konstarbetade silver. tre ting skattades dock av all den rikedom ypperst: _svärdet_, som ärvdes från fader till son, var främst av de trenne, angurvadel, så kallades det, och broder till blixten. fjärran i Österland var det smitt--som sagan förtäljer--, härdat i dvärgarnas eld: björn blåtand bar det från början. björn förlorade dock på en gång båd' svärdet och livet söder i gröningasund, där han stridde mot väldige vifell. vifell hade en son, het viking. men gammal och bräcklig, bodde på ulleråker en kung med sin blomstrande dotter. se, då kom det ur skogarnas djup en oskapelig jätte, högre till växten än människors ätt och luden och vildsint, fordrade envigeskamp eller kungadottern och riket. ingen vågade kampen likväl, ty det fanns ej ett stål, som bet på hans skalle av järn, och därför nämndes han järnhös. viking allena, som nyss fyllt femton vintrar, emottog striden, i hopp på sin arm och på Ångurvadel. i ett hugg klöv han till midjan det rytande troll och frälste den sköna. viking lämnade svärdet till torsten, sin son, och från torsten gick det till fritiof i arv: när han drog det, sken det i salen, liksom flöge en blixt därigenom eller ett norrsken. hjaltet var hamrat av guld, men runor syntes på klingan, underbara, ej kända i nord, men de kändes vid solens portar, där fäderna bott, förrn åsarna förde dem hit upp. matta lyste de runor alltjämt, när fred var i landet, men när hildur begynte sin lek, då brunno de alla röda som hanens kam, när han kämpar: förlorad var den, som mötte i slaktningens natt den klingan med lågande runor. svärdet var vida berömt, och av svärd var det ypperst i norden. därnäst ypperst i pris var en _armring_, vida beryktad, smidd av nordiska sagans vulkan, av den haltande vaulund. tre mark höll han i vikt, och arbetad var han av rent guld. himlen var tecknad därpå med de tolv odödligas borgar, växlande månaders bild, men av skalderna nämndes de solhus. alfhem skådades där, frejs borg: det är solen, som nyfödd börjar att klättra igen för himmelens branter vid julen. sökvabäck var där också: i dess sal satt oden hos saga, drack sitt vin ur det gyllene kärl; det kärlet är havet, färgat med guld av morgonens glöd, och sagan är våren, skriven på grönskande fält med blommor i stället för runor. balder syntes jämväl på sin tron, midsommarens sol, som gjuter från fästet sin rikedom ner, en bild av det goda; ty det goda är strålande ljus, men det onda är mörker. solen tröttnar att stiga alltjämt, och det goda desslikes svindlar på höjdernas brant: med en suck försjunka de båda neder till skuggornas land, till hel: det är balder på bålet. glitner, den fredliga borg, sågs även: förlikande alla, satt där med vågen i hand forsete, domarn på höstting. dessa bilder och många ännu, som betecknade ljusets strider på himmelens valv och i människans sinne, de voro skurna av mästarens hand i den ringen. en präktig rubinknapp krönte dess buktiga rund, som solen kröner sin himmel. ringen var länge i släkten ett arv, ty hon ledde sin ättlängd, endast på mödernet dock, till vaulund, räknad för stamfar. en gång stals den klenoden dock bort av rövaren söte, svärmande kring på de nordiska hav; sen fanns han ej åter. slutligen taltes det om, att sote på kusten av bretland levande satt sig med skepp och med gods i sin murade gravhög; men, där fann han ej ro, och det spökade ständigt i högen. torsten förnam det ryktet också, och med bele besteg han draken och klöv den skummande våg och styrde till stället. vid som ett tempelvalv, som en kungsgård, vore den bäddad in i grus och grönskande torv, så välvde sig högen. ljus ock lyste därur. igenom en springa på porten tittade kämparna in, och det beckade vikingaskeppet stod där med ankar och master och rår; men hög i dess bakstam satt en förfärlig gestalt: han var klädd i en mantel av lågor. bister satt han och skurade där blodfläckade klingan, kunde ej skura de fläckarna bort: allt guld, som han rånat, låg i högar omkring, och ringen bar han på armen. "stiga vi", viskade bele, "dit ner och kämpa mot trollet, två mot en ande av eld?" men halvvred svarade torsten: "en mot en var fädernas sed, jag kämpar väl ensam." länge tvistades nu, vem först av de tvenne det tillkom pröva den vådliga färd; men till slut tog bele sin stålhjälm, skakade om två lotter däri, och vid stjärnornas skimmer kände torsten igen sin lott. för en stöt av hans järnlans sprungo riglar och lås, och han nedsteg.--frågade någon, vad han förnam i det nattliga djup, då teg han och ryste. bele hörde dock först en sång, den lät som en trollsång; sedan förnam han ett rasslande ljud, som av klingor som korsas, sist ett gräseligt skri; då blev tyst. ut störtade torsten, blek, förvirrad, förstörd; ty med döden hade han kämpat. ringen bar han likväl. "den är dyrköpt", sade han ofta, "ty jag har darrat en gång i mitt liv, och det var, när jag tog den." smycket var vida berömt och av smycken ypperst i norden. _skeppet ellida_ till slut var en av släktens klenoder. viking--sägs det--en gång, när han vände tillbaka från härtåg, seglade längs med sin strand; då såg han en man på ett skeppsvrak sorglöst gungande hän; det var, som han lekte med vågen. mannen var hög och av ädel gestalt och hans anlete öppet, glatt, men föränderligt dock, likt havet, som leker i solsken. manteln var blå och bältet av guld, besatt med koraller, skägget vitt som vågornas skum, men håret var sjögrönt. viking styrde sin snäcka däråt för att bärga den arme, tog den förfrusne hem till sin gård och förplägade gästen. dock, när han bjöds av värden till sängs, då log han och sade: "vinden är god, och mitt skepp, som du sett, är ej att förakta; hundrade mil, det hoppas jag visst, jag seglar i afton. tack för din bjudning ändå! den är välment; kunde jag endast ge dig ett minne av mig! men min rikedom ligger i havet; kanske finner du dock i morgon en gåva på stranden." dagen därpå stod viking vid sjön, och si! som en havsörn, när han förföljer sitt rov, flög in i viken ett drakskepp. ingen syntes därpå, ej en gång man märkte en styrman, rodret dock lette sin buktiga väg bland klippor och blindskär, liksom bodde en ande däri: när det nalkades stranden, revade seglet sig självt, och, ej rört av människohänder, ankaret sänkte sig ned och bet med sin hulling i djupet. stum stod viking och såg, men då sjöngo de lekande vågor: "bärgade Ägir ej glömmer sin skuld, han skänker dig draken." gåvan var kunglig att se, ty de buktiga plankor av eke voro ej fogade hop som annars men vuxna tillsammans. sträckningen var som en drakes i sjön: i stammen där framme lyfte han huvudet högt, och av rött guld lågade svalget. buken var spräcklig med blått och med gult, men baktill vid rodret slog han sin väldiga stjärt i en ringel, fjällig av silver; vingarna svarta med kanter av rött; när han spände dem alla, flög han i kapp med den susande storm, men örnen blev efter. fylldes det skeppet med väpnade män, då skulle du trott dig skåda en flytande konungastad, en simmande fästning. skeppet var vida berömt, och av skepp var det ypperst i norden. detta och mera därtill tog fritiof i arv av sin fader. knappast fanns i de nordiska land en rikare arving, om ej en konungason; ty kungars välde är ypperst. var han ej konungason, likväl hans sinne var kungligt, vänsällt, ädelt och milt, och med var dag växte hans rykte. kämpar hade han tolv, gråhåriga furstar i idrott, faderns kamrater, med bröst av stål och med ärriga pannor. nederst på kämparnas bänk, jämnårig med fritiof, en yngling satt som en ros bland vissnade löv: björn hette den unge, glad som ett barn men fast som en man och vis som en gubbe. upp med fritiof han växt, och de blandat blod med varandra, fosterbröder på nordmannasätt, och svurit att leva samman i lust och i nöd och att hämna varandra i döden. mitt bland kämpar och gästernas mängd, som kommit till gravöl, fritiof, en sörjande värd, med ögon fyllda av tårar, drack på fädernas vis sin faders minne och hörde skaldernas sång till hans lov, ett dundrande dräpa; men sedan steg han i faderns säte, nu hans, och satte sig neder mellan dess oden och frej: det är tors plats uppe i valhall. iv. fritiofs frieri. väl klingar sången i fritiofs sal, och skalderna prisa hans ättartal. men sången gläder ej fritiof, han hör ej, vad skalden kväder. och jorden har åter klätt sig grön, och drakarna simma igen på sjön. men hjältesonen han vandrar i skogen och ser på månen. nyss var han likväl så lycklig, så glad, ty muntre kung halvdan till gäst han bad och helge dyster, och de hade med sig sin sköna syster. han satt vid dess sida, han tryckte dess hand och kände tillbaka en tryckning ibland och såg betagen alltjämt på de kära, de ädla dragen. de taltes vid om de glada dar, då morgonens dagg låg på livet kvar, om barndomsminnen, de rosengårdar i ädla sinnen. hon hälsade honom från dal och park, från namnen, som grodde i björkens bark, och från den kullen, där ekarna frodas i hjältemullen. "det var ej så trevligt i kungens gård, ty halvdan var barnslig och helge hård. de kungasöner de höra ej annat än lov och böner. och ingen--här rodnade hon som en ros--, åt vilken en klagan kunde förtros! i kungasalar hur kvavt var det där mot i hildings dalar! och duvorna, som de matat och tämt, nu voro de flugna, ty höken dem skrämt. ett par allena var kvar; av de tvenne tag du den ena! den duvan hon flyger väl hem igen, hon längtar, som andra, väl till sin vän. bind under vingen en vänlig runa! det märker ingen." så sutto de viskande dagen om, de hviskade ännu, när kvällen kom, som aftonvindar om våren viska i gröna lindar. men nu är hon borta, och fritiofs mod är borta med henne. det unga blod i kinden stiger, han lågar och suckar alltjämt och tiger. sin sorg, sin klagan med duvan han skrev, och glad for hon av med sitt kärleksbrev; men ack, tillbaka hon vände ej mer, hon blev hos sin maka. det väsen behagade icke björn. han sade: "vad fattas vår unga örn, så tyst, så sluten? Är bröstet träffat, är vingen skjuten? vad vill du? ha vi ej i överflöd det gula fläsk och det bruna mjöd och skalder många? det tar aldrig slut på de visor långa. sant nog, att gångaren stampar i spilt; på rov, på rov skriker falken vilt. men fritiof jagar i molnen allena, och tärs och klagar. ellida hon har ingen ro på våg, hon rycker alltjämt på sitt ankartåg. ligg still, ellida! ty fritiof är fredlig, han vill ej strida. den strådöd är också en död: till slut jag rister, som oden, mig själv med spjut. det kan ej fela, vi bliva välkomna hos blåvit hela." då släppte fritiof sin drake lös, och seglet svällde, och vågen fnös. rakt över fjärden till kungens söner han styrde färden. de sutto på beles hög den dag och hörde folket och skipade lag; men fritiof talar: den stämman förnimmes kring berg och dalar. "i kungar, skön ingeborg är mig kär; av eder jag henne till brud begär, och den förening hon var väl även kung beles mening. han lät oss växa hos hilding opp, likt ungträn, som växa tillsammans i topp. där ovanföre band freja de toppar med gyllne snöre. min far var ej konung, ej jarl en gång, dock lever hans minne i skaldens sång. högvälvda grifter förtälja på runsten min ätts bedrifter. lätt kunde jag vinna mig rike och land, men hellre jag blir på min fädernestrand. där vill jag skydda så kungens gård som den ringes hydda. vi äro på beles hög; han hör vart ord i djupet här nedanför. med fritiof beder den gamle i högen: betänken eder!"-- då reste sig helge och talte med hån: "vår syster är ej för en bondeson. nordlandens drotter må tävla, ej du, om den valhallsdotter. yvs gärna att hälsas för ypperst i nord, vinn männer med handkraft och kvinnor med ord! men odensblodet till pris ger jag icke åt övermodet. mitt rike behöfver du ej ta dig an, jag skyddar det själv; vill du bli min man, en plats är ledig ibland mitt husfolk, den kan jag ge dig."-- "din man blir jag knappast", var fritiofs svar, "är man för mig själv, som min fader var. ur silverskida flyg, angurvadel, du får ej bida!" i solen glänste den klinga blå, och runorna lågade röda därpå. "du angurvadel, du är dock", sad' fritiof, "av gammal adel. och vore det ej för högens fred, på stället jag högge dig, svartekung, ned. vill dock dig lära en ann' gång ej komma mitt svärd för nära."-- så sagt, han klöv i ett hugg allen kung helges guldsköld, som hängde på gren. i två halvrundor han klang emot högen, det klang inunder. "väl träffat, min klinga! ligg nu och dröm om högre bedrifter; till dess förgöm de runolågor. nu segla vi hem över mörkblå vågor." v. kung ring. och kung ring sköt tillbaka sin guldstol från bord, och kämpar och skalder uppstego att lyssna till kungens ord, berömd i nord; han var vis som gud mimer och from som balder. hans land var som lunden, där gudar bo, och vapnen komma ej inom dess gröna, dess skuggiga ro, och gräsen gro fridlysta därstädes, och rosorna blomma. rättvisan satt ensam, båd' sträng och huld, på domarstolen, och friden betalte vart år sin skuld, och kornets guld låg strött över landet och sken i solen. och snäckorna kommo med bringa svart, med vita vingar, från hundrade land och förde från vart mångfaldig art av rikdom, som rikdomen tingar. men frihet bodde hos friden kvar i glad förening, och alla älskade landets far, fast en och var fritt sade på tinget sin mening. i tretti vintrar han fredlig och säll styrt nordlands söner, och ingen gått missnöjd hem till sitt tjäll, och varje kväll hans namn gick till oden med folkets böner. och kung ring sköt tillbaka sin guldstol från bord, och alla glade uppstego att lyssna till kungens ord, berömd i nord; men han suckade djupt och talte och sade: "min drottning sitter i folkvangs loft på purpurtäcken, men här är det gräs över hennes stoft, och blomsterdoft kringånga dess gravhög vid bäcken. ej får jag drottning så god, så skön, mitt rikes ära. till gudarna gick hon, till valhalls lön; men landets bön, och barnens, en moder begära. kung bele, som ofta kom till min sal med sommarvinden, har lämnat en dotter; hon är mitt val, den lilja smal med morgonrodnad på kinden. jag vet, hon är ung, och den unga mö helst blomman plockar; men jag gått i frö, och vintrarna strö alltren sin snö i kungens de glesnade lockar. men kan hon älska en redlig man med vitt i håren, och vill hon ta sig de späda an, vars mor försvann, så bjuder hösten sin tron åt våren. ta'n guld ur valven, ta'n smycken åt brud ur skåp af eke; och följen, i skalder, med harpoljud, ty sångens gud är med då vi frie, är med då vi leke!"-- och ut drogo svenner med buller och bång, med guld och böner, och skalderna följde, en rad så lång, med hjältesång, och ställde sig fram för kung beles söner. de drucko i dagar, de drucko i tre, men på den fjärde, vad svar kung helge dem månde ge, åtsporde de, ty nu de ville å färde. kung helge han offrar båd' falk och häst i lunden gröna, han spörjer båd' vala och offerpräst, vad som var bäst allt för hans syster, den sköna. men lungorna nekade bifall alltjämt, som präst och vala, och då gav kung helge, den tecknen skrämt, sitt nej bestämt, ty mänskan bör lyda, då gudar tala. men muntre kung halvdan han log och sad': "farväl med festen! kung gråskägg själv bort rida åstad, jag hulpit glad den hedersgubben på hästen." förbittrade draga de sändmän bort och budskap bära om kungens skymf; men han svarar dem torrt, att inom kort kung gråskägg skall hämna sin ära. han slog sin härsköld, som hängde å stam i höga linden. då simma drakar på vågen fram med blodröd kam, och hjälmarna nicka i vinden. och härbud flögo till helges gård, som sade dyster: "kung ring är mäktig, den strid blir hård; i balders vård, i templet jag sätter min syster." där sitter den älskande vemodsfull å fridlyst tilja. hon sömmar i silke, hon sömmar i gull och gråter full sin barm: det är dagg över lilja. vi. fritiof spelar schack. björn och fritiof sutto båda vid ett schackbord, skönt att skåda. silver var varannan ruta, och varannan var av guld. då steg hilding in. "sitt neder! upp i högbänk jag dig leder, töm ditt horn, och låt mig sluta spelet, fosterfader huld!" hilding kvad: "från beles söner kommer jag till dig med böner. tidningarna äro onde, och till dig står landets hopp." fritiof kvad: "tag dig till vara, björn, ty nu är kung i fara. frälsas kan han med en bonde: den är gjord att offras opp." "fritiof, reta icke kungar! starka växa örnens ungar: fast mot ring de aktas svaga, stor är deras makt mot din." "björn, jag ser, du tornet hotar, men ditt anfall lätt jag motar. tornet blir dig svårt att taga, drar sig i sin sköldborg in." "ingeborg i baldershagen sitter och förgråter dagen. kan _hon_ dig till strids ej locka, gråterskan med ögon blå?" "drottning, björn, du fåfängt jagar, var mig kär från barndomsdagar; hon är spelets bästa docka, hur det går, _hon_ räddas må." "fritiof, vill du icke svara? skall din fosterfader fara ohörd från din gård, emedan ej ett dockspel vill ta slut?" då steg fritiof upp och lade hildings hand i sin och sade: "fader, jag har svarat redan, du har hört min själs beslut. rid att beles söner lära, vad jag sagt! de kränkt min ära, inga band vid dem mig fästa, aldrig blir jag deras man." "väl, din egen bana vandra! ej kan jag din vrede klandra; oden styre till det bästa!" sade hilding och försvann. vii. fritiofs lycka. kung beles söner gärna dragé från dal till dal att be om svärd! mitt få de ej; i balders hage där är min valplats, är min värld. där vill jag ej tillbaka blicka på kungars hämnd, på jordens sorg, men endast gudars glädje dricka tvemännings med min ingeborg. så länge ännu solen tömmer sin purpurglans på blomstren varm, likt rosenfärgat skir, som gömmer en blomstervärld, min ingborgs barm; så länge irrar jag på stranden, av längtan, evig längtan tärd, och ritar suckande i sanden det kära namnet med mitt svärd. hur långsamt gå de tröga stunder! du dellings son, vi dröjer du? har du ej skådat berg och lunder och sund och öar förrän nu? bor ingen mö i västersalar, som väntar dig för länge sen och flyger till ditt bröst och talar om kärlek först, om kärlek sen? dock äntligt trött av vägens möda, du sjunker ned ifrån din höjd, och kvällen drar det rosenröda sparlakanet för gudars fröjd. om kärlek viska jordens floder, om kärlek viskar himlens fläkt. välkommen, natt, du gudars moder, med pärlor på din bröllopsdräkt! hur tyst de höga stjärnor skrida, likt älskarn till en mö på tå! flyg över fjärden, min ellida! skjut på, skjut på, du bölja blå! där borta ligga gudens lunder, till goda gudar styra vi, och balderstemplet står därunder, med kärlekens gudinna i. hur lycklig träder jag på stranden! du jord, jag ville kyssa dig, och er, i blommor små, som randen med vitt och rött den krökta stig! du måne, somj ditt skimmer tömmer kring lund och tempel, hög och vård, hur skön du sitter där och drömmer, lik saga i en bröllopsgård! vem lärde dig, du bäck, som talar med blommorna, min känslas röst? vem gav er, nordens näktergalar, den klagan, stulen ur mitt bröst? med kvällens rodnad alfer måla min ingborgs bild på mörkblå duk; den bilden kan ej freja tåla, hon blåser bort den, avundsjuk. dock, gärna hennes bild försvinne! där är hon själv, som hoppet skön och trogen som ett barndomsminne; hon kommer med min kärleks lön. kom, älskade, och låt mig trycka dig till det hjärta, du är kär! min själs begär, min levnads lycka, kom i min famn och vila där! så smärt som stjälken av en lilja, så fyllig som en mognad ros! du är så ren som gudars vilja och dock så varm, som freja tros. kyss mig, min sköna! låt min låga få genomströmma även dig! ack! jordens rund och himmelns båga försvinna, när du kysser mig. var icke rädd, här finns ej fara; björn står där nere med sitt svärd, med kämpar nog att oss försvara, om det behövdes, mot en värld. jag själv, o att jag strida finge för dig, som jag dig håller nu! hur lycklig jag till valhall ginge, om min valkyria vore du! vad viskar du om balders vrede? han vredgas ej, den fromme gud, den älskande, som vi tillbede, vårt hjärtas kärlek är hans bud: den gud med solsken på sin panna, med evig trohet i sin barm: var ej hans kärlek till sin nanna, som min till dig, så ren, så varm? där står hans bild, han själv är nära, hur milt han ser på mig, hur hult! till offer vill jag honom bära ett hjärta varmt och kärleksfullt. böj knä med mig! ej bättre gåva, ej skönare för balder fanns än tvenne hjärtan, vilka lova varann en trohet, fast som hans. till himmeln mera än till jorden min kärlek hör, försmå ej den! i himmeln är han ammad vorden och längtar till sitt hem igen. o den som ren däruppe vore! o den som nu med dig fick dö och segrande till gudar före i famnen på sin bleka mö! när då de andra kämpar rida ur silverportarna till krig, jag skulle sitta vid din sida, en trogen vän, och se på dig. när valhalls mor kring bordet bringa de mjödhorn med sitt skum av gull, med dig jag ensamt skulle klinga och viska öm och kärleksfull. en lövsal ville jag oss bygga på näset vid en mörkblå bukt. där låge vi i skuggan trygga av lunden med den gyllne frukt. när valhalls sol sig återtände --hur klart, hur härligt är dess bloss!-- till gudarna vi återvände, och längtade dock hem till oss. med stjärnor skulle jag bekransa din panna, dina lockars glöd; i vingolvs sal jag skulle dansa min bleka lilja rosenröd; till dess jag dig ur dansen droge till kärlekens, till fridens tjäll, där silverskäggig brage sloge din brudsång ny för varje kväll. hur vakan sjunger genom lunden! den sången är från valhalls strand. hur månen skiner över sunden! han lyser ur de dödas land. den sången och det ljuset båda en värld av kärlek utan sorg; den världen ville jag väl skåda med dig, med dig, min ingeborg! gråt icke! Ännu livet strömmar i mina ådror, gråt ej så! men kärlekens och mannens drömmar kringsvärma gärna i det blå. ack, blott din famn mot mig du breder, blott dina ögon se på mig, hur lätt du lockar svärmarn neder från gudars salighet till dig!-- "tyst, det är lärkan." nej, en duva i skogen kuttrar om sin tro; men lärkan slumrar än på tuva hos maken i sitt varma bo. de lyckliga! dem skiljer ingen, när dagen kommer eller far, men deras liv är fritt som vingen, som bär i skyn det glada par. "se, dagen gryr." nej, det är flamman av någon vårdkas öster ut. Ännu vi kunna språka samman, än har den kära natt ej slut. försov dig, dagens gyllne stjärna, och morgna sen dig långsamt till! för fritiof må du sova gärna till ragnarök, om du så vill. dock, det är fåfängt till att hoppas; där blåser ren en morgonvind, och redan österns rosor knoppas så friska som på ingborgs kind. en vingad sångarskara kvittrar --en tanklös hop--i klarnad sky, och livet rörs, och vågen glittrar, och skuggorna och älskarn fly. där kommer hon i all sin ära! förlåt mig, gyllne sol, min bön! jag känner det, en gud är nära, hur präktig är hon dock, hur skön! o, den som fram i banan trädde så väldig, som du träder nu, och stolt och glad sin levnad klädde i ljus och seger liksom du! här ställer jag inför ditt öga det skönaste, du sett i nord. tag henne i din vård, du höga! hon är din bild på grönklädd jord. dess själ är ren som dina strålar, dess öga som din himmel blått, och samma guld, din hjässa målar, har hon i sina lockar fått. farväl, min älskade! en annan, en längre natt vi ses igen. farväl! Ännu en kyss på pannan och en på dina läppar än! sov nu, och dröm om mig och vakna vid middag; och med trogen själ tälj timmarna som jag, och sakna och brinn som jag! farväl, farväl! viii. avskedet. _ingeborg_. det dagas ren, och fritiof kommer icke! i går likväl var redan tinget utlyst på beles hög: den platsen valdes rätt; hans dotters öde skulle där bestämmas. hur många böner har det kostat mig, hur många tårar, räknade av freja, att smälta hatets is kring fritiofs hjärta och locka löftet från den stoltes mun att åter bjuda handen till försoning! ack! mannen är dock hård, och för sin ära --så kallar han sin stolthet--räknar han ej just så noga, om han skulle krossa ett troget hjärta mera eller mindre. den arma kvinnan, sluten till hans bröst, är som en mossväxt, blommande på klippan med bleka färger: blott med möda håller den obemärkta sig vid hällen fast, och hennes näring äro nattens tårar. i går alltså blev då mitt öde avgjort, och aftonsolen har gått ner däröver. men fritiof kommer ej! de bleka stjärnor. en efter annan, slockna och försvinna, och med varenda utav dem, som släcks, går en förhoppning i mitt bröst till graven. dock, varför också hoppas? valhalls gudar ej älska mig, jag har förtörnat dem. den höge balder, i vars skygd jag vistas, är förolämpad, ty en mänsklig kärlek är icke helig nog för gudars blickar; och jordens glädje får ej våga sig inunder valven, där de allvarsamma, de höga makter ha sin boning fäst. --och likafullt, vad är mitt fel, vi vredgas den fromme guden öfver jungfruns kärlek? Är han ej ren som urdas blanka våg, ej oskuldsfull som geflons morgondrömmar? den höga solen vänder icke bort från tvenne älskande sitt rena öga; och dagens änka, stjärnenatten, hör mitt i sin sorg med glädje deras eder. vad som är lovligt under himmelns valv, hur blev det brottsligt under tempelvalvet? jag älskar fritiof. ack, så långt tillbaka, som jag kan minnas, har jag älskat honom; den känslan är ett årsbarn med mig själv; jag vet ej, när hon börjat, kan ej ens den tanken fatta, att hon varit borta. som frukten sätter sig omkring sin kärna och växer ut och rundar omkring henne i sommarsolens sken sitt klot av guld: så har jag även vuxit ut och mognat omkring den kärnan, och mitt väsen är det yttre skalet endast av min kärlek. förlåt mig, balder! med ett troget hjärta jag trädde i din sal, och med ett troget vill jag gå därifrån: jag tar det med mig utöver bifrosts bro och ställer mig med all min kärlek fram för valhalls gudar. där skall han stå, en asason som de, och spegla sig i sköldarna och flyga med lösta duvovingar genom blå, oändlig rymd uti allfaders sköte, varfrån han kommit.--varför rynkar du i morgongryningen din ljusa panna? i mina ådror flyter, som i dina, den gamle odens blod. vad vill du, frände? min kärlek kan jag icke offra dig, vill det ej ens; han är din himmel värdig. men väl jag offra kan min levnads lycka, kan kasta bort den, som en drottning kastar sin mantel från sig och är likafullt densamma, som hon var.--det är beslutat! det höga valhall skall ej blygas för sin fränka: jag vill gå emot mitt öde, som hjälten går mot sitt.--där kommer fritiof. hur vild, hur blek! det är förbi, förbi! min vreda norna kommer jämte honom. var stark, min själ!--välkommen, sent omsider! vårt öde är bestämt, det står att läsa uppå din panna. _fritiof_. stå där icke även blodröda runor, talande om skymf och hån och landsflykt? _ingeborg_. fritiof, sansa dig, berätta vad som hänt! det värsta anar jag länge sen, jag är beredd på allt. _fritiof_. jag kom till tinget uppå ättehögen, och kring dess gröna sidor, sköld vid sköld och svärd i handen, stodo nordens män, den ena ringen innanför den andra, upp emot toppen; men på domarstenen, mörk som ett åskmoln, satt din broder helge, den bleke blodman med de skumma blickar; och jämte honom, ett fullvuxet barn, satt halvdan, tanklöst lekande med svärdet. då steg jag fram och talte: "kriget står och slår på härsköld invid landets gränser; ditt rike, konung helge, är i fara: giv mig din syster, och jag lånar dig min arm i striden, den kan bli dig nyttig. låt grollet vara glömt emellan oss! ej gärna när jag det mot ingborgs broder. var billig, konung, rädda på en gång din gyllne krona och din systers hjärta! här är min hand. vid asa-tor, det är den sista gång hon bjuds dig till försoning."-- då blev ett gny på tinget. tusen svärd sitt bifall hamrade på tusen sköldar, och vapenklangen flög mot skyn, som glad drack fria männers bifall till det rätta. "giv honom ingeborg, den smärta liljan, den skönaste, som växt i våra dalar; han är den bästa klingan i vårt land, giv honom ingeborg!"--min fosterfader, den gamle hilding, med sitt silverskägg, steg fram och höll ett tal, av vishet fullt, med korta kärnspråk, klingande som svärdshugg; och halvdan själv ifrån sitt kungasäte sig reste, bedjande med ord och blickar. det var förgäves; varje bön var spilld, liksom ett solsken, slösat bort på klippan, det lockar ingen växt från hennes hjärta; och konung helges anlet blev sig likt: ett bleklagt nej på mänsklighetens böner. "Åt bondesonen--sade han föraktligt-- jag kunnat ingborg ge, men tempelskändarn syns mig ej passa för valhalladottern. har du ej, fritiof, brutit balders fred? har du ej sett min syster i hans tempel, när dagen gömde sig för edert möte? ja eller nej!" då skallade ett rop ur mannaringen: "säg blott nej, säg nej! vi tro dig på ditt ord, vi fria för dig, du torstens son, så god som kungasonen; säg nej, säg nej, och ingeborg är din!"-- "min levnads lycka hänger på ett ord --sad' jag--, men frukta ej för det, kung helge! jag vill ej ljuga mig till valhalls glädje, och ej till jordens. jag har sett din syster, har talt med henne uti templets natt, men balders fred har jag ej därför brutit."-- jag fick ej tala mer. ett sorl av fasa flög tinget genom: de, som stodo närmast, sig drogo undan, liksom för en pestsjuk; och när jag såg mig om, den dumma vantron förlamat varje tunga, kalkat vit var kind, nyss blossande av glad förhoppning. då segrade kung helge. med en röst så hemsk, så dyster som den döda valans i vegtamskvida, när hon sjöng för oden om åsars ofärd och om helas seger, så hemskt han talte: "landsflykt eller död jag kunde sätta, efter fädrens lagar, uppå ditt brott; men jag vill vara mild, som balder är, vars helgedom du skymfat. i västerhavet ligger det en krans av öar, dem jarl angantyr behärskar. så länge bele levde, jarlen gav vart år sin skatt; sen har den uteblivit. drag öfver böljan hän och indriv skatten! det är den bot, jag fordrar för din djärvhet. det sägs--tillade han med nedrigt hån--, att angantyr är hårdhänt, att han ruvar som draken fafner på sitt guld, men vem står mot vår nye sigurd fafnesbane? en mera manlig bragd försöke du än dåra jungfrur uti balders hage! till nästa sommar vänta vi dig här med all din ära, framför allt med skatten. om icke, fritiof, är du var mans niding och för din livstid fridlös i vårt land."-- så var hans dom, och härmed löstes tinget. _ingeborg_. och ditt beslut? _fritiof_. har jag väl mer ett val? Är ej min ära bunden vid hans fordran? den skall jag lösa, om ock angantyr förgömt sitt lumpna guld i nastrands floder. i dag ännu far jag. _ingeborg_. och lämnar mig? _fritiof_. nej, icke lämnar dig, du följer med. _ingeborg_. omöjligt! _fritiof_. hör mig, hör mig, förrn du svarar! din vise broder helge tycks ha glömt, att angantyr var vän utav min fader, liksom av bele; kanske giver han med godo vad jag fordrar; men om icke, en väldig övertalare, en skarp, har jag, han hänger vid min vänstra sida. det kära guldet skickar jag till helge, och därmed löser jag oss bägge från den krönte hycklarns offerkniv för alltid. men själva, sköna ingborg, hissa vi ellidas segel över okänd våg; hon gungar oss till någon vänlig strand, som skänker fristad åt en bil tog kärlek. vad är mig norden, vad är mig ett folk, som bleknar för ett ord av sina diar och vill med fräcka händer gripa i mitt hjärtas helgedom, mitt väsens blomkalk? vid freja, det skall icke lyckas dem. en usel träl är bunden vid den torva, där han blef född, men jag vill vara fri, så fri som bergens vind. en handfull stoft utav min faders hög och en av beles få ännu rum om skeppsbord; det är allt vad vi behöva utav fosterjorden. du älskade, det finns en annan sol än den, som bleknar över dessa snöberg; det finns en himmel, skönare än här, och milda stjärnor med gudomlig glans se ner därfrån i varma sommarnätter, i lagerlundar på ett troget par. min fader, torsten vikingsson, for vida omkring i härnad och förtalte ofta vid brasans sken i långa vinterkvällar om greklands hav och öarna däri, de gröna lunder i den blanka böljan. ett mäktigt släkte bodde fordom där och höga gudar uti marmortempel. nu stå de övergifna, gräset frodas å öde stigar, och en blomma växer ur runorna, som tala forntids vishet; och smärta pelarstammar grönska där, omlindade av söderns rika rankor. men runtomkring bär jorden av sig själv en osådd skörd, vad människan behöfver, och gyllne äpplen glöda mellan löven, och röda druvor hänga på var gren och svälla yppiga som dina läppar. där, ingeborg, där bygga vi i vågen ett litet norden, skönare än här; och med vår trogna kärlek fylla vi de lätta tempelvalven, fägna än med mänsklig lycka de förgätna gudar. när seglarn då med slappa dukar gungar --ty stormen trivs ej där--förbi vår ö i aftonrodnans sken och blickar glad från rosenfärgad bölja upp mot stranden, då skall han skåda uppå templets tröskel den nya freja--afrodite, tror jag, hon nämns i deras språk--och undra på de gula lockar, flygande i vinden, och ögon, ljusare än söderns himmel. och efter hand kring henne växer opp ett litet tempelsläkte utav alfer med kinder, där du tror att södern satt i nordens drivor alla sina rosor.-- ack, ingeborg, hur skön, hur nära står all jordisk lycka för två trogna hjärtan! blott de ha mod att gripa henne fatt, hon följer villigt med och bygger dem ett vingolv redan här inunder molnen. kom, skynda! varje ord, som talas än, tar bort ett ögonblick ifrån vår sällhet. allt är berett, ellida spänner redan de mörka örnevingarna till flykt, och friska vindar visa vägen från, för evigt från den vantrofyllda stranden. vi dröjer du? _ingeborg_. jag kan ej följa dig. _fritiof_. ej följa mig? _ingeborg_. ack, fritiof, du är lycklig! du följer ingen, du går själv förut, som stammen på ditt drakskepp, men vid rodret din egen vilja står och styr din fart med stadig hand utöver vreda vågor. hur annorlunda är det ej med mig! mitt öde vilar uti andras händer, de släppa ej sitt rov, fastän det blöder; och offra sig och klaga och förtyna i långsam sorg är kungadotterns frihet. _fritiof_. Är du ej fri, så snart du vill?--i högen din fader sitter. _ingeborg_. helge är min fader, är i min faders ställe; av hans bifall beror min hand, och beles dotter stjäl sin lycka ej, hur nära ock den ligger. vad vore kvinnan, om hon slet sig lös ifrån de band, varmed allfader fäst invid den starke hennes svaga väsen? den bleka vattenliljan liknar hon: med vågen stiger hon, med vågen faller, och seglarns köl går över henne fram och märker icke, att han skär dess stängel. det är nu hennes öde; men likväl, så länge roten hänger fast i sanden, har växten än sitt värde, lånar färgen av bleka syskonstjärnor ovanfrån, en stjärna själv uppå de blåa djupen. men rycker hon sig lös, då driver hon, ett vissnat blad, omkring den öde böljan. förliden natt--den natten var förfärlig, jag väntade dig ständigt, och du kom ej, och nattens barn, de allvarsamma tankar med svarta lockar, gingo jämt förbi mitt vakna öga, brinnande och tårlöst; och balder själv, blodlöse guden, såg med blickar fulla utav hot uppå mig-- förliden natt har jag betänkt mitt öde, och mitt beslut är fattat: jag blir kvar, ett lydigt offer vid min broders altar. dock var det väl, att jag ej hört dig då med dina öar, diktade i molnen, där aftonrodnan ligger ständigt kring en enslig blomstervärld av frid och kärlek. vem vet, hur svag man är? min barndoms drömmar, de länge tystade, stå upp igen och viska i mitt öra med en röst så välbekant, som vore det en systers, så öm, som vore det en älskares. jag hör er icke, nej, jag hör er icke, i lockande, i fordom kära stämmor! vad skulle jag, ett nordens barn, i södern? jag är för blek för rosorna däri, för färglöst är mitt sinne för dess glöd, det skulle brännas av den heta solen, och längtansfullt mitt öga skulle se mot nordens stjärna, vilken står alltjämt, en himmelsk skiltvakt, över fädrens gravar. min ädle fritiof skall ej flykta från det kära land han föddes att försvara, skall icke kasta bort sitt rykte för en sak så ringa som en flickas kärlek. ett liv, där solen spinner, år från år, den ena dagen alltid lik den andra, ett skönt men evigt enahanda är för kvinnan endast; men för mannens själ, och helst för din, blev livets stiltje tröttsam. du trives bäst, där stormen tumlar kring på skummig gångare utöver djupen och på din planka, uppå liv och död, du kämpa får med faran om din ära. den sköna öknen, som du målar, bleve en grav för bragder, icke födda än, och med din sköld förrostades jämväl ditt fria sinne. så skall det ej vara! ej skall jag stjäla bort min fritiofs namn ur skaldens sånger, icke jag skall släcka min hjältes ära i dess morgonrodnad. var vis, min fritiof, låt oss vika för de höga nornor, låt oss rädda ur vårt ödes skeppsbrott dock ännu vår ära, vår levnads lycka kan ej räddas mer: vi _måste_ skiljas. _fritiof_. varför måste vi? för det en sömnlös natt förstämt ditt sinne! _ingeborg_. för det mitt värde räddas bör och ditt. _fritiof_. på mannens kärlek vilar kvinnans värde. _ingeborg_. ej länge älskar han den, han ej aktar. _fritiof_. med lösa nycker vinns hans aktning ej. _ingeborg_. en ädel nyck är känslan av det rätta. _fritiof_. vår kärlek stridde ej mot den i går. _ingeborg_. i dag ej heller, men vår flykt dess mera. _fritiof_. nödvändigheten bjuder henne, kom! _ingeborg_. vad som är rätt och ädelt, är nödvändigt. _fritiof_. högt rider solen, tiden går förbi. _ingeborg_. ve mig, han är förbi, förbi för alltid! _fritiof_. besinna dig, är det ditt sista ord? _ingeborg_. jag har besinnat allt, det är mitt sista. _fritiof_. välan, farväl, farväl, kung helges syster! _ingeborg_. o fritiof, fritiof, skola _så_ vi skiljas? har du ej någon vänlig blick att ge åt barndomsvännen, ingen hand att räcka åt den olyckliga, du älskat förr? tror du, jag står på rosor här och visar min levnads lycka leende ifrån mig och sliter utan smärta ur mitt bröst ett hopp, som växt tillhopa med mitt väsen? var icke du mitt hjärtas morgondröm? var glädje, som jag kände, hette fritiof, och allt, vad livet stort och ädelt har, tog dina anletsdrag inför mitt öga. fördunkla ej den bilden för mig, möt med hårdhet ej den svaga, när hon offrar, vad henne kärast var på jordens rund, vad henne kärast blir i valhalls salar! det offret, fritiof, är nog tungt ändå; ett ord till tröst det kunde väl förtjäna. jag vet, du älskar mig, har vetat det, alltsen mitt väsen började att dagas, och säkert följer dig din ingborgs minne i många år ännu, varthelst du far. men vapenklangen dövar sorgen dock, hon blåser bort uppå de vilda vågor och törs ej sätta sig på kämpens bänk, vid dryckeshornet firande sin seger. blott då och då, när uti nattens frid du mönstrar än en gång förflutna dagar, då skymtar fram bland dem en bleknad bild: du känner honom väl, han hälsar dig från kära trakter, det är bilden av den bleka jungfrun uti balders hage. du må ej visa honom bort, fastän han blickar sorgligt, du må viska honom ett vänligt ord i örat: nattens vindar på trogna vingar föra det till mig, _en_ tröst likväl, jag har ej någon annan!-- för mig är intet, som förströr min saknad; i allt, som omger mig, har hon en målsman. de höga tempelvalven tala blott om dig, och gudens bild, som skulle hota, tar dina anletsdrag, när månen skiner. ser jag åt sjön, där sam din köl och skar i skum sin väg till längterskan på stranden. ser jag åt lunden, där står mången stam med ingborgs runor ritade i barken. nu växer barken ut, mitt namn förgås, och det betyder döden, säger sagan. jag frågar dagen, var han såg dig sist, jag frågar natten, men de tiga still, och havet självt, som bär dig, svarar på min fråga endast med en suck mot stranden. med aftonrodnan skall jag skicka dig en hälsning, när hon släcks i dina vågor, och himmelns långskepp, molnen, skola ta ombord en klagan från den övergivna. så skall jag sitta i min jungfrubur, en svartklädd änka efter livets glädje, och sömma brutna liljor uti duken, tills en gång våren vävt sin duk och sömmar den full med bättre liljor på min grav. men tar jag harpan för att sjunga ut oändlig smärta uti djupa toner, då brister jag i gråt, som nu---- _fritiof_. du segrar, beles dotter, gråt ej mera! förlåt min vrede; det var blott min sorg, som för ett ögonblick tog vredens dräkt; den dräkten kan hon icke bära länge. du är min goda norna, ingeborg: vad ädelt är, lär bäst ett ädelt sinne. nödvändighetens vishet kan ej ha en bättre förespråkerska än dig, du sköna vala med de rosenläppar! ja, jag vill vika för nödvändigheten, vill skiljas från dig men ej från mitt hopp; jag tar det med mig över västervågor, jag tar det med mig intill gravens port. med nästa vårdag är jag här igen; kung helge, hoppas jag, skall se mig åter. då har jag löst mitt löfte, fyllt hans fordran, försont jämväl det brott, man diktat på mig; och då begär jag, nej, jag fordrar dig på öppet ting emellan blanka vapen, ej utav helge men av nordens folk; det är din giftoman, du kungadotter! jag har ett ord att säga den, som vägrar. farväl till dess, var trogen, glöm mig ej, och tag, till minne av vår barndomskärlek, min armring bär, ett skönt vaulunderverk, med himlens under ritade i guldet --det bästa undret är ett troget hjärta--. hur skönt han passar till din vita arm, en lysmask lindad kring en liljestängel! farväl, min brud, min älskade, farväl, om några måna'r är det annorlunda! _(går.)_ _ingeborg_. hur glad, hur trotsig, hur förhoppningsfull han sätter spetsen av sitt goda svärd på nornans bröst och säger: du skall vika! du arme fritiof, nornan viker ej, hon går sin gång och ler åt angurvadel. hur litet känner du min mörke broder! ditt öppna hjältesinne fattar ej det dystra djupet utav hans och hatet, som glöder i hans avundsjuka barm. sin systers hand ger han dig aldrig; förr han ger sin krona, ger sitt liv till spillo och offrar mig åt gamle oden eller åt gamle ring, som nu han kämpar mot.-- varhelst jag ser, finns intet hopp för mig; dock är jag glad, det lever i ditt hjärta. jag vill behålla för mig själv min smärta, men alla goda gudar följe dig! här på din armring dock sig räkna låter var särskild månad av en långsam sorg; två, fyra, sex, då kan du vara åter men finner icke mer din ingeborg. ix. ingeborgs klagan. nu är det höst, stormande häver sig havets bröst. ack, men hur gärna jag sute ändå där ute! länge jag såg seglet i väster, det flög på sin våg. ack, det är lyckligt, får följa fritiof på bölja. bölja, du blå, sväll ej så högt det går fort nog ändå. lysen, i stjärnor, och sägen seglaren vägen! när det blir vår, kommer han hem, men den älskade går ej till hans möte i salen, icke i dalen; ligger i mull, bleknad och kall för sin kärleks skull, eller hon klagar och blöder, offrad av bröder.-- falk som han glömt! du skall bli min, jag vill älska dig ömt. själv vill jag mata för ägarn vingade jägarn. här på hans hand virkar jag in dig i dukens rand, vingar av silver och rika guldklor tillika. falkvingar tog freja en gång och kring rymderna drog, sökte i norr och i söder älskade Öder. länte du ock vingarna ut, du ej bure mig dock. döden allena mig bringar gudarnas vingar. jägare skön, sitt på min skuldra och blicka åt sjön! ack, hur vi längte och blicke, kommer han icke. när jag är död, kommer han säkert; minns då, vad jag bjöd: hälsa och hälsa du åter fritiof, som gråter! x. fritiof pÅ havet. men på stranden stod kung helge och kvad med förbittrat mod, och till trollen han bad. se, då mörknar himlabågen, dundret går kring öde rum, och i djupet kokar vågen, och dess yta höljs med skum. blixtarna i molnen draga här och där en blodig rand, alla havets fåglar jaga skrikande emot sin strand. "hårt blir vädret, bröder! stormens vingar hör jag flaxande i fjärran, men vi blekna ej. sitt du lugn i lunden, tänk på mig och längta, skön i dina tårar, sköna ingeborg!" mot ellidas stam drog ett trollpar till fejd. det var vindkall ham, det var snöig hejd. och då lösas stormens vingar, och den vilde doppar dem än i djupet, än han svingar virvlande mot gudars hem. alla fasans makter skrida, ridande på vågens topp, ur den skummiga, den vida, bottenlösa graven opp. "skönare var färden uti månens skimmer över spegelvågor hän mot balders lund. varmare, än här är, var vid ingborgs hjärta, vitare än havsskum svällde hennes barm." nu solundar-ö står ur våg, som går vit, där är stillare sjö, där är hamn, styr dit! men förvågen viking rädes ej så lätt på trofast ek, står vid styret själv och glades åt de vilda vindars lek. hårdare han seglen fäster, skarpare han vågen skär. rakt i väster, rakt i väster skall det gå, vart böljan bär. "lyster mig att kämpa än en stund mot stormen. storm och nordbo trivas väl ihop pä sjön. ingborg skulle blygas, om dess havsörn flöge rädd, med slappa vingar, för en il i land." men nu växer våg, nu fördjupas gõl, och det viner i tåg, och det knakar i köl. dock, hur vågorna må strida, tumlande nu med, nu mot, gudatimrade ellida trotsar ännu deras hot. som ett stjärnskott uti kvällen, skjuter hon sin fart i fröjd, hoppar, som en bock på fjällen, över avgrund, över höjd. "bättre var att kyssa brud i balders hage än stå här och smaka saltskum, som yr opp. bättre var att famna kungadotterns midja än stå här och gripa roderstången om." men oändlig köld snöar skyn utur, och på däck och på sköld smattrar hagelskur. och emellan skeppets stammar kan du icke se för natt, där är mörkt som i den kammar, där den döde bliver satt. oförsonlig våg, förtrollad, vill dra seglaren i krav; vitgrå, som med aska sållad, gapar en oändlig grav. "blåa bolstrar bäddar ran i djupet åt oss, men mig bida dina bolstrar, ingeborg! goda drängar lyfta årorna ellidas, gudar byggde kölen, bär oss än en stund." Över styrbord gick nu en sjö med fart, i ett ögonblick, spolas däcket klart. då från armen fritiof drager lödig guldring, tre mark tung, blank som sol i morgondager, var en skänk av bele kung. hugger så i stycken ringen, konstfullt utav dvärgar gjord, delar den och glömmer ingen utav sina män ombord. "guld är gott att hava uppå giljarfärden, tomhänt träde ingen ner till sjöblå ran. kall är hon att kyssa, flyktig till att famna, men vi fästa havsbrud med det brända guld." med förnyat hot faller stormen på, och då brister skot, och då springer rå. och mot skeppet, halvt begravet, vågorna till äntring gå. hur man också öser, havet öser man ej ut ändå. fritiof själv kan ej sig dölja, att han döden har ombord. högre dock än storm och bölja ryter än hans härskarord. "björn, kom hit till roder, grip det starkt med björnram! sådant väder sända valhalls makter ej. trolldom är å färde: helge niding kvad den säkert över vågen, jag vill upp och se." som en mård han flög uti masten opp, och där satt han hög och såg ned från topp. se, då simmar för ellida havsval, lik en lossnad ö, och två leda havstroll rida på hans rygg i skummig sjö. hejd, med pälsen snöad neder, skepna'n lik den vita björn, ham med vingar, dem han breder viftande som stormens örn. "nu, ellida, gäller visa, om du gömmer hjältemod i järnfast, buktig barm av ek. lyssna till min stämma: är du gudars dotter, upp, med kopparkölen stånga trollad val!" och ellida hör på sin herres röst, med ett språng hon kör emot valens bröst. och en blodig stråle ryker utur såret upp mot sky; genomborrat vilddjur dyker vrålande til djupets dy. på en gång två lansar springa, slungade av hjältearm, mitt i luden isbjörns bringa, mitt i becksvart stormörns barm. "bra, ellida, träffat! ej så hastigt, tror jag, dyker helges drakskepp upp ur blodig dy. hejd och ham ej heller hålla sjön nu längre: bittert är att bita i det blåa stål." och nu stormen flyr på en gång från sjön, blott en svallvåg styr mot den nära ön. och på en gång solen träder som en konung i sin sal, återlivar allt och gläder skepp och bölja, berg och dal. hennes sista strålar kröna klippans topp och dunkel lund, alla känna nu de gröna stränderna av efjesund. "stego ingborgs böner, bleka mör, mot valhall, böjde liljevita knän på gudars guld. tår i ljusblå ögon, suck ur svandunsbarmar rörde asars hjärtan. låt oss tacka dem!" men ellidas stam, utav valen stött, går i marvad fram, är av färden trött. tröttare ändå av färden äro alla fritiofs män, knappast, stödda emot svärden, hålla de sig uppe än. björn på väldig skuldra drager fyra utav dem i land, fritiof ensam åtta tager, sätter dem kring brasans brand. "blygens ej, i bleka! våg är väldig viking; det är hårt att kämpa emot havets mör. se, där kommer mjödhorn vandrande på guldfot, värmer frusna lemmar. skål för ingeborg!" xi. fritiof hos angantyr. nu är att säga, huru jarl angantyr satt än uti sin sal av furu och drack med sina män. han var så glad i hågen, såg ut åt blånad ban, där solen sjöng i vågen allt som en gyllne svan. vid fönstret gamle halvar stod utanför på vakt. han vaktade med allvar, gav ock på mjödet akt. en sed den gamle hade: han jämt i botten drack, och intet ord han sade, blott hornet in han stack. nu slängde han det vida i salen in och kvad: "skepp ser jag böljan rida, den färden är ej glad. män ser jag döden nära; nu lägga de i land, och tvenne jättar bära de bleknade på strand."-- utöver böljans spegel från salen jarl såg ned. "det är ellidas segel och fritiof, tror jag, med. på gången och på pannan känns torstens son igen. så blickar ingen annan i nordens land som den." från dryckesbord helt modig sprang atle viking då, svartskäggig bärsärk, blodig och grym att se uppå. "nu", skrek han, "vill jag pröva, vad ryktet ment därmed, att fritiof svärd kan döva och aldrig ber om fred." och upp med honom sprungo hans bistra kämpar tolv, på förhand luften stungo och svängde svärd och kolv. de stormade mot stranden, där tröttat drakskepp stod, och fritiof satt å sanden och talte kraft och mod. "lätt kunde jag dig fälla," skrek atle med stort gny, "vill i ditt val dock ställa att kämpa eller fly. men blott om fred du beder, fastän en kämpe hård, jag som en vän dig leder allt upp till jarlens gård." "väl är jag trött av färden", genmälte fritiof vred, "dock må vi pröva svärden, förrän jag tigger fred." då såg man stålen ljunga i solbrun kämpehand, på angurvadels tunga var runa stod i brand. nu skiftas svärdshugg dryga, och dråpslag hagla nu, och bägges sköldar flyga på samma gång itu. de kämpar utan tadel stå dock i kretsen fast. men skarpt bet angurvadel, och atles klinga brast. "mot svärdlös man jag svänger", sad' fritiof, "ej mitt svärd, men lyster det dig länger, vi pröva annan färd." likt vågor då om hösten de bägge storma an, och stålbeklädda brösten slå tätt emot varann. de brottades som björnar uppå sitt fjäll av snö, de spände hop som örnar utöver vredgad sjö. rotfästad klippa hölle väl knappast ut att stå, och lummig järnek fölle för mindre tag än så. från pannan svetten lackar, och bröstet häves kallt, och buskar, sten och backar uppsparkas överallt. med bävan slutet bida stålklädda män å strand; det brottandet var vida berömt i nordens land. till slut dock fritiof fällde sin fiende till jord, han knät mot bröstet ställde och talte vredens ord: "blott jag mitt svärd nu hade, du svarte bärsärksskägg, jag genom livet lade på dig den vassa egg." "det skall ej hinder bringa", sad' atle, stolt i håg. "gå du och tag din klinga, jag ligger som jag låg. den ena som den andra skall en gång valhall se: i dag må jag väl vandra, i morgon du kanske." ej länge fritiof dröjde, den lek han sluta vill, han angurvadel höjde, men atle låg dock still. det rörde hjältens sinne,sin vrede då han band, höll midt i hugget inne och tog den fallnes hand. nu halvar skrek med iver och hov sin vita stav: "för edert slagsmål bliver här ingen glädje av. på bord stå silverfaten och ryka länge sen, för er skull kallnar maten, och törsten gör mig men." försonta trädde båda nu inom salens dörr, där mycket var att skåda, som fritiof ej sett förr. grovhyvlad planka kläder ej nakna väggar där men dyrbart gyllenläder med blommor och med bär. ej mitt på golvet glöder den muntra brasans sken, men emot vägg sig stöder kamin av marmorsten. ej rök i sal sig lade, ej sågs där sotad ås, glasrutor fönstren hade, och dörren hade lås. där sträcka silverstakar ut armarna med ljus, men intet stickbloss sprakar att lysa kämpens rus. helstekt, med späckad bringa, står hjort på bordets rund, med guldhov lyft att springa och löv i hornens lund. bak kämpens stol en tärna står med sin liljehy och blickar som en stjärna bakom en stormig sky. där flyga lockar bruna, där stråla ögon blå, och som en ros i runa så glöda läppar små. men hög å silverstolen satt jarlen i sin prakt; hans hjälm var blank som solen och pansar't guldbelagt. med stjärnor översållad var manteln rik och fin, och purpurbrämen fållad med fläcklös hermelin. tre steg han gick från bordet, bjöd handen åt sin gäst och vänligt tog till ordet: "kom hit och sitt mig näst! rätt månget horn jag tömde med torsten vikingsson; hans son, den vittberömde, ej sitte fjärran från!" då sågs han bägarn råga med vin från sikelö; det gnistrade som låga, det skummade som sjö: "välkommen gäst här inne, du son utav min vän! jag dricker torstens minne, jag själv och mina män". en skald från morvens kullar då prövar harpans gång. i välska toner rullar hans dystra hjältesång. men i norräna tunga en ann på fädrens vis hörs torstens bragder sjunga, och han tog sångens pris. nu mycket jarlen sporde om fränderna i nord, och fritiof redogjorde för allt med vittra ord. ej någon kunde klaga på vald uti hans dom, han talte lugnt som saga i minnets helgedom. när han därnäst berättar, vad han på djupet såg, om helges troll och jättar, besegrade på våg, då gladas kämpar alla, då småler angantyr, och höga bifall skälla till hjältens äventyr. men när han talar åter om älskad ingeborg, hur ömt den sköna gråter, hur ädel i sin sorg, då suckar mången tärna med kinderna i brand. ack, hur hon tryckte gärna den trogne älskarns hand! sitt ärende framförde den ungersven till slut, och jarlen tåligt hörde, till dess han talat ut. "skattskyldig var jag icke, mitt folk är fritt som jag: kung beles skål vi dricke men lyda ej hans lag. hans söner ej jag känner, men fordra de en gärd, väl, som det höves männer, de kräve den med svärd! vi möta dem på stranden-- dock var din far mig kär."-- då vinkar han med handen sin dotter, som satt när. då: sprang den blomstervidja från stol med gyllne karm; hon var så smal om midja, hon var så rund om barm. i gropen uppå kinden satt astrild, liten skalk, lik fjäriln, förd av vinden allt i en rosenkalk. hon sprang till jungfruburen och kom tillbaka med grönvirkad pung, där djuren gå under höga träd och silvermånen skiner på sjö av segel full; dess lås är av rubiner och tofsarna av gull. hon lade den i handen uppå sin fader huld; han fyllde den till randen med fjärran myntat guld. "där är min välkomstgåva, gör med den vad du vill; men nu skall fritiof lova bli här i vinter still. mod gagnar allestädes, men nu är stormens tid, och hejd och ham, jag rädes, ha åter kvicknat vid. ej alltid gör bllida så lyckligt språng som sist, och många valar rida sin våg, fast en vi mist." så skämtades i salen och dracks till dager ljus, men gyllne vinpokalen gav glädje blott, ej rus. fullbräddad skål vart ägnad åt angantyr till slut, och så i god välfägnad satt fritiof vintern ut. xii. fritiofs Återkomst. men våren andas i blånad sky, och jordens grönska blir åter ny. då tackar fritiof sin värd och sätter ånyo ut över böljans slätter, och glättigt skjuter hans svarta svan sin silverfåra på solblank ban; ty västanvindar med vårens tunga som näktergalar i seglen sjunga, och Ägirs döttrar med slöjor blå kring rodret hoppa och skjuta på. det är så skönt, när du stäven vänder från fjärran segling mot hemmets stränder, där röken stiger från egen härd och minnet vaktar sin barndomsvärld och friska källan din lekplats lögar, men fädren sitta i gröna högar och, full av längtan, den trogna mön står på sin klippa och ser åt sjön.-- sex dar han seglar, men på den sjunde en mörkblå strimma han skönja kunde vid himlaranden; den växer ut med skär och öar och land till slut. det är _hans_ land, som ur böljan träder, han ser dess skogar i gröna kläder, han hör dess forsar med skummigt larm, och klippan blottar sin marmorbarm. han hälsar näsen, han hälsar sunden och seglar tätt under gudalunden, där sista sommar så mången natt den glade svärmarn med ingborg satt. "vi syns hon icke, kan hon ej ana, hur när jag gungar på mörkblå bana? kanske hon lämnat sin balders vård och sitter sorgsen i kungens gård och harpan slår eller guldet tvinnar."-- då stiger plötsligt från templets tinnar hans falk i höjden och skjuter ned på fritiofs axel, så var hans sed. han flaxar ständigt med vita vingen, från skuldran lockar den trogne ingen; han krafsar ständigt med brandgul klo, han ger ej vika, han ger ej ro. han lutar kroknäbb till fritiofs öra, det är som hade han bud att föra kanske från ingborg, från älskad brud, men ingen fattar de brutna ljud. ellida susar nu fram om näset, hon hoppar glad som en hind på gräset, ty välkänd bölja mot kölen slår, men fritiof munter i stäven står. han gnuggar ögat, han lägger handen utöver pannan och ser åt stranden, men hur han gnuggar, och hur han ser, han finner icke sitt framnäs mer. den nakna eldstad står upp ur mullen, lik kämpens benrad i ättekullen; där gården var, är ett svedjeland, och askan virvlar kring härjad strand. förbittrad fritiof från skeppet hastar, kring brända tomter han ögat kastar, sin faders tomter, sin barndoms ban. då kommer hastigt lurvhårig bran, hans hund, som ofta, så käck som trogen, för honom brottats med björn i skogen. han gör i glädjen så många hopp, han springer högt på sin herre opp. mjölkvite gångarn med guld i manen, med ben som hinden, med hals som svanen, den fritiof ridit så mången gång, ur dalen ilar med höga språng. han gnäggar glättigt, han halsen vänder, han vill ha bröd ur sin herres händer. den arme fritiof, mer arm än de, har ingenting att de trogna ge.-- bedröfvad, husvill--på ärvda grunden står fritiof, blickar kring svedda lunden, då gamle hilding mot honom går, hans fosterfader med silverhår. "vad här jag skådar mig knappt förundrar; när örn är flugen, hans bo man plundrar. en kunglig idrott för landets fred! väl håller helge sin kungaed att gudar dyrka och mänskor hata, och mordbrand heter hans eriksgata. det gör mig snarare harm än sorg; men säg mig nu, var är ingeborg?"-- "de bud, jag bär dig", den gamle sade, "jag räds, du finner dem föga glade. så snart du seglat, kung ring bröt fram, fem sköldar väl jag mot en förnam. i disardalen, vid ån, stod slaget, och blodrött skummade vattendraget. kung halvdan skämtade jämt och log, men likafullt som en man han slog. jag höll min sköld över kungasonen, jag var så glad åt den lärospånen. men länge hölls ej den leken ut; kung helge flydde, då vart det slut. men som han flydde, den asafrände, förbi din gård, han i hast den tände. för brödren sattes då två beting: sin syster skulle de ge kung ring, hon ensam kunde hans skymf försona; om ej, så toge han land och krona. och av och an gingo fredens bud; men nu kung ring har fört hem sin brud."-- "o kvinna, kvinna!" nu fritiof sade, "den första tanke, som loke hade, det var en lögn, och han sände den i kvinnoskepnad till jordens män. en blåögd lögn, som med falska tårar alltjämt oss tjusar, alltjämt oss dårar, högbarmad lögn med sin rosenkind, med dygd av våris och tro av vind; i hjärtat flärden och sveket viska, och mened dansar på läppar friska.-- och dock, hur var hon mitt hjärta kär, hur kär hon var mig, hur kär hon är! jag kan ej minnas så långt tillbaka, att hon i leken ej var min maka. jag minns ej bragd, som jag tänkt uppå, där hon ej tänktes som pris också. som stammar, vuxna från rot tillsamman, slår tor den ena med himlaflamman, den andra vissnar; men lövas en, den andra kläder i grönt var gren: så var vår glädje, vår sorg gemensam, jag är ej van att mig tänka ensam. nu är jag ensam. du höga var, som med din griffel kring jorden far och skriver eder på gyllne skiva, låt bli det narrspel, låt bli att skriva! med lögner ristar du skivan full, det skada är på det trogna gull. en dikt jag minnes om balders nanna, men sanning finns ej på mänsklig panna, det finns ej trohet i mänskobröst-- när sveket länte min ingborgs röst, den röst lik vinden på blomsterängar, lik harpoljudet från brages strängar. jag vill ej lyssna till harpoljud, jag vill ej tänka på trolös brud. vart stormen dansar, dit vill jag följa, blod skall du dricka, du världshavsbölja! varhelst en klinga sår högens säd, på berg, i dal, vill jag vara med. jag tör väl möta en kung med krona, mig lyster se, om jag då skall skona. jag tör väl möta bland sköldars larm en ungersven med förälskad barm, en narr, som litar på tro och heder, den vill jag hugga av ömkan neder, vill spara honom att stå en dag besviken, skymfad, förrådd som jag."-- "hur ungdomsblodet dock kokar över", sad' gamle hilding, "hur väl behöver det dock att kylas av årens snö, och orätt gör du den ädla mö. anklaga icke min fosterdotter, anklaga nornan, vars vreda lotter ej mänskor rubba; de falla från åskdiger himmel på jordens son. väl hörde ingen den ädlas klagan, hon teg som vidar i gudasagan, hon sörjde tyst som i sunnanskog en turturduva, vars make dog. för mig hon yppade dock sitt hjärta, i djupet bodde oändlig smärta. som vattenfågeln med sårat bröst till bottnen dyker--det är hans tröst, att dagen icke i såret glöder, på bottnen ligger han och förblöder--, så hennes smärta i natt sjönk ned, jag ensam vet vad den starka led. 'ett offer är jag', hon sade ofta, 'för beles rike: snöblommor dofta i fridsmöns lockar, och vintergrönt kring offret hänges, det är dock skönt! jag kunde dö, men det vore skoning; förtörnad balder vill blott försoning, en långsam död, kan ej vila få, dess hjärta klappar, dess pulsar slå. men säg för ingen den svagas strider! jag vill ej ömkas, ehur jag lider; kung beles dotter fördrar sin sorg, men hälsa fritiof från ingeborg!'-- när bröllopsdagen nu kom--den dagen jag gärna sett från min runstav tagen--, mot templet skredo i långsam färd vitklädda jungfrur och män med svärd. för skaran tågade dyster sångarn, men blek satt bruden på svarte gångarn, blek som en ande, som sitter på det svarta molnet, när åskor gå. jag hov ur sadeln min höga lilja, jag ledde henne på tempeltilja till altarrunden; där sade hon åt lofn sitt löfte med säker ton, och mycket bad hon till vite guden, och alla gräto, så när som bruden. då märkte helge på hennes arm din ring, han ryckte den bort med harm;-- på balders bild nu den gyllne hänger--. min vrede styrde jag då ej länger; jag rev från länden mitt goda svärd, ej mycket var då kung helge värd. men ingborg viskade mig: 'låt vara, en broder kunnat mig detta spara, dock mycket tål man, förrn man förgås, allfader dömer emellan oss.'"-- "allfader dömer", sad' fritiof dyster, "men litet också mig döma lyster. Är nu ej balders midsommarfest? i templet är väl den krönte präst, mordbrännarkungen, som sålt sin syster; mig också litet att döma lyster." xiii. balders bÅl. midnattssolen på bergen satt, blodröd till att skåda; det var ej dag, det var ej natt, det vägde emellan båda. baldersbålet, den solens bild, brann på vigda härden. snart är ändå lågan spilld, då rår höder för världen. präster stodo kring tempelvägg, makade bålets bränder, bleka gubbar med silverskägg och med flintkniv i hårda händer. kung med krona står bredvid, sysslar kring altarrunden. hör! då klinga i midnattstid vapen i offerlunden. "björn, håll endast dörren till, fångna äro de alle. ut eller in om någon vill, klyv hans huvudskalle!" blek vart kungen, alltför väl kände han den rösten. fram steg fritiof med vredgad själ, kvad som en storm om hösten: "här är skatten, som du bjöd hämtas från västervågor. tag den! sedan på liv och död slåss vi vid balders lågor; sköld på ryggen, barmen bar, ingen skall striden klandra. första hugget som kung du har, glöm ej, mitt är det andra. blicka ej åt dörren så! räv är fångad i kula. tank på framnäs, tänk uppå systern med lockar gula!"-- så han talte med hjältefog, drog ur gördel pungen; föga varsamt han den slog mitt i pannan på kungen. blodet frusade ut ur mund, svart det blev för öga: dånad låg vid altarrund asafränden höga. "tål du ej ditt eget guld, fegaste i ditt rike? angurvadel vill ej ha skuld att ha fällt din like. stilla, präster med offerkniv, bleka månskensförstar! kunde gälla ert usla liv, ty min klinga törstar. vite balder, styr din harm, se ej på mig så mulen! ringen, som du bär på arm, med förlov, han är stulen. ej för dig, så vitt jag vet, smiddes han av vaulunder. våldet rånade, jungfrun grät, bort med de nidingsfunder!"-- tappert drog han, men ring och arm voro som grodda samman: när den lossnade, stöp av harm guden i offerflamman. hör! det knattrar, lågan slår guldtand i tak och sparrar. dödsblek björn i porten står, fritiof blygs, att han darrar. "Öppna dörren, släpp folket ut! vakt ej mer jag behöver. templet brinner, gjut vatten, gjut hela havet däröver!" nu från templet och ned till strand knyts en kedja av händer, böljan vandrar från hand till hand, fräser mot svedda bränder. fritiof sitter som regnets gud högt på bjälken och flödar, delar till alla sitt härskarbud, lugn bland de heta dödar. fåfängt! elden tar överhand, rökmoln virvla och välta, guldet droppar på glödhet sand, silverplåtarna smälta. allt förlorat! ur halvbränd sal eldröd hane sig svingar, sitter på takets ås och gal, flaxar med lösta vingar. morgonvinden spelar från norr, högt det mot himmeln blossar. balderslunden är sommartorr, lågan är hungrig och frossar. rasande far hon från gren till gren, än har hon långt till målet. eja, vad vilt, vad rysligt sken! väldigt är baldersbålet. hör, hur det knakar i rämnad rot, se, hur topparna glöda! vad är människokraft emot muspels söner, de röda! eldhav böljar i balders lund, strandlöst svalla dess vågor. sol går opp, men fjärd och sund spegla blott avgrundslågor. aska är templet inom kort, aska tempellunden; sorgsen drager fritiof bort, gråter i morgonstunden. xiv. fritiof gÅr i landsflykt. på skeppsdäck satt i sommarnatt bedrövad hjälte. som vågor välte än sorg, än harm uti hans barm; och tempelbranden rök än från stranden. "du tempelrök, flyg högt och sök, sök opp valhalla och nederkalla den vites hämnd, åt mig bestämd! flyg dit och skvallra, så valven skallra, om tempelrund, förbränd till grund; om träbelätet, som föll från sätet och brände ned som annan ved; om lunden sedan, fridlyst, alltsedan svärd bands vid länd-- nu är han bränd, fick ej den heder att ruttna neder!-- det där, med mer, som var man ser, glöm ej att föra till balders öra, du töckenbud till töcknig gud! helt visst besjungen blir milde kungen, som bannlyst mig, ej just från sig, men från sitt rike. välan, vi vike till riken blå, där vågor gå. du får ej vila, du måste ila, ellida, ut till världens slut. du måste vagga i saltad fragga, min drake god; en droppe blod ej heller skadar, evar du vadar. i stormens sus är du mitt hus; det andra brände gud balders frände. du är min nord, min fosterjord; ifrån den andra jag måste vandra. du är min brud i becksvart skrud; ty på den vita var ej att lita.-- du fria hav, du vet ej av kung, som förtrycker med härskarnycker. din kung är den bland fria män, som aldrig skälver, hur högt du välver i retad harm vitskummig barm. de blåa fälten förnöja hjälten. hans kölar gå som plog därpå, och blodregn dugga i ekens skugga, men stålblankt är utsädet där. de fälten bära sin skörd av ära, sin skörd av guld. bliv du mig huld, du vilda bölja! dig vill jag följa. min faders hög står still, och trög, och vågor döna omkring den gröna. min skall bli blå, med havsskum på, skall ständigt simma i storm och dimma och dra allt fler i djupet ner.-- du blev mig givet till hem i livet, du blir min grav, du fria hav!" så kvad den vilde. med sorg sig skilde hans trogna stäv från välkänd säv. han vaggar sakta bland skär, som vakta ännu i nord den grunda fjord. men hämnden vakar: med tio drakar kung helge sam i sundet fram. då ropte alla: "nu kung vill falla. ett slag han ger; ej trives mer valhallasonen inunder månen, vill ovanom, varfrån han kom; den gudabloden vill hem till oden." knappt var det sagt, förrn osedd makt vid köln sig hakar på helges drakar. allt mer och mer de dragas ner till ranas döda, och själv med möda kung helge sam från halvdränkt stam.-- men björn den glade log högt och sade: "du asablod, den list var god. mig ingen sporrat, jag skeppen borrat förliden natt, ett lovligt spratt! jag hoppas, bana af gammal vana dem håller kvar; men skada var, att icke drotten gick med till botten." i vredesmod kung helge stod, knappt frälst ur vågen. han spände bågen, stålgjuten, rund, mot klippig grund. han själv ej kände, hur hårt han spände, tills med en klang stålbågen sprang. men fritiof väger sin lans och säger: "en dödsörn bär jag bunden här. om ut den flöge, då låge höge kungsniding fälld för våld och väld. men frukta icke, min lans ej dricke den feges blod! den är för god för de bedrifter. på runogrifter han ristas må, men icke på de nidingsstänger, där ditt namn hänger. ditt mandomsrön försjönk i sjön. till lands ej heller det mycket gäller. rost bryter stål, ej du; ett mål mer högt än detta vill jag mig sätta. giv akt, hur vitt det går från ditt."-- då tar han furen, till åra skuren, en mastfur fälld i gudbrands däld. han tar dess make och ror sin drake. han ror med kraft: som rörpils skaft, som kallbräckt klinga, de åror springa.-- nu sol går opp bak fjällens topp, och vinden ljuder från land och bjuder var våg till dans i morgonglans. på böljans toppar ellida hoppar i fröjd åstad; men fritiof kvad: "heimskringlas panna, du höga nord! jag får ej stanna uppå din jord. från dig att stamma jag yvs med skäl. nu, hjälteamma, farväl, farväl! farväl, du höga valhallastol, du nattens öga, midsommarsol! du klara himmel, lik hjältens själ, du stjärnevimmel, farväl, farväl! farväl, i fjällar, där äran bor! i runohällar för väldig tor! i blåa sjöar, jag känt'å väl, i skär och öar, farväl, farväl! farväl, i högar vid bölja blå, dem linden snögar sitt blomdoft på; men saga dömer med rättvis själ vad jorden gömmer: farväl, farväl! farväl, i lunder, i gröna hus, jag lekt inunder vid bäckens sus! i barndomsvänner, som ment mig väl, jag än er känner; farväl, farväl! min kärlek gäckad, min gård är bränd, min ära fläckad, i landsflykt sänd! från jord vi vädje till havet väl, men livets glädje, farväl, farväl!" xv. vikingabalk. nu han svävade kring på det ödsliga hav, han for vida som jagande falk; men för kämpar ombord skrev han lagar och rätt. vill du höra hans vikingabalk? "ej må tältas å skepp, ej må sovas i hus: inom salsdörr blott fiender stå. viking sove på sköld och med svärdet i hand, och till tält har han himmeln den blå. kort är hammarens skaft hos den segrande tor, blott en aln långt är svärdet hos frej. det är nog; har du mod, gå din fiende när, och för kort är din klinga då ej. när det stormar med makt, hissa seglen i topp! det är lustigt på stormande hav. låt det gå, låt det gå! den, som stryker, är feg; förrn du stryker, gå hellre i krav! mö är fridlyst å land, får ej komma ombord: var det freja, hon sveke dig dock; ty den gropen på kind är den falskaste grop, och ett nät är den flygande lock. vin är valfaders dryck, och ett rus är dig unt, om du endast med sansning det bär: den, som raglar å land, kan stå upp, men till ran, till den sövande, raglar du här. seglar krämare fram, må du skydda hans skepp, men den svage ej vägre dig tull! du är kung på din våg, han är slav av sin vinst, och ditt stål är så gott som hans gull. gods må skiftas å däck genom tärning och lott: hur den faller, beklaga ej dig! men sjökonungen själv kastar tärningen ej, han behåller blott äran för sig. nu syns vikingaskepp, då är äntring och strid, det går hett under sköldarna till; om du viker ett steg, har du avsked från oss, det är lagen, gör sen som du vill! när du segrat, var nöjd! den, som beder om frid, har ej svärd, är din fiende ej; bön är valhallabarn, hör den bleknades röst, den är niding, som ger henne nej. sår är vikingavinst, och det pryder sin man, när på bröst eller panna det står; låt det blöda, förbind det, sen dygnet är om men ej förr, vill du hälsas för vår."-- så han ristade lag, och hans namn med var dag växte vida på främmande kust, och sin like han fann ej på blånande sjö, och hans kämpar de stridde med lust. men han själv satt vid rodret och blickade mörk, han såg ned i det vaggande blå: "du är djup; i ditt djup trives friden kanske, men hon trives ej ovanuppå. Är den vite mig vred, må han taga sitt svärd, jag vill falla, om så är bestämt; men han sitter i skyn, skickar tankarna ned, som förmörka mitt sinne alltjämt."-- dock, när striden är när, tar hans sinne sin flykt, stiger djärvt som den vilade örn, och hans panna är klar, och hans stämma är hög, och som ljungaren står han i förn. så han sam ifrån seger till seger alltjämt, han var trygg på den skummande grav, och han synte i söder båd öar och skär, och så kom han till grekelands hav. när han lunderna såg, som ur vågorna stå, med de lutande templen uti, vad han tänkte, vet freja, och skalden det vet, i, som älsken, i veten det, i! "här vi skulle ha bott, här är ö, här är lund, här är templet, min fader beskrev: det var hit, det var hit jag den älskade bjöd, men den hårda i norden förblev. bor ej friden i saliga dalarna där, bor ej minnet i pelaregång? och som älskandes viskning är källornas sorl, och som brudsång är fåglarnas sång. var är ingeborg nu? har hon glömt mig alltren för gråhårige, vissnade drott? ack! jag kan icke glömma; jag gåve mitt liv för att se, för att se henne blott. och tre år ha förgått, sen jag skådat mitt land, idrotternas konungasal; stå de härliga fjällen i himmeln ännu? Är det grönt i min fädernedal? på den hög, där min fader är lagd, har jag satt en lind, månn' hon lefver ännu? och vem vårdar den späda? du jord, giv din must, och din dagg, o du himmel, giv du! dock, vi ligger jag längre på främmande våg och tar skatt och slår mänskor ihjäl? jag har ära alltnog, och det flammande guld, det lumpna, föraktar min själ. där är flagga på mast, och den visar åt norr, och i norr är den älskade jord; jag vill följa de himmelska vindarnas gång, jag vill styra tillbaka mot nord." xvi. fritiof och bjÖrn. _fritiof_. björn, jag är ledsen vid sjö och våg, höljorna äro oroliga sällar. nordens de fasta, de älskade fjällar locka med underlig makt min håg. lycklig är den, som hans land ej förskjutit, ingen förjagat från fädernas grav! ack, för länge, för länge jag flutit fridlös omkring på det vilda hav. _björn_. havet är gott, det må du ej klandra: frihet och glädje på havet bo, veta ej av den vekliga ro, älska alltjämt att med böljorna vandra. när jag blir gammal, vid grönskande jord växer jag också väl fast som gräsen. nu vill jag kämpa och dricka ombord, nu vill jag njuta mitt sorgfria väsen. _fritiof_. isen har nu dock oss jagat i land, runt kring vår köl ligga vågorna döda: vintern, den långa, vill jag ej föröda här ibland klippor på ödslig strand. Ännu en gång vill i norden jag jula, gästa kung ring och min rövade brud; se vill jag åter de lockarna gula, höra dess stämmas de älskade ljud. _björn_. gott, jag förstår dig: kung ring skall röna, vikingahämnden är föga blid. kungsgård vi tända vid midnattstid, sveda den gamle och röva den sköna. eller kanhända på vikingavis aktar du drotten en holmgång värdig, eller han stämmes till härslag på is:-- säg, hur du vill, jag är genast färdig. _fritiof_. nämn mig ej mordbrand, och tänk ej på krig fredlig till kungen min kosa jag ställer. han har ej felat, hans drottning ej heller, hamnande gudar ha straffat mig. litet har jag att på jorden hoppas, vill blott ta avsked av den, jag har kär, avsked för evigt! när lundarna knoppas, kanske ock förr, är jag åter här. _björn_. fritiof, din dårskap jag aldrig förlåter. klagan och suck för en kvinnas skull! jorden, ty värr, är av kvinnor full, miste du en, stå dig tusen åter. vill du, så hämtar jag dig av det kram hastigt en laddning från glödande söder, röda som rosor och späka som lamm, sen dra vi lott eller dela som bröder. _fritiof_. björn, du är öppen och glad som frej, tapper att strida och klok att råda; oden och tor, dem känner du båda, freja, den himmelska, känner du ej. icke om gudarnas makt må vi tvista: akta dig, väck ej den evigas harm! fort eller sent hennes slumrande gnista vaknar i gudars och människors barm! _björn_. gå dock ej ensam, din hemväg kan stängas. _fritiof_. ej går jag ensam, mitt svärd följer med. _björn_. minns du, hur hagbart blev hängd i träd? _fritiof_. den, som kan tagas, är värd att hängas. _björn_. stupar du, stridsbror, jag hämnar dig väl, ristar väl blodörn på fritiofs bane. _fritiof_. onödigt, björn, den galande hane hör han ej längre än jag. farväl! xvii. fritiof kommer till kung ring. kung ring han satt i högbänk om julen och drack mjöd, hos honom satt hans drottning så vit och rosenröd. som vår och höst dem båda man såg bredvid varann; hon var den friska våren, den kulna höst var han. då trädde uti salen en okänd gubbe in, från huvud och till fötter han insvept var i skinn. han hade stav i handen, och lutad sågs han gå, men högre än de andra den gamle var ändå. han satte sig på bänken längst ned vid salens dörr; där är de armas ställe ännu, som det var förr. de hovmän logo smädligt och sågo till varann och pekade med fingret på luden björnskinnsman. då ljungar med två ögon den främmande så vasst, med ena handen grep han en ungersven i hast, helt varligen han vände den hovman upp och ned; då tystnade de andra--vi hade gjort så med. "vad är för larm där nere? vem bryter kungens frid? kom upp till mig, du gamle, och låt oss talas vid! vad är ditt namn? vad vill du? var kommer du ifrån?" så talte kungen vredgad till gubben, gömd i vrån. "helt mycket spör du, konung, men jag dig svara vill. mitt namn ger jag dig icke, det hör mig ensam till. i Ånger är jag uppfödd, min arvgård heter brist, hit kom jag ifrån ulven, hos honom låg jag sist. jag red i forna dagar så glad på drakens rygg, han hade starka vingar och flög så glad och trygg; nu ligger han förlamad och frusen jämte land, själv är jag gammal vorden och bränner salt vid strand. jag kom att se din vishet, i landet vida spord, då mötte man med hån mig, för hån är jag ej gjord; jag tog en narr för bröstet och vände honom kring, dock steg han upp helt oskadd, förlåt mig det, kung ring!"-- "ej illa", sade kungen, "du lägger dina ord; de gamla bör man ära, kom, sätt dig vid mitt bord! låt din förklädning falla, låt se dig, som du är, förklädd trivs glädjen icke, jag vill ha glädje här." och nu från gästens huvud föll luden björnhud ner; i stället för den gamle envar en yngling ser. ifrån den höga pannan kring skuldran bred och full de ljusa lockar flöto liksom ett svall av gull. och präktig stod han för dem i sammetsmantel blå, i handsbrett silverbälte med skogens djur uppå. i drivet arbet' alla den konstnär bragt dem an, och runt kring hjältens midja de jagade varann. och ringens gyllne smycke kring armen satt så rikt, vid sidan häng hans slagsvärd, en stannad ljungeld likt. den lugna hjälteblicken kring sal och gäster for; skön stod han där som balder och hög som asa-tor. den häpna drottnings kinder de skifta färg så snällt, som röda norrsken måla de snöbetäckta fält; som tvenne vattenliljor inunder stormens larm stå gungande på vågen, så hävdes hennes barm. nu blåste lur i salen, och tyst blev överallt, ty nu var löftets timme, och in bars frejers galt, med kransar omkring bogen och äpple uti mund, och fyra knän han böjde på silverfatets rund. och konung ring sig reste i sina lockar grå, han rörde galtens panna och gjorde löfte så: "jag svär att fritiof vinna, fastän en kämpe stor; så hjälpe frej och oden, därhos den starke tor!" med trotsigt löje reste sig främlingen så hög, en blixt av hjältevrede hans anlet' överflög; han slog sitt svärd i bordet, så det i salen klang, och upp från ekebänken varenda kämpe sprang. "och hör du nu, herr konung, mitt löfte ävenväl: ung fritiof är min frände, jag känner honom väl. jag svär att fritiof skydda, och var det mot en värld; så hjälpe mig min norna, därhos mitt goda svärd!" men kungen log och sade: "helt dristigt är ditt tal, dock, orden äro fria i nordisk kungasal. fyll honom hornet, drottning, med vin, som du har bäst! den främling, vill jag hoppas, i vinter är vår gäst." och drottningen tog hornet, som framför henne stod, av urens panna brutet, en kostelig klenod, på blanka silverfötter, med mången gyllne ring, med forntidsbilder sirad och runeskrift omkring. med nederslagna ögon hon räckte hornet då, men darrande var handen, och vin blev spillt därpå. som aftonrodnans purpur på liljorna ibland, de dunkla droppar brunno på hennes vita hand. och glad tog gästen hornet utav den ädla fru; ej tvenne män det tömde, som männer äro nu; men lätt och utan tvekan, den drottning till behag, den väldige det tömde uti ett andedrag. och skalden tog sin harpa--han satt vid kungens bord-- och sjöng ett hjärtligt kväde om kärleken i nord, om hagbart och skön signe, och vid hans djupa röst de hårda hjärtan smälte i stålbeklädda bröst. han sjöng om valhalls salar och om einheriars lön, om tappra fäders bragder på fältet och på sjön. då grep var hand åt svärdet, då flammade var blick, och flitigt omkring laget det djupa hornet gick. helt skarpt blev där nu drucket allt i det kungahus, varenda kämpe tog sig ett ärligt julerus, gick sedan bort att sova förutan harm och sorg; men konung ring den gamle sov hos skön ingeborg. xviii. isfarten. kung ring med sin drottning till gästabud far, på sjön står isen så spegelklar. "far ej över isen", den främling sad': "han brister, för djupt är det kalla bad."-- "kung drunknar icke så lätt", sad' ring, "den, som är rädd, kan gå sjön omkring." den främling blickar så mörk med hot, han spänner stålsko i hast på fot. slädtravarn sätter med makt åstad, han frustar lågor, han är så glad. "sträck ut", skrek kungen, "min travare god, låt se, om du är av sleipners blod!" det går, som stormen går över sjön, den gamle ej aktar sin drottnings bön. men stålskodd kämpe står heller ej still, han far dem förbi, så snart han vill. han ritar mång' runa i isens famn, skön ingeborg åker över sitt namn. så ila de fram på den glatta ban, men under dem lurar den falska ran. hon stöter ett hål i sitt silvertak, och släden ligger i öppen vak. skön ingeborg vart så blek på kind, då kommer den gäst som en virvelvind. han borrar sin stålsko i isen fast och griper i gångarns man med hast. då svänger han lätt med ett enda hopp båd' häst och släde på isen opp. "det tag vill jag prisa", sad' kungen fort, "ej fritiof den starke det bättre gjort." så vände de åter till kungsgård om; den främmande blev där, tills våren kom. xix. fritiofs frestelse. våren kommer, fågeln kvittrar, skogen lövas, solen ler, och de lösta floder dansa sjungande mot havet ner. glödande som frejas kinder tittar rosen ur sin knopp, och i mänskans hjärta vakna levnadslust och mod och hopp. då vill gamle kungen jaga, drottningen skall med på jakt, och det hela hov församlas, vimlande i brokig prakt. bågar klinga, kogar skramla, hingstar skrapa mark med hov, och med kappor över ögat skrika falkarna på rov. se, där kommer jaktens drottning! arme fritiof, se ej dit! som en stjärna på en vårsky sitter hon på gångarn vit, hälften freja, hälften rota, skönare än bägge två, och från lätta purpurhatten vaja högt de fjädrar blå. se ej på de ögons himmel, se ej på de lockars gull! akta dig, det liv är smidigt, akta dig, den barm är full! blicka ej på ros och lilja, skiftande på hennes kind, hör ej på den kära stämman, susande som vårens vind! nu är jägarskaran färdig. hejsan, över berg och dal! hornet smattrar, falken stiger lodrätt emot odens sal. skogens åbor fly med ångest, söka sina kulors hem, men med spjutet sträckt framför sig är valkyrjan efter dem. gamle kungen kan ej följa jakten, som hon flyger fram, ensam vid hans sida rider fritiof, tyst och allvarsam. mörka, vemodsfulla tankar växa i hans kvalda bröst, och varthelst han än sig vänder, hör han deras klagoröst. "o! vi övergav jag havet, för min egen fara blind? sorgen trivs ej rätt på vågen, blåser bort med himmelns vind. grubblar viking, kommer faran, bjuder honom opp till dans, och de mörka tankar vika, bländade av vapnens glans. men här är det annorlunda: outsäglig längtan slår sina vingar kring min panna; som en drömmande jag går, kan ej glömma balders hage, kan ej glömma eden än, som hon svor,--_hon_ bröt den icke, grymma gudar bröto den. ty de hata mänskors ätter, skåda deras fröjd med harm, och min rosenknopp de togo, satte den i vinterns barm. vad skall vintern väl med rosen? han förstår ej hennes pris, men hans kalla ande kläder knopp och blad och stjälk med is." så han klagade. då kommo de uti en enslig dal, dyster, hopträngd mellan bergen, överskyggd av björk och al. där steg kungen av och sade: "se, hur skön, hur sval den lund! jag är trött, kom låt oss vila! jag vill slumra här en stund."-- "icke må du sova, konung; kall är marken här och hård, tung blir sömnen, upp! jag för dig snart tillbaka till din gård."-- "sömnen, som de andra gudar, kommer, när vi minst det tro", sade gubben. "unnar gästen ej sin värd en timmes ro?" då tog fritiof av sin mantel, bredde den på marken hän, och den gamle kungen lade tryggt sitt huvud på hans knän, somnade så lugnt, som hjälten somnar efter stridens larm på sin sköld, så lugnt, som barnet somnar på sin moders arm. som han slumrar, hör! då sjunger kolsvart fågel ifrån kvist: "skynda, fritiof, dräp den gamle, sluta på en gång er tvist! tag hans drottning, dig tillhör hon, dig har hon som brudgum kysst, intet mänskligt öga ser dig, och den djupa grav är tyst."-- fritiof lyssnar: hör! då sjunger snövit fågel ifrån kvist: "ser dig intet mänskligt öga, odens öga ser dig visst. niding, vill du mörda sömnen? vill du värnlös gubbe slå? vad du vinner, hjälterykte vinner du dock ej därpå."-- så de bägge fåglar sjöngo; men sitt slagsvärd fritiof tog, slängde det med fasa från sig fjärran i den mörka skog. kolsvart fågel flyr till nastrand, men på lätta vingars par som en harpoton den andra klingande mot solen far. strax är gamle kungen vaken. "mycket var den sömn mig värd, ljuvligt sover man i skuggan, skyddad av den tappres svärd. dock, var är ditt svärd, o främling? blixtens broder, var är han? vem har skilt er, i, som aldrig skulle skiljas från varann!"-- "lika mycket", fritiof sade, "svärd jag finner nog i nord; skarp är svärdets tunga, konung, talar icke fridens ord. mörka andar bo i stålet, andar ifrån nifelhem, sömnen är ej säker för dem, silverlockar reta dem."-- "jag har icke sovit, yngling, jag har blott dig prövat så; obeprövad man och klinga litar ej den kloke på. du är fritiof, jag har känt dig, alltsen i min sal du steg, gamle ring har vetat länge, vad hans kloke gäst förteg. varför smög du till min boning, djupt förklädd och utan namn? varför, om ej för att stjäla bruden ur den gamles famn? Äran, fritiof, sätter sig ej namnlös uti gästfritt lag, blank är hennes sköld som solen, öppna hennes anletsdrag. ryktet talte om en fritiof, människors och gudars skräck, sköldar klöv och tempel brände den förvågne lika käck. snart med härsköld, så jag trodde, kommer han emot ditt land, och han kom, men höljd i lumpor, med en tiggarstav i hand. varför slår du ner ditt öga? jag var också ung en gång; livet är en strid från början, ungdomen dess bärsärksgång. klämmas skall hon mellan sköldar, tills det vilda mod är tömt; jag har prövat och förlåtit, jag har ömkat och förglömt. ser du, jag är gammal vorden, stiger snart i högen in; tag mitt rike då, o yngling! tag min drottning, hon är din. bliv min son till dess och gästa i min kungssal som förut! svärdlös kämpe skall mig skydda, och vår gamla tvist har slut."-- "icke", svarar fritiof dyster, "kom jag som en tjuv till dig; ville jag din drottning taga, säg, vem skulle hindrat mig? men min brud jag ville skåda, en gång, ack! blott en gång än. o jag dåre! halvsläckt låga tände jag på nytt igen. i din sal jag dröjt för länge, gästar mer ej där, o kung! oförsonta gudars vrede vilar på mitt huvud tung. balder med de ljusa lockar, han, som har var dödlig kär, se, han hatar mig allena, ensamt jag förkastad är. ja, jag stack i brand hans tempel; varg i veum heter jag; när jag nämnes, skrika barnen, glädjen flyr ur gästfritt lag. fosterjorden har förkastat en förlorad son med harm, fridlös är jag i min hembygd, fridlös i min egen barm. icke på den gröna jorden vill jag söka friden mer, marken bränner under foten, trädet ingen skugga ger. ingeborg har jag förlorat, henne tog den gamle ring, solen i mitt liv är slocknad, bara mörker runtomkring. därför, hän till mina vågor! eja, ut, min drake god! bada åter becksvart bringa lustigt i den salta flod; vifta vingarna i molnen, väsande de vågor skär, flyg så långt som stjärnan leder, som besegrad bölja bär! låt mig höra stormens dunder, låt mig höra åskans röst! när det dånar runtomkring mig, då är lugn i fritiofs bröst. sköldeklang och pilregn, gubbe! mitt i havet slaget står, och jag stupar glad, och renad till försonta gudar går." xx. kung rings dÖd. gullmanig fåle, skinfaxe, drager vårsol ur vågen mer härlig än förr. morgonens stråle, dubbelt så fager, leker i kungssal: det klappar på dörr. sorgsen i hågen fritiof inträder, blek sitter kungen; skön ingeborgs bröst häves som vågen. främlingen kväder avskedets kväde med darrande röst: "böljorna bada vingade hästen, sjöhästen längtar från stranden igen. ut vill han vada; bort måste gästen, bort från sitt land och sin älskade vän. dig ger jag ringen, ingeborg, åter; heliga minnen bo troget i den. giv den åt ingen! fritiof förlåter; mig ser du aldrig på jorden igen. ej skall jag skåda stigande röken mer ifrån nordlanden. mänskan är slav; nornorna råda. böljornas öken, där är mitt fädernesland och min grav. gå ej till stranden, ring, med din maka, helst sedan stjärnorna sprida sitt sken! kanske i sanden vräkas tillbaka fritiofs, den biltoge vikingens, ben."-- då kväder kungen: "tungt är att höra mannen, som klagar likt kvidande mö. dödssång är sjungen ren i mitt öra. vad är det mer? den som föds, han skall dö. nornornas lottning, huru vi fike, trotsa vi, klaga vi ej oss ifrån. dig ger jag drottning, dig ger jag rike, skydda det du åt min växande son! väl har jag suttit vänsäll i salen, väl har jag älskat den gyllene frid. dock har jag brutit sköldar i dalen, sköldar på sjön, och ej bleknat därvid. nu vill jag rista geirs-odd och blöda, strådöd ej höves för nordmannakung. ringa är sista idrottens möda, mera än livet är döden ej tung." då skar han ärligt runor åt oden, dödsrunor djupa på bröst och på arm. lyste så härligt droppande bloden fram mellan silvret på hårvuxen barm. "bringen mig hornet! skål för ditt minne, skål för din ära, du härliga nord! mognande kornet, tänkande sinne, fredelig bragd har jag älskat på jord. fåfängt bland vilda, blodiga drotter sökte jag friden, hon flyktade hän. nu står den milda ätthögens dotter väntande på mig vid gudarnas knän. hell er, i gudar, valhallasöner! jorden försvinner; till asarnas fest gjallarhorn budar. salighet kröner skönt, som en guldhjälm, den kommande gäst."-- sade och tryckte ingeborg handen, handen på son och på gråtande vän. Ögat han lyckte, kunglige anden flög med en suck till allfader igen. xxi. rings drapa. sitter i högen högättad hövding, slagsvärd vid sidan, skölden på arm. gångaren gode gnäggar där inne, skrapar med guldhov grundmurad grav. nu rider rike ring över bifrost, sviktar för bördan bågiga bron. upp springa valhalls valvdörrar vida; asarnas händer hänga i hans. tor är ej hemma, härjar i härnad. valfader vinkar vinbägarn fram. ax flätar frej kring konungens krona, frigg binder blåa blommor däri. brage, hin gamle, griper i guldsträng, stillare susar sången än förr. lyssnande vilar vanadis vita barmen mot bordet, brinner och hör: "högt sjunga svärden ständigt i hjälmar; brusande böljor blodas alltjämt. kraften, de goda gudarnas gåva, bister som bärsärk biter i sköld. därför var dyre drotten oss kär, som stod med sin sköld för fredliga fält: sansade styrkans skönaste avbild steg som en offer- ånga åt skyn. ord väljer vittre valfader, då han sitter hos saga, sökvabäcks mö. så klungo kungsord, klara som mimers böljor och därhos djupa som de. fridsam förlikar forsete tvisten, domarn vid urdas vällande våg. så satt å domsten dyrkade drotten, blidkade händer blodhämnden bjöd. karg var ej kungen, kring sig han strödde dvärgarnas dag-glans, drakarnas bädd. gåvan gick glad från givmilda handen, lätt från hans läppar lidandets tröst. välkommen, vise valhalla-arving! länge lär norden lova ditt namn. brage dig hälsar höviskt med horndryck, nornornas fridsbud nerifrån nord!" xxii. konungavalet. till tings! till tings! budkavlen gå kring berg och dal. kung ring är död: nu förestår ett kungaval. då tager bonden svärd från vägg, det stål är blått. med fingret prövar han dess egg, den biter gott. de piltar se med glädje på det stålblå sken; de lyfta svärdet två och två, för tungt för en. men dottern skurar hjälmen ren-- blank skall han bli-- och rodnar, när hon skådar sen sin bild däri. sist tar han sköldens runda värn, en sol i blod. hell dig, du frie man av järn, du bonde god! all landets ära växer ur ditt fria bröst. i striden är du landets mur, i frid dess röst. så samlas de med sköldegny och vapenbrak på öppet ting, ty himmelns sky är deras tak. men fritiof står på tingets sten, hos honom står den kungason, en liten en med guldgult hår. då går ett sorl kring bondelag: "för liten är den kungsson, kan ej skipa lag, ej leda här."-- men fritiof lyfte pilten ung på skölden opp: "i nordmän, här är eder kung och landets hopp. sen här den gamle odens ätt i bild så skön. på sköld han känner sig så lätt som fisk i sjön. jag svär att skydda rike hans med svärd och stång och sätta faderns gyllne krans på son en gång. forsete, balders höge son, har hört min ed; och om jag viker därifrån, slå han mig ned!"-- men pilten satt på skölden lyft, lik kung å stol, lik unga örnen, som från klyft ser opp mot sol. den väntan blev det unga blod till slut för lång, och med ett hopp i mark han stod, ett kungligt språng! då ropte böndren högt på ting: "vi, nordens män, vi kora dig, bliv lik kung ring, sköldburne sven! och fritiof före dina bud, tills du blir stor. jarl fritiof, dig ge vi till brud hans sköna mor."-- då blickar fritiof mörk: "i dag är kungaval men bröllop ej; min brud tar jag av eget val. till balders hage vill jag gå, har möte stämt med mina nornor där: de stå och vänta jämt. ett ord jag måste tala med de sköldemör. de bygga under tidens träd, och ovanför. ljuslockig balder vredgas än, den bleke gud. han tog, blott han kan ge igen mitt hjärtas brud."-- då hälsade han nyvald kung, på pannan kysst, och långsamt över hedens ljung försvann han tyst. xxiii. fritiof pÅ sin faders hÖg. hur skönt ler solen, huru vänligt hoppar dess milda stråle ifrån gren till gren, allfaders blick i aftondaggens droppar, som i hans världshav, lika klar och ren! hur röda färgar hon ej bergens toppar! o, det är blod på balders offersten! i natt är snart det hela land begravet, snart sjunker hon, en gyllne sköld, i havet. först låt mig dock bese de kära ställen, min barndoms vänner, dem jag älskat så. ack, samma blommor dofta än i kvällen, och samma fåglar än i skogen slå. och vågen tumlar sig som förr mot hällen-- o, den som aldrig gungat däruppå! om namn och bragder jämt den falska talar, men fjärran för hon dig från hemmets dalar. jag känner dig, du flod, som ofta burit den djärve simmarn på din bölja klar. jag känner dig, du dal, där vi besvurit en evig tro, som icke jorden har. och björkar, i, uti vars bark jag skurit de runor många, i stån ännu kvar med stammar vita och med kronor runda; allt är som förr, blott jag är annorlunda. Är allt som förr? var äro framnäs' salar och balders tempel på den vigda strand? ack, det var skönt uti min barndoms dalar, men därutöver har gått svärd och brand, och mänskors hämnd och gudars vrede talar till vandrarn nu från svarta svedjeland. du fromme vandrare, ej hit du drage, ty skogens vilddjur bo i balders hage. det går en frestare igenom livet, den grymme nidhögg ifrån mörkrets värld. han hatar asaljuset, som står skrivet på hjältens panna, på hans blanka svärd. vart nidingsdåd, i vredens stund bedrivet, det är hans verk, är mörka makters gärd; och när det lyckas, när han templet tänder, då klappar han uti kolsvarta händer. finns ej försoning, strålande valhalla? blåögde balder, tar du ingen bot? bot tager mannen, när hans fränder falla, de höga gudar sonar man med blot. det sägs, du är den mildaste av alla: bjud, och vart offer ger jag utan knot. ditt tempels brand var icke fritiofs tanka, tag fläcken bort ifrån hans sköld, den blanka! tag bort din börda, jag kan den ej bära, kväv i min själ de mörka skuggors spel; försmå ej ångern, låt en levnads ära försona dig för ögonblickets fel! jag bleknar ej, fast ljungarn själv står nära, i ögat kan jag se den blekblå hel. du fromme gud med dina månskensblickar, dig ensam räds jag och den hämnd, du skickar. här är min faders gravhög. sover hjälten? ack, han red hän, där ingen kommer från. nu dväljs han, sägs det, uti stjärnetälten och dricker mjöd och gläds åt sköldars dån. du asagäst, se ner från himlafälten, din son dig kallar, torsten vikingsson! jag kommer ej med runor eller galder, men lär mig blott, hur blidkas asa-balder? har graven ingen tunga? för en klinga den starke angantyr ur högen kvad. det svärd var gott, men tirfings pris är ringa mot vad jag ber; om svärd jag aldrig bad-- svärd tar jag väl i holmgång själv, men bringa du mig försoning ifrån asars stad! min skumma blick, min gissning blott du lede, ett ädelt sinne tål ej balders vrede. du tiger, fader! hör du, vågen klingar, ljuvt är dess sorl, lägg ner ditt ord däri! och stormen flyger, häng dig vid hans vingar, och viska till mig, som han far förbi! och västern hänger full av gyllne ringar, låt en av dem din tankes härold bli! ej svar, ej tecken för din son i nöden du äger, fader! o, hur arm är döden!-- och solen släcks, och aftonvinden lullar för jordens barn sin vaggsång utur skyn, och aftonrodnad körer upp och rullar med rosenröda hjul kring himlens bryn. i blåa dalar, över blåa kullar hon flyger fram, en skön valhallasyn. då kommer plötsligt över västervågor en bild framsusande i guld och lågor. en hägring kalla vi det himmelns under-- i valhall klingar hennes namn mer skönt.-- hon svävar sakta över balders lunder, en gyllne krona på en grund av grönt. det skimrar över, och det skimrar under med sällsam glans, ej förr av mänskor rönt. till slut hon stannar, sjunkande till jorden, där templet stått, nu själv ett tempel vorden. en bild av breidablick, den höga muren stod silverblank på klippans brant och sken. av djupblått stål var pelare var skuren, och altaret utav en ädelsten: och dômen hängde, som av andar buren, en vinterhimmel stjärneklar och ren, och högt däri, med himmelsblåa skrudar, med gyllne kronor, sutto valhalls gudar. och se, på runbeskrivna sköldar stödda, de höga nornor uti dörren stå: tre rosenknoppar i en urna födda, allvarliga men tjusande ändå. och urda pekar tyst på det förödda, det nya tempel pekar skulda på. och bäst som fritiof nu sig sansa hunnit och gläds och undrar, så är allt försvunnet. o, jag förstår er, mör från tidens källa, det var ditt tecken, hjältefader god! det brända templet skall jag återställa, skönt skall det stå på klippan, där det stod. o, det är härligt att få vedergälla med fredlig bragd sin ungdoms övermod! den djupt förkastade kan hoppas åter, den vite guden blidkas och förlåter. välkomna stjärnor, som där uppe tågen! nu ser jag åter glad er stilla gång. välkomna norrsken, som där uppe lågen! i voren tempelbrand för mig en gång. uppgrönska, ättehög, och stig ur vågen, så skön som förr, du underbara sång! här vill jag slumra på min sköld och drömma, hur mänskor sonas och hur gudar glömma. xxiv. fÖrsoningen. fulländat nu var balders tempel. däromkring stod ej som förr en skidgård, men av hamrat järn, med gyllne knappar på var stång, ett värn var rest kring balders hage: som en stålklädd kämpehär med hillebarder och med gyllne hjälmar stod det nu på vakt kring gudens nya helgedom. av idel jättestenar var dess rundel byggd, med dristig konst hopfogade, ett jätteverk för evigheten, templet i uppsala likt, där norden såg sitt valhall i en jordisk bild. stolt stod det där på fjällets brant och speglade sin höga panna uti havets blanka våg. men runtomkring, en präktig blomstergördel lik, gick balders dal med alla sina lundars sus, med alla sina fåglars sång, ett fridens hem. hög var den kopparstöpta port, och innanför två pelarrader uppå starka skulderblad uppburo valvets rundel, och han hang så skön utöver templet som en kupig sköld av guld. längst fram stod gudens altar. det var hugget av en enda nordisk marmorklyft, och däromkring ormslingan slog sin ringel, full med runeskrift, djuptänkta ord ur vala och ur havamal. men uti muren ovanföre var ett rum med gyllne stjärnor uppå mörkblå grund, och där satt fromhetsgudens silverbild, så blid, så mild, som silvermånen sitter uppå himmelns blå.-- så templet syntes. parvis trädde nu därin tolv tempeljungfrur, klädda uti silverskir, med rosor uppå kinderna och rosor i det oskuldsfulla hjärtat. framför gudens bild kring nyinvigda altaret de dansade, som vårens vindar dansa över källans våg, som skogens älvor dansa i det höga gräs, när morgondaggen ligger skimrande därpå. och under dansen sjöngo de en helig sång om balder, om den fromme, hur han älskad var utav vart väsen, hur han föll för höders pil och jord och hav och himmel gräto. sången var, som om den icke komme från ett mänskligt bröst, men som en ton från breidablick, från gudens sal, som tanken på sin älskling hos en enslig mö, när vakteln slår de djupa slag i nattens frid och månen skiner över björkarna i nord.-- förtjust stod fritiof, lutad vid sitt svärd, och såg på dansen, och hans barndomsminnen trängde sig förbi hans syn, ett lustigt folk, ett oskuldsfullt. med himmelsblåa ögon och med huvuden omflutna utav lockigt guld, de vinkade en vänlig hälsning till sin forne ungdomsvän. och som en blodig skugga sjönk hans vikingsliv med alla sina strider, sina äventyr, i natten neder, och han tyckte själv sig stå, en blomsterkransad bautasten, på deras grav. och allt som sången växte, höjde sig hans själ från jordens låga dalar upp mot valaskjalf; och mänsklig hämnd och mänskligt hat smalt sakta hän, som isens pansar smälter ifrån fjällets bröst, när vårsol skiner; och ett hav av stilla frid, av tyst hänryckning göt sig i hans hjältebarm. det var, som kände han naturens hjärta slå emot sitt hjärta, som han ville trycka rörd heimskringla i sin brodersfamn och stifta frid med varje skapat väsen inför gudens syn.-- då trädde in i templet balders överpräst, ej ung och skön som guden men en hög gestalt, med himmelsk mildhet i de ädla anletsdrag, och ned till bältestaden flöt hans silverskägg. en ovan vördnad intog fritiofs stolta själ, och örnevingarna på hjälmen sänktes djupt inför den gamle; men han talte fridens ord: "välkommen hit, son fritiof! jag har väntat dig, ty kraften svärmar gärna vitt kring jord och hav, en bärsärk lik, som biter blek i sköldens rand, men trött och sansad vänder hon dock hem till slut. den starke tor drog mången gång till jotunheim, men trots hans gudabälte, trots stålhandskarna, utgårda-loke sitter på sin tron ännu; det onda viker icke, själv en kraft, för kraft. en barnlek blott är fromhet, ej förent med kraft; hon är som solens strålar uppå Ägirs barm, en löslig bild med vågen stigen eller sänkt, förutan tro och hållning, ty han har ej grund. men kraft förutan fromhet tär ock bort sig själv, som svärdet tärs i högen: hon är livets rus, men glömskans häger svävar över hornets brädd, och när den druckne vaknar, blygs han för sitt dåd. all styrka är från jorden, ifrån ymers kropp; de vilda vattnen äro ådrorna däri, och hennes senor äro smidda utav malm. dock blir hon tom och öde, blir hon ofruktbar, tills solen, himmelns fromhet, skiner däruppå. då grönskar gräs, då stickas blomstrens purpurduk, och djur och mänskor näras vid sin moders barm. (sic!) så är det ock med askers barn. två vikter har allfader lagt i vågskåln för allt mänskligt liv, motvägande varandra, när den våg står rätt; och jordisk kraft och himmelsk fromhet heta de. stark är väl tor, o yngling, när han spänner hårt sitt megingjard utöver bergfast höft och slår. vis är väl oden, när i urdas silvervåg han blickar ner, och fågeln kommer flygande till asars far med tidningar från världens rund. dock bleknade de bägge, deras kronors glans halvslocknade, när balder, när den fromme föll, ty han var bandet uti valhalls gudakrans. då gulnade på tidens träd dess kronas prakt, och nidhögg bet uppå dess rot, då lossades den gamla nattens krafter, midgårdsormen slog mot skyn sin ettersvällda stjärt, och fenris röt, och surturs eldsvärd ljungade från muspelheim. varthelst sen dess ditt öga blickar, striden går med härsköld genom skapelsen: i valhall gal guldkammig hane, blodröd hane gal till strids på jorden och inunder jord. förut var frid ej blott i gudars salar men på jorden ock; frid var i mänskors som i höga gudars barm. ty vad som sker här nere, det har redan skett i större mått där uppe: mänskligheten är en ringa bild av valhall; det är himmelns ljus, som speglar sig i sagas runbeskrifna sköld. vart hjärta har sin balder. minns du än den tid, då friden bodde i ditt bröst och livet var så glatt, så himmelskt stilla som sångfågelns dröm, när sommarnattens vindar vagga hit och dit var sömnig blommas huvud och hans gröna säng? då levde balder ännu i din rena själ, du asason, du vandrande valhallabild! för barnet är ej guden död, och hela ger igen sitt rov, så ofta som en mänska föds. men jämte balder växer i var mänsklig själ hans blinde broder, nattens höder; ty allt ont föds blint, som björnens yngel föds, och natten är dess mantel, men det goda kläder sig i ljus. beställsamt träder loke, frestarn fram alltjämt och styr den blindes mördarhand, och spjutet far i valhalls kärlek, i den unge balders bröst. då vaknar hatet, våldet springer opp till rov, och hungrig stryker svärdets ulv kring berg och dal, och drakar simma vilda över blodig våg. ty som en kraftlös skugga sitter fromheten, en död ibland de döda, hos den bleka hel, och i sin aska ligger balders gudahus.-- så är de höga asars liv en förebild till mänsklighetens lägre: bägge äro blott allfaders stilla tankar, de förändras ej. vad skett, vad ske skall, det vet valas djupa sång. den sång är tidens vaggsång, är dess drapa ock, heimskringlas hävder gå på samma ton som den, och mannen hör sin egen saga däruti. förstån i ännu eller ej? spör vala dig.-- du vill försonas. vet du, vad försoning är? se mig i ögat, yngling, och bliv icke blek! på jorden går försonarn kring och heter död. all tid är från sin början grumlad evighet, allt jordiskt liv är avfall från allfaders tron, försonas är att vända renad dit igen. de höga asar föllo själva; ragnarök är asarnas försoningsdag, en blodig dag på vigrids hundramilaslätt: där falla de, ohämnade dock icke, ty det onda dör för evigt, men det fallna goda reser sig ur världsbålslågan, luttrat till ett högre liv. väl faller stjärnekransen blek och vissnad ner från himmelns tinning, väl försjunker jord i sjön; men skönare hon återföds och lyfter glad sitt blomsterkrönta huvud utur vågorna, och unga stjärnor vandra med gudomlig glans sin stilla gång utöver den nyskapade. men på de gröna kullar styrer balder då nyfödda asar och en renad mänskoätt; och runetavlorna av guld, som tappats bort i tidens morgon, hittas uti gräset då på idavallen av försonta valhalls barn.-- så är det fallna godas död dess eldprov blott, är dess försoning, födseln till ett bättre liv, som återflyger skärat dit, det kom ifrån, och leker skuldlöst som ett barn på faderns knä. ack! allt det bästa ligger på hinsidan om gravhögen. gimles gröna port, och lågt är allt, besmittat allt, som dväljes under stjärnorna.-- dock, även livet äger sin försoning ren, en ringare, den högres stilla förespel. hon är som skaldens löpning på sin harpa, när med konsterfarna fingrar han slår sången an och stämmer tonen, sakta prövande, till dess att handen griper väldigt uti strängens guld, och forntids stora minnen lockas ur sin grav, och valhalls glans omstrålar de förtjustas syn. ty jorden är dock himmelns skugga, livet är förgården dock till balderstemplet ovan skyn. till asar blotar hopen, leder gångarn fram, guldsadlad, purpurbetslad, för att offras dem. det är ett tecken, och dess mening djup, ty blod är morgonrodnan till envar försoningsdag. men tecknet är ej saken, det försonar ej: vad själv du brutit, gäldar ingen ann för dig. de döda sonas vid allfaders gudabarm, den levandes försoning är i eget bröst. ett offer vet jag, som är gudarna mer kärt än rök av offerbollar, det är offret av ditt eget hjärtas vilda hat, din egen hämnd. kan du ej döva deras klingor, kan du ej förlåta, yngling, vad vill du i balders hus? vad mente du med templet, som du reste här? med sten försonas balder ej; försoning bor, här nere som där uppe, blott där friden bor. försonas med din fiende och med dig själv, då är du ock försonad med ljuslockig gud!-- i södern talas om en balder, jungfruns son, sänd av allfader att förklara runorna på nornors svarta sköldrand, outtydda än. frid var hans härskri, kärlek var hans blanka svärd, och oskuld satt som duva på hans silverhjälm. from levde han och lärde, dog han och förlät, och under fjärran palmer står hans grav i ljus. hans lära, sägs det, vandrar ifrån dal till dal, försmlälter hårda hjärtan, lägger hand i hand och bygger fridens rike på försonad jord. jag känner ej den läran rätt, men dunkelt dock i mina bättre stunder har jag anat den: vart mänskligt hjärta anar den ibland som mitt. en gång, det vet jag, kommer hon och viftar lätt de vita duvovingar över nordens berg. men ingen nord är längre till för oss den dag, och eken susar över de förgätnas hög. i lyckligare släkten, i, som dricken då strålbägarn av det nya ljus, jag hälsar er! väl eder, om det jagar bort var sky, som hängt sitt våta täcke hittills över livets sol! förakten likväl icke oss, som redligt sökt med oavvända ögon hennes gudaglans! _en_ är allfader, fastän fler hans sändebud.-- du hatar beles söner. varför hatar du? Åt sonen av en odalbonde ville de ej ge sin syster, ty hon är av semings blod, den store odenssonens; deras ättartal når upp till valhalls troner, det ger stolthet in. men börd är lycka, ej förtjänst, invänder du. av sin förtjänst, o yngling, blir ej mänskan stolt men endast av sin lycka; ty det bästa är dock goda gudars gåva. Är du själv ej stolt av dina hjältebragder, av din högre kraft? gav du dig själv den kraften? knöt ej Åsa-tor dig armens senor fasta såsom ekens gren? Är det ej gudens högre mod, som klappar glatt i sköldeborgen av ditt välvda bröst? Är ej det gudens blixt, som ljungar i ditt ögas brand? de höga nornor sjöngo vid din vagga ren drottkvädet av din levnad; din förtjänst därav är större ej än kungasonens av sin börd. fördöm ej andras stolthet, att ej din fördöms! nu är kung helge fallen."--här bröt fritiof av: kung helge fallen? när och var?"--"du vet det själv: så länge som du murat här, han var på tåg bland finnarna i fjällen. på en ödslig klint stod där ett gammalt tempel, vigt åt jumala. nu var det stängt och övergivet länge sen, men över porten ännu en vidunderlig forntidabild av guden lutade till fall. men ingen tordes nalkas, ty en sägen gick bland folket ifrån släkt till släkt, att vem som först besökte templet, skulle skåda jumala. det hörde helge, och med blind förbittring drog han uppå öde stigar emot hatad gud och ville störta templet. när han kom dit upp, var porten stängd och nyckeln rostad fast däri. då grep han om dörrposterna och rystade de multna stammar; på en gång med rysligt brak föll bilden ner och krossade uti sitt fall valhallasonen, och så såg han jumala. ett bud i natt har bragt oss tidningen härom. nu sitter halvdan ensam på kung beles stol; bjud honom handen, offra gudarna din hämnd! det offret fordrar balder, fordrar jag, hans präst, till tecken, att du icke gäckat fridsäll gud. förvägrar du det, då är templet fåfängt byggt, och fåfängt har jag talat."-- nu steg halvdan in utöver koppartröskeln, och med oviss blick han stod på avstånd från den fruktade och teg. då knäppte fritiof brynjohataren från länd, mot altaret han stödde sköldens gyllne rund och trädde obeväpnad till sin ovän fram. "i denna strid", så talte han med vänlig röst, "är ädlast den, som bjuder först sin hand till frid." då rodnade kung halvdan, drog stålhandsken av, och länge skilda händer slogo nu ihop, ett kraftigt handslag, trofast såsom fjällens grund. förbannelsen upplöste gubben då, som låg utöver varg i veum, över biltog man. och som den löstes, insteg plötsligt ingeborg, brudsmyckad, hermlinsmantlad, utav tärnor följd, som månen följts av stjärnorna på himmelns valv. med tårar i de sköna ögonen hon föll intill sin broders hjärta, men han lade rörd den kära systern intill fritiofs trogna bröst. och över gudens altar räckte hon sin hand åt barndomsvännen, åt sitt hjärtas älskade.---- notes. [the commentaries of f. w. lindvall's school edition of fritiofs saga have been extensively reproduced.] canto i. stanza . _hilding_ was a yeoman or bonde (see note, canto : ) of sogn in norway and fosterfather of fritiof and ingeborg. in viking times the children of kings and great warriors were often entrusted to the care of less influential and less wealthy friends to be trained by them, thus removing the young from the temptations and disturbing influences of court life and warfare. this practice would also remove them from the danger of being pampered by fond parents or sycophantic servants. . _ej norden förr sett två så sköna_. the auxiliary _har_ is omitted. such omissions are common in subordinate clauses and in poetry. . _såg_. subjunctive past, regular form _såge_. . _i frejas hus_. freja, or fröja, wife of Öder, was the goddess of beauty and love. in her abode, folkvang, were gathered all the lovers who had been faithful to each other unto death. . _älvkungen_. _Älvor_ or _alfer_ were ethereal beings of great beauty and with voices that had the clearness of silver. during moonlight nights especially they danced in dales and groves. _ljusalfer_, light elves, personified the benign influences in nature, especially as they manifest themselves in the realms of light and air. _svartalfer_, black elves, lived in the earth and personified the silent forces that operate beneath its surface. they are perhaps identical with the dwarfs. the elves are here thought of as having kings and queens just as human beings. . _en kung var ej som han i ära_. a king was not honored as he. . _runan_. the runes were the characters of the early alphabet of the germans, anglo-saxons, and scandinavians. runic inscriptions were generally cut into wood, bone or rock. . _fick han ingborg lära. fick_ may mean either that he was permitted to teach ingeborg or that he must do it because of an irresistible desire to do so. . _båd', både_. . _det första ax, vars guld blev moget_. a striking metaphor meaning "the first head of grain that ripened and assumed a golden color." . _innan kort_, before long. . _drog på jakt_. idiomatic expression for "went hunting." . _valhall(a)_, the home of the gods and the palace of oden. hither one half of the heroes that fell in battle were carried by the valkyrs. here they spent their time in feasting and fighting. . _ett kornland, som för vinden går_. a field of grain that waves before the wind. . _idun(a)_, wife of brage and keeper of the golden apples of youth. . _frigg(a)_, the wife of oden and queen of the goddesses. she was the goddess of conjugal and motherly love. . _gerd(a)_, wife of frej, was the daughter of a giant, but nevertheless renowned for her wonderful beauty. . _nanna_, wife of balder, personified pure and tender love. balder was the fair god who loved light and lived a life of purity and innocence. the evil loke induced balder's blind brother, Öder, to throw an arrow of mistletoe at him and he fell dead. when nanna saw the body of her dead husband carried out to the funeral pyre, her heart burst with grief. . _hel(a)_, goddess of death and ruler of nine worlds in nifelhem. she received all that died of sickness or old age, but it seems that others also came to her abode. in the deepest abyss of her kingdom was a place of punishment for the wicked. from her name comes the word "hell" and swedish _ihjäl (att slå ihjäl_, to kill). . _oden_, oldest and highest god of the northern races. his spirit pervaded everything. he is the source of the higher forms of life. . _allfader_, oden. he is so called because he was supposed to be the father of men and of gods. . _till smycke_, as an ornament. this use of _till_ is very common in swedish. . _beles dotter_. ingeborg's father was bele, king of sogn in western norway. . _till oden ... uppstiger hennes ättartal_. the royal families were supposed to have descended from the gods (see note, canto xxiv: ). . _torstens son_. fritiof was the son of torsten vikingsson, a viking chief. . observe the numerous expressions of the defiant spirit of fritiof prior to his going into exile. note also in stanzas and his ingenuity in proving his own high rank. . _tor_, god of thunder and of war, the strongest of the gods. all noble human strength came from him. he was the friend of man and the enemy of the giants with whom he had many hard conflicts. his abode, trudvang, was marvelously beautiful. when he journeyed forth from trudvang, driving a span of he-goats, to meet the giants, thunder and lightning arose. canto ii. stanza . _bonde_. this term is generally translated by the word peasant. the word yeoman is often used as an equivalent term and sometimes the original scandinavian form _bonde_ is used in english. a _bonde_ was an independent land-holder, liberty-loving, and, as a rule, an active participant in public affairs. . _mjöd_, mead, a fermented drink made of water, honey and hops with a flavoring of spices. . _altarrunden_. the pagan temples had no altars. the figure is borrowed from the modern temple. . _offerlunden_. the norse temples were usually surrounded by sacred groves. . _hon_; antecedent is endräkt. . _som ringen på lansen_. this refers to the metal ring that served to hold the point of the lance to the lance itself and thus gave it greater strength. . _på pelarstoder fyra_. according to scandinavian mythology the heavens were supported by four dwarfs, _austre_, east, _västre_, west, _nordre_, north, and _södre_, south. . _nog svika lungans tecken i offrad falk_. this assumes that the norsemen read signs by observing the entrails of animals. authorities differ on this point. some maintain that the poet has here merely borrowed from classical mythology. . _flärd är mången runa, som skärs på balk_. meaningless or deceptive is many a rune that is cut in the staff. the early northmen believed that the will of the gods could be ascertained by writing runes on sticks of wood which then were thrown on the ground and read by the priests. . _hur vis han het_ (heter). expression is equivalent to "hur vis han än må heta." . _högbänk_. in the primitive scandinavian homes benches were placed along the four walls. the men had their places along the long walls (långsidor) and the women along the end walls (kortsidor). at the center of the two long walls were high seats of honor. the master of the house occupied the one on the north side and the chief guest the one on the south side. . _till oden gå_, to die. . _odens fåglar_. oden is represented as having two birds, hugin (thought) and munin (memory or, according to some authorities, the longing that impels oden to activity), which are dispatched to the earth at every day-break and in the evening return to oden and whisper into his ears the news of the day's happenings. . _ty vädret rår för årsväxt och vind för lycka_. equivalent to saying that man is not himself the absolute master of his own destiny. the forces of nature can thwart all his plans. . throughout this canto tegnér draws freely from havamal, the "song of oden" or the "song of the most high," which is replete with precepts on morality and wisdom. in this stanza this ancient scandinavian song is followed very closely. note the frequent sarcastic references to woman in the saga. . _norna_. the norns, three in number, weave the fate of men and gods. urda was the norn of the past, verdandi of the present, and skulda of the future. . _hon stötte på sköld_. the meaning is: wherever fate threatened with some danger it was met by courage and vigilance. . _de asasöner_. see note, canto i: . . _nordlands kungar_, the kings of the northland. . _bautasten_. a monument erected in honor of rulers or heroes. . _frej_, the god of sunshine and warm summer showers, hence also the god of harvests. canto iii. line . _voro nu satta i hög_. were interred. . _fjärden_. in this case sognefjord. . _fäste i lugn sin boning på framnäs_. took up his abode on framnäs. this probably lay on the south side of sognefjord. . _de kullarnas topp. de_ is seldom used in this way. here supplied for the sake of the meter. . _som längta till stävan_. that yearn to be milked. . _till tio tolfter på hundrat_. a so-called _storhundrade_ or great hundred was . . _högsätespelare_, the posts of the seat of honor. on it were carved images of oden and frej. . _frej med solen på hatten_. frej was the sun god and was pictured with a sun on his helmet. . _Östervåg_, eastern billow, the baltic. _västersaltet_, western salt, the north sea, _gandvik_, the white sea. . _brage_, the god of poetry and music. . _mimers evigt sorlande våg_. mimer's ever rippling fountain. the god mimer guarded the fountain of wisdom. oden once pawned one of his eyes for a drink out of this fountain. . _visthus_. these were small houses, separated from the main building, in which food was kept. . _Österland_, asia. . _dvärgarnas eld_. the dwarfs were supposed to be most skillful smiths. . _gröningasund_, a sound between seeland, moen and falster in denmark. . _het_, abbrev. for _hette_. . _ulleråker_, a royal estate near uppsala, where judicial assemblies were held. . _järnhös_. the word means iron skull. . _vid solens portar_, in asia. . _hildur_, the goddess of war. "hildur's lek" means war. . _vaulund_ was the most skillful smith among the dwarfs. he is called _haltande_, lame or limping, because mimer's wife, who was his bitter enemy, had cut the tendons of his knees. . _tre mark höll han i vikt_. it weighed three marks. a mark was approximately one half kilogram. . _alfhem_, the realm of air between heaven and earth, was the home of the elves and of frej. . _saga_, wife of oden and goddess of history. she dwelt in sökvabäck beneath the stream of time and events, taking note of all she saw. here oden visited her daily to drink the pure water from golden beakers and listen to her songs about former days. . after the death of balder (see note, canto i: ) his body was burned on a great funeral pyre. . _glitner_, "glittering hall," the home of forsete, the god of justice. . _bretland_, england. . _satt sig med skepp_, interred with ship and all. . _draken_. the viking ships were so called because in the prow were placed carved images of the dragon's head and the stern was made to resemble the dragon's tail. . _Ägir_, the god of the stormy sea. . _vingarna_. the sails. . _blev efter_. was left behind in the race. . _var han ej konungason_. even though he was not a king's son. . _blandat blod med varandra_. a solemn compact of brotherhood was sealed by the parties to it causing their blood to flow together from self-inflicted wounds while they made the promises that are stated in the text. canto iv. stanza . _drakarna_. see note, canto iii: . . _till gäst_. see note, canto i: . . _dess sida_. dess, genitive of _den_ and _det_, is irregularly used here. the regular form would be _hennes_. . _de taltes vid_. they talked together. . _namnen, som grodde i björkens bark_. see canto i: . . observe in last line the change to direct address. . _väl_, doubtless. . _dagen om_, throughout the day. . _jagar i molnen_. goes ahunting in the clouds, is dreaming. . _den strådöd_. for the ancient northmen it was a great disgrace to die a natural death. death from self-inflicted wounds was more honorable. the use of _den_ without an adjective is archaic. . _blåvit hela_. hela (see note, canto i: ) was hideous in appearance. half of her body was livid in color and the other half bore the ghastly pallor of death. . _jarl_, chief of a province. english, earl. . _nordlandens drotter_, the kings of the northland. . _odensblodet_. see note, canto i: . . _man_. in this connection _man_ means one of the king's retinue. the _bönder_ rarely sought protection from kings and the proposal of helge was highly insulting to fritiof, who himself had a retinue. . _runorna lågade röda därpå_. see canto ii: - . . _svartekung_, swartbeard. helge is given this name, partly because of his swarthy features, partly because he practices black arts. see canto ii: . canto v. stanza . king ring ruled over ringerike, on the west side of kristiania fjord. . _snäckorna_, ships. . _vita vingar_, white wings, sails. . _av rikdom, som rikdomen (be)tingar_. of wealth that brings more wealth, or upon which further wealth is contingent. . _jag gått i frö_, i have grown old. . _kungens de glesnade lockar. de_ is here used irregularly. . _men lungorna nekade bifall alltjämt_. constantly the signs refused to he affirmative. for reading of signs see note, canto ii: . l. _i templet sätter jag min syster_. the temple of balder is referred to. here persons were inviolate and it was especially a great crime for a man to visit a woman in this sacred place. canto vi. observe the ingenuity with which fritiof's words to björn are also made to convey an answer to hilding. _kung_ and _bonde_ refer to helge and fritiof, but they are also the chess terms for king and pawn. note also the ingenious rhyme of this canto. stanza . _sköldborg_. in battle the chief warriors stood around the king and the royal banner in closed ranks with their shields turned outward for protection. . _man_. see note, canto iv: . stanza . _delling_, dawn, was the husband of _natt_. their son, _dag_, was radiant with heauty. . _pärlor_, the stars. . _kärlekens gudinna_. fritiof's name for ingeborg. . _valkyria_. the valkyrs were beautiful maidens that served in valhall. they were sent by oden to the battlefields to select certain among the fallen heroes and bring them to valhall. . _vingolv_, the common hall of the gods. -- . compare shakespeare's romeo and juliet, act iii., scene v. . _ragnarök_, the twilight of the gods, the end of the world. canto viii. lines -- . see note, canto v: . . _urdas blanka våg_. the pure water of urda's fountain. the norns daily brought holy water out of this fountain to sprinkle the roots of the great world-tree yggdrasil in order to keep it ever green. this tree is symbolic of the universe as a great unity. its branches reach unto heaven. one of its roots extends unto the abode of men, another to the realm of the giants and the third to hel's kingdom. . _gefton_, the virgin goddess and the protector of female chastity. all women that died unmarried were supposed to serve her. . _bifrosts bro_, the rainbow, the radiant bridge over which the gods pass from heaven to earth. the valkyrs conduct the fallen heroes to valhall over this bridge. . _där skall han stå_. han refers to the god of love who is represented as having light wings on his shoulders. -- . see canto i: . . _min vreda norna_. my evil fate. . the _ting_ or judicial assembly was held in the open, usually by a burial mound or on a knoll. the proximity to the burial place added solemnity to the procedure. the dead were supposed to be able to hear the deliberations (see canto : ). the judge's seat usually consisted of a boulder. -- . see canto ii: and . . _asa-tor_, a common designation for tor. . _till försoning_, in reconciliation. - . _som glad drack fria männers bifall till det rätta_. observe the apt and striking metaphor. . _ett bleklagt nej på mänsklighetens böner_. a striking hyperbole. only fritiof and ingeborg and the assembly were directly concerned. . _har du ej sett. sett_ here used instead of _träffat_ or _mött_. . _den dumma vantron_. note fritiof's frequent sarcastic references to the religious beliefs and practices of his day. in later cantos ( - ) he appears as a serious-minded and "orthodox" man. . _den döda valans_. refers to oden's journey to hel to ascertain from the vala what fate awaited his son balder. she predicts the death of balder at the hands of his brother. (see note, canto i: .) . _vegtamskvida_, the eddic lay of vegtam. this tells about odin's journey to hel. he traveled in disguise and under the name of vegtam. . _i västerhafvet_, in the north sea. the islands referred to are the orkneys, which were first visited by the northmen in the early part of the seventh century. . _fafner_, a monster that had acquired great wealth by murdering his father. in the form of a hideous dragon he guarded this treasure carefully. his chief means of defense was spewing poison upon those that attacked him. . _sigurd fafnesbane_, sigurd the dragonkiller. he slays fafner by thrusting his sword into the heart of the monster. he is the foremost hero of the old sagas. . _till nästa sommar_. by next summer. . _nastrand_, the dark region of the nether world whither all went that had lived criminal and impure lives. . _greklands hav_, the grecian sea. the northern vikings often extended their expeditions to southern europe and even to asia. . _fägna än med mänsklig lycka de förgätna gudar_. this betrays fritiof's ignorance of the greek's conception of their gods. the greeks believed that the gods became jealous of men when these prospered and were happy. . _i högen din fader sitter_. the bodies of fallen heroes were placed in a sitting posture in the funeral mound. . _är mig i faders ställe. mig_, possessive dative. . _nu_, once for all. . _diktade i molnen_, fancied and located in the clouds. . _kung helges syster_. there is bitterness in fritiof's parting words. observe that later when ingeborg's sound reasoning has convinced and calmed him he calls her _kung beles dotter_. . _alltsen mitt väsen började att dagas_. ever since the dawn of my existence. . _man diktat på mig_, falsely attributed to me; _måna'r_, månader. . _ger sitt liv till spillo_. sacrifices his life. _till spillo_ is an antiquated dative. canto ix. stanza . _det är lyckligt, får följa_. either _som_ or _det_ supplied before _får_. . _ej till hans möte: ej att möta honom_. not to meet him. this objective genitive occurs very seldom. . a fine example of the terse and striking expressions that are so numerous in tegnér. . _falk_. the custom of using the falcon in the hunt is very old in scandinavia. . _Öder_, the faithless and restless husband of freja. once when he left her and remained away a long time she sought him in all lands. the tears she wept while on this sad errand were so precious that they turned to gold; hence this metal is found in all lands. according to one version of the story, she finally found Öder in the south, sitting under the myrtle tree; hence the custom that every bride in scandinavia must wear a crown of myrtle. canto x. stanza . _tänk på_, think of. . _sam_ and _hejd_ were two monsters that helge had sent for and offered presents with the request that they raise a storm that would destroy fritiof and his men. they appeared in the guise of polar bear and eagle. . _gudars hem_, the heavens. . _solundar-ö_, an island near the norwegian coast, probably at the outlet of sognefjord. today the group is called the outer and the inner sol islands. . _gudatimrade_, built by the gods. see note, canto : seq. . _kan du icke se för natt_, could not see because of the darkness. . _dra seglaren i kvav_. drag the sailor into the deep. _gå i kvav_, to founder, go down. . _ran(a)_, wife of Ägir and goddess of the sea, was hostile to men and sought to drag them down into the deep. she was passionately fond of gold, and sailors deemed it wise to have some of the yellow metal with them with which to appease her in case they foundered at sea. (see stanza .) . _åt oss_, for us. . _fästa havsbrud_, plight troth with the goddess of the sea. . _kvad den_, called it forth by incantation. . _skepna'n_, skepnaden. . _är du gudars dotter_. see canto iii: seq. . _hålla sjön_, keep afloat. . _efjesund_, a sound in the orkney islands. angantyr was jarl of the orkneys. . _havets mör_, the waves, nine beautiful daughters of Ägir and ran who delighted in playing all over the surface of their father's vast domain. . _mjödhorn vandrande på guldfot_. the drinking horns of the ancients often had metal supports. canto xi. stanza . _såg ut åt blånad ban_, looked out over the blue course (sea). . _allt som_, just like. . _blott hornet in han stack_, he passed the horn back through the window to have it refilled. . _på gången och på pannan_. the definite form may be used thus instead of the possessive when there is no ambiguity. . _bärsärk_, from _ber_, bare, and _serk_, shirt or coat of mail. the berserk was an unarmed warrior that went to battle in a frenzy and possessed with preternatural strength. in their fury the berserks would attack indiscriminately friend or foe or even inanimate objects. they were looked upon as abnormal. . _var runa stod i brand_. see canto iii: - . . _pröva annan färd_, try a new way. . _till slut_, at last. . _livet ... på dig_. a characteristic prepositional possessive. . _jag ligger som jag låg_, i will remain still. . _höll mitt i hugget inne_, stopped in the very act of striking. _törsten gör mig men_, the thirst hurts me. - . the description of angantyr's hall is very much modernized by the poet. . _som en ros i runa_. may perhaps mean an embellished rune or a flower enclosed in a letter. . _ej sitte fjärran från_, should not sit far away. . _sikelö_, sicily. . _morven_. northern scotland, which was often visited by vikings. . _välska_, gaelic, the language spoken in the scotch highlands. . _norräna tunga_, norse tongue, the common language of scandinavia before and during the viking period. . _männer_, archaic plural. . _astrild_, cupid. . _fjärran myntat guld_, gold coined far away, foreign money. . _satt ... vintern ut_, remained to the end of winter. canto xii. line . _Ägirs döttrar_, the waves. see canto x: . . _dar_, dagar. . _växer ut_, assumes the form. . _eriksgata_, from _edh-vreks-gata (ed-givar-gata)_, the journey of early kings to receive the homage of their subjects. some authorities see the origin of the word in the fact that erik the saint was supposed to be the first king to take one of these royal trips. . _disardalen_, the valley of the gods where balder's temple lay. . _loke_, the evil giant-god, the enemy of all that was good. . _var_, the goddess of plighted troth. she recorded the solemn promises of lovers and the marriage vows and avenged any violation of the same. . _balders nanna_. see canto i: . . _sår högens säd_, sows the seed of the funeral mound, i. e., takes life. . _vidar_, the silent god, who next to tor was the strongest among the asar. he avenges oden in ragnarök. . _den dagen ... från min runstav tagen_. the early scandinavians had some sort of calendars, consisting of runes carved on a staff. . _lofn_, the mild and good goddess, and the deity of matrimony. . _vite guden_, balder. . _så när som_, except. canto xiii. stanza . _då rår höder för världen_, then höder (Öder) rules the world. höder, the blind brother of balder, is the god of night and darkness. . _västervågor_, the western sea. . _din like_, one like you. . _fritiof blygs, att han darrar_, fritiof is so ashamed that he trembles. the antecedent of _han_ may be björn and not fritiof, the meaning then being, that the latter is ashamed because björn trembles. . _flödar_, pours water. . _eldröd hane_. the red cock, the symbol of fire. . _muspels söner_, the flames. muspel or muspelhem, the fire world, lay south of the abyss ginnungagap and was guarded by the flame giant surt. canto xiv. in the first part of this canto fritiof gives free expression to his skepticism and to his contempt for the superstition of his day. see canto viii, lines , , , ; canto xiii, stanzas , . such skepticism was common in scandinavia just before the introduction of christianity. . _döna_, for _dåna_. . _gudabloden_. blod is neuter but here used as a gender noun. . _nidingsstänger_ were pillars raised at crossroads or other conspicuous places to mock an enemy or to indicate that he was held in contempt by every one. at the top was the head of a horse and further down were comic inscriptions giving the name of the despised person and the nature of his offence. . _till lands_, on land, antiquated genitive. there are many similar expressions in swedish. . _gudbrands däld_, the valley of gudbrand in central norway. . _springa_, break. . _heimskringla_, the earth. note the apt figure _heimskringlas panna_, meaning the northland. . _snögar_, poetical form for _snöar_. canto xv. stanza . _kort är hammarens skaft hos den segrande tor_. the handle of tor's hammer, mjölner, was very short; in his conflicts with the giants the god hurled it at the enemies. it always returned to his hand, no matter how far he might hurl it. frej's sword, referred to, had the power of fighting successfully of its own accord as soon as it was drawn from the sheath. . _den som stryker (segel)_, the one that lowers the sails, i.e., surrenders. . _valfader_, oden. . _nu_, equivalent to _om_. . _vill du hälsas för vår_, if you would be hailed as one of us. . _ljungaren_, the thunderer, tor. canto xvi. stanza . _holmgång_, a duel, so called because originally fought on a small island _(holme)_. . _hagbart_, a norse sea king, was secretly betrothed to signe, daughter of sigar, king of seeland, who caused hagbart to be captured and hanged. signe then put fire to her chamber and perished in the flames. the tragic story formed a popular theme for scandinavian bards. . _rista blodörn_, inscribe the blood eagle. this was a monstrous practice by which the northmen sometimes wreaked vengeance upon their fallen enemies. the ribs were severed from the spinal column and bent outward in the form of wings and salt poured into the wounds, whereupon the entrails were torn out. canto xvii. stanza . _helt mycket_, a great deal. . _i Ånger är jag uppfödd_, seq. fritiof's dejection blinds his eyes to the happy conditions of his boyhood and youth. what he says is not true. compare with cantos i and iii. . _bränner salt vid strand_, boils the sea water to get a residue of salt. this occupation was carried on by the poor and the aged and was considered a very menial service. . _nu var löftets timme, och in bärs frejers galt_. the yule time marked the return of light and was therefore an occasion for great rejoicing and sacrificing to frej, the sun god. in his honor a roasted boar was placed on the table and with their hands on its head the warriors vowed that they would perform certain heroic deeds. . _vinna_, conquer. . _i vinter_, this winter. . _helt skarpt_, quite liberally, profusely. . _ett ärligt julerus_, a good yuletide spree. canto xviii. stanza . _sleipner_, the eight-footed steed of odin, which was swifter than the wind and never grew tired. canto xix. stansa . _med kappor över öga_. the falcons were trained for the hunt by starving them and keeping a hood over their eyes. this was removed just before the bird was released. it then rose perpendicularly and started in pursuit of its prey. . _rota_, a valkyr. . _odens sal_, heaven. . _valkyrjan_, the huntress. . _grubblar viking_. this has a conditional meaning; _om_ implied before the clause. . _ty de hata mänskors ätter_. fritiof had changed his ideas about the gods. see canto viii: . - . the birds give expression to fritiof's own thoughts. . _i, som aldrig skulle_. the easier conversational form _skulle_ is here used, rather than _skullen_, which the strict adherence to grammatical forms would require. . _nifelhem_, the abode of mist and darkness. . _varg i veum_, wolf in the temple, i. e., profaner of the sanctuary. canto xx. stanza . _skinfaxe_, the shining steed of _dag_, day. . _vingade hästen_, the ship. . _rista geirs-odd_, to take one's own life by wounding oneself with a lance. . _blodiga drotter_, bloody deeds of achievement. . _ätthögens dotter_, the peace that awaits him in another world. . _gjallarhorn_, the trumpet of heimdall, the sentry of the gods. _gjallarhornet_ can be heard to the remotest part of the world. upon it heimdall would blow one terrific blast to summon the gods to the final conflict in ragnarök. canto xxi. stanza . _vanadis_. freja, having been born in vanaheim, was also known as vanadis. . _bärsärk_. see canto xi: . . _dvärgarnas dag-glans, drakarnas bädd_, gold. the dwarfs and dragons had a passionate desire for gold. _dvärgarnas dag-glans_ is an allusion to the belief that the subterranean caves of the dwarfs were illuminated by gold. _drakarnas bädd_ alludes to the supposition that all great treasures in caves were guarded by fierce dragons, as fafner. see canto viii: . canto xxii. stanza . _budkavlen_. men were summoned to assemblies by staffs that were inscribed with runes and passed from house to house. . _på öppet ting_. see canto viii: . . _odens ätt_. see canto i: . . _böndren_, regular form, _bönderna_. . _sköldemör_, shield maidens. the valkyrs were sometimes called norns. . _de bygga under tidens träd och ovanför_. this refers to the norns who dwelt at the well of urd by the world-tree yggdrasil. but they also determine the fate of men on earth. _bygga_ means here build and dwell. canto xxiii. stanza . _o, den som, aldrig gungat däruppå_! note how fritiof has changed his mind regarding life on the sea. contrast this with canto xii: seq.; xiv: seq.; xix: seq. . _nidhögg_, a dragon that was continually gnawing at the roots of yggdrasil in order to bring about the destruction of the gods. . _mörkrets värld_, nifelhem. . _fromme gud_, balder. . _angantyr_, a great warrior, who fell in a duel and was buried together with his famous sword, tyrfing. his daughter hervor appealed to him to give her the sword. this he did, at the same time predicting that it would some day bring disaster upon her and upon her people. . _breidablick_, balder's glittering palace, the most beautiful hall in valhall. its purity was such that nothing common or unclean could endure within its confines. . _bäst som_, just as. . _mör från tidens källa_. see canto xxii: . canto xxiii. line . _i voren tempelbrand för mig en gång_. equivalent to saying: when i saw you i was reminded of the burning temple. canto xxiv. line . _hillebarder_, halberds, weapons that were a combination of axe and spear. . _templet i uppsala likt_. the ancient pagan temple at uppsala was famous for its marvelous beauty. . _vala_. the reference is to voluspa, the vala prophecy, one of the oldest if not the oldest poetic production of scandinavia. . _fromhetsguden_, balder. - . see canto i: . . _valaskjalf_, a beautiful palace of oden which was built by the gods and roofed with pure silver. in this palace is the throne hlidskjalf. seated there, oden could overlook the whole world. . _jotunheim_ or _utgård_ was the dark and chaotic realm of the giants, which lay in the uttermost part of the earth. . _gudabälte_. tors' wonderful belt, megingjard which doubled his strength when he put it on. with his mailed gauntlets he seizes his hammer mjölner. . _utgårda-loke_. the evil giant-god is so called because he has his realm in utgård. see note, line . . _Ägirs barm_, the ocean. . _ymer_, an enormous giant which the gods slew and from whose body they formed earth and heaven. his flesh constitutes the earth; the bones, mountains; the teeth, rocks; the skull, the heavenly vault; and the blood, oceans. . _asker_, the first created man. . _fågeln kommer flygande_. see canto ii: . . _när balder föll_. see canto i: . . _midgårdsormen_, the serpent of midgård, which oden threw into the sea where it grew until it encircled the earth. . _fenris_ or _fenrisulven_, a giant wolf, son of loke, which the gods bound securely to a solid rock. there he lies howling until the end of mundane things, when he breaks his fetters and devours oden. oden's son, vidar, avenges his death by slaying fenris. . _surt or surtur_, the god of fire, who guards the fiery realm muspelhem. at ragnarök he is the first to ride forth to conflict with the gods. he carries a flaming sword that transcends the sun in brightness. - . _i valhall gal gullkammig hane_, seq. the cock, as the symbol of fire, announces the coming of ragnarök. a golden-combed cock awakens the halls of valhall, a red cock crows on earth and beneath the earth. . _vigrids hundramilaslätt_. vigrid's plains, one hundred miles square, upon which is waged the final conflict between the gods and the forces of evil. . _idavallen_, the plains of ida, where the gods first met after the creation of heaven and earth. here the gods were at play when balder fell. after ragnarök the regenerated gods return to idavallen and recall to their mind the heroic deeds they had performed. in the grass they find the wonderful golden disks that had been the property of the ancient gods. . _gimles port_, the portal of gimle, a hall lined with gold and fairer than the sun, in which the righteous dwell after ragnarök in eternal bliss. . _leder gångarn fram_. the horse was used for food and for sacrifice. . _jungfruns son_, christ. returning warriors and tradesmen and captives of war had undoubtedly at the time of fritiof brought to scandinavia some knowledge of the teachings of the christian religion. the balder of scandinavian mythology has many of the attributes of christ. . _semings blod_. seming was one of the sons of oden that became the progenitor of a family of kings. ingeborg and her brothers had descended from him. . _jumala_, a finnish deity. . _varg i veum_. see canto xix: . index to mythological terms. [figures refer to canto and line or stanza under which explanatory notes are given.] /*[ ] alfhem, : . allfader, : . asa-tor, : . asker, : . astrild, : . austre, : . balder, : ; : . bifrost, : . brage, : . breidablick, : . dag, : . delling, : . disardalen, : . dvärgar, l: ; : ; : ; : . fafner, : . fenris, : . folkvang, : . forsete, : . frigga, : . frej, : ; : , ; : . freja, : ; : . geflon, : . gerda, : . gimle, : . gjallarhom, : . glitner, : . havamal, : . hel, : ; : . heimdal, : . heimskringla, : . hildur, : . hugin, : . höder (öder), : ; : ; : . idavallen, : . iduna, : . jotunheim, : . lofn, : . loke, : ; : . megingjard, : . midgårdsormen, : . mimer, : . mjölner, : . munin, : . muspelhem, : . nanna, : . nastrand, : . natt, : . nidhögg, : . nifelhem, : . nornor, : ; : . nordre, : . oden, l: ; : ; : . ragnarök, : . ran, : . rota, : . saga, : . seming, : . sigurd fafnesbane, : . skinfaxe, : . skulda, : . sleipner, : . surt, : . sökvabäck, : . södre, : . tor, : ; : . trudvang, : . urda, : ; : . utgårda-loke, : . vala, : . valaskjalf, : . valfader, : . valhall, : . valkyria, : . vanadis, : . var, : . vaulund, : . vegtam, : . verdandi, : . vidar, : . vigrid, : . vingolv, : . västre, : . yggdrasil, : ; : . ymer, : . Ägir, : ; : . Älvor, : . Öder (höder), : ; : ; : . */ bibliography. /*[ ] anderson, rasmus b. viking tales of the north, chicago, . boyesen, h. h. essays on scandinavian literature, new york, . boldt, a. esaias tegnér, helsingfors, . brÄndes, george. esaias tegnér. en litteraturpsychologisk studie, copenhagen, . --mennesker og værker, copenhagen, . bÖttiger, c. w. levnadsteckning. esaias tegnérs samlade skrifter. nationalupplaga. erdman, nils. esaias tegnér. en porträttstudie, stockholm, . flom, g. t. frithiofs saga, chicago, . horn, f. w. history of the literature of the scandinavian north. translated by r. b. anderson, chicago, . ljunggren, gustav. om tegnérs fritiofs saga, stockholm, . also svenska akademiens handlingar, series of , lii. and liii. longfellow, h. w. tegnér's frithiofs saga. the north american review, xlv. lyth, p. g. tegnér och frithiofs saga, norrköping, . minne af esaias tegnÉr, stockholm, . contains biographical data on tegnér by franzén, rappe, geijer, wieselgren, hagberg, and adlersparre, together with many poems by franzén, wallin, longfellow, oehlenschläger and others. nyblaeus, axel. esaias tegnér, lund, . schuck, henrik, och waeburg, karl. illustrerad svensk litteraturhistoria, iii. stockholm, . shaw, clement, b. frithiofs saga, chicago, . tegnÉr, elof. ur tegnérs papper, stockholm, . contains a large number of letters to tegnér from contemporary authors and other friends. covers the period of - . vedel, valdemar. svensk romantik, copenhagen, . */ vocabulary in the case of nouns, the singular with the postpositive definite article and the indefinite plural are given in parenthesis. when a dash takes the place of a plural ending it indicates that the indefinite plural is the same as the indefinite singular. the vertical lines within a word indicate to what part the endings are to be added. the principal parts of irregular and strong verbs are given in full. /*[ ] a. ack, ah, oh, alas. adel, (-n), nobility, afton (-en, aftnar), evening. aftondagg (-en), evening dew. aftonrodnad (-en, -er), sunset glow. aftonsol (-en, -ar), evening sun. aftonvind (-en, -ar), evening breeze. akt, attention, giv --, look out, take notice. akt|a (-ade, -at), to consider worthy, respect, notice; -- sig, beware. akt|giva (-gav, -givit), to notice, pay attention. aktning (-en), respect. al (-en, -ar) alder. aldrig, never. alf (-en, -er), elf. all, (allt, alla), all. allena, (allen), alone. allenast, only. allfader (-n), father of all, oden. alltför, altogether too. alltid, always, forever. alltren, already. alltjämt, all the time, always. alltså, thus. alltnog, enough. alltsedan, ever since. allvar (-et), seriousness. allvarsam, serious, grave. almträd (-et, --), elm. aln (-en, -ar), yard, ell. altare (-t, -n), altar. altarrund (-en, -er), altar circle. amm|a (-ade, -at), to nurse. an, on, forward, up. an|a (-ade, -at), to apprehend, divine. an|bringa (-bragte, -bragt), to attach, put. and|as (-ades, -ats), to breathe. and|e (-en, -ar), spirit. andedrag (-et, --), breath. andre, andra, other, second. anfall (-et, --), attack. ankare (-t, -n), anchor. ankartåg (-et, --), anchorchain. anklag|a (-ade, -at), to accuse. anlete (-t, -n), face, countenance. anletsdrag (-et, --), features. annan, (ann, annat, def., andre, andra), other, different, else. annars, otherwise. annorlunda, different. anor, no sing., ancestral traits, descent. an|slå (-slog, -slagit, -slagen), to strike, touch; slå an en sång, strike up a tune or song. arbet|a (-ade, -at) to work, form. an|taga (-tog, -tagit, -tagen), to accept, suppose. arbete, (-t, -n), work, labor. arm (-en, -ar), arm. arm, miserable, poor. armring (-en, -ar), armring, bracelet. art (-en, -er), kind, nature. arv (-et, --), inheritance. arvgård (-en, -ar), ancestral estate. arving|e (-en, -ar), heir. asablod (-et), blood of the gods. asafrände (-n, -r), kinsman of the gods. asagäst (-en, -er), guest of the gods. asaljus (-et), light of the gods. asar (def. sing. asen) gods. asason (-en, -söner), son of the gods. aska (-n), ashes, dust. att, to, that. av, by, of, from, with. av och an, back and forth. avbild (-en, -er), image. av|bryta (-bröt, -brutit, -bruten), to break, interrupt. avfall (-et, --), desertion, apostasy. av|göra (-gjorde, -gjort), to decide. avgrund (-en, -er), abyss, precipice, hell. avgrundslåg|a (-an, -or), flame of hell. avsides, out of the way, remote. avsked (-et, --), farewell, dismissal. avstånd (-et, --), distance. avundsjuk, jealous. ax (-et, --), head of grain. ax|el (-eln, -lar), shoulder. b. back|e (-en, -ar), hill. bad (-et --), bath. bad, see bedja. bad|a (-ade, -at), to bathe. bak, behind. bakstam (-men, -mar), stern. baktill, behind, in the rear. baldersbål (-et), balder's pyre or stake. balderslund (-en), balder's grove. balk (-en, -ar), code, barrier. ban|a (-an, -or), course, path. band, see binda. band (-et, --), band, bond. bane, murderer, death by violent means. bannlys|a (-te, -t), to banish. bar, see bära. bar, bare. bara, merely, only. bark (-en), bark. barm (-en, -ar), bosom. barn (-et, --), child. barndom (-en), childhood. barndomsdag (-en, -ar), childhood day. barndomskärlek (-en), childhood love. barndomsminne (-t, -n), memory of childhood. barndomsvän (-nen, -ner), childhood friend. barndomsvärld (-en, -ar), childhood world. barnlek (-en, -ar), child's play, pl. childish games. barnslig, childish. bautasten (-en, -ar), memorial stone. be, abbrev. bedja. beckad, covered with pitch. becksvart, pitch black. bedja, be (bad, bedit or bett), to pray, ask. bedrift (-en, -er), achievement. be|driva (-drev, -drivit, -driven), to carry on. bedröv|a (-ade, -at), to distress, grieve. befallja (-de, -t), to command. be|grava (-grov, -gravit, -graven), to bury. be|gråta (-grät, -grätit, -gråten), to mourn, bewail. begyn|na (-te, -t), to begin. begär (-et --), desire. begär|a (-de, -t), to demand, ask. behag (-et), delight, charm, comeliness. behag|a (-ade, -at) to please. behärsk|a (-ade, -at), to dominate, rule. be|hålla (-höll, -hållit, -hållen), to retain. behöv|a (-de, -t), to need. beklag|a (-ade, -at), to deplore, pity; -- sig, complain. bekrans|a (-ade, -at), to deck with flowers. belägen, situated. ben (-et --), leg, bone. benrad (-en, -er), spinal column, skeleton. bereda (beredde, berett), to prepare. berg (-et --), mountain. bergfast, firm as a mountain. bero (-dde, -tt), to depend; på, be dependent on. beryktad, famous. berömd, famous. be|se (-såg, -sett, -sedd), to view, inspect. besegr|a (-ade, -at), to conquer. besinn|a (-ade, -at), to consider. be|sjunga (-sjöng,-sjungit, -sjungen), to praise or celebrate with song. beskrev, see beskriva. be|skriva (-skrev, -skrivit, -skriven), to describe. beslut (-et, --), decision. be|sluta (-slöt, -slutit), to decide. besmittad, unclean, infected. besteg, see bestiga. be|stiga (-steg, stigit, -stigen), to ascend. beställsam, officious. bestämd, firm, decisive. bestäm|ma (-de, -t), to decide, determine, designate. beständig, constant. besviken, deceived. besvurit, see besvärja. be|svärja (pres. besvär, -svor, -svurit, -svuren), to implore, adjure. be|sätta (-satte, -satt), to set, mount (with jewels). besök|a (-te, -t), to visit. bet, see bita. bet|a (-ade, -at), to graze, betagen, enraptured, betal|a (-ade, -at), to pay. beteckna (-ade, -at), to signify. beting (-et, --), condition. beting|a (-ade, -at), to earn, demand. be|tyda (-tydde, -tytt), to signify, mean. betänk|a (-te, -t), to reflect, ponder. bi (-et, -n), bee. bid|a (-ade, -at), to bide, wait. bifall (-et), permission, assent. bild (-en, -er), picture, scene. billig, reasonable, cheap. biltog, outlawed. binda, (band, pl. bundo, bundit, bunden), to bind, restrain. bister, grim, harsh. bita (bet, bitit, biten), to bite, cut, gnaw. bitter, bitter. bjuda (bjöd, bjudit, bjuden), to invite, offer, bid. bjudning (-en, -ar), invitation. bjälk|e (-en, -ar), joist, beam. bjöd, see bjuda. björk (-en, -ar), birchtree. björkskog (-en, -ar), birch woods. björn (-en, -ar), bear. björnhud (-en, -ar), bearskin. björnram (-en, -ar), paw of bear. björnskinnsman (-nen, -män), man clad in bearskin. blad (-et, --), blade, leaf. bland, among. bland|a (-ade, -at), to mix. blank, bright, polished. blek, pale. blekblå, pale blue. bleklagd, pale-faced. blekn|a (-ade, -at), to turn pale. bleknad, pale, having turned pale. blev, see bliva. bli, abbrev. of bliva. blick (-en, -ar), glance, look. blick|a (-ade, -at), to look. blid, gentle. blidk|a (-ade, -at), to propitiate. blind, blind. blindskär (-et, --), submerged rock. bliva, bli (blev, blivit, bliven), to become; -- efter, to be left behind. blixt (-en, -ar), lightning, thunderbolt, flash. blixtr|a (-ade, -at), to lighten, flash. blod (et), blood. blod|a (-ade, -at), to stain with blood. blodfläckad, bloodstained. blodig, bloody. blodlös, bloodless. blodman (-nen, -män), headsman. blodregn (-et), blood rain. blodröd, blood red. blodshämnd (-en), blood vengeance. blodörn (-en, -ar), blood eagle. blomdoft (-en, -er), fragrance of flowers. blomkalk (-en, -ar), flower cup. blomm|a (-ade, -at), to blossom. blomm|a (-an, -or), flower. blomster (-ret, --), flower, blossom. blomsterdoft (-en, -er), rose fragrance. blomstergördjel (-em, -lar), flower girdle. blomsterkransad, wreathed in flowers. blomsterkront, decked or crowned with flowers. blomstervidj|a (-an, -or), rose willow. blomstervärld (-en), flower world. blomsteräng (-en, -ar), flowery meadow or field. blomstr|a (-ade, -at), to blossom. bloss (-et,--), torch. blossa (-ade, -at), to blaze, flash. blot (-et), blood sacrifice. blot|a (-ade, -at), to sacrifice. blott, only, merely. blott|a (-ade, -at), to lay bare. blyg|as (-des, -ta), to be ashamed. blå, blue. blånande, blue. blånad, blue. blås|a (-te, -t), to blow. blåvit, light blue, or blue white. blåögd, blue-eyed. bländ|a (-ade, -at), to dazzle. blöda (blödde, blött), to bleed. bo (-et, -n), dwelling place, nest. bo (-dde, -tt), to dwell, live. bock (-en, -ar), buck, he-goat. bog (-en, -ax), shoulder of an animal. bok (-en, -ar), beech tree. bolster (-ret, -rar), pillow, mattress. bona (-ade, -at), to polish. bonde (-n, bönder), yeoman. bondelag (et, --), group of yeomen. bondeson (-en, -söner), yeoman's son. boning (-en, -ar), dwelling, abode. bord, om --, on board. bord (-et, --), table. borg (-en, -ar), castle. borr|a (-ade, -at), to bore, scuttle. bort, borta, away. bot (-en, böter), fine, penance. bott|en (-nen, -nar), bottom. bottenlös, bottomless. bra, good, well. bragd (-en, -er), achievement. brak (-et), crash, loud noise. brand (-en, bränder), firebrand, fire. brandgul, flame-colored. brann, see brinna. bras|a (-an, -or), fire, blaze. brant (-en, -er), precipice, edge, declivity. brant, steep. bred, broad. breda (bredde, brett), to spread. bredvid, beside. bring|a (-an, -or), chest of a horse or other animal. bring|a (-ade or bragte, -at or bragt), to bring. brinna (brann, pl. brunno, brunnit, brunnen), to burn. brista (brast, pl. brusto, brustit, brusten), to break, to be lacking in; -- i gråt, to burst into tears. bro (-n, -ar), bridge. broder (-n, bröder), brother. brodersfamn (-en), brother's embrace. brokig, variegated. bror, contr. of broder. brottande (-t), wrestling. brott|as (-ades, -äts), to wrestle. brottslig, criminal. brud (-en, -ar), bride. brudgumm|e (-en, -ar), bridegroom. brudpar (-et, --), bridal couple. brudsmyckad, decked as a bride. brudsång (-en, -er), bridal song. brun, brown. brunno, see brinna. brusa (-ade, -at), to gush, roar. brutit, see bryta. bryg|ga (-de, -t), to brew. bryn (-et, --), edge, horizon. brynj|a (-an, -or), coat of mail. brynjohatare (-n, --), armor hater, sword. bryta (bröt, brutit, bruten), to break, violate. bräcklig, frail. brädd (-en, -ar), brim, edge. brän|na (-de, -t), to burn. bröd (-et, --), bread. brödrafred (-en), fraternal peace. brödren, for bröderna. bröllop (-et, --), wedding. bröllopsdag (-en, -ar), wedding day. bröllopsdräkt (-en, -ar), wedding costume. bröllopsgård (-en, -ar), house where a wedding is celebrated. bröst (-et, --), breast, bosom. bröt, see bryta. bud (-et, --), command, commandment, message, messenger. bud|a (-ade, -at), to call, summon. [stick, summons. budkavl|e (-en, -ar), lit. bid- budskap (-et, --), message. buk (-en, -ar), belly. bukt (-en, -er), bay. buktig, bent, convex, irregular. bull|er (-ret), commotion, noise. bunden, see binda. bundo, see binda. buro, see bära. busk|e (-en, -ar), bush, shrub. bygg|a (-de, -t), to build. byte (-t, -n), prize, booty. både, båd', both. båg|e (-en, -ar), bow. bågig, curved. bål, (-et, --), stake, pyre. bång (-et), bluster, fuss. bångstyrig, refractory. båt|a (-ade, -at), to be of avail. bäck (-en, -ar), brook, stream. bädd (-en, -ar), bed. bädd|a (-ade, -at), to make a bed. bägare (-n, --), goblet, cup. bägge, both. bälte (-t, -n), belt. bältestad (-en), waist line. bänk (-en, -ar), bench, seat. bär (-et, --), berry. bära (bar, pl. buro, burit, buren), to carry, bear, lead. bärga (-ade, -at), to rescue; bärgad sol, sun that has set. bärsärk (-en, -er), berserk. bärsärksgång (-en), berserk fury. bärsärksskägg (-et), berserk's beard. bäst, best. bättre, better. bävan, indecl., trepidation. böj|a (-de, -t), to bend. böjlig, flexible. bölj|a (-an, -or), wave, billow. bölja (-ade, -at), to surge. bön (-en, -er), prayer. böra (borde, bort), ought. börd (-en), rank. börd|a (-an, -or), burden. börj|a (-ade, -at), to begin. början, indecl., beginning. d. dag (-en, -ar), day. dag|as (-ades, -ats), to dawn, dag|er (-ern, -rar), dawn. dagg (-en), dew. dagglans (-en), daylight splendor. dagsljus (-et), daylight. dal (-en, -ar), valley. dans (-en, -ar), dance. dans|a (-ade, -at), to dance. dar, contr. of dagar. darr|a (-ade, -at), to tremble. de, they, the, those. del|a (-ade or -te, -at or -t), to divide, share, give. dem, them, those. den, the, that one, that, it. densamme, the same. denna, detta, this one. deras, their. dess, its; till --, until. desslikes, likewise. det, it, the, there. diar, no. sing., chiefs having priestly and royal functions. dig, you, yourself, thee, thyself. dikt (-en, -er), poem, fiction, invention. dikt|a (-ade, -at), to invent, imagine, compose. dimm|a (-an, -or), fog. din, ditt, dina, your, yours, thy, thine. disarsal (-en, -ar), abode of the inferior gods. dit, thither. djup (-et, --), depth; adj. deep. djupblå, deep blue. djuptänkt, profound. djur (-et, --), animal. djärv, brave. djärvhet (-en), bravery, presumption. dock, yet, nevertheless, anyway. dock|a (-an, -or), doll. dockspel (-et, --), doll's play. doft|a (-ade, -at), to exhale perfume, scent. dog, see dö. dom (-en, -ar), judgment, verdict. dom (-en, -er), dome. domare (-n, --), judge. domarsten (-en, -ar), judgment seat. domarstol (-en, -ar), judgment seat. dopp|a (-ade, -at), to dip. dotter (-n, döttrar), daughter. drag (-et, --) feature. dra, abbrev. of draga. drack, see dricka, draga (drog, dragit, dragen), to draw, pull, go. drakje (-en, -ar), dragon. drakskepp (-et, --), dragon ship. drapja (-an, -or), dirge. dricka (drack, pl. drucko, druckit, drucken), to drink. dristig, bold. driva (drev, drivit, driven), to drive, drift. driv|a (-an, -or), snow drift. driven, wrought, embossed. drog, see draga. dropp|a (-ade, -at), to drip. dropp|e (-en, -ar), dröp. drott (-en, -ar), king. drottning (-en, -ar), queen. drottkväde (-t, -n), royal song. drucko, see dricka. druv|a (-an, -or), grape. dryck (-en, -er), drink. dryckesbord (-et, --), drinking table. drunkn|a (-ade, -at), to drown. dryckeshorn (-et, --), drinking horn. dryckessal (-en, -ar), drinking hall. dryg, lasting, overbearing, self-important. dråpslag (-et, --), heavy blow, death blow. dräkt (-en, -en), garb. dräng (-en, -ar), young man, man-servant. dräp|a (-te, -t), to kill. dröj|a (-de, -t), to tarry. dröm (-men, -mar), dream. dröm|ma (-de, -t), to dream. du, thou. dubbel, double. dugg|a (-ade, -at), to drizzle. duk (-en, -ar), cloth, canvas. dum, foolish. dund|er (-ret), thunder, roar. dundr|a (-ade, -at), to roar, thunder. dunkel, dark, dim. duv|a (-an, -or), dove. duvoving|e (-en, -ar), dove's wing. dvaldes, see dväljas. dväljas (dvaldes, dvalts), to live, dwell. dvärg (-en, -ar), dwarf. dy (-n), mud, slime. dygd (-en, -er), virtue. dygn (-et, --), day of twentyfour hours. dyk|a (-te or dök, -t), to dive. dyrbar, costly. dyrk|a (ade, -at), to worship. dyrköpt, dearly bought. dyster, morose, gloomy. då, then, when. dåd (-et, --), deed. dån (-et), din, noise. dån|a (-ade, -at), to rumble, faint. dår|a (-ade, -at), to deceive, fascinate. dåraktig, foolish. dår|e (-en, -ar), fool. dårskap (-en, -er), foolishness. däck (-et, --), deck. däld (-en, -er), valley. därav, thereof. där, there, where. därefter, thereafter, thereupon. däremot, on the other hand. därför(e), therefore. därhos, besides, in addition. däri, therein. därifrån, therefrom. därigenom, thereby, through it. därin, in there, into it. därmed, thereby. därnäst, thereafter, next. däromkring, thereabout. därpå, thereupon, thereafter. därstädes, there. därtill, thereto. därunder, under or during. däruppe, up there. däruppå, thereon, upon it. därur, out of it. därutöver, beyond, above it däråt, in that direction, towards. däröver, above it. dö (dog, dött), to die. död, dead. död (-en, -ar), death. dödlig, deadly, mortal. dödsblek, death pale. dödsrunja (-an, -or), death rune, dödssång (-en, -er),death song, dödsörn (-en, -ar), death eagle, dölja (dolde, dolt or döljt, dold), to conceal. döm|a (-de, -t), to judge, dön|a (-ade, -at), to rumble, dörr (-en, -ar), door, dörrsven (-nen, -ner), guard, dörrpost (-en, -er), doorpost döva (-ade, -at), to deafen. e. ed (-en, -er), oath. eder, you, your. efter, after, behind. egen, own, peculiar. egg (-en, -ar), edge. ehur, although, albeit. einheriar, the blest, no sing. ej, not. eja, ah. ek, (-en, -ar), oak; af eke, of oak. ekebänk (-en, -ar), oak bench. eld (-en, -ar), fire. eldig, fiery. eldprov (-et, --), fire test. eldhav (-et, --), ocean of fire. eldröd, fiery red. eldsken (-et, --), glow of fire. eldstad (-en, -städer), fireplace. eldsvärd (-et, --), flaming sword. eller, or. emellan, between. emot, towards, against. emot|taga (-tog, -tagit, tagen), to accept, receive. emottog, see emottaga. emedan, because. ena, den --, one, the one. en, ett, a, one. enahanda, same. endast, only, solely. ende, enda, endaste, sole, only. endräkt (-en), concord. ens, even. ensam, alone. enslig, lonely. envar, everyone, each one. envigskamp (-en), duel. er, you, your. eriksgat|a (-an, -or), royal journey. ettersvälld, swelled by poison. evar, wheresoever. evig, eternal. evighet (-en, -er), eternity. f. fader (-n, fäder), father. fager, pretty. falk (-en, -ar), falcon, falkving|e (-en, -ar), falcon's wing. fall (-et, --), fall, falla, (föll, fallit, fallen), to fall. falsk, false. famn (-en), embrace. famna (-ade, -at), embrace. fann, see finna, far, abbrev. of fader, fara (for, farit, faren), to travel, go, depart. far|a (-an, -or), danger. fart (-en), speed, course, farväl, farewell. fas|a (-an, -or), terror, fast, firm. fast, although, fastän, although, fatt, gripa --, få --, hold, seize. fatt|a (-ade, -at), to seize, hold, comprehend, take. fatt|as (-ades, -ats), to fail, be the matter with. feg, cowardly. fejd (-en, -er), conflict. fel (-et, --), mistake, error. fel|a (-ade, -at), to err, fail. fem, five. femton, fifteen. fest (-en, -er), feast, entertainment. fick, see få. fiende (-n, -r), enemy. fik|a (-ade, -at), to seek, hanker after. finge, see få. fing|er (-ret, rar), finger. finna (fann, pl. funno, funnit, funnen), to find. finnas (fanns, funnits), to be found, exist. finn|e (-en, -ar), finlander. fira (-ade, -at), to celebrate. fisk (-en, -ar), fish. fjord (-en, -ar), fiord, bay. fjäder (-ern, -rar), feather. fjäll (-en, -ar, or --), mountain. fjällig, scaly. fjärd (-en, -ar), bay. fjärde, fourth. fjäril (en, -ar), butterfly. fjärran, far away, distant. fjättr|a (-ade, -at), to chain. flagg|a (-an, -or), flag. flamma (-ade, -at), to flame, flare. flamm|a (-an, -or), flame, fire. flax|a (-ade, -at), to flap the wings, flicker. flick|a (-an, -or) girl. flintkniv (-en, -ar), flint knife. flitig, diligent. flockvis, in flocks. flod (-en, -er), river. flugen, see flyga. flutit, see flyta. fly (-dde, -tt), to flee. flyga, (flög, flugit, flugen), to fly, speed. flykt (-en), flight. flykt|a (-ade, -at), to flee. flyktig, flighty, evanescent. flyta (flöt, flutit, fluten), to flow, drift, float. fläck (-en, -ar), spot, blemish. fläck|a (-ade, -at), to tarnish. fläcklös, spotless. fläkt (-en, -ar), breeze, gust of wind. flärd (-en), vanity, deceit. fläsk (-et), pork. flät|a (-ade, -at), to braid. flöd|a (-ade, -at), to flow, pour. flög, see flyga. flöt, see flyta. fnys|a (-te, or fnös, -t), to sniff, snort. fnös, see fnysa. fog|a (-ade, -at), to join, -- hop, to join together. folk (et, --), people. for, see fara. fordom, formerly. fordr|a (-ade, -at), to demand. fordran, indecl., demand. forna, former. forntid (-en), antiquity, former time. forntidabild (-en, -er), ancient image. forntidsminne (-t, -n), memory of the past. fors (-en, -ar), rapids, current. fort, fast, hurriedly. fosterbroder (-n, -bröder), fosterbrother. fosterdotter (-ern, -döttrar), fosterdaughter. fosterfader (-n, -fäder), fosterfather. fosterjord (-en), native soil. fosterson (-en, -söner), fosterson. fostrare (-n, --), fosterer. fot (-en, fötter), foot. fradga (-n), foam. fragga, see fradga. fram, forth, along. fram|bryta (-bröt, -brutit), to advance, press forth. framför|a (-de, -t), to deliver, bring. framför(e), before, in front of. framme, at destination, there. framsus|a (-ade, -at), to murmur, rustle forth. fred (-en), peace. fredlig, peaceable. frestare (-n, --), tempter. frestelse (-n, -r), temptation. fri, free. fri|a (-ade, -at), to court, woo. friare (-n, --), wooer. friboren, freeborn. frid (-en), peace. fridlyst, protected, inviolate. fridlös, peaceless, outlawed. fridsam, peaceable. fridsbud (-et, --), peace messenger, message of peace. fridsmö (-n, -r), peace maiden. fridsäll, peaceable, peace loving. frieri (-et, -er), courtship. frihet (-en, -er) liberty, freedom. frisk, healthy, fresh. fristad (-en, -städer), haven of refuge. frod|as (-ades, -ats), to flourish, grow, luxuriate. from, pious. fromhet (-en), piety. fromhetsgud (-en), god of piety. fromma, indecl., gain, advantage. fross|a (-ade, -at), to revel, gormandize. fru (-n, -ar), lady, wife. frukt (-en, -er), fruit. frukt|a (-ade, -at), to fear. frust|a (-ade, -at), to snort, sputter. frysa (frös, frusit, frusen), to freeze. fråg|a (-ade, -at), to ask. fråg|a (-an, or), question. från, from. fräck, brazen. fräls|a (-ade or -te, -at or -t), to save, rescue. främling (-en, -ar), stranger. främmande, strange. främst, foremost. frände (-n, -r), male relative. fränk|a (-an, -or), female relative. fräs|a (-te, -t), to frizzle, sputter, foam. frö (-et, -n), seed. fröjd (-en, -er), joy, pleasure. full, full. fullbräddad, filled to the brim. fullvuxen, full grown. fulländ|a (-ade, -at), to complete. funno, see finna. fur|a (-an, -or), fir, pine; av furu, of pine wood. furst|e (-en, -ar), prince. fyll|a (-de, -t), to fill. fyllig, plump. fyra, four. få, few. få (fick, pl. fingo, fått), to get, be allowed, receive, be compelled. fåfäng, vain. fåg|el (-eln, -lar), bird. fågelbo (-et, -n), bird's nest. fåkunnig, ignorant. fål|e (-en, -ar), colt, steed. fåll|a (-ade), to hem. fång|a (-ade, -at, -ad or fången), to capture. får (-et, --), sheep. fäder (pl. of fader, father), ancestors. fädernedal (-en, -ar), native valley. fädernesland (-et, --), native country. fädernestrand (-en, -stränder), native shore. fägn|a (-ade, -at), to please. fäll|a (-de, -t), to strike down, fell. fält (-et, --), field. färd (-en, -er), journey; å färde, on the way, pending. färdig, ready. färg (-en, -er), color. färg|a (-ade, -at), to color. färglös, colorless. fäst|a (-ade, -at), to fasten, bind, attach. fäste (-t, -n), stronghold, hilt, firmament. fästning (-en, -ar), fortification. föda (födde, fött), to give birth to, nourish. födelse or födsel (-n), birth. föga, little. följ|a (-de, -t), to follow, accompany. föll, see falla. fönst|er (-ret, --), window. för, for, before, in behalf of. för (-en), prow. för|a (-de, -t), to bring, conduct. förakt|a (-ade, -at), to despise. föraktlig, scornful, despicable. förbannelse (-n, -r), curse. förbi, past. för|binda (-band, pl. -bundo, -bundit, -bunden), to bandage, unite. förbittrad, incensed. förbittring (-en), anger. förblev, see förbliva för|bliva (-blev, -blivit, -bliven), to remain. för|blöda (-blödde, -blött), to bleed to death. förbrän|na (-de, -t), to consume by fire. fördjup|a (-ade, -ät), de deepen. fördraga (-drog, -dragit, -dragen), to tolerate. fördunkl|a (-ade, -at) to make dim. föröm|a (-de, -t), to condemn. före, before. förebild (-en, -er), prototype, model. fören|a (-ade or -te, -at or -t), to unite. förening (-en, -ar), union. förespel (-et, --), prelude. förespråkersk|a (-an, -or), female pleader, advocate. före|stå (-stod, -stått), to be near at hand, be imminent. för|flyta (-flöt, -flutit, -fluten), to pass by, elapse. för|frysa (-frös, -frusit, -frusen), to freeze severely. förfärlig, terrible. förfölj|a (-de, -t), to pursue. förglöm|ma (-de, -t), to forget. för|gråta (-grät, -gråtit,) to pass the time in weeping; förgråten, red-eyed or swollen from weeping. för|gå (-gick, -gått, -gången), to pass by (time); förgås, to perish. förgård (-en, -ar), outer court. förgäten, forgotten. förgäves, in vain. förgöm|ma (-de, -t), to conceal. förhand, på --, beforehand. förhoppning (-en, -ar), hope, expectation. förhoppningsfull, hopeful. förjag|a (-ade, -at), to drive away. förkast|a (-ade, -at), to reject. förklar|a (-ade, -at), to explain. för|kläda (-klädde, -klätt), to disguise, masque. förklädning (-en, -ar), disguise. förlama (-ade, -at), to paralyze. förliden, past. förlik|a (-te, -t), to reconcile. förlit|a (-ade, or förlet, -at), to depend upon. förlor|a (-ade, -at), to lose. förlov, med --, pardon me. för|låta (-lät, -låtit, -låten), to forgive. förlät, see förlåta. förmörk|a (-ade, -at), to darken. förnam, see förnimma. för|nimma, (-nam, -nummit, -nummen), to hear, perceive, ascertain. förnummit, see förnimma. förny|a (-ade, -at), to renew. förnöj|a (-de, -t), to please. förolämpad, insulted. förpläg|a (-ade, -at), to feed, entertain. förr, before, formerly. för|råda (-rådde, -rått, rådd), to betray. förrän, förrn, before, until. förrost|a (-ade, -at), to rust. försak|a (-ade, -at), to renounce, deny oneself. församl|a (-ade, -at), to gather, assemble. för|sjunka (-sjönk, -sjunkit, -sjunken), to sink down, försjönk, see försjunka. för|skjuta (-sköt, -skjutit, -skjuten), to reject. försmå (-dde, -tt), to disdain. för|smälta (-smalt, -smultit), to melt. förson|a (-ade, -at), to propitiate. försonare (-n, --), propitiator. försoning (-en), atonement, reconciliation. försoningsdag (-en, -ar), day of atonement. för|sova, sig (-sov, sovit), to oversleep. först, first. förströ (-dde, -tt), to divert, amuse. förlstå (-stod, -stått, -stådd), to understand. förstäm|ma (-de, -t), to depress. förstör|a (-de, -t), to destroy. försvann, see försvinna. försvar|a (-ade, -at), to defend. försvinna (-svann, pl. -svunno, -svunnit, -svunnen), to disappear. försök|a (-te, -t), to try. förtäl|a (-ade, -at), to relate, slander. försvunnit, see försvinna. förteg, see förtiga. för|tiga (-teg, -tegat), to conceal, keep back. förtjust, pleased, delighted. förtjän|a (-ade, -at), to earn, deserve. förtjänst (-en, -er), merit. fortork|a (-ade, -at), to dry up, wither. förtro (-dde, -tt), to entrust, confide. förtrogen (vän), confidential friend. fortroll|a (-ade, -at), to bewitch. förtryck[a (-te, -t), to oppress. förtyn|a (-ade, -at), to waste away. förtälj|a (-de, or förtaide, -t, or förtalt), to relate, tell. förtörn|a (-ade, -at), to anger, vex. föränderlig, changeable. forundr|a (-ade, -at), to fill with wonder; -- sig, to wonder, marvel. förut, before. förutan, without. forvirr|a (-ade, -at), to confuse, confound. förvågen, reckless. förvägr|a (-ade, -at), to refuse. förändr|a (-ade, -at), to change. för|öda (-ödde, -ött), to waste. g. gagn|a (-ade, -at), to benefit. gala (gol, galit), to crow. galder (-n, galdrar), incantation. galt (-en, -ar), boar. gammal, old. gamman, indecl., pleasure, joy. gap (-et, --), mouth, jaws. gapa (-ade, -at), to yawn, gape. gav, see giva. geirsodd (-en), death rune. gemensam, common, mutual. gen, short, near. genast, at once. genmäl|a (-de, -t), to retort. genom, through. genomborr|a (-ade, -at), to pierce, thrust through. genomströmm|a (-ade, -at), to flow through. gestalt (-en, -er), figure, body. gick, see gå. giftoman (-nen, -män), one who gives another in marriage. giljarfärd (-en, -er), wooing trip or expedition. ginge, gingo, see gå. gissning (-en, -ar), guess. giva, ge (gav, g&vo, givit, given), to give. givmild, generous. gjallarhorn (-et), giallarhorn, the trumpet of heimdall. gjord, see göra. gjuta (göt, gjutit, gjuten), to pour, mold, shed. glad, glad, happy, merry. gladde, see glädja. glans (-en), splendor, glasrut|a (-an, -or), window pane. glatt, smooth. glesn|a (-ade, -at), to grow sparse. glittr|a (-ade, -at), to glitter. glädja (pr. gläder, gladde, glatt), to make glad, rejoice. gläder, see glädja. glädje (-n), joy. glättig, glad, happy. glöd (-en), glow. glöda (glödde, glött), to glow. glödhet, glowing hot. glöm|ma (-de -t), to forget. glömska (-n), oblivion, forgetfulness. gnist|a (-an, -or), spark. gnistr|a (-ade, -at), to sparkle. gnugga (-ade, -at), to rub. gny (-et), commotion, murmur. gnägg|a (-ade, -at), to neigh. god, good. godo, med or i --, willingly. gods (-et, --), goods, property. golv (-et, --), floor. grav (-en, -ar), grave. gravhög (-en, -ar), barrow, grave mound. gravöl (-et), funeral feast. gren (-en, -ar), branch. grep, see gripa. griff|el (-eln, -lar), pencil. grift (-en, -er), grave. gripa (grep, gripit, gripen), to seize. gro (-dde, -tt), to sprout, grow. groll (-et), grudge, quarrel. grop (-en, -ar), dimple, pit. grovhyvlad, rough planed. grubb|la (-ade, -at), to brood. gruml|a (-ade, -at), to make turbid. grund, shallow. grund (-et, --), shoal; till --, to the bottom. grund (-en, -er), basis, foundation. grundmurad, provided with solid floor and walls of masonry. grus, (-et), gravel, earth, i -- in ruins. gry (-de, -tt), to dawn, break. grym, fierce, cruel. gråhårig, grayhaired. gråskäggig, having gray beard. gråta (grät, gråtit), to weep. gråtersk|a (-an, -or), woman who weeps. gräns (-en, -er), boundary, limit. gräs (-et), grass. gräselig or gräslig, hideous. grät, see gråta. grön, green. grönklädd, covered with verdure. grönlummig, leafy, with dense foliage. grönsk|a (-ade, -at), to turn or grow green. grönska (-n), verdure. grönvirkad, crocheted in green. gubb|e (-en, -ar), old man. gud (-en, -ar), god. gudabarm (-en, -ar), divine bosom. gudablod (-et), blood of the gods, of divine ancestry. gudabälte (-t, -n), divine girdle. gudaglans (-en), divine splendor. gudahus (-et, --), temple. gudakrans (-en, -ar), divine wreath. gudalund (-en, -ar or -er), sacred grove. gudatimrad, god-built. gudinn|a (-an, -or), goddess. gudomlig, divine. gul, yellow, golden. guld, gull (-et), gold. guldbelagd, gold inlaid. guldfot (-en, -fötter), gold foot. guldgul, golden yellow. guldhjälm, (-en, -ar), gold helmet. guldhov (-en, -ar), gold-shod hoof. guldinlagd, gold inlaid. guldkam (-men, -mar), golden comb. guldkammig, golden combed. guldklo (-n, -r), golden claw. guldring (-en, -ar), gold ring. guldsadlad, with gold-mounted saddle. guldsköld (-en, -ar), gold shield. guldstol (-en, -ar), golden chair or seat. guldsträng (-en, -ar), gold string. guldtand (-en, -tänder), golden tooth. gull, see guld. gullhov, see guldhov. gullmanig, with golden mane. guln|a (-ade, -at), to turn yellow. gung|a (-ade, -at), to rock. gyllene, golden. gyllenläder (-ret), gilded leather, bronze leather. gå (gick, pl. gingo, gått, gången), to go, extend, move. gång (-en, -ar), path, walk, course. gång (-en, -er), time, occasion. gångare (-n, --), steed, horse. går, i --, yesterday. gård (-en, -ar), homestead, estate, yard. gåv|a (-an, -or), gift. gåvo, see giva. gäck|a (-ade, -at), to scorn, deceive. gäld|a (-ade, -at), to make amends for. gäll|a (-de, -t), to be of account, -- lifvet, life is at stake. gärd (-en, -er), tribute, reward. gärna, willingly, freely. gäst (-en, -er), guest. gäst|a (-ade, -at), to visit as guest. gästabud (-et, --), banquet, feast. gästfri, hospitable. gästfrihet (-en), hospitality. gäl (-en, -ar), pool. gäm|ma (-de, -t), to conceal. gära (gjorde, gjort, gjord), to do, make. gärd|el (-eln, -lar), girdle, göt, see gjuta. h. ha, abbrev. of hava. hag|e (-en, -ar), pasture, grove. hade, see hava. hagelskur (-en, -ar), shower of hail, hail storm. hagl|a (-ade, -at), to hail. halm (-en), straw. hak|a (-ade, -at), to hook. hals (-en, -ar), neck. halt|a (-ade, -at), to limp, hobble. halv, half. halvbränd, half burnt. halvdränkt, half submerged. halvrund (-en, -er), semicircle. halvslocknad, half extinguished. halvsläckt, half extinguished. halvvred, vexed, angry. hammare (-n, -- or hamrar), hammer. hamn (-en, -ar), harbor. hamr|a (ade, -at), to hammer. han, he. hand (-en, händer), hand. handfull, handful. handkraft (-en), physical power. handsbred, one hand wide. handslag (-et, --), hand clasp. han|e (-en, -ar), cock. hang, see hänga, hann, see hunno. hans, his. harm (-en), anger. harp|a (-an, -or), harp. harpoljud (-et, --), sound of the harp. harpoton (-en, -er), tone of the harp. hast, haste. hast|a (-ade, -at), to hasten. hastig, speedy. hat (-et), hatred. hat|a (-ade, -at), to hate. hatt (-en, -ar), hat. hav (-et, --), ocean. hava, ha (hade, haft), to have. havsbrud (-en, -ar), ocean bride. havsskum (-met), ocean spray. havstroll (-et, --), sea monster. havsval (-en, -ar), whale. havsörn (-en, -ar), sea eagle. hed (-en, -ar), heath. heden, heathen. heder (-n), honor. hedersgubb|e (-en, -ar), worthy or venerable old man. hejsan, hey, hurrah. hel, whole, entire. helt, quite, entirely. helgedom (-en, -ar), temple. helig, sacred, holy. hell, hail. heller, either. hellre, helst, rather, more or most willingly. helstekt, roasted whole. hem (-met, --), home. hembygd (-en, -er), native place. hemma, at home. hemsk, terrible. hemväg, (-en, -ar), the way home. henne, acc. of hon, her. hennes, gen. of hon, hers. hermelin (-en), ermine. hermelinsmantlad, ermine mantled. herr, sir. herr|e (-en, -ar), master, lord. het, warm. het|a (-te, -at), to be called, named. hillebard (-en, -er), halberd. himlabåg|e (-en, -ar), heavenly arch. himlaflamm|a (-an, -or), lightning flash. himlarand (-en), horizon. him|mel (-meln, -len or -melen, -lar), heaven, sky. himmelsk, heavenly. himmelsblå, azure blue. himlafält (-et, --), firmament, sky. hin, the. hind (-en, -ar), hind, young deer. hind|er (-ret, --), hindrance, obstacle. hindr|a (-ade, -at), to hinder. hingst (-en, -ar), stallion. hinna (hann, pl hunno, hunnit, hunnen), to have time for, overtake. hinsidan, on the other side. hiss|a (-ade, -at), to hoist; -- segel, to set sail. hit, hither. hitt|a (-ade, -at), to find. hjalt (-et, --), hilt. hjord (-en, -ar), flock. hjort (-en, -ar), stag. hjul (-et, --), wheel. hjälm (-en, -ar), helmet. hjälmhatt (-en, -ar), helmet, helmet hat. hjälp|a (-te, or halp, -t, or hulpit, hulpen), to assist, help. hjält|e (-en, -ar), hero. hjälteamma (-an, -or), mother of heroes. hjältearm (-en, -ar), heroic arm. hjältebarm (-en, -ar), heroic bosom. hjälteblick (-en, -ar), heroic glance. hjältefader (-n, -fäder), heroic father, father of heroes. hjältebragd (-en, -er), heroic deed. hjältefog (-et), heroic tone or mien. hjältekraft (-en), heroic power. hjältemod (-et), heroic courage. hjältemull (-en), heroic soil, dust of heroes. hjälterykte (-t), heroic fame. hjältesinne (-t), heroic mind. hjälteson (-en, söner), heroic son, son of a hero. hjältesång (-en, -er), heroic song. hjältevrede (-n), heroic anger. hjärta (-t, -n), heart. hjärtlig, hearty, sincere. hjäss|a (-an, -or), crown of the head. holmgång (-en, -ar), duel. hon, she. honom, acc. of han, him. honungg (-en), honey. hop (-en, -ar), crowd, throng. hopfog|a (-ade, -at), to join together. hopp (-et, --), leap. hopp (-et), faith, hope. hopp|a (-ade, -at), to jump. hopp|as (-ades, -ats), to hope. hopträng|a (-de, -t), to compress. horn (-et, --), horn. horndryck (-en), drink from the horn. hos, by, with, at the home of. hot (-et), threat. hot|a (-ade, -at), to threaten. hov (-en, -ar), hoof. hov (-et, --), court. hov, see häva. hovman (-nen, -män), courtier. hud (-en, -ar), skin, pelt. hugg (-et, --), blow, thrust, stroke. hugga (högg, huggit, huggen), to hew, cut, strike. hull (-et), flesh. hulling (-en, -ar), barb, hook. hulpit, see hjälpa. humle (-n), hops. hund (-en, -ar), dog. hundra, hundrade, hundred. hundramilaslätt (-en, -er), plain of a hundred miles. hundraårig, a hundred years old. hungrig, hungry. hunnit, see hinna. hur, huru, how, howsoever. hus (-et, --), house, dwelling. husfolk (-et, --), house servants. husvill, homeless. huvud (-et, -en), head. huvudskall|e (-en, -ar), skull. hucklare (-n, --), hypocrite. håg (-en), mind, inclination. hål (-et, --), hole. håll (-et, --), direction. hålla (höll, hållit, hållen), to hold, keep, contain. hållning (-en), bearing. hån (-et), scorn. hår (-et, --), hair. hård, hard, cruel, severe. hårdhet (-en), hardness, harshness. hårdhänt, rough, severe. hårvuxen, hairy. häg|er (-ern, -rar), heron. hägn|a (-ade, -at), to protect. hägring (-en, -ar), mirage. hälft (-en, -er), a half. häll (-en, -ar), hearth, rock. häls|a (-ade, -ät), ta greet, acclaim. hälsa, (-n), health. hälsning (-en, -ar), greeting. hämnd (-en), revenge. hämn|a (-ade, -at), to avenge. hämt|a (-ade, -at), to bring, fetch. hän, away. hän|da (-de, -t), to happen. häng|a (-de, or hang, -t), to häng. hänglås (-et, --), padlock. hänryckning (-en), ecstasy. häpen, astounded. här, here. här (-en, -ar), army. härbud (-et, --), war messenger, or message. härd (-en, -ar), hearth. härd|a (-ade, -at), to harden. härinne, in here. härj|a (-ade, -at), to devastate. härlig, glorious, beautiful. härmed, herewith. härnad (-en, -er), warfare, warlike expedition. härold (-en, -er), herald. härom, concerning it. härskarbud (-et, -en), word of command. härskarblick (-en, -ar), lordly mien, glance of a ruler. härskarnyck (-en, -er), whim of authority. härskarord (-et, -en), royal command, word of authority. härskri (-et, --, or -n), warcry. härsköld (-en, -ar), war shield. härslag (-et,--), battle. härtåg (-et, --), military expedition. häst (-en, -ar), horse. häv|a (-de, -t), to raise, lift, rise and fall. hävd (-en, -er), annals. höft (-en, -er), hip, hög (-en, -ar),mound, pile, grave. hög, high, loud. högbarmad, high-bosomed. högg, see hugga. högbänk (-en, -ar), high seat, seat of honor. höghornad, long-horned. högre, higher. högsätespelare (-n, --), pillar of the high seat, or seat of honor. högvälvd, high arched. högättad, of high descent. höj|a (-de, -t), to raise, lift. höjd (-en, -er), height, eminence. hök (-en, -ar), hawk. hölj|a (-de, -t), to cover. höll, see hålla. hör|a (-de, -t), to hear, listen. -- samman, belong together, -- till, belong to. höst (-en, -ar), autumn. höstting (-et, --), fall thing or court. höv|as (-des, -ts), to be fitting, hövding (-en, -ar), chief. hövisk, courtly, polite. i. i, you. i, in, into, at, for, to, by, with. ibland, among, sometimes. icke, not. idel, nothing but. idrott (-en, -er), sport, achievement. ifrån, from. igen, again. igenkän|na (-de, -t), to recognize. igenom, through. ihjäl, to death; slå ----, to kill. ihop, together. il (-en, -ar), gust of wind. il|a (-ade, -at), to run fast. illa, bad, evil. in, in, on. in|driva (-drev, -drivit, -driven), to collect. inför, before, face to face with. ingen, no, no one, none. ingenting, nothing. in|giva (-gav, pl. gåvo, -givit, -given), to give, inspire. innan, before, ere. innanför, within. inne, in, within. inom, within. insteg, see instiga. in|stiga (-steg, -stigit, -stigen), to enter. insvep|a (-te, -t), to envelop, dress. in|taga (-tog, -tagit, -tagen), to seize, take possession of. intet, nothing. intill, to, unto. intog, see intaga. in|träda (-trädde, -trätt), to enter. inunder, under. invid, by, close to. invän|da (-de, -t), to interpose objection, answer. irr|a (-ade, -at), to wander about aimlessly. is (-en, -ar), ice. isbjörn (-en, -ar), polar bear. itu, in twain. iver (-n), zeal, animation. j. jag, i. jag|a (-ade, -at), to hunt, chase, drive. jakt (-en, -er), hunt. jarl (-en, -ar), jarl, earl. joll|er (-ret), foolish prattle. jord (-en), earth, soil. jordisk, earthly. jul (-en, -ar), yule. jul|a (-ade, -at), to celebrate yule. julerus (-et, ----), yuletide spree. jungfru (-n, -r), maiden, virgin. jungfrubur (-en, -ar), maiden's bower. just, just, exactly. juv|er (-ret, ----), udder. jägare (-n, ----), hunter. jägarskar|a (-an, -or), band of hunters. jämnårig, of the same age. jämt, always. jämte, by, also, besides. jämväl, besides. järn (-et), iron. järnek (-en, -ar), holly oak. järnfast, firm or strong as iron. järnlans (-en, -ar), iron lance. järnsko (-n, -r), iron shoe. jätt|e (-en, -ar), giant. jättesten (-en, -ar), giant rock. jätteverk (-et, ----), giant undertaking. k. kalk|a (-ade, -at), to cover with lime. kall, cold. kall|a (-ade, -at), to call. kall|as (-ades, -ats), to be named. kallbräckt, cold-short, brittle. kalln|a (-ade, -at), to grow cold. kam (-men, -mar), comb. kamin (-en, -er), stove. kammar(e) (-n, --), chamber. kamp (-en), struggle. kamrat (-en, -er), comrade. kan, see kunna. kanhända, perhaps. kanske, perhaps. kant, (-en, -er), border. kapp, i --, in a race. kapp|a (-an, -or), mantle, cloak, hood. karg, chary. karm (-en, -ar), back and arms of a chair. kast|a (-ade, -at), to cast, throw. kedj|a (-an, -or), chain. kind (-en, -er), cheek. klag|a (-ade, -at), to complain. klagan, indecl., complaint. klagoröst (-en, -er), voice of complaint. klandr|a (-ade, -at), to criticise. klang, see klinga. klang (-en), ring, clang. klapp|a (-ade, -at), to clap, beat, knock. klar, clear. klarnad, clear. klenod, (-en, -er), gem, jewel, valuable. kling|a (-ade or klang, pl. klungo, -at or klungit), to resound, drink a toast. kling|a (-an, -or), sword. klint (-en, -er), peak, brow of rock. klipp|a (-an, -or), cliff, rock. klipp|g, rocky. klo (-n, -r) claw. klok, wise. klot (-et, --), sphere, ball. klungo, see klinga. klyft|a (-an, or), cleft, ravine. klyva (klöv, kluvit, kluven), to cleave, split. kläda (klädde, klätt), to clothe. kläder, no sing., clothes, kläm|ma (-de, -t), to squeeze, press. klättr|a (-ade, -at), to climb, klösja (-te, -t), to tear with claws or nails. klöv, see klyva. knak|a (-ade, -at), to creak. knapp, scarce. knapp (-en, -ar), button, knob. knappast, hardly. knattr|a (-ade, at), to crackle. knopp (-en, -ar), bud. knopp|as (-ades, -ats), to bud. knot (-et), complaint. knuten, see knyta. knyta (knöt, knutit, knuten), to tie, bind. knä (-et, -n), knee. knäpp|a (-te, -t), to fasten, buckle; -- händerna, clasp the hands. knäsatt, placed in one's lap. kog|er (-ret, --), quiver. koka (-ade, -at), to boil. kolsvart, coal black. kolv (-en, -ar), butt. komma (kom, kommit, kommen), to come, get, -- fram, come up, forth, arrive. konst (-en, -er), art. konstnär (-en, -er), artist. konstarbetad, artistically wrought. konsterfaren, skilled, artistic. konstfull, artistic. konstnär (-en, -er), artist. konung (-en, -ar), king. konungasal (-en, -ar), king's hall. konungason, (-en, -söner), king's son. konungastad (-en, -städer), royal city. konungaval (-et, --), royal election. kopparköl (-en, -ar), copper keel. kopparstöpt, molded in copper. koppartrösk|el (-eln, -lar), copper threshold. kor|a (-ade, -at), to choose. korall (-en, -er), coral. korn, (-et), barley, grain. kornland (-et, --), field of grain. kors|a (-ade, -at), to cross. kort, short; inom --, shortly, ere long, soon. kos, gå, fly sin --, depart. kos|a (-an, -or), course. kost|a (-ade, -at), to cost. kostelig, costly, precious. krafs|a (-ade, -at), to scratch. kraft (-en, -er), power, strength. kraftlös, powerless. kram (-et), merchandise, gimcrack, trumpery, trash. krans (-en, -ar), wreath. krets (-en, -ar), circle. krig (-et, --), war. kring, round, around, about. kringdans|a (-ade, -at) to dance around. kring|stryka (-strök, -strukit), to roam about. kringsvärm|a (-ade, -at), to roam about. kringång|a (-ade, -at), surround by perfume. kroknäbb (-et, --), hook-bill, one having a crooked beak. kron|a (-an, -or), crown. kropp (-en, -ar), body. kross|a (ade, -at), to crush. kryck|a (-an, -or), crutch. krämare (-n, --), merchant, trader. kränk|a (-te, -t), to insult, wrong. kräv|a (-de, -t), to exact, demand. krökt, bent, crooked. krön|a (-te, -t), to crown, adore. kul|a (-an, -or), cave, den. kulen, bleak. kull|e (-en, -ar), knoll, hill. kum|mel (-let, --), funeral mound, cairn. kung (-en, -ar), king. kungablod (-et), royal blood. kungadotter (-n, -döttrar), king's daughter. kungaed (-en, -er), royal oath. kungahus (-et, --), king's house, royal house. kungahöghet (-en), royal greatness. kungasal (-en, -ar), royal hall. kungason (-en, -söner), king's son. kungastol (-en, -ar), royal seat. kungaval (-et, --), royal election. kungasäte (-t, -n), royal seat. kunglig, royal. kungsgård (-en, -ar), king's hall or estate. kungsniding (-en, -ar), traitor king. kungsord (-et, --), royal word. kungssal (-en, -ar), king's hall. kunna (pres. kan, kunde, kunnat), to be able, can, know. kupig, convex. kust (-en, -er), coast, shore. kuttr|a (-ade, -at), to coo. kvald, see kvälja. kvar, remaining, left. kvar|bliva (-blev, -blivit, -bliven), to remain. kvar|hålla (-höll, -hållit, -hållen), to retain, keep. kvarhöll, see kvarhålla. kvav, sultry, close; gå i --, go to the bottom. kvickn|a (-ade, -at) vid, to revive, come to life again. kvida (kved, kvidit), to wail, whine. kvinn|a (-an, -or), woman. kvinnoskepnad (-en, -er), woman's form. kvist (-en, -ar), branch. kvittr|a (-ade, -at), to twitter. kväda (kvad, kvädit, kväden), to sing, speak. kväde (-t, -n), song. kvälj|a (-de or kvalde, kvalt, kvald), to choke, torment. kväll (-en, -ar), evening. kväv|a (-de, -t), to suffocate, quench. kyl|a (-de, -t), to cool. kyss|a (-te, -t), to kiss. käck, brave, spirited. käll|a (-an, -or), spring, fountain. källare (-n, --), cellar. kämp|a (-ade, -at), to fight, struggle. kämp|e (-en, -ar), warrior. kämpehand (-en, -händer), heroic hand. kämpehär (-en, -ar), army of warriors. känd, known. kän|na (-de, -t), to know, feel. känsl|a (-an, -or), feeling. kär, dear. kärl (-et, --), vessel. kärlek (-en), love. kärleksbrev (-et, --), love letter. kärleksfull, loving. kärn|a (-an, -or), kernel. kärnfull, rich, pithy. kärnfur (-an, -or), sound fir tree. kärnspråk (-et, --), wise saying. köl (-en, -ar), keel. köld (-en), cold. kör|a (-de, -t), to drive. l. lack|a (-ade, -at), to drip (of perspiration). lad|a (-an, -or), barn, granary. laddning (-en, -ar), cargo. lade, see lägga. lag (-en, -ar), law. lag (-et, --), group, crowd. lagerlund (-en, -ar), laurel grove. lamm|m (-met, --), lamb. land (-et, länder or --), land. landsflykt (-en), exile. lans (-en, -ar), lance. larm (-et), noise, din. larm|a (-ade, -at), to make noise. le (log, lett), smile, laugh. led, mean, ugly. led, see lida. leda (ledde, lett), to lead, direct. ledig, vacant. ledsen, sad; --vid, weary of. lek (-en, -ar), play, frolic. lek|a (-te, -t), to play. lekplats (-en, -er), playground. let|a (-te or -ade, -at), to search. lev|a (-de, -t), to live. levnad (-en), life. levnadslust (-en), joy of living. lida (led, lidit, liden), to suffer pain; -- mot, or emot, approach. lidande (-t, -n), suffering. ligga (låg, legat, legad), to lie. lik, lika, like, just as, equally. likafullt, just the same. lik|e (no def. sing., -ar), equal. likn|a (-ade, -at), to resemble. liksom, just as, as though, as. likväl, anyway. lilj|a (-an, -or), lily. liljehy (-n), lily white complexion. liljekull|e (-en, -ar), lily mound. liljestäng|el (-eln, -lar), lily stem. liljevit, lily white. lilla, little, small. lind (-en, -ar), linden tree. lind|a (-ade, -at), to twine around. list (-en), deceit, cunning. lit|a (-ade, or let, -at), to depend upon. liten, little, small. liv (-et, --), life, waist. livstid (-en, -er), life time. ljud (-et, --), sound. ljuda (ljöd, ljudit), resound. ljuga (ljög, ljugit), to lie. ljung (-en), heather. ljung|a (-ade, -at), to flash. ljungare (-n) the thunderer. ljungeld (-en, -ar), flash of lightning. ljus, bright, light. ljus (-et, --), light. ljusalf (-en, -er), light elf. ljusblå, light blue. ljuslockig, light-haired. ljuv, beautiful, sweet. ljuvlig, sweet, delightful. lock (-en, -ar), lock. lock|a (-ade, -at), to entice, lure. lodrät, perpendicular. log, see le. loft (-et, --), loft. lossa (-ade, -at), to loosen, set free. lott (-en, -er), lot, fate. lottning (-en, -ar), casting of lot. lov (-et), praise. lov|a (-ade, -at), to promise, praise. lovlig, permissible. luden, hairy, shaggy. luft (-en), air. luftig, airy. lugn (-et), peace, calm, lull. lugn, quiet, calm. lull|a (-ade, -at), to hum. ljummig, leafy, shady. lumpen, mean, paltry, sordid. lumpor, no sing., rags. lund (-en, -er or -ar), grove. lung|a (-an, -or), lung. lur (-en, -ar), trumpet. lur|a (-ade, -at), to lurk. lurvhårig, shaggy. lust (-en), pleasure, desire. lustig, comical, lively, pleasurable. lut|a (-ade, -at), to incline, bend, lean. luttr|a (-ade, -at), to purify. lycka (-n), good fortune. lyck|as (-ades, -ats), to succeed. lycklig, fortunate, happy. lyda, (lydde, lytt), to obey. lydig, obedient. lyft|a (-ade, or -e, -at, or lyft), to lift. lykt|a (-ade, -at), to close. lykt|a (-an, -or), lantern, lamp. lysa (-te, -t), to shine. lysmask (-en, -ar), glowworm. lyssn|a (-ade, -at), to listen. lys|ta (-te, -t), to desire. låg, low. låg, see lägga. låg|a (-an, -or), flame. låg|a (-ade, -at), to glare, glow. lån|a (-ade or -te, -at or -t), to borrow, loan. lÅng, long, far. långsam, tedious, slow. långskepp (-et, --), warship of the viking period. lås (-et, --), lock. låta (lät, låtit), to let, permit, sound. lägga (lade, lagt, lagd), to lay, put; -- i land, to land. lägre, lower. lämn|a (-ade, -at), to leave. lån|a (-te, -t), to borrow, loan. länd (-en, -er), loin, side. länge, long time, long. länger, längre, longer. längs (med), along, along the side of. längst, longest, farthest. längt|a (-ade, -at), to long. längtan, indecl., longing. längtansfull, longingly. längtersk|a (-an, -or), the longing one. länte, see läna. läpp (-en, -ar), lip. lär, likely, it is said. lär|a (-de, -t), to learn, teach. läx|a (-an, -or), teaching, doctrine. lärk|a (-an, -or), lark. lärospån (-en, or -et, --), first exploit, achievement. läs|a (-te, -t), to read. lät, see låta. lätt, light, easy, lightly. lödig, of pure metal, genuine. löfte (-t, -n), promise. lög|a (-ade, -at), to wash. lögn (-en, -er), lie. löje (-t, -n), laughter, smile. lön (-en, -er), reward. lönvalv (-et, --), secret vault or chamber. löpning (-en, -ar), running, race, run. lös, loose. lös|a (-te, -t), to loosen, dissolve; -- en uppgift, discharge a duty. löslig, loose. löv (et, --), leaf. löv|as (-ades, -äts), to sprout, become green, get leaves. lövsal (-en, -ar), leafy bower, arbor. m. makja (-ade, -at), to move, shift. maka (-n, -r), mate, wife. mak|e (-en, -ar), husband. makt (-en, -er), power, might. malm (-en, -er), ore. man (-en, -ar), mane. man (-nen, män, or poet, manner), man. man, one. mandomsrön (-et, --), manly achievement. manlig, manly. mannaring (-en, -ar), circle of men. manshög, man high. mant|el (-eln, -lar), mantle, cloak. mark (-en, -er), mark (about / kilogram). mark (-en), ground. marmorbarm (-en, -ar), marble breast. marmorklyft (-en), solid block of marble. marmorsten (-en, -ar), marble. marmortemp|el (-let, --), marble temple. marvad, i --, waterlogged. mast (-en, -er), mast. mastfur|a (-an, -or), fir tree, mast tree. mat (-en), food. mat|a (-ade, -at), to feed. matt, weak. med, with, along, for, to, of. mellan, between. men, indecl., injury, bane. men, but. men|a (-ade or -te, -at or -t), to mean, intend, mened (-en), perjury, mening (-en, -ar), meaning, intention, opinion, mer(a), more, middag (-en, -ar), midday, dinner. midj|a (-an, -or), waist. midnattsdagg (-en), midnight dew. midnatssol (-en), midnight sun. midnatstid (-en), time of midnight. midsommar (-en, -somrar), midsummer. midsommarfest (-en, -er), festival of midsummer. midsommarsol (-en), midsummer sun. mig, acc. of jag, me. mil (-en, --), mile. mild, mild. mildhet (-en), mildness, kindness. min, mitt, mina, my, mine. mindre, less, smaller. min|nas (-des, -ts), to remember. minne (-t, -n), memory, token of remembrance. minst, least, smallest. missnöjd, dissatisfied. mist|a (-ade, or -te, -at or -t), to lose. mjöd (-et), mead. mjödhorn (-et, --), meadhorn. mjölkvit, milk white. mod (-et), courage, valor. moder (-n, mödrar), mother. modig, brave. mogen, ripe. mogn|a (-ade, -at), to ripen. moln (-et, --), cloud. mor, abbrev. of moder. mordbrand (-en), incendiarism. mordbrännarkung (-en, -ar), incendiary king. mogn|a (-ade, -at) sig, to become fully awake. morgon (-en, morgnar), morning. morgondager (-n), dawn. morgondagg (-en), morning dew. morgondröm (-men, -mar), morning dream. morgonglans (-en), morning light. morgongryning (-en), dawn. morgonrodnad (-en, -er), glow of dawn, aurora. morgonstund (-en, -er), morning hour. morgonvind (-en, -ar), morning wind. morn|a (-ade, -at) sig, to become fully awake. mossväxt (-en, -er), moss. mot, against, towards. mot|a (-ade, -at), to stop, keep back. motväg|a (-de, -t), to counterbalance. mulen, dark, gloomy. mull (-en), ground, sod. multen, decayed. mun (-nen, -nar), mouth. mund, see mun. munter, jolly, jovial, glad. mur (-en, -ar), wall. mur|a (-ade, -at), to do masonry work. must (-en), sap, juice, fat. mycket, much. myntad, coined. må (måtte), may. mål (-et, --), goal. måål|a (-ade, -at), to paint. målsman (-nen, -män), advocate, sponsor. mån (månde), perchance, might. månad (-en, -er), month. månde, see mån. mån|e (-en, -ar), moon. mången, many a one, many. mångfaldig, manifold. mångvis, erudite, very wise. månne, perhaps, do you think. månskensblick (-en, -ar), dim glances. månskensförst|e (-en, -ar), moonlight prince. mård (-en, -ar), marten. måste, must. mått (-et, --), measure. mäktig, mighty. mängd (-en), great number. männer, poetical for män, men. mänska, see människa. mänsklig, human. mänsklighet (-en), humanity. mänskobröst (-et,--), human heart, breast. människ|a (-an, -or), man, human being. människokraft (-en, -er), power of man. mänskohand (-en, -händer), human hand. mänskoätt (-en, -er), human family. mänskoöde (-et, -n), human affairs, human destiny. märg (-en), marrow. märk|a (-te, -t), to notice. mästare (-n, --), master. mö (-n, -r), maiden. möd|a (-an, -or), hardship, pains. möderne (-t), mother's side. mönstr|a (-ade, -at), to review, examine. mörd|a (-ade, -at), to kill, murder. mördarhand (-en, -händer), murderer's hand. mörk, dark. mörkblå, dark blue. mörk|er (-ret), darkness. mörkn|a (-ade, -at), to grow dark. möt|a (-te, -t), to meet. möte (-t, -n), meeting. n. nag|el (-em, -lar), finger nail, spike. naken, naked, bare. nalk|as (-ades, -ats), to approach. namn (-et, --), name. namnlös, nameless. narr (-en, -ar), fool. narrspel (-et, --), foolery. natt (-en, nätter), night. nattgammal, one night old. nattlig, nightly, dark as night. natur (-en), nature. ned, neder, ner, down. nedanför, below. neder, see ned. nederkall|a (-ade, -at), to call down, invoke. nederslagen, see nederslå. neder|slå (-slog, -slagit, -slagen), to strike down. nederst, lowest. nedrig, low, rascally. nedsteg, see nedstiga, ned|stiga (-steg, -stigit, -stigen), to step down, descend. nedåt, downwards. nej, no. nek|a (-ade, -at), to deny, refuse. nerifrån, from below. ner, see ned. nere, down. nick|a (-ade, -at), to nod. nidingsdåd (-et,--), villainous deed. niding (-en, -ar), outlaw, villain. nidingsfunder, no sing., malicious artifices. nidingsstång (-en, -stänger), niding post, pillory. njuta (njöt, njutit, njuten), to enjoy. nog, indeed, enough. noga, careful, carefully. nord (-en), the north, scandinavia. nordbo (-n, -r), northerner. nordisk, northern. nordland (-et), the northland, scandinavia. nordman (-nen, -män), northerner. nordmannakung (-en, -ar), king of the north. nordmannasätt (-et, --), manner of the north. norn|a (-an, -or), norn. norr, north. norrsken (-et, --), northern light. norräna, norse tongue. nu, now. ny, new. nyck (-en, -er), whim. nyckel (-eln, -lar), key. nyfälld, new-fallen. nyfödd, newborn. nyinvigd, newly dedicated. nyskapad, newly created. nyss, just now, a while ago, recently. nyttig, useful. nyvald, newly elected. nå (-dde, -tt), to reach. någon, some, some one, any, anyone. näktergal (-en, -ar), nightingale. nämn|a (-de, -t), to mention, call. när, when. nära, när, near. när|a (-de, -t), to nourish. näring (-en, -ar, pl. in sense of occupation), nourishment. närmast, nearest. näs (-et, --), point, peninsula. näst, next. nät (-et, --), net. nöd (-en), misery, hardship. nödig, necessary. nödvändig, necessary. nödvändighet (-en), necessity. nöjd, contented. o. o, oh, o. oavvänd, fixed, unceasing. obemärkt, unnoticed. obeprövad, untried. obeväpnad, unarmed. och, and. ock, also. också, also. odalbond|e (-en, -bonder), freehold land owner. odödlig, immortal. off|er (-ret, --), sacrifice. offerboll (-en, -ar), sacrificial bowl. offerlamp|a (-an, -or), sacrificial fire. offerhus (-et, --), sacrificial temple. offerkniv (-en, -ar), sacrificial knife. offerlund (-en, -ar), sacrificial grove. offerfrest (-en, -er), sacrificial priest. offersten (-en, -ar), sacrificial stone. offerång|a (-an, -or), sacrificial incense. offr|a (-ade, -at), to sacrifice. ofruktbar, sterile, unfruitful. ofta, often. ofärd (-en), misfortune, disaster. oförsonlig, unrelenting, unforgiving. oförsont, unpropitiated. ohämnad, unavenged. ohörd, unheard, unheeded. okänd, unknown. om, about, if, concerning, for, during, in, at. ombord, aboard. omfluten, encompassed, surrounded by water. omge, see omgiva. om|giva, omge (-gav, -givit, -given), to surround. omhäng|a (-ade, -at), to protect, hedge in. omkring, around. omlind|a (-ade, -at), to entwine. omsider, at last. omstrål|a (-ade, -at), to surround with light. omöjlig, impossible. ond, evil, angry, bad. onödig, unnecessary. opp, upp, up. ord (-et, --), word. orm (-en, -ar), serpent. ormsling|a (-an, -or), serpentine ring or figure. orolig, disturbed. ort (-en, -er), place, locality. oräknelig, innumerable. orätt, wrong. orätt (-en), injustice, wrong. osedd, unseen. oskadd, uninjured. oskapelig, unshapely. oskuld (-en), innocence. oskuldsfull, innocent. oss, us. osviklig, unfailing. osådd, unsown. outsäglig, unspeakable. outtydd, unexplained. ovan, above. ovan, unaccustomed, unusual. ovanfrån, from above. ovanför, above. ovanom, above. ovanuppå, above. oviss, uncertain. ovän (-nen, -ner), enemy. oändlig, illimitable, infinite. p. palm (-en, -er), palm. pann|a (-an, -or), forehead, pansar (-et, --), armor, sheath. par (-et, --), pair. park (-en, -er), park. parvis, in pairs. pass|a (-ade, -at), to fit, be fitting. pek|a (-ade, -at), to point. pelargång (-en, -ar), colonnade. pelarrad (-en, -er), row of pillars. pelarstam (-men, -mar), shaft of column. pelarstod (-en, -er), column. pels (-en, -ar), fur coat. pestsjuk, pestsmitten. pil (-en, -ar), arrow. pilregn (-et), shower of arrows. pilt (-en, -ar), lad. plank|a (-an, -or), plank. plant|a (-an, -or), plant. plats (-en, -er), place, spot. plock|a (-ade, -at), to pluck, gather. plog (-en, -ar), plow. plundr|a (-ade, -at), to plunder. port (-en, -ar), gate, portal. prakt (-en), splendor. pris (-et), price, prize, honor. pris|a (-ade, -at), to praise. propp|a (-ade, -at), to stuff. pryda (prydde, prytt), to adorn. präktig, excellent, splendid. präst (-en, -er), priest. pröv|a (-ade, -at), to test, try. puls (-en, -ar), pulse. pung (-en, -ar), pouch, purse. purpur (-et), purple. purpurbetslad, with purple bridle. purpurbräm (-et, --), purple border. purpurduk (-en), purple cloth. purpurglans (-en), purple glow. purpurhatt (-en, -ar), purple hat. purpurtäcke (-t, -n), purple drapery. på, on, upon, at, in, by. på|skjuta (-sköt, -skjutit), to push, press forward. pärl|a (-an, -or), pearl. r. rad (-en, -er), row, line. radvis, line by line, in lines. ragl|a (-ade, -at), to stagger. rak, straight. rand (-en, ränder), edge, stripe. rand|a (-ade, -at), to make lines, stripe, make edge or border. rand|as (-ades, -ats), (dagen), to dawn. rank|a (-an, -or), vine. ras|a (-ade, -at), to rage. rasslande, rattling. red, see rida. redan, already. redlig, honest. redo|göra (-gjorde, -gjort, -gjord), to give an account. regn (-et, --), rain. ren, pure, clean. ren, contr. of redan, already. ren|a (-ade, -at), to cleanse, purify. res|a (-te, -t), to rise, raise, go, travel. ret|a (-ade, -at), to arouse to anger, irritate. rev|a (-ade, -at), to reef; -- segel, take in the sail. rida (red, ridit), to ride. rig|el (-eln, -lar), bolt. rik, rich. rike (-t, -n), kingdom, dominion. rikedom (-en, -ar), wealth. ring (-en, -ar), ring. ringa, little, insignificant. ring|el (-eln, -lar), coil, ring. rist|a (-ade, -at), to cut, scratch. rit|a (-ade, -at), to write, trace. riva (rev, rivit, riven), to tear. ro (-n), peace, quiet. ro (-dde, -tt), to row. rod|er (-ret, --), rudder. roderstång (-en, -stänger), rudder bar. rodn|a (-ade, -at), to blush. rop|a (-ade, -at), to call, cry, shout. ros (-en, -or), rose. rosenfärg (-en, -er), rose color. rosenfärgad, rose-colored. rosengård (-en, -ar), rose garden. rosenkalk (-en, -ar), rose calyx. rosenkind (-en, -er), rosy cheek. rosenknopp (-en, -ar), rosebud. rosenläpp (-en, -ar), rosy lip. rosenröd, roseate, red. rosenving|e (-en, -ar), roseate wing. rosig, rosy. rost (-en), rust. rostad, rusty. rot (-en, rötter), root. rotfästad, rooted, firm. rov (-et, --), prey, quarry. rubb|a (-ade, -at), to disturb. rubin (-en, -er), ruby. rubinknapp (-en, -ar), ruby gem. rull|a (-ade, -at), to roll, revolve. rum (-met, --), room, place. run|a (-an, -or), rune. runbeskriven, inscribed with runes. rund, round. rund (-en, -er), circle. rund|a (-ade, -at), to surround. rund|el (-eln, -lar), circle. runeskrift (-en, -er), runic inscription. runetavl|a (-an, -or), runic tablet. runogrift (-en, -er), runic crypt. runohäll (-en, -ar), rune stone. runoflåg|a (-an, -or), rune flame. runstav (-en, -ar), rune staff. runsten (-en, -ar), rune stone. runtomkring, round about. rus (-et, --), spree, intoxication. rut|a (-an, -or), square, check, pane. ruttn|a (-ade, -at), to rot. ruv|a (-ade, -at), to brood. ryck|a (-te, -t), to tear, pull. rygg (-en, -ar), back. ryka (rök, rukit, or rykte, rykt), to smoke or steam, emit smoke. rykte (-t, -n), report, fame, rumor. rymd (-en, -er), space. rymlig, spacious. rynk|a (-ade, -at), to knit, as eyebrow or forehead. rys|a (-te, -t), to shudder. ryslig, hideous. ryst|a (-ade, -at), to shake. ryta (röt, rutit, or rytit), to roar. rå (-n, -r), yard (nautical term). rå (-dde, -tt) för, to be responsible for, -- över, govern. råd (-et, --), advice. råda, (rådde, rått), to rule, advise. råg (-en), rye. råg|a (-ade, -at), to fill to overflowing. rån|a (-ade, -at), to rob. räck|a (-te, -t), to reach, extend. rädas (räddes), to be afraid. rädd, afraid. rädd|a (-ade, -at), to save. räkn|a (-ade, -at), to count, reckon. rämna (-ade, -at), to split open. rätt, right. rätta, med --, justly, by right. rätt (-en), justice, right. rättvis, just. rättvisa (-n), justice. räv (-en, -ar), fox. röd, red. rök, see ryka. rök (-en), smoke. rökfång (-et, --), smoke escape, flue. rökmoln (-et, --), cloud of smoke. rön|a (-te, -t), to experience. rör|a (-de, -t), to move, touch. rörpil (-en, -ar), reed. röst (-en, -er), voice. röt, see ryta. röv|a (-ade, -at), to rob. rövare (-n, --), robber. s. sade, see säga. sag|a (-an, -or), saga, story. sagt, see säga. sak (-en, -er), matter, thing. sakn|a (-ade, -at), to miss. saknad (-en), regret, longing; känna --, to miss. sakta, slowly. saktmod (-et), meekness. sal (-en, -ar), hall, main room. salig, blessed. salighet (-en, -er), blessedness. salsdörr (-en, -ar), hall door. salt (-et), salt, adj. salt. saltad, salt. saltskum (-met), briny foam. sam, see simma. samarv (-et, --), joint inheritance. saml|a (-ade, -at), to gather. samma, the same. samman, together. sammetsmantel (-eln, -lar), velvet cloak. sand (-en), sand. sann, true. sanning (-en, -ar), truth. sans|a (-ade, -at) sig, to compose oneself. sansad, reasonable, sober. sansking (-en), sense, composure. satt, see sltta or sätta. schack (-et), chess. schackbord (-et, --), chess board. scharlakansröd, scarlet. se (såg, sett, sedd), to see, look. sed (-en, -er), custom. sedan, sen, since, after. seg|el (-let, --), sail. seg|er (-ern, -rar), victory. segl|a (-ade, -at), to sail. seglare (-n, --), sailor. segling (-en, -ar), cruise, sailing. segr|a (-ade, -at), to conquer. sen, see sedan; -- dess, since then. sen, late, tardy; sent omsider, at last. sen|a (-an, -or), sinew. sett, see se. sex, six. si, behold. sid|a (-an, -or), side. sig, himself, herself, itself, themselves. silverblank, bright as silver. silverbälte (-t, -n), silver belt. silke (-t, -n), silk. silv|er (-ret), silver. silverbild (-en, -er), silver image. silverfat (-et, --), silver platter. silverfot (-en, -fötter), silver foot. silverfår|a (-an, -or), silvery furrow or band. silverhjälm (-en, -ar), silver helmet. silverhår (-et, --), silvery hair. silverhårig, silver-haired, gray. silverlock (-en, -ar), silvery lock. silvermån|e (-en, -ar), silver moon. silverplåt (-en, -ar), silver plate. silverport (-en, -ar), silver gate. silverskrid|a (-an, -or), silver scabbard. silverskir (-et), silver gauze. silverskägg (-et), gray beard. silverstak|e (-en, -ar), silver candlestick. silverstol (-en, -ar), silver chair. silvertak (-et, --), silver roof or ceiling. silvervåg (-en, -or), silvery wave. simma (sam, summit), to swim. simmare (-n, --), swimmer. sin, sitt, sina, his, her, its, their. sinne (-t, -n), mind. sir|a (-ade, -at), to adorn, entwine. sist, last. sitta (satt, pl. sutto, suttit), to sit. sjunde, seventh. sjunga (sjöng, sjungit, sjungen), to sing. sjunka (sjönk, sjunkit" sjunken), to sink. själ (-en, -ar), soul. själv, self. sjö (-n, -ar), lake. sjöblå, water blue. sjögrön, sea-green. sjöhäst (-en, -ar), sea horse. sjökonung (-en, -ar), sea king. sjöng, see sjunga. sjönk, se sjunka. skad|a (-ade, -at), to hurt. skad|a (-an, -or), injury, harm, waste, misfortune. skaft (-et, --), handle. skak|a (-ade, -at), to shake. skal (-et, --), shell, skal|a (-ade, -at), to scale. skald (-en, -er), poet. skalk (-en, -ar), rogue. skall, see skola. skallra (-ade, -at), to rattle. skall|a (-ade, -at), to resound. skall|e (-en, -ar), skull. skap|a (-ade, -at), to create. skapelse (-n, -r), creation. skar, see skära. skar|a (-an, -or), flock, crowd. skarp, sharp, keen. skatt (-en, -er), tax, treasure. skatt|a (-ade, -at), to value, treasure. skattskyldig, liable to taxation. ske (-dde, -tt), to happen. sken (-et, --), light. sken, see skina. skepnad (-en, -er), form. skepp (-et, --), ship. skeppsbord (-et, --), deck. skeppsdäck (-et, --), deck. skeppsvrak (-et, --), wreck. skick|a (-ade, -at), to send. skidgård (-en, -ar), paling, palisade. skift|a (-ade, -at), to exchange, apportion, change, shift. skifte (-t, -n), vicissitude. skiltvakt (-en, -er), sentry. skil|ja (-de, -t), to divide, separate, part, distinguish. skim|mer (-ret), shimmer, gleam. skimr|a (-ade, -at), to shimmer. skina (sken, skinit), to shine. skinn (-et, --), hide, fur, skin. skip|a (-ade, -at) lag, to administer law. skir (-et), gauze. skiv|a (-an, -or), plate, disk. skjuta (sköt, skjutit, skjuten), to shoot, push. sko (-dde, -tt), to shoe. skog (-en, -ar), forest. skola (skall, skulle, skolat), shall, will, must. skon|a (-ade, -at), to spare. skoning (-en), mercy, exemption. skot (-et), sheet, sail. skraml|a (-ade, -at), to rattle. skrap|a (-ade, -at), to scrape, paw. skred, see skrida, skrek, see skrika. skrev, see skriva. skri (-et, -- ), shriek. skrida (skred, skridit, skriden), to glide, proceed, walk slowly. skrika (skrek, skrikit), to cry. skriva, (skrev, skrivit, skriven), to write. skrud (-en, -ar), attire. skräck (-en), terror. skräm|ma (-de, -t), to frighten. skugg|a (-an, -or), shadow. skuggig, shady. skuld (-en, -er), debt, blame, fault. skulderblad (-et), shoulder-blade. skuldlös, guiltless, innocent. skuldr|a (-an, -or), shoulder. skull, sake, fault; för någons --, on account of, for the sake of some one. skulle, see skola. skum (-met), foam. skum, dark. skumma (-ade, -at), to foam. skur|a (-ade, -at), to scrub, wash, polish. skurit, see skära. skuro, see skära. skvallrja (-ade, -at), to tattle, gossip. sky (-n, -ar), sky, cloud. skydd (-et), protection. skydd|a (-ade, -at), to protect. skygd, indecl., protection. skymf (-en, -er), insult. skymf|a (-ade, -at), to insult. skymt|a (-ade, -at), to appear by a glimpse, catch a glimpse of. skynd|a (-ade, -at), to hurry. skåd|a (-ade, -at), to see, be-hold. skål (-en, -ar), cup, toast, health. skåp (-et, --), cupboard. skägg (-et, --), beard. skäl (-et, --), reason. skälv|a (-de or skalv, skälvt), to tremble. skämt|a (-ade, -at), to jest. skänk (-en, -er), gift. skänk|a (-te, -t), to donate, give. skär (-et, --), rock, skerry. skära (skar, pl. skuro, skurit, skuren), to cut. skärad, cleansed, shriven. sköld (-en, -ar), shield. sköldborg (-en, -ar), circle of shields. sköldburen, borne or lifted on a shield. sköldegny (-et), din of shields. sköldeklang (-en), clang of shields. sköldmö (-n, -r), shield maiden, valkyr. sköldrand (-en, -ränder), edge of a shield. skön, beautiful. skönj|a (-de, -t), to discern. skörd (-en, -ar), harvest. sköt, see skjuta. sköte (-t), lap, bosom. slag (-et, --), stroke, battle. slagsmål (-et, --), fight. slagsvärd (-et, --), sword. slaktning (-en, -ar), battle, slaughter. slapp, slack, lax. slav (-en, -ar), slave. slet, see slita. slita (slet, slitit, sliten), to tear, wear. slockn|a (-ade, -at), to become extinct. slag, see slå. slumr|a (-ade, -at), to slumber. slung|a (-ade, -at), to hurl. slup (-en, -ar), boat, sloop. slut (-et), end; till --, at last. sluta (slöt, slutit, sluten), to cease, press, close, attack. slutligen, finally. sluttande, sloping. slå (slog, slagit, slagen), to strike; -- ned, alight, cast down, -- an en sång, strike up a song. slåss (slogs, slagits), to fight. släck|a (-te, -t), to extinguish. släd|e (-en, -ar), sleigh, sled. slädtravare (-n, --), sleigh-trotter släkt (-en, -er), generation, kinsfolk. slang|a (-de, -t), to throw. släpp|a (-te, -t), to relinquish, release; -- ut, to let out. slätt (-en, -er), plain, level place. slöj|a (-an, -or), veil. slös|a (-ade, -at), to squander. smak|a (-ade, -t), to taste. smal, slender, narrow. smalt, see smälta. smattr|a (-ade, -at), to beat, crackle, blare. smida (smidde, smitt), to forge. smidig, lithe. smultron (-et, --), strawberry. smyck|a (-ade, -at), to adorn. smycke (-t, -n), ornament. smyga (smög, smugit), to go stealthily, steal. små (pl. of liten), small, little. små|le (-log, -lett), to smile. smål|ta (-te, or smalt, smultit or smält), to melt. smärt, slender. smädlig, derisive. smärt|a (-an, -or), pain, suffering. smög, see smyga. snar, soon, near, quick. snäck|a (-an, -or), shell, ship. snäll, good, quick. snö (-n), snow. snöberg (-et, --), snow-capped mountain. snöbetäckt, snow-covered. snöblomm|a (-an, -or), snow drop, snow white flower. snög|a (-ade, -at), to snow. snöig, snowy. snöre (-t, -n), string, cord. snövit, snow white. sol (-en, -ar), sun. solblank, bright as the sun. solbrun, sunburnt. solhus (-et, --), sun house, conservatory. solsken (-et), sunshine. som, who, which, that, whom. som, as, like. sommar (-en, somrar), summer. sommarnatt (-en, --natter), summer night. sommarsol (-en), summer sun. sommartorr, sundried, withered. sommarvind (-en, -ar), summer wind. somn|a (-ade, -at), to go to sleep. son (-en, söner), son. sona, see försona. sorg (-en, -er), sorrow, care, responsibility. sorgfri, carefree. sorglig, sad, sorrowful. sorglös, carefree. sorgsen, sad. sorl (-et), hum, commotion. sorl|a (-ade, -at), to murmur. sotad, sooty. sova (sov, sovit), to sleep. spak, meek, tractable. spar|a (-ade, -at), to save, spare. sparr|e (-en, -ar), rafter. speg|el (-eln, -lar), mirror. spegelklar, clear as a mirror. spegelvåg (-en, -or), clear, calm water. spegl|a (-ade, -at), to reflect, view in mirror. spel (-et, --), play. spel|a (-te or -ade, -t or -at), to play. spets (-en, -ar), point, tip. spill|a (-de, -t), to spill, waste spillo, giva till --, to abandon. spilt|a (-an, -or), stall. spinna (spann, pl. spunno, spunnit, spunnen), to spin. spis|el (-eln, -lar), fireplace. spjut (-et, --), spear. spol|a (-ade, -at), to flush, wash away. spolad, spun. spord, see spörja. sporr|a (-ade, -at), to spur on. sprang, see springa. sprak|a (-ade, -at), to crackle. spratt (-et, --), trick. sprida (spred or spridde, spridit), to spread, scatter. springa (sprang, pl. sprungo, sprungit), to run, spring, break. spring|a (-an, -or), crack, narrow opening. springare (-n, --), courser. sprungo, see springa. språk (-et, --), language. språk|a (-ade, -at), to converse, talk. språng (-et, --), leap. spräcklig, mottled, speckled. spåman (-nen, -män), sooth-sayer. späck|a (-ade, -at), to fill, interlard. späd, tender, infantile. spok|a (-ade,-at), to haunt. spän|na (-de, -t), to stretch out, bend, draw, buckle, -- hop, clinch. spörja (sporde, sport, spord), to inquire, learn, hear, ask. stack, see sticka. stad (-en, städer), city. stadig, steady, constant. stal, see stjäla. stam (-men, -mar), stem, post, trunk, framework. stamfar, see stamfader. stamfader (-n, -fäder), progenitor. stamm|a (-ade, -at) från, to descend from. stamp|a (-ade, -at), to stamp. stann|a (-ade, -at), to stop, remain. stark, strong. stav (-en, -ar), staff. steg, see stiga. steg (-et, --), step. sten (-en, -ar), stone. stenek (-en, -ar), holly oak. sticka (stack, pl. stucko, stuckit), to stick, reach forth, -- i brand, put on fire. stick|a (-ade, -at), to knit. stickbloss (-et, --), wood torch. stift|a (-ade, -at), to found, establish. stig (-en, -ar), path. stiga (steg, stigit), to step, -- upp, to arise, -- av, to dismount. stiltje (-n), calm. stilla, still. stinga (stäng, pl. stungo, stungit, stungen), to pierce, sting. stjälk (-en, -ar), stem, stjäla (stal, pl. stulo, stulit, stulen), to steal. stjarn|a (-an, -or), star. stjärnekrans (-en, -ar), starry wreath. stjärnenatt (-en, --, -nätter), starry night. stjärnetlfilt (-et, --), starry tent. stjarnevim|mel (-let), starry throng. stjärnklar, starlight, stjärnskott (-et, --), shooting star. stjärt (-en, -ar), tail. stod, see stå. stoft, (-et), dust, earth. stol (-en, -ar), chair, seat. stolt, proud. stolthet (-en), pride. stor, great, large. storm (-en, -ar), storm. storm|a (-ade, -at), to storm. stormig, stormy. stormörn (-en, -ar), storm eagle. strand (-en, stränder), shore. strandlös, without a shore, endless. strax, immediately, strid (-en, -er), battle, strife, conflict. strid, swift, rapid, strida,(stred, stridit), to fight. stridsbror, stridsbroder, comrade in arms. strimm|a (-an, -or), line, streak. stryka (strök, strukit, struken), strike, give up, roam. strådöd (-en), natural death. strål|a (-ade, -at), to beam, shine. strålbägare (-n, --), sparkling bowl. strål|e (-en, -ar), ray. sträck|a (-te, -t), to stretch, extend. sträckning (-en, -ar), stretching, extent. sträng (-en, -ar), string, chord. sträng, severe. strö (strödde, strött), to strew, scatter. ström (-men, -mar), stream. strömm|a (-ade, -at), to flow, stream. strömoln (-et, --), small, scattered clouds. stulen, see stjäla. stum, dumb, silent. stund (-en, -er), moment. stund|a (-ade, -at), to be impending, about to happen. stundom, occasionally. stungo, see stinga. stup|a (-ade, or stöp, -at), to fall (in battle). stycke (-t, -n), piece. styr|a (-de,-t), to steer, direct. styre (-t, -n), helm. styrbord, starboard. styrka (-n), strength. styrman (-nen, -män), pilot. styv, stiff. stå (stod, stått), stånd; -- åter, to remain. stål (-et), steel. stålblank, bright as steel, burnished. stålblå, steel blue. stålbåg|e (-en, -ar), steel bow stålbägare, (-n, --), steel goblet. stålhandsk|e (-en, -ar), gauntlet. stålgjuten, of wrought steel. stålhjälm (-en, -ar), steel helmet. stålbeklädd, steel clad, mailed. stålrand (-en, -ränder), band or edge of steel. stålsko (-n, -r), skate. stålskodd, steel shod, stång (-en, stänger), pole, pike. stång|a (-ade, -at), to butt, gore. ställ|a (-de, -t), to place, put. ställe (-t, -n) place. stäm|ma (-de, -t), to summon; -- möte, to set a meeting, make an appointment. stämm|a(-an, -or), voice, ständig, constant. stäng|a (-de, -t), to shut. stäng|el (-eln, -lar), stalk. stäv (-en, -ar), stem. stäv|a (-an, -or), pail. stödja (stödde, stött, stödd), to support, lean. stöp, see stupa. större, greater, large. störst, greatest, largest. stört|a (-ade, -at) fram, rush forward. stöt (-en, -ar), blow. stöt|a (-te, -t), to strike, encounter. suck (-en, -ar), sigh. suck|a (-ade, -at), to sigh. sund (-et, --), sound. sunnanskog (-en, -ar), southern forest. sus (-et), murmur, rustle, sough. sus|a (-ade, -at), to murmur, rustle, whizz. sutto, see sitta. svag, weak. sval, cool. svalg (-et, --), mouth, jaw. svall, (-et), swell, surge. svall|a (-ade, -at), to swell. svallvåg (-en), surge, roller. svandunsbarm (-en, -ar), bosom as soft as swan's down. svar (-et, --), answer. svar|a (-ade, -at), to answer. svart, black. svartklädd, dressed in black. svartekung (-en), black art king. svartskäggig, having black beard, swarthy. svarv|a (-ade, -at), to lathe, turn. sveda (svedde, svett), to singe, burn. svedjeland (-et, --), fire swept land, burnt clearing. svek (-et, --), deceit. sven (-nen, -ner), youth, page, comrade. svett (-en), perspiration. svika (svek, svikit, sviken), to fail, betray. svikt|a (-ade, -at), to give way under weight. svindl|a (-ade, -at), to grow dizzy. sving|a (-ade, -at), to swing, fly. svurit, see svärja. svår, hard, difficult. sväng|a (-de, -t), to swing. svära (svor, pl. svuro, svurit), to swear, take oath. svärdlös, swordless, disarmed. svärdshugg (-et, --), blow or strike of the sword. svärja (svor, pl. svuro, svurit, svuren), to swear, make solemn promise, or take oath. svärm|a (-ade, -at), to swarm, roam, dream. svärmare (-n, --), dreamer, visionary. sväv|a (-ade, -at), to hover, rove. syn (-en, -er), sight, vision. syn|a (-ade, -at), to examine, spy. syn|as (-tes, -ts), to seem, appear. syskonstjärn|a (-an, -or), sister star. syssl|a (-ade, -at), to be busy. syst|er (-ern, -rar), sister. så (-dde, -tt), to sow. så, thus, so. såg, see se. såll|a (-ade, -at), to sift. sång (-en, -er), song. sångare (-n, --), singer. sångarskara (-an, -or), group of singers. sångfåg|el (-eln, -lar), songbird. sär (-et, --), wound. sår|a (-ade, -at), to wound. säd (-en), seed. säga (sade, sagt), to say, tell, relate. säg|en (-nen, -ner), saying, legend. säker, sure, secure. sälja (sålde, sålt, såld), to sell. säll, happy, blessed. säll|e (-en, -ar), fellow, vulgar fellow. sällhet (-en), bliss. sällsam, singular. sän|da (-de, -t), to send. sändebud (-et, --), messenger. sänder, i --, at a time. sändman (-nen, --män), messenger. säng (-en, -ar), bed. sänk|a (-te, -t), to lower, sink. särskild, special, separate. säte (-t, -n), seat. sätta (satte, satt), to put, locate, fix; -- sig, to sit down, locate; -- ut, set out; -- åstad, start, sally forth. säv (-en), rushes. söder (-n), south. sök|a (-te, -t), to seek. sömn|a (-ade, -at), to sew, embroider. sömn (-en), sleep. sömnig, sleepy, drowsy. sömnlös, sleepless. sörj|a (-de, -t), to grieve. sov|a (-de, -t), to put to sleep. t. ta, abbrev. of taga. tack (-en), thanks. tack|a (-ade, -at), to thank. tad|el (-let), blame, reproach, blemish. tafs (-en, -ar), tassel. tag (-et, --), hold, grip. taga, ta (tog, tagit, tagen), to take. tak (-et, --), roof, ceiling. tal (-et, --), speech, number. tal|a (-ade, or -te, -at, or -t), to speak. tank|e (-en, -ar), thought. tanklös, thoughtless. tapper, brave. tapp|a (-ade, -at), to lose. teck|en (-net, --), sign, omen. teckn|a (-ade, -at), to trace, write, make signs. teg, see tiga. temp|el (-let, --), temple. tempelbrand (-en), burning of the temple. tempeljungfru (-n, -r), temple maiden. tempellund (-en, -ar), temple grove. tempelrund (-en, -er), temple circle. tempelrök (-en), smoke from the burning temple. tempelskändare (-n, --), one who profanes the temple. tempelsläkte (-t, -n), temple tribe. tempeltilj|a (-an, -or), temple floor. tempelvalv (-et, --), temple arch, dome. tempelvägg (-en, -ar), temple wall. tid (-en, -er), time. tidning (-en, -ar), news. tiga (teg, tegat), to keep silent. tigg|a (-de, -t), to beg. tiggarstav (-en, -ar), beggar's staff. tllj|a (-an, -or), floor. till, to, as, for. tillbaka, back, in return. till|bedja (-bad, -bedit, -bedd), to worship. tillhopa, together. tillhor|a (-de, -t), to belong to. tillika, also. till|komma (-kom, -kommit), to come into existence, to befit, be proper, incumbent upon. tills, until. tillsamman, together. til|lägga (-lade, -lagt), to add. timme (-en, -ar), hour. timr|a (-ade, -at), to build. ting (-et, --), thing, court of justice. tinga, see betinga. tinn|e (-en, -ar), pinnacle. tinning (-en, -ar), temple. tio, ten. titt|a (-ade, -at), to keep, look. tjus|a (-ade, -at), to fascinate. tjuv (-en, -ar), thief. tjäll (-et, --), hut, home. tofs (-en, -ar), tassel. tog, see taga. tolv, twelve. tolvmannakraft, strength of twelve men. tolvt (-en, -er), dozen. tom, empty. tomhänt, indecl., empty handed. tomt (-en, -er), plot, lot. ton (-en, -er), tone, sound. topp (-en, -ar), top. torn (-et, --), tower. torr, dry. torv (-en), sod, turf. torv|a (-an, -or), turf, sod. tre, three. travare (-n, --), trotter. trenne, three. trevlig, pleasant. trettio, thirty. triv|as (-des, -ts), to thrive, feel at home. tro (-dde, -tt), to believe, think. tro (-n), faith, belief, trust. trofast, faithful, steadfast. trogen, faithful. trohet (-en), faithfulness. troll (-et, --), goblin, monster. trolldom (-en), witchcraft. trollpar (-et, --), pair of monsters. trollsäng (-en, -er), incantation. trolös, faithless. tron (-en, -er), throne. trots (-et), defiance; in spite of. trots|a (-ade, -at), to defy. trotsig, defiant. tryck|a (-te, -t), to press. tryckning (-en, -ar), pressure. trygg, secure. träbeläte (-t, -n), wooden image. träd (-et, --), tree. träda (trädde, trätt), to step, walk, proceed. träff|a (-ade, -at), to meet with, hit, strike. träl (-en, -ar), serf, slave. trängla (-de, -t), to press. trög, dull. trösk|el (-eln, -lar), threshold. tröst (-en), consolation. trött, weary. tröttad, tired. tröttnia (-ade, -at), to grow tired. tröttsam, tiresome. tu, two. tugg|a (-ade, -at), to chew. tull (-en, -ar), toll. tuml|a (-ade, -at), to tumble, roll. tummje (-en, -ar), thumb. tung, heavy. tung|a (-an, -or), tongue. turturduv|a (-an, -or), turtledove. tusen, thousand. tusental (-et, --), a thousand. tuv|a (-an, -or), knoll. tvekan, indecl., hesitation. tvemännings, two together. tvenne, two. tvinga (tvang, pi. tvungo, tvungit, tvungen), to compel, subdue. tvinn|a (-ade, -at), to twine. tvist (-en, -er), quarrel. tvist|a (-ade, -at), to dispute. två, two. tvång (-et), compulsion. tvänne, two. ty, because, for. tyck|a (-te,-t), to think, mean. tyst|a (-ade, -at), to silence. tyck|as (-tes, -ts), to appear, seem. tyst, silent, quiet. tystn|a (-ade, -at), to become silent. tystnad (-en), silence. tyvärr, alas. tå, (-n, -r), toe. tåg (-et), march, campaign. tåg|a (-ade, -at), to march. tål|a (-de, -t), to endure. tålig, patient. tår (-en, -ar), tear. tårlös, tearless. täck|e (-et, -en) covering. tälj|a (-de, -t), to enumerate, relate, count. tält (-et, --), tent. tält|a (-ade, -at), tö put up tents, encamp. tämja (tämde or tamde, tamt or tamt, tamd), to tame. tänlda (-de, -t), to kindle, light. tänk|a (-te, -t), to think. tär|a (-de, -t), to consume, tärn|a (-an, -or), lass, maiden. tärning (-en, -ar), die, dice, tät, close. tävl|a (-ade, -at), to contest, vie, compete. töckenbud (-et, --), gloomy messenger. töcknig, misty. töm|ma (-de, -t), to empty, drain. töra (torde), perchance, no douht, may. töras (tordes, torts), to dare. törst (-en), thirst. törst|a (-ade, -at), to thirst. u. ull (-en), wool. ulv (-en, -ar) wolf. undan, away. under, under, beneath, during. und|er (-ret, --), wonder. underbar, wonderful. underlig, wonderful. undr|a (-ade, -at), to wonder. ung, young. ungdom (-en), youth. ungdomsblod (-et), youthful blood. ungdomsvän (-nen, -ner), friend from childhood. ung|e (-en, -ar), young one. ungersven (-nen, -ner), young man, swain. ungträd (-et, --), young tree. unn|a (-ade, -at), to allow, permit without grudging. upp, up. upp|föda (-födde, -fött), to bring up. upp|bara (-bar, -burit, -buren), to support. upp|lösa (-te, -t), to dissolve. uppsparka, to kick up. uppsteg, see uppstiga. - upp|stiga (-steg, -stigit, -stigen), to ascend, rise. uppstå (-stod, -stått, -stånden), to arise. uppå, upon, on. ur (-oxe) (-en, -ar), musk ox. ur, from, out of. urn|a (-an, -or), urn. usel, mean, sordid, wretched. ut, ute, out. utan, without. utanför, outside. utav, of, among. ute|bliva (-blev, -blivit, -bliven), to fail to appear, remain away. uti, in. utlys|a (-te, -t), to announce, appoint. utsäde (-t), seed for planting. utav, out of. utöver, over, above, beyond. uppbära (-bar, pi. buro, -burit, buren), to support. v. vad, what, whatsoever. vad'a (-ade, -at), to wade. vagg|a (-ade, -at), to rock, wave. vagg|a (-an, -or), cradle. vaggsång (-en, -er), cradle song. vaj|a (-ade, -at), to wave. vak (-en, -ar), opening in the ice. vak|a (-ade, -at), to watch, keep awake. vak|a (-an, -or), thrush. vaken, awake. vakn|a (-ade, -at), to awaken. vakt (-en, -er), guard. vakt|a (-ade, -at), to watch, guard. vakt|el (-eln, -lar), quail. val (-en, -ar), whale. val (-et, --), choice, election. val|a (-an, -or), seeress. valhallaarving (-en, -ar), heir of valhalla. valhallabarn (-et, --), child of valhalla. valhallason (-en, --söner), son of valhalla, valhallastol (-en), seat of valhalla. valkyri|a (-an, -or), valkyr. vallhö (-et), meadow hay. valplats (-en, -er), battlefield. valv (-et, --), arch. valvdörr (-en, -ar), arch door. van, accustomed. van|a (-an, -or), habit. vandr|a (-ade, -at), to walk, wander. vandrare (-n, -- ), wanderer, walker. vankelmod (-et), fickleness, inconstancy. vantro (-n), superstition. vantrofylld, full of superstition. vap|en (-net, --), weapon. vapenbrak (-et), din of arms. vapenbroder (-n, -bröder), comrade in arms. vapenklang (-en), clash of arms. var, see vara. var, each, every, wherever, where. vara (är, var pl. voro, varit), to be. vara, tag dig till --, beware, look out. varann, varannan, each other, every other. varda (vart, vorden), begin to be, become. varenda, every. varför, why. varg i veum, outlaw, profaner of the temple. varhelst, wherever. varifrån, whence. varje, every. varligen, carefully. varm, warm. varmed, whereby. varn|a (-ade, -at), to warn. varning (-en, -ar), warning. vars, whose. varsam, cautious. varthelst, whithersoever. varöver, over or across which. vass, sharp. vatt|en (-net, --), water. vattendrag (-et, --), water course, stream. vattenfåg|el (-eln, -lar), waterfowl. vattenlilj|a (-an, -or), water lily. vattn|a (-ade, -at), to moisten, vaulunderverk (-et, --), product of vaulund. ve, woe. ved (-en), wood, fuel. vedergäll|a (-de, -t), to repay, make retribution. vek, weak. veklig, weakly. vem, who. vemhelst, whosoever. vemodsfull, melancholy. verk (-et, --), work, deed. veta (visste, vetat), to know. vett (-et), sense. vi, we. vi, why, wherefore. vid, by, in, on, at. vidunderlig, strange, weird. vift|a (-ade, -at), to flap, wave, beckon. vig|a (-de, -t), to consecrate, wed. vigd, consecrated. vik (-en, -ar), bay. vika (vek, vikit, viken), to yield, turn aside. viking (-en, -ar), viking. vikingabalk (-en, -ar), viking code. vikingafärd (-en, -ar), viking expedition. vikingaliv (-et, --), viking life. vikingahämnd (-en), viking revenge. vikingaskepp (-et, --), viking ship. vikingavinst (-en, -er), viking profit. vikingavis, in viking fashion. vikt (-en, -er), weight. vil|a (-ade, -at), to rest. vild, wild. vilddjur (-et, --), wild animal. vilja (pr. vill, ville, velat), will, want to. vilj|a (-an, -or), will. vildsint, ferocious. vilken, who, which. vill, see vilja. villig, willing. viml|a (-ade, -at), to throng, abound. vin (-et), wine. vina (ven, vinit), to whistle, shriek. vinbägare (-n), wine goblet. vind (-en, -ar), wind. vindkall, producing wintry storms. vingad, winged. ving|e (-en, -ar), wing. vink|a (-ade, -at), to beckon. vinna (vann, pl. vunno, vunnit, vunnen), to win, acquire. vinpokal (-en, -ar), wine goblet. vinst (-en, -er), profit, gain. vint|er (-ern, -rar), winter. vintergrön, evergreen. vinterhim|mel, (-len or himmeln, -lar), wintry sky. vinterkväll (-en, -ar), winter evening. vinterköld (-en), winter cold. vir|a (-ade, -at), to wind, twine. virk|a (-ade, -at), to crochet. virvelvind (-en, -ar), whirlwind. virvl|a (-ade, -at), to whirl. vis (-et, --), manner. vis, wise. vis|a (-an, -or), ditty, song. vis|a (-ade, -at), to show, direct. visdomsrun|a (-an, -or), rune of wisdom, sage legend. vishet (-en), wisdom. visk|a (-ade, -at), to whisper. viskning (-en, -ar), whispering. viss, certain. vissn|a (-ade, -at), to wither. vist|as (-ades, -ats), to sojourn, remain, stay. visthus (-et, --), larder. vit, white. vitaktig, whitish. vitgrå, light gray, white and gray. vitklädd, dressed in white. vitskummig, white-capped, foaming. vitt, så --, as far as. vitter, lettered, cultured, learned. vitullig, woolly. vittberömd, far-famed. vorden, see varda. voro, see vara, vred, angry. vrede (-n), anger. vredesmod (-et), anger. vredgad, angry. vredg|as (-ades, -ats), to be or become angry. vrå (-n, -r), nook, corner of a room. vrål|a (-ade, -at), to howl. vräk|a (-te, -t), to hurl, heave. vuxen, see växa. vådlig, risky, dangerous. våg (-en, -or), wave. våg (-en, -ar), scale. våg|a (-ade, -at), to dare, venture. vågskål (-en, -ar), scale. våld (-et), force, tyranny. vår (-en, -ar), spring. vår, our. vård (-en, -ar), monument. vård (-en), care. vård|a (-ade, -at), to take care of. vårdag (-en, -ar), spring day. vårdkas (-en, -ar), signal fire våris (-en), spring ice. vårsol (-en), spring sun. vårsky (-n, -ar), spring cloud. våt, wet. väck|a (-te, -t), to awaken. väd|er (-ret), weather. vädj|a (-ade, -at), to appeal. väg (-en, -ar), road, path, way. väg|a (-de, -t), to weigh. vägg (-en, -ar), wall. vägra (-de, -t), to refuse. väl, well, indeed. välan, well then. välbekant, well-known. väld, indecl., partiality. välde (-t), power, authority. väldig, mighty. välfägnad (-en), good cheer. välja (valde, valt, vald), to choose. välkommen, welcome. välkomstgåv|a (-an, -or), gift of welcome. välkänd, well-known. väll|a (-de, -t), to gush. välment, well-meant. välsign|a (-ade, -at), to bless. välsk, gaelic. vält|a (-te, -t), to roll, overturn. välv|a (-de, -t), to arch. vän (-nen, -ner), friend. vän|da (-de, -t), to turn. vänlig, friendly. vänskap (-en), friendship. vänster, left. vänt|a (-ade, -at), to wait, expect. vänsäll, sociable, amiable. väntan, indecl., waiting. väpn|a (-ade, -at), to arm. värd (en, -ar), host. värd, worth. värde (-t), worth. värdig, worthy. värld (-en, -ar), earth, world. världsbålslåg|a (-an, -or), flame of the universal pyre. världshav (-et, -- ), main ocean. världshavsbölj|a (-an, -or), wave of the ocean main. världskung (-en), world king. världsmoder (-n), mother of the world. värn (-et, -- ), defense. värnlös, defenseless. värst, worst. väs|a (-te, -t), to hiss. väsen, indecl., being, noise, commotion. västanvind (-en, -ar), west wind. väster (-n), west. västerhav (-et, -- ), western sea, north sea. västersal (-en, -ar), western hall. västersalt (-et), western salt, north sea. västervåg (-en, -or), western billow or sea. väv (-en, -ar), web, textile fabric. väv|a (-de, -t), to weave. väx|a (-te, -t or vuxit), to grow. växl|a (-ade, -at), to change, alternate. växt (-en, -er), growth, stature, plant. vörd|a (-ade, -at), to respect. vördnad (-en), respect. y. yng|el (-let, -- ), brood. yngling (-en, -ar), young man, youth. ypp|a (-ade, -at), to reveal, lay bare. ypperst, foremost. yppig, luxurious. yr|a (-de, -t), to be delirious, rave, whirl. yttre, outer. yv|as (-des, -ts), to glory in, boast. Å. å, on. å (-n, -ar), stream. åbo (-n, -r), inhabitant, denizen. åd|er (-ern, -ror), vein. ålderdom (-en), old age. ånger (-n), contrition. ångest (-en), anxiety, fear. år (-et, --), year. år|a (-an, -or), oar. årsbarn (-et, --), born the same year, coeval. årsväxt (-en), harvest, crop. ås (-en, -ar), ridge. åsk|a (-an, -or), thunder. åskdiger, thunder laden. åskmoln (-et, --), thundercloud. åstad, away, forth. åter, again. åt, to, in, toward. åter|flyga (-flög, -flugit, -flugen), to fly back. åter|födas (-föddes, -fötts), to be born again. återkomst (-en), return. återliv|a (-ade, -at), to revive, quicken to life. återtän|da (-de, -t), to rekindle. återställ|a (-de, -t), to restore. återvän|da (-de, -t), to return. åtskilj|a (-de, -t), to separate. åtsporde, see åtspörja. åt|spörja (-sporde, -sport, -spord), to question, ask. Ä. ädel, noble. ädelsten (-en, -ar), precious stone. äg|a (-de, -t), to own, possess. ägare (-n, --), owner. ägg (-et, --), egg. ägn|a (-ade, -at), devote, dedicate. ägor, no sing., possessions, estate. älg (-en, -ar), elk. älsk|a (-ade, -at), to love. älskare (-n, --), lover. älskling (-en, -ar), darling. älskog (-en), love. älv (-en, -ar), river. älv|a (-an, -or), elf. älvkung (-en, -ar), elf king. än, yet, then, ever; om --, even if. än ... än, now ... now, either ... or. änd|a (-n, -r), end. ändå, anyway. änk|a (-an, -or), widow. ännu, yet. äntligen, final. äntring (-en), boarding. äpple (-t, -n), apple. är, see vara. ära (-n), honor, glory. är|a (-ade, -at), to honor. ärende (-t, -n), errand. ärlig, honest. ärrig, scarred. ärv|a (-de, -t), to inherit. ätt (-en, -er), family, tribe. ättartal (-et, --), descent, ancestry. ättefar, ättefader, progenitor. ättehög (-en, -ar), tribal funeral mound. ättekull|e (-en, -ar), barrow, ancestral grave. ättelängd (-en, -er), pedigree. även, even, also. äventyr (-et, --), adventure. ävenväl, also, likewise. Ö. ö (-n, -ar), island. öde (-t, -n), fate. öde, deserted, waste. ödslig, desolate. öga (-t, ögon), eye. ögonblick (-et, --), moment. ök|en (-nen, -nar), desert. öl (-et), ale. öm, tender. ömk|a (-ade, -at), to pity. ömkan, indecl., compassion, pity. öppen, open, frank. öppn|a (-ade, -at), to open. öra (-t, öron), ear. örn (-en, -ar), eagle. örneving|e (-en, -ar), eagle's wing. ös|a (-te, -t), to pour. öster (-n), east. österut, in the east, towards the east. östervåg (-en, -or), eastern sea, baltic. över, over, above, across. överallt, everywhere. över|flyga (-flög, -flugit, -flugen), to spread over. överflöd (-et), plenty, surplus. överflög, see överflyga. över|giva (-gav, -givit, -given), to desert. överhand (-en), upper hand, mastery. överman (-nen, -män), superior. övermod (-et), recklessness, arrogance, pride. överpräst (-en, -er), high priest. överskygg|a (-de, -t), to overshadow. översåll|a (-ade, -at), to overstrew. övertalare (-n, --), persuader. */ stories and ballads of the far past translated from the norse (icelandic and faroese) with introductions and notes by n. kershaw cambridge at the university press printed in great britain preface very few of the _fornaldar sögur northrlanda_ have hitherto been translated into english. the _völsungasaga_ is of course well known, but with this exception the 'stories of icelanders,' and the 'stories of the kings of norway' are probably the only sagas familiar to the majority of english readers. of the four sagas contained in this volume only one--the _tháttr of sörli_--has appeared in english before, though the poetry which they contain has frequently been translated, from the time of hickes's _thesaurus_ ( ). so far as i am aware no version of any of the faroese ballads has appeared in english. out of the great number which were collected during the th and th centuries i have chosen a few which deal with the same stories as the sagas translated here; and for purposes of comparison i have added a short extract from one of the icelandic _rímur_, as well as a danish ballad and part of the shetland _hildina_. in accordance with general custom in works of this kind i have discarded the use of accents, unfamiliar symbols, etc., except in a few norse words which can hardly be anglicised. my thanks are due to the syndics of the cambridge university press for undertaking the publication of this book, and to the staff for their unfailing courtesy. to professor thuren of christiania i am indebted for kindly allowing me to print the melodies from his son's _folkesangen paa færøerne_. i have also to thank many friends in st andrews and cambridge for help which they have kindly given to me in various ways, including professor lawson, dr maitland anderson and the staffs of the two university libraries, and mr b. dickins. especially i wish to thank professor chadwick to whom i am indebted for constant help and advice throughout the book. n. k. _ november, ._ table of contents part i sagas page general introduction the tháttr of nornagest the tháttr of sörli the saga of hromund greipsson the saga of hervör and heithrek appendix to part i (the combat at samsø and hjalmar's death song) part ii ballads general introduction gríplur i the faroese ballad of nornagest the faroese ballad of hjalmar and angantyr the danish ballad of angelfyr and helmer the faroese ballad of arngrim's sons the faroese riddle ballad (gátu ríma) the shetland ballad of hildina notes list of editions and translations to my sister part i sagas the sagas general introduction the following stories are taken from the _fornaldarsögur northrlanda_, or 'stories of ancient times relating to the countries of the north'--a collection of sagas edited by rafn in - and re-edited by valdimar Ásmundarson in - . the stories contained in this collection deal almost exclusively with times anterior to harold the fairhaired (c. - ) and the colonisation of iceland, and stop therefore where the better known stories relating to iceland and the historical kings of norway begin. some of them relate to persons and events of the ninth century, while others are concerned with times as remote as the fourth or fifth centuries. their historical value is naturally far inferior to that of the _Íslendinga sögur_, or 'stories of icelanders' and the _konunga sögur_, or 'stories of the kings.' from the literary point of view also the 'stories of ancient times' are generally much inferior to the others. the 'stories of icelanders' are derived from oral tradition, which generally goes back in more or less fixed form to the time at which the characters in the stories lived, and they give us a vivid picture of the persons themselves and of the conditions of life in their time. in the 'stories of ancient times,' on the other hand, though there is some element derived from tradition, often apparently of a local character, it is generally very meagre. more often perhaps the source of the stories is to be found in poems, notable instances of which will be found in _hervarar saga_ and in _völsunga saga_. in many cases, however, the stories without doubt contain a large proportion of purely fictitious matter. the texts of the 'stories of ancient times' which have come down to us date as a rule from the thirteenth and the beginning of the fourteenth centuries though the actual mss. themselves are generally later. most of the stories, however, were probably in existence before this time. the danish historian saxo grammaticus (c. ) was familiar with many of them, including the story of hethin and högni[ ] and one of the scenes recorded in _hervarar saga_[ ]. and we are told that a story which seems to have corresponded, in its main outlines at least, to the story of hromund greipsson was composed and recited at a wedding in iceland in [ ]. but in many cases the materials of our stories were far earlier than this, though they no doubt underwent considerable changes before they assumed their present form. indeed many stages in the literary history of the north are represented in the following translations. of these probably the oldest is that section of the _hervarar saga_ which deals with the battle between the goths and the huns "at dylgia and on dunheith and upon all the heights of jösur." the poetry here included in the saga dates even in its present form probably from the viking age, perhaps from the tenth century. but the verses themselves do not appear to be all of the same date. some of them show a certain elaboration and a sense of conscious art, while others are comparatively bare and primitive in type and contain very early features[ ]; and there is every probability that such poetry was ultimately derived from poetry composed at a time when the goths were still remembered. this is not surprising in view of the fact that stories relating to the goths were popular in english and german heroic poetry, as well as in the heroic lays of the north. indeed we know from jordanes[ ] and elsewhere that heroic poetry was common among the goths themselves and that they were wont to celebrate the deeds of their ancestors in verse sung to the accompaniment of the harp. this poem is no doubt much older than the saga. originally it would seem to have been complete in itself; but many verses have probably been lost. thus there can be little doubt that the prose passages in chs. xii-xv are often merely a paraphrase of lost verses, though it must not be assumed that all the prose in this portion of the saga originated in such a way[ ]. "it is difficult to tell ... where the prose of the manuscripts is to be taken as standing in the place of lost narrative verses, and where it fills a gap that was never intended to be filled with verse, but was always left to the reciter to be supplied in his own way[ ]." the difficulty, however, is greater in some cases than in others. the following picturesque passage from the opening of ch. of the _hervarar saga_ is a very probable instance of a paraphrase of lost verses: it happened one morning at sunrise that as hervör was standing on the summit of a tower over the gate of the fortress, she looked southwards towards the forest and saw clouds of dust, arising from a great body of horse, by which the sun was hidden for a long time. next she saw a gleam beneath the dust, as though she were gazing on a mass of gold--fair shields overlaid with gold, gilded helmets and white corslets. the motif of a chief or his lady standing on the pinnacle of a tower of the fort and looking out over the surrounding country for an approaching army is a very common one in ballads. the motif of the above passage from _hervarar saga_, including the armour of the foe and the shining shields, occurs in the opening stanzas of the danish ballad _de vare syv og syvsindstyve_[ ], which probably dates from the fourteenth century (though it may possibly be later[ ]) and which derives its material ultimately from old heroic lays[ ]. to the same period approximately as the poem on the battle with the huns belong the two pieces from the _older edda_ contained in the _tháttr[ ] of nornagest_. the _reginsmál_ indeed, of which only about half is quoted, may be even earlier than the former (in the form in which it appears in _hervarar saga_), while the _hellride of brynhild_ can hardly be later than the early part of the eleventh century. a second stage in the literary history of the north is represented by the 'episodic' poems _hjalmar's death song_ and the _waking of angantyr_, both of which are attributed to the twelfth century by heusler and ranisch[ ]. unlike the poem on the battle between the goths and the huns, neither of these forms a story complete in itself. they presuppose the existence of a saga in some form or other, presumably oral, dealing at least with the fight at samsø; and the existence of such a saga in the twelfth century is confirmed by the account of the same event given by saxo[ ]. a third stage in the literary development of the heroic legends is represented by the written saga itself, which has evidently been formed by the welding together, with more or less skill as the case may be, of several distinct stories, and of more than one literary form. a particularly striking instance of this is to be found in the _hervarar saga_ with its stories of the heroic and viking ages, the poems dealing with the fight on samsø, the primitive riddles of gestumblindi and the early poem of the battle between the goths and huns[ ]. something of the same kind has also taken place in the composition of the _thættir of nornagest_ and of _sörli_ respectively, though into the former has entered a considerable element of folk-tale which is introduced with a certain _naïveté_ and no little skill alongside the old heroic legends. as has been already mentioned, these three sagas, like others of the same type, appear to have been written down in the late thirteenth or the early years of the fourteenth century. on the other hand most if not the whole of the _saga of hromund greipsson_ appears to have been composed early in the twelfth century, but we do not know when it was first written down. a fourth stage is represented by the icelandic _rímur_ which are for the most part rhyming metrical versions of the sagas and which date from the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. as an illustration of this stage i have translated a few stanzas from the _gríplur_, a _ríma_ based on an early form of the story of hromund greipsson[ ]. the _rímur_ are, so far as we can judge, somewhat wearisome paraphrases of the prose stories, and while the metre and diction are elaborate in the extreme, the treatment of the story is often mechanical and puerile. comparatively few of the _rímur_ have as yet been published and the _gríplur_ is the only one known to me which is primarily concerned with any of the sagas contained in this volume. the ballads, both faroese and danish[ ], belong to a fifth stage in the life of heroic legend in the north; but their origin and history is by no means so clear as that of the _rímur_, and it is at present impossible to assign even approximate dates to more than a few of them with any degree of certainty. i have touched on this question at somewhat greater length below[ ]; and i would only add here that some danish and swedish ballads, e.g. _ung sveidal_[ ], _thord af haffsgaard_[ ] and perhaps _her aage_[ ], appear to be derived more or less directly from poems of the viking age, such as _fjölsvinsmál_, _thrymskvitha_ and _helgakvitha hundingsbana i_--without any intermediate prose stage. a careful study of the faroese ballads as a whole might enable one to determine something more of the relation of ballads to 'literature'[ ] and of the various ballad forms to one another, such as that of the short and simple _ballad of hjalmar and angantyr_ to the longer and more complicated _ballad of arngrims sons_. simplification and confusion are among the chief characteristics of popular poetry[ ]; but it is to be noted that in the case of the _hervarar saga_ confusion set in long before the days of the ballad--as early as the saga itself, where there must surely be at least one case of repetition of character[ ]. in reality, considering through how many stages the ballad material has passed, one is amazed at the vitality of the stories and the amount of original groundwork preserved. a careful comparison of the _völsunga saga_ and the faroese cycle of ballads generally classed together as _sjúrðar kvæði_--which, be it observed, were never written down at all till the nineteenth century--brings out to a degree literally amazing the conservatism of the ballads on the old heroic themes. readers who desire to make further acquaintance with the 'stories of ancient times' as a whole will find a further account of the subject in professor craigie's _icelandic sagas_ (p. ff.). more detailed accounts will be found in finnur jónsson's _oldnorske og oldislandske litteraturs historie_[ ], vol. ii, pp. - , and in mogk's _geschichte der altnordischen literatur_ in paul's _grundriss der germanischen philologie_, ed. ii, , vol. ii, pp. - , while a discussion of the heroic stories will be found in professor chadwick's _heroic age_, chs. i-viii. for a full bibliography of the texts, translations, and general literature dealing with the _fornaldarsögur_ collectively, see the annual _islandica_, vol. v, pp. - , compiled by halldór hermannsson and issued by the cornell university library, . [footnote : cf. saxo grammaticus, _dan. hist._, book v, p. (elton's translation, pp. , ).] [footnote : cf. saxo, _op. cit._, book v, p. (elton's translation, p. ).] [footnote : cf. introduction to the _saga of hromund greipsson_, p. below.] [footnote : cf. heusler and ranisch, _eddica minora_ (dortmund, ) p. xii.] [footnote : _de origine actibusque getarum_ (transl. c.c. mierow, princeton, ), cap. .] [footnote : cf. heusler and ranisch, _op. cit._, p. x ff.] [footnote : ker, _epic and romance_ (london, , nd ed.), p. .] [footnote : s. grundtvig, _danmarks gamle folkeviser_ (copenhagen, - ), bd i, no. .] [footnote : see general introduction to part ii, p. below.] [footnote : cf. axel olrik, _danske folkeviser í udvalg_ (copenhagen and christiania, ), pp. , .] [footnote : a. _tháttr_ (pl. _thættir_) is a story within a story--an episode complete in itself but contained in a long saga.] [footnote : _eddica minora_, pp. xxi, xlii.] [footnote : _op. cit._, book v, p. (elton's translation, pp. , ).] [footnote : see introduction to the _hervarar saga_, pp. - below.] [footnote : see introduction to the _gríplur_, p. ff. below.] [footnote : cf. p. ff. below.] [footnote : cf. general introduction to part ii, p. below.] [footnote : bugge's edition of the _saemundar edda_, p. ff.; also ker, _epic and romance_, p. etc.; vigfússon and powell, _corpus poeticum boreale_ (oxford, ), vol. i, p. ff.] [footnote : _c. p. b._, vol. i, pp. and ff.] [footnote : _c. p. b._, vol. i, p. ff.] [footnote : always, however, with the proviso that, owing to the avowed literary origin of many of them, the faroese ballads to some extent form a class by themselves; cf. general introduction to part ii, p. below.] [footnote : cf. chadwick, _the heroic age_ (cambridge, ), p. .] [footnote : cf. the introduction to the _saga of hervör and heithrek_, p. f. below.] [footnote : copenhagen, .] introduction to the thÁttr of nornagest this story occurs as an episode in the long _saga of olaf tryggvason_--to be distinguished from the shorter _saga of olaf tryggvason_ contained in the _heimskringla_ and translated by morris and magnússon in the _saga library_[ ]. the best known manuscript (_f_) of the longer saga is the _flateyjarbók_ which comes from the island of flatey in breithifjörth off the west of iceland, and was written between and . the second (_s_) is the codex _arn. magn. _ in the royal library (at copenhagen), which, like the former, contains a fragment only of the _saga of olaf tryggvason_, but includes the _tháttr of nornagest_. this ms. dates, in all probability, from shortly after the middle of the fourteenth century. finally, besides several paper mss. (comparatively late and unimportant), there is a ms. _a_ (number of the royal library at copenhagen) dating from the fifteenth century, in which the _tháttr_ stands by itself. rafn[ ], in his edition of the _fornaldarsögur_, based his text of the _tháttr_ on _a_; but subsequent examination has rendered it probable that this ms. is hardly independent of _f_ which gives an earlier and better text. as regards mss. _f_ and _s_, the latter frequently gives a better reading than the former[ ]. for this reason it was followed by bugge[ ] who believed it to be the better source. wilken[ ] however held that _f_ represents the 'vulgate' of the _tháttr_, while _s_ gives a corrected and edited version. in his edition, therefore, he chiefly followed _f_, though he made use of _s_ throughout, and also (for the poems) the _codex regius_ of the older edda. his example has been followed by later editors, including valdimar Ásmundarson[ ], from whose version the following translation has been made. the differences between all three mss. appear to be very slight, but Ásmundarson's edition approximates more closely to wilken's than to rafn's. indeed the variations between the texts of wilken's second edition[ ] and Ásmundarson are negligible. for a full bibliography of texts, translations, and literature relating to this saga the reader is referred to _islandica_, vol. v, p. . the saga itself dates from about [ ]. it is derived from tradition, mainly icelandic; but the various stories contained in it differ greatly from one another in their historical value. this episode is probably to be regarded as legendary in part; and it would seem also to contain a good deal of conscious fiction. the _tháttr_ falls naturally into three parts. the framework of the story--the arrival of guest at the hall of olaf tryggvason, his inclusion in the king's retinue, and his baptism--forms a whole in itself and contains nothing inherently improbable save the manner of his death, where the folk-tale element creeps in. the first 'story within a story,' the account that guest gives of his wanderings and more especially of the adventures of sigurth, is legendary--or perhaps rather made up from old legends with the help of the _edda_ poems. as in the case of the anglo-saxon poem _widsith_--and indeed to a much greater extent--the persons who figure in the stranger's stories lived in reality in widely different ages. sigurth and his brothers-in-law belong to the early part of the fifth century, harold the fairhaired and the sons of lothbrok to the latter part of the ninth century. other characters such as guthmund of glasisvellir who is mentioned in the first chapters are probably mythical. the third part, which is perhaps the most interesting part of the _tháttr_, is the passage in which guest explains how he came by his name. there can be no doubt that here we are in the region of pure folk-tale. the story of the visit of the norns shows a very remarkable resemblance to the greek legend of althaea and meleager. the same motif appears to some extent in the mediaeval french romances of _ogier the dane_, and is familiar to everyone in a slightly different form as the first part of the german folk-tale, _sleeping beauty_, where the reference to spinning should be noted. the poetry contained in this _tháttr_, unlike that in the _hervarar saga_, is all taken from the _older edda_. one of the poems, the _hellride of brynhild_, is given almost complete and there are long extracts from _reginsmál_. there are, however, some references to poems which no longer exist[ ]. in many respects the story of nornagest is among the most interesting of the romantic sagas. it gives a vivid picture of life in a northern court--the _naïveté_ and friendliness of the conversation; the personal interest that the king took in his men; the intimacy and directness and simplicity of the intercourse between them. there is something, too, of the same boyish indulgence--e.g. in king olaf's attitude towards the wager--which one notices in hrolf kraki's talk with vögg[ ]. yet combined with the amiability of both kings is a certain natural dignity which is very convincing. [footnote : an abridged translation of the longer saga by j. sephton is published in the _northern library_, vol. ii (london, ).] [footnote : _fornaldarsögur northrlanda_ (copenhagen, ), introduction, pp. xix, xx.] [footnote : wilken, _die prosaische edda nebst völsungasaga und nornageststháttr_ (paderborn, ), p. lxxxv ff.] [footnote : _norrøne skrifter af sagnhistorisk indhold_ (christiania, ).] [footnote : _op. cit._, p. lxxxviii.] [footnote : see _fornaldarsögur northrlanda_ (reykjavík, ), vol. i, pp. - .] [footnote : the second edition follows the _codex regius_ in the text of the poems included in the _tháttr_ more closely than did the first edition.] [footnote : cf. finnur jónsson, _den oldnorske og oldislandske litteraturs historie_, vol. ii, p. ; also mogk, _norwegisch-isländischen literatur_ (strassburg, ), p. .] [footnote : cf. p. below and note (p. ).] [footnote : cf. _skáldskaparmál_, ch. ; also _hrólfs saga kraka_, ch. .] the thÁttr of nornagest i. the story goes that on one occasion when king olaf tryggvason was living at trondhjem, it chanced that a man came to him late in the day and addressed him respectfully. the king welcomed him and asked him who he was, and he said that his name was guest. the king answered: "you shall be guest here, whatever you are called." guest said: "i have told you my name truly, sire, and i will gladly receive your hospitality if i may." the king told him he could have it readily. but since the day was far spent, the king would not enter into conversation with his guest; for he was going soon to vespers, and after that to dinner, and then to bed and to sleep. now on that same night king olaf tryggvason was lying awake in his bed and saying his prayers, while all the other men in the hall were asleep. then the king noticed that an elf or spirit of some kind had come into the hall, though all the doors were locked. he made his way past the beds of the men who were asleep there, one after another, and at last reached the bed of a man at the far end. then the elf stopped and said: "an empty house, and a mighty strong bolt on the door! people say that the king is the wisest of men. if he were as clever in things of this kind as they say he would not sleep so soundly." after that he vanished through the door, locked as it was. early next morning the king sent his servant to find out who had occupied that bed over night, and it proved to have been the stranger. the king ordered him to be summoned before him and asked him whose son he was. he answered: "my father's name was thorth. he was a dane and was called 'the contentious,' and lived at a place called groening in denmark." "you are a well set-up man," said the king. guest was bold of speech, and bigger in build than most men. he looked strong but was somewhat advanced in years. he asked the king if he might stay for a while in his retinue. the king asked if he were baptised. guest said that he had been prime-signed but not baptised. the king said that he was free to remain in his retinue, but added: "you will not remain long unbaptised with me." the reason for the elf's remark about the bolt was that guest had crossed himself, that evening like other men, but was in reality still a heathen. the king said: "can you do anything in the way of sport or music?" he replied that he could play the harp and tell stories which people enjoyed. then said the king: "king svein has no right to let unbaptised men leave his kingdom and wander about from one country to another." guest replied: "you must not blame the king of the danes for this, for it is a long time since i left denmark. in fact it was a long time before the emperor otto burnt the dane-work and forced king harold gormsson and earl haakon the heathen to become christians." the king questioned guest about many subjects and he always gave him good and intelligent answers. men say that it was in the third year of king olaf's reign that guest came to him. in this year also there came to him two men called grim who were sent by guthmund from glasisvellir. they brought to the king as a present from guthmund two horns which were also called 'grim.' they had also some further business with the king which we will return later. as for guest, he remained with the king, and had a place at the far end of the visitors' seats. he was a man of breeding and had good manners, and was popular and much respected by everyone. ii. a little before yule, ulf the red and his following came home. he had been engaged on the king's business all summer, for he had been appointed to guard the coasts of 'the bay' against danish raids. he never failed to be with king olaf at mid-winter. ulf had many fine treasures to bring to the king, which he had got during the summer, and one gold ring in particular which was called hnituth. it was welded together in seven places and each piece had a different colour. it was made of much finer gold than rings usually are. the ring had been given to ulf by a landowner called lothmund, and before that it had belonged to king half, from whom the halfsrekkar take their name. the ring had come to them as forced tribute from king halfdan ylfing. lothmund had asked ulf in return for it that he would guard his home with the support of king olaf, and ulf had promised to do so. now king olaf was keeping yule in magnificent style at his court in trondhjem; and it was on the eighth day of yule that ulf gave him the gold ring hnituth. the king thanked him for the gift as well as for all the faithful service which he had constantly rendered him. the ring was passed round the building in which the drinking was going on.--as yet no halls had been built in norway. now each man showed it to his neighbour and they thought that they had never seen such fine gold as that of which the ring was made. at last it came to the guest-table, and so to the guest who had just arrived. he looked at the ring and handed it back on the palm of his hand--the hand in which he had been holding his drinking horn. he was not much impressed with the treasure, and made no remarks about it, but went on jesting with his companions. a serving-man was pouring out drink at the end of the guest-table. "do you not like the ring?" he asked. they said; "we all like it very much except the new-comer. he can't see anything in it; but we think he can't appreciate it simply because he doesn't care for things of this kind." the serving-man went up the hall to the king and told him exactly what the guests had said, adding that, the new-comer had taken little note of the treasure, valuable as it was, when it was shown to him. then the king remarked: "the new-comer probably knows more than you think: he must come to me in the morning and tell me a story." now he and the other guests at the farthest table were talking among themselves. they asked the new-comer where he had seen a better ring or even one as good as this. "since you evidently think it strange," said he, "that i make so little of it, i may say that i have certainly seen gold which is in no way inferior, but actually better." the king's men now laughed heartily and said that that promised good sport, adding: "will you agree to wager with us that you have seen gold as good as this, and prove it? we will stake four marks in current coin against your knife and belt; and the king shall decide who is in the right." then said guest: "i will neither be made a laughing-stock for you nor fail to keep the wager which you offer. and i will certainly lay a wager with you on the spot, and stake exactly what you have suggested, and the king shall judge who is in the right." then they stopped talking, and guest took his harp and played it well till far into the evening, so that it was a joy to all who heard him. what he rendered best was _the harping of gunnar_; and last of all he played the ancient _wiles of guthrun_, neither of which they had heard before. and after that they went to sleep for the night. iii. in the morning the king rose early and heard mass; and after that he went to breakfast with his retinue. and when he had taken his place in the high seat, the guests came up to him, and guest with them; and they told him all about their agreement and the wager which they had made. "i am not much taken with your wager," replied the king, "although it is your own money that you are staking. i suspect that the drink must have gone to your heads; and i think you would do well to give it up, especially if guest agrees." "my wish is," replied guest, "that the whole agreement should stand." "it looks to me, guest," said the king, "as if it was my men rather than you whose tongues have got them into trouble; but we will soon put it to the test." after that they left him and went to drink; and when the drinking tables were removed, the king summoned guest and spoke to him as follows: "now is the time for you to produce the gold if you have any, so that i can decide your wager." "as you will, sire!" replied guest. then he felt in a pouch which he had with him, and took out of it a fob which he untied, and then handed something to the king. the king saw that it was a piece of a saddle-buckle and that it was of exceedingly fine gold. then he bade them bring the ring hnituth; and when they did so, the king compared the ring and the piece of gold and said: "i have no doubt whatever that the gold which guest has shown us is the finer, and anyone who looks at it must think so too." everybody agreed with the king. then he decided the wager in guest's favour, and the other guests came to the conclusion that they had made fools of themselves over the business. then guest said: "take your money and keep it yourselves, for i don't need it; but don't make any more wagers with strangers, for you never know when you may hit upon someone who has both seen and heard more than you have.--i thank you, sire, for your decision!" then the king said: "now i want you to tell me where you got that gold from, which you carry about with you." guest replied: "i am loth to tell you, because no-one will believe what i have to say about it." "let us hear it all the same," said the king, "for you promised before that you would tell us your story." "if i tell you the history of this piece of gold," replied guest, "i expect you will want to hear the rest of my story along with it." "i expect that that is just what will happen," said the king. iv. "then i will tell you how once i went south into the land of the franks. i wanted to see for myself what sort of a prince sigurth the son of sigmund was, and to discover if the reports which had reached me of his great beauty and courage were true. nothing happened worth mentioning until i came to the land of the franks and met king hjalprek. he had a great court around him. sigurth, the son of sigmund, the son of völsung, and of hjördis, the daughter of eylimi, was there at that time. sigmund had fallen in battle against the sons of hunding, and hjördis had married alf the son of king hjalprek. there sigurth grew up together with all the other sons of king sigmund. among these were sinfjötli and helgi, who surpassed all men in strength and stature. helgi slew king hunding, thereby earning the name hundingsbani. the third son was called hamund. sigurth, however, outstripped all his brothers, and it is a well-known fact that he was the noblest of all warrior princes, and the very model of a king in heathen times. at that time, regin, the son of hreithmar, had also come to king hjalprek. he was a dwarf in stature, but there was no-one more cunning than he. he was a wise man, but malign and skilled in magic. regin taught sigurth many things and was devoted to him. he told him about his birth and his wondrous adventures. and when i had been there a little while, i entered sigurth's service like many others. he was very popular with everybody, because he was friendly and unassuming, and generous to all. v. it chanced one day that we came to regin's house and sigurth was made welcome there. then regin spoke these verses: the son of sigmund cometh to our hall, a valiant warrior. it must needs befall that i, less doughty and oppressed with age, shall fall a victim to his wolfish rage. but i will cherish yngvi's valorous heir, since fate hath sent him hither to our care, train him to be, in valour and in worth, the mightiest and most famous prince on earth. at this time, sigurth was constantly in regin's company. regin told him much about fafnir--how he dwelt upon gnitaheith in the form of a serpent, and also of his wondrous size. regin made for sigurth a sword called gram. it was so sharp that when he thrust it into the river rhine it cut in two a flock of wool which he had dropped into the river and which was drifting down stream, cutting it just as clean as it did the water itself. later on, sigurth clove regin's stithy with the sword. after that regin urged sigurth to slay his brother fafnir and sigurth recited this verse: the sons of hunding would laugh loud and high, who shed the life-blood of king eylimi, if that his grandson bold should more desire rings of red gold than vengeance for his sire. after that sigurth made ready an expedition to attack the sons of hunding; and king hjalprek gave him many men and some warships. hamund, sisurth's brother, was with him on this venture, and so was regin the dwarf. i was present too, and they called me nornagest. king hjalprek had got to know me when he was in denmark with sigmund the son of völsung. at that time, sigmund was married to borghild, but they parted because borghild killed sinfjötli the son of sigmund by poison. then sigmund went south to the land of the franks and married hjördis, the daughter of king eylimi. the sons of hunding slew him, so sigurth had both his father and grandfather to avenge. helgi, the son of sigmund, who was called hundingsbani, was the brother of sigurth who was afterwards called fafnisbani. helgi, sigurth's brother, had slain king hunding and three of his sons, eyjulf, hervarth, and hjörvarth, but lyngvi and his two remaining brothers, alf and heming, escaped. they were exceedingly famous for exploits and accomplishments of every kind; but lyngvi surpassed all his brothers. they were very skilled in magic. they had reduced many petty kings to subjection, and slain many champions, and burnt many cities. they had worked the greatest havoc with their raids in spain and in the land of the franks. but at that time the imperial power had not yet been transferred to the regions north of the alps. the sons of hunding had seized the realm which had belonged to sigurth in the land of the franks, and they had very large forces there. vi. now i must tell you how sigurth prepared for battle against the sons of hunding. he had got together a large and well-armed host, and regin was a mighty man in the councils of the force. he had a sword which was called rithil and which he had forged himself. sigurth asked regin to lend him the sword. he did so, begging him to slay fafnir when he should return from this adventure, and this sigurth promised to do. after that we sailed away south along the coast, and then we met with a great storm raised by witchcraft, and many believed that it had been stirred up by the sons of hunding. after this we hugged the shore somewhat more closely, and then we saw a man on a rocky promontory which jutted out from the cliffs. he wore a green cloak and dark breeches, and had high laced boots on his feet, and carried a spear in his hand. this man addressed us in the following stanza: what folk are ye who ride the sea-king's steed, mounting the lofty billows, and proceed athwart the tossing main? drenched is your sail, nor can your ships against the wind prevail. regin replied: hither come we with sigurth o'er the foam, whom ocean breezes blow to our last home.-- full soon the breakers, higher than the prow will sink our 'ocean-steeds'; but who art thou? the man in the cloak replied: hnikar the name men did for me employ, young völsung, when i gave the raven joy of carnage. call me either of the two-- fjölnir or feng, but let me fare with you. then we steered towards the land and the wind fell immediately; and sigurth bade the man come on board. he did so, and a fair breeze sprang up. the man sat down at sigurth's feet and was very friendly, asking if sigurth would like to hear some advice from him. sigurth said that he would, and added that he had an idea that hnikar could give people very helpful advice if he were willing to turn it to their advantage. then sigurth said to the man in the cloak: o hnikar, since you know the destiny of gods and men, declare this unto me.-- which are the omens that should most delight when swords are swinging and a man must fight? hnikar replied: many propitious signs, if men could know, appear when swords are swinging to and fro. i hold a warrior has a trusty guide when a dark raven hovers at his side. i hold it too for a propitious sign if men to make a journey should design, and, coming out of doors, see close at hand two gallant warriors in the pathway stand. and if you hear beneath the rowan tree a howling wolf, the sound spells luck to thee, and luck shall helmed warriors bring to thee, if thou such warriors art the first to see. facing the sinking and late shining light of the moon's sister, warriors should not fight. victory is theirs who, eager for the fray, can clearly see to order their array. i hold it no occasion for delight when a man stumbles as he goes to fight; for guileful spirits dog him on his way with mischief-bearing looks throughout the fray a man of wisdom, as each day goes past, washes, and combs his hair, and breaks his fast. he knows not where by evening he may be.-- stumbling is bad luck, boding ill to thee. and after that we sailed southwards along the coast of holstein and to the east of friesland, and there we landed. the sons of hunding heard at once of our expedition and gathered an army; and they soon had a larger force than we had, and when we encountered them there was a great battle. lyngvi was the most valiant of the brothers in every onset, though they all fought bravely. sigurth's attack was so fierce that everyone shrank before him, when they saw that they were threatened by the sword gram. there was no need to reproach sigurth with lack of courage. and when he and lyngvi met, they exchanged many blows and fought with the greatest valour. then there was a lull in the battle, for people turned to watch the single combat. for a long time neither of them was able to inflict a wound on the other, so skilled in arms were they. then lyngvi's brothers made a fierce attack and slew many of our men, while others took to flight. then hamund, sigurth's brother, rushed to meet them, and i joined him, and then there was another encounter. the end of the affair between sigurth and lyngvi was that sigurth made him prisoner and had him fettered. and when sigurth joined us, matters very soon changed. then the sons of hunding fell and all their host; but then night was coming on. and when day dawned, hnikar had vanished, and he was never seen again. we came to the conclusion that it must in reality have been othin. a discussion then took place as to what death lyngvi should suffer; regin counselled that the 'blood eagle' should be carved on his back. then i handed to regin his sword and with it he carved lyngvi's back till he had severed the ribs from the spine; and then he drew out the lungs. thus died lyngvi with great courage. then regin said: full seldom has a bolder warrior reddened the earth than sigmund's murderer. hugin he feasted. now with biting sword the 'bloody eagle' on his back is scored. great spoil was taken there. sigurth's sailors got the whole of it because he would not take any himself. the clothes and weapons taken were worth much gold. afterwards sigurth slew fafnir, and regin also, because regin had intended to deal treacherously with him. sigurth took fafnir's gold and rode away with it, and from that time on he was called fafnisbani. after that he rode up to hindarheith where he found brynhild. what passed between them is told in the story of sigurth fafnisbani. vii. later on sigurth married guthrun the daughter of king gjuki and then stayed for a while with his brothers-in-law, the sons of gjuki. i returned to the north with sigurth and was with him in denmark, and i was also with him when sigurth hring sent his brothers-in-law, the sons of gandalf, to gunnar and högni, the sons of gjuki, and demanded that they should pay him tribute, threatening them with invasion in case they refused. but they decided to defend their country. thereupon gandalf's sons challenged the sons of gjuki to a pitched battle on the frontier, and then returned home; but the sons of gjuki asked sigurth fafnisbani to go to battle with them, and he agreed to do so. i was still with sigurth at that time. then we sailed again northwards along the coast of holstein and landed at a place called jarnamotha. not far from the landing place hazel-wood poles had been set up to mark where the fight was to take place. then we saw many ships sailing from the north under the command of the sons of gandalf. then the two hosts charged one another fiercely. sigurth hring was not there, because he had to defend his own land, sweden, against the inroads of the kurir and kvænir. sigurth was a very old man at that time. then the forces came into collision, and there was a great battle and much slaughter. the sons of gandalf fought bravely, for they were exceptionally big and strong. in that host there appeared a big strong man who made such slaughter of men and horses that no-one could withstand him, for he was more like a giant than a man. gunnar bade sigurth go and attack the scoundrel, adding that as things were, there would be no success. so sigurth made ready to encounter the mighty man, and some others went with him, but most of them were far from eager. we quickly came upon the mighty man, and sigurth asked him his name and whence he came. he said that he was starkath, the son of storverk, and that he came from the north, from fenhring in norway. sigurth said that he had heard reports of him and generally little to his credit, adding that no mercy ought to be shown towards such people. starkath said: "who is this man who casts insults in my teeth?" sigurth told him who he was. starkath said: "are you called fafnisbani?" sigurth said he was. then starkath sought to escape, but sigurth pursued him and swung aloft the sword gram and struck him on the jaw with the hilt so hard that two molars fell out of his mouth; it was a stunning blow. then sigurth bade the cur take himself off, and starkath went away, and i picked up one of the teeth and carried it off with me. it is now used on a bell-rope at lund in denmark and weighs seven ounces; and people go and look at it there as a curiosity. as soon as starkath had run away, the sons of gandalf took to flight, and we captured great booty; and after that sigurth went home to his realm and remained there for a while. viii. a short time after, we heard that starkath had committed a foul murder, slaying king ali in his bath. it chanced one day that as sigurth fafnisbani was riding to some gathering or other, he rode into a muddy pool, and his horse grani leapt up so wildly that his saddle-girth burst asunder and the buckle fell to the ground. and when i saw where it lay shining in the mud, i picked it up and handed it to sigurth; but he said that i might keep it. it was that very piece of gold that you were looking at a short time ago. then sigurth got down from his horse, and i rubbed it down and washed the mud off it; and i pulled a lock of hair out of its tail as a proof of its great size." then guest showed the lock and it was seven ells long. king olaf said: "i think your stories are very entertaining." everybody praised his stories and his talent. then the king wanted him to tell them much more about the adventures he had met with on his travels. so guest told them many amusing stories till late in the evening. it was then time to go to bed; but next morning the king sent for guest, and wanted to talk to him still further. the king said: "i can't quite make out your age and how you can be old enough to have been present when these events took place. you will have to tell another story so as to make us better acquainted with things of this kind." guest replied: "i suspected before that you would want to hear another of my stories, if i told you what had happened about the gold." "you must certainly tell me some more," replied the king. ix. "i must tell you then," guest began, "that i went north to denmark and there settled down on my estate, for my father had died a short time before; and a little later i heard of the death of sigurth and the sons of gjuki, and i felt that that was news indeed." "what was the cause of sigurth's death?" asked the king. guest replied: "it is generally believed that guthorm the son of gjuki ran a sword through him while he was asleep in bed with guthrun. on the other hand, germans say that sigurth was slain out in the forest. in the _guthrúnar-rætha_ again it is stated that sigurth and the sons of gjuki had ridden to a gathering and that they slew him then. but one thing is agreed by all--that they set on him when he was down and off his guard, and that they were guilty of gross treachery towards him." then one of the retinue asked: "how did brynhild behave then?" guest answered: "brynhild then slew seven of her slaves and five handmaidens, and ran herself through with a sword, commanding that she should be taken to the pyre along with these people and burned beside sigurth. this was done, one pile being made for sigurth and another for brynhild, and he was burned first, and then brynhild. she was taken in a chariot with a canopy of velvet and silk which was all ablaze with gold, and thus was she burnt." then guest was asked if brynhild had chanted a lay after she was dead. he replied that she had, and they asked him to recite it if he could. then guest said: "as brynhild was being driven to the pyre on the way to hell, she was brought near some cliffs where an ogress dwelt. the ogress was standing outside the doors of her cave and wore a skin kirtle and was of a blackish hue. she carried a long faggot in her hand and cried: 'this will i contribute to your burning, brynhild. it would have been better if you had been burned while you were still alive, before you were guilty of getting such a splendid man as sigurth fafnisbani slain. i was always friendly to him and therefore i shall attack you in a reproachful song which will make you hated by everybody who hears what you have done.' after that brynhild and the ogress chanted to one another. the ogress sang as follows: thou shalt not be suffered to pass through my courts with their pillars of stone in my mansion drear,-- better far wert thou busied at home with thy needle! not thine is the husband thou followest here. inconstant soul, why comest thou hither? from the land of the romans why visit'st thou me? full many a wolf hast thou made be partaker of the life-blood of men who were butchered by thee! then cried brynhild: upbraid me no more from thy rock bound dwelling for battles i fought in the days of old.-- thou wilt not be deemed to be nobler of nature than i, wheresoever our story is told! the ogress: in an evil hour, o buthli's daughter, in an evil hour wert thou brought to birth.-- the sons of gjuki thou gavest to slaughter, their noble dwellings thou rased'st to earth. brynhild: a true account, if thou carest to hearken, o thou lying soul, will i tell to thee;-- how empty of love and o'ershadowed by falsehood the life that the gjukings had destined for me! atli's daughter was i, yet the monarch bold-hearted assigned me a home neath the shade of the oak. but twelve summers old, if thou carest to hearken, was this maid when her vows to the hero she spoke. hjalmgunnar the old, of the gothic nation, great chief, on the pathway to hell did i speed; and victory granted to auth's young brother; then othin's dread fury was roused at my deed. then a phalanx of bucklers did othin set round me on skatalund's heights, shields crimson and white,-- bade only that prince break the slumber that bound me who knew naught of terror, nor shrank from the fight. and flames high towering and fiercely raging round my southern hall did he set in a ring: none other was destined to pass through in safety save the hero who treasure of fafnir should bring. the generous hero with treasure a-gleaming, the danish viking on grani rode,-- foremost champion in deeds of valour-- where my foster-father had his abode. as brother with sister we slept together; eight nights' space he lay at my side. there were we happy and slumbered idly, nor loving caresses did ever betide. yet guthrun the daughter of gjuki reviled me, that i in the arms of her lover had slept. o then was i 'ware of the thing i desired not-- the truth of my marriage from me had they kept. all too long against storms of adversity struggling both women and men seek their fortunes to right; but i with my sigurth shall end my life's battle at last. now depart from me, daughter of night! then the ogress gave a horrible shriek and leapt into the cliff." then the king's followers cried: "that's fine! go on and tell us some more!" but the king said: "you need not tell us any more about things of that kind." then he continued: "were you ever with the sons of lothbrok?" guest replied: "i was only with them for a short time; i joined them when they were making an expedition to the south in the neighbourhood of the alps, and when they destroyed vifilsborg. panic spread everywhere at their approach, for they were victorious wherever they went. they were intending at the time to go to rome. it chanced one day that a certain man came up to king björn ironside and saluted him. the king received him in a friendly way and asked him whence he came. he said that he had come from the south, from rome. the king asked him: 'how long is the journey there?' he replied: 'you can see here, o king, the shoes which i am wearing.' then he took iron-bound shoes from his feet, and the tops of them were very thick, but underneath they were all torn. 'you can see now how severely my shoes have suffered,' said he, 'and tell by that what a long way it is from here to rome.' 'it must be a very long way,' said the king; 'i shall turn back and give up the idea of attacking the territories of rome.' and the result was that they went no further on their way; and everyone thought it extraordinary that they should change their minds so suddenly at the word of one man, when they had all their plans laid. so after this the sons of lothbrok went back to their homes in the north, and made no further raids in the south." the king said: "it is clear that the saints in rome would not allow them to make their way there. the man you spoke of must have been a spirit sent from god to make them change their minds so quickly, so as not to bring destruction on rome, the most holy place of jesus christ." x. then the king asked guest: "amongst the kings whom you have visited, whose was the court that you liked best?" guest replied: "i enjoyed most being with sigurth and the sons of gjuki; but the sons of lothbrok were those who allowed most freedom to their followers to live as they liked. then again the richest place was that of eric at upsala; but king harold the fairhaired was more exacting than any of the kings i have mentioned in the duties that he imposed on his followers. i was with king hlöthver too in the land of the saxons, and there i was prime-signed; for it was not possible to remain with him otherwise, because the christian religion was carefully observed there. that was the place i liked best on the whole." the king said: "you can give us a great deal of information whatever question we ask you." the king then asked guest many further questions, and guest told him everything clearly, and finally he said: "now i must tell you why i am called norna-gest." the king said he would like to hear. xi. guest began: "i was brought up at my father's home at a place called groening. my father was a wealthy man and kept house in great style. at that time wise women used to go about the country. they were called 'spae-wives,' and they foretold people's futures. for this reason people used to invite them to their houses and gave them hospitality and bestowed gifts on them at parting. my father did the same, and they came to him with a great following to foretell my fate. i was lying in my cradle when the time came for them to prophesy about me, and two candles were burning above me. then they foretold that i should be a favourite of fortune, and a greater man than any of my kindred or forbears--greater even than the sons of the chief men in the land; and they said that all would come to pass just as it has done. but the youngest norn thought that she was not receiving enough attention compared with the other two, since they were held in high account yet did not consult her about these prophecies. there was also a great crowd of roughs present, who pushed her off her seat, so that she fell to the ground. she was much vexed at this and called out loudly and angrily, telling them to stop prophesying such good things about me: 'for i ordain that the boy shall live no longer than that candle burns which is alight beside him.' then the eldest spae-wife took the candle and extinguished it and bade my mother take charge of it and not light it until the last day of my life. after that the spae-wives went away, and my father gave them good gifts at parting. when i was full-grown, my mother gave me the candle to take charge of: i have it with me now." the king said: "why have you come here to me now?" guest replied: "the idea that came into my mind was this: i expected that i should get good luck from you, because i have heard you highly praised by good and wise men." the king said: "will you receive holy baptism now?" guest replied: "yes, i will, since you advise it." so it came to pass; and the king took him into his favour and made him one of his retinue. guest became a very good christian and loyally followed the king's rules of life. he was also popular with everybody. xii. it happened one day that the king asked guest: "how much longer would you live if you could choose?" guest replied: "only a short time, please god!" the king said: "what will happen if you take your candle now?" thereupon guest took his candle out of the frame of his harp. the king ordered it to be lighted, and this was done. and when the candle was lighted it soon began to burn away. then the king said to guest: "how old are you?" and guest replied: "i am now three hundred years old." "you are an old man," observed the king. then guest laid himself down and asked them to anoint him with oil. the king ordered it to be done, and when it was finished there was very little of the candle left unburnt. then it became clear that guest was drawing near to his end, and his spirit passed just as the torch flickered out; and they all marvelled at his passing. the king also set great store by his stories and held that the account which he had given of his life was perfectly true. introduction to the thÁttr of sÖrli this story, like the last, is taken from the long _saga of olaf tryggvason_ contained in the _flateyjarbók_, vol. i, pp. - . its connection, however, with the story of that king is of the slightest. according to the opinion of finnur jónsson[ ] the story in its present form dates from the first half of the fourteenth century. this story, like the _tháttr of nornagest_, shows evidence of a definite structural plan and falls into three distinct parts. in the first two chapters the scene is laid among the gods, and the story is set in motion by the forging of a necklace for the goddess freyja by some dwarfs. this is stolen by loki and given to othin, who refuses to restore it to freyja till she promises to bring about a perpetual battle between two mighty kings. then in chs. iii and iv we have an account of the adventures of a viking prince named sörli, from whom the story takes its (somewhat inappropriate) title[ ]. sörli comes into contact (first as an enemy, later as a friend) with another prince called högni, and this leads up to the main theme--the friendship and subsequent quarrel of hethin and högni, in whose tragic fate freyja's promise is fulfilled. the perpetual battle between these two heroes is finally ended by one of olaf tryggvason's men, and it is through this that the story comes to be introduced into his saga. the story of hethin and högni was a favourite one in the north. it is told in _skáldskaparmál_, ch. and in saxo grammaticus' _danish history_, book v (elton, pp. - ). the earliest norse reference to it is to be found in bragi's _ragnarsdrápa_, str. - . the story must also have been well known in the orkneys, since we find the following verses in the _háttalykill_ by jarl rögnvald ( - ) and an icelandic skald hall who flourished - [ ]. who planned to carry off hild? who fight all day long? who will be reconciled at last? who incited the kings? hethin planned to carry off hild; the hjathningar are always fighting; they will be reconciled at last; hild incited the host. who reddens the keen blades? who chops meat for the wolf? who makes showers of helmets? who stirred up strife? harold reddened the keen blades; the host chops meat for the wolf; högni makes the shower of helmets; hjarrandi stirred up strife! in the shetlands the story survived down to modern times in the form of a ballad known as _hildina_, which was taken down by george low[ ] from the recitation of an old man on the isle of foula in . the norwegian dialect (norn) in which it is composed is so obscure as we have it in low's script as to be almost untranslatable, though a serious attempt at its interpretation has been made by dr m. hægstad in _skrifter udgivne af videnskabsselskabet i christiania_, (_historisk-filosofisk klasse_, ii), with a very full discussion of all the linguistic difficulties involved[ ]. according to low "the subject is a strife between a king of norway and an earl of orkney, on account of the hasty marriage of the earl with the king's daughter in her father's absence." further on[ ] he gives the substance of the ballad at greater length: an earl of orkney, in some of his rambles on the coast of norway, saw and fell in love with the king's daughter of the country. as their passion happened to be reciprocal he carried her off in her father's absence, who was engaged in war with some of his distant neighbours. on his return, he followed the fugitives to orkney, accompanied by his army, to revenge on the earl the rape of his daughter. on his arrival there, hildina (which was her name) first spied him, and advised her now husband to go and attempt to pacify the king. he did so, and by his appearance and promises brought the king so over as to be satisfied with the match. after this, with the introduction of a courtier hiluge the story proceeds in a form totally different from anything found in the _tháttr_, though an attempt has been made to connect it with the second part of the german poem _kudrun_. the story of hethin and högni however was not confined to norway and its colonies; indeed it seems to have been popular throughout the whole teutonic world. it forms the subject of the first part of the mediaeval german poem _kudrun_, and characters from the story are mentioned in the anglo-saxon poems _widsith_, l. , and _deor_, l. ff. for a treatment of the different versions of the story as it was known to men of old, the reader may be referred to miss clarke's _sidelights on teutonic history during the migration period_ (cambridge, ), p. ff., and to chambers' _widsith_, p. ff. it may be mentioned here that in the main points of the story--the carrying off of hild and the subsequent pursuit by the father--all the versions are agreed. the german version, however, differs in many respects from those of the north (except that of the _hildina_)--especially in the fact that the combatants become reconciled. the various scandinavian versions of the story also differ somewhat in detail among themselves. the story translated below is the only one which mentions the slaying by hethin of högni's wife, and it is only here that hethin is described as being of foreign origin. moreover this is the only version in which the goddess freyja is made responsible for the unending battle. indeed the supernatural element, and especially the influence of charms and spells, is more prominent in this version than in any of the others. it is only here, too, that we find the story of göndul and the "potion of forgetfulness." on the other hand our version contains no reference to the statement made in _skáldskaparmál_ and saxo that it was hild who by her magic spells restored the dead to life each night. in our version of the story the character of hild is left wholly undeveloped. indeed the writers of the romantic sagas are always so much more interested in incident than in character that highly individualised personality is rare. even when as in the case of hervör[ ], the very nature of the story presents an interesting and somewhat unusual personality, we are sometimes left with a feeling of dissatisfaction and a conviction that the writer did not realise the full merits and possibilities of his material. högni is the usual type of hot-headed implacable sea-rover. the character of hethin, however, presents some interesting features and strikes us as more modern in conception. naturally gentle of disposition, he had been forced by malignant powers into a situation foreign to his nature. hardly characteristic of a viking chief are his genuine regret for the harm he had done and his anxiety that the men of högni and himself should not be called upon to forfeit their lives for his "crimes and misdeeds." the conventional viking, clear-eyed and purely material in his view of life, would have stayed to brave out the consequences. hethin only wished "to go away somewhere a long way off, where he would not each day have his wicked deeds cast in his teeth." his remorse had broken him down.--"you will find it an easy matter to slay me when i am left alive last of all!" the motif of the everlasting battle is not confined the story of hethin and högni. parallels can be found in many literatures, both ancient and modern[ ]. this _tháttr_ has been translated into english under the title of _the tale of hogni and hedinn_ in _three northern love stories_ by w. morris and eiríkr magnússon, london, . for a full bibliography of mss., translations, and the general literature dealing with this saga, cf. _islandica_, vol. v, pp. , . [footnote : _oldnorske og oldislandske litteraturs historie_, vol. ii, p. .] [footnote : the life of this prince is told at length in another saga--_sörla saga sterka_ which is published in vol. iii of Ásmundarson's edition of the _fornaldarsögur_.] [footnote : cf. finnur jónsson, _op. cit._, vol. ii, pp. , .] [footnote : cf. _a tour through the islands of orkney and schetland_, by george low, edited by j. a. anderson (kirkwall, ), p. ff.] [footnote : on p. ff. below i have attempted a translation of the first twelve stanzas from hægstad's corrected text.] [footnote : _op. cit._, p. .] [footnote : cf. the _saga of hervör and heithrek_ translated below, p. ff.] [footnote : cf. panzer, _hilde-gudrun_ (halle, ), _passim_; frazer, _pausanias's description of greece_ (london, ), vol. ii, p. ff.; etc.] the thÁttr of sÖrli i. to the east of vanakvisl in asia was a country called asialand or asiaheim. its inhabitants were called Æsir and the chief city they called asgarth. othin was the name of their king, and it was a great place for heathen sacrifices. othin appointed njörth and frey as priests. njörth had a daughter called freyja who accompanied othin and was his mistress. there were four men in asia called alfregg, dvalin, berling and grer, who dwelt not far from the king's hall, and who were so clever that they could turn their hands to anything. men of this kind were called dwarfs. they dwelt in a rock, but at that time they mixed more with men than they do now. othin loved freyja very much, and she was the fairest of all women in her day. she had a bower of her own which was beautiful and strong, and it was said that if the door was closed and bolted, no-one could enter the bower against her will. it chanced one day that freyja went to the rock and found it open, and the dwarfs were forging a gold necklace, which was almost finished. freyja was charmed with the necklace, and the dwarfs with freyja. she asked them to sell it, offering gold and silver and other costly treasures in exchange for it. the dwarfs replied that they were not in need of money, but each one said that he would give up his share in the necklace.... and at the end of four nights they handed it to freyja. she went home to her bower and kept silence about it as if nothing had happened. ii. there was a man called farbauti who was a peasant and had a wife called laufey. she was thin and meagre, and so she was called 'needle.' they had no children except a son who was called loki. he was not a big man, but he early developed a caustic tongue and was alert in trickery and unequalled in that kind of cleverness which is called cunning. he was very full of guile even in his youth, and for this reason he was called loki the sly. he set off to othin's home in asgarth and became his man. othin always had a good word for him whatever he did, and often laid heavy tasks upon him, all of which he performed better than could have been expected. he also knew almost everything that happened, and he told othin whatever he knew. now it is said that loki got to know that freyja had received the necklace ... and this he told to othin. and when othin heard of it he told loki to fetch him the necklace. loki said that there was not much hope of that, because no-one could get into freyja's bower against her will. othin told him to go, and not come back without the necklace. so loki went off howling, and everyone was glad that he had got into trouble. he went to freyja's bower, but it was locked. he tried to get in but could not. the weather outside was very cold and he became thoroughly chilled. then he turned himself into a fly, and flew around all the bolts and along the whole of the woodwork, but nowhere could he find a hole big enough to enter by, right up to the gable. he found only a hole no bigger than would allow of the insertion of a needle. through this hole he crept. and when he got inside he stared around, wondering if anyone was awake. but he found that the room was all wrapped in slumber. then he went in and up to freyja's bed and found that she was wearing the necklace and that the clasp was underneath her. loki thereupon turned himself into a flea and settled on freyja's cheek and stung her, till she awoke and turned over and went to sleep again. then he laid aside his flea-form, drew the necklace from her gently, opened the door and departed, carrying the necklace to othin. when freyja awoke in the morning she found that the door was open, though it had not been forced, and that her lovely necklace was gone. she had a shrewd idea of the trick that had been played on her, and when she was dressed she went into the hall to king othin, and told him that he had done ill to rob her of her trinket, and begged him to return it. othin replied that considering how she had come by it she should never get it back: "--unless you bring about a quarrel between two kings, each of whom has twenty kings subject to him; so that they shall fight under the influence of such spells and charms that as fast as they fall they shall start up again and fight on--unless there be some christian man so brave and so much favoured by the great good fortune of his liege lord that he shall dare to take arms and enter among the combatants and slay them. then and not till then shall the labours of those princes be brought to an end--whoever may be the chief who is destined to free them from the oppression and toil of their disastrous lot." freyja agreed to this and recovered the necklace. iii. four and twenty years after the death of frithfrothi a king called erling ruled over the highlands of norway. he had a wife and two sons, of whom the elder was called sörli the strong, and the younger erlend. they were promising young men. sörli was the stronger of the two. as soon as they were old enough they took to raiding, and fought against the viking sindri, the son of sveigir, the son of haki, a sea-king in the skerries of the elf. there fell sindri the viking, and with him all his host; and erlend the son of erling also fell in that battle. after that sörli sailed into the baltic and harried there, and performed so many great deeds that it would take too long to recount them all. iv. there was a king called halfdan who ruled denmark; and his capital was at roskilde. he married hvethna the elder, and their sons were högni and haakon. they were distinguished for their stature, strength and ability. as soon as they were old enough they took to piracy. now we must return to sörli and relate how one autumn he set sail for denmark. king halfdan had been intending to go to a gathering of kings. he was far advanced in years at the time when the events related here took place. he had such a fine warship that for strength and excellence of every kind it had no equal in all the countries of the north. it was riding at anchor in the harbour, but king halfdan had gone ashore to give orders for a carousal before starting on his voyage. and when sörli saw the warship his heart was consumed with a burning desire to possess it at all possible hazards. and indeed it is generally agreed that there never was a greater treasure of a warship than this in all the countries of the north, except the warships ellithi and gnöth and the long serpent. so he ordered his men to prepare themselves for battle-- "for we must slay king halfdan and seize his warship." a man called sævar, his fo'c'sle-man and marshal, made answer: "that is not advisable, sire, for halfdan is a great chief and a famous man. moreover he has two sons who will be certain to avenge him, for they are both very famous men already." "though they be superior to the very gods," said sörli, "yet we shall fight just as we have done before." they prepared for battle, and the news reached king halfdan. he started up and went with all his men to his ships, and they prepared them for battle at once. some of halfdan's men protested to him that it was not advisable to fight, and suggested that he should take to flight as the odds were too heavy against them. the king replied that they would all fall dead one on the top of another before he would flee. both sides now prepared to give battle, and closed forthwith in a fierce combat, the result of which was that king halfdan fell with all his host; and sörli took possession of the warship and everything on it that was of value. then sörli learned that högni had returned from a raiding expedition and was lying off odinsø. sörli set off thither with his ships, and when they met, he told him of the death of halfdan, his father, and made him an offer of reconciliation on his own terms, suggesting also that they should become foster-brothers; but högni declined all his offers. then they joined battle, as is told in the poem dealing with sörli. haakon fought very boldly and slew sævar, sörli's standard-bearer and fo'c'sle-man. then sörli slew haakon, but högni slew king erling, sörli's father. after that högni and sörli fought together, and sörli went down before högni from weariness and wounds. and högni afterwards caused him to be healed of his wounds, and they swore foster-brotherhood to one another, and both remained true to their oaths as long as they lived. sörli was the first to die. he fell in the baltic at the hands of vikings, as is told in the poem of which he is the subject. and when högni heard of sörli's death, he went raiding in the baltic the same summer, and was victorious everywhere. he became king over those regions; and it is said that twenty kings were vassals to king högni and paid him tribute. högni became so famous on account of his great deeds and his raiding expeditions that his name was as well known in the north of finland as away in paris, and everywhere in between. v. there was a king called hjarrandi who ruled over serkland. he had a wife and a son called hethin, who quickly grew into a man remarkable for his strength, stature and ability. while still a youth he went on raiding expeditions and became a sea-king, harrying all round spain and greece and all the neighbouring kingdoms; so that he made twenty kings pay him tribute, holding their land and revenue as his vassals. in winter time hethin used to stay at home in serkland. it is said that on one occasion he went into a forest with his retinue. he left his men and found himself alone in a glade where he saw a woman, tall and fair, sitting on a throne. she spoke to him courteously, and when he asked her her name she said she was called göndul. then they talked together. she questioned him about his mighty deeds and he told her everything frankly and asked her whether she knew of any king to match himself in valour and hardihood, renown and prowess. she replied that she knew of one who did not fall short of him--one who had twenty kings subject to him just as hethin had; and she added that his name was högni and that he lived in the north, in denmark. "i know one thing," said hethin; "we have got to prove which of us is the more valiant." "it is high time for you to return to your men," said she; "they will be looking for you." then they parted. he returned to his men, and she remained sitting there. at the very beginning of spring, hethin prepared to set out. he had a warship, and three hundred and sixty men in it, and he made for the northern part of the world. he sailed all that summer and the following winter, and at the beginning of spring he reached denmark. vi. king högni was at home at that time; and when he heard that a famous king had come to his shores, he invited him to a magnificent banquet, and hethin accepted the invitation. and as they sat drinking, högni asked what motive brought hethin so far north. hethin replied that his object was to compete with him in contests which would make trial of their courage and daring and all their prowess and skill. högni said he was ready for this; and early next morning they went swimming and shooting together. they rode a-tilt, and performed feats of arms and of skill of all kinds. and in all their exploits they were so equal that no-one could distinguish which was the better of the two. after that they swore foster-brotherhood to one another, and bound themselves to share everything equally. hethin was young and unmarried, but högni was somewhat older. he had married hervör, the daughter of hjörvarth, the son of heithrek ulfham. högni had a daughter who was called hild, and who excelled all other women in beauty and understanding. he loved his daughter exceedingly. he had no other children. vii. it is said that a little later högni went on a raiding expedition while hethin stayed behind to look after his kingdom. it chanced one day that hethin went into a forest to pass the time. the weather was mild. he again wandered away from his men. he came upon a forest glade, and there he saw sitting on a throne the same woman whom he had seen before in serkland--only now he thought her even fairer than before. she was again the first to speak and chattered to him gaily. she was holding a horn with a lid to it. the king fell in love with her. she offered him a drink and he felt thirsty, as he had grown warm; so he took the horn and drank; and when he had drunk, a very wonderful change came over him, for he remembered nothing that had happened to him previously. he then sat down and talked to her. she asked him if what she had said to him before of the skill and courage of högni had proved true and hethin replied that it was true enough--"for he did not come short of me in any feat that we tried, and so we declared ourselves a match." "yet you two are not equal," said she. "and why not?" asked hethin. "for this reason," replied she: "högni has married a wife of high birth, whereas you have no wife." he replied: "högni will marry me to hild his daughter as soon as i like to ask him, and then i shall be as well married as he." "your honour will be impaired," said she, "if you ask högni for a marriage alliance. if, as you profess, you lack neither courage nor valour, you would do better to carry off hild by force, and put the queen to death by taking her and laying her down in front of the prow of your warship, and letting it cut her in two when it is launched." the wickedness and forgetfulness contained in the ale which hethin had drunk had so got the better of him that there seemed to him to be no alternative, and he had not the slightest recollection that he and högni were 'foster-brothers.' presently they parted, and hethin went back to his men. this took place in the late summer. then hethin ordered his men to get ready the warship, saying that he intended to go home to serkland. then he went into the ladies' bower and took the queen and hild by either hand and led them out. hild's clothes and jewels were also taken. there was no-one in the kingdom who had the courage to do anything; for they were afraid of hethin and his men--he glowered so fiercely. hild asked hethin what his intention was, and he told her. she besought him to think better of it, adding: "my father will marry me to you if you ask him for me." "ask for you?" echoed hethin; "i will never do that." "and," she continued, "if you really must carry me off, even so my father will make it up with you. but if you do anything so wicked and unmanly as to put my mother to death, my father will never make it up with you. i have had a warning in dreams that you two will fight and slay one another. yet i am afraid that there must be something still more terrible in store. it will be a great sorrow to me if i have to be the means of exposing my father to the ruinous effects of magic spells; nor shall i have any joy in seeing you in difficulties and toils." hethin replied that he cared not at all for the consequences, and that he would do as he had threatened. "you cannot mend it now," said hild, "because in this case you are not your own master." then hethin went down to the sea-shore, and now was the warship launched. he thrust the queen down in front of the prow, so that she perished. hethin stepped into the warship. and when it was quite ready, he took it into his head to land alone, leaving his men behind; and he went into the same forest where he had gone before. and when he came into the glade, there he saw göndul seated on her throne. they greeted one another cordially. hethin told her what he had done and she expressed her approval. she had with her the horn which she had carried before, and she offered him a drink from it. he took it and drank; and when he had drunk, sleep fell upon him, and he let his head sink into her lap. and when he had fallen asleep, she slipped away from under his head, saying: "now i devote both you and högni and all your followers, and lay you under all the spells imposed by othin." then hethin awoke and saw the fleeting shadow of göndul, but she appeared to him now to be big and black; and he recalled everything and realised how much mischief he had done. he decided now to go away somewhere a long way off, where he would not each day have his wicked deeds cast in his teeth. so he went to his ship, and made haste to free her from her moorings. a fair breeze was blowing off the land, and so he sailed away with hild. viii. when högni returned home, he learnt that hethin had sailed away with hild and the warship halfdanarnaut, leaving the dead body of the queen in his tracks. högni was furious and bade his men start up on the spot and sail in pursuit of hethin. this they did, and a fair breeze sprang up. every evening they reached the harbour from which hethin had sailed away in the morning. it happened one day that as högni was making for a harbour, hethin's sails were sighted out at sea; so högni and his men gave chase. as a matter of fact, it is said that at this point hethin got a head wind against him, whereas högni had the luck to have a fair wind as before. hethin then lay to off an island called hoy, and there he rode at anchor. högni quickly came alongside, and when they met, hethin greeted him courteously. "i must tell you, foster-brother," said hethin, "that so great a misfortune has come upon me that no-one save you can remedy it. i have carried off your daughter and your warship, and put your wife to death, yet from no personal wickedness of my own, but rather from promptings of evil spirits and wicked spells. my wish now is that you shall have your own way entirely in this matter between yourself and me. i also offer to give up to you both hild and the warship, and all the men and money contained in it, and to go to such distant lands that i can never return to the north nor into your sight as long as i live." högni replied: "had you asked me for hild i would have married her to you; and even in spite of your having carried her off by force we might have made up our quarrel. now, however, since you have been guilty of such an outrage as to put the queen to death in a most shameful manner, i certainly will not make terms with you. we will try here, on the spot, which of us is the more valiant fighter." hethin replied: "it would be best, if nothing less than fighting will satisfy you, that we two should measure our strength alone; for you have no quarrel with any man here save with me. there is no use in making innocent men pay for my crimes and evil deeds." their followers all swore with one accord that they would rather fall dead in heaps than that they two should exchange blows alone. and when hethin saw that nothing would satisfy högni, save that they should fight, he ordered his men to land, saying: "i will no longer hold back from högni, nor make excuses to avoid fighting. let every man bear himself bravely!" they thereupon landed and fell to fighting. högni was full of fury, but hethin was both dexterous with his weapons and mighty in his stroke. it is told for fact that so potent was the evil charm in the spell that even when they had cloven one another to the very shoulders, yet they started up as before and went on fighting. hild sat in a grove and watched the battle. this harrowing torment continued to oppress them from the time when they began to fight until olaf tryggvason became king of norway. it is said to have gone on for a hundred and forty-three years, until it fell to the lot of this famous man that one of his retinue released them from their grievous calamities and tragic doom. ix. in the first year of king olaf's reign, it is said that he came one evening to the island of hoy and anchored there. it was a regular occurrence in the neighbourhood of this island that watchmen disappeared every night, and no-one knew what had become of them. on this particular night it was ivar the gleam who kept guard. and when all the men on the ships were asleep, ivar took the sword that jarnskjöld had had and that thorstein his son had given him, and all his armour, and went up on to the island. and when he had landed on the island he saw a man coming towards him. he was very tall and covered with blood, and his face was full of sorrow. ivar asked him his name, and he replied that he was called hethin, the son of hjarrandi, and that he had come of a stock in far serkland, adding: "i am telling you the truth when i say that the vanishing of the watchmen must be laid to the charge of me and högni, the son of halfdan. for we and our men have been laid under such powerful and destructive spells that we go on fighting night and day; and this has continued for many generations, while hild, the daughter of högni, sits and looks on. it is othin who has laid this spell upon us; and our only hope of redemption is that a christian man should give battle to us.--when that occurs, he whom the christian slays shall not stand up again; and so will each one be freed from his distress. now i would pray you that you will come to fight with us, because i know that you are a good christian, and also that the king whom you serve is very lucky. i have a feeling too that we shall get some good from him and his men." ivar agreed to go with him. hethin was glad at that and said: "you must take care not to encounter högni face to face, and also not to slay me before you slay him; because no mortal man can encounter högni face to face and slay him if i die before him, for the glance of his eye strikes terror and spares none. therefore this is the only way: i will attack him in front and engage him in battle, while you go behind and give him his death stroke. you will find it an easy matter to slay me, when i am left alive last of all." then they went into the battle, and ivar saw that all that hethin had told him was quite true. he went behind högni and struck him on the head, and clove his skull down to the shoulders, whereupon högni fell down dead and never rose up again. after that he slew all the men who were fighting, and last of all he slew hethin, which was no great task. when he returned to the ships the day was dawning. he went to the king and told him what he had done. the king was very well pleased with his work and told him that he had had great good luck. next day they landed and made their way to the spot where the battle had taken place; but they saw no sign of what had happened there. yet the bloodstains on ivar's sword were visible proofs; and never again did watchmen disappear on that coast. after that the king went home to his realm. introduction to the saga of hromund greipsson in the _saga of thorgils and haflithi_, ch. (published in _sturlunga saga_, ed. by g. vigfusson, vol. i, p. ), we are told that at a wedding held at reykjaholar in iceland in , "there was fun and merriment and great festivity and all kinds of amusements, such as dancing and wrestling and story-telling.... although it is a matter of no great importance, some record has been preserved of the entertainment which was provided, and who were the people who provided it. stories were told which many people now reject, and of which they disclaim any knowledge; for it seems that many people do not know what is true, but think some things to be true which are really pure invention and other things to be fictitious which are really true. hralf of skalmarnes told a story about hröngvith the viking and olaf 'the sailors' king,' and about the rifling of the barrow of thrain the berserk, and about hromund gripsson, and included many verses in his story. king sverrir used to be entertained with this story and declared that fictitious stories like this were the most entertaining of any. yet there are men who can trace their ancestry to hromund gripsson. hrolf himself had composed this story." among those whose ancestry was traced to hromund greipsson were ingolf and leif, the first norwegian colonists of iceland. according to _landnámabók_, , ch. , they were second cousins, and their grandfathers, who had come from thelamörk in the south-west of norway, were sons of hromund. olaf 'the sailors' king' is mentioned also in the _saga of grím lothinkinni_, ch. ; and members of his family figure prominently in several other sagas. these persons may actually be historical. but the fictitious element is obvious enough in many places as, for instance, in hromund's voyage to the west. thrain himself is vividly presented to us as "black and huge, with talons like bird's claws, all clad in glittering gold, seated on a throne, roaring loudly and blowing a fire!" this chapter is indeed a tale of ghaisties and ghoulies, and lang-leggity beasties, and things that gae bump in the nicht. the most curious features of the saga, however, are the blurred and perhaps confused reminiscences of stories and characters which form the subject of some of the edda poems. the brothers bild and voli can hardly be other than corruptions of the god balder and his avenger váli. the name of hromund's sword 'mistletoe' too may be a reminiscence of the same story, though a sword of the same name is found in _hervarar saga_ (ch. ). again, the account of hromund's sojourn with hagal, disguised as a grinding-maid, and the search made by blind (ch. ) are certainly reminiscences of the edda poem _helgakvitha hundingsbana ii_ (sometimes called _völsungakvitha_), where the same adventures are recorded in connection with the same names, except that helgi here takes the place hromund. but the most interesting case, however, is the story of hromund's opponent helgi the bold and kara (ch. ). in this story, helgi is said to be in the service of two kings called hadding, and there can be little doubt that helgi and kara are identical with helgi haddingjaskati and kara, whose adventures formed the subject of a lost poem called _káruljóth_. this poem is referred to in the prose at the end of _helgakvitha hundingsbana ii_, where it is stated that they were reincarnations of helgi hundingsbani and sigrún--just as the two latter were themselves reincarnations of helgi the son of hjörvarth and sváva--"but that is now said to be an old wives' tale." chapter also has a special interest of its own. breaking into barrows was a favourite exploit of the norsemen, no doubt for the sake of the gold which they often contained. references to the practice are very common in the sagas, e.g. _grettissaga_, ch. ; _hartharsaga_, ch. ; cf. also saxo grammaticus, _dan. hist._, p. ff., etc. the ruthlessness with which the norsemen plundered the irish barrows is mentioned with great indignation in the irish chronicles. in the _war of the gaedhil with the gaill_, cap. xxv, we read that certain norsemen plundered in ireland "until they reached kerry, and they left not a cave there under ground that they did not explore." in the same work cap. lxix, we are told that-- never was there a fortress, or a fastness, or a mound, or a church, or a sacred place, or a sanctuary, when it was taken by that howling, furious, loathsome crew, which was not plundered by the collectors and accumulators of that wealth. neither was there in concealment under ground in erin, nor the various solitudes belonging to fians or to fairies, anything that was not discovered by these foreign, wonderful denmarkians, through paganism and idol worship. finally in the _annals of ulster_ we read (sub anno ) that the cave of achadh-aldai (i.e. probably new grange, near dublin) and [the cave] of knowth, and the cave of fert-boadan over dowth, and the cave of the smith's wife were searched by the foreigners (i.e. norsemen, etc.) which had not been done before. and in england as late as thomas of walsingham records the slaying of the dragon that guarded a barrow, and the recovery of a great treasure of gold by the retainers of the earl of warrenne. popular imagination believed that barrows were occupied by a ghostly inhabitant 'haugbui,' who guarded the treasure. this was sometimes a dragon, as in _beowulf_, or a reanimated corpse, as in our saga; but whatever he was, he inspired the outside world with such fear that the breaking into a grave-mound came to be regarded as a deed of the greatest courage and prowess. the 'hogboy' (_haugbui_) of maeshowe, a barrow in the orkneys, is still a living reality in the imaginations of the country people[ ]. unfortunately _the saga of hromund greipsson_ is preserved only in late paper mss., of which none apparently are earlier than the seventeenth century. none of the verses of which the notice in the _saga of thorgils and haflithi_ speaks (cf. p. above) have been preserved. there is, however, a rhymed version of the saga known as _gríplur_, dating apparently from about the year and evidently taken from a better text than any of those which have come down to us. a short extract from these rhymed verses will be found on pp. - . for a full discussion of the relationship of the _gríplur_ to the extant texts of the saga and to the later ballads, the reader is referred to kölbing, _beiträge zur vergleichenden geschichte der romantischen poesie und prosa des mittelalters_ (breslau, ), pp. - , and to andrews, _studies in the fornaldarsögur northrlanda_[ ] in _modern philology_, , . a full bibliography of texts, translations and literature relating to this saga will be found in _islandica_, vol. v, p. . [footnote : cf. joseph anderson, _scotland in pagan times: the bronze and stone ages_, pp. - (publ. by douglas, edinburgh, ).] [footnote : it is pointed out by andrews, p. , that the form lara (which appears in rafn's and Ásmundarson's editions, ch. ) is due to a misreading. the mss. have cara.] the saga of hromund greipsson i. there was a king called olaf, the son of gnothar-asmund, and he ruled over garthar in denmark, and was very famous. two brothers, kari and Örnulf, both mighty warriors, were entrusted with the defence of his territories. in that district there was a wealthy landowner called greip, who had a wife called gunnlöth, the daughter of hrok the black. they had nine sons whose names were as follows: hrolf, haki, gaut, thröst, angantyr, logi, hromund, helgi, hrok. they were all promising fellows, though hromund was the finest of them. he did not know what fear was. he was blue-eyed and fair-haired; he was broad-shouldered, tall and strong, and resembled his mother's father. the king had two men called bild and voli. they were wicked and deceitful, but the king valued them highly. on one occasion king olaf was sailing eastwards with his fleet along the coast of norway. they put in at ulfasker, and lying to off one of the islands they began to plunder. the king bade kari and Örnulf go up on the island and look if they could see any warships. they went up on land and saw six warships under some cliffs, one of them being a most gorgeous 'dragon.' kari called to the men and asked whose ships they were. one of the scoundrels on the 'dragon' stood up and declared his name to be hröngvith, adding: "but what may your name be?" kari told him his own name and the name of his brother and added: "you are the worst man i know and i am going to chop you into fragments." hröngvith replied: "for thirty-three years i have harried both summer and winter. i have fought sixty battles and been victorious every time with my sword brynthvari, which has never grown blunt. come here to-morrow, kari, and i will sheathe it in your breast." kari said he would not fail to appear. hröngvith had it in his power to choose every day who was to perish by the point of his sword. ii. the brothers went back to the king and told him the news. the king gave orders to prepare for battle, and his men set to work. the hosts met and a stiff fight took place. the brothers fought bravely, kari slaying eight or twelve men with every blow. when hröngvith saw that, he leapt up on the king's ship, attacked kari and thrust him through with his sword. as soon as kari was wounded he called to the king: "farewell, sire. i am going to be othin's guest!" hröngvith spitted Örnulf on his spear, and when both the brothers had fallen, hröngvith called out to the rest to surrender. then a murmur of discontent arose in the king's host. no blade would wound hröngvith. now it is told that hromund greipsson was in the king's retinue. he took a club in his hand, fastened a long grey goat's beard on his face, drew a hood over his head, and then rushed to the fight, where he found the two brothers lying dead. he rescued the king's standard, and began to deal death among the scoundrels with his club. hröngvith asked who he was and if he were the father of that wretched kari. hromund told him his name and said he was going to avenge the brothers:-- "though kari was no relative of mine, i will slay you all the same." and thereupon he dealt hröngvith such a blow with his club that his head was all awry afterwards. hröngvith said: "i have been in many battles, but i never got such a blow!" hromund struck another blow at hröngvith and broke his skull. at the third stroke he died. after that all the survivors surrendered to the king, and so the battle ended. iii. then hromund proceeded to ransack the ship, and came upon a man prepared to offer resistance in the prow. he asked the man's name; and he replied that he was called helgi the bold, a brother of hröngvith, and added: "i have no mind to sue for peace." hromund gave orders that the wounds of helgi the bold should be attended to. then he sailed away to sweden and was entrusted with the defence of part of the country. after that king olaf sailed away to the british isles with his host, as far as the hebrides, where they landed and made a raid. there was a man dwelling hard by whose cattle had been taken and driven away by the king's men, and he was bewailing his loss piteously. hromund went and asked him who he was. the man replied that his name was mani and that his home was a very little way off; and he said that they would win more honour by breaking into barrows and plundering the treasures of ghosts. hromund asked him to tell him if he knew anything about places of this kind. mani replied that he certainly did:-- "there was a berserk called thrain, a big, strong man who was deeply versed in sorcery. he conquered valland and was king there. he was put into a barrow with a sword, armour and great treasure; but no-one is in a hurry to go there." hromund asked in which direction they should sail in order to reach it, and he replied that they could reach it by sailing due south for six days. hromund thanked the man for his information, gave him money, and restored his cattle to him. then they sailed away in the direction indicated by the man, and at the end of six days they saw the barrow straight in front of their ship. iv. they went from the british isles to valland, and found the barrow and immediately set to work to break it open. and when six days had elapsed they came upon a trap-door in the barrow. there they beheld a big fiend, black and huge, all clad in glittering gold, and seated on a throne. he was roaring loudly and blowing a fire. hromund asked: "now who will enter the barrow? whoever does so shall have his choice of three treasures." voli replied: "no-one will be anxious to forfeit his life for them. there are sixty men here, and that troll will be the death of them all." hromund said: "kari would have ventured on it, had he been alive," and he added--what was true enough--that even if he were let down by a rope, it would not be so bad to struggle against eight others as against thrain. then hromund climbed down by a rope.--it was during the night; and when he had got down, he gathered up a great amount of treasure and bound it to the end of the rope. thrain had been king of valland in bygone days and had won all his victories by magic. he had wrought great evil; and when he was so old that he could fight no longer, he had got himself shut up alive in the barrow, and much treasure along with him. now hromund saw a sword hanging up on a pillar. he took it down, girded it on, and marched up to the throne, saying: "it is time for me to leave the barrow since there is no-one to stop me. but what ails you, old fellow? have you not seen me gathering up your money while you sit quietly by, you hateful cur? were you not ashamed to look on while i took your sword and necklace and ever so many more of your treasures?" thrain said that he cared for nothing if only he would let him sit quietly on his throne: "formerly," he continued, "i used to be the first to fight. i must have become a great coward if i let you rob me of my wealth single handed; but i'm going to prevent your taking my treasures; you had better beware of me, dead though i am." then said hromund: "hoist yourself up on your legs, coward and weakling, and take back your sword from me if you dare." the ghost replied: "there is no glory in attacking me with a sword when i am unarmed. i would rather try my strength in wrestling with you." then hromund flung down the sword and trusted to his strength. when thrain saw that, he took down his cauldron which he kept above him. he was by no means pleasant to watch as he blew up his fire, ready to make a meal from the cauldron. the body of the cauldron was full, and there was a big flame beneath its feet. thrain was wearing a gold-wrought mantle. both his hands were crooked and his finger nails were like talons. hromund said: "get down off your throne, vile wretch, now that you have been robbed of all wealth." then said the ghost: "to be sure, it is high time to get on my legs, since you taunt me with lack of courage." day departed, and evening drew on, and it became dark in the barrow. then the ghost began wrestling with hromund and threw down his cauldron. hromund put forth all his strength, and they fought so hard that rubble and stones were torn up. then the ghost sank down on one knee, saying: "you press me hard: you are indeed a brave fellow." hromund replied: "stand up on your feet again without support. you are much weaker than mani the peasant said." then thrain turned himself into a troll, and the barrow was filled with a horrible stench: and he stuck his claws into the back of hromund's neck, tearing the flesh from his bones down to his loins, saying: "you need not complain if the game is rough and your body sore, for i am going to tear you limb from limb." "i cannot imagine," cried hromund, "how such a cat has got into this barrow!" the ghost replied: "you must have been brought up by gunnlöth. there are not many like you." "it will go ill with you," said hromund, "if you go on scratching me long." they wrestled hard and long till everything round them shook. at last hromund tripped him and brought him down. it had become very dark by this time. then said the ghost: "by guile you have overcome me and taken my sword. it was that that brought our struggle to this issue. i have lived in my barrow for a long time, brooding over my riches; but it is not wise to trust too much to one's treasures, however good they may seem. never would i have thought that you, mistletoe, my good sword, would do me a hurt." hromund then freed himself and seized the sword, and said: "now tell me how many men you have slain in single combat with mistletoe." "a hundred and forty four," said the ghost, "and i never got a scratch. i tried my skill with king seming who was in sweden, and he was of the opinion that it would take a long time to vanquish me." hromund said: "you have been a curse on men for a long time, and it will be a good deed to kill you at once." then he cut off the ghost's head, and burned him to ashes on the fire; and then he went out of the barrow. they asked him on what terms he and thrain had parted, and he replied that matters had gone according to his wishes:--"for i cut off his head." hromund kept for himself the three treasures which he had won in the barrow--the ring, the necklace and mistletoe; but everyone received a share of the money. then king olaf sailed away to his kingdom in the north, and settled down peacefully in his own country. v. after that hromund grew very famous. he was generous and popular. one day he gave to a man called hrok a ring of solid gold which weighed an ounce. voli got to know about that and slew hrok by night and stole the ring. and when the king heard of it he said he would be even with voli some day for such a piece of villainy. the king had two sisters, one called dagny and the other svanhvit. svanhvit was better than her sister in every way, and had no equal between sweden and halogaland. hromund greipsson was at home at this time and became friendly with svanhvit; but he took no precautions against either voli or bild. on one occasion she told hromund that voli and bild were busy slandering him to the king. he said: "i am not afraid of any low wretch, and i shall talk to you as long as you give me the chance." this slander became so serious that hromund and his brother had to leave the king's retinue and go home to their father. a short time after, svanhvit was talking to king olaf and said: "hromund, who brought us the greatest glory, has now been banished from the royal retinue; and in his place you retain two men who care for neither honour nor virtue." the king replied: "a rumour reached me that he intended to betray you; and the sword shall part your love." "you have very soon forgotten," said she, "the time when he went alone into the barrow; and no-one else dared.--voli and bild will be hanged first." and having said this, she departed hastily. vi. some time after this, two kings, both called hadding, came from sweden, and helgi the brother of hröngvith was with them. they challenged king olaf to battle with them on the frozen surface of lake vener in the western part of the land. he preferred fighting them to abandoning his country, so he summoned hromund and his brothers to follow him. hromund, however, declined to go, saying that bild and voli were mighty fine fellows and always fought for the king. the king departed with his host. svanhvit was grieved at what had happened, and went to hromund's home. hromund welcomed her. "hearken now to my prayer," said she, "more favourably than you did to my brother's request, and help the king. i will give you a shield with a strap attached. nothing can harm you while you wear this strap." hromund thanked her for the gift and she was comforted; so he and his eight brothers made ready to set out. in the meantime the king and his host reached the frozen vener, where the swedish army was waiting for them. and in the morning, as soon as it was light enough to fight, they armed themselves on the ice, and the swedes made a fierce onslaught. bild was slain as soon as the battle began, but voli was nowhere to be seen. king olaf and king hadding were wounded. hromund had pitched his tent near the side of the lake. his brothers armed themselves early in the morning; but hromund said: "i had a bad dream in the night; some misfortune is in store for us, and i am not going into the battle today." his brothers replied that it was disgraceful not to have the courage to support the king's army, when he had come for that very purpose. they went into the battle and fought bravely and all those of the army of the haddings who came against them fell in heaps. a witch had come among them in the likeness of a swan. she sang and worked such powerful spells that none of olaf's men took heed to defend themselves. then she flew over the sons of greip, singing loudly. her name was kara. at that same moment helgi the bold encountered the eight brothers and slew every one of them. vii. at this point hromund entered the battle. helgi the bold caught sight of him and cried: "here comes the man who slew my brother hröngvith. now you must beware of that sword of his which he got in the barrow.--you held aloof while i slew your brothers." "you need not question my courage, helgi," replied hromund, "for one or other of us must fall now." helgi said: "mistletoe is such a heavy weapon that you cannot use it. i will lend you another that you can manage." "you need not taunt me with faint-heartedness," cried hromund. "remember the blow which i dealt hröngvith, when i shattered his skull to atoms!" helgi said: "you have bound a girl's garter round your hand, hromund. lay aside the shield which you are carrying. it will be impossible to wound you so long as you carry that: i am sure that you are dependent on that girl." hromund could not endure these galling words, and flung down his shield. helgi the bold had always been victorious, and it was by means of magic that he had gained his success. his mistress' name was kara--she who was present in the form of a swan. helgi brandished his sword so high over his head that it chopped off the swan's leg. he drove the sword down into the ground as far as the hilt, and said: "my luck has fled now; and it was a bad business when i missed you." hromund replied: "you were very unlucky, helgi, to be the slayer of your own mistress, and you will have no more happiness." kara dropped down dead. and with the stroke that helgi made at hromund, when the sword was buried up to the hilt, the point of the sword caught hromund's belly and ripped it open, and helgi fell forward with the force of his own stroke. hromund was not behindhand then: he struck helgi on the head with mistletoe, cleaving helmet and skull down to the shoulders, and breaking a piece out of the sword. then hromund took his belt-knife and thrust it into his belly where there was a gaping wound, and forced back the paunch fat which was hanging out. at the same time he stitched up the edges of his belly with a cord, bound his clothes firmly over it, and so continued fighting valiantly. men fell dead in heaps before him, and he fought on till midnight. then the survivors of the army of the haddings fled, and thereupon the battle came to an end. then hromund saw a man standing before him on the ice, and he felt convinced that he must have made the ice on the lake by spells. he perceived that it was voli. he remarked that it was not unfitting that he should give him his deserts, and rushed at him, brandishing mistletoe and intending to strike him. voli blew the sword out of his hand, and it happened to light on a hole in the ice, and sank to the bottom. then voli laughed and said: "you are doomed now that you have lost hold of mistletoe." hromund replied: "you will die before me." then he leapt upon voli and caught him up and dashed him down against the ice, so that his neck-bone was broken. there lay the great sorcerer dead! but hromund sat him down on the ice, saying: "i did not take the girl's advice, so now i have got fourteen wounds; and in addition to that my eight brothers lie slain, and my good blade mistletoe has fallen into the lake, and nothing will ever make up to me for the loss of my sword." then he went back to his tent and got some rest. viii. now the king's sisters were sent for. svanhvit examined hromund's wound, and stitched his stomach together and tried to bring him round. she got him taken to a man called hagal to be cured. this man's wife was very skilful, and they made him welcome and nursed him back to health. hromund discovered that the couple were skilled in magic. the man was a fisherman, and one day when he was fishing, he caught a pike, and on going home and cutting it open he found hromund's sword mistletoe in its maw, and gave it to him. hromund was glad to get it and kissed the sword-hilt and rewarded the peasant richly. in king hadding's army was a man called blind the evil. he told the king that hromund was alive and was being nursed secretly in the home of the peasant couple. the king refused to believe it, declaring that they would not dare to conceal him; but he ordered a search to be made. blind and some other men went to the dwelling of hagal and his wife and asked if hromund was under their care. the woman said he would not be found there. blind searched thoroughly, but did not find hromund because the woman had hidden him under her cauldron. blind and his companions went away, and when they had gone some distance blind said: "our quest has not been fruitful. we must go back again." they did so. they went back and found the woman. blind told her that she was a crafty one and had hidden hromund under her cauldron. "look there then and see if you can find him," said she. this she said because, when she saw them returning, she had dressed hromund in woman's clothes and set him to grind and turn the handmill. the men now made search in the house and when they came upon the girl turning the handmill they sniffed all round the place, but she cast an unfriendly look on the king's men, and they went away again without finding anything. and when they had gone away, blind said that the peasant's wife had made things look different from what they were, and he had his suspicions that it must have been hromund who was turning the mill, dressed as a woman.--"and i see we have been deceived. we shall do no good struggling with the woman for she is more cunning than we." they cursed her and went back home to the king, leaving matters as they stood. ix. in the following winter blind saw many things in a dream, and on one occasion he told his dream to the king, saying: "i dreamed that a wolf came running from the east, and bit you and wounded you, o king." the king said he would interpret his dream as follows: "a king will come here from some other land, and his coming will be terrible at first; yet afterwards peace will be brought about." and blind said that he dreamed he saw many hawks perched on a house--"and there i espied your falcon, sire. he was all bare and stripped of his feathers." the king said: "a wind will come from the clouds and shake our castle." blind related a third dream as follows. "i saw a herd of swine running from the south towards the king's hall and rooting up the earth with their snouts." the king said: "that signifies the flood-tide, wet weather, and grass springing from moisture, when the sun shines on the heath." blind related a fourth dream: "i thought i saw a terrible giant come hither from the east; he gave you a great wound with his teeth." the king said: "messengers from some king will come into my hall. they will provoke enmity and i shall be angered thereby." "here is a fifth dream," said blind; "i dreamed that a terrible serpent lay coiled round sweden." "a splendid warship will land here, loaded with jewels," said the king. "i had a sixth dream," said blind; "i dreamed that dark clouds came over the land with claws and wings, and flew away with thee, o king; and i dreamed moreover that there was a serpent in the house of hagal the peasant. he attacked people in a terrible manner. he devoured both you and me and all the men belonging to the court. now what can that signify?" the king said: "i have heard that there is a bear lurking not far from hagal's dwelling. i will go and attack the bear, and it will be in a great rage." "next i dreamed that a dragon's form had been drawn round the king's hall, and hromund's belt was hanging from it." the king said: "you know that hromund lost his sword and belt in the lake; and are you afraid of hromund after that?" blind dreamed yet more dreams which he told to the king; and the king interpreted them all to his liking, and none of them according to their real significance. but now blind related one more dream--this time one which concerned himself. "i dreamed that an iron ring was fixed round my neck." the king said: "the meaning of this dream is that you are going to be hanged; and that will be the end of both of us." x. after that king olaf gathered together an army and went to sweden. hromund accompanied him, and they took the hall of king hadding by surprise. he was in bed in an outer chamber, and was not aware of their presence till they smashed in the door of his room. hadding shouted to his men and asked who was disturbing the peace of the night. hromund told him who they were. the king said: "you are anxious to avenge your brothers." hromund said that he had not come to waste words about the death of his brothers, adding--"now you will have to pay for it and perish on the spot." then one of king hadding's champions, as big as a giant, leapt up; but hromund slew him. king hadding covered himself up in bed and got no wound, because every time hromund cut down at him, the sword turned and came down flat on him. then hromund took a club and beat king hadding to death. then said hromund: "here i have laid low king hadding, the most famous man i have ever seen." the man blind, who was also called bavis, was bound and then hanged; and so his dream was fulfilled. they got a quantity of gold and other booty there, and then went home. king olaf married svanhvit to hromund. they were devoted to one another, and had a family of sons and daughters; they were people of great distinction in every respect. kings and great champions sprang from their stock. here ends the saga of hromund greipsson. introduction to the saga of hervÖr and heithrek the _saga of hervör and heithrek_ is found in two vellums, the _hauksbók_ (a.m. ), dating from c. , which for convenience is usually called _h_; and ms. [ ] in the royal library at copenhagen, dating from the fifteenth century, and generally called _r_. besides these there are a number of paper mss. (h) dating from the seventeenth century. according to bugge[ ], these have no independent value and can contribute nothing to our knowledge of the text up to the point at which the vellums break off. they are useful however as continuing the saga beyond this point. _h_ comes to an end with gestumblindi's second riddle, while _r_ breaks off just before the close of ch. . beyond this point we are entirely dependent on the paper mss. one of these (a.m. written in ) was adopted by rafn[ ] as the text for his edition of the saga, though he gives _h_ in full as an appendix. the mss. differ considerably among themselves. for instance _r_ omits the first chapter of the saga, but contains _hjalmar's death song_. here, too, many of the riddles are wanting, and the order of the rest is quite different from that of _h_. finnur jónsson[ ] is of the opinion that _r_ is the best text throughout; but heusler[ ], like valdimar Ásmundarson, keeps the order of the riddles as in _h_. petersen[ ] regards _h_ as the best text and follows it so far as it goes; but when it breaks off he follows _r_ mainly, although he considers the latter ms. to be defective in many places, "at the beginning, middle and end." he has supplied the lacunae in it from arn. magn. , the paper ms. which comes nearest to it, and also from others but with greater reservation. valdimar Ásmundarson, like petersen, and no doubt influenced by him, has followed _h_ very closely in his edition of the saga[ ] till it breaks off, and after that the paper mss. (_h_) most closely related to it. he does not appear to have used _r_, and therefore omits the details of the fight on samsø and _hjalmar's death song_. Ásmundarson's version has been followed closely in the translation given below, but one or two interesting passages omitted by _h_ have been translated separately (see appendix on pp. - ) from the text printed from _r_ in wimmer's _oldnordisk læsebog_[ ] and from some short excerpts from _h_ printed at the close of petersen's edition of the saga. for a full bibliography of the texts, translations, and literature dealing with this saga the reader is referred to _islandica_, vol. v, pp. - . in this saga we have what appears to be the history of a certain family for more than four generations. from the point of view of construction, the story can hardly be regarded as a success. yet it contains scenes at least equal to any others which can be found among sagas of this kind. it also embodies a considerable amount of poetry which is not found elsewhere. some of this is of high merit, and one piece, dealing with the battle between the huns and the goths, is evidently of great antiquity. the saga opens in a purely mythical milieu--with guthmund in glasisvellir, to whom we have already had reference in the story of nornagest. next we have a typical story of the viking age--the adventures of the sons of arngrim and their fight on samsø. this story is known to us from other sources, the earliest being the poem _hyndluljóth_ (str. ), which according to finnur jónsson[ ] cannot be later in date than the latter part of the tenth century, though mogk[ ] is inclined to doubt this. other references occur in the _saga of Örvar-odd_, saxo's _danish history_, the later ballads translated below, etc. we then pass on to the account of hervör, the daughter of angantyr (which is only found here and in the ballads), and the striking poem in which she is represented as visiting her father's grave-mound to obtain his sword. the next and longest section contains the life of hervör's son heithrek, which is peculiar to this saga and which in its earlier part likewise seems to be a story of the viking age. towards the end, however, it gradually dawns upon us that there has been an unconscious change of scene, and that heithrek instead of being a viking prince of the northern coasts, is now represented as a king of the goths, somewhere in the east of europe--apparently in the neighbourhood of the dnieper. in the last section of the story, dealing with the adventures of angantyr and hlöth, the sons of heithrek, there is no longer any reminiscence of the viking age or the north of europe. here we are away back among the goths and huns in the fifth or the latter part of the fourth century. throughout this strange concatenation of scenes a connecting link is afforded by the magic flaming sword, which is handed on from generation to generation, and which can never be sheathed without having dealt a death wound. it is abundantly clear that the latter part of the story is of a totally different origin from the first part, and in reality many centuries earlier. the prose here is for the most part little more than a paraphrase of the poem, which probably has its roots in poetry of the gothic period. but how this story came to be joined on to a narrative of the viking age is far from clear. it is also interesting to note that some of the characters in the saga are repetitions of one another. at all events what is said about hervör the daughter of heithrek in the latter part of the story bears a strong resemblance to the description of the more prominent hervör, the daughter of angantyr, in the first part. three poems of considerable length are preserved in the story. the riddles of gestumblindi, though somewhat tedious as a whole, afford a better specimen of this type of composition than is to be found elsewhere in early norse literature. they cannot fail to be of considerable interest to anyone who studies the anglo-saxon riddles, though unlike the latter they are wholly teutonic in spirit and form. direct latin influence appears to be entirely absent. gestumblindi's riddles, while they belong essentially to popular literature, yet contain many arresting phrases which show a minute observation of nature. they illustrate the condensed, proverbial type of wisdom that prevails in a primitive state of society, as well as its keen interest and delight in the little things of life. they can hardly be called literature as we understand the term; they are rather the stuff of which literature is made. but though it is a far cry from these little nature verses to the more beautiful and more ambitious nature poems of burns and tennyson, yet gestumblindi's loving interest in "every creature of earth" surprised even king heithrek into comment. the keen and whimsical observation that noted that even a spider is a "marvel" and that it "carries its knees higher than its body" is the same spirit that inspired a poem to the wee sleekit, cowrin', tim'rous beastie. the poet who noticed that water falling as hail on rock looks _white_ by contrast, yet forms little _black_ circles when it falls into the sand as rain, had much in common with one who noticed that rock and sand yield opposite sounds when struck by the same object-- low on the sand and loud on the stone the last wheel echoed away. but though these things are pleasing in themselves, they are, of course, slight. gestumblindi cannot rise to the heights of true poetry reached by burns or tennyson. besides the riddles, this saga has preserved for us two far finer poems--in fact two of the finest norse poems that we possess--the dialogue between hervör and angantyr at the barrows of samsø, and the narrative of the great battle between the goths and the huns, the _chevy chase_ of the north. the ruthlessness and barbaric splendour of the hunnish leaders, the cruelty and the poetry of warfare a thousand years ago, are here vividly depicted in norse verse at its simplest and best. we may notice too the little vignettes that appear from time to time both in the poetry itself and in the prose narrative, some of which is evidently derived from lost verses.--hervör standing at sunrise on the summit of the tower and looking southward towards the forest; angantyr marshalling his men for battle and remarking drily that there used to be more of them when mead drinking was in question; great clouds of dust rolling over the plain, through which glittered white corslet and golden helmet, as the hunnish host came riding on. the dialogue between hervör and angantyr, despite a certain melodramatic element in the setting, is treated with great delicacy and poetic feeling, and an atmosphere of terror and mystery pervades the whole poem. the midnight scene in the eerie and deserted burial-ground, the lurid flickering of the grave fires along the lonely beach, the tombs opening one by one as the corpses start to life--all these work on the imagination and create an atmosphere of dread. the poet understood the technique of presenting the supernatural, and he is deliberately vague and suggestive. much more is implied than is stated, and much is left to the imagination. the greatest charm of the poem, however, lies in the sympathetic treatment of hervör. the hervör of the prose narrative is perfectly consistent with the hervör of the poem, but at the same time the poem--which is probably more than a century older than the saga--would lead us to conclude that her character was not correctly understood by the writer of the saga. obviously unsympathetic, he denounces her with an indignation which would have made the writer of the poem smile. "she grew up to be a beautiful girl ... but as soon as she could do anything it was oftener harm than good; and when she had been checked she escaped to the woods.... and when the earl heard of it he had her caught and brought home." the picture which the poem presents to us is that of a high-spirited girl, headstrong and impulsive, not unlike brynhild in the völsung story. when she goes to the barrows, every nerve is strung up to gain the treasure that has fired her imagination: what care i though the death-fires blaze, they sink and tremble before my gaze, they quiver out and die! but a reaction comes when she holds the sword in her hands at last: surely in terror i drew my breath between the worlds of life and death when the grave fires girt me round. surveying the saga as a whole, perhaps the most striking feature is its extraordinary diversity of interest. it would be difficult to find elsewhere in norse literature--or indeed perhaps in any literature--so great a variety of subjects and of literary forms brought together within such narrow limits. of the poems contained in the saga, the first is romantic, the second gnomic, the third heroic--and the prose narrative itself is not less varied in character. the conclusion of the saga appears to be purely historical; indeed it is generally regarded as one of the most important authorities for early swedish history. elsewhere also historical elements are probably not wanting, but they are interwoven in a network of romance and folklore. thus whoever king heithrek may have been, the part which he has come to play in the saga is chiefly that of linking together a number of folk-tales and illustrating popular saws. as regards chronology, the war described in ch. - must belong to a period nearly seven centuries before the incidents related at the close of the saga. still more strange is the fact that the victor in this war, the younger angantyr, would seem to have lived some four or five centuries before his great grandfather and namesake who perished at samsø--if indeed the latter story rests on any genuine tradition. in spite of these and similar inconsistencies, however, the saga is on the whole perhaps the most attractive of all the _fornaldarsögur_. [footnote : this ms. is identical with the one referred to as _a_ in the introduction to the _tháttr of nornagest_ (cf. p. above).] [footnote : quoted by heusler, _eddica minora_ (dortmund, ), p. vii.] [footnote : _fornaldarsögur northrlanda_ (copenhagen, ), vol. i; _antiquités russes_ etc. (copenhagen, - ), vol. i.] [footnote : _oldnorske og oldislandske litteraturs historie_, vol. ii, p. f.] [footnote : _eddica minora_, pp. - .] [footnote : cf. _forord_ to n. m. petersen's edition of _hervarar saga ok heithreks konungs_ (published by the 'nordiske literatur-samfund,' copenhagen, ).] [footnote : see _fornaldarsögur northrlanda_ (reykjavík, ), vol. i, pp. - .] [footnote : copenhagen, th edition, .] [footnote : _oldnorske og oldislandske litteraturs historie_, vol. i, p. .] [footnote : _geschichte der norwegisch-isländischen literatur_ (strassburg, ), p. .] the saga of hervÖr and heithrek here begins the saga of king heithrek the wise. i. it is said that in the days of old the northern part of finnmark was called jötunheimar, and that there was a country called ymisland to the south between it and halogaland. these lands were then the home of many giants and half-giants; for there was a great intermixture of races at that time, because the giants took wives from among the people of ymisland. there was a king in jötunheimar called guthmund. he was a mighty man among the heathen. he dwelt at a place called grund in the region of glasisvellir. he was wise and mighty. he and his men lived for many generations, and so heathen men believed that the fields of immortality lay in his realm; and whoever went there cast off sickness or old age and became immortal. after guthmund's death, people worshipped him and called him their god. his son's name was höfund. he had second sight and was wise of understanding, and was judge of all suits throughout the neighbouring kingdoms. he never gave an unjust judgment, and no-one dared violate his decision. there was a man called hergrim who was a giant dwelling in the rocks. he carried off from ymisland ama the daughter of ymir, and afterwards married her. their son thorgrim halftroll took from jötunheimar Ögn alfasprengi, and afterwards married her. their son was called grim. she had been betrothed to starkath aludreng, who had eight hands; but she was carried off while he was away to the north of elivagar. when he came home he slew hergrim in single combat; but Ögn ran herself through with a sword rather than marry starkath. after that starkath carried off alfhild the daughter of king alf from alfheimar, but he was afterwards slain by thor. then alfhild went to her kinsfolk, and grim was with her there till he went raiding and became a great warrior. he married bauggerth the daughter of starkath aludreng and set up his dwelling on an island off halogaland called bolm. he was called ey-grim bolm. his son by bauggerth was called arngrim the berserk, who afterwards lived in bolm and was a very famous man. ii. there was a king called sigrlami who was said to be a son of othin. his son svafrlami succeeded to the kingdom after his father and was a very great warrior. one day as the king rode a-hunting he got separated from his men, and at sunset he came upon a big stone and two dwarfs beside it. the king banned them with his graven sword from entering the stone. the dwarfs begged him to spare their lives. the king said: "what are your names?" one of them said his name was dvalin and the other dulin. the king said: "as you are the most cunning of all dwarfs you must make me a sword, the best you can. the hilt and the grip must be of gold, and it must cut iron as easily as if it were cloth and never rust; and it must bring victory to whoever uses it in battle and single combat." they agreed to this, and the king rode away home. and when the appointed day came, the king rode to the stone. the dwarfs were outside, and they handed to the king a sword which was very beautiful. but as dvalin was standing in the doorway of the stone he said: "your sword, svafrlami, will be the death of a man every time it is drawn; and moreover it will be the instrument of three pieces of villainy; and to you yourself also it shall bring death." then the king struck at the dwarfs with the sword. but they sprang into the stone, and the sword came down on it--sinking so deep that both the ridges of the blade were hidden; for the door into the stone closed as they disappeared. the king called the sword 'tyrfing,' and ever afterwards he carried it in battle and single combat, and was always victorious. the king had a daughter who was called eyfura, an exceedingly beautiful and clever girl. at that time arngrim was raiding among the perms in the baltic. he raided the kingdom of king svafrlami and fought against him. they met face to face, and king svafrlami struck at arngrim who parried the blow with his shield; but the lower part of the shield was cut away and the sword plunged into the earth. then arngrim struck off the king's hand, so that he had to let tyrfing fall. arngrim caught up tyrfing and cut down first the king, and then many others. he took great booty there, and carried off eyfura, the king's daughter and took her to his home in bolm. by her he had twelve sons. the eldest was angantyr, then hervarth, then hjörvarth, sæming and hrani, brami, barri, reifnir, tind and bui, and the two haddings who only did one man's work between them, because they were twins and the youngest of the family; whereas angantyr, who was a head taller than other men, did the work of two. they were all berserks, and were unequalled in strength and courage. even when they went marauding there were never more than just the twelve brothers on one ship. they raided far and wide in many lands, and had much success and won great renown. angantyr had tyrfing, and sæming mistletoe, hervarth had hrotti, and each of the others possessed a sword famous in single combat. and it was their custom when they had only their own men with them, to land when they felt the berserks' fury coming upon them, and wrestle with trees or great rocks; for they had been known to slay their own men and disable their ship. great tales were told about them and they became very famous. iii. one yule eve at bolm, angantyr made a vow over the pledge cup, as the custom then was, that he would wed ingibjörg the daughter of king yngvi of upsala--the cleverest and most beautiful maiden in all the northlands--or perish in the attempt and marry no-one else. no more of their vows are recorded. tyrfing had this characteristic, that whenever it was unsheathed it shone like a sunbeam, even in the dark, and could only be sheathed with human blood still warm upon it. never did he whose blood was shed by tyrfing live to see another day. it is very famous in all stories of the olden days. next summer the brothers went to upsala in sweden, and when they had entered the hall, angantyr told the king his vow and that he intended to wed his daughter. everybody in the hall listened. angantyr asked the king to declare what was to be the result of their errand, whereupon hjalmar the stout-hearted rose from the table, and addressed the king: "call to mind, sire, how much honour i have won for you since i came into your kingdom, and how many times i have risked my life for you. in return for these my services i beg that you will give me your daughter in marriage. and moreover i consider myself more deserving a favourable answer than these berserks, who do harm to everyone." the king pondered over the matter, and found it difficult to decide the question in such a way as to give rise to as little trouble as possible; and he answered at last: "my wish is that ingibjörg should choose for herself the husband she prefers." she replied: "if you want to marry me to anyone, then i would rather have a man whose good qualities i know already than one of whom i have only known by hearsay, and nothing but evil at that." angantyr said: "i will not bandy words with you; for i can see that you love hjalmar. but as for you, hjalmar, come south to samsø and meet me in single combat. if you do not appear next midsummer you will be a coward in the eyes of all men." hjalmar said that he would not fail to come and fight, and the sons of arngrim went home to their father and told him what had happened. he replied that this was the first time he had ever felt any anxiety on their behalf. they spent the winter at home, and in the spring made ready to start, going first to earl bjartmar, where a feast was made for them. and during the evening angantyr asked the earl for the hand of his daughter and in this as in the rest they got their wish. the wedding took place, and afterwards the sons of arngrim prepared to set out. but the night before they left, angantyr had a dream which he related to the earl: "i dreamed that i and my brothers were in samsø. we found many birds there and killed all that we saw. then i dreamed that as we were setting out again upon the island, two eagles flew towards us. i went against one and we had a stiff encounter; and at last we sank down and had no strength left in us. but the other eagle fought with my eleven brothers and overcame them all." the earl said: "the death of mighty men has been revealed to you in this dream." then angantyr and his brothers went away and came to samsø, and went ashore to look for hjalmar; and the story of their adventures there is related in the _saga of Örvar-odd_. first they came to munarvagar, where they slew all the men from the two ships of hjalmar and odd; and afterwards they went ashore and encountered hjalmar and odd themselves on the island. odd slew angantyr's eleven brothers, and hjalmar slew angantyr, and afterwards died there himself of his wounds. then odd had all the rest of them placed in great barrows with all their weapons; but hjalmar's body he took home to sweden. and when ingibjörg the king's daughter saw hjalmar's body, she fell down dead and they were both laid together in one barrow at upsala. iv. the story goes on to say that a girl was born to the daughter of earl bjartmar. everyone advised exposing the child, saying that if she resembled her father's kinsmen she would not have a womanly disposition. the earl, however, had her sprinkled with water; and he brought her up, and called her hervör, saying that the line of arngrim's sons would not be extinguished if she were left alive. she grew up to be a beautiful girl. she was tall and strong, and trained herself in the use of bow, shield and sword. but as soon as she could do anything it was oftener harm than good; and when she had been checked she ran away to the woods and killed people to provide herself with money. and when the earl heard of it, he had her caught and brought home, where she remained for a time. one day she went to the earl and said: "i want to go away because i am not happy here." a little while after she departed alone, dressed and armed like a man, and joined some vikings and stayed with them for a time, calling herself hervarth. shortly afterwards the chief of the vikings died, and hervarth took command of the band. one day when they sailed to samsø, hervarth landed; but her men would not follow her, saying that it was not safe for anyone to be out of doors there by night. hervarth declared that there was likely to be much treasure in the barrows. she landed on the island towards sunset, but they lay off in munarvagar. she met a shepherd boy and asked him for information. he said: "you are a stranger to the island; but come home with me, for it is unsafe for anyone to be out of doors here after sunset; and i am in a hurry to get home." hervarth replied: "tell me where are 'hjörvarth's barrows,' as they are called." "you must surely be mad," replied the boy, "if you want to explore by night what no-one dare visit at mid-day. burning flame plays over them as soon as the sun has set." but hervarth insisted that she would visit the barrows--whereupon the shepherd said: "i see that you are a brave man though not a wise one, so i will give you my necklace if you will come home with me." but hervarth replied: "even if you give me all you have you will not hold me back." and when the sun had set, loud rumblings were heard all over the island, and flames leapt out of the barrows. then the shepherd grew frightened and took to his heels and ran to the wood as fast as he could, without once looking back. here is a poem giving an account of his talk with hervör: driving his flocks at the fall of day, in munarvagar along the bay, a shepherd met a maid.-- "who comes to our island here alone? haste to seek shelter, the day is done, the light will quickly fade." "i will not seek for a resting place: a stranger am i to the island race.-- but tell me quick i pray, ere thou goest hence, if i may descry where the tombs of the children of arngrim lie: o tell me, where are they?" "forbear from such questions utterly! foolish and rash must thou surely be, and in a desperate plight! let us haste from these horrors as fast as we can, for abroad it is ghastly for children of men to wander about in the night." "my necklace of gold is the price i intend to pay for thy guidance; for i am the friend of vikings, and will not be stayed." "no treasures so costly, nor rings of red gold shall take me their thrall, or my footsteps withhold, that thereby my flight be gainsaid. "foolish is he who comes here alone in the fearsome dark when the sun has gone and the flames are mounting high;-- when earth and fen are alike ablaze, and tombs burst open before thy gaze: o faster let us hie!" "let us never heed for the snorting blaze, nor fear, though over the island ways dart tongues of living light. let us not lightly give way to fear of the noble warriors buried here, but talk with them tonight." but the shepherd lad fled fast away, nor stayed to hear what the youth would say, but into the forest sped; while in hervör's breast rose proud and high her hard-knit heart, as she saw near by the dwellings of the dead. she could now see the fires of the barrows and the ghosts standing outside; and she approached the barrows fearlessly and passed through the fires as if they had been merely smoke, until she reached the barrow of the berserks. then she cried: v. awaken, angantyr, hearken to me! the only daughter of tofa and thee is here and bids thee awake! give me from out the barrow's shade the keen-edged sword which the dwarfs once made for svafrlami's sake. hervarth, hjörvarth, angantyr, and hrani, under the tree-roots here, i bid you now appear;-- clad in harness and coat of mail, with shield and broadsword of biting steel, helmet and reddened spear! the sons of arngrim are changed indeed to heaps of dust, and eyfura's seed has crumbled into mould.-- in munarvagar will no one speak to her who has come thus far to seek discourse with the men of old? hervarth, hjörvarth, angantyr and hrani, great be your torment here if ye will not hear my words. give me the blade that dvalin made; it is ill becoming the ghostly dead to keep such costly swords! in your tortured ribs shall my curses bring a maddening itch and a frenzied sting, till ye writhe in agonies, as if ye were laid to your final rest where the ants are swarming within their nest, and revelling in your thighs! then answered angantyr: o hervör, daughter, why dost thou call words full of cursing upon us all? thou goest to meet thy doom! mad art thou grown, and thy wits are fled; thy mind is astray, that thou wak'st the dead --the dwellers in the tomb. no father buried me where i lie, nor other kinsman[ ] ... the only two who remained unslain laid hold on tyrfing, but now again one only possesses the sword. she answered: nought save the truth shalt thou tell to me! may the ancient gods deal ill with thee if thou harbour tyrfing there! thine only daughter am i, and yet unwilling thou art that i should get that which belongs to thine heir! it now seemed as if the barrows, which had opened, were surrounded with an unbroken ring of flame. then angantyr cried: the barrows are opening! before thy gaze the round of the island is all ablaze, and the gate of hell stands wide. there are spectres abroad that are ghastly to see. return, little maiden, right hastily to thy ship that waits on the tide. she replied: no funeral fire that burns by night can make me tremble with affright, or fear of awful doom. thy daughter's heart can know no fear, though a ghost before her should appear in the doorway of the tomb. angantyr: o hervör, hervör, hearken to me! nought save the truth will i tell to thee that will surely come about! believe me, maiden, tyrfing will be a curse upon all thy progeny till thy race be blotted out. a son shalt thou bear, as i prophesy, who shall fight with tyrfing mightily, and trust to tyrfing's might. i tell thee heithrek shall be his name, the noblest man and of greatest fame of all under heaven's light. hervör: on all you dead this curse i cry:-- mouldering and rotting shall ye lie with the spirits in the tomb! out of the barrow, angantyr, give me the keen-edged tyrfing here, the sword called 'hjalmar's doom'! angantyr: surely unlike to a mortal thou to wander about from howe to howe, and stand in the doorway here! in the horror of night-time, my little maid, thou comest with helmet and byrnie and blade, and shakest thy graven spear! hervör: a mortal maiden is she who comes, arousing the corpses within their tombs, and will not be denied:-- give me from out the barrow's shade the keen-edged sword that the dwarf-folk made, which it ill becomes thee to hide! angantyr: the sword that the death-stroke to hjalmar gave lies under my shoulders within the grave, and wrapped about with flame. but that maiden lives not in any land who dare grasp the weapon within her hand for any hope of fame. hervör: there lives, o angantyr, a maid who yearns to handle the keen-edged blade, and such a maid am i! and what care i though the tomb fires blaze! they sink and tremble before my gaze, they quiver out and die! angantyr: o hervör, 'tis folly and madness dire to rush wide-eyed through the flaming fire with courage undismayed. rather by far will i give to thee the accursed sword, though unwillingly, my little, tender maid. hervör: o son of the vikings, well hast thou done in giving me tyrfing from out the tomb; and happier am i today that i now grasp tyrfing within my hands than if i were queen of the broad northlands, and conqueror of noroway. angantyr: vain is thy rapture, my luckless maid! thy hopes are false. all too soon will fade the flush of joy from thy face. try, child, to listen; i am warning thee!-- this sword is the sword of destiny, the destroyer of all thy race! hervör: away, away to my 'ocean-steed'! the daughter of princes is glad indeed, o glad at heart today! and what care i for the destiny of children as yet undreamed by me?-- let them quarrel as they may! angantyr: thou shalt have and enjoy without sorrow or pain the blade which proved to be hjalmar's bane, if thou draw it not from its sheath. worse than a plague is this cursed thing. touch not its edges, for poisons cling above it and beneath. farewell, yet fain would i give to thee the life that has passed from my brothers and me, o daughter, 'tis truth i say! --the strength and vigour and hardihood, --all that we had that was great and good, that has vanished and passed away! hervör: farewell, farewell to all you dead! farewell! i would that i were sped! farewell all you in the mound!... surely in terror i drew my breath between the worlds of life and death when the grave fires girt me round! [footnote : two lines are missing from the ms. at this point.] then she returned towards her ships; but when dawn came, she saw that they had departed. the vikings had been scared by the rumblings and the flames on the island. she got a ship to carry her away; but nothing is told of her voyage till she came to guthmund in glasisvellir, where she remained all through the winter, still calling herself hervarth. vi. one day guthmund was playing chess, and when the game was almost up, he asked if anyone could advise him as to his moves. so hervarth went up to him and began to direct his moves; and it was not long before guthmund began to win. then somebody took up tyrfing and drew it. when hervarth saw this, he snatched the sword out of his hands, and slew him, and then left the room. they wanted to rush out in pursuit, but guthmund said: "don't stir--you will not be avenged on the man so easily as you think, for you don't know who he is. this woman-man will cost you dear before you take his life." after that hervör spent a long time in piracy and had great success. and when she grew tired of that she went home to the earl, her mother's father. there she behaved like other girls, working at her embroidery and fine needlework. höfund, the son of guthmund, heard of this and went and asked for the hand of hervör, and was accepted; and he took her home. höfund was a very wise man and so just in his judgments that he never swerved from giving a correct decision, whether the persons involved were natives or foreigners. and it is from him that the 'höfund' or judge of law-suits takes his name in every realm. he and hervör had two sons. one was called angantyr, the other heithrek. they were both big strong men--sensible and handsome. angantyr resembled his father in character and was kindly disposed towards everyone. höfund loved him very much, as indeed did everybody. but however much good he did, heithrek did still more evil. he was hervör's favourite. his foster-father was called gizur. one day höfund held a feast and invited all the chief men in his kingdom except heithrek. this greatly displeased him, but he put in an appearance all the same, declaring that he would do them some mischief. and when he entered the hall, angantyr rose and went to meet him and invited him to sit beside him. heithrek was not cheerful, but he sat till late in the evening after angantyr had gone; and then he turned to the men who sat on either side of him and worked upon them by his conversation in such a way that they became infuriated with each other. but when angantyr came back he told them to be quiet. and when angantyr went out a second time, heithrek reminded them of his words, and worked upon them to such an extent that one of them struck the other. then angantyr returned and persuaded them to keep the peace till morning. and the third time angantyr went away, heithrek asked the man who had been struck why he had not the courage to avenge himself. and so effective did his persuasion prove that he who had been struck sprang up and slew his companion. when angantyr returned, he was displeased at what had taken place. and when höfund heard of it, he told heithrek that he must either leave his kingdom or forfeit his life. so heithrek went out, and his brother with him. then his mother came up and gave him tyrfing. and heithrek said to her: "i don't know when i shall be able to show as much difference in my treatment of my father and mother as they do in their treatment of me. my father proclaims me an outlaw while my mother has given me tyrfing, which is of more account to me than a great territory. but i shall do that very thing that will most distress my father." he then drew the sword, which gleamed and flashed brilliantly, and then he got into a great rage and showed the berserk's fury coming upon him. the two brothers were alone. now since tyrfing had to be the death of a man every time it was drawn, heithrek dealt his brother his death-blow. höfund was told of it, and heithrek escaped at once to the woods. höfund had a funeral feast made for his son angantyr, and he was lamented by everybody. heithrek got little joy of his deed and lived in the woods for a long time, shooting deer and bears for food. and when he came to think over his position, he reflected that there would be but a poor tale to tell if no-one was to know what had become of him; and it occurred to him that he could even yet become a man famous for deeds of prowess like his ancestors before him. so he went home and sought out his mother and begged her to ask his father to give him some sound advice before they parted. she went to höfund and asked him to give their son sound advice. höfund replied that he would give him a little, but added that it would turn out to his disadvantage nevertheless; he said however that he would not ignore his request: "in the first place he must not aid a man who has slain his liege lord. secondly, he must not protect a man who has slain one of his comrades. thirdly, his wife ought not to be always leaving home to visit her relatives. fourthly, he ought not to stay out late with his sweetheart. fifthly, he should not ride his best horse when he is in a hurry. sixthly, he ought not to bring up the child of a man in a better position than himself. seventhly, let him always be cheerful towards one who comes for hospitality. eighthly, he should never lay tyrfing on the ground.--yet he will not get any benefit from this advice." his mother repeated these maxims to him. heithrek replied: "this advice must have been given me in a spiteful spirit. it will not be of any use to me." his mother gave him a mark of gold at parting, and bade him always bear in mind how sharp his sword was, and how great renown had been won by everyone who had borne it--what great protection its sharp edges afforded to him who wielded it in battle or single combat, and what great success it always had.--then they parted. he went on his way; and when he had gone a short distance he came upon some men who were leading a man in bonds. heithrek asked what the man had done, and they replied that he had betrayed his liege lord. he asked if they would accept money as his ransom, and they said that they were willing to do so. he ransomed the man for half his gold mark. the man then offered to serve him, but heithrek replied: "you would not be faithful to a stranger like me, seeing that you betrayed your liege lord to whom you owed many benefits." shortly after he again came upon some men, of whom one was in bonds. he asked what this man had done, and they replied that he had murdered one of his comrades. he freed him with the other half of his gold mark. this man also offered to serve him, but heithrek declined. after that he went on his way till he came to reithgotaland, where he went to the king who ruled there. his name was harold, and he was an old man at the time. heithrek remained for a time with the king, who gave him a cordial welcome. vii. there were two earls who had plundered the kingdom of king harold and made it subject to them, and because he was old he paid them tribute every year. heithrek grew intimate with the king, and eventually it came about that he became the commander of his army and betook himself to raiding, and soon made himself famous for his victories. he proceeded to make war on the earls who had subdued king harold's kingdom, and a stiff fight took place between them. heithrek fought with tyrfing and, as in the past, no-one could withstand it, for it cut through steel as easily as cloth; and the result was that he slew both the earls and put all their army to flight. he then went throughout the kingdom and brought it under king harold and took hostages, and then returned home. and as a mark of great honour, king harold went himself to meet him, and he acquired great fame from this. the king gave him his daughter helga in marriage and with her half his kingdom. heithrek had the defence of the whole realm in his hands; and this arrangement lasted for a time. king harold had a son in his old age. heithrek also had a son, who was called angantyr. presently a great famine began in reithgotaland (which is now called jutland) and it threatened to destroy all the inhabitants. so they tried divination, and the answer was that there would be no plenty in reithgotaland until the noblest boy in the land had been sacrificed. heithrek said that that was king harold's son, but the king declared that heithrek's son was the noblest; and there was no escape from this dilemma save by referring it to höfund, whose decisions were always just. thereupon heithrek went to visit his father, who made him welcome. he asked his father's decision about this question. höfund pronounced heithrek's son to be the noblest in that land. "what compensation do you adjudge to me for my loss?" asked heithrek. "you shall claim for yourself in compensation every second man in the retinue of king harold. beyond that there is no need to give you advice, considering your character and the army that you have under you." then heithrek went back and summoned a meeting, and told them his father's opinion: "he decided that it was my son who must be sacrificed; and as compensation to me he adjudged to me every second man of those who are with king harold, and i want you to swear an oath that this shall be done." and they did so. then the people demanded that he should give up his son and get them a better harvest. heithrek then talked with his men after the force had been divided, and demanded fresh oaths of allegiance from them. these they gave, swearing to follow him whether at home or abroad, for whatever purpose he wished. then said he: "it appears to me that othin will have been well compensated for one boy if he gets in place of him king harold and his son and all his host!" he then bade his men raise his standard and make an attack on king harold and slay him and all his host, declaring that he was giving this host to othin instead of his own son. he caused the altars to be reddened with the blood of king harold and his son halfdan, while the queen took her own life in the temple of the dís. heithrek was now accepted as king throughout the realm. he made love to sifka the daughter of humli, a prince from the land of the huns. their son was called hlöth. he was brought up with his mother's father. viii. king heithrek went out raiding and marched against the land of the saxons with a great host. the king of the saxons sent men to meet him and they made peace with one another, and the king invited heithrek to a banquet. heithrek accepted the invitation. the result of this banquet was that heithrek sought the hand of the king's daughter and married her, receiving much property and land as her dowry; and with that king heithrek went home to his kingdom. she often used to ask to go to visit her father, and heithrek was indulgent to her in this matter. her stepson angantyr used to go with her. on one occasion when heithrek was returning from a raid, he lay in hiding off the land of the saxons. he landed during the night and entered the building in which his wife was sleeping. he had only one companion with him. all the sentries were asleep. he found a handsome man asleep beside his wife. he took his son angantyr and carried him away with him, and returned to his ship, having first cut off a lock of the man's hair. next morning he lay to in the king's berth, and all the people went to greet him; and a feast was prepared in his honour. a little later he had a meeting called and asked if anything was known of his son. the queen alleged that he had died suddenly. he asked her to guide him to his tomb, and when she said that that would only increase his grief, he replied that he did not mind that. a search was made accordingly, and a dog was found wrapped in a shroud. heithrek remarked that his son had not changed for the better. then the king caused the man whom he had found asleep to be brought forward, and he proved to be a bondman. thereupon heithrek put away his wife, and then went home to his kingdom. one summer as heithrek was away raiding, he went into the land of the huns and harried there, and humli his father-in-law fled before him. heithrek there captured great booty and also sifka, the daughter of king humli, and then returned home to his kingdom. their son was called hlöth, as we said before. he sent her home shortly after. he also captured another woman called sifka from finland. she was the loveliest woman ever seen. one summer he sent men east to holmgarth to offer to bring up the child of king hrollaug, the most powerful king of the time. this he did because he was anxious to act exactly contrary to the whole of his father's advice. messengers came to holmgarth and told their errand to the king, who had a young son called horlaug. the king replied: "is it likely that i shall send him my son to bring up, when he has betrayed king harold his father-in-law and his other relatives and friends?" but the queen urged: "do not be so hasty in refusing this, for if you do not accept his offer the result will certainly be war. i expect it will fare with you as with many another, and war with him will be no trifle. moreover he has a sword which nothing can withstand, and the man who wields it will always be victorious." so the king resolved to send his son to heithrek; and heithrek was pleased with him and brought him up and loved him much. heithrek's father had also counselled him not to tell secrets to his sweetheart. ix. every summer king heithrek went raiding; he always went into the baltic where he had king hrollaug's friendly country at hand. on one occasion king hrollaug invited him to a feast, and heithrek consulted his friends as to whether he should accept the invitation. they all tried to dissuade him, bidding him bear in mind his father's maxims. "all his maxims will i disregard," he replied, and sent word to the king that he would be present at the feast. he divided his host into three parts. one he ordered to guard the ships, the second accompanied him, while the third he ordered to go on shore and conceal themselves in a wood near the house in which the feast was to be held, and to be on the look out in case he should need help. heithrek went to the feast, and the next day, when the kings were seated, heithrek asked where the king's son, his foster-child, was. a search was made for him, but he could not be found. heithrek was greatly distressed and retired to bed early; and when sifka joined him she asked why he was distressed. "that is a difficult matter to talk about," replied he, "because my life is at stake if it becomes known." she promised to keep the secret, adding: "tell me for the sake of the love that is between us." so heithrek began: "as i was riding to the forest yesterday looking for sport, i caught sight of a wild boar and made a thrust at him with my spear; but i missed my aim and the shaft snapped. then i leapt down from my horse and drew tyrfing, which was effective as usual, and i slew the boar. but when i looked round there was no-one by except the king's son. but it is a peculiarity of tyrfing that it must be sheathed with human blood still warm upon it, so i slew the lad. now this will be the end of me if king hrollaug hears of it, because we have only a small force here." next morning when sifka came to the queen, the queen asked her why heithrek had been depressed. she said that she did not dare to tell. but the queen persuaded her to change her mind, so she told the queen all that heithrek had told her. "these are terrible tidings," cried the queen, and went off in deep grief and told the king; but she added: "yet heithrek has done this against his will." "your advice has turned out as i expected," said the king as he left the hall to give orders to his men to arm. heithrek had a shrewd notion as to what sifka had said, and ordered his men to arm themselves secretly, and then to go out in small detachments and try to find out what was happening. a little later king hrollaug came in and asked heithrek to come and have a private talk with him. and when they entered a garden, some men sprang at heithrek and seized him and cast him into fetters and bound him securely; and he recognised the two men who bound him most tightly as the men whose lives he had saved. the king ordered him to be taken to the forest and hanged. there were two hundred and forty of them all told, and when they entered the forest, king heithrek's men sprang out at them with his weapons and standard and a trumpet which they blew as they attacked their foes. their companions concealed in the woods heard the noise and came out to meet king heithrek's men. and when the natives saw that, they all took to their heels; but most of them were slain. the goths took their king and released him. heithrek went to his ships after that, taking with him the king's son whom he had left with the men concealed in the wood. king hrollaug now summoned a very large force, and king heithrek raided in his kingdom wherever he went. then said king hrollaug to the queen: "your advice has turned out badly for me. i find that our son is with heithrek, and in his present state of anger he will think nothing of making an end of him in his criminal way, just as he slew his own innocent brother." "we have been far too easily convinced," replied the queen. "you saw how popular he was, when no-one would fetter him except two bad men; and our son is taken good care of. this has been a trick of his to make trial of you, and you offered him a poor return for bringing up your child. send men to him now, and offer to make it up with him, and to give him so much of your territories as you may agree upon with him; and offer him your daughter too, if we can recover our son. that will be better than that you should part from him in enmity. and even if he already has wide territory, he has not a wife as beautiful as she." "i had not intended to offer her to anyone," replied the king; "but as you are so wise, you shall decide." messengers were sent accordingly to king heithrek to bring about a reconciliation. a council was held and a reconciliation effected by heithrek's marrying hergerth, the daughter of king hrollaug; and she brought him as her dowry wendland, the province which lies nearest to reithgotaland. on one occasion the king was riding his best horse as he was conducting sifka home. it was late in the evening, and when the king came to a river his horse fell dead. shortly afterwards, when sifka attempted to embrace him, he threw her down and broke her leg. afterwards king heithrek settled down in his own kingdom and became a great sage. x. they had a daughter called hervör who was brought up by a man called ormar. she was a most beautiful girl, but as tall and strong as a man, and trained herself in the use of bow and arrows. there was a great man in reithgotaland called gestumblindi, who was not on good terms with king heithrek. in the king's retinue there were seven men whose duty it was to decide all the disputes that arose in that country. king heithrek worshipped frey, and he used to give frey the biggest boar he could find. they regarded it as so sacred that in all important cases they used to take the oath on its bristles. it was the custom to sacrifice this boar at the 'sacrifice of the herd.' on yule eve the 'boar of the herd' was led into the hall before the king. then men laid their hands on his bristles and made solemn vows. king heithrek himself made a vow that however deeply a man should have wronged him, if he came into his power he should not be deprived of the chance of receiving a trial by the king's judges; but he should get off scot free if he could propound riddles which the king could not answer. but when people tried to ask the king riddles, not one was put to him which he could not solve. the king sent a message to gestumblindi bidding him come to him on an appointed day; otherwise the king said that he would send to fetch him. neither alternative pleased gestumblindi, because he knew himself to be no match for the king in a contest of words; neither did he think he had much to hope from a trial before the judges, for his offences were many. on the other hand, he knew that if the king had to send men to bring him it would cost him his life. then he proceeded to sacrifice to othin and to ask his help, promising him great offerings. one evening a stranger visited gestumblindi, and said that he also was called gestumblindi. they were so much alike that neither could be distinguished from the other. they exchanged clothes, and the landowner went into hiding, and everyone thought the stranger was the landowner himself. this man went to visit the king and greeted him. the king looked at him and was silent. gestumblindi said: "i am come, sire, to make my peace with you." "will you stand trial by the judges?" asked the king. "are there no other means of escape?" asked gestumblindi. "if," replied the king, "you can ask me riddles which i cannot answer, you shall go free." "i am not likely to be able to do that," replied gestumblindi; "yet the alternative is severe." "do you prefer the trial?" asked the king. "nay," said he, "i would rather ask riddles." "that is quite in order," said the king, "and much depends on the issue. if you can get the better of me you shall marry my daughter and none shall gainsay you. yet i don't imagine you are very clever, and it has never yet happened that i have been unable to solve the riddles that have been put to me." then a chair was placed for gestumblindi, and the people began to listen eagerly to the words of wisdom. gestumblindi began as follows: xi. i would that i had that which i had yesterday. guess o king, what that was:--exhauster of men, retarder of words, yet originator of speech. king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it.--give him some ale. that is what confounds many people's reason. some are made garrulous by it, but some become confused in their speech. gestumblindi said: i went from home, i made my way from home, i looked upon a road of roads. a road was beneath me, a road above and a road on every side. king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. you went over a bridge, and the course of the river was beneath it, and birds were flying over your head and on either side of you; that was their road; you saw a salmon in the river, and that was his road. gestumblindi said: what was the drink that i had yesterday? it was neither wine nor water, mead nor ale, nor any kind of food; and yet i went away with my thirst quenched. king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. you lay in the shade and cooled your lips in dew. but if you are the gestumblindi i took you for, you are a more intelligent man than i expected; for i had heard that your conversation showed no brains, yet now you are setting to work cleverly. gestumblindi said: i expect that i shall soon come to grief; yet i should like you to listen a while longer. then he continued: who is that clanging one who traverses hard paths which he has trod before? he kisses very rapidly, has two mouths and walks on gold alone. king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. that is the goldsmith's hammer, with which gold is forged. gestumblindi said: what is that huge one that passes over the earth, swallowing lakes and pools? he fears the wind, but he fears not man, and carries on hostilities against the sun. king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. that is fog. one cannot see the sea because of it. yet as soon as the wind blows, the fog lifts; but men can do nothing to it. fog kills the sunshine. you have a cunning way of asking riddles and conundrums, whoever you are. gestumblindi said: what is that huge one that controls many things and of which half faces towards hell? it saves people's lives and grapples with the earth, if it has a trusty friend. king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. that is an anchor with its thick strong cable. it controls many a ship, and grips the earth with one of its flukes which is pointing towards hell. it is a means of safety to many people. greatly do i marvel at your readiness of speech and wisdom. gestumblindi said: ah, but i am now almost at the end of my riddles; yet everyone is eager to save his life.--what lives in high mountains? what falls in deep valleys? what lives without breathing? what is never silent? king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. a raven always lives in high mountains, and dew falls in deep valleys, a fish lives without breathing, and the booming waterfall is never silent. things are now becoming serious, said gestumblindi, and i do not know what is going to happen.--what is the marvel which i have seen outside delling's doorway? it points its head towards hell and turns its feet to the sun. king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. that is a leek. its head grows down into the ground, and its blades upward into the air. gestumblindi said: what is the marvel which i have seen outside delling's doorway?--two restless, lifeless things boiling a wound-leek. king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. that is the smith's bellows which have breath, yet not life. gestumblindi said: what is the marvel which i have seen outside delling's doorway?--white fliers smiting the rock, and black fliers burying themselves in sand! king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. but now your riddles are growing trivial. that is hail and rain; for hail beats upon the street; whereas rain-drops fall into the sand and sink into the earth. gestumblindi said: what is the marvel which i have seen outside delling's doorway? i saw a black hog wallowing in mud, yet no bristles were standing up on his back. king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. that is a dung-beetle. but we have talked too long when dung-beetles come to exercise the wits of great men. gestumblindi said: "it is best to put off misfortune"; and though there are some who overlook this truth, many will want to go on trying. i myself too see now that i shall have to look out for every possible way of escape. what is the marvel that i have seen outside delling's doorway? this creature has ten tongues, twenty eyes, forty feet, and walks with difficulty. king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. that was a sow with nine little pigs. then the king had the sow killed and they found they had killed with her nine little pigs, as gestumblindi had said. then the king said: i am beginning to suspect that i have to deal with a cleverer man than myself in this business; but i don't know who you can be. gestumblindi said: i am such as you can see; and i am very anxious to save my life and be quit of this task. you must go on asking riddles, replied the king, till you have exhausted your stock, or else till i fail to solve them. gestumblindi said: what is the marvel which i have seen outside delling's doorway? it flies high, with a whistling sound like the whirring of an eagle. hard it is to clutch, o king. king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. that is an arrow, said the king. gestumblindi said: what is the marvel which i have seen outside delling's doorway? it has eight feet and four eyes, and carries its knees higher than its body. king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: i notice firstly that you have a long hood; and secondly that you look downwards more than most people, since you observe every creature of the earth.--that is a spider. gestumblindi said: what is the marvel which i have seen outside delling's doorway? it shines upon men in every land; and yet wolves are always struggling for it. king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. it is the sun. it gives light to every land and shines down on all men. but the wolves are called skalli and hatti. those are the wolves who accompany the sun, one in front and one behind. gestumblindi said: what is the marvel which i have seen outside delling's doorway? it was harder than horn, blacker than the raven, whiter than the membrane of an egg, straighter than a shaft. king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. you saw an agate, and a sunbeam penetrated the house and shone upon it. but since you seem to be a learned man, can you not propound your riddles without always beginning them in the same way? then said gestumblindi: two bond-women, fair-haired brides, were carrying ale to the store-room. the cask was not turned by hands, nor clinched by hammers; and he who made it strutted about outside the islands. king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. these are eider duck laying their eggs. the eggs are not made with hammer or hands, and the hand-maidens put the ale into the egg-shell. gestumblindi said: he who has got but a little sword and is very short of learning has to look out for help. i would like to talk still further.--who are those ladies of the lofty mountain? a woman begets by a woman; a maid has a son by a maid; and these good-wives have no husbands. king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. they are two angelicas joined together, and a young angelica shoot is growing between them. gestumblindi said: who are the girls who fight without weapons around their lord? the dark red ones always protect him, and the fair ones seek to destroy him. king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. that is a game of chess. the pieces smite one another without weapons around the king, and the red assist him. gestumblindi said: who are the merry-maids who glide over the land for their father's pleasure? they bear a white shield in winter and a black one in summer. king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. those are ptarmigan. gestumblindi said: who are the damsels who go sorrowing for their father's pleasure? these white-hooded ladies have shining hair, and are very wide awake in a gale. king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. those are the billows, which are called Ægir's maidens. gestumblindi said: who are the maidens who go about many together for their father's pleasure? they have brought trouble to many; and these good-wives have no husbands. king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. those are billows like the last. gestumblindi said: who are the brides who go about the reefs and trail along the firths? these white-hooded ladies have a hard bed and do not play much when the weather is calm. king heithrek read me this riddle. heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. those again are Ægir's maidens; but your pleading has now become so weak that you will have to stand trial by the judges. gestumblindi said: i am loath to do so; and yet i fear that it will very soon come to that. i saw a barrow-dweller pass by, a corpse sitting on a corpse, the blind riding on the blind towards the ocean-path. lifeless was the steed. king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. it is that you came to a river; and an ice-floe was floating along the stream, and on it a dead horse was lying, and on the horse was a dead snake; and thus the blind was carrying the blind when they were all three together. gestumblindi said: what is that beast which slays people's flocks and is girt around with iron? it has eight horns, yet no head, and it runs when it can. king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. that is the _hunn_ in chess. it has the same name as a bear. it runs as soon as it is thrown. gestumblindi said: what is that beast which protects the danes? its back is bloody, but it shields men, encounters spears and saves men's lives. man fits his hand to its body. king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. that is a shield. it protects many people and often has a bloody back. gestumblindi said: a 'nose-goose' (i.e. duck) in former days had grown very big when eager for young. she gathered together her building timber: 'biters of straw' sheltered her, and 'drink's echoing cavern' was above her. king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. there a duck was sitting on her eggs between the jaws of an ox, which you call 'biters of straw.' the 'echoing cavern' is the skull, and the 'building timber,' the nest. gestumblindi said: four walking, four hanging, two pointing the way, two warding off the dogs, one, generally dirty, dangling behind! king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. that is a cow. she has four feet and four udders, two horns and two eyes, and the tail dangles behind. gestumblindi said: who is that solitary one who sleeps in the grey ash and is made from stone only? this greedy one has neither father nor mother. there will he spend his life. king heithrek, read me this riddle. heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. that is a spark struck by a flint and hidden in the hearth. gestumblindi said: i saw a horse standing.... then the king said: my retinue shall read this riddle. they made many guesses, but not particularly good ones. and when the king saw that they could do nothing he said: what you call a 'horse' is a piece of linen, and his 'mare' is the weaver's rod; and the linen is shaken up and down. gestumblindi said: who are the thanes who ride to the meeting, sixteen of them together? they send their men far and wide to make homes of their own. king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. that is 'king itrek's game.' gestumblindi said: in summer time at sunset i saw the king's body-guard awake and very joyful. the nobles were drinking their ale in silence, but the ale-butts stood screaming. king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. that is a sow with her litter. when the little pigs are feeding, she squeals and they are silent.--but i can't imagine who you are who can compose such things so deftly out of such unpromising materials! the king then silently made a sign that the door of the hall was to be closed. gestumblindi said: i saw maidens like dust. rocks were their beds. they were black and swarthy in the sunshine, but the darker it grew, the fairer they appeared. king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. they are pale embers on the hearth. gestumblindi said: i sat on a sail, and saw dead men carrying a channel of blood in the bark of a tree. king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: your riddle is a good one, gestumblindi. i have guessed it. you sat on a wall, and watched a hawk flying and carrying an eider duck in its claws. gestumblindi said: who are those two who have ten feet, three eyes and one tail? king heithrek, read me this riddle! heithrek replied: you are hard up when you have to turn back to things of long ago to bring forward against me. that is othin riding his horse sleipnir. it had eight feet and othin two, and they had three eyes--sleipnir two and othin one. gestumblindi said: tell me lastly, heithrek, if you are wiser than any other prince, what did othin whisper in balder's ear, before he was placed upon the pyre? the king replied: i am sure it was something scandalous and cowardly and thoroughly contemptible. you are the only person who knows the words which you spoke, you evil and wretched creature. then the king drew tyrfing, and struck at gestumblindi; but he changed himself into a falcon and flew out through the window of the hall. and the sword struck the tail of the falcon; and that is why it has had a short tail ever since, according to heathen superstition. but othin had now become wroth with the king for striking at him; and that night he was slain. xii. it is said that king heithrek had some slaves, nine in all, whom he had taken in a freebooting expedition in the west. they came of noble families, and chafed against their captivity. one night, when king heithrek lay in bed, attended by only a handful of men, the slaves armed themselves and went to the building in which he lay. they first slew the sentries, and then went and broke into the king's chamber, and slew the king and all who were within. they took the sword tyrfing, and all the treasure that they found there, and carried everything off with them. for a while, no one knew who had done the deed or how vengeance was to be taken. then angantyr the son of king heithrek had a meeting called, and by that assembly he was proclaimed king over all the territories that king heithrek had held. and at the same meeting he swore a solemn oath that he would never sit on his father's throne until he had avenged him. shortly after the meeting, angantyr went away by himself and travelled far and wide searching for these men. one evening he was walking down to the sea along a river called graf. there he saw three men in a fishing-boat, and presently he saw one of the men catch a fish, and heard him call to one of his companions to hand him a bait-knife to cut off the fish's head. the man replied that he could not spare it. then the first man said: "take down the sword from over there by the rudder, and hand it to me." and he took it and unsheathed it, and cut off the fish's head, and then spoke a verse: this pike at the mouth of the river has paid the penalty for the slaughter inflicted on heithrek, 'neath the mountains of harvathi. angantyr immediately perceived that it was tyrfing, and went off at once to the wood and waited there till it was dark. and the fishermen rowed to the land, and went to a tent which they had, and lay down and went to sleep. and when it was close on midnight, angantyr went up to them and pulled down the tent on top of the slaves and slew all nine of them, and carried off the sword tyrfing as a sign that he had avenged his father. he then went home and had a great funeral feast held to his father's memory on the banks of the dnieper, at a place called arheimar. the kings who ruled at that time were as follows: humli ruled the huns, gizur the gautar, angantyr the goths, valdar the danes, kjar the gauls; alrek the bold ruled the english people. hlöth the son of king heithrek was brought up at the court of king humli, his grandfather. he was a very handsome and valiant man. there was an old saying at that time that a man was "born with weapons or horses." and the explanation is that it referred to the weapons which were being forged at the time when the man was born; also to any sheep, beasts, oxen and horses that were born about the same time. these were all given to high-born men as an honour to them, as is here related about hlöth the son of heithrek: in the land of the huns was hölth born in a holy forest glade, with ring-bedizened helmet, with dagger and keen-edged blade, with byrnie and with broadsword, and noble prancing steed. then hlöth learnt of the death of his father, and also that his brother angantyr had been made king over all the territory which their father had held. then king humli and hlöth resolved that hlöth should go and request his brother angantyr to allow him a share of his father's property, and that he should try first by fair words--as is said here: hlöth, the heir of heithrek, came riding from the east, to where angantyr was holding king heithrek's funeral feast. he came to his court in arheimar where the gothic people dwell, demanding his share of the heritage left by the king when he journeyed to hell. hlöth now arrived in arheimar with a great host as it says here: he found a warrior hastening towards the lofty hall; and unto this late traveller did hlöth his greeting call: o man, make haste to enter this hall that towers so high! bid angantyr speed, for great is the need we hold a colloquy. the men entered and went up to angantyr's table and saluted the king, saying: hlöth, thy warlike brother, king heithrek's valiant heir, has sent me hither to thee, and bidden me declare that he wishes to hold converse; and though he be young indeed, yet he looks a mighty champion, seated high upon his steed. and when the king heard that, he flung down his knife upon the table and arose from the feast; and he put on his corslet and took a white shield in one hand and the sword tyrfing in the other. then a great din arose in the hall, as is said in the poem: then a murmur arose from the warriors, and all in the hall drew near, as the warder reported the message of hlöth: --everyone lent an ear; and the men all awaited with quivering breath the message of angantyr. then angantyr said: "hail, brother! you are welcome! come in and drink with us, and let us first drink mead in memory of our father, to the honour and glory of us all with full ceremony." hlöth said: "we are come hither for a different purpose than to fill our stomachs." then hlöth cried: of all the possessions of heithrek the half do i now demand; --his spear and blade and treasures, his cattle and his land, his handmaids and his bondmen, and the children to them born, and the murmuring mill that the bondwomen turn as they wearily grind the corn. and half of the far-famed myrkvith, and half of the holy grave far off mid the gothic peoples,-- these also will i have.-- half of the noble pillar that stands on danaper's shore; and of heithrek's castles, land and folk, and half of his golden store! cried angantyr: the white-shining shield shall be cloven, brother, and spear on spear shall ring; and many a helmet be lowered, brother, in battle for this thing, ere i give thee half my heritage, or half of the sword tyrfing. but angantyr added: i will offer thee wealth in plenty, and all thy heart's desire in store of costly treasure, and rings of golden fire; twelve hundred squires will i give thee, twelve hundred prancing steeds; twelve hundred men to attend on them and arm them for mighty deeds. and every man whom i give thee shall receive a richer store of rings and costly treasures than ever he had before.-- to every man a maiden! to every maid a ring! i will clasp a necklace round her throat, a necklace fit for a king! i will case thee all in silver as thou sittest on thy throne; and a third of the gothic peoples shall be thine to rule alone; with gold shalt thou be covered as thou farest through the land.-- thou shalt dazzle the sight as thou walk'st in the light like the flame of a fiery brand. xiii. gizur, a liegeman from the grytingar, king heithrek's foster-father, was with king angantyr. he was a very old man at that time. and when he heard king angantyr's suggestion, he thought that he was offering too much and said: king angantyr is generous, and royal his offering! for thy mother was merely a bondmaid though thou hadst for thy father a king. and though thou art only an outcast, yet a seat of honour was thine, when the prince was dividing his treasure and land, and his portion to each did assign. hlöth grew very angry at being called an outcast and the child of a bondwoman, if he accepted his brother's offer; so he departed at once with all his men and returned home to king humli, his mother's father, in the land of the huns. and he told humli that angantyr his brother had not granted him an equal share. king humli enquired as to all that had passed between them, and was very angry that hlöth, the son of his daughter, should be called the son of a bondmaid, and he cried: we will stay in our homes for the winter, and as princes are wont when they dine, we will hold high converse together, quaffing the costly wine. we will call on the hunnish people to arm them with spear and with shield.-- they shall march to the fight right royally dight, and conquer their foes in the field. then he added: we will summon a mighty host, hlöth, and shield on shield will clang, as the warriors arm them from twelve years old, and the wild colts gallop along. and the huns shall mass ere the winter pass, and assemble a countless throng. that winter, king humli and hlöth remained quiet, but the following spring they collected such a large army that the land of the huns was swept bare of fighting men. all those of twelve years old and upwards, who were fit for military service and could carry arms, joined the army, and all the horses of two years old and upwards. the host was now so big that thousands and nothing less than thousands could be counted in the legions. and a commander was set over every 'thousand,' and a standard was set up over every legion. and there were five 'thousand' in each legion, each 'thousand' containing thirteen 'hundreds,' and each 'hundred' four times forty men; and these legions were thirty three in number. when these troops had assembled, they rode through the forest which was called myrkvith, and which separated the land of the huns from that of the goths. and when they emerged from the forest, they came upon a thickly inhabited country with level fields; and on these plains there was a fine fortress. it was under the command of hervör, the sister of angantyr and hlöth, and ormar, her foster-father was with her. they had been appointed to defend the land against the hunnish host, and they had a large army there. xiv. it happened one morning at sunrise that as hervör was standing on the summit of a tower over the gate of the fortress, she looked southwards towards the forest, and saw clouds of dust arising from a great body of horse, by which the sun was hidden for a long time. next she saw a gleam beneath the dust, as though she were gazing on a mass of gold--fair shields overlaid with gold, gilded helmets and white corslets. then she perceived that it was the hunnish host coming on in vast numbers. she descended hastily and called her trumpeter, and bade him sound the assembly. then said hervör: "take your weapons and arm for battle; and do thou, ormar, ride against the huns and offer them battle before the southern gate." ormar replied: "i will certainly take my shield and ride with the companies of the goths. i will challenge the huns and offer them battle before the southern gate." then ormar rode out of the fortress against the huns. he called loudly bidding them ride up to the fort, saying: "outside the gate of the fortress, in the plains to the south--there will i offer you battle. let those who arrive first await their foes!" then ormar rode back to the fortress, and found hervör and all her host armed and ready. they rode forthwith out of the fort with all their host against the huns, and a great battle began between them. but the hunnish host was far superior in numbers, so that hervör's troops began to suffer heavy losses; and in the end hervör fell, and a great part of her army round about her. and when ormar saw her fall, he fled with all those who still survived. ormar rode day and night as fast as he could to king angantyr in arheimar. the huns then proceeded to ravage and burn throughout the land. and when ormar came into the presence of king angantyr, he cried: from the south have i journeyed hither to bear these tidings to thee:-- the whole of the forest of myrkvith is burnt up utterly; and the land of the goths is drenched with blood as our warriors fall and die. then he continued: all of thy noblest warriors on the field are lying dead. king heithrek's daughter fell by the sword; she drooped and bowed her head. thy sister hervör is now no more.-- by the huns was her life-blood shed. o prouder and lighter the maiden's step as she wielded spear and sword than if she were sped to her trysting place, or her seat at the bridal-board! when king angantyr heard that, he drew back his lips, and it was some time before he spoke. then he said: "in no brotherly wise hast thou been treated, my noble sister!" then he surveyed his retinue, and his band of men was but small; then he cried: the gothic warriors were many, as they sat and drank the mead; but now when many are called for, the array is poor indeed! not a man in the host will adventure-- though i offer a rich reward-- to take his shield, and ride to the field, to seek out the hunnish horde. then gizur the old cried: i will crave no single farthing, nor ringing coin of gold; i will take my shield and ride to the field to the huns with their myriads untold. and the message of war that you send to the host will i carry, and there unfold. it was a rule with king heithrek that if his army was invading a land, and the king of that land had set up hazel stakes to mark the spot on which the battle was to take place, then the vikings should not go raiding till the battle had been fought. gizur armed himself with good weapons and leapt on his horse as if he had been a young man. then he cried to the king: "where shall i challenge the host of the huns to battle?" king angantyr replied: "challenge them to battle at dylgia and on dunheith, and upon all the heights of jösur, where the goths have often won renown by glorious victories!" then gizur rode away until he came to the host of the huns. he rode just within earshot, and then called loudly, crying: your host is panic stricken, and your prince is doomed to fall; though your banners are waving high in the air, yet othin is wroth with you all. come forth to the jösur mountains, on dylgia and dunheith come fight; for i make a sure boast, in the heart of your host the javelin of othin will light! when hlöth heard gizur's words, he cried: "lay hold upon gizur of the grytingar, angantyr's man, who has come from arheimar!" king humli said: "we must not injure heralds who travel about unattended." gizur cried: "you hunnish dogs are not going to overcome us with guile." then gizur struck spurs into his horse and rode back to king angantyr, and went up to him and saluted him. the king asked him if he had parleyed with the huns. gizur replied: "i spoke with them and i challenged them to meet us on the battle-field of dunheith and in the valleys of dylgia." angantyr asked how big the army of the huns was. "their host is very numerous," replied gizur. "there are six legions in all, and five 'thousands' in every legion, and each 'thousand' contains thirteen 'hundreds,' and in every 'hundred' there are a hundred and sixty men." angantyr asked further questions about the host of the huns. he then sent men in all directions to summon every man who was willing to support him and could bear weapons. he then marched to dunheith with his army, and it was a very great host. there the host of the huns came against him with an army half as big again as his own. xv. next day they began their battle, and they fought together the whole day, and at evening they went to their quarters. they continued fighting for eight days, but the princes were then still all unwounded, though none could count the number of the slain. but both day and night troops came thronging round angantyr's banner from all quarters; and so it came about that his army never grew less. the battle now became fiercer than ever. the huns were desperate, for they now saw that their only chance of escaping annihilation lay in victory, and that sorry would be their lot if they had to ask for quarter from the goths. the goths on the other hand were defending their freedom and their native land against the huns; so they stood fast and encouraged one another to fight on. then towards the close of the day the goths made so fierce an attack that the line of the huns recoiled before it. and when angantyr saw that, he pressed forward from behind the rampart of shields into the forefront of the battle and grasping tyrfing in his hand, mowed down both men and horses. then the ranks fell apart in front of the kings of the huns, and hlöth exchanged blows with his brother. there fell hlöth and king humli, and then the huns took to flight. the goths cut them down and made such a great slaughter that the rivers were dammed with the bodies and diverted from their courses, and the valleys were full of dead men and horses. angantyr then went to search among the slain, and found his brother hlöth. then he cried: i offered thee wealth unstinted, brother, and treasures manifold,-- riches of cattle and land, brother, riches of glittering gold; but now thou hast wagered and lost in the battle thy desires and glories untold. a curse has fallen upon us, brother, i have dealt destruction to thee; and ne'er shall the deed be forgotten, brother; full ill is the norns' decree! xvi. angantyr ruled reithgotaland as king for a long time. he was powerful and generous and a great warrior, and lines of kings are sprung from him. he had a son called heithrek wolfskin who ruled after him for a long time in reithgotaland. heithrek had a daughter called hild, who was the mother of halfdan the valiant, the father of ivar vithfathmi. ivar vithfathmi went with his army into the swedish kingdom, as is told in the sagas of the kings. and king ingjald the wicked was panic-stricken at the approach of his army, and burned the roof over himself and all his retinue at a place called ræning. ivar vithfathmi then conquered all sweden. he also subdued denmark and courland and the land of the saxons and esthonia, and all the eastern realms as far as russia. he also ruled the land of the saxons in the west and conquered the part of england which was called northumbria. then he conquered all denmark and set over it king valdar, to whom he married his daughter alfhild. their sons were harold hilditönn and randver who afterwards fell in england. and when valdar died in denmark, randver got possession of the danish kingdom and made himself king over it. and king harold hilditönn got himself proclaimed king of gautland, and he afterwards conquered all the kingdoms already mentioned, which king ivar vithfathmi had held. king randver married asa, the daughter of king harold of the red moustache from norway. their son was sigurth hring. king randver died suddenly, and sigurth hring succeeded to the kingdom of denmark. he fought against king harold hilditönn at the battle of bravöll in east gautland, and there king harold fell, and a great multitude of his army with him. this battle and the one which angantyr and his brother hlöth fought at dunheith are the battles which have been most famous in stories of old. never were any greater slaughters made. king sigurth hring ruled the kingdom of the danes till the day of his death; and his son ragnar lothbrok succeeded him. harold hilditönn had a son called eystein the wicked, who succeeded to the swedish realm after his father, and ruled it until he was slain by the sons of ragnar lothbrok, as is related in the saga of ragnar lothbrok. the sons of ragnar lothbrok conquered all the swedish kingdom; and after the death of king ragnar, his son, björn ironside, inherited sweden, and sigurth denmark, hvitserk the eastern realm, and ivar the boneless england. the sons of björn ironside were eric and refil. the latter was a warrior-prince and sea-king. king eric ruled the swedish realm after his father, and lived but a short time. then eric the son of refil succeeded to the kingdom. he was a great warrior and a very powerful king. the sons of eric björnsson were Önund of upsala and king björn. then the swedish realm again came to be divided between brothers. they succeeded to the kingdom on the death of eric refilsson. king björn built a house called 'barrow,' and he himself was called björn of the barrow. bragi the poet was with him. king Önund had a son called eric, and he succeeded to the throne at upsala after his father. he was a mighty king. in his days harold the fair-haired made himself king of norway. he was the first to unite the whole of that country under his sway. eric at upsala had a son called björn, who came to the throne after his father and ruled for a long time. the sons of björn, eric the victorious, and olaf succeeded to the kingdom after their father. olaf was the father of styrbjörn the strong. in their days king harold the fair-haired died. styrbjörn fought against king eric his father's brother at fyrisvellir, and there styrbjörn fell. then eric ruled sweden till the day of his death. he married sigrith the ambitious. they had a son called olaf who was accepted as king in sweden after king eric. he was only a child at the time and the swedes carried him about with them, and for this reason they called him 'skirt-king,' and then, later, olaf the swede. he ruled for a long time and was a powerful king. he was the first king of sweden to be converted, and in his days, sweden was nominally christian. king olaf the swede had a son called Önund who succeeded him. he died in his bed. in his day fell king olaf the saint at stiklestad. olaf the swede had another son called eymund, who came to the throne after his brother. in his day the swedes neglected the christian religion, but he was king for only a short time. there was a great man of noble family in sweden called steinkel. his mother's name was astrith, the daughter of njal the son of fin the squinter, from halogaland; and his father was rögnvald the old. steinkel was an earl in sweden at first, and then after the death of eymund, the swedes elected him their king. then the throne passed out of the line of the ancient kings of sweden. steinkel was a mighty prince. he married the daughter of king eymund. he died in his bed in sweden about the time that king harold fell in england. steinkel had a son called ingi, who became king of sweden after haakon. ingi was king of sweden for a long time, and was popular and a good christian. he tried to put an end to heathen sacrifices in sweden and commanded all the people to accept christianity; yet the swedes held to their ancient faith. king ingi married a woman called mær who had a brother called svein. king ingi liked svein better than any other man, and svein became thereby the greatest man in sweden. the swedes considered that king ingi was violating the ancient law of the land when he took exception to many things which steinkel his father had permitted, and at an assembly held between the swedes and king ingi, they offered him two alternatives, either to follow the old order, or else to abdicate. then king ingi spoke up and said that he would not abandon the true faith; whereupon the swedes raised a shout and pelted him with stones, and drove him from the assembly. svein, the king's brother-in-law, remained behind in the assembly, and offered the swedes to do sacrifices on their behalf if they would give him the kingdom. they all agreed to accept svein's offer, and he was then recognised as king over all sweden. a horse was then brought to the assembly and hewn in pieces and cut up for eating, and the sacred tree was smeared with blood. then all the swedes abandoned christianity, and sacrifices were started again. they drove king ingi away; and he went into vestergötland. svein the sacrificer was king of sweden for three years. king ingi set off with his retinue and some of his followers, though it was but a small force. he then rode eastwards by småland and into Östergötland and then into sweden. he rode both day and night, and came upon svein suddenly in the early morning. they caught him in his house and set it on fire and burned the band of men who were within. there was a baron called thjof who was burnt inside. he had been previously in the retinue of svein the sacrificer. svein himself left the house, but was slain immediately. thus ingi once more received the kingdom of sweden; and he reestablished christianity and ruled the kingdom till the end of his life, when he died in his bed. king steinkel had, besides ingi, another son hallstein who reigned along with his brother. hallstein's sons were philip and ingi, and they succeeded to the kingdom of sweden after king ingi the elder. philip married ingigerth, the daughter of king harold the son of sigurth. he reigned for only a short time. appendix to part i the combat at samsØ and hjalmar's death song the following passage is taken from an early text of the _saga of hervör and heithrek_ (ms. in the royal library at copenhagen) where it occurs immediately after the earl's speech ("the death of mighty men" etc.) on p. [ ]. when the brothers came home they made ready to go to the combat, and their father accompanied them to the ship and gave the sword tyrfing to angantyr, saying: "i think that you will have need of good weapons now." he then bade them farewell, and so they parted. and when the brothers came to samsø they saw two ships lying in a harbour which was called munarvag. the ships were of the kind called 'ash.' the brothers concluded that these must be the ships of hjalmar and odd the far-travelling, who was called Örvar-odd. the sons of arngrim then drew their swords and gnawed the rims of their shields and worked themselves up into the berserks' fury. then they sallied forth, six against each 'ash,' but so brave were the men whom they encountered on board that they all drew their weapons, and not one fled from his post, and not one spoke a word of fear. and the berserks made their way up one side of the ship and down the other and slew them all. then they landed and began to howl. hjalmar and odd had landed on the island to find out if the berserks had come. and as they made their way from the forest to join their ships, the berserks were leaving the ships with bloody weapons and drawn swords. but by this time the berserk fury had passed away from them, and at such times their strength is reduced like that of people who are recovering from illness of some kind. then said odd: i never knew aught of terror till today when the berserks came. they have sailed to this isle in their ashen ships, all twelve devoid of shame, and landed with many a whoop and yell, those wretches of evil fame. then said hjalmar to odd: "do you see that all our men are fallen? it is my belief that we shall all be othin's guests tonight in valhalla." --and it is said that that was the only word of fear ever uttered by hjalmar. odd replied: "my advice would be that we should make off to the wood; for we shall never be able to put up a fight, being only two against twelve--and twelve too who have slain the twelve bravest men in sweden." then said hjalmar: "we will never flee from our foes. rather will we suffer the worst that their weapons can inflict. i am going to fight against the berserks." "not so," replied odd; "i have no mind to visit othin tonight. it is all these berserks who must perish before evening comes; but you and i will be left alive." an account of their dialogue is found in these verses which hjalmar chanted: twelve berserks hasten onward, inglorious warriors;-- leaving their warships on they come; and when night's shadow lowers we two shall feast in othin's hall, leaving them conquerors. but odd replied: this is the answer i give thee:-- in othin's hall tonight, twelve berserks shall feast, every one as a guest, while we shall live on in the light. hjalmar and odd saw that angantyr had tyrfing in his hand, for it flashed like a sunbeam. hjalmar said: "will you fight against angantyr alone, or against all his eleven brothers?" "i will fight against angantyr," replied odd; "he will give mighty strokes with tyrfing; but i have more faith in the protection of my shirt than in that of your mail-coat." then cried hjalmar: "when did you and i ever go to battle and you took the lead of me? you want to fight angantyr because you hold that to be the deed of greater prowess. i am the leader in this combat, however, and far other was the vow i made to the daughter of the king of the swedes than to let you or anybody else come before me in the fight. it is i who am going to fight angantyr." and with that he drew his sword and stepped forth to meet angantyr and they commended one another to valhalla[ ]. hjalmar and angantyr then made ready for the combat, and mighty strokes fell thick and fast between them. odd called to the berserks, saying: man to man should a warrior fight who would win a well-fought day,-- unless it be that his courage fail, or his valour has ebbed away. then hjörvarth advanced, and he and odd had a stiff encounter; but odd's silken shirt was so strong that no weapon could pierce it. and so good was his sword that it cut through iron as easily as cloth; and few strokes had he dealt ere hjörvarth fell dead. then hervarth came on and the same thing happened;--then hrani, then each of the others in turn. and with such force did odd encounter them all that he slew every one of the eleven brothers. as for the combat between hjalmar and angantyr, the upshot was that hjalmar was wounded in sixteen places, and then angantyr fell dead. then odd went over to where hjalmar lay and cried: o hjalmar! why has thy face grown pale as the face of men who die? wide gape the rents in byrnie and helm, and i fear that the end draws nigh; and the strength of manhood has gone from thine arm, and the light of life from thine eye. hjalmar made answer[ ]: with sixteen wounds is my mailcoat rent, and the world is fading fast. blindly i tread in the gathering gloom, pierced to the heart at the last by angantyr's sword with its pitiless point and its edges in poison cast. *i have given no cause to ingibjörg to hold my prowess light; it shall never be said by our maidens at home that i gave one thought to flight. they shall hear how the battle was fought and won.-- how i wielded my sword in the fight. five manors were mine, all nobly appointed, where i might have tarried and made good cheer. yet my heart was stirred by a restless longing that urged me onward to samsø here, where, pierced by the sword, with my life blood out pouring, i shall linger and die on this island so drear. in my mind i can see the henchmen drinking mead in my father's hall.-- a circle of gold is round every throat, and joy is among them all. my merry companions are drinking their ale, till thought and care are no more, while i, torn with wounds from a murderous sword, perish here on this island shore. *the lofty halls of sigtun, i see them from far away; and the maidens who sought to withhold us as we hastened forth on our way. i shall never again see those maidens, or talk with the warriors bold, or drink fair ale in the king's high hall, as i did in the days of old. in my heart a voice still lingers, the voice of a maiden fair, who rode with me forth to agni's meads, and bade farewell to me there. and true, too true, were the words she spake from the depths of her despair, that never again should i touch her lips, or tangle her golden hair. in my ear a song is ringing, an echo from out the east,-- i heard it from soti's cliffs on the night when i left my friends at the feast. how could i know that never again should i hear the maidens' lay, as i hastened forth with my heart aflame, and my good ship sailed away? *in token of what has befallen, my helmet and corslet take, and bear them forth to the king's high hall.-- 'tis the last request i make. the prince's daughter, fair ingibjörg, will be stricken with grief and pain when she looks on my good shield hacked and rent, and knows that her love was vain. draw from my arm this token, this ring of gleaming gold: and bear it to ingibjörg the fair, lest she deem my love grown cold. young is the maid to bear the sorrow her heart must then endure, when i ride not home to greet her, when i keep not my tryst as of yore *i left the youthful ingibjörg upon that fateful day, when rashly we placed our fortunes in the hands of destiny. o heavy will be the maiden's grief, the sorrow she must endure when she knows i have fallen in battle, and will enter her hall no more. from the tree tops away to the eastward there gather a loathly brood:-- raven and eagle are swooping to wet their bills in my blood. full many a feast has the eagle had of carrion slain by me: i have fought my last fight, and i pass to the night; and now he shall feast on me. then hjalmar died[ ]. odd brought the tidings to sweden; and the king's daughter could not bear to live after hjalmar, so she took her own life. angantyr and his brothers were laid in a barrow in samsø with all their weapons. [footnote : printed in wimmer's _oldnordisk læsebog_ ( th ed.) p. ff. the poetry is also found, though with many divergent readings, in _Örvar-odds saga_, ch. _(fornaldarsögur_, vol. ii, p. ff.).] [footnote : in late (paper) mss. the following passage is here added.--"angantyr said: 'it is my wish that if any of us escapes from here we should not rob one another of our weapons. if i die, i wish to have tyrfing in the barrow with me. odd likewise shall have his shirt and hjalmar his weapons!' and they agreed that those who were left alive were to raise a barrow for the others." then follows a long description of the fighting.] [footnote : this poem is given more fully in _Örvar-odds saga_ than in _hervarar saga_. the strophes which occur only in the former are marked with an asterisk. i have re-arranged the order of the stanzas, in regard to which there is considerable variation between the two texts.] [footnote : in paper mss. the following passage occurs here: "odd remained there all night. in the morning he brought together the bodies of all the berserks and then set about building barrows. the islanders built chambers of great oaks as odd directed them, and then piled up stones and sand on the top. they were strongly constructed, and it was a great achievement. odd was busy at this work for a fortnight. then he placed the berserks in with their weapons and closed the barrows. after this odd took hjalmar's body and carried it to a ship and conveyed it to sweden."] part ii ballads ballads general introduction i. the ballads of the faroe islands aroused the interest of ole worm as early as ; but the five ballads which he took down are no longer extant, and we know of them only from a reference by peder syv[ ] towards the close of the seventeenth century. in lucas debes[ ] wrote a description of the islands which contained an account of their dances and songs; but unfortunately he did not transcribe any of the ballads. indeed the balladry and songs attracted little general attention till the close of the eighteenth century, when jens kristjan svabo devoted himself to a careful study of the language and a collection of the ballads of his native islands. in - , during a visit to the faroes, svabo turned his attention especially to faroese folk-songs and made a ms. collection of fifty-two ballads, which were purchased by the crown prince and presented to the royal library at copenhagen. it is interesting to note that svabo, like his contemporary bishop percy[ ], thought it necessary to apologise in his preface for making the collection, and humbly claims for it an interest merely antiquarian. it is clear, however from his tone throughout the preface, that svabo had a far more scholarly appreciation of the value of his material than had percy. indeed it would be difficult to overestimate the debt which all succeeding students of faroese ballads owe to him. disappointed in his hopes of public recognition of his work done for the civil service, he retired to the islands, where, in solitude and poverty, he devoted himself, till his death in , to the collection and transcription of ballad material. his personal help and example inspired other faroe-islanders to make collections for themselves, some of which, notably klemmentsen's _sandoyjarbók_, are among our best authorities for the ballads today. his own ballad collection, still in ms. in the royal library at copenhagen, has never been published; but schrøter, lyngbye and hammershaimb all owed their incentive and inspiration to his work. to study the history of faroese ballad collections without realising the force of svabo's personality is to leave hamlet out of the play. in the danish botanist, hans kristjan lyngbye visited the faroes, where he became acquainted with "the learned svabo" as he calls him, and also with johan henrik schrøter, a clergyman on suderø, himself a keenly interested ballad collector, and, incidentally, the first to make a collection of faroese folk-tales in prose. partly from these men, and partly from oral recitations and material supplied by provost hentze, lyngbye was able to gather together a considerable body of faroese ballads which, with the support and encouragement of bishop p. e. müller, he published at copenhagen in , under the title of _færöiske kvæder om sigurd fofnersbane og hans Æt_. unfortunately lyngbye knew no icelandic and very little faroese, and his work necessarily suffers in consequence. still more unfortunate was his unscientific handling of material and lack of literary conscience, which permitted his cutting out, adding and transposing stanzas--and again we are reminded of the _reliques_--till the original form of a ballad is sometimes entirely lost. fortunately, however, most of the material that he had at his command is still preserved. it is to be noted that the qualities which go to make an ideal _collector_ of ballads do not always imply an ideal editor of the material collected. the great collector of jutland ballads and folk-lore, evald tang kristensen, has started a new and sounder tradition by a reverent in-gathering of all that formed part of the common stock of peasant lore in his day[ ]. the sifting of material is wisely left to the trained scholar, and, one hopes, to a later and less intrepid generation[ ]. the tradition started by svabo and lyngbye was carried on by v. u. hammershaimb, himself a native of the islands and a great lover of faroese folk-lore. during the years - , and again in , he visited the faroes expressly to study the dialects, and to collect the native ballads and folklore, which he published under the title of _færöiske_ _kvæder_ in the _nordiske literatur-samfund_, the _antiquarisk tidsskrift_, etc. like svabo, hammershaimb eventually returned and settled on the faroes; but unfortunately, owing to the pressure of his administrative duties, he was never able to spare time for a final revision of his collection, though urged repeatedly to the work by his friend svend grundtvig. ultimately, however, when grundtvig himself undertook to make an exhaustive critical edition of the faroese ballads in all their variant forms, hammershaimb placed all his material in his hands. svend grundtvig and his colleague j. bloch, of the royal library staff, completed in their great fifteen vol. ms. collection of faroese ballads with all their known variants, _føroyja kvæði_--_corpus carminum faeroensium_--_færøernes gamle folkeviser_. this was afterwards increased by bloch to sixteen volumes by the addition of much new material, some of which was collected by jakobsen in his journey to the faroes in [ ]. before beginning the work grundtvig had every available version, whether in public or private hands, at his disposal, so that he had a magnificent apparatus criticus. unfortunately the work has never been published, so that owing to the difficulties of communication with denmark (which have proved to be insuperable) it has been impossible for me to consult it. the first three volumes, however, which include all the faroese ballads translated below, are based on hammershaimb's collections of - . hammershaimb was himself a genuine scholar with a sensitive literary conscience and a thorough knowledge of all the faroese dialects, and his work is spoken of in the highest terms by grundtvig in his article on the _corpus carminum faroensium_[ ]. moreover hammershaimb had consulted all the other available versions of these ballads before printing; so that it is improbable that when a comparison of the texts can be made much alteration will be required. ii. the faroe islands are probably the only place to be found in western europe where ballads are still sung to the accompaniment of the dance. the dance and song, it must be confessed, are gradually losing their original character, while the ballads are often long and unwieldy, sometimes, as in the ballad of Ívint herintsson, running to five divisions (_tættir_) and over three hundred and fifty verses. the verses are frequently chanted in a solemn recitative, while the ballad tunes tend to be confined chiefly to the refrains. the method of supplying the melody, however, is subject to almost endless variation. sometimes old native folk tunes are attached to special ballads, e.g. in the case of _vi hugged mid kaarde_; sometimes native ballads are sung to danish folk melodies and refrains as, e.g. _grindevisen_, sung to the tune of the danish _burmand holder i fjældet ut_. sometimes in the faroese repertoire, norse ballads are found complete with their own melodies, e.g. _sømandsviserne_, or sung to danish folk-tunes, e.g. _zinklars vise_. most curious of all is the method not infrequently resorted to in modern times of singing native ballads, often of modern origin, to the tunes of the protestant psalmody--a custom which may have had its origin in the common practice of singing both ballads and psalms on all momentous occasions, such as on the night of a wedding, or before starting on a big fishing expedition. the islanders have little idea of tone or melody and do not sing well; and eye-witnesses of some of the ballad dances at thorshaven aver that the tunes sound less like dance music than melancholy dirges. in _folkesangen paa færøerne_ (_færøske kvadmelodier_), pp. - , thuren has published a large number of original ballad tunes. the characteristic motifs of folk tunes are traceable throughout, as well as their elusive qualities. thus we find, side by side with airs based on the ordinary major and minor scales, others which, like mediaeval church music, are based on a 'modal' or 'gapped' tonal system. indeed traces of the pentatonic scale are not infrequently met with, especially in the tunes attached to the earlier ballads. the majority of faroese melodies, however, have only one gap and have more in common with the system of notation found in gregorian music than with the pentatonic scale of many hebridean lays. a further characteristic of folk music which appears in most faroese airs is the curious form of close which rarely occurs on the tonic. not infrequently the theme ends on the leading note or supertonic which strikes the ear with a perpetual surprise, the cadence leading one to anticipate a repetition rather than a conclusion of the air. the reason is that these tunes, like many folk songs from somerset, the appalachians and the hebrides, were 'circular,' that is, formed for continuous repetition to suit the lengthy nature of the songs and ballads. the ballad however is not a mere historical relic on the faroes, but a living literary form. the simplicity of the life, and the absence of class distinction[ ], still constitute an atmosphere in some respects not unlike that of mediaeval denmark, and the ballad is the favourite form of artistic expression. a whale-hunt, a shipwreck, or the adventures of fishermen in the far north are still made the subject of a new ballad, composed by one or more of the community; and if the result finds general favour it is added to the ballad repertoire along with the ballads of sir tristram or childe sigurth[ ]. in his description of his travels on the faroes - , v. u. hammershaimb[ ] says that he took down the greater number of his ballads at sumbø on suderø, the most southerly village in the islands. he describes the ballad dance as follows: it is the custom here that the same ballad should not be sung more than once a year[ ] in the 'dancing-chamber,' so that the repertoire is obviously extensive, seeing that they dance at wedding feasts, generally for three days and nights without cessation. in the special dancing season from yule till lent, the ballads are danced not only on sundays but also on the so-called 'feast days.' (they do not dance again from the beginning of lent till the day after christmas.) the dance at sumbø has characteristics of its own which differ from those of the rest of the faroes. the people here generally sing well and know how to put expression into the actual dance. elsewhere on the islands this is now for the most part reduced to a uniform stamp with the feet, marking the melody of the ballad. moreover they still continue here in common use both the 'walking verse' (_stigingar stev_) and the more rapid measure 'tripping verse' (_trókingar stev_) of the round dance, in which, as a rule, the dancers hold one another by the hand, forming a circle, dancing backwards while the verse (_örindi_) is sung, and reversing the movement with considerable energy during the singing of the refrain (_viðgangur, niðurlág, stev_). this round dance is characteristic of sumbø[ ]. for the most part the dance is now performed with the same speed in both verse and refrain[ ], and though little changed since hammershaimb wrote, it tends more and more to become a solemn and joyless function; and there is a curious unanimity today among eyewitnesses as to the depressing effect it has on them. hjalmar thuren, writing in later times ( ), furnishes some additional information as to the manner of the ballad dance[ ]. the ballads are danced with special zest on the th of july, the day of the anniversary of the death of saint olaf, when all the islanders who can leave their homes flock to thorshaven and dance from sunset till sunrise. sometimes the ballads are danced in the open air, and it has been the custom in certain districts from ancient times to hold assemblies for dancing out in the fields on certain fixed days. on the th sunday after trinity people meet in definite places on the northern islands. on the other hand the dance is often the spontaneous outcome of the desire of the moment, "as much to keep themselves warm as for the sake of entertainment." thus after a whale-hunt the men sometimes dance in their wet, bloody clothes, singing the popular ballad of the ca'ing whale with the refrain: to us bold men great joy it is to slay a whale! the dance is always accompanied by song, but instrumental music has never been in use on the faroes. the time and character of the dance are indicated at the beginning of the ballad by the precentor. this post of honour was originally much sought after and some precentors were famous over the islands for their special rendering of certain ballads, some of which were family possessions in the old days. when a ballad is concluded, one of those who are taking part straightway begins on a new one, the dance frequently continuing uninterrupted, even when the song is ended. the precentor must have a strong voice and great powers of endurance as the ballads are often very long. he is generally of a lively disposition with some dramatic power, so that by imitating his gesticulations the dancers give character and individuality to the ballad. thus in the refrain to the _death-song of ragnar loðbrók_: _we struck with the sword_ the dancers stamp on the floor and clap hands together; but they are solemn and silent during the singing of a sorrowful ballad such as queen dagmar lies sick, etc. with the ballad dances of the faroes it is interesting to compare the ballad dances of the ukraine and also the choral dances of a community so far removed as the torres straits. of these latter dr haddon writes[ ]: the dancing-ground was an oblong space.... the drummer with the singers generally struck up a song, but sometimes the dancers sang a refrain or called for a song by name. each song seemed to be associated with its own particular dance and to be _accompanied by some story or incident_ which was illustrated by the movements of the dancers. a much closer parallel, however, is furnished by the [cyrillic: khorovod] or choral dance of little russia. the [cyrillic: khorovod], according to the account of an eye witness[ ], is not only a song sung to the accompaniment of a dance; but the song is narrative in form and answers in all respects to the ballad of north western europe. the dancers join hands and dance in a circle from west to east, in a contrary direction to the sun's movements--_withershins_ as the scots peasants have it. then, because it is considered unlucky to do anything _withershins_, in the refrain the motion is reversed and the dancers pass from east to west, to counteract the baleful effects of the first direction. here too, however, it is interesting to note, the dance is sometimes stationary. iii. into the rise of the ballads on the faroes and their exact relation of form and content to the icelandic _fornkvæði_[ ], and to the _viser_ of norway[ ], sweden[ ], and above all of denmark[ ], it is impossible to enter here. perhaps the relationship between the ballads of the various countries of the north will never be fully understood. the ramifications are too many and too complex, while too many links in the chain have already been lost in the "scrubby paper books" such as that with which bishop percy found the housemaid lighting the parlour fire. and those who would too hastily dogmatise on the 'conveyance', translation, and borrowing of the various versions receive a wholesome warning from dr axel olrik's analysis[ ] of the ancestry and parallel versions of the scots, icelandic, swedish, norwegian and danish forms of the ballads of earl brand (dan. _riboldsvisen_). moreover it is no easier to generalise about the sources of the faroese ballad material than about the danish. the motif of the faroese _tristrams táttur_, also found in the icelandic ballad of _tristram_ comes ultimately (through the tristram's saga one would suppose) from a french romance; that of nornagest, changed though it is in form, is surely founded on the icelandic saga; _olufu kvæði_ comes no doubt from a spanish story; and the motif of the scots ballad of _binnorie_ is "found also among the people of ireland, norway, sweden, denmark and the faroes[ ]." it would be pleasant to develop a theory that the purveyors of ballad material were the sailors and merchants who plied up and down the great trade routes in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, or even earlier. it has been suggested by professor ker[ ] and others that shetland _may_ have been "the chief meeting-place or trading station between the ballads of scotland and norway." the shetland ballad of _sir orfeo_ actually has a refrain in norn, the norse dialect spoken in shetland and the small neighbouring islands till the eighteenth century; while the ballad of _hildina_ taken down by low[ ] on the island of foula off shetland (cf. p. below) is entirely composed in norn. indeed we know from low's account[ ] that many ballads and songs must have perished with the language: nothing remains but a few names of things and two or three remnants of songs which one old man can repeat; and further on he continues: most of the fragments they have are _old historical ballads and romances_.... william henry, a farmer in guttorm in foula has the most knowledge of any i found; he spoke of three kinds of poetry used in norn, and repeated or sung by the old men; the ballad (or romance, i suppose); _the vysie or vyse, now commonly sung to dancers_[ ]; and the simple song.... most of all their tales are relative to the history of norway; they seem to know little of the rest of europe but by names; norwegian transactions they have at their fingers' ends. one would like to have known more about norn and its 'vysies,' which might have formed an interesting and instructive link between some of the northern ballads. on the other hand, the scandinavian colonies in ireland, and settlers in english ports such as bristol, may have done not a little, through their trade with france and the mediterranean countries, to spread the new rhyming four line verse and the romantic stories of southern and eastern europe[ ]. while this obscurity remains as to the connection between the faroese ballads and those of neighbouring countries, notably denmark, the questions of the age and origin of many of the faroese ballads in their present form are also frought with difficulty. of the danish ballads, which sometimes offer parallels so close as to suggest translation from one language to the other, the first ms. collection that can be dated with certainty was written down in . but there is much evidence, both internal and external, for assigning a much earlier date to the historical ballads at least. it has been suggested by olrik[ ], who supports his view by arguments which it would be extremely difficult to contest, that many of the historical ballads are practically contemporaneous with the events which they describe, and some of these took place in the thirteenth century, while others, e.g. _riboldsvisen_, are possibly of the twelfth century. unfortunately we have fewer data, whether philological or historical, for assigning dates to the faroese ballads than we have for the danish. there can be little doubt, however, that the ballads translated below had their origin in the _fornaldar sögur_ composed in iceland during the thirteenth century or in some fourteenth century _rímur_ derived from the sagas. that many of the faroese ballads were literary in origin[ ], and were based on either sagas or rímur, is conclusively established by the opening lines of many of the ballads themselves, notably that of the _olufu ríma_: ein er ríman ur Íslandi komin, skrívað í bók so breiða. ("this story is come from iceland, written in a book so broad.") and _tröllini í hornalandum_: verse . frøðíð er komið frá Íslandí skrívað í bók so víða _etc._ verse . frøðið er komið frá Íslandi skrívað í bók so breiða _etc._ verse . frøðið er komið frá Íslandi higar ið skald tað tók, havið tær hoyrt um kongin tann, Íð skrívaður stendur í bók? ("this poem has come from iceland, brought hither by a _skald_. have you heard of the king about whom this book is written?") the passages quoted above would seem to point to rímur rather than sagas as the sources of the ballads. or had more than one "book so broad" come from iceland? one wonders. heusler notices[ ] the tendency to divide up the longer ballads into sections or _tættir_, each whole in itself and yet forming a part of the ballad, and suggests the icelandic _rímur_ as the models for this particular form. it is even possible that the word _ríma_ is used advisedly in the first strophe of _olufu kvæði_, instead of the somewhat commoner _kvæði_, with some reminiscence of its origin. one of the _sjurðar kvæði_ (_dvörgamoy_ iii) begins: eina veit eg rímuna, Íð inni hevir ligið leingi. (i know a rhyme (or _ríma_?) etc.) and _rísin í holmgarð_ also begins: eg veit eina rímuna, Íð gjörd er um virgar sterka. many other instances might be quoted. but it would be perilous to press too far what may, after all, be a mere verbal coincidence. and whatever gave rise to our poems as they now stand, it cannot be too strongly emphasised that they, like the rest of the _føroyja kvæði_, are first and last _ballads_--rightly ballads. they have a form of their own, like other ballads, and are not a degenerate form of _rímur_ or a mere versification of some old icelandic legends. indeed what professor ker says of the danish ballads[ ] may with equal truth be applied to the ballads of the faroes: the ballads are not rude, rustic travesties of older more dignified stories; though some, perhaps many, of the older stories may survive among the ballads. they are for denmark in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries what the older heroic lays of the poetic edda had been before them in the northern lands. they take the place of earlier heroic poetry. whatever the nature of their connection with the ballads of the surrounding lands, the faroese ballads are no isolated growth. they exhibit all the main characteristics of the ballad type, especially of the danish, norwegian and icelandic ballads. crude and inartistic they often are compared with the best of the danish and even the scottish ballads. the _ballad of hjalmar and angantyr_ has little to recommend it beyond its simplicity and naïveté, the 'quaintness' of primitive literature; the _ballad of arngrim's sons_ exhibits a curious lack of skill in the manipulation of the theme, and perhaps we are justified in assuming that two earlier ballads or perhaps _tættir_ have been imperfectly welded. the _ballad of nornagest_ is bald to a fault and lacks inspiration; and all alike show an imperfect artistry in diction. yet despite all these blemishes they are ballads as surely as _sir patrick spens_ or _ungen sveidal_ are ballads. nor is professor ker quite just to the ballads of the faroes in saying[ ] that because of their length, and "because they were made out of books, nothing but the lyrical form and the dancing custom kept them from turning into ordinary romances." surely no material could be less promising than king heithrek's riddles; yet in virtue of what has been forgotten and what has been selected--the telescoping of the riddles and the elaboration of the setting--the ballad spirit has entered in and shaped from the unwieldy mass an artistic whole. indeed whatever their faults one realises in all these ballads the truth of sidgwick's epigram[ ]: "you never know what a ballad will say next, though you _do_ know how it is going to say it!" for it is even less similarity of theme than similarity of form that links the ballads of the faroes with those of denmark and the north. the invariable accompaniment of the refrain; the fluctuation between assonance and rhyme, the disregard of alliteration, and the general verse form; the love of repetition and ballad formulae,--especially of repetition of whole phrases or verses with the alteration of merely the words that rhyme, or of repetition with inversion of word order; the balladist's love of colour, of the material and the concrete, of glitter and shine; the large element of dialogue; the abrupt dramatic openings; the condensation and concentration of narrative and the strict exclusion of the irrelevant or superfluous; the infallible feeling for a 'situation'; the atmosphere of the tragic or the critical; the "echo, without comment, of the clash of man and fate[ ]." all these are the elements that make the ballad a form of literature distinct from other lyric or epic forms; all these are the elements that go to make the faroese ballads what they are--part of what ker calls the "platonic idea, a ballad in itself, unchangeable and one, of which the phenomenal multitude of ballads are 'partakers[ ].'" [footnote : cf. s. grundtvig, _meddelelse angående færøernes litteratur og sprog_, in _aarbøger for nordisk oldkyndighed_, published by the royal norse early text society (copenhagen), , p. .] [footnote : _færoa reserata_ (copenhagen, ), pp. and (tr. john sterpin, london, ).] [footnote : _reliques_, vol. i, _epistle to the countess of northumberland_.] [footnote : cf. w. a. craigie, _evald tang kristensen, a danish folk-lorist_, in _folklore_, vol. ix, , pp. - .] [footnote : cf. c. j. sharp, _english folk songs from the southern appalachians_ (london, ), p. xxii.] [footnote : axel olrik, _om svend grundtvigs og jörgen blochs føroyjakvæði og færøske ordbog_, in _arkiv för nordisk filologi_ (lund, ), p. .] [footnote : sv. grundtvig, _færøernes litteratur og sprog_, in _aarbøg for nord. oldk._, , p. .] [footnote : cf. n. annandale, _the faroes and iceland_ (oxford, ), p. .] [footnote : for interesting accounts of the composition of new ballads, cf. lyngbye's article in the _skandinavske litteraturselskabs skrifter_, th and th annual, p. ff.; also p. e. müller, introduction to lyngbye's _fær. kv._, pp. , . the _trawlaravísur_ and other ballads, besides the dances and tunes of the faroe islands of today, have been investigated by thuren who published several studies on this most interesting subject, e.g. _dans og kvaddigtning paa færøerne, med et musikbilag_, . _folkesangen paa færøerne_, , etc., (cf. especially _nyere danseviser_, pp. - ), etc.] [footnote : _antiq. tidsk._, - , pp. - .] [footnote : according to h. thuren, _dansen paa færøerne_ (copenhagen, ), p. , a certain fixed number of songs are now sung on suderø; a great many have been quite forgotten since hammershaimb wrote.] [footnote : it is also occasionally danced in andefjord, but only very rarely nowadays (cf. h. thuren, _dansen paa færøerne_, p. ).] [footnote : _ib._ p. .] [footnote : _ib._, pp. - .] [footnote : _dances and dance paraphernalia_, in _expedition to the torres straits_ (cambridge, ), vol. iv, p. .] [footnote : miss aline brylinska, who has kindly supplied me with this information.] [footnote : s. grundtvig and jón sigurðsson, _islenzk fornkvæði_, in _nordiske oldskrifter_ (copenhagen, - ).] [footnote : landstad, _norske folkeviser_ (christiania, ); s. bugge, .] [footnote : geijer and afzelius, - , ; arwidsson, - .] [footnote : s. grundtvig, _danmarks gamle folkeviser_, - . s. grundtvig and a. olrik, _danske ridderviser_, - .] [footnote : _riboldsvisen_ (a review of von der recke's _nogle folkeviseredaktioner_) in _danske studier_, , p. ff.] [footnote : landstad, _norske folkeviser_, note to _dei tvo systar_, p. .] [footnote : _on the danish ballads_ (_scottish historical review_, vol. i, no. , july, ), p. .] [footnote : _a tour through orkney and schetland in _, kirkwall, . cf. also preface to _sörla tháttr_, p. ff. above.] [footnote : _ib._, p. ff.] [footnote : the _vyse_, be it observed, is the danish word most commonly used to denote a ballad. the faroese use _kvæði_, and less frequently _ríma_.] [footnote : for an account of the scandinavian settlements on the bristol channel, cf. a. bugge, _contributions to the history of the norsemen in ireland_, no. iii, published in _videnskabsselskabet i christiania, historisk-filosofisk klasse_, , .] [footnote : axel olrik, introduction to _danske folkeviser í udvalg_, rd ed. (copenhagen and christiania, ), p. ff. cf. also steenstrup, _vore folkeviser_ (copenhagen, ), ch. vii.] [footnote : on the literary sources of the faroese ballads, cf. steenstrup, _op. cit._ introduction.] [footnote : _lied und epos_ (dortmund, ), p. .] [footnote : _on the history of the ballads, - _, published in _proceedings of the british academy_ for - , p. .] [footnote : _on the history of the ballads_, etc., p. .] [footnote : frank sidgwick, _the ballad_, london (arts and crafts of letters series), p. .] [footnote : gummere, _the popular ballad_ (london, ), p. .] [footnote : _on the history of the ballads_, etc., p. .] introduction to grÍplur i in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries in iceland, many of the sagas or portions of them were turned into rhyming verse known as _rímur_. sagas of almost every class were subjected to this treatment--_Íslendinga sögur_, _fornaldar sögur_, _fornmanna sögur_ and others. it is supposed that in the first place these rhymed versions (_rímur_) were made for the purpose of recitation at social gatherings. there is ground for believing that the _rímur_ were sometimes recited, as an accompaniment of dances in iceland[ ]; but this is not believed to have been the purpose for which they were originally composed[ ]. according to both jónsson[ ] and mogk[ ], the _rímur_ and other forms of rhyming verse in early norse poetry originated in the mediaeval latin church hymns introduced into iceland in the thirteenth century. the similarity between the rhyming metres of the latin and many (though not all) of the forms of verse used in the _rímur_ is very striking. whether the influence of latin hymns in iceland was directly responsible for the change, however, as jónsson and mogk believe, or whether the latin hymns only influenced norse verse indirectly through the medium of french poetry, is problematical. perhaps these compositions owe their origin to the fashion of turning all kinds of material, likely and unlikely, into rhyming verse--a fashion which originated in france, and from the latter part of the twelfth century onwards gradually made its way over most of the west and north of europe. the rhyming chronicles of the fourteenth century in england may be mentioned as one instance of this fashion, and the rhyming paraphrases of the splendid prose of iceland are an outcome of the same movement. the _gríplur_, some twenty stanzas of which are given below, represent this stage in the development of icelandic literature. it may be observed that, like other _rímur_, they are the work of educated people--a fact which makes the wretched quality of much of the verse all the more striking, especially when they are contrasted with the ballads, which are, at least in most cases, the work of the unlettered. unattractive however as they appear to the modern mind, it has been thought advisable to include a short extract from them here because it seems possible that in some cases the faroese ballads may have derived their material from iceland through the intermediate stage of the _rímur_ rather than from the saga direct. reference is made to the exploits of hromund in other _rímur_ besides the _gríplur_, notably in the _málsháttakvæði_, the _skíða-ríma_[ ] (which is interesting as being based, in all probability, on an earlier poem than the _gríplur_) and in the _klerka-ríma_[ ]. and he and thrain the berserk still live in the popular songs of the north. he is the _ungen ranild_[ ] of the danish ballad; and in the norwegian ballad _ramund den unge_[ ], ramund (hromund) and hölgi (helgi) appear as rivals for the hand of svanhvit (who, however, is not mentioned by name). like some of the faroese ballads on the _hervarar saga_, these later versions are far removed from the story as we know it from early icelandic sources[ ]. they are of interest only to those who care for folk song and ballad for their freshness and their naïve simplicity[ ]. [footnote : cf. finnur jónsson, _oldnorske og oldislandske litteraturs historie_, vol. iii, p. .] [footnote : cf. f. jónsson, _op. cit._, vol. iii, p. ; also eugen mogk, _geschichte der norwegisch-isländischen literatur_ (strasburg, ), p. .] [footnote : _op. cit._, iii, p. ff.] [footnote : _op. cit._, p. ff.] [footnote : ed. by k. maurer, munich, ; f. jónsson, _carmina scaldica_ (copenhagen, ).] [footnote : codex a.m. h.] [footnote : s. grundtvig, _danmarks gamle folkeviser_, vol. i, p. ff.] [footnote : m. b. landstad, _norske folkeviser_ (christiania, ), p. ff.] [footnote : cf. kölbing, _beiträge zur vergleichenden geschichte der romantischen poesie und prosa des mittelalters_, pp. - .] [footnote : for further ballads on the story of hromund greipsson, cf. andrews, _studies in the fornaldarsögur northrlanda_, in _modern philology_, , .] grÍplur i . olaf was a mighty prince who governed hörthaland. the brave folk dwelling along the coast he guarded with his hand. . gnöthar-asmund, the prince's father, a peerless man was he; by many a battle he reft from kings their land and territory. . in the stern of the king's ship kari stood, and of heroes many another; in strength of limb had he never a peer; and Örnulf was his brother. . the king and his warriors reddened their swords in the blood of wicked men; but no man travelling with merchandise got any hurt from them. . the prince brought joy to his followers' hearts, with draupnir's beautiful blood. a franklin who better were named a burgess beside the princes stood. . grip was a man who stirred up strife, eager with blade for slaughter. this hero's wife was a good woman: of hrok the black was she daughter. . grip and gunnlöth, his good wife, they had nine sons in all: (clever verses are made about them) and _hrök_ did they every one call! . hromund was a son of grip, eldest of the brothers was he; his heart knew never aught of fear, nor faltered his valiancy. . hrolf must i add, högni, haki and gaut, and thröst with the other five; angantyr and helgi whose lot it was in the fortunes of war to thrive. . logi was youngest (a tiny lad) of the sons of the worthy pair; hromund alone sallied forth to fight in battle, and the rest stayed at home where they were. . the hero feared neither fire nor sword when shields clashed in the fray; his shoulders were broad, and shining his hair. and kindly and keen was his eye. . he never fled or deserted the host, but poured forth darts on the shield;-- faithful and true in courage was he as a hero should be in the field. . his wicked foe did he slay with might-- he knew no fear of pain; and all his noble courage and valour from his kinsman hrök did he gain. . two villains were there with the king, deep-versed in magic arts. i swear those brothers bild and vali both had evil hearts! . the king of vali council takes, and a sad mistake made he; a name had he gained for courtesy and valour, but he never donned byrnie. . less trusty warrior in the field i never look to find;-- false he was and treacherous,-- full of deceit his mind. . the prince's troop, the niflung men, along norway's coast did sail, until they came to the skerries of the elf,-- nor did their courage fail. . the troop had prepared for a mighty battle, and against a promontory olaf's men in their warships there lay at anchor in the bay. . "over the island do ye go,"-- thus to kari spoke he,-- "to see if ye come on the vikings' ships, and if they are like to fight fiercely." . kari and ornulf, clothed and armed, with shield and polished blade examine the coast, and hastily a search through the island made. . six tall warships soon they see, under the sea-cliffs lay they; and a '_dragon_' carved in wondrous wise beside the warships lay. introduction to the faroese ballad of nornagest the _ballad of nornagest_ was published for the first time by lyngbye in in _færöiske kvæder om sigurd fofnersbane_ etc. in his visit to the faroes in - , hammershaimb took down the ballad from oral recitation at sumbø. he afterwards collated his version carefully with those of svabo, schrøter and lyngbye, and published the result in _færöiske kvæder_, vol. i, copenhagen, . this is the version of the ballad translated below. lyngbye points out that nornagest has become a well-known character in modern faroese legend. we certainly note his popularity in the ballads, which is no doubt due to his association with sigurth in the original story. in some ballads he appears as a companion in arms of the latter and even as a great warrior himself. he it is who rides with sigurth and virgar to meet the giant in holmgarth (cf. _rísin í holmgarðum_, v. ), and in _ragnarlikkja_ (cf. v. ff.) "the fierce nornagest" sails with sigurth, brand, and virgar to slay the king of girtland; and so too in other stories. it will be observed that the framework of the story differs considerably from that of the saga, notably in the opening and closing scenes. the beginning of another story, dealing likewise with an old man, has been substituted for the original opening. the mention of the boat in verse is perhaps reminiscent of some folk-tale; and the story of the leaden casket containing the soul of nornagest which was sunk in the lake is an interesting instance of the external soul. i have no doubt that it is a reference to some folk-tale, but have not yet been able to identify it. among many primitive peoples, who can hardly grasp abstract ideas, the life or soul of a man is regarded as a concrete thing which can be laid aside, and which, so long as it remains unharmed, will secure for him immortality. there is, for example, a hindoo story of a princess whose soul was believed to be in her necklace.--one day an astrologer said to her parents: "this is no common child; the necklace of gold about her neck contains your daughter's soul; let it therefore be guarded with the utmost care; for if it were taken off and worn by another person, she would die[ ]." many similar folk-tales are known from icelandic and danish sources as well as from many parts of europe and asia. the air to which the following ballad is sung will be found on pp. , of thuren's _folkesangen paa færøerne_. [footnote : for many interesting parallels, cf. frazer, _golden bough_ (london, - ), "balder the beautiful," ch. ii.] _nornagests rima_ taken down by a. p. berggeen. [illustration: music] [lyric: eítt er frøðið um | nor-na gest, | lat tær rá-ða | rað-gerð í | van-da. | ti likum góðum | gekk hann næst. | ox-ar tolv voru | leid-dir á torg, | og so fram á | fri-ðu borg. | gra-ni bar | gul-lið af |hei-ði. ||] the faroese ballad of nornagest . a ballad there is of nornagest, refrain:--_be ready with a plan in trouble!_-- in manly virtues among the best. refrain:--_every lad should do so!_ . twelve oxen were led to the market square, and onward thence to a castle fair. . the king he thought to hew them to earth, and with courage and joy did he sally forth. . the king he struck such a mighty blow that the blood from the wounds did swiftly flow. . all the oxen fell down dead, and the axe sank deep that he brandished. . all men praised his princely blow: the blood from the wounds did swiftly flow. . a man there came with crutches twain: with these he steadied himself amain. . the king to the man full mildly spoke:-- "o why, and o why, dost thou praise not my stroke?" . "o sire, thou struckest full manfully; but i saw a finer stroke in days gone by. . "of sigurth's deeds hast thou heard the worth,-- the mightiest champion of men on earth! . "leaf and grove did tremble and quake when sigurth clove in sunder the snake. . "this may you tell of sigurth the bold:-- 'he was mightiest of all men in days of old.' . "this can i tell of sigurth's fame:-- 'i know no hero with eyes so keen.' . "leaf and grove did tremble and shake when sigurth clove in sunder the snake. . "a noble man was högni, i ween, full well did i know his ugly mien. . "rich, brave and gentle was gunnar enow, wise too, and gunnhild was like him, i trow. . "wise too, and gunnhild was like him, i trow. of heroes like him are there all too few. . "my father he had a homestead fair: herds of cattle were pastured there. . "and horses i tended as i sat in the wood.-- and blithest my heart when the weather was good! . "one and all in their saddles they ride, childe sigurth, and högni, and gunnar beside. . "over the mire-pit rode all and one.-- i was a lad, and i looked thereon. . "first sprang gunnar's horse forthright. gunnar measured his leap aright. . "högni's horse sprang after then. fast stuck grani in the fen. . "the last to spring was sigurth's steed. sigurth had given him so heavy a feed! . "grani floundered in the fen: his saddle girth brake in pieces twain. . "down from their saddles each did glide,-- childe sigurth, and högni, and gunnar beside. . "they dragged at the noble steed amain; but sigurth pulled hardest the bridle rein. . "'oft have i leapt o'er the pit aright by day and eke in the murky night. . "'o guest, a service of thee i pray:-- wash from my courser the mire away. . "'the saddle buckle which broke 'neath me-- the same, o guest, will i give to thee.' . "forth they rode to a river then. no-one was there to look to the men. . "i washed his poitrail and breast for him, his thigh, his leg, and each long limb. . "the noble courser i made full clean. then sigurth took me for his horse-swain. . "so rode we forth to fafnir's lair. like the sun's own beams did the gold shine there. . "from sigurth's steed did i draw a hair, of wondrous length and beyond compare. . "the hair in the tail of grani hung, --well-nigh a foot and a fathom long. . "well-nigh a foot and a fathom in height. and it shone and gleamed like silver so bright. . "in days gone by, full far have i strayed, nor found i my candle and span of days." . the king he gave him pole and boat, and directed the old man on his road. . "in the land of the franks is a lake broad and wide where thy candle and span of days do bide." . long and long dived the courteous man before he came his candle upon. . körnar the priest baptised him anon. when the candle burnt out his life was done. . when the light in the lanthorn had burnt away, refrain:--_be ready with a plan in trouble!_-- then ended too his own life's day. refrain:--_every lad should do so!_ introduction to the ballad of hjalmar and angantyr the following ballad was taken down by hammershaimb from oral recitation in westmanhavn in , and published at copenhagen in in _færöiske kvæder_, vol. ii. he took down a second version of the same ballad, but consisting of only nineteen stanzas, at sumbø in , which he published in the _antiquarisk tidsskrift_, - . this second version differs slightly from the one given in our text. in it arngrim is said to have twelve sons of whom angantyr was the youngest. hjalmar is not expressly stated to have been a brother of angantyr, as he is in our version and in the danish ballad _angelfyr and helmer the warrior_ (cf. p. ff.). moreover angantyr is the first to learn of the franklin's daughter, and he forthwith builds a ship and sails away alone; and it is only later that hjalmar also hears of her and sets sail, thus reaching the spot when angantyr has already landed. more colour is given to the maiden's choice in the second version by the additional detail that hjalmar leapt so lightly to land, he made no footprint on the sand. this, however, it is to be noted, is the regular formula by which the landing of the hero is described in the faroese ballads. cf. _lokka táttur_, v. . it is the opinion of hammershaimb that this ballad was the original from which the longer ballad of _arngrim's sons_ sprang. this would seem to be supported by heusler's contention that _the long ballad_ of the _marsk stig_ cycle was composed by welding together several shorter ballads[ ]; and certainly the _ballad of arngrim's sons_ suggests that at least two distinct ballads have been run into one, especially when we compare the two varying versions of svabo and hammershaimb. against this, however, we have to place the fact that something of the same invertebrate impression is given by the _saga of hervör and heithrek_, on which these ballads are ultimately based. even if we assume a composite origin for the _ballad of arngrim's sons_, there is no evidence that any portion of it was based on the short _ballad of hjalmar and angantyr_, while the difference of metre diminishes the probability of a connection. the air and refrain to this ballad are given on p. of thuren's _folkesangen paa færøerne_. [footnote : _lied und epos_ (dortmund, ), p. ff.] _the ballad of hjalmar and angantyr_ kirkjubØ. [illustration] [music quarter note= ] [lyric: bóndin | undir | eikini | býr, || væl | bornir | menn |eigir hann | ellivu | synir | dýr! || arngrims synir á | bjarn | londum | ber- | jast við | sams | oy. ||] the ballad of hjalmar and angantyr . a man lived up in a high oak-tree, refrain:-- _ye well-born men!_-- eleven warlike sons had he. refrain:-- _arngrim's sons from africa_, _they fought, they fought on samsø._ . he had eleven sons so dear,-- the champions hjalmar and angantyr. . a ship, a ship did these warriors man, and swift 'fore the wind was the course she ran. . they hoisted their sail to the mast so high: they had faith in their strength and their valiancy. . their anchor they cast in the white, white sand. hjalmar hastily sprang to the land. . their anchor they cast in the white, white sand. and angantyr eagerly sprang on the strand. . angantyr eagerly sprang on the strand. up to his knees he sank in the sand. . "i drew my hose from my legs so bare to hide the sand from my lady fair!" . in the garden they busked them in cloaks of skin, and so went up to the franklin sitting there within. . "here sittest thou, franklin, drinking thy wine: i beg that thy daughter so fair may be mine!" . when hjalmar stood before the board, angantyr straight took up the word.-- . "here sittest thou, franklin, drinking thy wine: i beg that thy daughter so fair may be mine!" . in sorry plight was the franklin then, for there at the board stood two mighty men. . "no choice so hard will i ever make; the maiden herself must choose her mate." . "no choice so hard shall be made by thee: the warrior hjalmar shall wed with me. . "with hjalmar the brave would i wedded be, who is so lovely and fair to see." . "o franklin! lend me a trusty blade, we two must fight for the hand of the maid." . "o franklin! lend me a sharp penknife: each of us surely must lose his life." . they fought their way forth of the hall. they bellowed louder than any troll. . till they reached a river they fought amain, down on their knees and then up again. . down on their knees and then up again refrain:-- _ye well-born men!_-- till stiff and dead lay those champions twain. refrain:-- _arngrim's sons from africa_, _they fought, they fought on samsø._ introduction to the danish ballad of angelfyr and helmer the warrior four different versions of the danish ballad of _angelfyr and helmer the warrior_ are given by grundtvig in _danmarks gamle folkeviser_, vol. i, number (copenhagen, ). two of these, closely allied, are found in a ms. written in the sixteenth century[ ]. the version which grundtvig has called _a_ is the one adopted for translation below. an interesting study in ballad composition is afforded by a comparison of this danish ballad with the faroese ballads of the _sons of arngrim_. according to axel olrik[ ] the danish ballad is founded on the _saga of hervör and heithrek_. that the ultimate source of all the ballads of the _sons of arngrim_ was the saga there can be no doubt. but whether the danish ballad is derived directly from the saga or through some intermediate stage, icelandic, faroese or danish, is problematical. a definite relationship between the danish and the faroese ballads would seem to be shown by several common features of the story which do not occur in the saga itself, as well as by some striking verbal resemblances which have no foundation in the prose narrative. thus on the one hand both in the danish and in the faroese ballads translated above, hjalmar and angantyr are described as brothers[ ], whereas in the saga they are not related. on the other hand the danish and the two faroese ballads are almost identical in their description of angantyr and all his kin as "vile trolls," though version _a_ given by grundtvig describes him in accordance with the saga as a "half-troll" (i.e. on his mother's side). other close verbal parallels, surely indicative of cross-relationship or of a common source, are afforded by a comparison of certain passages of the danish ballad and the faroese _ballad of arngrim's sons_. thus _v. _ of the danish is practically identical with _v. _ of the faroese, and we may compare _v. _ of the shorter _ballad of hjalmar and angantyr_. may we also compare _v. _ of the danish with _v. _ of the longer faroese ballad; _v. _ with _v. _; _v. _ with _v. _; _v. _ with _v. _? conventional as many of these phrases are, the identity can hardly be accidental in all cases. the precise nature of the relationship between the two versions is not so clear. we may note, however, some of the features contained in the danish version of the story which are not found in the saga. in the first place neither arngrim nor samsø are mentioned, the names offue and uthiss-kier being substituted for them[ ]; secondly, except in the refrain there is no mention of the sea or a voyage in the danish ballad. helmer bids them "saddle his steed," and both he and angelfyr _ride_ to upsala. finally after _v. _ of our text, the danish ballad differs entirely from the faroese version of the story and also from that of the _saga of hervör and heithrek_. offue's revenge is peculiar to the danish, and here too no mention is made of ingibjörg's death. from all these changes, and especially from the transference of names and places, it is obvious that the danish version of the story is considerably more remote from the saga than either of the two faroese versions. at the same time, the absence of any reference to samsø or any other danish locality renders it highly improbable that its divergences are due to any (danish) local tradition independent of the saga. on the whole it would seem that at an early date (fifteenth or early sixteenth century?) a ballad had been made from this portion of the saga, either directly or through the intermediate stage of a lost rhymed version; and that it was composed in the faroes themselves or in iceland or some other region--the orkneys and shetlands are a possible suggestion--and acquired by the danes not very long afterwards. [footnote : cf. grundtvig, _danmarks gamle folkeviser_, vol. i, p. . also axel olrik, _danske folkeviser í udvalg_, vol. i, p. .] [footnote : cf. olrik, _op. cit._, p. . for general information on the danish ballads the reader is referred to steenstrup, _vore folkeviser_ (copenhagen, ), translated by e. g. cox (boston, ).] [footnote : see, however, the introduction to the _ballad of hjalmar and angantyr_, p. above.] [footnote : so ms. _a_; but cf. below _v. _ and note.] angelfyr and helmer the warrior . offue he dwelt in uthiss-kier, both rich and bold was he; and when two sons were born to him, he vowed they should warriors be. refrain: _but the tempest from the north lashes dark and troubled billows on the gleaming waste of sand._[ ] . it was young helmer the warrior; he bade them saddle his steed: "i ride to upsala this day, the king's daughter to wed." . then up and spake young angelfyr, where he stood in scarlet so red: "o never shalt thou this eventide to the lovely maid be wed!" . then up and spake young angelfyr: he bade them saddle his steed: "i will gallop today to upsala, till the earth is rent with my speed." . out of doors in the castle-court they busked them in cloaks of skin, and so went they to the hall gallery, where the king of upsala sat within. . in came young helmer the warrior, and stood before the board; "o king, i pray thee, give me thy daughter,-- i wait thy friendly word." . in there came young angelfyr, and gold shone on his hand: "o king, i pray thee, give me thy daughter and quit thee from this thy land." . long and long stood the king of upsala, and pondered silently, how those heroes who stood before him he might answer fittingly. . it was the king of upsala, and he spake this word theretil: "i give my daughter to that man only who has won him her goodwill." . "i give thee thanks, my father dear, that the choice thou lay'st on me; i give myself to young helmer the warrior, for a noble man is he. . "i will not wed me to angelfyr: for he is half a troll;-- so is his father, and so his mother, and so are his kinsfolk all." . then up and spake young angelfyr as he stood and pondered there: "we both will take us forth to the courtyard, and fight for the maiden fair." . it was the king of upsala, and answered he forthright: "o the swords they be keen, and the lads they be bold, and may measure them well in a fight." . then up and rose young angelfyr where he his sword out drew; and up rose young helmer the warrior, whom he to the earth did hew. . offue he stands in uthiss-kier and far and wide looks he: "o somewhere is helmer suffering pain, for i feel such woe in the heart of me." . offue he stands in uthiss-kier and looks o'er the wide, wide heath: "o what can be harming my two sons today, and why are they both so wroth?" . it was offue in uthiss-kier; he sprang on his red-roan steed. and so came he to the king's courtyard, ere helmer was dead indeed. . "o hearken, hearken, young helmer, beloved son of mine: thy noble sword from out thy hands why didst thou list to tine?" . "eight are the mortal wounds i bear, they are both deep and sore; and had i only one of them i could not live an hour." . o it was offue in uthiss-kier, and he his sword out drew;-- and o it was young angelfyr whom down to the earth he slew. . "lie thou there, young angelfyr and bleed till thou art dead; so woeful was i in my heart when i saw how helmer bled. . "lie thou there, young angelfyr, and lose thy life-blood all. so woeful was i in my heart when i saw young helmer fall." refrain: _but the tempest from the north lashes dark and troubled billows on the gleaming waste of sand._ [footnote : the translation of the refrain is somewhat free; but cf. olrik, _d. f. í u._, p. . extreme condensation is a feature of all faroese and danish ballad refrains which makes a literal translation into english practically impossible.] in ms. _b_ of the _ballad of angelfyr_ etc., _vv._ - correspond pretty closely to ms. _a_; but _vv._ - are different: . alff he stood in odderskier, and listened over the field; then could he hear so far away where his sons their swords did wield. . up then rose alff in odderskier; he sprang on his red-roan steed; and came he so to upsala ere both the warriors were dead. . "o hearken, hearken, young helmer, beloved son of mine: why does the life blood from thy head in streams come running down?" . it was young helmer the warrior, and his father answered he: "my brother angelfyr could not have the maid, and therefore he wrought this ill to me. . "my body is pierced with fifteen wounds, all tainted with poison full sore; and had i only one of them i could not live an hour." . it was alff in odderskier, and an oak he uprootéd; he struck with the oak young angelfyr, till he lay on the earth stone dead. . now both these warriors are lying dead, and dead lie they in their grave; and the king he is ready to give his daughter to the man whom he himself will have. introduction to the faroese ballad of arngrim's sons the _ballad of arngrim's sons_ was first taken down by svabo towards the close of the eighteenth century. he never published it, but his ms. (iii. ) is preserved in the royal library at copenhagen. in v. u. hammershaimb took the ballad down again from oral recitation on sandø and published it in the _antiquarisk tídsskrift_, - (copenhagen, ). he had, however, consulted svabo's version, for he says in the prefatory note to the ballad: it is entirely confused in svabo's version in the royal library. i have therefore kept to the version which i got on sandø, which in the main points agrees with the saga. only in the conclusion and two other passages have i followed svabo's version. by , however, it would seem that his view had changed. in his prefatory note to the _ballad of arngrim's sons_, published in _nordiske oldskrifter_, vols. - , part ii (copenhagen, ), he writes: the version given by svabo is at variance with the saga and has many internal discrepancies arising mainly from the fact that hjalmar and angantyr are here taken to be brothers, as in the danish ballad. in the _antiquarisk tídsskrift_ for - i published another version which i took down in sandø in , and in which i made some use of svabo's version. my version corresponds exactly with the _harvarar saga_, but it is open to suspicion from the fact that it here forms the second part (_tháttr_) of _hjalmar's kvæði_, of which the first part (_the tháttr of Örvar-oddr_) is clearly of later origin; as is shown not only by the language, but also by the fact that the whole falls in with suhm's story,--"the three friends, hjalmar, asbjörn and Örvarodd," etc. many verses of _arngrim's sons_ presuppose a first _táttur_ to the ballad, for example that in which the sick asbjörn complains that he cannot follow his companion to the fight on samsø[ ]. that the language in the second part is purer and older than in the first part is easily explained from the fact that the people of sandø have utilised the older faroese version which was taken down by svabo. they only needed to transpose the verses and to make a very few changes to get the whole readjusted according to the saga or suhm's story. the verses which the sandø version has in common with svabo's could therefore be used for purposes of comparison. there are thus weighty reasons for giving preference to svabo's version, in spite of all its imperfections. of the first part of _hjalmar's kvæði_ i have unfortunately been unable to obtain a copy, though it is no doubt accessible at copenhagen, as it is mentioned as number ('_hjalmar's kvæði_, tættir: _a_, Örvaroddur, _b_, arngrim's sinir') in a list of faroese ballads taken down in the faroes by hammershaimb for the archaeological archives of the royal old norse text society[ ]. hammershaimb says[ ], however, that the first part "deals with hjalmar's youth, the counsel given him by his father when he leaves home, how he is taken into the retinue (_hirð_) of the swedish king, how he distinguishes himself by his bravery against the vikings, and how he and asbjörn and Örvarodd swear to be foster-brothers." the translation which follows is made from hammershaimb's second edition of the ballad, published in _nordiske oldskrifter_, vols. and , part ii[ ]--which is in fact svabo's text; but the refrain of his first version has been adopted. it will be noticed that the ballad differs in many points from the _saga of hervör and heithrek_. in the first place, according to the ballad, it is arngrim and not angantyr who is buried with the sword tyrfing[ ]. secondly, hervik (the hervör of the saga) is described as a daughter of arngrim and a sister of angantyr. hjalmar also is a brother of hervik and of angantyr according to the ballad, and actually accompanies hervik on her quest of the sword tyrfing, which according to the ballad took place _before_ the fight on samsø. finally, arngrim is said to have been killed by Örvarodd, and hervik accordingly kills Örvarodd in retaliation. another 'young odd' appears later as hjalmar's companion in the true place of Örvarodd. thus we see that, as commonly happens in popular poetry, complex situations have become simplified, and, where simplification has not taken place, the people and events have become confused[ ]. both in the shorter faroese ballad of _hjalmar and angantyr_, and in the danish ballad of _angelfyr and helmer the_ _warrior_, the simplification has proceeded even farther, and a still more striking instance of rigorous simplification is to be found in the _ballad of nornagest_. no _rímur_ dealing with arngrim's sons have been published, and i have not been able to ascertain whether any exist, though a passing mention is made of them in verse of the satirical poem _skítharíma_[ ], probably composed in the fifteenth century by einar or sigurður fóstri. _a priori_ it would seem probable that the ballads are derived from compositions of this kind rather than from the saga direct. but it would be unwise to hazard even a guess as to the balance of probability without detailed knowledge of the relative circulation, distribution and popularity of the sagas and the rímur respectively. the air to which the following ballad is sung on the faroes has been transcribed and printed by thuren in _folkesangen paa færøerne_, pp. , . [footnote : cf. also the introduction of Örvar-odd in v. of hammershaimb's version (_antiq. tídss._, - , pp. - ); also vv. , , .] [footnote : cf. _antiq. tídss._, - , p. .] [footnote : _ib._, p. .] [footnote : copenhagen, .] [footnote : so svabo's version; the sandø version of hammershaimb's first edition, however, preserves angantyr here.] [footnote : a still more striking instance of the latter development will be found in the _gátu ríma_ (see p. f. below) especially v. .] [footnote : _carmina scaldica_ (_a selection of norwegian and icelandic scaldic poetry_) by finnur jónsson, copenhagen, .] _the ballad of arngrim's sons_ [illustration] [music: dotted-quarter note = sandoy.] [lyric: arngrímur | eigir | eina | borg, hon | stendur á | högum | fjalli, :|| ellivu | eigir hann | synir | sær og | tólvti er | riddarin | snjalli. (refrain) nú | fellur | rí | man | yvir tann] breiða | fjörð; | har | liggur ein | bón- | di | deyður í | dökkari | jörd! | nú | fellur | rí- | man. ||] _variations of refrain of the ballad of arngrim's sons_ ( ) i sØrvagi. [music] ( ) [music] ( ) kvalbØ. [music] ( ) [music] the ballad of arngrim's sons. . high on a lofty mountain does arngrim his castle hold; he has eleven noble sons, and his twelfth is a champion bold. refrain: _noble men are sailing now from norway, and a fair breeze bears them o'er the wave._ . he has eleven noble sons, each skilled to wield his brand; and mightiest of all is angantyr who comes from bjarnaland. . he has eleven noble sons, beneath oak-trees live they; and angantyr lives with them there and a warrior bold is he. . arngrim and the earl's lady, children so fine had they-- their daughter was named hervik, who governed land and fee. . this maiden was named hervik, 'fore all men i declare, she tilted in the tourney when the lads were playing there. . she tilted in the tourney among the lads so strong. then blood was up and blood was shed ere she had played her long. . down then sat the lads there; angry were they each one.-- "better than fighting us so fiercely go 'venge thy father anon!" . water she cast on her armour; she list no longer to fight, but went and stood before her mother, with cheeks all red and white. . "o hearken, hearken my mother dear, the truth from thee would i know.-- was my father slain in battle or did he die on straw?" . "no truer tale can i tell to thee, my daughter whom i love: he fell before the bold Örvarodd to the south in isan's grove. . "i can tell thee no truer, my daughter dear than i tell as here i stand;-- he fell before the bold Örvarodd to the south in isan's land." . she took her quickly to a chest which guarded gold and fee; she drew a shirt from out the chest, and flung it on hervik's knee. . she drew a shirt from out the chest, all bloodstained where it had lain.-- "here may'st thou see the very same shirt in which thy father was slain." . up then rose hervik the earl's daughter and manned ship hastily; its cables were of shining gold, all twisted cunningly. . up then rose hervik the earl's daughter, and decked her ship so fine, and bade them store within the hold both ale and costly wine. . tarred were the masts, and black was the ship in hue; the masthead was of the red, red gold, and the sun shone on it too. . tarred were the masts; the ship it was quite new; the golden weather-cock spun aloft, and shone amid heaven's own blue. . tarred were the masts, the beams scored wondrously; stem and stern were of red, red gold, and so was the sail on high. . all in the middle of the ship's deck the colour shone so fair where hervik, the earl's daughter, sat on the platform there. . she hoists aloft her silken sail, striped gold on a scarlet ground, nor ever once does she strike it again till she comes to isan's land. . she hoists aloft her silken sail, (the like will scarce be found) nor ever once does she strike it again till she comes to isan's ground. . forth when hervik's frigate touched the fair land, cast she forth her anchor into the white, white sand. . cast she down her anchor into the white, white sand; and the first was hervik the earl's daughter to spring with her foot to land. . the first was hervik the earl's daughter to spring with her foot to land, and with her hjalmar her brother close at her right hand. . there a huntsman met her; he had hunted herd and fee: "o why art thou so sorrowful, as a troll had been hunting thee?" . then up stood hervik the earl's daughter, her good sword out she drew, and with it she clove the huntsman and him in sunder slew. . three cross roads are bending, and one can she descry; hervik has gone straight forth to the barrow wherein her father doth lie. . hervik has gone straight forth to the barrow where her father lies dead and cold. little recks she of fear or favour, though quake now fell and fold. . then up and spake the voice of arngrim, and these words first spake he:-- "o where are my eleven sons gone, since daughters are visiting me?" . "i pass not for my eleven brothers, or where they share their fee. no treasure have i, save only hjalmar, hither brought with me. . "o haste thee, haste thee, my noble father the good brand to give me; or shall i set fire here to this barrow, and burn it over thee?" . full woe was the champion arngrim that she should wreck his grave. he seizéd tyrfing in both his hands and to his daughter gave. . he gave to her the sword then was wonderfully made.-- the length of it was eighteen ells, and poisoned was its blade. . he gave to her the sword then was wonderfully made. no leechcraft could avail the man was wounded by its blade. . all in the middle of the garden she clad her in cloak of skin; she busked her in a cloak of fur, and entered the high hall within. . she busked her in her cloak of fur and entered the high hall belive, where Örvarodd sat before the board with a hundred men and five. . "o welcome, welcome, hervik, hither now to me mead or wine shalt thou have to drink as liefest is to thee." . "o little to me is thy mead, Örvarodd, and little to me thy wine. today i have come to thy high hall, and a different errand is mine. . "o little to me is thy mead, Örvarodd, and little to me thy beer; for a different errand did i busk me when i left my home to come here. . "i busked me and came from sweden to fight in this thy land. stand up! stand up! thou bold Örvarodd, stand up, and arm thy band!" . it fell full early on a morning tide, before the sun rose high, bold Örvarodd had a hundred men and twelve accoutred royally. . bold Örvarodd had a hundred men and twelve accoutred royally. then up rose hervik, the earl's daughter, to meet them gallantly. . up then rose hervik, the earl's daughter, so doughty in the fight. she blew a blast on her golden horn, and struck to left and right. . it was hervik, the earl's daughter, so gallantly she rode;-- she clove to the shoulders every knight who forth against her strode. . she clove to the shoulders every knight who forth against her strode, till only Örvarodd and his two companions survivors of the army stood. . under the castle gateway the king crept fearfully.-- "now mercy, mercy, sweet hervik, i pray thou'lt give to me!" . "just so much is the sweet mercy thou now shalt get of me as thou gavest to my noble father when thou slew'st him felonly!" . "just so much is the sweet mercy thou now shalt win of me as thou gavest to my noble father when thou slew'st him cruelly!" . that was hervik, the earl's daughter, to draw her sword was fain. she has slain the warrior Örvarodd and cut him in pieces twain. . she has slain the warrior Örvarodd and cut him in pieces twain, and all his men so brave and true she has heaped on his corse amain. . up then rose hervik, the earl's daughter; through the greenwood gan she ride; but hawk or hound made never a cry in the greenwood by her side. . she hoists aloft her silken sail, striped gold on a scarlet ground; nor ever once does she strike it again till she reaches far uppland. . forth when hervik's frigate touched the fair land, cast she forth her anchor into the white, white sand. . cast she forth her anchor into the white, white sand; and forthwith her brother angantyr came riding down the strand. . she gave to him the sword then was wonderfully made.-- the length of it was eighteen ells, and poisoned was its blade. . she gave to him the sword then was wonderfully made.-- no leechcraft could avail the man was wounded by its blade. . angantyr sits in his high seat, and with his men spake he!-- "o where will i get a make to myself? this thought has been long with me." . one and all they hung their heads, and never a word spake they, save hjalmar his brother, and better were it he had held his peace that day. . "i can no truer tell thee, but and thou list to hear: the king of upsala has a daughter, and she is passing fair. . "the king of upsala has a daughter as lovely as the sun. her cheeks they are as red and white as blood on driven snow. . "the king of upsala has a daughter: of many is her fame the word. her throne it is of the red, red gold, and stands at the king's own board." . "o gin the maiden be so fair, and gin she be so fine, i swear an oath, though ill betide, to call that maiden mine. . "o long and long will the journey be o'er breaker but and billow; but i go forth to upsala, hjalmar, and thou, my brother, must follow." . then up spake hjalmar the warrior, and straightway answered he: "the bird feels joy when he spies a corpse, and so do i follow thee!" . up then rose him angantyr, and manned ship hastily. its cables were of shining gold all twisted cunningly. . up then rose him angantyr, and decked his ship so fine, and bade them store within the hold both ale and costly wine. . he hoists aloft his silken sail, striped gold on a scarlet ground nor ever once does he strike it again till he comes to uppsaland. . forth then when his frigate touched the fair land, cast he down his anchor into the white, white sand. . cast he down his anchor into the white, white sand. and angantyr was the first to light with his foot to land. . angantyr was the first to light with his foot to land, and by him hjalmar his brother, close at his right hand. . by him hjalmar his brother close at his right hand; truly is it told to me he sank to his knees in sand. . up they went from the sea-shore, those men of wealth and worth; the rollers brake, and the earth it shook as they set their ships in berth. . up they went from the sea-shore, in their clothes of scarlet so fair; their helmets were of burnished gold, and no man did they fear. . all in the middle of the garden they clad them in cloaks of skin; they busked them in their cloaks of fur and entered the high hall within. . they busked them in their cloaks of fur and entered the high hall belive, where the king of uppland sat at the board with a hundred men and five. . hjalmar went into the high hall with silk embroidered hood. his cheeks were red as lobster's claws, his eyes were like the dove. . angantyr has do'en him to the high hall, 'twas the custom in days gone by; and all in a word did he hail the king and ask for the maid truly. . angantyr stands on the hall floor, offers him greeting there;-- "now hail be to thee, bold king of uppsaland, give me thy daughter fair!" . then up and spake the bold hjalmar, before the broad board he stood:-- "o king, i pray thee, give me thy daughter who is so fair and good." . up then rose the bold hjalmar, before the broad board sat he:-- "o king, i pray thee, give me thy daughter who is so wise and fair to see." . long in sorrow sat the king and silently pondered. what he should answer the two fierce warriors, who stood before the board. . up then rose the king of uppsaland; angry and wroth was he: "my lady daughter shall come to the hall and for herself reply." . they have led his daughter to the hall, attended fittingly; and hjalmar's face grew red and pale as in the high-seat sat he. . "now thanks and thanks to my noble father who gave this choice to me. hjalmar the champion from uppland, he shall my husband be. . "i will not wed me to angantyr: he is so vile a troll; so is his father and so his mother, and so are his kinsfolk all." . "come forth, come forth, thou bold hjalmar for ne'er so brief a tide. to battle on an island make thee bowne; she shall not be thy bride." . then up and answered odd the young: "once more we are fighting here. you shall go against arngrim's sons, and i against angantyr." . "we two, angantyr and i, shall fight with mighty strife; i would not that lady ingibjörg hear that i sought to flee for my life. . "we two, angantyr and i, shall meet in a mighty gripe, and long will lady ingibjörg wait ere she hear that i shrank for my life." . out then spake the young odd, and pondered heavily; "o gin thou go'est against angantyr, thou choosest thy death truly." . all the sons of arngrim rode up the river shore a-tightening of their shield-straps till they could tighten them no more. . all the sons of arngrim rode through the plain so green; a league and a league you could hear on the stones the clang of their spears so keen. . all the sons of arngrim, angry were they in mood. little recked they for weapons, but tore up clubs of stout oakwood. . all the sons of arngrim rode up the river strand. it is the young odd will lose his life, for hjalmar is not at hand. . odd rode against the sons of arngrim, his noble weapons proved he so, and he slew all the eleven brothers yet never dealt he a second blow. . angantyr and the bold hjalmar on the island combated. all their followers who manned the ship are lying now stone dead. . hjalmar then struck angantyr, so lay he at his feet. "o hjalmar, give me now a drink, for it comforts the meanest wight." . "a drink from out my drinking horn i give thee willingly; but hearken, angantyr my brother, today have i surely conquered thee." . o he held the horn before his lips, --he the noble warrior,-- and o it was the heathen dog who stabbed him under the helmet there. . it was the warrior hjalmar, he drew his sword amain; he has cleft his brother angantyr and cut him in pieces twain. . odd came home at eventide a-riding on the strand, and saw where hjalmar had sat him there, marred by the poisoned brand. . odd came home at eventide, where hjalmar leant his back on a stone; "o why art thou so wondrous pale, and what has brought thee to make such moan?" . "my corslet he has piercéd, he has scathed my skin so white; the poison smeared upon the blade my heart will surely smite." . "thou didst put thy faith in thy corslet, all made of shining steel; but here stand i in my shirt only, and yet no wound i feel. . "thou didst put thy trust in thy corslet, all made of silver bright; but here stand i in my shirt only, and got no wound in the fight. . "thou did'st put thy trust in thy corslet, all made of silver white; but here stand i in my shirt only which sword could never bite." . then up and spake the warrior hjalmar. the first word he did say was "hearken and hearken now young odd, and bear me hence away." . then up and answered the young odd, he gazed on the rocky ravine: "this fight, o hjalmar, if thou list to hear has gone as i had foreseen." . he drew the gold ring from his arm; speech could he utter still; bade carry it to the lady ingibjörg, and bade him fare him well . he drew the gold ring from his arm; all floating was he in blood. he sent it to the lady ingibjörg, that maid so fair and good. . she died of grief for hjalmar-- she the noble maid; i swear an oath upon my honour there lives none of whom the like can be said. refrain: _noble men are sailing now from norway, and a fair breeze bears them o'er the wave._ introduction to the faroese riddle ballad (gÁtu rÍma) the _gátu ríma_ was first taken down in suderø by a clergyman, schröter, early in the nineteenth century, and is preserved in the archives of the early text society in copenhagen. unfortunately schröter was only able to obtain the ballad in a fragmentary form, and he has left us only a danish translation of what he found. in his travels on the faroes in - hammershaimb made strenuous efforts to get the entire version, but curiously enough only succeeded in getting a version (of course in the original faroese) which corresponds closely in length and content with schröter's. he published this version first in the _antiquarisk tídsskrift_, - , and later _færöiske kvæðer_, vol. ii. (copenhagen, ). the translation given below is taken from the ballad as printed in _færöiske kvæðer_. that a longer version of this ballad once existed is proved by the fact that verse of both schröter's and hammershaimb's versions states that guest the blind[ ] propounds thirty riddles to king heithrek--about the same number as are to be found in the saga, though only some six riddles and the answers to four others have come down to us. hammershaimb attributed the loss of the others to the fact that the ballad is no longer one of those used in the dance. he was of opinion that the riddles propounded in the _ríma_ are not the same as those found in the saga; but it is to be noticed that the subjects of the riddles are in four cases the same, and in the other cases the subjects have the same characteristics, though the riddles themselves are not identical. it would therefore seem on the whole that the subjects of the _gátu ríma_ were originally identical with those of the saga, but that they have become corrupted and possibly confused in the popular mind. [footnote : presumably a corruption of _gestumblindi_.] gÁtu rÍma. . guest goes wandering from the hall, silent and blind is he; meets he with an eldern man all with hair so grey. . meets he with an eldern man, all with hair so grey; "why art thou so silent, guest the blind, and wherefore dost thou stray?" . "it is not so wonderful though i of speech am slow; for riddles have brought me to an evil pass, and i lose my head tomorrow. . "it is not so wonderful though mournful am i and slow; for riddles have brought me to an evil pass, and i lose my life tomorrow." . "how much of the red, red gold wilt thou give to me, if i go in before king heithrek and ask thy riddles for thee?" . "twelve marks of the red, red gold will i give to thee, if thou wilt go in before king heithrek, and ransom my head for me." . "go thou into thy courtyard and look to thy dwelling, thou, while i go in before king heithrek, and ask him riddles now." . "thirty are the riddles and one will i propose ... (_riddles lost._) . (_first two lines lost._) thunder is the red drum which beats over all the world." . "o hearken now, heithrek my king, where dost thou know the neighbours, both of whom use the same door, and neither one knows the other?" . "my thought and thy thought, no neighbour is one to other; both of them use the same door, yet neither knows the other." . "o hearken now, heithrek my king, where dost thou know the brothers who roll far away on the outer reefs, and have neither fathers nor mothers?" . "the western flow and the eastern flow, well may they be called brothers; they roll far away on the outer reefs and have neither fathers nor mothers." . "o hearken now, heithrek my king, and what can this be now?-- soft as down and hard as horn, and white as glistening snow!" . "hear thou this now, guest the blind; this riddle i understand.-- the sea it is both soft and hard, and flings white spray upon the land." . "o hearken now, heithrek my king, where does the sapling grow,-- its root is turned towards high heaven, and its head turned down below?" . "the icicle on the high crags, no sapling it is i trow, yet its root is turned towards high heaven, and its head turned down below." . "o hearken now, heithrek my king, where does that forest grow,-- it is cut on every holy day, and yet there is wood enow?" . "the beard which grows on each man's chin, no forest is that i trow, though shaved on every holy day, and yet there is wood enow." . "o hearken now, heithrek my king, where dost thou know the brothers,-- both of them live in the same hall, and have neither fathers nor mothers?" . "turf clods and brimstones, neither of the twain are brothers. both of them live in the same hall, and have neither fathers nor mothers." . "the sow she wanders to her sty, she wallows on the green, green earth. the boar he grunts and the little pigs squeak, and each makes music with his mouth." . "o well do i know thy riddle, and well it shall be spoke; the hammer is raised in every smithy, and falls with even stroke." . "o well do i know thy riddle, though thereof no boast make i. it is othin who rides upon his steed, by land and eke by sea. . "o well do i know thy riddle, yet of wisdom i make no display. othin he rides upon his steed by night and eke by day." . othin has turned into a wild fowl, and flown out from the hall; and therein king heithrek has been burnt, he and his nobles all. . othin has turned into a wild fowl, and has flown far out to sea; he has burnt king heithrek in his hall, and all his company. introduction to the shetland ballad of hildina this ballad has been discussed above, pp. and f. it was taken down by george low in the course of a visit made by him to the island of foula in the shetlands in . he was entirely ignorant of the language, and had apparently no idea as to the meaning of the actual words, though the general drift of the ballad was explained to him by the islander, william henry, from whom he obtained it (cf. p. ). as very few remains of the dialect have been preserved, apart from the ballad, the interpretation presents great difficulties. the following translation of the first twelve stanzas is made from the corrected text given by dr m. hægstad in his edition of the _hildina_ contained in _skrifter udgivne af videnskabsselskabet i christiania_, (_historisk-filosofiske klasse_, ii). the shetland ballad of hildina . it was the earl from orkney, and counsel of his kin sought he, whether he should the maiden free from her misery. . "if thou free the maid from her gleaming hall, o kinsman dear of mine, ever while the world shall last thy glory still shall shine." . home came the king, home from the ship's levy the lady hildina she was gone, and only her stepmother there found he. . "be he in whatever land, this will i prove true, he shall be hanged from the highest tree that ever upward grew." . "if the earl but come to orkney, saint magnus will be his aid, and in orkney ever he will remain-- haste after him with speed." . the king he stood before his lady, and a box on her ear gave he, and all adown her lily white cheeks the tears did flow truly. . the earl he stood before hildina, and a pat on her cheek gave he,-- "o which of us two wouldst thou have lie dead, thy father dear or me?" . "i would rather see my father doomed, and all his company, if so my own true lord and i may long rule in orkney. . "now do thou take in hand thy steed, and ride thou down to the strand; and do thou greet my sire full blithely, and gladly will he clasp thy hand." . the king he now made answer-- so sore displeased was he-- "in payment for my daughter what wilt thou give to me." . "thirty marks of the red gold, this to thee will i give, and never shalt thou lack a son as long as i may live." . now long stood the king, and long on the earl gazed he:-- "o thou art worth a host of sons; thy boon is granted thee." it will be seen that up to this point, in spite of the loss of the names, there can be little doubt that the subject of the ballad is the story of hethin and högni. after this however the narrative deviates from any other known version of this story. it would rather seem that--as in the german kudrun--two stories, originally distinct, have been brought together in one poem. notes the numbers refer to chapters (sagas) and strophes (ballads, etc.) the thÁttr of nornagest _the tháttr of nornagest._ a _tháttr_ is a portion (episode) of a longer saga, in this case the _saga of olaf tryggvason_ which is found in the _flateyjarbók_. i. _king olaf tryggvason_, one of the most famous kings of norway (_r._ - ). he compelled the country to accept christianity. for accounts of his life and times, see the _story of olaf tryggvison_ in the _heimskringla_, vol. i, pp. - ; and also the longer _saga of king olaf tryggwason_, translated by sephton. _trondhjem_, originally the name, not of a town, but of the entire district round the trondhjem fjord. _a man came to him._ cf. the _saga of olaf tryggvason_ (_heimskringla_), ch. . _guest._ here a pun is intended, the word _gestr_ in icelandic signifying a 'guest' as well as a 'stranger.' _the contentious._ the word in the text, '_þingbítr_,' seems to mean 'sharp in debate,' and to refer to his ready wit and astuteness in litigation. _guest said that he had been prime-signed._ to 'prime-sign' signified to make the _prima signatio_ or sign of the cross over a person, preliminary to baptism. people so 'prime-signed' were admitted to certain parts of the mass and to social intercourse in christian communities. see the _saga of egil skallagrimsson_, ch. "king athelstan [of england] was a good christian.... he asked thorolf and his brother to let themselves be prime-signed; for this was a common practice with both merchants and soldiers who took service under christians. men who were prime-signed had free intercourse with both christians and heathens, and followed whatever religion they liked best. thorolf and egil did as the king asked them, and both were prime-signed." _svein forkbeard_, king of denmark from (?) to , and of england also during the last year of his life. _the emperor otto_, i.e. otto ii, - . _dane-work_, i.e. the danish wall still partially preserved, which divided jutland from the land of the saxons and stretched from near the city of slesvig to the marsh-land along the river treene. _king harold gormsson_ appears to have reigned for about fifty years and to have died probably in . he was nick-named harold 'bluetooth' (or perhaps 'blacktooth'). about he fought the emperor otto ii, and earl haakon of norway aided him. both harold and haakon were forced to accept christianity, but haakon afterwards renounced it. _earl haakon the heathen_, i.e. earl haakon the great, or the bad, who ruled over norway, - . _guthmund._ cf. the _saga of hervör and heithrek_, ch. . see also saxo grammaticus, _dan. hist._, pp. - , where guthmund is described as a magician dwelling in the land of the perms. but see _glasisvellir_, below. _glasisvellir._ cf. the _saga of hervör and heithrek_, ch. . for the name of the tree or grove called _glasir_ beside othin's abode in valhalla, see _skáldskaparmál_, ch. : "glasir stands with golden foliage before the halls of the god of victory." see also _bjarkamál in forna_, str. . ii. _ulf the red_ was standard-bearer to olaf tryggvason at the battle of svöld (cf. the _saga of olaf tryggvason, heimskringla_, ch. ), where he slew great numbers of the enemy. _the bay_, i.e. christiania fjord and the adjacent coasts. _king half._ see _hálfssaga_, ch. ; and _flateyjarbók_, , pp. , . king half had a chosen band of warriors numbering about sixty, who were subject to strict discipline and rules which professor craigie (_the icelandic sagas_, p. ) suggests were modelled on those of the jómsvíkings. for instance, "it was one of their customs always to lie off the ends of promontories. secondly, they made a rule of never pitching tents on their ships and never clewing up the sail on account of bad weather." the incident referred to in the text is not mentioned in the saga. _no halls had been built in norway._ the writer probably means to contrast the stone halls of his own day with the wooden structures of earlier times. _the harping of gunnar_, a lost poem. the legend here referred to is told in _völsunga saga_, ch. (and elsewhere), doubtless from an old lay.--'king attila had gunnar cast into a pit full of snakes ... and his hands were tied. guthrún sent him a harp, and he was so skilful in harping that he could play it with his toes; and he harped so well that hardly anyone had ever heard such skilful playing, even with the hand. so beautifully did he play that all the snakes were lulled to sleep except one horrible big adder which crept up to him and stung him to the heart. thus he perished with great courage.' gunnar, the son of gjúki, is the central figure both of the norse story and of the german _nibelungenlied_, in which he is called gunther. in reality, he was overthrown and killed by the huns in , after which the burgundians moved from the rhine to the district now known as burgundy. _the ancient wiles of guthrún._ it is generally believed that this is the name of another lost heroic poem. but the title may possibly mean _the adventures of guthrún_, in which case the poem referred to may be the well-known _ancient lay of guthrún_ (_guðrúnarkviða hin forna_). this latter poem is alluded to in ch. below under the title of _guðrúnarræða_. iv. _the land of the franks_, the rhineland. as far back as the fifth century the franks occupied that region--to the north of the burgundians. _sigurth the son of sigmund._ the story of sigurth the völsung is related in _völsunga saga_. _hundingsbani_, i.e. 'slayer of hunding.' see _völsunga saga_, ch. . v. _it chanced one day that_, etc. chapters and are mainly taken from the poem _reginsmál_ of which strophes - are quoted in our text. _reginsmál_ is the first poem of a trilogy dealing with the early adventures of sigurth. the two remaining poems _fáfnismál_ and _sigrdrifumál_ are used only in the last two sentences of ch. . _yngvi_ is a name of the god frey, from whom the kings of norway and the early kings of sweden were believed to have sprung. _fafnisbani_, i.e. 'slayer of fafnir.' cf. ch. _infra_. see also _völsunga saga_, ch. . _the imperial power had not_, etc. this may mean either the refounding of the western empire by charlemagne, a.d. , or possibly the gaining of the imperial throne by otto i, king of the germans, in . vi. _sigurth prepared for battle_, etc. an account of this battle is given in _völsunga saga_, ch. . _the sea-king's steed._ the text has _ræfils hestum_, lit. 'ræfil's horses.' ræfil was a legendary sea-king. the names of such characters are frequently used in 'kennings' (i.e. poetic circumlocutions) like this. _hnikar_, a name of the god othin in the _grímnismál_ (str. ) and elsewhere. _the moon's sister._ the text has _systur mána_, 'máni's sister,' i.e. the sun. _máni_, the old word for the moon, is preserved in iceland only in a mythological sense, the ordinary word in use for moon being _tungl_. _máni_ and _sól_ (the sun) were brother and sister. see _vafþrúþnismál_, str. ; also _gylfaginning_, ch. , . _order their array_, lit. 'draw up a wedge-shaped column'--a favourite battle-formation, the origin of which was ascribed to othin. _stumbling is bad luck_, etc. so wilken (gloss. _s.v. fyrir_, .) vigfússon and gering transl. 'it is an ill thing to outrun one's luck.' _friesland._ in early times the frisians occupied a much greater extent of coast than now, reaching from the boundary between holland and belgium on one side to beyond the mouth of the weser on the other--apart from the frisians inhabiting the west coast of slesvig. _the 'blood-eagle'_ was a form of vengeance practised by the heathen scandinavians in battle when anyone captured the slayer of his father. the ribs were cut in the shape of an eagle, and the lungs torn out through the opening. the northumbrian king ella (Ælla) is said to have been put to death in this way by the sons of ragnar lothbrók. cf. the _saga of ragnar loðbrók and his sons_, ch. ; also the _tháttr of ragnar's sons_, ch. . _hugin and munin_ were othin's attendant ravens who gave him information. see _grímnismál_, str. ; _gylfaginning_, ch. ; _ynglingasaga_ (_heimskringla_), ch. . _the story of sigurth fafnisbani._ the whole story of the loves of sigurth and brynhild is related in the _völsunga saga_, ch. - . it is uncertain whether the reference here is to the _völsunga saga_ as we have it or to an earlier form of the story. vii. _gjuki_ is mentioned under the form _gebica_ in the _lex burgundionum_ (_c._ a.d.). nothing more is known of him from historical sources; but he is mentioned in _skáldskaparmál_, ch. , _völsunga saga_ ch. , and in the _edda poems_, as the father of gunnar and guthrún. his name appears also (as _gifica_, _gibicho_, etc.) in the anglo-saxon poem _widsiþ_, the latin poem _waltharius_, and in several early german poems. _sigurth hring_, a legendary king of sweden and denmark, and the father of ragnar loðbrók. his story is related at length in a fragment of the _skjöldunga saga_; and he is probably identical with the _sigifridus_ who is mentioned in several frankish chronicles under the year as carrying on hostilities against another danish king _anulo_. _the sons of gandalf_ were in constant hostility with king harold the fairhaired and his father. they owned alfheimar and vingulmörk along the swedish coast of the kattegat. cf. the _story of halfdan the black_ (_heimskringla_), ch. , ; also the _story of harold the fairhaired_ (_heimskringla_), ch. etc. _gunnar and högni._ the story of the relations of gunnar and högni with sigurth is told in _völsunga saga_, ch. f. _jarnamotha._ the locality is unknown. there were large forests in holstein in the middle ages called 'iarnawith' and 'isarnho'; cf. müllenhoff, _deutsche altertumskunde_, v, p. . _hazlewood poles had been set up_, etc. the verb _hasla_, used in the sense of 'to challenge (to a pitched battle),' means, lit. 'to enhazle' a battlefield, i.e. to mark out the space reserved for a pitched battle with hazel poles. cf. the _saga of egil skallagrímsson_, ch. . _the kurir_ were the people of courland (perhaps lithuanians). the _kvænir_ were the finnish inhabitants of the northern portion of what is now sweden. king alfred, in his translation of _orosius_, inserts an original account of norway and the neighbouring regions which was given to him by a norwegian called ohthere. it is there stated that beyond the mountains which bound the northern part of norway was 'the land of the cwenas.' cf. also the _saga of egil skallagrímsson_, ch. . _starkath_, the ideal warrior of old time in the north. probably originally a historical figure, he became the centre of much legendary matter, and, as often happened in such cases, he was even credited with the composition of many poems, notably that on the battle of brávöll--an event which probably took place long after his time. in saxo grammaticus, _dan. hist._, pp. - , he corresponds to the unnamed "old warrior" mentioned in _beowulf_, l. ff. _fenhring_, in hörthaland in norway, not far from bergen. _lund_, the old ecclesiastical capital of denmark, situated in skaane in the extreme south of sweden. not only skaane, but also the neighbouring provinces (halland, etc.) belonged in early times to denmark. viii. _starkath had committed a foul murder._ for this story see saxo grammaticus, _dan. hist._, p. ff. saxo says that the rule of king ali or ole was so hateful to the zealanders that twelve of their generals resolved to put him to death, bribing starkath to join them. although a personal friend of ole, starkath agreed to do so, and murdered him in his bath. he afterwards repented bitterly, "and to atone for his crime slew some of those who had inspired him to it." _travels._ i have followed the reading _ferða_, 'travels,' adopted by wilken, not _frænda_, as in the _fornaldar sögur_, ed. by Ásmundarson. the latter would read: "the king wanted him to tell him much more about the history of his relatives." ix. _germans say_, etc. for the german story of the murder of sigurth see the _nibelungenlied_, str. ff. _guthrúnarrætha._ this is no doubt the poem commonly called _guðrúnarkviða hin forna_, the opening of which narrates how sigurth's horse came home riderless. _brynhild and the ogress chanted_, etc. the following lay is found in the _edda poems_ under the title of _helreið brynhildar_ ('the hell-ride of brynhild'). _from the land of the romans_, lit. 'from valland'--the 'land of the valar,' i.e. the celts or romans. here the reference is doubtless to the roman territories on the west bank of the rhine. in the _nibelungenlied_, gunther (i.e. gunnar) is represented as reigning at worms. cf. p. below. _assigned me a home_, etc. in the _codex regius_ of the _edda poems_ this passage runs as follows: "the courageous king had my swan-form and those of my eight sisters carried beneath an oak." _hjalmgunnar._ see _sigrdrifumál_, the prose following str. . "she (i.e. sigrdrifa) said that two kings were fighting. one was called hjalmgunnar. he was old at that time, but a very great warrior, and othin had promised him victory; but the other was called agnar, the brother of autha, whom no being would protect. sigrdrifa (who was a valkyrie) slew hjalmgunnar in battle, but othin pierced her with a sleep-producing thorn in punishment for this," etc. _fafnir_ was the serpent who guarded the gold hoard on gnítaheið till sigurth slew him and carried off the treasure. _all too long_, etc. in the _codex regius_ of the _edda poems_ this passage runs as follows: "for far too long a time (? for ever) will women and men be born into the world to overwhelming sorrow." _the sons of lothbrok._ ragnar lothbrók was a famous king who flourished about the middle of the ninth century, and who, according to legend, obtained his name ('shaggy breeks') from the shaggy trowsers which he wore when he went to attack a serpent. his various exploits are told in the _saga of ragnar lothbrók_, and in the _tháttr of the sons of ragnar_, and also by saxo grammaticus, _dan. hist._, pp. - , etc. among his other adventures he is said to have invaded northumbria, but he was defeated by king ella (Ælla) and thrown into a snake-pit, where he "died laughing," as we are told in a late poem (_krakumál_ or the 'death-song of ragnar lothbrók'). his death was afterwards avenged by his sons who invaded england in . practically nothing historical is known of loðbrók himself, though the achievements of his sons, both in the british isles and on the continent, are of great historical importance. _in the neighbourhood of the alps._ in , björn ironside, a son of ragnar lothbrók, with hástein his chief lieutenant, invaded france, and during the years - made expeditions to spain, africa, the south of france, and italy, capturing pisa, luna, etc. there can be no doubt that in their invasion of italy in the real objective was rome; but for some unknown reason they returned without approaching it. according to scandinavian tradition, when they entered luna they were under the impression that it was rome, and returned satisfied that their aim was accomplished. _vifilsborg._ this place is identified by wilken with the modern avenches in the canton vaud (switzerland). _make their way there_, lit. 'pass over (the mountains) thither.' x. _eric_, a famous king of sweden in the time of harold the fairhaired, king of norway, in the latter half of the ninth century. he is frequently referred to in the sagas and regarded as the typical great swedish king of the past. _upsala_, i.e. old upsala, the ancient capital of the swedish kingdom, a few miles from the modern city. _king harold the fairhaired_, said to have been born _c._ and to have succeeded as king of vestfold _c._ . his conquest of norway was practically completed at the battle of hafrsfjörth (_c._ ). he is said to have retired in and died _c._ . _king hlothver_, i.e. louis i, king of the franks and emperor, - . _the saxons_ inhabited a large part of north-west germany and holland; but the name _saxland_ is often used in a wider sense, i.e. the german part of the empire. _nornagest_, i.e. 'gest (or guest) of the norns.' the norns were represented in scandinavian mythology as women with the power of shaping human destiny. see _helgakviða hundingsbana_, , str. ; _gylfaginning_, chs. , ; saxo grammaticus, _dan. hist._, p. ; the _saga of burnt njál_, ch. . similar beliefs occur in greek stories about the fates ([greek: klôthes]) e.g. the late greek legend of the birth of meleager. cf. p. above. xii. _three hundred._ i have used round figures here as elsewhere. strictly the norse is . the thÁttr of sÖrli i. _vanakvisl._ the opening sentence may be compared with _ynglingasaga_, ch. , in the _heimskringla_. from this it appears that vanakvísl is the river don, though strictly _kv[vi]sl_ means the fork (delta) of a river. _Æsir and vanir_, two sets of scandinavian deities; but the references to the river don and asia are due to the learned speculations of later times, suggested partly by the resemblance of _asia_ and _Æsir_. according to _ynglingasaga_, chs. - , there was war between the Æsir and the vanir, which was concluded by an exchange of hostages. the vanir gave to the Æsir three of their leading people--njörth and his children frey and freyja. othin made njörth and frey temple-priests, and freyja a temple-priestess. what is said about freyja here is not mentioned in _ynglingasaga_; but from the poems of the _edda_ it is clear that she was the aphrodite of northern mythology. _asgarth._ for a description of asgarth, the home of the Æsir, see _gylfaginning_, chs. , , , etc. _men in asia called alfregg_, etc. for dvalin, cf. the _saga of hervör and heithrek_, ch. and note. _lived in a rock_; cf. _völuspá_, str. . _necklace._ for the _brísingamen_, freyja's treasure, see _thrymskviða_, str. , etc. cf. also _beowulf_, l. . ii. _nal_, i.e. 'needle.' _loki._ see _gylfaginning_, ch. ; and the _edda poems_, passim. _so much favoured by the great good fortune of his lord._ cf. _laxdæla saga_, ch. 'mun konungr [i.e. olaf tryggvason] vera giftudrjúgr ok hamingju-mikill.' iii. _frithfrothi_, the mythical peace-king of the danes. see _skáldskaparmál_, ch. . he is often split up into two different characters, as by saxo grammaticus. (see especially _dan. hist._, book v, which gives an account of the great frothi.) _erling and sörli._ their story is told in the _saga of sörli the strong_ (_fornaldar sögur_, iii.). _skerries of the elf._ rocky islands near the mouth of the göta elv not far from göteborg. iv. _halfdan_, surnamed brönufóstri. see the _saga of sörli the strong_, ch. , where he is represented as king of sweden. _roeskilde_, the old capital of sjælland, now the ecclesiastical capital of denmark. _ellithi._ see the _saga of thorstein vikingson_ (passim), and the _saga of friðjóf the bold_ (passim). _gnoth._ the ship gnoth belonged to Ásmund, who was called after it 'gnoðar-Ásmund.' cf. the _saga of egil and asmund_, ch. ; and the _saga of grím loðinkinni_, ch. . see also the _saga of hromund greipsson_, ch. . _long serpent_, i.e. the warship of olaf tryggvason. _as is told in the poem_, etc. the poem is now lost. _the poem of which he is the subject._ the saga here quotes a difficult and obscure stanza which i have omitted. _högni ... went raiding in the baltic_, etc. in _widsið_ l. , högni is said to have ruled the _holmryge_, i.e., no doubt, the rugii on the coast of pomerania. v. _hjarrandi_ is the name of hethin's father in all the norse forms of the story; but originally this would seem to have been the name of hethin's minstrel--the _hôrant_ of _kudrun_, and the _heorrenda_ of _deor_. _serkland_, i.e. africa, 'saracen land.' it is only in this story that hethin is said to come from here. saxo grammaticus calls him a norwegian. cf. also _widsiþ_, l. , which gives the name of an unknown people. _göndul_, the name of one of the valkyries. see _völuspá_, str. ; _hákonarmál_, passim; _skáldskaparmál_, chs. and . vi. _heithrek ulfham._ for heithrek ulfham see the _saga of hervör and heithrek_, ch. . vii. _she asked him._ i have followed rafn's text. the reykjavík ed. apparently has a misprint here--_hann_ for _hón_. _he thrust the queen down in front of the prow_, etc. the murder of the queen is peculiar to this saga. viii. _this harrowing torment continued_, etc. a good deal has been written on the subject of the unending battle, which many writers believe to have been of mythological origin. very often, however, it appears in local traditions. see frazer's _pausanias_, vol. ii, p. (the reference to the battle of marathon), where a considerable number of parallels are given. see also panzer, _hilde-gudrun_, p. . cf. p. , note i above. _olaf tryggvason._ see the _tháttr of nornagest_, ch. and note. ix. _jarnskjöld._ cf. _fornmanna sögur_, vol. iii, p. ff. (_saga of olaf tryggvason_). _glance of his eye_, etc. literally, "he has the _ægishjálmr_." this is a poetical expression for a glance inspiring terror. the saga of hromund greipsson i. _gnothar-asmund_, i.e. asmund of the gnoth, who was so called from his ship 'gnoth' (cf. p. above). for an account of him see the _saga of egil and asmund_ (in _fornaldar sögur_, vol. iii), especially ch. . he is mentioned also in the _saga of grím loðinkinni_, ch. . a different account of olaf's family is given in _göngu-hrólfs saga_, ch. . _garthar in denmark._ the geography of the story is by no means clear. elsewhere in this saga olaf's realm would seem to be situated in sweden, while references in other works, e.g. _landnámabók_, i, ch. , _hversu noregr bygthist_, ch. (_fornaldar sögur_, ii, p. ) etc., point to norway, especially the provinces of thelamörk and hörthaland, as the home of hromund and his family. _hromund._ according to _landnámabók_, i, ch. , ingolf and leif, the first settlers in iceland (a.d. ) were the great grandsons of hromund greipsson. this would seem to show that he lived in the second half of the eighth century. see also the _saga of halfdan eysteinsson_, ch. . _bild and voli._ for these names, see introduction to this saga, p. , and the note to _mistletoe_ below. _ulfasker._ a corruption of _elfasker_. cf. _gríplur_, str. , and note to _skerries of the elf_, p. above. _dragon_, a common term for a large type of warship in the viking age. _scoundrels._ the text has _blámenn_, i.e. lit. 'black men', negroes. but in the romantic sagas, owing probably to the influence of stories relating to the saracens, pirates are described as _blámenn_, even in stories relating exclusively to the north. cf. _the ballad of hjálmar and angantyr_ (refrain), p. , above. ii. _i am going to be othin's guest_, is a euphemism for 'be slain,' and is equivalent to 'go to valhalla,' the abode of slain warriors which belonged to othin. see the _saga of egil skallagrímsson_, ch. , where thorgerth, egil's daughter, says that she will have no supper till she "sup with freyja." _no blade would wound hröngvith._ it is not uncommon to hear that a warrior, usually an unsympathetic character, was immune through spells from wounds inflicted by weapons; cf. _beowulf_, l. , where this is stated of grendel. iii. _hebrides._ the word _suthreyjar_, here translated hebrides, properly means all the islands off the west coast of scotland. the modern form of the word is _sodor_, surviving in the name of the diocese of 'sodor and man.' _ghosts._ it will be seen from the context that the word _draugr_ here translated 'ghost,' is in reality the animated corpse of the dead man. this is a common feature of norse stories (e.g. the _saga of grettir the strong_, ch. ). iv. _valland_, i.e. france, lit. the 'land of the _valar_,' i.e. of the celts or romans. in anglo-saxon literature the french are sometimes called _galwalas_, i.e. the 'walas (welsh) of gaul'. see also the _tháttr of nornagest_, ch. and note. _and he added_, etc. are we to assume a lacuna here? the composition of this saga is however far from perfect. in certain passages (e.g. at the beginning of this chapter) one is inclined to suspect that someone has tried to combine two different texts of the story. _finger nails_, etc. cf. the physiological fact of the growth of the finger nails after death, and the legend of charlemagne according to which his beard grew through a stone table after his death. _gunnlöth._ other documents appear to make hromund a norwegian, and this is what we should gather from _landnámabók_ quoted above (p. , note). see _hversu noregr bygðist_, ch. . _mistletoe_, the name of the sword again connects this story with that of balder who is stated in _völuspá_, str. and _gylfaginning_, ch. to have been killed by a piece of mistletoe. v. _dagny_, the wife of ingjóld, who was the friend of grím lothinkinni. see the _saga of grím loðinkinni_, ch. . _hálogaland._ see _hervarar saga_, ch. and note; and also the sagas of _ketil hæng_ and _grím loðinkinni_. _voli and bild_, etc. at this point the writer of the saga has omitted part of the dialogue in which olaf threatens to hang hromund. cf. _gríplur_, p. , str. , . vi. _helgi_ is known elsewhere as helgi haddingjaskati, e.g. in the short text called _hversu noregr bygðist_, ch. (_fornaldar sögur_, ii, p. ). according to the prose at the end of _helgakviða hundingsbana_ ii, helgi haddingjaskati and kara were reincarnations of helgi hundingsbani and sigrún, the hero and heroine of this poem. their story was given in a poem called _káruljóð_ which is now lost. see however vigfússon and powell, _corpus poeticum boreale_, vol. i, pp. and . _on the frozen surface of lake vener._ this story is perhaps taken from that of the battle related in _skáldskaparmál_, ch. and _ynglingasaga_, ch. . cf. _beowulf_, l. ff. _kara._ for the form _lara_ which appears in the printed editions see p. , note, above. in the prose at the end of _helgakviða hundingsbana_ ii, kara is called a valkyrie. viii. _hagal._ the story of hagal and blind is given also at the beginning of _helgakviða hundingsbana_ ii; but here the person disguised as a grinding-maid is helgi, the hero of the poem. x. _who was also called bavis_; cf. _helgakv. hund_. ii, str. , where he is called _blindr enn bölvísi_ ('skilled in harmful doings'). saga of hervÖr and heithrek i. _finnmark_, i.e. the northernmost part of the scandinavian peninsula. _jötunheimar_, i.e. the homes of the _jötnar_ or giants. this name occurs frequently in norse stories, though it is not elsewhere connected with finnmark. _ymisland_, i.e. the land of _Ýmir_; see below. _halogaland_, i.e. the northern part of norway stretching from about lat. ° as far as finnmark. _guthmund._ cf. the _tháttr of nornagest_, ch. and note. _glasisvellir._ cf. the _tháttr of nornagest_, ch. , and note. _fields of immortality_, i.e. lit. 'fields of the not dead' (_ódainsakr_). cf. the _saga of eiríkr víðförla_, ch. , and the _saga of hálfdan eysteinsson_, ch. . see also saxo grammaticus, _dan. hist._, p. . _höfund._ the name means lit. 'judge.' _ymir_, i.e. the old 'rime-giant,' the first being created out of chaos, from whom the giants sprang; cf. _völuspá_, str. ; _vafþrúþnismál_, str. ; _grímnismál_, str. ; _hyndluljóð_, str. ; _gylfaginning_, chs. - . _starkath aludreng._ see _gautreks saga_, ch. , according to which this starkath is the grandfather of his more famous namesake, for whom see the _tháttr of nornagest_, ch. and note. see also saxo grammaticus, _dan. hist._, pp. , . _elivagar._ see _vafþrúþnismál_, str. ; _gylfaginning_, ch. ; _hymiskviða_, str. . _alfheimar_, a name given to the region between the gøtaelv and the river glommen, in the south-east of norway (now mainly in sweden). the royal family of this region is frequently mentioned in the history of harold the fairhaired and his father, and also in the stories of sigurth hring. see the _tháttr of nornagest_, ch. and note. _ey-grim bolm_, i.e. 'grim of the island of bolm.' _arngrim._ see saxo grammaticus, _dan. hist._, p. ff. _berserk._ see _ynglingasaga_, ch. . ii. _dwarfs._ cf. the story of svegðir in _ynglingasaga_, ch. . _dvalin_ is the name of a dwarf in _völuspá_, str. , ; _hávamál_, str. , and in other of the _edda_ poems. it is, in fact, the typical name for a dwarf. cf. also _gylfaginning_, ch. , and _skáldskaparmál_, ch. , . _dulin_ does not occur elsewhere, though _durin_ is found in _völuspá_, str. . _standing in the doorway of the stone_, etc. cf. _völuspá_, str. . _your sword_, etc. cf. _skáldskaparmál_, ch. . "now i have drawn _dáinsleif_, which the dwarfs made and which must cause a man's death every time it is drawn, and never fails in its stroke." _tyrfing._ it has been suggested that this name is derived from _tyrfi_, 'resinous fir-tree,' owing to its flaming like resinous fir-wood. in early times it was customary for swords to be called by names ending in _-ing_. cf. the swords _hrunting_ in _beowulf_, l. , etc., _nagling_, _ibid._, l. , and _mimming_ in _waldhere_, l. , etc., etc. _perms._ the text has _um bjarmaland_ 'in the land of the bjarmar,' i.e. the _beormas_ of ohthere's voyage in alfred's translation of _orosius_. it is generally reached, not as here, apparently, by the baltic, but by voyages round the north cape. the name is generally supposed to be connected with _perm_, and in early times may have comprehended the zyrianians, as well as the permians proper and the votiaks. there is some evidence from place-names that this group of languages was once spoken as far west as the white sea. cf. abercromby, _the pre- and proto-historic finns_, p. f. _svafrlami._ the text (h) followed by the reykjavik edition here has sigrlami--which can hardly be right. rafn's ed. reads svafrlami. _twelve sons._ for arngrim's sons, cf. _hyndluljóth_, str. , ; saxo grammaticus, _dan. hist._, pp. - ; _saga of Örvar odd_, ch. . _twins._ see the _saga of harold the fairhaired_ (_heimskringla_), ch. , where again we find twins both receiving the same name. _mistletoe._ a sword of the same name occurs in the _saga of hromund greipsson_ (see above). _hrotti._ cf. _hrunting_, the sword of hunferth in _beowulf_, l. etc. see also the note to _tyrfing_, p. . iii. _yule_, a festival of heathen times, approximately at christmas, but rather later. _feast_, lit. 'at the bragi-cup.' the custom of making vows in connection with these toasts was carried on into christian times, an interesting example being found in the _saga of olaf tryggvason_ (_heimskringla_), ch. . see also the _saga of haakon the good_ (_heimskringla_), ch. ; and _helgakviða hjörvarðssónar_, str. . _angantyr made a vow._ in the royal ms. (see p. ) it is hjörvarth who makes the vow and subsequently claims the bride. _yngvi_ is the family name of the early swedish kings. collectively the early swedish royal family were called _ynglingar_. cf. _ynglingasaga_, ch. . _never did he_, etc. compare what is said of högni's sword in _skáldskaparmál_, ch. . _samsø._ the fight at samsø is described in another ms. of this saga (which is translated in the appendix to part i, p. ff. above and which contains also the _death-song of hjalmar_), as well as in the _saga of Örvar odd_, ch. , and in saxo grammaticus, _dan. hist._, p. . the island of samsø is situated half way between jutland and sjælland. iv. _exposing the child_, etc. for the custom of exposing infants, especially girls, at birth, so as to cause their death, see the _saga of gunnlaug ormstungu_, ch. , the _saga of finnbogi rammi_, etc. a similar custom prevailed in ancient greece. cf. plato, _rep._ v, ; aristophanes, _clouds_, l. f. _sprinkled with water._ sprinkling a child with water when a name was given to it appears to have been customary in heathen times. cf. the _saga of harold the fairhaired_ (_heimskringla_), ch. ; the _saga of haakon the good_, ch. ; the _saga of egil skallagrimsson_, ch. ; _völsunga saga_, ch. . _she grew up_, etc. cf. the description of the later hervör in ch. . _here is a poem_, etc. the poem is probably earlier than the saga in its present form. heusler (_eddica minora_, p. xxi) refers it to the early part of the twelfth century. _i will give you my necklace_, etc. note the discrepancy between the poem and the prose at this point. in the former it would seem to be hervör who offers a necklace, and this is what we should expect. _foolish is he who comes here alone_, etc. cf. j. m. synge, _the aran islands_, iii: "we went up on the dun, where michael said he had never been before after nightfall, though he lives within a stone's throw.... these people make no distinction between the natural and the supernatural." v. _ghosts_, i.e. the animated corpses of the people buried there. _nor other kinsman._ there is a lacuna in the text of the ms. at this point. vi. _bring up the child_, etc. it was customary for men in high station to send their children to be brought up and educated in the houses of relatives and friends. _reithgotaland_ is here explained as jutland; but in ch. , heithrek's subjects are described as _gotar_, i.e. goths; and in the latter part of the saga, from ch. onwards, the subject is clearly a war between the goths and huns. the earliest occurrence of the word (in the swedish inscription of rök; cf. also _vafþrúþnismál_, str. ) gives not _reithgotaland_, but _hraithgotaland_, which suggests that the name may be connected in some way with _hrethgotan_, a name applied to the goths in anglo-saxon poetry. vii. _divination._ the phrase means literally, 'the casting of bits of wood at the sacrifice.' cf. tacitus, _germania_, ch. . _every second man._ _annanhvárn_, apparently for _annanhvern_. _hall of the dís._ it is not clear who the _dís_ was, as the word is used rather loosely for supernatural female beings. another reference to the _hall of the dís_ occurs in _ynglingasaga_, ch. . one of the goddesses (freyja?) may be meant; or it may be the guardian spirit of the family. viii. _land of the saxons._ cf. the _tháttr of nornagest_, ch. and note. _sifka and hlöth._ the names here mentioned, together with _heithrek_ and _angantyr_, are believed by some scholars to recur in _widsiþ_, l. , where we find _heaðoric and sifecan, hliðe and incgenðeow_, mentioned as being among the followers of eormenric. these names clearly come from gothic tradition, but the passage would seem to suggest that _sifeca_ was a man, the sibich of the german poems. cf. chambers, _widsith_, p. . for the name lotherus in saxo, see note to ch. , p. . _holmgarth_, i.e. novgorod. ix. _wendland_, i.e. the 'land of the slavs' (anglo-saxon _weonodland_). after the expansion of the slavs, from the fifth century onwards, this term came to denote an enormous expanse of country, including the coast of eastern germany, to which it is applied in the account of the voyage of wulfstan in alfred's translation of _orosius_. in earlier times, when the goths still occupied poland and galicia, the slavs were restricted to the regions east of these countries. _his horse fell dead._ here the point of the story seems to be missed, or at least not clearly expressed. according to höfund's fifth maxim (see ch. ), heithrek was not to ride his best horse when he was in a hurry. x. _they had a daughter._ from our text it would appear that hervör was the daughter of sifka; but the end of ch. is probably a late addition to the text. in the text printed by rafn, hervör is expressly stated to be a daughter of hergerth. _ormar_ is presumably to be identified with the _wyrmhere_ mentioned in _widsiþ_, l. , in connection with the war waged by the goths against the huns in defence of their ancient fatherland, round the forest of the vistula. _gestumblindi._ for this curious name, cf. the _gestiblindus gothorum rex_ mentioned by saxo grammaticus, _dan. hist._, p. ff. _in the king's retinue there were seven men_, etc. in the text (_a_) of this saga printed in rafn's edition (_fornaldar sögur_, i, p. ), there are said to be twelve men here. this is no doubt the right figure, twelve being the regular number in the judicial councils of the north, whether historical or legendary. thus, e.g. in the _saga of olaf the holy_ (_heimskringla_), ch. we read of a council of twelve sages (_spekingar_), whose duty it was to advise the swedish king, especially in the administration of justice. similar councils existed in the danish settlements in england. thus lincoln and stamford had each a council of twelve (cf. stubbs, _const. hist._, i, p. , and n. ). we may compare the twelve priests who officiated in the sacrifices at mæren (cf. the _saga of olaf the holy, heimskr_. ch. ), and the story of the twelve gods who were appointed by othin as temple priests (_hof-goðar_) to keep up the sacrifices and administer justice among men; cf. _ynglingasaga_, ch. (_hyndluljóð_, str. ; _gautrekssaga_, ch. ). in the irish _lay of magnus barelegs_, the norwegians are referred to as _clann an dá [.c]o[.m]airlea[.c] déag_ ('children or clan of the twelve councillors'). cf. _laoi[.d] ma[.g]nius moir_ (_reliques of irish poetry_, by charlotte brooke, dublin , p. ). _king heithrek worshipped frey._ one text quoted by rafn (_verelius_) has _freyja_ for _frey_. the boar appears in stories relating to both these deities, e.g. _gylfaginning_, ch. ; _skáldskaparmál_, ch. ; _hyndlulióð_, str. , . xi. _i would that i had that_, etc. on these riddles see heusler, _eddica minora_, p. xc ff.; 'diealtnordischen rätsel' in _zeitschrift des vereins für volkskunde_, xi, p. ff.; tupper, _modern language notes_, , p. ; _the riddles of the exeter book_, p. lii, etc. in the original the riddles are all in verse, while the king's answers, except the refrain with which they begin ("your riddle is a good one," etc.) are in prose. _you went over a bridge_, etc. the metrical text given by rafn (_fornaldar sögur_, i, p. ), has: "a bird flew above thee, a fish swam beneath thee, thou did'st go over a bridge." the prose text given on the same page has: "thou did'st go over a bridge, and the course of the river was beneath thee, but birds were flying over thy head and on both sides of thee, and that was their road." _delling's doorway._ delling (perhaps from an obsolete word _dallr_, 'bright, shining') is mentioned in _vafþrúþnismál_, str. , as the 'father of day.' possibly he may originally have been a personification of day itself. the expression "before delling's doorway" occurs also in _hávamál_, str. , where it has been thought to mean 'at sunrise.' see also the genealogy in _hversu noregr bygðist_, ch. i (_fornaldar sögur_, ii, p. ), where a certain svanhild is said to be the daughter of day, the son of delling, and of sól (i.e. the sun), the daughter of mundilfari (cf. _gylfaginning_, ch. ii). _wolves are always struggling for it._ see _gylfaginning_, ch. (from _grímnismál_, str. ). _he who made it_, etc. i have followed heusler's reading and read _er_ for _ker_ and _þó_ or _sjá_ for _þá_. _laying their eggs._ for _verja_ read _verpa_. _have no husbands._ for _eigu_, read _eigut_, as on p. . _game of chess._ the text has _hneftafl_, i.e. a game having certain features in common with chess which was played in iceland till the introduction of the latter, probably in the thirteenth century. game-pieces have been discovered in iceland which were probably used for this game. some are plain and hemispherical in shape, others are shaped with a man's head or a dog's head. for a full and interesting description of _hneftafl_ see h. j. r. murray, _a history of chess_, oxford, , appendix i, 'chess in iceland,' pp. - . _Ægis meyjar._ Ægir or hlér, the husband of rann, is a personification of the sea; but the kennings 'Ægir's daughters,' 'Ægir's steed,' etc. for 'billows' are common in poetry. see _helgakviða hundingsbana_ ii, str. , and _bragar-ræður_, ch. (included in brodeur's translation of the _prose edda_ as _skáldskaparmál_, ch. i). _reefs._ for _brimserkum_, read _brimskerjum_. _ocean-path._ for _brim-reiðar_, read _brim-leiðar_. the passage is possibly corrupt. _that is the hunn._ this stanza is difficult to interpret as we have no clear information as to the character of the game. it would seem that like the game of the welsh _tawlbwrdd_, it was played between sides composed, the one of sixteen 'fair' (white) men, the other of a king (called _hnefa_ or _hunn_) and eight 'dark' (black) men. cf. note to _game of chess_ above. see also murray, _a history of chess_, oxford , appendix i, 'chess in iceland,' pp. - . _four walking_, etc. this riddle is found in a form almost identical with our text in jakobsen's _dialect and place names of shetland_ (lerwick, ), p. . the 'sow' is also found in the _exeter book_, while 'the waves,' 'the anchor' and 'hailstones' have certain affinities with the as. riddles. _king itrek's game._ the reference here seems to be to a game something like chess. the text (r) given by heusler in his edition of the _eddica minora_, p. , reads: "that is itrek and andath when they sit at their game." _dead men_, etc. in this strophe there seems to be an elaborate play on words. the phrase 'dead men' (_dauðar menn_) seems to be a disguise for _val_ which means 'the slain' as well as 'hawk.' so also 'channel of blood' seems to be a disguise for _æði_ which means 'vein' as well as 'eider-duck.' _sleipnir._ othin's eight-footed horse. cf. especially _gylfaginning_, ch. . _tell me lastly_, etc. in _vafþrúþnismál_, str. , othin makes himself known to vafþrúþnir by the same question. xii. _this pike_, etc. this verse is generally supposed to come from a lost poem on heithrek. _mountains of harvathi._ it is thought that _harvathi_ may be the early teutonic name for the carpathians--a reminiscence of gothic times. _humli and hlöth._ these names may be compared with _humblus_ and _lotherus_, two sons of dan, the first kings mentioned in saxo grammaticus, _dan. hist._, p. . for the name _hlöð_ cf. also note to ch. , p. . _poem._ for this poem on the battle between the goths and the huns, see heusler, _eddica minora_, p. vii ff., and notes. in part at least it appears to be very old. _myrkvith._ the forest _myrkvith_ is mentioned also in _atlakviða_, str. , , and ; and in _helgakviða hundingsbana_, i, str. . _pillar_, lit. 'stone.' i do not know what is meant. possibly _guðrúnarkviða_ iii, str. may be compared. _danaper's shore._ _danpr_ is treated as a personal name in _rígsþula_, str. , but it is more likely to have been originally the name of the river dnieper (mentioned by jordanes, _the origins and deeds of the goths_, ch. , , as _danaper_), which was within the territories of the goths in the fourth century. xiii. _gizur._ there appear to be reminiscences of this story in saxo, book v, e.g. in regard to the numbering of the hunnish forces. _gizur_ seems to correspond to eric in saxo p. f. it has been suggested that he is othin in disguise. _hazle stakes._ cf. the _tháttr of nornagest_, ch. (note). xiv. _they rode forthwith ... against the huns._ it has been suggested by heinzel that this battle between the goths and the huns was the great battle fought on the catalaunian plain in a.d.; but the passage in _widsið_ cited on p. points rather to poland. _drew ... lips_, lit. 'drew back his moustache.' _dunheith_ and the other place names are unknown. xv. _the goths were defending_, etc. cf. _widsiþ_, l. ff. xvi. _ivar vithfathmi._ for ivar vithfathmi and his family, see _ynglingasaga_, chs. , , and the first fragment of _skjöldunga saga_ (printed in the _fornaldar sögur_, i, p. ff.), chs. - . _harold hilditönn._ the fullest account of harold hilditönn is that given by saxo grammaticus, _dan. hist._, p. ff. see also the fragments of the _skjöldunga saga_, ch. ff. _gautland_, i.e. the land of the _geatas_ in _beowulf_, the modern götaland (whether vestergötland or Östergötland or both), comprising roughly speaking the southern portions of sweden, exclusive of the danish districts (skaane etc). _harold of the red moustache._ he was king of agthir. a daughter of his, also called Ása, was married to guthröth, king of vestfold--the _godefridus_ who fought against charlemagne and died in . see _ynglingasaga_, ch. . their son was hálfdan the black, the father of harold the fairhaired. _sigurth hring._ see the _tháttr of nornagest_, ch. and note. _battle of brávöll._ the chief accounts of this battle are to be found in the second fragment of the _skjöldunga saga_, ch. f. (see above); and in saxo grammaticus, _dan. hist._, pp. ff. _the sons of king ragnar._ for ragnar lothbrók and his sons, see the _tháttr of nornagest_, ch. and note. _a sea-king._ cf. the _saga of olaf the holy (heimskringla)_, ch. . _the sons of eric björnson were Önund and björn._ these are probably to be identified with the swedish kings bern and anoundus mentioned in rembertus' _life of st. ansgar_, chs. and , in connection with the saint's missionary visits to sweden (_c._ ). _bragi skald_ was the great grandfather of arinbjörn the friend of egil skallagrímsson. in the _saga of egil skallagrímsson_, ch. , he is said to have saved his life by composing in one night a poem in honour of king björn. some fragments of his poems have been preserved--the earliest datable norse poems which have come down to us. _king harold the fairhaired._ see the _tháttr of nornagest_, ch. , and note. _eric the victorious._ the battle won by eric the victorious over styrbjörn at fyrisvellir seems to have taken place between and . several runic inscriptions contain references to it. the statement that harold the fairhaired died in eric's time can hardly be correct; for harold is believed to have died in . _fyrisvellir_, on the banks of the fyriså, close to the site of the modern town of upsala. _olaf the swede._ the traditional date of his conversion is . _olaf the saint_, ex-king of norway, whence he had been expelled in , was killed at the battle of stiklestad in in an attempt to recover the throne. _he tried to put an end to_, etc. an interesting account of the heathen ceremonies of the swedes, dating from shortly after the middle of the eleventh century, is given by adam of bremen in his _history of the church of hamburg_, book iv., ch. f. _the sacred tree._ the sacrificial tree in question is presumably that mentioned in schol. to adam of bremen as standing beside the great temple of upsala. _eymund_, _c._ -_c._ . _steinkel_, - . _haakon the red_, - ? _ingi i_, d. _c._ . he, hallstein and blótsvein were all reigning in . _philippus_, d. . _ingi ii_, d. . griplur i . _gnoth-Ásmund_, etc. for notes on people mentioned in the _gríplur_, see notes to the _saga of hromund greipsson_, p. ff. above. . _draupnir's beautiful blood_, a _kenning_ for 'gold rings.' draupnir was the name of othin's ring which was made by the smith eitri and sent to othin by his brother brokk. its special value lay in the fact that every ninth night, eight gold rings dropped from it. cf. _skáldskaparmál_, ch. . cf. also _völuspá_, str. , where draupnir is mentioned in the list of dwarfs. the faroese ballad of nornagest _refrain._ according to lyngbye the refrain should be: _you dare not give counsel in trouble_, etc. others have it _let them have help in trouble._ schrøter took down the first two verses as follows: a ballad there is of nornagest,-- _you dare not give counsel in trouble_-- in manly virtues among the best.-- _let every lad do so!_ twelve oxen were led to the market square, and onward thence to a castle fair.-- _grani bore gold from the heath._ the king he thought to hew them to earth,-- _you dare not give counsel in trouble_-- with courage and joy does he sally forth,-- _let every lad do so!_ the king he struck such a mighty blow, that the blood from the wounds did swiftly flow. _grani bore gold from the heath._ . _the mightiest champion_, etc. in lyngbye's version and are transposed. hammershaimb's is no doubt the correct order. . _was högni_, etc. lyngbye here inserts a stanza: högni was a mighty man: swarthy of hue was he as i ween. . _rich, brave_, etc. the suderø version of the ballad here substitutes at the beginning of the line: "they were old and grey." . _the saddle-buckle_, etc. in lyngbye's version of the _ballad of regin the smith_, v. (omitted by hammershaimb) the following stanza is found: [grani] sprang across the pool and his saddle-buckle brake. and as i ween that saddle-buckle nornagest did take. in the _ballad of regin the smith_ we are told that the accident to grani occurred when sigurth was on his way home from gnítaheið after slaying fafnir. grani was heavily laden with treasure and sigurth also was mounted on him, so that the accident there appears perfectly natural. _in days_, etc. so hammershaimb. lyngbye has: in days gone by full far have i strayed in search of my candle and span of days. _in the land._ here lyngbye has: in the land of the franks is a lake broad and wide: o there does my span of life abide. o there does my span of life abide: and so for long i have wandered far and wide. but he adds a version corresponding to hammershaimb's in a footnote and states that it is frequently sung so. . _the courteous man._ according to lyngbye, by a 'courteous man,' the faroese mean a _scotsman_ and says that the origin of the word (_kurtis_) is unknown. it is of course the same as the icelandic _kurteis_ which is a french loan-word. according to lyngbye it was still part of popular faroese legend in his day that nornagest kept his candle in a little leaden casket which was sunk in a lake. lyngbye says that nornagest was regarded as the 'nestor' of the faroes, which is quite in accordance both with his "three hundred years" mentioned in the saga, and with the unusually long span of life often associated with the external soul of folklore. the ballad of hjalmar and angantyr . _in a high oak-tree._ in the version of this ballad obtained by hammershaimb at sumbø the first line runs 'a man there lived on (lit. 'in') an island high,' whereas in the _ballad of arngrim's sons_, v. , we are told that arngrim and his sons lived 'under' an oak. possibly the first line of our text is a confusion of these two versions. the error is made more comprehensible by the fact that there are no trees on the faroes, and so the phrase must have been a meaningless jingle of words to the singers. _arngrim's sons from africa._ the text has 'arngrim's sons from bláland,' by which the faroese ballads and the _fornaldar sögur_ generally mean africa. here, however, we should more naturally have expected 'norway,' and it is very probable that, as hammershaimb suggests, we here have the refrain in a corrupt form as so often happens. probably 'from bláland' (_af blálandum_) should be 'from bólmland' (af _bólmlandi_), i.e. from the island of bólm, but the faroese may have substituted the more familiar name for that of the island with which they were unacquainted. . _the champions hjalmar_, etc. the sumbø version has: he has eleven sons so dear; the twelfth is the warrior angantyr, and also inserts immediately following a verse giving reasons for the voyage: news then came to angantyr that a man there was had a daughter fair. . _they hoisted their sail_, etc. cf. _sigmundar kvæði_, str. , , . . _their anchor they cast_, etc. cf. _magna dans_ (_icelandic fornkvæði_) v. , with which this is practically identical. . _angantyr eagerly_, etc. the lit. transl. of the text is 'angantyr was the first to step,' etc.; but the following v. has 'hjalmar was the first to step!' the sumbø version, which is undoubtedly better here, has _angantyr loypur so tungliga á land_ angantyr leapt so heavily to land, instead of _fyrstur steig angantýr fótum á land_ angantyr was the first to step with his feet to land. . _here sittest thou_, etc. in the sumbø version, hjalmar's request is not recorded. the repetition of angantyr's request in our text, if it has any significance at all, implies that both hjalmar and angantyr made the proposal. . _o franklin, lend me_, etc. the sumbø version here inserts an additional verse. angantyr is so vile a troll, so are his kinsfolk and followers all. . _forth of the hall._ in the sumbø version the fight took place outside the hall, and only angantyr is credited with the troll-like bellowing. indeed one feels throughout the sumbø version a more clearly defined hostility to angantyr on the part of the balladist, whereas the westmanhavn version is more detached in its attitude. the danish ballad of angelfyr and helmer . _offue he dwelt in uthiss-kier_, so ms. a. ms. b has "_alff ... odderskier_." ms. c. has "_ulff ... oderskier_." ms. d has "_alff ... odderskiær_." axel olrik, however, in the version which he prints in _danske folkeviser i udvalg_, p. f. has "alf ... odderskær." he explains (introduction, p. ) alf to be 'a combination of arngrim the father of the berserks and hjalmar's foster-brother Örvarodd.' . _gold shone on his hand._ the phrase is not quite clear. it may possibly refer to some personal ornament, but in view of the following line, would seem more probably to indicate that angelfyr offered money to the king of upsala. . _he is half a troll_, so a, which is in accordance with angelfyr's ancestry as told in the _saga of hervör and heithrek_, ch. i. b and d, however, like the faroese, have 'he is so vile a troll.' a gives little sense, considering the second half of the verse, and the whole becomes a meaningless formula in all the versions in which angantyr and hjalmar are described as brothers. . _whom he himself will have._ possibly _han_, 'he,' is a misprint for _hón_, 'she,' which is what we should expect. cf. the _saga of hervör and heithrek_, ch. . one hardly expects a cynical touch like this in an authentic ballad. but the whole of the latter part of b may be a later version than the original. the faroese ballad of arngrim's sons _refrain._ i have adopted the refrain given in hammershaimb's version of the ballad, taken down on sandø in and published in the _antiq. tídss._, - , rather than svabo's version which he afterwards adopted, but which is very obscure and possibly corrupt. . _bjarnaland_, so sing the faroese according to both svabo and hammershaimb. by _bjarnaland_ they mean norway. contrast, however, the _saga of hervör and heithrek_, ch. , where we are distinctly told that angantyr's mother was eyfura who had been carried off by arngrim from _bjarmaland_ (i.e. the land of the perms) where her father was king. see also the note on this passage. the faroese have no doubt confused the unfamiliar name with one more familiar to themselves. . _beneath oak trees live they_--a common ballad formula with no real significance. it is interesting, however, as a touch indicating the literary origin of this and other stories told in the faroese ballads. as has been remarked (see p. above) there are no trees on the faroes. on the other hand farm houses in scandinavian lands stand frequently beneath the shadow of a large oak. for a discussion of this subject, see chadwick, _cult of othin_ (cambridge, ), p. ff. compare the scottish ballad of _rose the red and white lily_, v. : then out and spak' the king again, says, "bonny boy, tell to me who lives into yon bigly bow'r, stands by yon green oak-tree?" . _arngrim and the earl's lady_, etc. so svabo. in hammershaimb's version (_antiq. tídss._ - ) she is described as the daughter of angantyr. . _better than fighting_, etc. the incident of a _boy_ playing too roughly with his companions and being told by them to go and avenge his father instead of maltreating them is very widespread. prof. ker notes its occurrence (_on the history of the ballads_ - , p. ) in the irish romance of maelduin, in four norwegian, five faroese, two or three danish ballads, in a literary history of the arabs and in new guinea. . _water she cast_, etc. the passage is obscure. it is not clear if hervik had actually been fighting with the 'lads,' so that the cleansing of her armour was an actual necessity; or if she had only been playing rather roughly. _leika_ can mean both 'to play' and 'to fight'; and _leikvöllr_ may mean both a 'playground' and a 'battlefield.' if hervik had only been playing, the throwing of the water on the armour was possibly a rite performed before undertaking vengeance. . _die on straw._ to 'die on straw' is the regular idiom in faroese and icelandic for to 'die in one's bed,' of old age or sickness, as opposed to death by the sword. . _isan's grove._ hammershaimb suggests that by _isan's land_ here and in vv. and below the faroese mean _samsø_. on the other hand there was a forest in holstein in ancient times called _isarnho_, and some such name may possibly be preserved here. there was a king _isung_ mentioned in the danish ballad _de vare syv og syvsindstyve_, as an opponent of king _didrik_; but it is improbable that his land is here indicated. . _she drew a shirt from out the chest_, etc.--a common ballad motif. a verse almost identical with this is to be found in the _kvæði of regin the smith_, v. . . _up then rose hervik_, etc. vv. , , and are identical with vv. - (inclusive) of _olufu kvæði_, the only change being that 'hugin the king' takes the place of 'hervik the earl's daughter.' they are practically identical too with the _kvæði of the jómsvíkingar_, vv. - (inclusive). cf. also _sjurðar kvæði_ (iii _högna táttur_, vv. - ), and _ragnarlikkja_, vv. - . . _striped gold on a scarlet ground._ the text has _gull við reyðan brand_, which is probably a mishearing of the line _gull við reyðan rand_ ('with a gold stripe on a red ground'). verse of _brúsajökils kvæði_ (which is otherwise identical with the above) gives in the second line _gull við ráum brann_ ('gold blazed on the yardarms'). in hammershaimb's version of our ballad, vv. , , the line is _gulli vovin við rand_ ('woven with gold in stripes'), as also in v. of the _kvæði of ormar torolvsson_. the line also occurs in the form _gull við vágum rann_ ('the margin of the ship was gold down to where it touched the waves'). this is no doubt corrupt, but it is difficult to conjecture as to which of all the variants was the original form of the line. . _cast she down her anchor_, etc. vv. , are the almost invariable formula for the landing in the faroese ballads. they are practically identical with v. of _olufu kvæði_ and vv. , of the _kvæði of ormar torolvsson_. cf. also _sigmundar kvæði_, v. ; _brúsajökils kvæði_, v. and the _kvæði of alvur kongur_, vv. - and _sjurðar kvæði_ (_högna táttur_, vv. - ). . _herd and fee._ either the word _jæge_ or the word _fæ_ seems to have an unusual sense here. . _though quake now fell and fold._ the original (_kyk gekk jörð á fold_) is not clear. i have merely adopted grundtvig's translation of hammershaimb's early text in the _antiq. tídss_. - . the ed. substitutes _hon_ for _jörð_ which is better. . _all in the middle_, etc. there is obviously a lacuna or transference of some kind here. for this and the following verses, cf. _olufu kvæði_, vv. , , which are identical except the names. indeed it is a common formula in the faroese and danish ballads, and occurs in the _kvæði of ormar torolvsson_, v. ; and the _kvæði of alvur kongur_, v. . . _a hundred men and five_--a stock number in the faroese ballads. cf. the _kvæði of ormar torolvsson_, v. , where we are also told that the king sat at the board 'with a hundred men and five.' cf. also _olufu kvæði_, v. . . _mead or wine_, etc. cf. _sjurðar kvæði_ (iii, _högna táttur_, v. ). . perhaps we should here again assume a lacuna or transposition. _uppland_ is the old name for the modern province of upsala in sweden. . _her cheeks they are as red and white_, etc. cf. the _kvæði of finnur hin fríði_, v. . cf. also the old celtic romance of the _fate of the sons of usna_: "i should like," said deirdre, "that he who is to be my husband should have these three colours: his hair as black as the raven: his cheeks red as the blood: his skin like the snow" (joyce's translation). cf. also grimm's story of _little snowdrop_. . _forth then when his frigate_, etc. vv. - are found in almost identical form in _olufu kvæði_, vv. - . . _angantyr was the first to light_, etc. a common ballad formula, both faroese and danish. . _i would not that lady ingibjörg hear_, etc. lit. "the lady ingibjörg will learn that i fled." there is a suppressed condition. "if i let you fight, the lady ingibjörg would learn, etc." hammershaimb's text (_antiq. tídss._) v. , has a negative and no condition: "the lady ingibjörg shall not learn," etc. . _o hjalmar, give me now a drink._ this incident appears to be taken from _gunnlaugs saga_, ch. . the faroese gatu rima . _thunder is the red drum._ probably _reyða_ ('red') is a printer's error for _reiða_ ('angry'), though the same form occurs also in the version of the ballad published in the _antiquarisk tídsskrift_. in v. , however, we find _skarið_ whereas in v. the word is written _skarðið_, the form used in both verses in _antiq. tídss._, and the two words are obviously identical in both verses. moreover in v. _einir_ ('own,' 'single') which gives little sense, is surely an error for _eingir_ ('no,' adj.) as in vv. , , . the negative is also found in v. in the version in the _antiq. tídss._, in the form _ei_, 'they have _not_ fathers or mothers.' indeed the entire ballad would seem to be somewhat carelessly printed in _færöiske kvæðer_. hildina . _st magnus_, earl of orkney, to . a cathedral was built at kirkwall in his honour by one of his successors, earl ronald. editions of texts used for translations part i _fornaldar sögur norðrlanda_, ed. by c. c. rafn, published at copenhagen, . _fornaldar sögur norðrlanda_, ed. by valdimar Ásmundarson, published by sigurður kristjánsson, reykjavík, - . _die prosaische edda im auszuge nebst völsungasaga und nornageststháttr_, ed. with introduction and glossary by ernst wilken, paderborn, . nd ed., . _sagaen om hervar ok kong heiðrek_, ed. by n. n. petersen and published (together with a danish translation by g. thorarensen), by the norse literature society, copenhagen, . part ii _færöiske kvæðer henhørende til hervarar saga_, published by v. u. hammershaimb in the _antiquarisk tídsskrift_, - , copenhagen, . _færöiske kvæðer_, published by v. u. hammershaimb at copenhagen, part i, ; part ii, . _danmarks gamle folkeviser_, vol. i, collected and edited by svend grundtvig, . _gríplur_, published in _rímnasafn_, edited by finnur jónsson, copenhagen, - , p. ff. note: translations the following is a list of english translations of works referred to in the notes of the present volume. it is not in the nature of a bibliography; but for the convenience of english readers, reference has been given, whenever english translations are accessible, to the translations in preference to the original work. _corpus poeticum boreale_, 'the poetry of the old northern tongue from the earliest times to the thirteenth century,' vols., vigfússon and powell, oxford, . _five pieces of runic poetry_, including _hervör and angantyr_, translated into prose by bishop percy, . _hickes's thesaurus_, including _hervör and angantyr_, translated into prose, oxford, . _the elder or poetic edda_, part i, _the mythological poems_, translated and edited by olive bray; printed for the viking club, . _the edda of sæmund_, translated by b. thorpe, published by trübner and co., london, . _the prose edda_, translated by a. g. brodeur, new york, . saxo grammaticus, _danish history_, books i-ix, translated from the latin by professor elton; published by d. nutt, (the numbers in the notes refer to the pages of the translation, and not to the original latin). _the heimskringla_, translated by w. morris and e. magnússon; published by b. quaritch in _the saga library_, . _the saga of king olaf tryggwason_, translated by j. sephton and published by d. nutt in _the northern library_, london (different from _the story of olaf tryggvison_ contained in the _heimskringla_). _islands landnámabók_--'the book of the settlement of iceland,' translated by t. ellwood and published at kendal, . _the story of egill skallagrímsson_, translated by w. c. green, published by elliot stock, . _grettissaga--the story of grettir the strong_, translated by e. magnússon and w. morris, published by longmans, green and co. (new edition), . also translated by g. a. hight in dent's _everyman_ series. _brennu njálssaga--the story of burnt njal_, translated by g. w. dasent; published by edmonston and douglas, edinburgh ; republished by dent in the _everyman_ series. _three northern love stories and other tales_, translated by e. magnússon and w. morris. nd ed. . _völsunga saga--the story of sigurth the völsung_, translated by w. morris and e. magnússon; published by the 'walter scott' publishing co. ltd., london and felling-on-tyne. _the nibelungenlied--the lay of the nibelung men_, translated into verse by arthur s. way; published at the cambridge university press, . also _the lay of the nibelungs_, translated into prose by alice horton, and edited by edward bell; published by george bell and sons, london, . also _the fall of the nibelungs_, translated by m. armour in dent's _everyman_ series. a further list of english translations of sagas not referred to in this book will be found in craigie's _icelandic sagas_, ch. vii, p. . a list of foreign translations, especially translations into the various teutonic languages, will be found in _islandica_, issued by the cornell university library, vol. v, compiled by halldór hermansson, , pp. - (general) and _passim_. cambridge: printed by j. b. peace, m.a., at the university press * * * * * transcriber's note: throughout this book 'i' (roman numeral 'one') has been used for ' ' (one). in the case of 'ii' and 'iii' it is not always clear whether the author referred to , or (eleven); or , or (one hundred and eleven). (the number keys on some old typewriters only contained numerals to . capital 'i' was used for ' ', and capital 'o' for zero). page : irish gaelic: original had dots over the letters 'c', 'm', 'd' and 'g'. 'c', 'm', 'd' and 'g', with dots above, are shown as [.c], [.m], [.d] and [.g]. "in the irish _lay of magnus barelegs_, the norwegians are referred to as _clann an dá [.c]o[.m]airlea[.c] déag_ ('children or clan of the twelve councillors'). cf. _laoi[.d] ma[.g]nius moir_ (_reliques of irish poetry_, by charlotte brooke, dublin , p. )." accents on proper names are not necessarily consistent throughout this book. errata sundry missing or damaged punctuation has been repaired. text corrections: page : 'hyndlulj[=ó]th' corrected to 'hyndluljóth' other occurence in this book: 'hyndluljóth' (no macron); ... elsewhere: [hyndluljóð] (wikipedia). (the 'o' had a macron (line over, indicated as [=o]) as well as the acute accent). page : 'bridal' corrected to 'bridle' ... "but sigurth pulled hardest the bridle rein." page : 'wou d' corrected to 'would' - missing letter replaced: "xi. _i would that i had that_, etc." generously made available by the internet archive/american libraries.) frey and his wife the novels of maurice hewlett. the forest lovers. a lovers' tale. the queen's quair. little novels of italy. richard yea-and-nay. the stooping lady. fond adventures. new canterbury tales. halfway house. open country. rest harrow. brazenhead the grout. the fool errant. spanish jade. [illustration: "gunnar gave her the cloak, and she cast it over frey's shoulder, ... while she whispered to him what it was." (page .) _frey and his wife_] [_frontispiece_ ] frey and his wife by maurice hewlett _author of "the forest lovers," etc._ ward, lock & co., limited london, melbourne and toronto contents chap. page i who and what was ogmund ravensson, and why called ogmund dint ii how ogmund dint did nothing, and presently sailed home to thwartwater; and what battle-glum thought about it all iii of king olaf trygvasson; and of sigurd helming and gunnar, his brother iv ogmund dint comes again to norway, and meets gunnar on the hard of drontheim v ogmund dint satisfies himself, and sails home vi the hue-and-cry for halward neck vii gunnar crosses the mountains viii gunnar in the forest hears tell of frey and his wonders ix gunnar meets with frey. concerning frey's wife x talk between gunnar and sigrid xi gunnar turns frey about against frey's will xii the winter feasts xiii frey makes ready to go his rounds xiv frey starts on his rounds xv the snowstorm xvi marriage of sigrid xvii morrow of the storm xviii news of frey reaches norway xix sigurd in sweden. the battle of the ford xx the end of the tale chapter i who and what was ogmund ravensson, and why called ogmund dint it's hard to tell why men could not get along with ogmund ravensson; but so it was, and something must be said about it. he was of thrall-origin, it is true, for raven, his father, who became very rich and lived in the north, in skaga firth, had been a thrall. glum, of thwartwater, who was better known as battle-glum, had owned him, and had given him his freedom. more than that, he had taken in fostership his son ogmund, and brought him up with his own son, wigfus, and made much of him, putting him in a fair way to gain money and renown on his own account. when wigfus went out to norway and took service with earl haakon things stood better than ever for ogmund; for glum was ageing and had no other young man so much in favour about him. a thrall for your father was not thought well of; but it had not so far stood in ogmund's way with glum, and there must have been more against him than that. indeed, the tale says that his mother was related by blood to battle-glum, and that would be more than enough to cover the taint on his father. he grew up to be a fine, broad-shouldered, portly, upstanding man, with a black beard; he had a large, flexible nose, strong eyebrows, white hands. his eyes were somewhat small and near together; grey eyes, and a cast in one of them. but what of that? plenty men have it, and no harm done. finally, he was a great talker, full of his reasons for or against a thing. other men don't like that, i fancy. they don't follow the reasoning; and the better it is the less they want it. here are some of the causes of ogmund's lack of friends. but battle-glum, who, as i say, was getting old, was averse from change. he watched him from under bushy white brows, he watched him with quick eye-blinks, and shut his lips the firmer, men used to think, for fear he might let fly a volley at the man he had bred up from a child. when the time came, and ogmund desired to see the world, glum furnished a ship for him and found everything. so it was that ogmund became a shipman and began to get on. he made money, and spent money. he had a fine person, and knew it very well. he was fond of adorning it. he liked furs, and gold-work; he wore a chain round his neck, and a good ring on his forefinger. he had as yet no wife in iceland, but his fancy ran upon a young woman of good family, of glum's kindred and, since that was so, of the kindred of earl haakon, of norway. in the meantime, he had a bondwoman in norway, and a steading in very good land not far from the firth. she was a pretty and good girl who did her duty by him and his household there, and by her children also who were dependent upon ogmund and what ogmund's whim might be. her name was gerda; but she has little to do with the tale, which begins here with a voyage made by ogmund some three years before the coming of king olaf trygvasson into norway. for this voyage ogmund bought a new ship from some men in the north, and embarked a great store of merchantable goods which he had from his father raven, as well as what his own money could furnish him forth. all this he told his foster-father glum; and then he said, "i hope that you will take it well in me, glum, that i ask nothing of you for this venture." to that glum, blinking hard, replied that there were things which any man might ask of another without reproach. "but," said ogmund, "i would venture what i have of my own, so that what i win may be my own without cavil." "that's very fair," said glum; "and what is it you expect to get out of the voyage?" ogmund laughed a little, and spoke lightly. "why," he said, "i expect to get rather more than i give for everything. that is the trader's way, the chapman's way. if he has a piece of goods that breeds no profit, overboard with it. it has not earned its stowage." now glum had his lips shut like a trap, and blinked fearfully. "ah," he said, "and fame, and great report, and the lifted hands of men--what of those?" "they are good," said ogmund. "of them, too, you may trust me to render account." "such accounts," said glum, "are not to be made in money." "well," said ogmund. and that was all he did say. then glum looked at him with earnest eyes; and this time he did not blink at all. "many a man goes abroad," he said, "who is of no greater promise than you are, so far as can be seen. now i have it close at heart that in the voyage you make you should rather get honour than store of money. but you may have both, i believe, if you go rightly to work." "to be sure i can," said ogmund; and soon after this--rather late in midsummer it was--he set out from thwartwater. they started in fair weather, with a westerly wind which blew steady and strong. it held them all through the voyage, and when they sighted the islands which lie close together in the channel of the hardanger firth, it was still blowing steadily. but it was dusk when they saw the islands, and close upon nightfall when they were threading the course between them; and the pilot whom they had aboard was strong for bringing up for the night in good anchorage, such as they could have where they were, rather than to push on and try to make the haven in the dark. ogmund, who was in a hurry, said, there was a moon, and they had a fair wind. who knew how long it would hold? and suppose that in the morning it should come off the land, and keep them beating about for a week or more? he was vehemently for going, and he was master of the ship; so they went on in the dark. that which happened might have been foreseen, and very likely was so by the pilot. in one of the narrow sounds between the islands there were long ships moored in the fairway. before they knew it they drove into one of them amidships, cut her in half and held on their course. whether ogmund knew it or not--and i suppose he did--that was the way of it. the crew of the rammed ship were all in the water and most of them were saved. but none of them were saved by ogmund's vessel. she ran on her way before the wind, and made the haven and was drawn up on to the mainland. the pilot had something to say when he had his ship laid up; the crew had something to say. there were not two opinions among them. but ogmund took a strong line of his own at the time. he said, "the ship lay in the fairway where no ship has business to be. every man must take care of himself first, but no man has a right to risk his life if, in so doing, he risks the lives of other men. you may take my word for it, those were no seamen on board that vessel. why, what are we to think of men who berth themselves in the fairway, regardless of traffickers who come and go out of bergen, so great a town? what of good icelanders faring on the sea? are their lives, is their property, of no account at all? no, no. we were right and they were wrong; and that is all there is to say." he went ashore in the morning and made himself busy, disposing of his merchandise. now the long ship which he had sunk was one of a fleet of them which sailed under the ensign of earl haakon himself. the master of it was a man of iceland called halward, who had been in norway for many years, in the service of the earl, and was a close friend of his. this halward was a great man and a strong man; everybody spoke well of him and desired his good opinion. in the morning, when he had heard the news, he went to earl haakon and told him about it. his men were saved; but his ship and all his gear and merchandise were at the bottom. the earl was greatly put out, and his anger grew as he spoke. "who and what sort of land-lice are these men? are they thralls of iceland upon a first adventure? are men of worth and substance to be tossed into the water like frog-spawn? now, halward, you have my leave to take your due and pleasure of them. it will be a light matter for you, for you see what sort of cravens they are. use your wit, exercise your hands upon them; i give you a free way with them." halward thanked the earl and was for going out then and there to have the law of his assailants; but wigfus, battle-glum's own son, was standing by, and had a word to say. it is very possible that he had an inkling whose ship it was that had been sailed so foully; but if he had he kept it to himself, and was content to plead with the earl that things should go by the law of the land rather than by the power of halward's arm. he urged that halward should take amends from them, if so be that they were willing, as he had no doubt, to submit themselves to the judgment of the earl. "at least," he said, "let halward agree to this, that i go myself and find out what men they are, and what sort of terms may be made with them, supposing that terms may be made at all." halward said nothing in reply to this; but the earl considered the saying, thought it fair and reasonable, and bade wigfus see what he could do. but he said also, "let these men make no mistake. my plane makes thick shavings." by that he meant it to be understood that the fines he should lay would be heavy. wigfus betook himself to the ship where men were busy unloading the merchandise. he soon saw his foster-brother ogmund, and greeted him fairly, asking what news of iceland and his father. ogmund reported all well there, and they talked a little about the thwartwater people. then wigfus opened upon his matter, saying it was going to be awkward, and that ogmund would have a difficult cause to plead. ogmund frowned. "how is it to be difficult?" he said. "to my mind it's as plain as daylight." "if you had waited for daylight it had been very much better," said wigfus, and told him what had been said that morning at the earl's council. then he spoke strongly about the necessity of laying it all to that lord's judgment; but, "i will do what i can for you, since you are my foster-brother; and we may not come off so badly after all." but ogmund was rather hot, and would not listen to reason. that is the way of men not too sure of their footing; they fan their eloquence and take fire from it. he stated his case as he viewed it, and stated it at length, and several times over. and then he said, "i know this earl of yours so well by common report that i shall be careful to have nothing to do with his dooms and judgments. why!" and he spread his hands wide, palms outwards, "why! look at this, wigfus, that he says beforehand what he will do to me--with his talk of planing me deep and the like. and if i will not lay a case before him where he says nothing, how shall i plead at his judgment-seat when, before a word said, he avows what he will do?" he was very indignant; but by and by he said, "mind you, i do not refuse if he speaks me fair, and keeps an open mind. no, no. i am not a hard man, far from it. so much you may tell earl haakon--to whom, nevertheless, i owe no allegiance; for i am not of his country, but am an icelander, and a well-friended man in those parts." wigfus tossed up his chin. "well, you shall do what seems good, and be ready to meet what befalls you. if earl haakon is angry, you will smart for it. you have not a rat's chance with him; and in my opinion you are talking rank nonsense. but have your own way." now then, wigfus reports to the earl that ogmund will abide his judgment--which was not true, and was even notoriously untrue. so said one of the earl's men who was there at the time, and wigfus could not deny him. then up and spoke halward, that mighty man, and spoke quietly as mighty men may. "i believe that wigfus speaks untruly, and shall take my own way, by your leave, my lord. i did not need a mediator, and can do much better without him what i have to do." earl haakon said, "go on, halward. do what becomes thee." then said wigfus, "give me leave, my lord, to say this. i will be the death of that man who kills ogmund, my foster-brother, and kinsman--for so he is by the mother-side." said halward, "you talk over-big, wigfus," and wigfus said, "i come of a strong stock." "i know that you do," said halward; "i know that the icelanders are good men. but i know this too, that the custom of my country will not suffer a man to be injured without amends offered or taken. neither battle-glum, nor you neither, shall stay me from avenging a shame done me." and earl haakon said that they should not. then halward went down to the shore to board the iceland ship; but he found that she had been run down into the water since the morning, and was now moored a bowshot out. so he took boat and was rowed out to the ship. there on the poop he saw ogmund standing with his arms folded. "are you the master of this ship?" says halward. ogmund said that he was. "i have a case against you, as you know very well, and have come to see what sort of amends you think of offering me." ogmund said, "we will make amends if you don't ask too much." halward's neck grew red. "it would not be easy to ask too much for insolence and knavery like yours." "on those terms," said ogmund, "we cannot deal with you." "that suits me better," halward said, and made a jump for the bulwark of the ship. he swung himself up as easily as a boy into a row-boat; and the moment he was on deck, he aimed at ogmund with the hammer-end of his axe, and felled him like a bullock. down he went, and never stirred. some of the shipmen who were in the forepart of the ship saw it all done; but not one of them cared to move. halward was a very big man. at leisure he went over the side into his boat, and was pulled ashore. then he went to earl haakon and told him what he had done. "you have done well," said the earl. chapter ii how ogmund dint did nothing, and presently sailed home to thwartwater; and what battle-glum thought about it all that was why ogmund ravensson was called ogmund dint, or dint-head. halward's hammer had knocked a great hollow in his skull. men said you could have boiled an egg in it; but that is nonsense. at any rate, he was senseless for a long time, and not his own man all the winter; yet as soon as he was fit to be moved he was carried up into the country, to his house-stead, and given over to his bondwoman to nurse. gerda, who, although she looked as sleek as a stroked kitten, had a shrewd tongue and a clear understanding, employed both to his discomfort--but not until she felt that she was justified. so long as he lay bemused and muttering thickly she was all devotion; but when he picked up a bit, and presently would get out of bed and sit by the fire huddled in a bearskin, she did not scruple. "you look like a shagged rock," she said, "and with a cave in the crown of it, too. pity is that you had so little in your head. if there had been some sense or some manliness there you might have driven against the hatchet. halward would have split it open, it's likely, and who knows what he might have eased you of? a lot of wind." "such talk as that maddens me," said ogmund. "i wish you would have done with it. it becomes you not at all, and puts me out." "that's a service i can do you," said gerda. "you need something of the kind." "woman," said ogmund, "i am meditating my revenge." "yes," said she, "and i have a hen sitting on a chalk egg. she's meditating also." however, she did her duty by him, and as he got stronger she did more. as she said, "it pleases him, and is nothing to me." wigfus came to see him now and then, and told him what had happened. he said that earl haakon held halward to have been justified in what he had done, and that halward himself was content for the moment. "there was plenty more smiting in his axe," halward said, "and if ogmund wants any more he knows now how to get it, and where." ogmund, brooding over the fire, swung his foot violently as he heard, but said nothing. he complained of pains in the head, and dreams at night. gerda scorned him. wigfus went on to say that he himself had taken halward's deed very much awry. he had challenged halward to a battle, and intended to slay him in that wise, or otherwise, but the earl had forbidden battle, and had had a watch set over him, so that he could not get away. he did not then say what was in his mind to say, that he expected ogmund to take vengeance on his own account, because the man was too ill to hear it. but in the spring, when ogmund was about again and seemingly as well as ever he had been, except for the dint in his skull, wigfus waited for him, to see what he would do. ogmund went about his affairs, and had everybody in the haven laughing at him, and cracking their jokes at his dunted head. some said that a sea-bird had made a nest for herself there, some brought eggs from the rocks to put under her. a man wished ogmund to keep it filled with water, and promised him goldfish from his next voyage to the south. every one called him ogmund dint, even the boys who played about on the quayside. but ogmund managed to be very busy, and pretended that they were not talking of him. whenever he met halward in the course of business he looked sternly at him, but without greeting. he considered that the dignified way to deal with him, for the present. to his intimates he said that halward had taken him unawares and dealt a foul blow. "but there's a time for all things," he would conclude; "and so he will learn for himself one fine day." men looked at each other at such talk. wigfus was now at him, insisting upon his taking vengeance. he said he would help him in every way, risking outlawry in the act, for certainly the earl would resent it. but ogmund looked very thoughtful, and one day said fairly that he did not see his way. "what do you mean by that?" said wigfus, taken aback. "we may easily do wrong, i believe," ogmund said, "and add wrong to wrong until you have a regular mixen of wrong at your house-door. but is that good sense? i don't think so. now, to my thinking, i was as much in the wrong as halward was. i am a proud man, and as quick to fire as touchwood. everybody knows it who knows me. if i met halward haughtily i am sure there's no wonder. we can't help our natures. we didn't make ourselves. now that being so, what else could come of it? i ask you. the man being what he was, a common fellow, took it amiss, and struck me a foul blow in the half dusk." he rubbed his hands together, then folded his arms over his chest. "that's the way of the vile. they do vilely, and the wise man lets them be, and the proud man scorns them. but there is another thing, which settles me in my opinion, and i will tell you what it is. this man halward is befriended by the earl; and here are you, my friend, my kinsman, my foster-brother, in the power of the same great man. your father is my foster-father, to whom i owe duty, gratitude, faith and service. it would be a strange way of paying glum my scot and lot if i embroiled his son with an earl, and got him robbed of life or member in my quarrel. no, no. my fingers itch to be at him; i lay hands on myself; i tell you i have to run sometimes lest i should fly at the dog's throat. he knows it too. you can see that by the way he looks at me--all ways at once. but i will not suffer harm to come to my fosterer's son--and there's end of it." at this speech wigfus grew very red, and clenched his two fists. "it is a strange way you have of doing service to battle-glum. and you will get no thanks from me for being more careful of my body than i am myself, if you are not mad, you are something which i don't care to name. whatever i may think of your head with a hole in it i have little doubt about your heart. you have a hare's heart, my man--and there's no driving a hare to meet a hound. and i will trouble you to talk less about our kinship than you please to do at present. you had a father as well as a mother, and he was not of our blood. now you may do as you please; but i should not advise you to hold these speeches with my father; and you shall hold no more of them with me." with that he walked off, leaving ogmund to explain to gerda that it was no use reasoning with an angry man. "that's the way of it," he said. "you try to do a man a service, and he reviles you for it." gerda bit her lip; and at last she said, "you make me ashamed that i am a woman. god knows what sons you may have given me." ogmund boxed her ears; but she said that he should give her no more sons, and she meant it. but ogmund, whatever else may be said about him, was a good chapman. he bustled along with his affairs, made a great deal of money, and sailed away towards midsummer, for iceland. he came prosperously into eyefirth, and when he had settled his business with the ship he rode by the dales into thwartwaterdale, to stay with his foster-father glum. now glum had had news of the coming of the ship, and was told something about the affray with halward. he said very little, but thought very much. ogmund had a short welcome, but took no notice of it. he was so prosperous, he had such a store of good clothes that he felt that all was well, when it was by no means so. he began to take a great part in the affairs of the country-side, gave it out that glum was getting old and wanted to be quiet, that he had no one to look to but ogmund, in short that all matters hitherto referred to glum's arbitrament were now for his handling--and so on, and so on. he had much to say about the management of the household; in fact he strutted, and clapped his wings, and puffed out his wattles very finely. for a long while glum, who certainly was old, would not speak to him; but at last he did. he then said, "you had better know what i think of you, and maybe i had better have told you sooner. i think that all this strutting and crowing becomes you sadly. you have had my name in the dust, and proved yourself a poltroon, if not worse. a man may be a craven, but if he holds himself bravely when there is nobody in the way, then he is a fool as well. now for the disgrace you have brought upon me i desire never to see you again." ogmund began at once with his excuse. "but look at this," he said. "how could i bring your own son into danger on my account? what is my revenge compared to such a life as his?" "what the mischief had you to do with that?" said glum. "and how the mischief did it concern you, if he had no concern about it himself? do you think all men are such rats as you are? don't you know that i would have seen the pair of you dead with gladness if i knew that you had died like men? vex me no more, but let me be rid of you." then ogmund began to plead in earnest, but glum would hardly listen to him. he cut him short by saying, "it comes to this, ogmund. either you are a man of long-mindedness and caution--and why you took such a high hand with halward at first if you are not, that beats me--or you are a bag of silly vapour, a bladder of dry peasen. i believe myself, that you are a cur, and am forced to remind you that you come of base blood. a thrall deals like a thrall, they say--and so i say. but you shall not stay here any longer." and ogmund must needs go. he went away to his father in the north, and there he was for two years or more. chapter iii of king olaf trygvasson; and of sigurd helming and gunnar, his brother during those years, while ogmund was faring prosperously with his father and was thinking of marrying a girl of those parts, misfortune overtook earl haakon, who fell out with some of his sworn friends, became suspicious of others, and at last took to his bed with a troublesome complaint, and died in it, but not of the complaint. he had a servant called kark, whom he trusted inordinately, and used to have him to sleep in his chamber at the foot of his bed. he had bad dreams and used to throw himself about and cry out against his enemies. one night he had a very bad dream, and sat up in bed, staring at the wall and screaming, "they are coming, they are coming, they are here!" kark sprang up in a fright and with a sword in his hand slashed about him. he slashed the earl in the neck; and that was his death-blow. the deed was done, and by misadventure, but being done, kark thought he might as well make profit off it. so he cut off earl haakon's head and put it in a bag. then he carried it with all speed over the mountains to king olaf trygvasson, who he knew would be chosen king of norway, as his right was. that was the end of the earl, who was a great man. but his death made way for a greater. king olaf was still a youngish man when the thing chose him. he may have been thirty years old, and the wife he had was his second, if not third. he was a great-grandson of king harold fairhair, and had been bred up in russia, then in vendland, which is the country round about the vistula; then he went viking and did great things in orkney, in iceland and in england also. he sailed to scilly at one time, and there he was baptized and became a christian. the way of it was this: he heard tell of a prophet in those islands who knew everything that was going to happen, and determined to see what he could do. so he sent a fine man of his out to visit him, dressed in the best clothes that he had, rings, chains and i don't know what else. "now," he said, "go to the prophet, and say you are a king. ask him what he has to tell you, and report it all to me." the man went as he was bid, found the prophet and said, "here is a king come to visit you and hear what you have to say." the prophet, who was old, and white, and had a loose, wrinkled skin and remarkable finger-nails, like a bird's claws, plucked at the roots of his beard. "you are not a king," he said, "but i advise you to be faithful to the man who is one, and sent you here. i have nothing to tell you, and if i had i should not tell it. go away." there was little else to do, indeed, there was nothing else. when olaf heard the story, he said, "this is certainly a prophet. i will go to see him." olaf was a very noticeable man, very tall and broad, with a golden beard; he was high-coloured and had bright blue eyes. the prophet was sitting in the mouth of his cave, which he had swept out and put in order. when he saw olaf he bowed until his head was level with his knees. olaf sat down beside him, and they had a long conversation. the prophet presently began to prophesy. he said, "you will become a notable king in a country which is yours, though you have never seen it. and you will be a christian king and cause all your people to become so before the end. and in case you doubt what i say, as you may easily do, listen to this token. when you take to your ships again, all of you, there will be a plot against you, and a rising by night. then there will be a battle--but on land; and you will lose men, and be wounded. they will carry you on a shield to your ship, and in seven days you will be well. the first thing you will do will be to seek out a bishop hereabouts, and go down into the water with him and be baptized. after you all your men will go, and that will be the beginning of christianity in norway and iceland." now the odd thing about this tale is that it all fell out as the holy man had foreseen. that very man of the king's whom he had warned against treachery was himself the beginner of a treacherous attack. there was fierce fighting, the king sorely wounded. he was carried on a shield to the boats, and laid aboard his own long ship. there he lay for seven days, and on the seventh he was well. the first thing he did was to visit the man of god. "you told me the truth," said olaf; and the prophet said, "that is why i am here and living in sanctity." olaf said, "the least i can do is to fulfil the prophecy which has so far fulfilled itself. i will go into the water when you please." the man of god said, "the sooner the better. you will find the bishop very ready for you." "i will send for him," king olaf said, "but you shall tell me something of the religion which i suppose gives you the powers you possess." the prophet agreed to that. "it is a very good religion for a king," he said, "because it may make him humble-minded before god, which he has no reason otherwise to be--or so he is apt to think. in any event it must make his subjects so, which is very useful to the king." "oh, very," said olaf, and became attentive to what the wise man had to say. to be short about it, king olaf was baptized and all the men with him in the long ships; and soon afterwards he sailed for norway where, in the time of earl haakon's sickness, he made a landing and gathered a company about him. when the earl was killed by kark, his head was brought to king olaf in a bag by the malefactor. olaf accepted it as his due; but he hanged kark then and there on a convenient ash-tree. i said that the thing chose olaf for king; and one of the first of his acts was to proclaim that he chose christianity for the religion of norway, and willed that all his people should be baptized. he had brought back priests with him from scilly, and a bishop as well, so everything was in order. the common sort gave him no trouble, for they either ran down into the water in herds, or withdrew themselves to the mountains and forests; but some of the great men were stiff about it, and did not choose to forsake their gods. they debated about it among themselves, and sent chosen champions to debate about it with the king. but in this they had mistaken their man. king olaf listened to one or two, and then, lifting his large hand, slammed it down upon the board in front of him. "enough of this," he said. "it may be a good religion or a bad, but it is my own religion, and i desire it to be that of my people. see you to it, and let me have no more talk, for i am sick of it." they went away, and a good many of them were baptized, but by no means all. there were two brothers living in a dale of drontheim--sigurd was the elder, and his brother was gunnar. both were called helming. they were well descended, and neither of them was thirty years old, though sigurd was near it. he was married and a friend of the king's. gunnar was twenty-six years old, a cheerful high-coloured man with a reddish beard, though his hair was much darker, and might have been taken for black. sigurd was a councillor, gunnar was not, but had been to sea, and fought in sicily, and as far as micklegarth. when he was not voyaging he lived with his brother. the pair were great friends. sigurd helming was one of those who followed olaf's example, and went down into the water. when it was over and all his household had been made christians, he said to gunnar, "now it's your turn." gunnar laughed. "not for me," he said. "i will go into the water when my time comes, but that will be the end of me. i know too much about the water." sigurd said, "it's soon over." "the sooner the better," said gunnar, "when it is to be--and also, the later the better." sigurd said, "this is the king's religion." "why not?" said gunnar. "the king will be displeased. he loves his own way." "we all do that, i believe," said gunnar. "what am i to tell him when he asks me of you?" sigurd asked him. "tell him that i follow him because he is a man," said gunnar. "tell him that i will serve him all the better for following my own counsel in this business of religion. you will see that he understands me." "i am sure he will not," said sigurd, "but i will try him." he made the best case he could, and king olaf heard him out. when sigurd had done he said, "send gunnar to me." so gunnar went to the king's house. king olaf looked at him with his bright blue eyes like swords. "you are a fighting man, i hear." gunnar said that he was. "and now you will fight with me." gunnar said, "if you go fighting, king olaf, i will go with you, if you will have me." "my religion says that he who is not with me is against me." gunnar said, "that's a good saying. but i am with you." "not at all," said king olaf, "since you refuse to take my religion." "if i were to take your religion i should be a liar," said gunnar, "and if i were a liar i should not be worth your while. better take me as i am." "i will take you as you are sooner than not at all," the king said. "but i do not like a stiff-necked man." gunnar said, "the neck of a man is part of the back of the man. if he is too supple in the neck it is likely he will give in the back, and that at a time when stiffness may be useful." king olaf frowned. "beware of talking too much. it makes me angry." "i had much rather not talk at all," gunnar said, "but it would be ill-mannered to be glum when a king speaks to me." olaf said, "will you consult with my bishop, and hear what he has to say?" "i will," said gunnar, "but you must let me tell you that i am not a scholar, but a man of hands. there will be more talking. heat will be engendered, and you will be angry again." olaf liked gunnar very well, and was silent for a bit. then he said, "you are one of the few who gainsay me; yet i don't feel badly disposed to you. i think you are a fool; but you seem to know it yourself." "the fact is, that i do," said gunnar. "your bishop alarms me." "you will find out in time that i am right and you wrong," said the king. "be off with you, and serve me as well as you can." "have no fear about that," said gunnar, and kept to his own religion, which was not, with him, a very great matter. but he did not feel at all inclined to change it because he was told to do so. king olaf soon got over his vexation; but, as it will shortly appear, he kept it at the back of his mind. chapter iv ogmund dint comes again to norway, and meets gunnar on the hard of drontheim it is time to go back to ogmund dint, who had now been two years and more with his father in the north. he had become something of a great man, and had impressed himself as such upon the people round about. but he was not easy in his mind, and more than once or twice he asked himself, "what am i doing, purfling here in a fine coat, when my foster-father, who is as rich as he is old, is perhaps dying in his bed without sight or memory of me, and with none of his kindred at hand either? is this sense, is this pious? here i am, for two years at a time, a great man, and a great fool." at another time he would reflect like this: "that was a very dastardly deed done upon me by halward, to take me unawares on my own shipboard and knock a great dint in my head!" he would feel the place of it: there it lay under a growth of hair as snug as a wren's nest in the roots of a tree. "a foul blow!" he would say; and "a man may carry his magnanimity too far, to overlook such a shameful thing for the sake of another man, only half akin, who moreover gives you no thanks." he shook his head. "indeed, i let off halward too lightly. i daresay he thinks himself a lucky fellow--and so he is, by god." one train of thought led him into another, and he began to consider his affairs more narrowly. "it would be an easy thing, and very pertinent indeed, to carry this warfare on as it was begun. two years, three years, is a goodish while. halward will not be expecting such a long memory in a man who never did him any harm. but insults such as he did to me stay by a man, and the prouder the man the quicker the soil in which they root themselves. i am astonished--i am fairly astonished--that i have kept myself off him so long. there are not many men in iceland who have themselves so firmly in hand--bitted and saddled." in the event, without saying anything of his private mind to anybody, he gave out that he must go to norway upon his affairs. he furnished a ship with men and goods, and towards midsummer sailed from eyefirth, and steered east-north-east. he had a fair wind and came into drontheim firth in the morning light, sailed up the firth prosperously and brought his ship to under nith's holm. there he cast his anchor, and bade them get out a boat, though the day was spent and a cool breeze was now blowing off the land. but "i must row up the river some little way and go into the town," he said. "i have heard something of trouble in this country, and we must be sure of our footing before we go further." he dressed himself with splendour, and put over him in particular a very fine cloak of two colours. it was green on one side and golden-brown on the other. it had trimmings of sable-tails which fluttered in the breeze, and over the back of it a dragon worked in gold thread: a very magnificent cloak. he took a sword, and had two men to row him. they came in to the hard with the last of the light. "stay you here for me," he said, "and don't show yourselves. this is an urgent affair." ogmund walked on the hard, up and down, and felt himself admired of the few persons who were about. by and by he saw one coming down from the town at a brisk pace; a man of his own height, but of sparer frame than his own. he wore a crimson cloak with a hood to it, and wore the hood over his head, shadowing his face. the oncomer when he was close at hand was struck by the splendour of ogmund's appearance. ogmund saw that and saluted him. gunnar helming, for that was the man in the hood, returned it, and stopped his quick step. "you are the master of that boat, i take it?" said gunnar. "a stranger in this water?" "not so much as that," replied ogmund. "i come now and again to see my friends here. but i am from iceland myself. my name is ogmund." gunnar looked at him. "are you ogmund dint?" ogmund said, "some men call me that, and others who know me better call me ogmund ravensson. but that matters little to me. now what might your name be, in fair return?" gunnar told him--but could not keep either eyes or tongue from ogmund's wonderful cloak. "gunnar is my name," he said, "and some call me gunnar helming, and some gunnar half-and-half." "what do they call you that for?" "because i take pleasure in wearing clothes like that fine cloak of yours," said gunnar. "oh," said ogmund, "my cloak! it is an ordinary cloak, i believe." "i, too, like to believe that," said gunnar. then ogmund asked him for news of the country, "since it is some years now since i was here." gunnar told him that they had news which they thought a good deal of. "earl haakon is dead, and we now have a very notable king, whose name is olaf trygvasson. he is a christian, and drives all men, and women too, into the water, to make christians also of them." ogmund said this was greatness; "and do the people take kindly to the water?" gunnar said that they did. then ogmund said, "and my friend halward, how is he?" "oh, he!" said gunnar. "i saw him just now." "what, here?" says ogmund. "yes," said gunnar, "he is here sure enough. he is as good friends with king olaf as ever he was with earl haakon, and yet he is not the man he was when he gave you your name." "how is that then?" ogmund wanted to know. "why," gunnar told him, "one of the last battles fought by haakon was at yomswicking; and in that battle halward got a great whang by the ear, and rather below it. it cut the sinew of his neck, and made a bad healing. the good man now carries his head on one side, and will do it until his death-day. and yet he is as well as ever he was otherwise, and in high favour with the king." ogmund thanked him for all this news; but saw how preoccupied gunnar was, and how his eyes dwelt upon his cloak. "you are pleased to admire my cloak," he said. "and yet i assure you it is by no means the best i have." "i can believe it," said gunnar, "but for my part i have never seen one so fine since i left the great city of micklegarth. now if i asked you to sell it to me, ogmund, would you take it amiss?" ogmund thought for a while. "i will not sell it to you," he said, "but i will ask you to accept it from me. it would be a pleasure to me to please you." gunnar opened his eyes. they were very bright. "give it to me by all means," he said, "and prosper in all your undertakings! but it is too much for you to do--and i am rather ashamed." "by no means," said ogmund dint, "by no manner of means. yet if it will set your mind at ease, and as the wind blows shrewdly off the mountains, perhaps we may make an exchange. how would that suit you?" "excellently," said gunnar, "but my old cloak is dross for your gold." "it looks a serviceable garment," said ogmund. "it will keep the weather away." there and then they exchanged. ogmund put on the crimson cloak, and pulled the hood up over his head; gunnar put on his bargain and was as pleased as a boy with a new top. "now indeed we shall see something," said gunnar. "yes, indeed," said ogmund, and saluted him. gunnar went his ways with his brisk step, and ogmund turned back to his boat. "i shan't be long gone," he said. "stand by your oars, and be ready the moment i want you." then he went into the town with long strides, and walked briskly, swinging one arm, as he had observed gunnar do coming down. chapter v ogmund dint satisfies himself, and sails home ogmund walked briskly into the street, looking for halward. at first he could not find him, but that was because he looked in the wrong places. then, after a time, he turned into a lane or by-way which led to a creek, and a row of buildings facing it, with willow-trees in front of them, between them and the water. one of these buildings was an inn, and in the court of that inn there was a company of men washing their hands before supper. the tallest of them by far was halward, and if ogmund had not remembered him very well without it, he would have known him by the twist in his neck, which made him poke his head out like a stork when she is stretching hers forward to flack her wings. it was now dusk, and a lamp was alight in the court that men might see what they were about. ogmund with the hood well forward over his face stepped into the court. before him was halward, standing with his legs apart. he was rubbing the soap-suds into one arm with the other hand. his face and beard were wet with rinsing. he saw the entry and hailed it with a "god save thee, gunnar"; but ogmund laid a finger on his lip and beckoned him to come apart with an air of having a secret to tell. having done that, he stepped out of the court until halward should follow him. halward came after him with a "what's in the wind then?" ogmund drew into a doorway, and got his sword free of his cloak. the moment halward came within range of him he stepped out to meet him and hewed at his neck. it was halward's death-blow. he shook and groaned thickly, and then fell. his head was nearly off. ogmund went away with all speed, and was not long coming to the quay where he had left his boat. he found his men waiting for him, and jumped into the boat. "pull with a will," he said; "we will be out of this. there's war in this country. up the street i saw men fighting. there will be no trading here." "what," said one of them, "are we to see nothing of the sport, master? that will be a poor tale to take home with us." "we are here to trade, not to go to peep-shows," said ogmund testily. "do you do as i bid you. there is a wind coming strong off the land which will hold the night out. by morning light we shall be in the open sea. fortunate for us that it is so." the men did as they were bid. one of them said, "it's plain you have been in the fray. you have changed cloaks with a foe, i see, and lost by the bargain. that is bad trading for such a keen merchant." "pull, man, pull, and hold your tongue," said ogmund dint. they reached the ship and he swung himself aboard. then while the crew were busy hauling on the tackle he got himself a great stone from the ballast. this he rolled into the hood of gunnar's cloak, and then cast the thing into the water. as he saw the waves lap over the hole he had made, he took a long breath. all went well with him; as he had thought, he was out at sea by the morning. even then his luck held, with a quarter wind which carried him to eyefirth. people were surprised to see him; but he made a very good tale of it, and spoke at length about the sad state of things in norway, the risks, the frays, the bloodshed in the streets, burnings, ravishings, cut throats, men hanging by the thumbs and so on. he did not forget to work into it much about the killing of earl haakon, and king olaf's baptizings. after a bit he rode south to thwartwater to see his foster-father battle-glum. glum joined his shaggy brows and blinked hard when he saw him. ogmund said he brought him news which he would be pleased to hear. "i have avenged the insult done me by halward the strong, and though i have been slow about it i have done it surely. he will insult no man hereafter." "what," said glum, "have you slain halward?" "i have," said ogmund. "and yourself scatheless?" "i am." "that was a good battle then? "it was. they were twelve to our three; but we thought little of it at the time. in hot blood such things are not memorable." "well," said glum, "you have done now as i hoped it might have been at first. did my son wigfus help you?" "he did not." glum was thoughtful. "he will be sorry not to have been in with you." ogmund said that he had not seen wigfus at all, and rather thought that he was at sea; "or he would surely have stood in with me." "to be sure he would," said glum. now ogmund was taken into favour again, and stayed with battle-glum all the winter. chapter vi the hue-and-cry for halward neck after a bit somebody in the inn yard said, "let us go in to supper"; and then another, "where is halward, and what is he doing?" a man said, "he is outside talking with gunnar helming." then another: "let us have gunnar in to sup with us. he is the best company." they all agreed to that. after a time of more waiting a man went out of the yard to see where halward and gunnar were, and came back with a serious face. "come out with me," he said. "here's a bad affair." they all tumbled out together with the lamp, and there found halward dead in his blood. he was stiffening already. then, after silence, all began to talk at once. nobody could understand the slaying, nobody could doubt who had done it, for everybody had seen gunnar come into the yard, or the few who had not took it from the many who had. not a word of doubt was raised about it. as halward was a friend of the king's certainly the king must have the news; but all hung back from the errand because all men liked gunnar. the end of it was that, having brought the body into the yard and covered it with a carpet, they went in to supper and ate and drank thoughtfully and in silence. while they were sitting at their drink in came sigurd helming to see if gunnar was there. he asked for him and could not but notice how his question was received. repeating it, he had no answer at all. a third time he asked it, and of one man by name. he was answered that gunnar had been there, but had spoken to nobody. "that is not like gunnar," sigurd said. "what did he do when he came in?" "he beckoned to one of us, and went out again." "and to which of you did he beckon?" "it was to halward neck." "and where is halward neck?" then there was a silence, and after that another man, very red in the face and with gleaming eyes, spoke between his teeth. "i will show you where halward neck is," he said. "come with me." he led him out into the yard, while the rest crowded at the door. he showed him the dead man; he held the lamp close to his face. "who did this?" said sigurd. then, beginning with a low murmur, all voices rose and the name of gunnar was cried in his ears. sigurd lifted his head, and all were silent. "i don't believe it," he said, "but somebody must tell the king of it." they went back into the house and shut the doors. sigurd was told what every one knew, or thought that he knew. one man had seen gunnar go down to the hard in his cloak and hood; half-a-dozen had seen him come into the yard afterwards; three or four had heard halward greet him; some had seen the beckoning, others had seen halward follow him out. then they had gone out to look for them, and there found halward slain. sigurd said, "it looks very black against gunnar, but i cannot believe it. yet i know that the king must be told, and that he will be ready to think the worst of my brother because he has been so stiff against his religion. now my thought at first was that i would tell him myself, since none of you seemed ready to go with the news--but see here, my friends, you would not have me bear witness against my own brother?" they all agreed to that. then he said, "i will ask one or several of you to tell the king in the morning. it is late now, and he will not expect you to disturb him at this hour of the night. yet i tell you fairly that i myself shall go to find gunnar and warn him of what is astir against him. if i think, when i see him, that he is the guilty man, it may be that i shall go with you to king olaf. if i leave him still in the mind i am in now, then i shall not testify against him." they all said, no, no. they said that he knew nothing of the matter, and that his name need not be in the business at all. sigurd said, "the king will speak to me about it, i know. but i shall have time for what i want to do." then he left them sitting at their drink, and went to find gunnar. now first i will deal with the embassy to the king, and then with what happened when sigurd saw his brother. olaf was in a great taking. he grew red and thumped the table with his fist. "this is what comes of clemency. that rascal refused my religion and i let him go. he vowed that he would serve me and i believed him, like a fool. this is how it is brought back to me, sevenfold into my bosom. now do you go and apprehend gunnar, and hang him up on a tree. don't let me see him, for i am in such a rage that i should insult him in his chains. hang him out of hand, and let us get on with our affairs." that was what the king said, and they left him with heavy hearts. but gunnar was not hanged because he was not at home when they went to fetch him. the very night of the slaying sigurd had gone to him. he went directly to him from the inn where halward lay dead. "gunnar," he said, "what was the grief between you and halward that you must deal him a dog's death?" gunnar gaped at him. "halward? is halward dead? who did that?" sigurd said, "they say that you did it this very evening at the inn on markfleet." gunnar answered him, "that be far from me." but he had no more to say. "well," said sigurd, "you say what i believe, but it looks very black against you." then he told him what the rumours were, how he had been seen go down the street, then come up the street, how he had shown himself in the yard, said nothing, but beckoned halward out; how he had not been seen again, and how halward had been found stiff in his own blood in the street. gunnar heard all this in silence, and remained silent so long that sigurd had to make him speak. "well, what are we to answer them?" he said. gunnar lifted his head and looked at him. "i can only tell you," he said, "that i am innocent of this deed." "do you know nothing at all of it?" he was asked. "ah," said gunnar, "that is where you touch me. now i must tell you fairly that i can say nothing more to you or anybody at this hour." then sigurd said, "you had better be off. the king will certainly hang you for it." gunnar thought. "yes," he said, "i must go. all may be set straight some day; but not by me." then sigurd left him, and gunnar made his preparations. he took very little with him, for he knew that he must go far, and most of it afoot. the king's hand stretched to the confines of norway, and even in iceland his power was being felt. gunnar thought that he must travel east--on horseback so far as he could get, but after that, he must cross the mountains and get down into sweden. he took a sword and a sack of provision, and those were all that he took. no, there was one thing more. he could not bring himself to relinquish the fine cloak he had had from ogmund dint. besides, if it were found when men came to look for him it might be witness against the man who had done the deed. it was against gunnar's religion to betray a man's secret. he rolled up the cloak therefore and stuffed it into the saddle-bag. then he got out his sorrel mare and rode off in the dusk. he went east by a dale which he judged would bring him soonest out of king olaf's holding; and he rode all night and till noon the next day. chapter vii gunnar crosses the mountains it was slow going in the dark, but the sorrel picked up her feet, and the road was well known to gunnar. he had not much time to think, but found little to regret except halward's death. he had liked halward, as he was ready to like most men. nevertheless, he had now to admit that he had little esteem for ogmund dint. "that was a dirty trick to serve a man who had done him no harm. and i took his bait down like a codling, and served his turn finely. a sharp practiser is ogmund dint, and gets by foul means what he dare not try for fairly." so he thought of it--and then he said to himself, justifying the man, "when all's said, a man must look after himself. halward had many friends to avenge him; and if ogmund had been caught red-handed he was done for. i am thinking king olaf would have been cheated of his rope-work. somebody or other would have hewn him down before news ever got to the court. yes, i don't see what else he could have done--and yet i would not have done it myself. well, i am a fine cloak to the good, which i will keep in case i want it some day as testimony." he chuckled over his great gains, glad that he had brought it with him, though he had had another purpose in his mind when he packed it into his bag. "may be the swedes will take me for a king's son." he knew nothing of the swedes, believed to be a dark and savage people, a people of forests and swamps; but he must venture among them if he wished to save his neck. "oh, yes, certainly i wish to save my neck." he found himself to be passably happy, riding under the stars up the dales which grew ever narrower, and more intricate. there was little cantering ground, and the way difficult to find. knowing the stars well, he steered by them. besides that the season was still fair and it could never be called dark. he rested not until the sun was warming the snow on the peaks above him, and then not for long. but he had to go very slowly now, up the bed of a water-course which he must cross and re-cross half-a-dozen times in the half-hour to get tolerable going ground. the sorrel stretched her neck and blew through her nose. she was tired and he knew it, and felt heavy at the thought that he and she must soon part. she was his dearest possession. he thought that he loved her as much as his brother. both of them had served him well in this affair. "it was a generous thing of sigurd, so near as he is to king olaf, to come and warn me. he may get into trouble over it. all depends on the king's mood. if he is in a rage he may tie sigurd up and keep him in bondage on my account. but no! i trust that king. he was good to me about his religion." he laughed over the memory of that, and looking up into the clear sky, which the sun was burning to whiteness, watching the soaring eagles, marking up the glittering snowfields the herds of deer stretched out in thin lines of travel like trees in file, he felt happy. the time came when he must send the mare home. he freed her of saddle and bridle. he loaded himself with the pack-bag, cut himself a birch-sapling for staff, and stood ready. then he kissed sorrel's nose, and turned her face westward. "home with thee, dear one," he said, "and keep thy counsel when thou art there. we shall meet again if the luck holds. neigh at thy stable door and sigurd will befriend thee. farewell." he gave her a hearty smack on the buttock, then held his arms wide and said "off." she looked round at him, prick-eared and close-eyed. she whinnied to him, then turned to nibble the grass. "what, thou wilt not? but i tell thee, go. one more kiss perhaps." he kissed her again, and whispered in her ear, "home, my dear." she looked forward down the rocky vale she had climbed and then walked soberly down. once or twice she stopped and looked round, and then she neighed after him. "shoo, mare!" he said. "shoo, girl!" and opened his arms. sorrel went down the valley and he lost sight of her. he turned to his way which asked him to cross a mountain shoulder deep in snow. that was heavy going, for it was soft in the sun. from the top he saw his work before him, fold within fold of snow, brown valley-bottoms, and over all the great ridge of white with pines like scars upon it, which was the boundary between norway and sweden. heavens! what a job he had got. but he went on, nothing doubting, and kept a stout heart. "a lonely place to be hanged in, and few trees fit for it. but i doubt i should have a fight for it here." i need not delay over his journey, which took him two days longer, and two nights. by the time he had climbed the great ridge he had come near the end of his strength and his provisions for it. yet he must go on; for that was no place in which to spend the night, a waste of snow and a line of torn pines driven everlastingly by a cruel wind. when he saw what was now in front of him and below, his heart might sink, though it did not. so far as eye could range all was forest. it was like looking upon a dark sea, featureless except for the lines of light and shadow which ran over it when wind and sun played together. he saw no ways, no clearings; there rose no chimney-smoke anywhere. not a bird sailed above, not a wolf grieved, not a fox stirred. "and is that sweden then? and are there people dwelling in the dark beneath? there are two worlds there, and there might be dwellers in the tree-tops who know nothing of the inhabitants of the deep, and are themselves unknown. how am i to guide myself through that thicket, and who is going to feed me or give me drink?" looking into it, he shivered in the wind. "outlandish country, you must do better for me than this," he said. he had a traverse of a league of snow-slope before he could enter the forest. to that he addressed himself now, with a prayer to all the gods in valhall. chapter viii gunnar in the forest hears tell of frey and his wonders the course of the snow-slope brought gunnar to rocks and a precipice from a gorge in which descended a river of ice. far below him he heard the thunderous crash of water, and judged that in following that, if it could be done, he would find his best chance of guiding his way through the forest. the river would join another; that other must in time reach the sea. so he determined to do; but it was easy talking. it took him the best part of a day to get down the cliff. he spent a miserable night crouched under a rock, and started off again in the morning almost fasting. there was coarse grass now growing wherever there was hold for it. in one of these he saw a white hare lying flat, and by a trick he knew he fell his length upon her and secured her. he had no fire, and made what he could of her raw and sinewy flesh. so replenished, he went on his downward course, reached the waterfall bathed in sweat, and followed it as nearly as might be down into the chill and silence and darkness of the forest. day and night were alike to him now; for a time whose duration he took no pains to guess at, he worked his way downwards, a more fearful toil, with more of peril in it than any he had spent in climbing the ridge. this great forest was untouched by the hand, unvisited by the foot of man so far as he could understand. he saw no living thing, though high above him he sometimes heard the battling of wings, and once or twice hoarse cries which he judged must come from the air. he listened for wolves or foxes, but heard none; he kept his eyes aware for the track of roe-deer or bear, but vainly. all was silent and accursed. except on the banks of the torrent there was little vegetation to be seen, for among the pine stems the needles lay close and deep upon the ground, and nothing could live in such a soil or in such a chill and dank air. whither he went, or how far he had come, he knew not; for all his steadiness of heart, the conviction turned him sick that if he did not soon meet with men there would be one man less in the world. "better to have been hanging on a green tree in the warm and living air than to slowly fritter away into corruption, and become bleached bones here in the dark and cold." he looked back with wistfulness to such a genial death. "sigurd would have piled a cairn for me. he would have grieved for me, and said prayers to his new god in the king's new temple. well, hanging is a man's death, as battle is. but to fight the dark, to grow weak by chill and hunger, to be so lonely that not a raven troubles about your dead eyes! this is a death for wolves--but not for men who love to lie snug among their fellows." these were his thoughts at the worst; at the best he felt that before long he must hit upon a sign of life. he was now on level ground, and true it was that he came at last upon a clearing. a broad green road ran on either side of a ford in the river. here he stood and looked up at the blue sky, and saw how the sun made the tree-tops seem cut out of gold. he forgot his emptiness, his loneliness and dark forebodings. "oh, now i see that the sun is a god who loves men!" as if that was true, and he was to be assured of it, a shaft of sunlight struck the ford and turned his eyes that way. it clarified the water and brought the stones into sight. presently he saw a better thing: a goodly fish lay in the deeper part, faintly swaying his tail. gunnar made a wide cast over the river and crawled up the bank on his belly. he lay motionless, watching his prey, and then, inch by inch, approached his hand to the belly of the fine fish. inch by inch he went upwards to the head; then, judging his time, snapped his fingers together into the gills and jerked him out of the water. here truly was a prize awarded him by the sun. the fish was good eating. he ate him all but the head and bones. now he must decide what to do, whether he should follow the river or the road. if he followed the road, by which hand should he be guided? he was not long in deciding the first issue. the sun and the sky were too dear to him to be lost again. for the second, he was for following the sun, which was high in the heavens. if it was noon, the road which ran into the sun would lead him to the south. on the south also was the sea. besides all that there was to be said that the road had been cleared by men, and must lead to the dwellings of men. strong in this assurance, he went briskly along a good green track. now he could tell night from day; now he saw birds flying overhead; presently a fox trotted across the way in front of him, saw him and sat up to watch. he barked shortly once or twice and then galloped into the thicket. but gunnar felt enheartened by the sight of him. after that he heard wolves howling afar off, as their custom is at sunset. but the great event of all was on the next day, when he saw two things, one after the other, which made his heart beat. the first was a dog, which the moment he caught sight of him pelted away up the track with his tail clapped to his hinder parts; the second was a young woman. as he came round a curve in the road she was standing in the middle of it at a bowshot's distance. she was very pale, black-haired, short-kirtled and barefoot. he stopped immediately to watch; but at that moment she saw him and slipped among the trees. gunnar ran with all his might; he called; he shouted. no answer. he couldn't find her anywhere. no matter. sweden was inhabited. he would not die lonely. his heart was high to be sure of that, and he went on rejoicing. next he came to an open place, a clearing in the trees where men had lately been. he saw the ashes of their fire, bones, the skin of a goat. he saw leaves and branches which had been slept upon; he saw the prints of hoofs--ponies' or donkeys' hoofs. so he journeyed on, and at last smelt the friendly smell of burning wood. "now to accost the swedes," he said. "what will they make of me? or i of them?" guided by the smell he was not long before he saw men about a great fire. there may have been eight of them there. they looked black, and he knew that they were charcoal-burners--which in fact they were. taking his life in his hands he went directly towards them, and when they saw him, and scrambled to their feet in amazement, he lifted his hand in greeting and came among them. they were cooking over their fire; a great pot was bubbling. their dogs came smelling about his calves; but they themselves stood speechless where they were. "do these blacks intend my death?" he asked himself. he hoped not, but did not draw the sword. seeing that they did not move, and that their very dogs had now withdrawn themselves and were barking uneasily at a distance, gunnar advanced with friendly gestures. hereupon the men with one accord fell to their knees and stooped their bodies until their faces touched the earth. "good souls, they take me for a god," he thought. he was now fairly within the line of them, and stretching his hands over the fire. the smell from the pot tickled his nostrils and brought water into his mouth. how long was it since he had tasted cooked food? it was too much for him. forgetting the dangers of manhood and the honours of godhead alike, he fished in the pot for a morsel, sat down and began to eat. he found himself ravenous, and in good case to better himself; he might have eaten the contents of the pot, but that by cautious degrees the charcoal-burners began to consider him. he found bright eyes peering at him from between sooty fingers. finally one bolder than the rest lifted his head, and fairly asked him if he were a man or a god. he spoke hoarsely, but could be understood. "friend," gunnar said, "you may see by my procedure that i am a man and a hungry one, though not now so hungry as i was." the man, at this, punched his neighbour of either side, and said, "up, for this is a man like ourselves." presently they were all up and about him, very curious. "you come from afar off? you are not of this country? whence then do you come?" gunnar said that he was from norway. they had never heard of norway. one of them said that he had lived all his days in the forest country and had never seen a stranger before. gunnar pointed to the west. norway, he said, lay over there, beyond the mountains. they replied that he must be mistaken, because on the level of the mountains was a great lake of snow and water in which the sun dropped every night and was quenched with a furious hissing. they said that you could hear it when the wind came that way, and that the mountain-tops were covered with steam thrown up by the dying sun, which sometimes stayed there for days at a time. "and yet," gunnar said, "every day the sun comes up again. how do you account for that?" they said that was easy to understand; for the lake had no bottom. therefore the sun dropped through, and when it had emerged kindled again upon its flight through the air. and this went on for ever. gunnar said, "you tell me marvellous things. now let me tell you some." so he spoke of norway and iceland, and of the great ocean beyond orkney; and of ireland, and the poets and holy men there. then he went on to talk of the inland sea where there were no tides, but only rushing currents, and whirlpools and desperate storms. lastly he spoke of micklegarth and of a sea beyond that again, which is called the black sea, and of the terrible folding rocks which are on the edge of that. to all of this they listened with open mouths. when they inquired what had brought him into sweden he frankly told them how it was. they said that he was safe enough here, and that nobody would do him any harm. "few men fight here," they said. "the worst that may happen to you is that you will go into the cage and be offered up to frey. but that is reckoned an honourable way of death. you serve frey, and you serve frey's people, and you may be sure that frey won't forget it." "it may be true," gunnar said, "that frey won't forget me, but we know very little about frey, never having seen him at any time; and for my part i should not care to risk it." they all looked at him in wonder. "but," said one of them, "everybody has seen frey." "i assure you," said gunnar, "that i have not--for one. and i'll answer for every man in norway." "we know nothing of the norwegians, of whom we hear for the first time," he was told; "but the people of this part have good reason to know frey, and to fear him, seeing he lives among them, and is now a day's and night's journey from here. i myself," the speaker said, "saw him but fourteen days ago, in his holy place." "what is his holy place?" the man said, "it is his temple where he lives when he is not upon his rounds. all the winter he lives there with his wife, and the people worship him and make feasts for him. but when the winter is over, and the rains come to wash the world clean for the sun, frey goes off in his wagon and visits all the villages in turn, and blesses the grain and makes it fertile. that is how the world goes on, and men get food for their pains." gunnar was amazed. "do you say that frey has a wife?" "i do say so, since it is true. but as yet she is not fruitful, which vexes frey." "let frey consider himself," said gunnar. "it is not always a wife's fault if she is not fruitful." "you may be sure that the fault is not frey's," they said. "i am not at all so sure," said gunnar. "does frey do his duty by her?" they said, "for certain he does. he has been married to her these two years." "there's time yet," said gunnar; "these are early days. is she a young woman?" "she is in the flower of her age. she must be sixteen years old." "and is she of this country?" "it is not certainly known. a woman from the south had her. she said that her husband had been slain on the sea-coast; but no one here can say anything of it because no one has ever seen the sea. well, when the girl was of marriageable age frey chose her; so she was given him." "and how did frey choose her?" "he took her." gunnar thought all this very remarkable, and said that he should himself go to see frey. they answered to that, that undoubtedly he would; for if he did not they would be bound to take him, as an offering, since that was frey's pleasure. "does frey demand human sacrifice?" gunnar asked. they said that he did. gunnar said, "he shall be baulked of me; but i have a very handsome cloak about me, which i shall give him as a present if he pleases to be benevolent to me." "all depends upon his wife," they told him. "she has the power of choice in these matters." gunnar said, "leave me to deal with frey's wife. i have a way with women." chapter ix gunnar meets with frey. concerning frey's wife directed by the charcoal-burners, gunnar made his way to the village where he was to find frey in his temple. he reached a fine clearing in the forest by the late afternoon, and was soon remarked and almost as soon beset by the inhabitants. young and old, mostly women, they came about him like a cloud of gnats. they were a wild, dark-haired and pale people, well-made but not tall. they were all barefoot, and had fierce, husky voices; but they were harmless, touching him by the prompting of curiosity, and delight in a thing so rare. his beard especially moved them. they must by all means touch that. "it is like frey's beard. he is frey's brother. bring him to frey then." so they spoke to each other. as they came into the village they formed a kind of procession. a young woman took him by either hand; children danced in front of him singing a shrill song; the older ones shuffled behind. dogs capered and barked about. wooden houses built clear of the ground on piles formed the village. it was full of dogs and children, with one or two old men peering at the entry from the shelter of trees. he saw the roof of frey's temple, a long building with a steep gable. the roof was of heather. they entered a forecourt and stood before the temple. in the midst was an altar of stone. there was a gallery to the house sheltered by the eaves of it, and held up by trunks of trees, smoothed and painted with zigzags in red, blue and yellow. a curtain hung over the doorway. he saw neither frey nor his wife. the women who had conducted him sat upon their heels and began their song again. the rest of the village crowded the entry of the court. when they had sung for some time, the curtains of the doorway moved; gunnar thought that he saw the outline of a shoulder, and then was positive that a hand was at the opening. he could not answer for it, but he fancied that he was being looked at. in the meantime the crowd began to draw away from him and to form two companies, one on each side. he found himself standing alone, and looking presently round, saw an old bearded man coming towards him with a long bare knife in his hand. he had glittering eyes and a determined expression. "this old man is going to shed blood," said gunnar to himself. "he chooses for mine, but there are two parties to a bargaining of that sort." the old man, being now beside him, produced from the bosom of his gown a coil of cord. "he will truss me like a fowl," said gunnar; then he greeted the man fairly, giving him the time of day. "you are welcome," said the old man. "it is the hour of the evening sacrifice." "is that so?" gunnar answered. "i hope you don't take me for your offering. i have not escaped one kind of death to fall into another." "frey must be contented," said the old man. "he shall be," gunnar said; "i will give him my cloak." he opened his pack, and brought out the famous cloak. shaking out the folds of it, he put it on and displayed it. the assembly murmured applause; even the old knifer was moved. "i have brought this cloak as a gift for frey," said gunnar. "set open the temple; let him show himself and he shall have it. it will last him longer than a blood-offering, which is a beastly thing not at all suitable to a great god. in my country we serve frey--or we did once upon a time--but not with men's blood. oxen and sheep are pleasing to him; dogs also and hens. but he has other uses for men." the old man was fingering the cloak. the gold work on the back was a delight and wonder to him. "frey has never had so much gold as this. you are fortunately come. he shall have the cloak and you too." "you are mistaken," said gunnar. "but in order to make sure, i will go and ask him." with these words he stepped sharply forward and went up the steps to the temple before any one could stop him. the curtains opened and a young woman came out and stood before them, closing them behind her. she was frightened, but bore herself with great dignity. she could not check the shortness of her breath, however; nor the scare in her eyes. she was not tall, and she was very young; she was dressed in blue which had red embroidery round the neck. her black hair was plaited, and on her head she had a double band of gold wire with thin leaves of flat gold between the wires. gunnar saw that she was a very pretty girl, and thought that he could deal with her if he had the chance. he saluted her civilly and told her what was the matter. "this old man wishes to cut my throat," he told her, "and i, on the other hand, am strongly against it. i have come to appeal to you or to frey against such a breach of hospitality." she did not answer him at first; but her eyes were upon his own, and her lips moved as if she was uncertain what to say. presently she said, "who are you, and whence do you come?" he said, "my name is gunnar helming, and i am from norway over the mountains of the west. i am outland-faring as you see, and have no friends in these parts, unless you are inclined to be one." she hesitated, but had already made up her mind. "i will send the people away," she said, "and then we will ask frey." gunnar said, "i am sure that frey will be guided by you"; but she had not waited to listen to that, being already down the steps and among the people. "there can be no blood-sacrifice of this man," she said to them, but not in gunnar's hearing. "this man is the friend of frey, and it is lucky for you, i can tell you, that you have not shed his blood. i was just in time to prevent a dreadful thing which frey would never have forgiven you. now you must go away and leave the two together. they have not met for a long time, and have a great deal to tell each other." with that they dispersed, and frey's wife came back to gunnar. "now," she said, "we must see frey." "i am going to offer him this cloak which i am wearing. it is very fine, as you see." she touched the gold, and then took one of the sable tails in her hand. "it is beautiful," she said. "where did you get it?" "i had it from a great rascal," gunner said, "who made a pretext of it to do me the wrong which brings me here. i will tell you the tale if you care to listen to it." she had fixed and considering eyes, and still held the sable-tail. then she said shortly, "we must go in to frey. come with me." frey stood in the middle of the temple. he was a young man of gunnar's height and proportions. his beard was red and his hair was brown. he had staring blue eyes, scarlet nostrils and a fixed smile. his lips also were scarlet. on his head was a crown of golden oak-leaves and acorns. in one hand he held a golden cone, like the fruit of a pine-tree, but much larger. in the other he had a staff which was tipped with a bud. he had a green tunic upon him and red hose. his legs below the knees were bound in leather, and he was shod with soft leather dyed red. he himself was made of wood and painted all over in colours brighter than life, but his clothes were as real as yours or mine. "so this is frey," said gunnar to himself with great astonishment. "i would rather have the friendship of his wife." this wife of his did not take much notice of her husband, it seemed to him. she drew a settle out a little way from the wall, and sat on it, inviting gunnar to a seat beside her. "now tell me the tale," she said. so he did. she said, "the man is not your enemy. neither is the king. the man acted basely, but the king could not do otherwise than he did, for appearances were against you. but i see that you are an unlucky man, because frey has no liking for you." "how can you say that?" said gunnar. "i can tell by the look of him. he will not say anything. it is not his way. but he is no friend to you." "if i give him my cloak," said gunnar, "he may think better of me." she shook her head. "i doubt it. but certainly he must have it. there is no other way. besides, when the people see that he has accepted your cloak they at least will be contented." gunnar gave her the cloak, and she cast it over frey's shoulder, and touched his beard while she whispered to him what it was. in order to whisper in his ear she had to stand tiptoe. "well," said gunnar, "and how does he take it?" "very ill," she said. "then do you send me away?" she hung her head, and thought about it. "no," she said, "i can't do that just yet. you shall stay here for three days, and maybe he will like you better. i will talk to him about it to-night when we are in bed." "do you go to bed with frey?" he said in astonishment; but her own was equal to his. "where else should i go if i am his wife?" she said. then she grew red and turned away her face. gunnar said, "i will ask you what your name is, frey's wife. i can't call you that for three days." "why so?" she asked him, rather fiercely. "because it seems to me foolishness." "i am called sigrid," she said. "then i shall call you sigrid," said gunnar. chapter x talk between gunnar and sigrid gunnar was a friendly man and made himself pleasant about the place. he used to sit out in the sun and converse with the village people. he told tales to the children and played games with them. the old man who had been wishful to sacrifice him bore him no malice; but gunnar told him plainly that he did not approve his practices. "in my country, and in iceland also, there has been much devotion to frey, who is a great god; but human sacrifice is not required by him, nor are we profaned with it. prisoners of war may not be used that way. we think it barbarous and abominable." "well," the old man said, "it has always been the custom here. and you must remember the services frey performs. he is resting now. his work is over. but when the spring comes there will be no man in the country busier than frey. there is not a tilled field he must not visit; and the grass-lands and the gravid sheep, and the lambs and sucklings of all sorts; the sick draught-animals; the ewes who are to go under the rams; the bulling cows; the reindeer--well, you can see for yourself that he must be propitiated. and how else, pray, would you have it done?" "the christians, who are to the fore in norway just now," replied gunnar, "have a god who has given them another law altogether. their god had a son who said to his father, 'enough of these human sacrifices. i detest them and will have nothing to say to them.' 'what will you do then?' his father asked. 'why,' said he, 'i will be made man myself. i will be born of a woman, and put to death. that will be a sufficient sacrifice for every one in the world.' and so it was, they say, and their god accepted it as sufficient. but the christians have a strange power which is resident in their priests; and that is, that the priest does sacrifice every day, and makes anew the son of god into a man of body and blood. every day he offers it on the altar. so the prime sacrifice is every day renewed, and all goes well. that is what they say." the old man was very much astonished. "you are speaking of marvellous things," he said. "it is the way of you travellers. but i do not believe that the swedes would be content with such a sacrifice, and i am sure that frey would not." "we shall see," gunnar said, but said no more at the time. he was determined that while he remained in frey's house frey would go without human blood upon his altar-stone. sigrid liked him to be there. she found him very good company. he made her laugh, which frey, she said, had never done yet. "he will though," gunnar told her, but she shook her head. at the end of three days, he asked her what he was to do about staying on. they sat together under the gallery outside the house. frey was inside behind his curtains. it was the hour before the sacrifice, when his curtains would be opened, and himself shown in his fine new cloak. so far there had been no attempt made to sacrifice a man or child, which gunnar was glad of, because he was not yet sure enough of his footing. she frowned and nursed her chin. "why," she said, "i don't know what is to be done. frey doesn't like you at all; i can see that." "have you talked it over with him as you promised me?" she nodded her head. "and what did he say?" she looked away as she answered him. "he said very little; but he was very stiff." "i should think he was always rather stiff," gunnar said, and she frowned and grew red. "but what do you feel about it yourself?" said gunnar. "i believe that you find me well enough." she nodded. "yes, i do. i like you to be here. you make me laugh. i feel younger than i did." "that is good news," said gunnar. "i understand that you are sixteen years old. do you now feel that you are twelve?" she laughed. "sometimes i do." "then," said gunnar, "keep me here a month or two longer and i shall rock you in your cradle." she considered whether he was laughing at her, and then asked him suddenly, was he married, had he children? "no, sweetheart," he said, "but i should like a wife very well if i could get one to my mind." now she reproved him. "you must not say that. i am not to be called so." "why, what is the harm in that?" he said. "it's what i used to call sorrel, my mare." "it may be so," she replied, "but i am not your mare." "no indeed," he said. "but what then shall i call you? shall i say 'pretty one' or 'kind lass'?" "no. frey would dislike it." "but," he said, "all these names are true of you." she said, "frey will like them all the less." gunnar said that he would risk it. and certain it is that he did, and that she said nothing more about it. she decided that he should stay on until the winter feasts began. "and then we will see what can be done. maybe he will be more used to you by then." "oh, as for him," gunnar said lightly, "he has had a fine cloak from me, and i suppose that is enough." she frowned, and tossed her foot. "you don't know frey yet." then came the hour of sacrifice and a leading-in of sick animals to be blessed by frey. gunnar was very useful here, for he was skilled in farriery, and could do much too with sheep and cattle. they called him the new priest of frey, and held him in great honour. but the more that they thought of frey on his account the less, naturally, gunnar thought of him on his own. he did not now believe that even a devil resided in him, or found it difficult of belief. frey had the appearance of frowning sometimes, and sometimes there seemed to be a red flame in his eyes. another thing he could do with his eyes: he could cause them to follow you all over the room. those eyes of his were for ever upon gunnar and sigrid so that they used to say to each other, "we can't talk here. let us go into the gallery." she never said, "let us go into the chamber," and it never entered gunnar's mind to propose it. but it had entered into hers. gunnar, however, began to dislike frey. he despised him, and yet found that added to his dislike. he told himself that sigrid's marriage was a black shame. after he had been with her a while she told him what she knew about herself. she had never known her father, nor even what his name was. her mother had been called sea-child; and sigrid remembered being carried on her back, slung in a shawl. her mother had had black hair and yellow eyes which looked black in the dark, and as pale as the palest amber in strong light. she was rather tall, whereas sigrid--who also had black hair and amber eyes, though of a darker tint--was a little woman. she thought that she remembered her mother saying that they had crossed the sea; and that somebody, her mother or an old man who used to be with them sometimes, had spoken of a city called prag. she thought that this must be true, because she had never heard anybody in sweden speak of prag, and doubted she could have made up the name for herself. gunnar told her that she had not. "there is a city called prag, on a mighty river. i have seen the river," he said, "but not the city of prag." well then she told him that the swedes had ill-treated the old man who used to be with them. they had put him into an osier basket, and pierced that through and through with swords; she remembered the bright blood welling out between the plaited wicker. that had been done upon the altar of a god--she believed it was frey. as for her mother, some man had taken her to live in his house, and she herself had lain about with the cattle, and had been sent to keep swine in the woods. nobody had hurt her, but she had gone in terror of wolves, which in winter were dangerous, and came sometimes into the villages and carried off children from the doorways. they were so hungry that even when they were beaten off they only ran to a little distance, and then came back again to snuff about for what there might be in their way. then she remembered a day when her mother brought her into the house, and took off her rags, and put a new gown on her. she twisted up her hair into a long plait, and made her see if she could still sit upon it. that was easy. after that she was kept at home with the children of the house; and men used to take notice of her, kiss her and take her on their knees. she had liked that for a time, because she liked people who were kind and friendly; but there was too much of it, and she used to run away and hide herself. there had been a lad, she said, called tostig, belonging to the household of her mother's husband. he had been in love with her, she supposed. at any rate he was always in her company, and she had liked him very well. one day when they were all in the temple before frey, with garlands of flowers, his eyes had burned fiercely, and by and by he fell forward upon tostig and knocked him down. they picked up frey; and the priests said that tostig was to be sacrificed. that was done. they put him in an osier basket and transpierced it with their swords. after that frey's eyes were cool and steady, and nothing more occurred until the following spring when frey was to have started on his rounds to bless the vegetation. then again when they were in the temple his eyes burned, and again he fell, this time upon herself. she was thrown backwards and frey upon her. then she believed that her last hour was at hand; but her mother was shrill and urgent with the priests, calling them fools. she said that frey had been jealous of tostig and fell upon him on that account; but he fell upon sigrid for no reason of that sort, but to mark her for his own. sigrid, she said, was now marriageable. frey wanted to marry her, and to disoblige him would be at their peril. there was high debate about all this, and other priests from other villages were called in. frey was asked, and they say that he nodded his head. she herself was not asked; but she was taken into the temple one night by her mother and told what she would have to do. on the next day was the wedding and great rejoicings all over the forest country. gunnar stopped her here. "they married you to that block of painted wood?" she said, "they married me to frey." gunnar said, "but----" and then he stopped short himself. "there is no more to be said." "no," she said, "that is the end of it. we set out in the ox-wagon soon after that." "how long ago was this?" he asked her. she replied, "i was marriageable, my mother said. i don't know when it was." then she thought aloud. "one, two, three--yes, it was three springs ago last spring." "and you say you are sixteen years old." "i don't say so," she replied; "the people here say so. my mother died two springs ago when i was away with frey on his rounds." gunnar got up from the bench where they were sitting. "wait here for me," he said, and went into the temple, folding the curtains behind him. there stood frey, crowned and standing, with his shining scarlet nostrils. gunnar went up to him and took him by the nose. "god or devil," he said, "i'll get this out of joint before i've done with you, or you with gunnar." frey rocked under the force of his passion, but said nothing. gunnar came back and found sigrid where she was. she did not look up. he stretched out his hands towards her, then dropped them and began to whistle a tune. that made her look up smiling. "you seem in good spirits," she said. "i feel considerably better than i did," he told her, "but there is much to do before i am perfectly myself again." chapter xi gunnar turns frey about against frey's will sigrid told gunnar that the old priest of frey who lived in the village, and who had been the man wishful to slay him on the altar, intended to have a sacrifice on the morrow. "oh, does he so?" said gunnar. "and what is he going to sacrifice?" she said, "it is a boy." "we will see about that," gunnar said. "it may be that it will be himself who gets the worst of it." the next day, before the hour of sacrifice, gunnar told sigrid to go into the court and leave him to draw the curtains. she did as she was told. the people assembled, and he heard their singing, and the stamping of their feet as they danced about the victim. then they all called on frey, and he peeped through the curtains and saw the old man in a crown of leaves, with his knife in his hand, and the victim naked except for a loin-cloth, bound up tightly with cords. there also was the basket of osier. having done what he wished to do in the temple, he drew the curtains. to their great consternation they saw that frey had his back to them instead of his face. gunnar, who had come out by a side door, joined sigrid in the gallery of the temple. they sat close together looking at the amazed people. the old man gave a shrill cry. "frey abandons us! he is angry." then he turned to his flock and spoke vehemently, but gunnar could not hear his words. sigrid watched them with keen and bitter eyes. presently the old man turned again and beckoned to gunnar. he, however, sat where he was. then he was hailed by his enemy. "you, stranger, come down." gunnar said, "i am a servant of the temple, and will not come down. do you come up rather and say what you have to say." the old man then came shuffling up, with his gown dragging at his ankles. when he stood before gunnar, he was out of breath, and that added to his rage. gunnar asked him what the matter was, and whitebeard gnashed his gums together. "the matter is that frey is angry--not because of sacrifice, but because there has been none since you came here. there must be much more blood shed--and the sooner the better." "i assure you," gunnar replied, "that there will be bloodshed if you persist, and that blood will be your own." whitebeard looked fiercely at him. "you are talking foolishly. who would shed my blood? and how would that be pleasing to my master frey?" gunnar replied, "i will tell you the answer to your questions. to your first: i would very willingly shed your blood, and your blood is the only blood that i would willingly shed. and i believe that all these people would dip their hands in it and show it to frey, who would then turn his face to them again. as for your second, it is plain that frey is displeased with your present sacrifice." whitebeard was in a great rage. he put his face close to gunnar's and said whispering (but sigrid heard him), "it was you who turned frey about." "it was," said gunnar. "you own to your blasphemy. for blasphemy it is, though you said nothing." "take it so," said gunnar. the old man looked about him, not knowing what to do next. his eyes fell upon sigrid, who stood stiffly by with fixed looks. "mistress," he said then, "frey's wife, what say you?" she shivered. "there must be no sacrifice," she said. "frey will not have it." "but you heard this man tell me that he turned frey about?" "i did," she said. "he did so at my desire." "you own yourself party to his wicked mind?" "his mind is the mind of frey in this," she said. the old man frowned deeply. "you avow that?" "i do." "did frey confide it to you?" "he did." "when this man gunnar was not there?" "he was not there." the old man tossed his arms up. "there is no more to say." then gunnar, even while his enemy stood by him, addressed the people. he said, "i come from a distant country, where frey has been had in honour, but not in your way. your way is beastliness and great shame to you because you read into the mind of the god what is the secret pleasure of the vilest of you, such as this old toothless man here. he, loving to see men's blood flow, believes that frey takes joy in it also. but frey knows very well that a man is better than a beast, and if he love the smell of beasts' blood, that is his affair, but the blood of men is more honourable than that, and reserved for better work. he says that i put into the mind of frey to be done with the slaughter of men. have it that i did; did i not well to bring his mind to what is excellent in men? of what use to frey, or what pleasure can he have in the blood of base or craven men? i said that i would shed the blood of this vile old man, and so i would if i thought that frey would be the better of it. but the fact is that it would make the ground sick, and frey would curse you for the gift. have done with that, and be sure that frey does not need blood at all, but honesty and the good works of your hands. if you have children, offer them to frey, but alive, not dead. shed marrow rather than blood, and frey will approve your fruitfulness and bless the seed and the seed-plot. and if blood must be shed, let frey shed his own for you, as the god of the christians did, who gives his people every day his body to eat and his blood to drink--which turn in their breasts to milk and in their veins to courage. let frey show himself such a god, and you will have no need for lascivious-minded old men to lead you into their own nasty vices." then turning to whitebeard, he said, "get you gone, old monster, and gnash your gums apart where none can see your impotent malice." the people applauded him when he had done. some brought branches of trees, and some nests of eggs to frey. then gunnar turned him round to face them, and they rejoiced. but sigrid was pale and trembling, and would not look at gunnar or speak to him all the rest of the day. she stood about by frey, and put her hand in his, and talked to him, sometimes touching his beard. gunnar made the best of it, and let her alone; but seeing her next day in the same mood of alienation, he asked her what the matter was, and "is there anything i can do about it?" she began to tremble again, and violently; but she used all her force to control herself, and presently told him that all he could do was to leave the place. "if you seek my happiness," she said, "that is what you will do." "well," said gunnar, "i do wish you happy, sweetheart." "ah," said she, "it is your sweethearting of me that has made this trouble." "well," he said again, "and it does make trouble, my dear; but it is a pleasant trouble when all's said; and there's a remedy for it." "it is that which i desire," she said, and he said, "so do i desire it." then she said, "do you know what you did yesterday? you made me untrue to frey." "how so?" "why, you drove me to say what was untrue. he did not speak his mind to me. that is not true. or if he did, what he said was quite otherwise." "you mean," said gunnar, "that the mind of frey, as you understand it, is not my mind." "certainly it is not," she said. "he hates you. he does not rest because of you." gunnar looked at her. "you mean, i believe, that you do not rest." she stamped her foot. "it is the same thing. if he does not rest, how can i rest?" gunnar said, "it is not at all the same thing. and do you think you would rest better if i went away?" she shook her head, but did not speak. he saw that she was crying. "well," said he after a while, "then i shall not go, but will stay here and make frey a little more friendly." "ah," she said in her tears, "you won't do that. he is jealous of you. you can see it." "i see nothing of it, i assure you," gunnar said, "and he has no cause. but there are many ways of curing jealousy, one of which is easy." she waited to hear what it was, but without asking. she wanted to know very badly, but gunnar did not tell her what it was. so after a while of waiting she said, "you are hateful; i hate you," and walked away. gunnar went out into the sun; and by and by she came back with needlework and sat where she could see him at his business of tending the temple-garth; but she would not speak to him for the rest of the day. the season wore to the winter. with the first snow and the fall of the leaf men began to make ready for the winter feasts. there was now no question of gunnar going. no man could travel that country in the winter when the days are but a few hours long, and the snow is deep and bends the trees to the earth. gunnar, who did not want to go at all, put it jokingly to sigrid that perhaps the god of the wolves wanted a human sacrifice, and that perhaps it was himself they wanted. she showed him her eyes full of trouble, and he was touched. "you don't wish me to say that?" she said, "i cannot bear you to talk lightly of such things." "frey would be glad of such a sacrifice, i am thinking." she left him instantly and went to frey. but she soon came back again. she was never long away from where he happened to be. chapter xii the winter feasts the custom of the winter, when no man could work, was to make merry with what you had gained in the summer. men killed pigs and sheep, and drank their mead out of horns. this was the time for skalds and story-tellers. but the village where gunnar was now settled was a holy village, because of frey's house. it was proper that no feast should be held unless frey were present at it. he was carried from homestead to homestead; and where he was there was sigrid his wife, and there now was gunnar also. those three always sat on the dais with the giver of the feast, and when the tables were ready they had the chief seats. sigrid was waited upon as if she had been a man, and great respect was shown her, which she sullenly received. once she had told gunnar that she disliked being noticed. she had said that she had been happiest in her days when she was keeping pigs in the forest; and he had said that he understood that very well. now he put that down as the reason why she had a hang-dog look at these merry-makings, ate little, drank less, said little and laughed not at all. when the drinking began she always left the hall and sat with the women in the bower. frey was left--and then it was that gunnar in his cups used to take liberties with frey--to clap a clout over one of his eyes, or stick an apple on a spike of his crown. he was wary how he played these tricks, for in some company it would have been taken very ill; but in some, and when men were far disguised in drink, his japes went well enough, and gave him satisfaction. he was by now entirely out of conceit with frey. that a god should be throned in the world he sincerely believed--and could swear to a hundred or more; but that one should be caged in a painted block he did not believe. as for his marriage, that made the hairs on his back bristle, and his neck to swell. a good deal of talk went on when sigrid was gone with the women. he listened to it and raged, but outwardly he was still, and found nothing to say. the people expected--or some of them--that sigrid would bring frey a child. some said that she had miscarried; none thought it unlikely. things were said and tales were told of frey which amazed him while they made him angry. "at this rate," he said to himself, "i shall be an atheist or a christian. would that king olaf could hear me say so. he would countermand his rope and make me one of his household." then he found out that it interested him more to hear tales of sigrid than it disgusted him; and he said to himself then, "frey and i shall be fighting for sigrid one of these days. i learn that i am in love with her." but he knew that it would be a shame to tell her so, and resolved that she should learn nothing about it. there was never a merrier winter in that village, and never a man more beloved than gunnar was. he was no skald, but his tales were without end, and so were his jokes. he had had his share of travel, and now they had their portion in it. he told them of micklegarth and of the great king of the greeks. he said that there was a temple there dedicated to divine wisdom, which was a paragon and wonder of the world. the king did sacrifice there every day to his god--and there was nothing in the temple less precious than gold. he spoke of that other garth in the north, a russian city, which was envious of the greek kingdom, and wishful to rival it. then of frey's worship he had something to say. in iceland he said frey was worshipped, and there had been a priest of his there called ravenkeld, who had not only built a house for him with five or six images of frey set round in a circle, but had had a famous stallion which he shared with the god. no one but ravenkeld or frey might ride this horse, which also had a stud of twelve mares for his own use and pleasure. ravenkeld had made a vow that he would have the life of any man who should ride the horse; and he kept it though it cost him all that he had. for once there came to him a certain man called thoreir, wishful to serve him. ravenkeld made a shepherd of him, and set him also to keep guard over frey's horse and his mares, warning him of the vow he had made. then on a day thirty sheep were lost and thoreir must ride far to find them. never a mare of the twelve could he come near, but frey's horse stood; so he saddled him and rode him all day. ravenkeld came to know about it and went out to find thoreir, who was lying on the stone wall, counting his sheep over. "how came you to ride my horse," said ravenkeld, "when i warned you to ride any other but him?" thoreir told him how it was. then ravenkeld said, "i am sorry, but we make vows one day and find them heavy another." then he drove his spear through his back and slew him. he paid for doing that, for he was outlawed by thoreir's kindred at the thing, and they came upon him unawares, and pierced his legs at the tendons of the knees and hung him up by them for a day. when they came to take him down the blood was in his eyes and he was as near dead as might be. then they banished him with hardly any money or goods; but yet he prospered and got his own back again. but when he was restored to his ease and wealth he said that he had no opinion of frey at all, and would have no more to do with him. he broke up the images and turned the god's house into a byre for his cows, and had no religion thereafter that ever gunnar heard tell of. "and that," he said, "is the way of men. they make a god first and unmake him afterwards--and all that is foolishness." but they said, "how can that be when we know very well what frey here does for us, sending the rain in proper time upon the earth?" "now tell me this," said gunnar; "do you pray to frey for rain when the wind is in the east?" "we do not," they said, "for that would be waste of breath." "so it would," said gunnar, "and so also if the wind blow from the south. for then the rain will come of itself." "that would be frey's doing, we hold," said they. then gunnar smiled. "you are lucky," he said, "and so is frey." they always took frey back after the feasts, two or three men bearing him up between them; and many a tumble they had in the snowdrifts, if they were not very surefooted, through drink or otherwise. one night when they had some way to go gunnar picked up sigrid and carried her through the worst of the drifts. "oh, you should not, you should not," she said; but he laughed. "you are so small a thing," he said, "it would be a shame." but she hid her face in his shoulder and said again that he should not carry her. he had a great mind to kiss her, but he did not do it just then. "well," said he, "let your husband carry you." and he called out, "hi you, frey, come and carry sigrid through the snow." but just then frey and his bearers were all rolling in the snow together. "you see how it is with poor frey," gunnar said. "he has had too much to drink and can't carry himself, so what would he do if he had you too?" after that he got into the way of carrying her, and she grew accustomed to it, looked for it, and held her arms out for him to lift her when they came out of the feast. gunnar enjoyed himself, but did not tell her so, or speak of it at all. he took it as a thing of course that he should serve her, and she accepted it. but there was no love-making, even though the days were dark, and there was nothing to be done out of doors. he said to himself, "she is frey's wife, or believes herself so. i don't care a flick of the fingers for frey, but for her i do care." they were thrown very much together, and found nothing amiss with that. gunnar talked to her of his travels and told her stories as they sat by the fire. he had a happy way with him which made all people like him and give him their confidence. he neither took liberties nor allowed them; but if you were simple and gave yourself no airs he was very gentle and good-humoured. sigrid had no suspicions of him, nor need for any. he would be incapable of doing her any harm. it was because he was afraid of making her unhappy that he left off teasing her about frey. at first he had been rather given to it, but he saw that she was troubled by it, and did not know what to say. then he stopped his gibes and mockery. chapter xiii frey makes ready to go his rounds by slow degrees the winter wore away; the clouds broke up, and the thick snow-fleece was pitted all over as if it had been a blanket which moths had fretted. the days drew out longer; men looked up, feeling the sun; the thatches began to drip, and then to run, and to dig for themselves deep channels in the snow. then began roof-slides by broad blocks at a time, and a man might be buried in slush before he knew it. sigrid said that they must make ready frey's wagon for the road, and told gunnar where it was stored and asked him to fetch it out. as soon as the buds began to swell on the trees they must be off. gunnar was glad of some work, and soon had the wagon out of the shedding and haled it into the forecourt. this wagon was a gaudy affair, being painted all over in red, blue and yellow. the wheels were red and so was the pole. white oxen drew it, which had red trappings and brazen stars on their foreheads. upright poles at the four corners of the wagon carried a wooden canopy, and held rods also for the curtains which shut frey off from mortal eyes until such times as he would appear and, having been propitiated with offerings, suffer himself to be carried into the fields. these curtains sigrid was now busy over. they were green and had dragons, the sun, the moon and stars, and runes also sewn upon them, of red and white colours. the inside of the tent which these curtains made was a fair chamber. in the forepart frey stood when he was travelling; in the afterpart was his bed where he lay at night. but the parts were not divided off. there was no bed-chamber for him as he had in his winter house. the men who went with the wagon, and tended the oxen, must lie out in the open to sleep, or in the sacking slung beneath where the beast-fodder was carried. gunnar thought that he would have no men to help him, and sigrid said, "oh no, we want no others. with you to help all will go well." "you trust me, i see," said gunnar, and sigrid looked at him with friendly eyes. "how should i not? are you not the trustiest of men?" "if you were not so kind to me," he told her, "perhaps i should not be so trusty. and it may be that we should both be the better for it. but i have a soft heart, and you have found that out." "i know nothing for your heart," she said. "that is the last thing that i know about you." "so be it," said gunnar. "now tell me what you wish to be at with this wonderful affair." it did not suit her very well just then to be talking of the wagon, so she crossed her knee and clasped it with her hands. "the heart of a man is like the snow just now, i think. it is quickly melted where the sun strikes it or the rain falls upon it. it is easy to make a dint in it. but below that there is ice. in small matters a man will be kind enough; but there may be great matters which may break themselves to pieces against him before he will be moved." gunnar made no answer, but busied himself examining the wagon. he broke a bubble of paint with his thumb, and said, "look at that now. there's bad workmanship for you." "it is exactly the contrary with women," said sigrid. "a girl's heart is like a spring which is guarded by overhanging snow and a thin film of ice. the first thaw breaks that through, and the water wells up warm. but the film, while it remains there, is respectable; for it denotes that the spring beneath is to be guarded from defiling hands." gunnar was very busy. he ran his hand up and down the pole. "the man who painted this machine," he said, "was a botcher. he has never so much as planed this pole. it is as rough as an earl's tongue. just you feel it, sweetheart." she was offended. "if you don't care to listen to me, i don't care either to observe your wagon. it is a strange way to woo a sweetheart to have her in contempt." "my dear one," said gunnar--and now he looked at her--"it is true that you know nothing of a man's heart, which moves him to do things rather than to talk about them. and this wagon is not mine, but frey's, and i am to work upon it by your desire." her eyes filled with tears. "ah," she said, "do i not know whose wagon it is? is this a time to remind me of it?" gunnar looked quickly about him. nobody was by. so then he went to sigrid, and put his hand on her shoulder. "don't cry, pretty one," he said, "otherwise there will be the mischief between frey and me." then he kissed her; and that was the first time that ever he did it, strange as it may appear. she sat very still, and all drawn up into a bunch, as if she felt chilly, which she did for a minute. then she went into frey's house and stayed there for a good time. gunnar shook his head, and went to fetch the tools that he needed for cleaning the paint off the wagon. he took a long time over it, and was very happy to be so busy. he cleaned off all the old paint, which was many coats thick, and smoothed the wood to his fancy. then he set to work with new colours and was at it many days from dawn to dusk. it began to look very splendid, with a green ground, and yellow wheels and pole, and with flowers, trees, birds and beasts upon all that in blue, red and white. he painted also the sky and the sun and rivers winding among meadows. then he had the sea, with ships upon it, because sigrid did not know what the sea was like. and he wrote runes all round the panels of the wagon, sayings such as were common in his country, such as bare is back without brother behind it, and so on. sigrid was much the better for being kissed, though she was very careful not to say so. she thought that gunnar would not perceive it, but he did. her eyes were larger and softer; her colour was higher; she was quieter in her ways, not so restless, and certainly not so testy. she used to sit contentedly with her curtains while he worked at his painting, and could now admire what he did. she talked no more about the difference between a man's heart and a woman's, perhaps because she knew more. it was not hard to discern these changes in her. "this wagon," said gunnar, "is a paragon. it is my masterpiece." the time had come when all was done, even to the hangings of frey's bed, and the containing boards of the same. "now, sweetheart," said he, "it is for you to consider whether we shall not give your lord a lick of paint. to my eye he would be the better for it, but you know his fancy better than i do." she said shortly, "he is well enough." she could not bear his jokes about frey just now. "he is not then," said gunnar. "he will look shabby in his new wagon. just try him for yourself and see." she was most unwilling, but yet she allowed him to put frey up in the forepart of the wain. "look at him," said gunnar. "look at the brown blur upon his neck; and see how smeared his cheeks are. there is no shine left. to my thinking he is failing in one eye. it is like the eye of a dead fish. there should be new gilding on his cone. strange how a new wagon shows him up." she was not looking at frey at all; but when gunnar had him down in the court and was about to take his clothes off, she sprang forward with flaming cheeks and dangerous eyes. "i dare you to touch him." gunnar stood. "as you please," he said. "it is nothing to me. let him go bleary to his work." she shifted about and paced the court uneasily. "he is very well as he is. if anything is to be done to him i will do it." "as you please," said gunnar again, and left the court. he went out into the forest where the birds were singing. he looked to see if any were nesting yet, and was away three or four hours. when he came back frey was in his house again, and he examined what sigrid had done. she had washed him; gunnar thought he looked sadly bleached about the chaps, and there were flaws in his beard. his neck was pinker. she had tried to repaint his right eye. while he was looking at frey sigrid came in. she was flushed, and prepared to be angry in a moment. "i suppose you think i have made matters worse," she said. "what do you think yourself?" he asked her. "he will do well enough," she answered. but he told her, "you have not helped his eye-works. he is looking two ways at once." "it is what you would say." "it is what i do say," he answered, "because it is true." "i know what you think of him," she cried out sharply. "you have no need to tell me." gunnar replied: "he looked shabby before, and in want of a lick; but you have made him look like a boiled goose." sigrid was seriously vexed. she looked as if she was all over spines, like a teasel. but the worst of it was, that she knew he was right, as well as he did himself. meantime gunnar walked comfortably about, by and large, while she stood opening and shutting her hands. "you are hard to please," she said at last, in a dry voice. "yet i do think that i have mishandled his right eye. perhaps you will mend it for me." "ah," said gunnar, "and for him too i will mend it, though he has no liking for me. look at him, i ask you, from where you stand, and then from where i do. whereas his eyes used to follow us about to see what we were doing, now he sees nothing of us at all. kindly look for yourself." she did as he told her. she examined frey very carefully from where she stood and then crossed the floor and stood by gunnar, but looked at frey. "well?" said gunnar. her answer was not in words, but she looked up at gunnar with a faint smile. so then he kissed her again, and that kiss was a long one and lasted some time. "frey cannot see," she said presently, "and it is my fault. mend his eye for me." "why," said gunnar, "do you want him to see us?" she said, "not always--but sometimes it doesn't matter." gunnar said that he would put his eye right, and, more than that, he would freshen him up altogether. he pointed out many flaws in his painting. sigrid was not in the mood to deny him anything just now. she agreed readily, and was going away. but she came back again. "promise me one thing," she said. "i will promise you a dozen things," said gunnar. "one only. it is that you will only paint what you can see." gunnar, who was very quick, said, "i will obey you; but in that case you must cover him in a blanket, lest i spoil his clothes." she brought him a blanket, and left him. gunnar put frey's eye in order, and touched up his cheeks and scarlet nostrils for him. he sized the cone for gilding, and put a tinge more red into his beard. then he looked at him with his head on one side and one eye shut. "you are a fine figure of a god, frey. we are something alike, i believe. but for all that i see that you don't love me." he was at the end of the room as he stood; but for all that frey had him in view, and looked furious. after that there was nothing to do but wait the moment when frey should start on his rounds. chapter xiv frey starts on his rounds the weather was mild and open when frey set out in his wagon, and the roads were heavy. they plunged into the forest ways, where the tracks were swimming in melting snow, and the air was rife with dripping trees. but the birds were all awake, the buds were shining, there was spring in the air. gunnar walked beside the oxen and touched their necks now and then with the nodding point of his switch; frey kept his bed, and sigrid trudged beside gunnar, heedless of the wet and mire. sometimes she took his hand, sometimes his arm; sometimes his arm supported her. she was very happy, talked and laughed as she had never before. now she could laugh at frey, it seems. "frey is snoozing," she said. "he doesn't see what we see." "no," said gunnar; "but let him alone. he will have to work by and by. it is no light matter to order the yearly affairs of the earth." "no, indeed," she said. "besides, you have cut him off his blood-offerings which he loves." "he will be all the better for that," gunnar replied. "such food makes fat." the first village which they reached received them with acclamations. children with flowers, women with their children, men with their women, were there to receive them. they crowded the green track, they came flying through the forest on all sides. the oxen trudged over budded boughs and the first-born of flowers. the curtains of the forepart were open. sigrid sat in the wagon by the side of frey, who shook on his perch. the people were frantic, and many tried to climb the cart that they might touch frey's new cloak, or kiss the budded staff in his hand. gunnar had all to do to keep them free of the wheels. the elders of the village were before the first house and turned when the wagon drew nigh to walk before it to the god-house. it was late by the time they had reached it and got frey carried in; but there were torchlights everywhere flaring about like fiery serpents, and burning all the pools of water till they looked like melted gold. they told of great sacrifice in the morning, a boy and girl who were but just mature, and a foreign woman who had been found lost and benighted in the time of snow. then gunnar made it plain to them that these things were not to be. "frey," he said, "utterly abhors this bloodshedding, which, if you persist in it, will fairly ruin your tillage of the year. i know what he will do, for he has done it already. he will turn his back upon your fields, and nothing will move him. be warned therefore, before it is too late." the people were dismayed, and many murmured. then gunnar said, "bring me your victims, and i will show you the mind of frey"; which was done. the victims, bound tightly with withy-bands, were set before him. with his knife gunnar cut their bonds. "you are free," he said, "and no one dare touch you, for frey wills it. he will bless these fields, seeing that he has blessed you, who are more to him than fields." sigrid, who was standing close by, now said, "he speaks truly the mind of frey, as i myself can testify." so that year there were no bloody rites, but all other things were done as they had been from time out of mind. they carried frey about their fields, and said prayers and sang his praises; and so they went on their way through the forest from village to village. everywhere gunnar stopped the sacrifices, and everywhere sigrid upheld him. in time she was even beforehand with him, and much more vehement than he had ever been. he admired the spirit in which she did it, but advised her to be prudent. "if you say too much," he told her, "they will believe you to be under my thumb." she did not reply to that at first; but presently she said, "if they charged me with that i should not gainsay it." he smiled with his eyes as well as his lips. "you might find it a softer one than frey's," he said. she turned away her face, but gave him her hand to hold. he began to talk his nonsense, setting himself the task of making her laugh; for he thought to himself, "they are better when they laugh, for they cannot do it unless their hearts are light." chapter xv the snowstorm after many weeks journeying in dense woodland country, frey's wagon was now to cross a range of high mountains. the forest grew lighter, the way was steadily uphill, the wind blew cooler, the trees were more backward. at last they were fairly in the uplands among boulders of rock with here and there a few pines, or a grove of birch. it became like winter again, except for the length of daylight. there was a rough road by which the mountains were to be passed. they reached it at sunset, and it seemed likely they would have to spend the night upon the top where the snow was still deep. it began to blow fitfully from the east and north, and gunnar did not like the look of things at all. "sweetheart," he said, "we had best shelter hereabouts, for i doubt it is coming on to blow, and we might have snowstorms up above." "no," said sigrid, "i feel sure we had best get on. they await us on the further side of the mountain, but a little way down." "as you will," said gunnar; "only keep yourself warm inside, and make your curtains as snug as you can." he had spoken truly. the wind increased, and the powdery snow began flitting in wreaths over the frozen ground. gunnar put a blanket round sigrid and drew his coat closer about him. the oxen plodded on without taking notice. but both wind and snow were in their faces, and it was a slow business. gunnar kept his eye on the look of the sky. he saw masses of dark cloud behind the mountain range, inky towards the middle, brown at the edges. "there's a mort of snow to come," he said. it grew dark quickly, and he sent sigrid into the wagon. "get to bed," he told her, "and wrap yourself up warmly. the first good rock i come to i shall shelter the cattle." "and what will you do yourself?" she wanted to know. "i shall turn the wagon back to the wind," he said, "and cover the oxen. then i will do the best for myself i can." she wasn't satisfied and seemed unwilling to leave him, but he told her again to go to bed. "well," she said, "i will go, but you shall kiss me first." it was the first time she had ever asked that of him, and he gave her what she wanted, though he had other things to think about then, and plenty of them. she went away after that, and he trudged along. the snow was coming thick now; he felt it like gnats against his face, and that his beard was stiff with it. the front of his clothes was like a board, and his knees ached with the strain. the oxen stopped several times; but he hued them on, and often gave a hand to the wheel. but he had to stop as often to let them breathe themselves, and every time he did so they were the harder to move. the fury of the wind drove the snow in wreaths; banks of it formed, through which the cattle stumbled, or failed to stumble. when they failed he had to kick a passage for them. the point came beyond which he could not get them to move. it was at a bend of the road between high rocks. the wind came down the channel in fury, the snow was blinding. he felt, for he could not see, the trembling beasts, and understood that there was no moving them. sigrid within the curtains made no sign. gunnar considered that here they must remain until the storm ceased. he found stones for the hind wheels of the wain, unyoked the oxen and led them into the lew, out of the fury of the weather. he sought in the choked underpart for their coverings, but could not find them there. they would be in the wagon, and he must have them by all means. he gave them fodder, however, and then wondered what he should do to get their clothing, and to help himself. he was not cold, for his exertions had been too severe, but he would soon become so. should he make himself a rampart of snow and crouch under that? he knew there was danger of swooning, and rejected the thought. should he then stamp up and down, flapping his arms until daybreak? he knew that he could not. "it seems i am to perish for the sake of a wooden god!" his heart grew hot within him. "accursed idol," he said, "if i had you here i would fight it out with you! and i vow that if i come through this pass with safety, and see again my own land, i will take king olaf's religion, which does not send fair women to sleep with painted stocks." "sigrid has little love to spare for the like of me," he thought. "what knows she whether i live or die? there she snuggles asleep, with frey in her arms." he heard the voice of sigrid then, with tears in it. "no, no, i do not. come in and you shall see." he stared before him. "sigrid, are you awake?" she answered, "i am awake, and wait for you." "then," said he, "i come, but first give me covering for the cattle or they will perish, for they are now running sweat." "stay," she said; "you shall have them; but then you must come." he was now on fire, and trembling, but he waited while she struck tinder and blew a flame from which she lit a candle. after a time which was enough to cool any one, but did not cool him, she handed him out the wrappings. he made the beasts as snug as he could, and when he had done the candle was still burning fitfully. chapter xvi marriage of sigrid gunnar stood by the wagon, backing the storm. he waited for sigrid to call him. he could see her shadow moving about, and that she seemed very busy. his temper began to rise. "what is the matter now? have i not earned shelter yet? or does she wait until i am frostbitten?" her voice came scared from the curtains. "are you there, gunnar?" "ha! am i here? i am a hillock of snow. there is nothing left of me that is not ice. have you no ruth then?" her voice had great fear in it. "i am afraid of frey. he is very angry." then gunnar's wrath overflowed and was bitter in the mouth. "what, is frey angry? ah, but i am angry too. i'll deal with frey. let me get at him." he climbed the wagon wheel and put his head and shoulders in the curtains. he saw frey standing in the cart. with a lurch forward, he got him by the beard and pulled him over towards himself. "now, frey, you and i are at grips. come, out with you." he now had frey under the arms, and was hauling him out. when he had got so much of him out as was enough, he let go, and frey, overbalancing, fell upon his head into the snow. the gleaming of the candle showed him the axe hanging on its accustomed nail. "i'll take that," he said, and got down with it in his hand. now he set frey up in the snow and took him by the ears. frey had his crown on, but none of his clothes. seeing him now as he really was, gunnar's blood boiled within him. "dangerous, malignant idol," he said, with his teeth clenched, "whether you are devil or stock you shall be neither within this few minutes. to what monstrous pass have you brought us, to keep true lovers apart! you, to keep lovers apart! to what shameful drudgery you turn this sweet woman. you, to drudge a woman! ah, block of abomination, the one good thing you have done is to turn my heart to a faith that is cleaner than yours. if you have set me free, now it is my turn. here's for sigrid--and to let the fiend out of the tree." with that he swung the axe high in the air and brought it down true upon the head of frey. frey was cloven from the crown to the chine, and fell neatly in halves on either side of him. gunnar looked up. the cloud-wrack had blown over, the sky was clear and gemmed with stars. "frey has ridden off on the storm," he said. then he called aloud, "sigrid!" and her faint voice answered, "gunnar!" he climbed into the wagon. chapter xvii morrow of the storm the storm had abated in the night, the weather of the morning was fair, with a wind from the south. gunnar, when he went out and looked about him, thought that it would be possible to take up the journey by noon. but there were more serious things to consider of. frey was dead and in two halves, and how could they go without frey? how could they go with him either? he did not know what had better be done. but sigrid knew very well. when gunnar came back to her she told him. "we must go on," she said, "and it is for you now to be frey. you are strikingly like him. you would do much greater miracles than ever he did--as," she said, "you have already done." gunnar thought about it. "it could be done, i dare say. but we have no wagoner. you would not have frey drive his own team." she said, "we shall easily find a teamster in the country. and until we have one i can drive the beasts." gunnar said that that would not suit him at all. but they settled it this way, that he should drive until they were nearing the village, which lay upon a shoulder of the mountain, not far from the pass on the further side. then sigrid would go and find a wagoner and return with him. it was necessary to mend frey's oak-leaf crown, which was in two pieces. gunnar joined them neatly together, and gilded the edges of the fracture. the axe had been very sharp, the cut very clean. there was no trouble with frey's clothing; gunnar was happy to resume his cloak. scarlet paint to his nostrils was all that he needed to make him as like frey as need be; but he did not need as yet to change his nature and attributes. there would be time enough for that when sigrid was gone for the wagoner. they took up the journey again through the fast-melting snow. it was hard work, but the sun was shining, the sky without a cloud; they made way and reached the top of the pass without serious delay. thence they could see the village below them. they saw also that on that side of the mountain the snow had not drifted so much. it had been exposed to the full fury of the wind, which had blown the snow off as fast as it fell. gunnar considered that this would be a good place to wait for the teamster; but sigrid told him that a little way down there was a better. "there is a shelter there," she said, "and a little birch wood. you will be more concealed, and i shall not have so far to come back to you." gunnar laughed. "now that you have me, you are glad of me." her answer was a long look, and a sigh from a full heart. they found the little wood and steered the team there. it was in the full sun, with very little snow. flowers were blowing there, and the birds very busy. gunnar kissed sigrid and saw her go on her errand. as for her, she went on her way rejoicing. she did what she could not remember to have done before--for she was by nature grave and silent: she sang snatches of little songs, at first with no words to them, but afterwards words came of themselves--names which she had had for gunnar a long time stored in her heart, and others of the kind. after a few turns of the road she saw a group of men in a walled close, and went to them. they said that they were expecting frey and his wagon, fearing that the storm would have stayed him. "frey is quite well," she said, "but we have lost our wagoner, who was a norwegian, and frey's priest also. he disappeared in the storm, and we suppose he perished in a drift." "better men than he have perished last night," said one of the men. "but who may you be, mistress?" sigrid said, "i am frey's wife." and then they all knew her and saluted her with great respect. "frey sent me," said she, "to find a man of yours to lead his wagon into your village. afterwards we must let him choose one who will continue with him on his rounds. it is not likely he will have a new man from every village. he would not be pleased with that." they talked together, and then said they would all come gladly. "very good," she said. "you shall all bring us into the village. now we will go back, for frey is alone, and i don't know what he may do. he is very strange this morning, and i believe might be dangerous if he were vexed or in any way put out." they struck off up the mountain, and when they came to the wagon in the birch wood, there stood frey with shining nostrils, very fierce, in the cart. he had drawn the curtains so that he might look out over the country. sigrid called their attention to that. "you see how it is with him," she said. "now i tell you that when i left him those curtains were closely drawn." one of the men said that a night out on the mountain in such a storm was enough to make anybody angry. he stood up very regally while they stood before him bareheaded. one man said a kind of a prayer, deprecating his anger; but frey took no notice of him. sigrid said, "better get on as soon as may be. he will be hungry, and will do no work until he is satisfied." she got up into the wagon and sat beside frey, and put her hand within his arm. the men urged the oxen down the road, and so they came to the village. as soon as sigrid saw the concourse which was out to meet them she drew the curtains, and was immediately in gunnar's arms. but then, after that, she had to learn what were his intentions. he said, "i will have no blood-offerings at all. if they must slay oxen and sheep, let it be for a good dinner. i will join them there and they shall be the better of it, as i shall be. but their offerings shall be gold or silver, or clothing, if they wish to serve me. eggs, too, i will take, or cheese, or milk, or bread. therefore, sigrid, you must make them understand and more than that, you must drive it into the head of the man you choose for priest, that blood-sacrifices are an abomination to me." she promised him that she would see to it all; and so they came into the village with the people flocking about them. when they had taken up their place and the oxen had been unyoked, fed and watered, sigrid took the headmen apart and told them the mind of frey. they were disappointed. they said that they had many victims whom they were anxious to dispose of, and not much gold or silver at any rate, and none which they could spare. they hoped therefore that frey would accept of the accustomed sacrifice, which was a great interest to the people. sigrid said, "i see how it is. you wish to glut yourself at frey's charge, and to rid yourself of what you don't want, nor frey neither. but frey knows this better than you do, and is not to be deceived. you will find out very soon that i am right." they said that he should have eggs, bread, cheese and milk, and went away very discontented. the hour of the sacrifice was now at hand. trestles and boards were laid before the wagon to hold up the altar and to make degrees of approach to it. then when songs had been sung and prayers offered, sigrid drew the curtains apart and revealed frey to them. they brought baskets of bread, cheeses in the round, milk and eggs. with a bearer of eggs frey worked his first miracle. a certain man came up with a basketful of eggs; there may have been two dozen of them. he knelt before frey in his place in the row, waiting his turn. gunnar, watching him, saw him fingering the eggs while he waited, turning them over, lifting one and weighing it in his hands. presently he saw him take two from the basket and slip them in his pocket. when he put his hand to them again frey brought his budded staff smartly down upon the back of it, and smashed it into his eggs. the man gave a yell, and fell down upon his face. all the rest shrank away in consternation, and there was great commotion down below. the man, sobbing and blubbering, drew out of his pocket the stolen eggs. never had been such a miracle as this within the memory of man. the immediate effect of it was to bring out treasure to the shrine. women brought their marriage crowns, men their rings and armlets. fine cloth was offered and stuff embroidered with silk and gold. in the evening there was a feast, to which frey himself came, and to their wonder and satisfaction ate and drank with the best. he said little; but he listened, and nodded his head when he was pleased, or knit his brows when he was angry. next day he was drawn in his wagon to their closes and fields, and blessed them all very graciously. he gave them to understand through his wife that by banking up a torrent they could easily turn it and make a head of water enough to keep the pasture green all the summer through. another thing he told them was how to make conduit-pipes of the split trunks of trees, hollowed out. all these things were wonderful, and carried the name and fame of frey before him. the offerings poured into his treasury; he was rich, and had no more trouble with blood-sacrifices. by the end of the sowing season frey was so rich that the wagon would scarcely hold him, his wife and the treasure. he talked to sigrid about it, and said, "sweetheart, i am thinking that we should do well to have a bodyguard before we get into our own country." sigrid, who was sitting on his knee at the time, said that no one would dare to attack frey; but gunnar nodded his head. "fame is a strange thing," he told her; "it takes the guise that is most in men's fancy. now for one man who has heard report of our miracles, there will be twenty who know that we have a full treasury. i am minded to have a guard before we cross the river and come into the parts where we are known best. and do you know what i am thinking is going to be the crown of frey's achievement?" she said, wonderingly, "no." then gunnar kissed her. and then she told him that she knew quite well what he meant, and that the truth was so. "great is frey," said gunnar. chapter xviii news of frey reaches norway in norway under king olaf trygvasson affairs were prospering all this while. the king had settled his kingdom into his own ways, and being of a restless and acquisitive mind, he was already thinking how he could better himself. he had thought more than once of iceland as a heathen country stocked with fine people well worth the pains of conversion. "to drive them to the water may cost me five hundred lives," he said, "but you may take that as a sowing of which the harvest will be a thousandfold. christ will win souls and i a new realm." the more he thought of it the more he desired to do it. then there came strange news out of sweden, of painful interest to king olaf. he heard of mighty stirrings of the pagan people out there, of miracles wrought by their chief god frey which overpassed any which his own priests could do. what struck him most in these accounts was that the manner of devotion had been changed. frey, he was assured, was milder-mannered, and would have nothing to do with human sacrifice. more than that, blood-offerings of all sorts were utterly done away with. the king could not understand it, and talked it over with the lords of his council. "it looks to me," he said, "as if frey was half-way to be a christian. not only will he have no bloodshed, but all his works are those of mercy. he heals the sick, comforts the fatherless, gives sight to the blind, sets captives free! there is something in all this which i cannot fathom. but let me tell you that baptism of a heathen god would be a thing to root the true faith in the rock, as it should be. then it would stand fast for ever." some said one thing, and some another. but sigurd helming looked down at his finger-nails with his brows drawn up very high, and said nothing at all. he was so pointedly silent that the king observed it. "well," he asked him, "and what are you thinking to see in your finger-nails?" sigurd held up the forefinger of one hand. "there is a white fleck in this one," he said, "which warns me of a stranger in sweden." "well," said king olaf, "and that is true to report. what next?" "sir," said sigurd, "a stranger to my knowledge went into sweden a year ago, and has not been heard of as coming out again. that was my brother gunnar, who went for a good reason." the king frowned. "you did no service to this country when you warned him of my anger." "sir," sigurd said, "i know that. but i was very sure then that he had no part in halward's slaughter, and i believe that you had an inkling of how the case stood. otherwise you had not kept me on your council, but had expelled me the realm." "well," said the king, "what i have heard since has softened my resentment; but i know nothing. what makes you see the mind of gunnar in these heathen doings?" "the knowledge i have of his mind," said sigurd. "he is a merry man and a mild-mannered man until he is vexed. now, he never would sacrifice beasts to the gods in the old days when the gods required it. and he always said that it was better to kill a man outright than to keep him in chains or darkness. these are two reasons. lastly, if it is true that frey had a woman for his wife, i believe that gunnar has her now, and that the next miracle of frey's we hear about will be that she is to give him a child." the king took hold of his chin under his beard, and considered. then he said, "sigurd, do you go into sweden and witness some of the doings of frey. if you are right in what you suspect--and i think that you are--you will see gunnar, and maybe he will tell you the truth of the matter. it is an old story by now, but i don't say that i shall not have a word with the slayer of halward hereafter if i happen to meet with him." sigurd said that he would gladly go to sweden. it was settled that he should set out in the summer when the passes were open and frey at home again. chapter xix sigurd in sweden. the battle of the ford sigurd said that he should go to sweden by sea, as that was the quicker way for one who did not know the land ways. he had a ship fitted out, and was often down on the hard, either going to his ship or coming from it. one day he saw, or thought he saw, gunnar sitting there in the sun. it was a man of about his size in a cloak which he had been fond of wearing; a faded red cloak with a hood to it which stuck out in a bunch upon his shoulders. after a good look at him he knew that it could not be gunnar, but was still curious about the cloak. he went up to the man until he could touch him, and then did touch him by lifting up the hem of the cloak to see if the braid was like that of gunnar's. it was the very same. "good day to you," sigurd said, and the man, seeing a lord beside him, rose up and saluted him. he looked like a fisherman or seafarer. "i was interested in your cloak," sigurd said. "i think my brother gunnar will have given it to you. but he left the country more than a twelvemonth ago, and i see that you have worn it hard." the man laughed. "not so hard then," he said, "seeing i have not had it in my hands more than a few days, and this is but the second time i have worn it." "from whom did you receive it? i must needs know, for a good deal hangs upon what you tell me." the man stared, and then looked rather sullen. "it is fairly mine," he said, "as a thing is that comes from the bottom of the sea." now it was sigurd who stared. "you fished it up from the sea-bed?" "it came up with my anchor six nights ago or seven." "where were you moored?" he pointed out to sea. "i was lying just off the ness, having been out with the nets. but the wind shifted at sunset, and i was not hurried, so stayed there snug enough till morning. it is a soft bottom there. in the morning i shipped my anchor, and up comes this cloak with a great stone in the hood of it. it had been cast there by somebody who wanted it to stay there, but you see things went awry with him." "they did so," said sigurd. "now i will give you three crowns for the cloak as it stands." "if you do that you do a foolish thing," said the man, "but it is not for me to stop you. "it's not so foolish as you suppose," sigurd answered. he paid over his money, and away with the cloak. "i take you with me to find your master," he said to it, very well satisfied with his morning's work. he made a good journey in his ship, coasted the land of sweden and ran up a long way into the land. he arrived there towards the middle of the summer, and made inquiries of the whereabouts of the woodland frey. hereabouts, they told him, he was not worshipped, though great tales were told of him which had shaken many, and moved some to go into the forest country to judge for themselves. they gave him certain information where that country was. he was to follow the course of the river up into the land. when it ran finer he would come to a good ford. on the west of that lay the country of the woodland frey. sigurd set off on horseback with a good retinue, and made long journeys. in about ten days or a fortnight the river began to run brokenly; in a day more he should be at the ford. so it proved. the country ran flat in a broad valley, on the west of which, climbing gradually to the mountains, so far as the eye could see there was forest. they kept a look-out for the ford, and presently a man of theirs, riding in front, topped, looked earnestly, and then held up his hand with a spear in it. they came up with him. "what is it you see?" sigurd asked him. "i see the ford," he said, "and i see also men fighting about it. and it seems to me that twenty are attacking a few." sigurd was looking as they all were. "what are those white animals i see on this bank?" "they are oxen," said the look-out man. "i see also a great wagon they have behind them. and i believe that frey is in the wagon. what i marvel at is that he should be there at all and not among the fighters." "would frey fight men?" he was asked. "if he is what i believe him," said sigurd, "he would gladly fight men." they rode on cautiously, taking what cover they could, and came up within a bowshot of the fight. then they saw that there were eight men against the twenty, of whom some were fallen into the river, and some fell even as they looked. nevertheless, the greater party was prevailing. they had pushed back the eight to the close neighbourhood of the wagon, and it looked as if it would go hard with them. frey, they could see, stood fixedly in the front of the cart with his crown on his head, and his cone and rod in his hands. sigurd wondered at him, and could not think it was gunnar. but even while he thought, he saw frey drop his cone and reach stealthily behind him. he found what he wanted and held it behind his back, staring all the while fixedly in front. [illustration: "then all of a sudden frey ... leaped from the cart into the midst of the fight." _frey and his wife_] [_page _ ] then all of a sudden frey roared aloud, making a terrible booming noise, and leaped from the cart into the midst of the fight. sigurd now saw that he had in his right hand an axe, and remarked with pleasure how doughtily he laid about him with it, and how men fell before him. frey kept up his roaring, which was like the noise of a great buzzing windmill, and seemed to paralyze his enemies, who gave back in confusion until they were at the water's edge. "now is our time," said sigurd, and gave the order to set on. so they did, with spears, and completed the rout. all the remnant of the assailants was slain. then sigurd turned him to frey. "this is the last of your miracles, brother," he said, "or the last but one. you had no need of us." gunnar turned upon him in wonderment. "ah, it is you, sigurd! i cry you hail!" then they shook hands and embraced each other with great joy. gunnar told sigurd that he had had suspicions of some such thing, "since the people on this side of the river have no love for frey," and knew what a treasure he had in his wagon. he had prepared himself beforehand with a tolerable company; but the marauders were in greater force than he had thought for. "so it was needful for frey himself to make an example of them." then sigurd asked to be shown the treasure; "and they tell me, gunnar, that you have more than gold and silver with you." "so i have," said gunnar, "as you shall see." he called sigrid, who then came down from the cart and greeted sigurd with gravity and timidity mingled. she stood very close to gunnar all the time. sigurd approved highly of her, and "i see that the crowning wonder of frey's life on earth is to be accomplished in her." this he said to gunnar when they were alone, and gunnar did not deny it. when they had eaten, drunken and rested themselves, gunnar desired to know what had brought his brother adventuring into these wilds. sigurd said, well! he had heard rumours of frey's doings which put him in mind of gunnar. these had been spoken of in the king's council, and authority given to him to go out and satisfy himself. "and i may tell you," he continued, "that king olaf's anger with you is over, and that you need not fear the sight of a tree any more. but we will talk about that another time. let me see this fine treasure of yours which your magic has drawn from the swedes." gunnar said, "i don't know that there was much magic about it. i gave them what they wanted, they gave me what i wanted. it seems a fair barter. and let me tell you, it is no light matter for me to be silent when men are feasting; and to fill up your nostrils with red paint every morning--that is worth its price also." "but you had a pretty wife to talk with," said sigurd. "to be sure i had," gunnar replied, "and a great to-do before i had her." sigrid brought out the treasure to show to sigurd. he was amazed. "i had not believed there was so much gold and silver in sweden," he said. then he saw the cloths, the tissues of silk and linen, and the raiment. by and by he turned over the green and brown cloak which gunnar had brought with him from drontheim. "here is a notable cloak," he said, "the like of which i have seen before." "have you though?" said gunnar, and laughed. "that is frey's own cloak, which i vowed to him when i took service under him, and long before i made palings of him." sigurd said, "wait a little. i think i can match it." he went away to his company and came back with gunnar's red-hooded cloak in his hands. "here," he said, "is a fellow to it, somewhat tousled and time-worn. do you know it?" gunnar handled it with affection. "that is an old friend which i never thought to see again," he said. "the last time i saw it, it was on the back of a dirty rascal." sigurd told him the tale of its recovery, and how a great stone had come up in the hood of it. gunnar said, "i see it--but i saw it all at the time." "i did not," said sigurd, "but now i do. i shall keep both of these cloaks, by your leave," he said. "king olaf requires to be convinced." gunnar said that he was ready to go back with his brother the way he had come, but that he would send frey's wagon home across the ford. "if they need a new frey," he said, "they will make one for themselves." "there's a new frey on the road," said sigurd, "who would give them great satisfaction," but gunnar said that he had had enough godship. so they returned along the river road, and sigrid had her first sight of the sea, and a taste of its quality. chapter xx the end of the tale gunnar found himself rich with all his swedish treasure, and bought land in a dale of drontheim, and set to work building a fine house. about christmas-time sigrid gave birth to a son, which was a great affair. but before any of these things happened to him he had to see king olaf, who received him with a wry smile. "so you are not only contumacious, but inveterate in sin," he said; but gunnar could see that he wasn't angry. "you not only deny my god, but set yourself up as his rival. and now you are in my hands, what am i to do?" "sir," said gunnar, "it is rather true that the only way i had of escaping your rope was to run among the heathen. as for my godhead, that in a sense was forced upon me. i would have you remark that i slew a god before i became one myself." "you slew a god and took his wife," said the king. "i should like to see frey's wife. you shall bring her to me, if you please. i have many questions to put to her." so sigrid was brought to king olaf, who questioned her alone. but he found it one thing to question and another thing to get answered. as for her origin she was quite willing to repeat all that she had told gunnar early in her acquaintance with him. king olaf knew her country and the city of prag, from which it seemed she had come, very well. then he wanted to know about her marriage with frey, and she became dumb. how long was it before she knew that frey was nought? no answer. what sort of communication had passed between her and frey? no answer. was frey kind to her? did he beat her? was it his eyes which dominated her? no answers. lastly he said this: "have you told gunnar everything that there is to tell?" to that she answered, "yes," and her eyes were unclouded and not afraid of the king's. "well!" said olaf; and that was all there was to say about it. the king told gunnar that he was not married at all, to which gunnar answered, "ho, am i not?" but he went on to say that he had vowed himself to christianity on the night of his marriage, and that he and sigrid were very ready to accomplish the vow. the king agreed to it; so the pair of them went into the water with the bishop of drontheim, and were afterwards married again by the laws of christendom and holy church. men sat still then for the winter, and in the spring king olaf gathered his hosts and fitted out his long ships for work in iceland. gunnar excused himself, saying that he was busy with his new house and his child; but he spoke more freely to sigurd. "i know one thing which you intend doing over there," he said, "and i will have no share in it myself. i owe no grudge to ogmund dint, though it was a dirty trick he played me for his own beastly ends. but i got sigrid out of the adventure and everything i possess, and that's enough for me." "plenty," said sigurd, "and i am with you, and should do the same if i were in your place. but the king won't have slayings done in norway unavenged. he is very bitter against ogmund, and i fancy it will go hard with him." "i don't doubt that," said gunnar. "king olaf is a hard nut to crack." the expedition sailed, and sailed north. the landing was made in shaw firth where ogmund's father, raven, was a great man. but ogmund himself was not there. wigfus, who was in the host, told the king where he would be found, and when matters had been settled in the north the fleet sailed about to the east of iceland and made a new landing, not far from thwartwater. ogmund was one of the first of the chieftains in those parts to submit himself to king olaf's baptism. the king received him coldly and put him on one side. "i will consider of it," he said, "but first i wish to see old battle-glum, who is a man after my own heart." battle-glum was brought before him, and refused to have anything to do with christianity. "i am an old man now," he said, "looking out for my end. it is late for me to change my opinions. thor is the god i worship, and in that faith will i die. it matters very little to me whether i die at your hands, or in my bed. i have settled all my affairs. wigfus will take thwartwater after me. he is young and can follow what gods he pleases. so also can ogmund, my foster-son." "wigfus your son," said the king, "is a christian already; but ogmund your foster-son is not. he is here at hand, and i will have him in before you that you may know something about him before you die." ogmund was brought in, and sigurd also was present. sigurd said, "the last time you were in drontheim you left something behind you which i desire to give back. but there is some doubt left open which of two things is yours, and i would have you settle it, ogmund." ogmund said that he would do so with pleasure. then sigurd said, "you left a dead man lying in his blood, and a cloak." ogmund dint said that he left no cloak, "and as for the man, i slew him fairly." sigurd said, "you left two cloaks, one in the water with a great stone in it, and one on the back of my brother gunnar. here they are. which do you say is yours?" ogmund was very troubled. he touched the fine cloak. "i say that that is mine." "you lie, ogmund," said sigurd. "that was in gunnar's keeping. he gave it to me." then ogmund was for justifying himself to the king; but king olaf told the story at length to battle-glum. glum listened to it, and said little. "thrall's blood will show itself," he said. "i expected something of the kind." then he turned to king olaf and said, "do you propose to have this man baptized?" the king said, "i do." then battle-glum said, "and do you ask me to be of the same religion?" the king told him he could do as he pleased. "you are a credit to any religion," he told him. ogmund dint asked vehemently for baptism. "you shall have it," said king olaf. "you shall be baptized first and hanged afterwards, lest your punishment be eternal as well as temporal." which was done. the end butler & tanner; frome and london. the story of grettir the strong translated from the icelandic by eirÍkr magnÚsson and william morris a life scarce worth the living, a poor fame scarce worth the winning, in a wretched land, where fear and pain go upon either hand, as toward the end men fare without an aim unto the dull grey dark from whence they came: let them alone, the unshadowed sheer rocks stand over the twilight graves of that poor band, who count so little in the great world's game! nay, with the dead i deal not; this man lives, and that which carried him through good and ill, stern against fate while his voice echoed still from rock to rock, now he lies silent, strives with wasting time, and through its long lapse gives another friend to me, life's void to fill. william morris. preface. we do not feel able to take in hand the wide subject of the sagas of iceland within the limits of a preface; therefore we have only to say that we put forward this volume as the translation of an old story founded on facts, full of dramatic interest, and setting before people's eyes pictures of the life and manners of an interesting race of men near akin to ourselves. those to whom the subject is new, we must refer to the translations already made of some other of these works,[ ] and to the notes which accompany them: a few notes at the end of this volume may be of use to students of saga literature. [footnote : such as 'burnt njal,' edinburgh, , vo, and 'gisli the outlaw,' edinburgh, , to, by dasent; the 'saga of viga-glum,' london, , vo, by sir e. head; the 'heimskringla,' london, , vo, by s. laing; the 'eddas,' prose by dasent, stockholm, ; poetic by a.s. cottle, bristol, , and thorpe, london and halle, ; the 'three northern love stories,' translated by magnússon and morris, london, , and 'the volsunga saga,' translated by the same, london, .] for the original tale we think little apology is due; that it holds a very high place among the sagas of iceland no student of that literature will deny; of these we think it yields only to the story of njal and his sons, a work in our estimation to be placed beside the few great works of the world. our saga is fuller and more complete than the tale of the other great outlaw gisli; less frightful than the wonderfully characteristic and strange history of egil, the son of skallagrim; as personal and dramatic as that of gunnlaug the worm-tongue, if it lack the rare sentiment of that beautiful story; with more detail and consistency, if with less variety, than the history of gudrun and her lovers in the laxdaela; and more a work of art than that, or than the unstrung gems of eyrbyggja, and the great compilation of snorri sturluson, the history of the kings of norway. at any rate, we repeat, whatever place among the best sagas may be given to grettla[ ] by readers of such things, it must of necessity be held to be one of the best in all ways; nor will those, we hope, of our readers who have not yet turned their attention to the works written in the icelandic tongue, fail to be moved more or less by the dramatic power and eager interest in human character, shown by our story-teller; we say, we hope, but we are sure that no one of insight will disappoint us in this, when he has once accustomed himself to the unusual, and, if he pleases, barbarous atmosphere of these ancient stories. [footnote : such is the conversational title of this saga; many of the other sagas have their longer title abbreviated in a like manner: egil's saga becomes egla, njal's saga njála; eyrbyggja saga, laxdaela saga, vatnsdaeela saga, reykdaela saga, svarfdaela saga, become eyrbyggja, laxdaela, vatnsdaela, reykdaela, svarfdaela (gen. plur. masc. of daelir, dale-dwellers, is forced into a fem. sing. regularly declined, saga being understood); furthermore, landnáma bók (landnáma, gen. pl. neut.) the book of land settlings, becomes landnáma (fem. sing. regularly declined, bók being understood); lastly, sturlunga saga, the saga of the mighty family of the sturlungs, becomes sturlunga in the same manner.] as some may like to know what they are going to read about before venturing on beginning the book, we will now give a short outline of our saga. the first thirteen chapters (which sometimes are met with separately in the icelandic as the saga of onund treefoot), we have considered as an introduction to the story, and have accordingly distinguished them from the main body of the book. they relate the doings of grettir's ancestors in norway, in the lands west over the sea and in iceland, and are interesting and in many points necessary for the understanding of the subsequent story; one of these we note here for the reader's convenience, viz. the consanguinity of grettir and king olaf the saint;[ ] for it adds strongly to the significance of the king's refusal to entertain grettir at his court, or to go further into the case of the murder he was falsely accused of. [footnote : onund treefoot brother to gudbiorg | | thorgrim greypate gudbrand | | asmund the greyhaired asta (mother of) | | grettir the strong. olaf the saint.] the genealogies of this part of the work agree closely with those of the landnáma-bók, and of the other most reliable sagas. after this comes the birth of grettir, and anecdotes (one at least sufficiently monstrous) of his unruly childhood; then our hero kills his first man by misadventure, and must leave iceland; wrecked on an isle off norway, he is taken in there by a lord of that land, and there works the deed that makes him a famous man; the slaying of the villainous bearserks, namely, who would else have made wreck of the honour and goods of grettir's host in his absence; this great deed, we should say, is prefaced by grettir's first dealings with the supernatural, which characterise this saga, and throw a strange light on the more ordinary matters throughout. the slaying of the bearserks is followed by a feud which grettir has on his hands for the slaying of a braggart who insulted him past bearing, and so great the feud grows that grettir at last finds himself at enmity with earl svein, the ruler of norway, and, delivered from death by his friends, yet has to leave the land and betake himself to iceland again. coming back there, and finding himself a man of great fame, and hungry, for more still, he tries to measure himself against the greatest men in the land, but nothing comes of these trials, for he is being reserved for a greater deed than the dealing with mere men; his enemy is glam the thrall; the revenant of a strange, unearthly man who was himself killed by an evil spirit; grettir contends with, and slays, this monster, whose dying curse on him is the turning-point of the story. all seems fair for our hero, his last deed has made him the foremost man in iceland, and news now coming out of olaf the saint, his relative, being king of norway, he goes thither to get honour at his hands; but glam's curse works; grettir gains a powerful enemy by slaying an insulting braggart just as he was going on ship-board; and on the voyage it falls out that in striving to save the life of his shipmates by a desperate action, he gets the reputation of having destroyed the sons of a powerful icelander, thorir of garth, with their fellows. this evil report clings to him when he lands in norway; and all people, including the king from whom he hoped so much, look coldly on him. now he offers to free himself from the false charge by the ordeal of bearing hot iron; the king assents, and all is ready; but glam is busy, and some strange appearance in the church, where the ordeal is to be, brings all to nothing; and the foreseeing olaf refuses to take grettir into his court, because of his ill-luck. so he goes to his brother, thorstein dromund, for a while, and then goes back to iceland. but there, too, his ill-luck had been at work, and when he lands he hears three pieces of bad news at once; his father is dead; his eldest brother, atli, is slain and unatoned; and he himself has been made an outlaw, by thorir of garth, for a deed he has never done. he avenges his brother, and seeks here and there harbour from his friends, but his foes are too strong for him, or some unlucky turn of fate always pushes him off the help of men, and he has to take to the wilderness with a price upon his head; and now the other part of the curse falls on him heavier, for ever after the struggle with the ghost he sees horrible things in the dark, and cannot bear to be alone, and runs all kinds of risks to avoid it; and so the years of his outlawry pass on. from time to time, driven by need, and rage at his unmerited ill-fortune, he takes to plundering those who cannot hold their own; at other times he lives alone, and supports himself by fishing, and is twice nearly brought to his end by hired assassins the while. sometimes he dwells with the friendly spirits of the land, and chiefly with hallmund, his friend, who saves his life in one of the desperate fights he is forced into. but little by little all fall off from him; his friends durst harbour him no more, or are slain. hallmund comes to a tragic end; grettir is driven from his lairs one after the other, and makes up his mind to try, as a last resource, to set himself down on the island of drangey, which rises up sheer from the midst of skagafirth like a castle; he goes to his father's house, and bids farewell to his mother, and sets off for drangey in the company of his youngest brother, illugi, who will not leave him in this pinch, and a losel called "noise," a good joker (we are told), but a slothful, untrustworthy poltroon. the three get out to drangey, and possess themselves of the live-stock on it, and for a while all goes well; the land-owners who held the island in shares, despairing of ridding themselves of the outlaw, give their shares or sell them to one thorbiorn angle, a man of good house, but violent, unpopular, and unscrupulous. this man, after trying the obvious ways of persuasion, cajolery, and assassination, for getting the island into his hands, at last, with the help of a certain hag, his foster-mother, has recourse to sorcery. by means of her spells (as the story goes) grettir wounds himself in the leg in the third year of his sojourn at drangey, and though the wound speedily closes, in a week or two gangrene supervenes, and grettir, at last, lies nearly helpless, watched continually by his brother illugi. the losel, "noise," now that the brothers can no more stir abroad, will not take the trouble to pull up the ladders that lead from the top of the island down to the beach; and, amidst all this, helped by a magic storm the sorceress has raised, thorbiorn angle, with a band of men, surprises the island, unroofs the hut of the brothers, and gains ingress there, and after a short struggle (for grettir is already a dying man) slays the great outlaw and captures illugi in spite of a gallant defence; he, too, disdaining to make any terms with the murderers of his brother, is slain, and angle goes away exulting, after he had mutilated the body of grettir, with the head on which so great a price had been put, and the sword which the dead man had borne. but now that the mighty man was dead, and people were relieved of their fear of him, the minds of men turned against him who had overcome him in a way, according to their notions, so base and unworthy, and angle has no easy time of it; he fails to get the head-money, and is himself brought to trial for sorcery and practising heathen rites, and the 'nithings-deed' of slaying a man already dying, and is banished from the land. now comes the part so necessary to the icelandic tale of a hero, the revenging of his death; angle goes to norway, and is thought highly of for his deed by people who did not know the whole tale; but thorstein dromund, an elder half-brother of grettir, is a lord in that land, and angle, knowing of this, feels uneasy in norway, and at last goes away to micklegarth (constantinople), to take service with the varangians: thorstein hears of this and follows him, and both are together at last in micklegarth, but neither knows the other: at last angle betrays himself by showing grettir's sword, at a 'weapon-show' of the varangians, and thorstein slays him then and there with the same weapon. thorstein alone in a strange land, with none to speak for him, is obliged to submit to the laws of the country, and is thrown into a dungeon to perish of hunger and wretchedness there. from this fate he is delivered by a great lady of the city, called spes, who afterwards falls in love with him; and the two meet often in spite of the watchful jealousy of the lady's husband, who is at last so completely conquered by a plot of hers (the sagaman here has taken an incident with little or no change from the romance of tristram and iseult), that he is obliged to submit to a divorce and the loss of his wife's dower, and thereafter the lovers go away together to norway, and live there happily till old age reminds them of their misdeeds, and they then set off together for rome and pass the rest of their lives in penitence and apart from one another. and so the story ends, summing up the worth of grettir the strong by reminding people of his huge strength, his long endurance in outlawry, his gift for dealing with ghosts and evil spirits, the famous vengeance taken for him in micklegarth; and, lastly, the fortunate life and good end of thorstein dromund, his brother and avenger. such is the outline of this tale of a man far above his fellows in all matters valued among his times and people, but also far above them all in ill-luck, for that is the conception that the story-teller has formed of the great outlaw. to us moderns the real interest in these records of a past state of life lies principally in seeing events true in the main treated vividly and dramatically by people who completely understood the manners, life, and, above all, the turn of mind of the actors in them. amidst many drawbacks, perhaps, to the modern reader, this interest is seldom or ever wanting in the historical sagas, and least of all in our present story; the sagaman never relaxes his grasp of grettir's character, and he is the same man from beginning to end; thrust this way and that by circumstances, but little altered by them; unlucky in all things, yet made strong to bear all ill-luck; scornful of the world, yet capable of enjoyment, and determined to make the most of it; not deceived by men's specious ways, but disdaining to cry out because he must needs bear with them; scorning men, yet helping them when called on, and desirous of fame: prudent in theory, and wise in foreseeing the inevitable sequence of events, but reckless beyond the recklessness even of that time and people, and finally capable of inspiring in others strong affection and devotion to him in spite of his rugged self-sufficing temper--all these traits which we find in our sagaman's grettir seem always the most suited to the story of the deeds that surround him, and to our mind most skilfully and dramatically are they suggested to the reader. as is fitting, the other characters are very much subordinate to the principal figure, but in their way they are no less life-like; the braggart--that inevitable foil to the hero in a saga--was never better represented than in the gisli of our tale; the thrall noise, with his carelessness, and thriftless, untrustworthy mirth, is the very pattern of a slave; snorri the godi, little though there is of him, fully sustains the prudent and crafty character which follows him in all the sagas; thorbiorn oxmain is a good specimen of the overbearing and sour chief, as is atli, on the other hand, of the kindly and high-minded, if prudent, rich man; and no one, in short, plays his part like a puppet, but acts as one expects him to act, always allowing the peculiar atmosphere of these tales; and to crown all, as the story comes to its end, the high-souled and poetically conceived illugi throws a tenderness on the dreadful story of the end of the hero, contrasted as it is with that of the gloomy, superstitious angle. something of a blot, from some points of view, the story of spes and thorstein dromund (of which more anon) must be considered; yet whoever added it to the tale did so with some skill considering its incongruous and superfluous nature, for he takes care that grettir shall not be forgotten amidst all the plots and success of the lovers; and, whether it be accidental or not, there is to our minds something touching in the contrast between the rude life and tragic end of the hero, and the long, drawn out, worldly good hap and quiet hopes for another life which fall to the lot of his happier brother. as to the authorship of our story, it has no doubt gone through the stages which mark the growth of the sagas in general, that is, it was for long handed about from mouth to mouth until it took a definite shape in men's minds; and after it had held that position for a certain time, and had received all the necessary polish for an enjoyable saga, was committed to writing as it flowed ready made from the tongue of the people. its style, in common with that of all the sagas, shows evidences enough of this: for the rest, the only name connected with it is that of sturla thordson the lawman, a man of good position and family, and a prolific author, who was born in and died ; there is, however, no proof that he wrote the present work, though we think the passages in it that mention his name show clearly enough that he had something to do with the story of grettir: on the whole, we are inclined to think that a story of grettir was either written by him or under his auspices, but that the present tale is the work of a later hand, nor do we think so complete a saga-teller, as his other undoubted works show him to have been, would ever have finished his story with the epilogue of spes and thorstein dromund, steeped as that latter part is with the spirit of the mediaeval romances, even to the distinct appropriation of a marked and well-known episode of the tristram; though it must be admitted that he had probably plenty of opportunity for being versed in that romance, as tristram was first translated into the tongue of norway in the year , by brother robert, at the instance of king hakon hakonson, whose great favourite sturla thordson was, and whose history was written by him. for our translation of this work we have no more to say than to apologise for its shortcomings, and to hope, that in spite of them, it will give some portion of the pleasure to our readers which we felt in accomplishing it ourselves. eirÍkr magnÚsson, william morris. london, <i>april</i> . chronology of the story. . the battle of hafrsfirth. . begins the settlement of iceland. cca. . thrand and ufeigh grettir settle gnup-wardsrape. cca. . onund treefoot comes to iceland. cca. . death of onund treefoot. . the althing established. (?). grettir born. . christianity sanctioned by law. . skapti thorodson made lawman. . grettir slays skeggi; goes abroad, banished for three years. . slaying of thorir paunch and his fellows in haramsey. earl eric goes to denmark. . slaying of biorn at the island of gartar. slaying of thorgils makson. illugi asmundson born. death of thorkel krafla. . slaying of gunnar in tunsberg. grettir goes back to iceland; fights with the men of meal on ramfirth-neck. heath-slayings. thorgeir havarson outlawed. fight with glam the ghost. . fight of nesjar in norway. slaying of thorbiorn tardy. grettir fares abroad. burning of the sons of thorir of garth. death of asmund the greyhaired. . grettir meets king olaf; fails to bear iron; goes east to tunsberg to thorstein dromund. slaying of atli of biarg. grettir outlawed at the thing for the burning of the sons of thorir; his return to iceland. slaying of thorbiorn oxmain and his son arnor. . grettir at reek-knolls. lawsuit for the slaying of thorbiorn oxmain. grettir taken by the icefirth churls. . grettir at liarskogar with thorstein kuggson; his travels to the east to skapti the lawman and thorhall of tongue, and thence to the keel-mountain, where he met hallmund (air) for the first time. - . grettir on ernewaterheath. . grettir goes to the marshes. - . grettir in fairwoodfell. . grettir visits hallmund again. . grettir discovers thorirs-dale. - . grettir travels round by the east; haunts madderdale-heath and reek-heath. . thorstein kuggson slain. . grettir at sand-heaps in bard-dale. . grettir haunts the west by broadfirth-dales, meets thorod snorrison. - . grettir in drangey. . grettir visits heron-ness-thing. . grettir fetches fire from reeks. skapti the law man dies. . death of snorri godi and grettir asmundson. . thorbiorn angle slain. contents. <i>preface</i> <i>chronology of the story</i> chap. i. xiii. <i>the forefathers of grettir</i> xiv. <i>of grettir as a child, and his froward ways with his father</i> xv. <i>of the ball-play on midfirth water</i> xvi. <i>of the slaying of skeggi</i> xvii. <i>of grettir's voyage out</i> xviii. <i>of grettir at haramsey and his dealings with karr the old</i> xix. <i>of yule at haramsey, and how grettir dealt with the bearserks</i> xx. <i>how thorfinn met grettir at haramsey again</i> xxi. <i>of grettir and biorn and the bear</i> xxii. <i>of the slaying of biorn</i> xxiii. <i>the slaying of hiarandi</i> xxiv. <i>of the slaying of gunnar, and grettir's strife with earl svein</i> xxv. <i>the slaying of thorgils makson</i> xxvi. <i>of thorstein kuggson, and the gathering for the bloodsuit for the slaying of thorgils makson</i> xxvii. <i>the suit for the slaying of thorgils makson</i> xxviii. <i>grettir comes out to iceland again</i> xxix. <i>of the horse-fight at longfit</i> xxx. <i>of thorbiorn oxmain and thorbiorn tardy, and of grettir's meeting with kormak on ramfirth-neck</i> xxxi. <i>how grettir met bardi, the son of gudmund, as he came back from the heath-slayings</i> xxxii. <i>of the haunting at thorhall-stead; and how thorhall took a shepherd by the rede of skapti the lawman, and what befell thereafter</i> xxxiii. <i>of the doings of glam at thorhall-stead</i> xxxiv. <i>grettir hears of the hauntings</i> xxxv. <i>grettir goes to thorhall-stead, and has to do with glam</i> xxxvi. <i>of thorbiorn oxmain's autumn-feast, and the mocks of thorbiorn tardy</i> xxxvii. <i>olaf the saint, king in norway; the slaying of thorbiorn tardy; grettir goes to norway</i> xxxviii. <i>of thorir of garth and his sons; and how grettir fetched fire for his shipmates</i> xxxix. <i>how grettir would fain bear iron before the king</i> xl. <i>of grettir and snoekoll</i> xli. <i>of thorstein dromund's arms, and what he deemed they might do</i> xlii. <i>of the death of asmund the greyhaired</i> xliii. <i>the onset on atli at the pass and the slaying of gunnar and thorgeir</i> xliv. <i>the suit for the slaying of the sons of thorir of the pass</i> xlv. <i>of the slaying of atli asmundson</i> xlvi. <i>grettir outlawed at the thing at the suit of thorir of garth</i> xlvii. <i>grettir comes out to iceland again</i> xlviii. <i>the slaying of thorbiorn oxmain</i> xlix. <i>the gathering to avenge thorbiorn oxmain</i> l. <i>grettir and the foster-brothers at reek-knolls</i> li. <i>of the suit for the slaying of thorbiorn oxmain, and how thorir of garth would not that grettir should be made sackless</i> lii. <i>how grettir was taken by the icefirth carles</i> liii. <i>grettir with thorstein kuggson</i> liv. <i>grettir meets hallmund on the keel</i> lv. <i>of grettir on ernewaterheath, and his dealings with grim there</i> lvi. <i>of grettir and thorir redbeard</i> lvii. <i>how thorir of garth set on grettir on ernewaterheath</i> lviii. <i>grettir in fairwoodfell</i> lix. <i>gisli's meeting with grettir</i> lx. <i>of the fight at hitriver</i> lxi. <i>how grettir left fairwoodfell, and of his abiding in thorir's-dale</i> lxii. <i>of the death of hallmund, grettir's friend</i> lxiii. <i>how grettir beguiled thorir of garth when he was nigh taking him</i> lxiv. <i>of the ill haps at sand-heaps, and how guest came to the goodwife there</i> lxv. <i>of guest and the troll-wife</i> lxvi. <i>of the dweller in the cave under the force</i> lxvii. <i>grettir driven from sand-heaps to the west</i> lxviii. <i>how thorod, the son of snorri godi, went against grettir</i> lxix. <i>how grettir took leave of his mother at biarg, and fared with illugi his brother to drangey</i> lxx. <i>of the bonders who owned drangey between them</i> lxxi. <i>how those of skagafirth found grettir on drangey</i> lxxii. <i>of the sports at heron-ness thing</i> lxxiii. <i>the handselling of peace</i> lxxiv. <i>of grettir's wrestling; and how thorbiorn angle now bought the more part of drangey</i> lxxv. <i>thorbiorn angle goes to drangey to speak with grettir</i> lxxvi. <i>how noise let the fire out on drangey, and how grettir must needs go aland for more</i> lxxvii. <i>grettir at the home-stead of reeks</i> lxxviii. <i>of haering at drangey, and the end of him</i> lxxix. <i>of the talk at the thing about grettir's outlawry</i> lxxx. <i>thorbiorn angle goes with his foster-mother out to drangey</i> lxxxi. <i>of the carline's evil gift to grettir</i> lxxxii. <i>grettir sings of his great deeds</i> lxxxiii. <i>how thorbiorn angle gathered force and set sail for drangey</i> lxxxiv. <i>the slaying of grettir asmundson</i> lxxxv. <i>how thorbiorn angle claimed grettir's head-money</i> lxxxvi. <i>how thorbiorn angle brought grettir's head to biarg</i> lxxxvii. <i>affairs at the althing</i> lxxxviii. <i>thorbiorn angle goes to norway, and thence to micklegarth</i> lxxxix. <i>how the short-sword was the easier known when sought for by reason of the notch in the blade</i> xc. <i>how the lady spes redeemed thorstein from the dungeon</i> xci. <i>of the doings of thorstein and the lady spes</i> xcii. <i>of the oath that spes made before the bishop</i> xciii. <i>thorstein and spes come out to norway</i> xciv. <i>thorstein dromund and spes leave norway again</i> xcv. <i>how thorstein dromund and spes fared to rome and died there</i> <i>notes and corrections</i> <i>index of persons</i> <i>index of places</i> <i>index of things</i> <i>periphrastic expressions in the songs</i> <i>proverbial sayings</i> the story of grettir the strong. <i>this first part tells of the forefathers of grettir in norway, and how they fled away before harald fairhair, and settled in iceland; and of their deeds in iceland before grettir was born</i>. chap. i. there was a man named onund, who was the son of ufeigh clubfoot, the son of ivar the smiter; onund was brother of gudbiorg, the mother of gudbrand ball, the father of asta, the mother of king olaf the saint. onund was an uplander by the kin of his mother; but the kin of his father dwelt chiefly about rogaland and hordaland. he was a great viking, and went harrying west over the sea.[ ] balk of sotanes, the son of blaeng, was with him herein, and orm the wealthy withal, and hallvard was the name of the third of them. they had five ships, all well manned, and therewith they harried in the south-isles;[ ] and when they came to barra, they found there a king, called kiarval, and he, too, had five ships. they gave him battle, and a hard fray there was. the men of onund were of the eagerest, and on either side many fell; but the end of it was that the king fled with only one ship. so there the men of onund took both ships and much wealth, and abode there through the winter. for three summers they harried throughout ireland and scotland, and thereafter went to norway. [footnote : "west over the sea," means in the sagas the british isles, and the islands about them--the hebrides, orkneys, &c.] [footnote : south-isles are the hebrides, and the other islands down to man.] chap. ii. in those days were there great troubles in norway. harald the unshorn,[ ] son of halfdan the black, was pushing forth for the kingdom. before that he was king of the uplands; then he went north through the land, and had many battles there, and ever won the day. thereafter he harried south in the land, and wheresoever he came, laid all under him; but when he came to hordaland, swarms of folk came thronging against him; and their captains were kiotvi the wealthy, and thorir longchin, and those of south rogaland, and king sulki. geirmund helskin was then in the west over the sea; nor was he in that battle, though he had a kingdom in hordaland. [footnote : "harald the unshorn:" he was so called at first because he made a vow not to cut his hair till he was sole king of norway. when he had attained to this, and earl rognvald had taken him to the bath and trimmed his hair, he was called "fair-hair," from its length and beauty.] now that autumn onund and his fellows came from the west over the sea; and when thorir longchin and king kiotvi heard thereof, they sent men to meet them, and prayed them for help, and promised them honours. then they entered into fellowship with thorir and his men; for they were exceeding fain to try their strength, and said that there would they be whereas the fight was hottest. now was the meeting with harald the king in rogaland, in that firth which is called hafrsfirth; and both sides had many men. this was the greatest battle that has ever been fought in norway, and hereof most sagas tell; for of those is ever most told, of whom the sagas are made; and thereto came folk from all the land, and many from other lands and swarms of vikings. now onund laid his ship alongside one board of the ship of thorir longchin, about the midst of the fleet, but king harald laid his on the other board, because thorir was the greatest bearserk, and the stoutest of men; so the fight was of the fiercest on either side. then the king cried on his bearserks for an onslaught, and they were called the wolf-coats, for on them would no steel bite, and when they set on nought might withstand them. thorir defended him very stoutly, and fell in all hardihood on board his ship; then was it cleared from stem to stern, and cut from the grapplings, and let drift astern betwixt the other ships. thereafter the king's men laid their ship alongside onund's, and he was in the forepart thereof and fought manly; then the king's folk said, "lo, a forward man in the forecastle there, let him have somewhat to mind him how that he was in this battle." now onund put one foot out over the bulwark and dealt a blow at a man, and even therewith a spear was aimed at him, and as he put the blow from him he bent backward withal, and one of the king's forecastle men smote at him, and the stroke took his leg below the knee and sheared it off, and forthwith made him unmeet for fight. then fell the more part of the folk on board his ship; but onund was brought to the ship of him who is called thrand; he was the son of biorn, and brother of eyvind the eastman; he was in the fight against king harald and lay on the other board of onund's ship. but now, after these things, the more part of the fleet scattered in flight; thrand and his men, with the other vikings, got them away each as he might, and sailed west over the sea; onund went with him, and balk and hallvard sweeping; onund was healed, but went with a wooden leg all his life after; therefore as long as he lived was he called onund treefoot. chap. iii. at that time were many great men west over the sea, such as had fled from their lands in norway before king harald, because he had made all those outlaws, who had met him in battle, and taken to him their possessions. so, when onund was healed of his wounds, he and thrand went to meet geirmund helskin, because he was the most famed of vikings west there over the sea, and they asked him whether he had any mind to seek after that kingdom which he had in hordaland, and offered him their fellowship herein; for they deemed they had a sore loss of their lands there, since onund was both mighty and of great kin. geirmund said that so great had grown the strength of king harald, that he deemed there was little hope that they would win honour in their war with him when men had been worsted, even when all the folk of the land had been drawn together; and yet withal that he was loth to become a king's thrall and pray for that which was his own; that he would find somewhat better to do than that; and now, too, he was no longer young. so onund and his fellows went back to the south-isles, and there met many of their friends. there was a man, ufeigh by name, who was bynamed grettir; he was the son of einar, the son of olvir bairn-carle; he was brother to oleif the broad, the father of thormod shaft; steinulf was the name of olvir bairn-carle's son, he was the father of una whom thorbiorn salmon-carle had to wife. another son of olvir bairn-carle was steinmod, the father of konal, who was the father of aldis of barra. the son of konal was steinmod, the father of haldora, the wife of eilif, the son of ketil the onehanded. ufeigh grettir had to wife asny, the daughter of vestar haengson; and asmund the beardless and asbiorn were the sons of ufeigh grettir, but his daughters were these, aldis, and asa, and asvor. ufeigh had fled away west over the sea before harald the king, and so had thormod shaft his kinsman, and had with them their kith and kin; and they harried in scotland, and far and wide west beyond the sea. now thrand and onund treefoot made west for ireland to find eyvind the eastman, thrand's brother, who was land-ward along the coasts of ireland; the mother of eyvind was hlif, the daughter of rolf, son of ingiald, the son of king frodi; but thrand's mother was helga, the daughter of ondott the crow; biorn was the name of the father of eyvind and thrand, he was the son of rolf from am; he had had to flee from gothland, for that he had burned in his house sigfast, the son-in-law of king solver; and thereafter had he gone to norway, and was the next winter with grim the hersir, the son of kolbiorn the abasher. now grim had a mind to murder biorn for his money, so he fled thence to ondott the crow, who dwelt in hvinisfirth in agdir; he received biorn well, and biorn was with him in the winter, but was in warfare in summer-tide, until hlif his wife died; and after that ondott gave biorn helga his daughter, and then biorn left off warring. now thereon eyvind took to him the war-ships of his father, and was become a great chief west over the sea; he wedded rafarta, the daughter of kiarval, king of ireland; their sons were helgi the lean and snaebiorn. so when thrand and onund came to the south-isles, there they met ufeigh grettir and thormod shaft, and great friendship grew up betwixt them, for each thought he had gained from hell the last who had been left behind in norway while the troubles there were at the highest. but onund was exceeding moody, and when thrand marked it, he asked what he was brooding over in his mind. onund answered, and sang this stave-- "what joy since that day can i get when shield-fire's thunder last i met; ah, too soon clutch the claws of ill; for that axe-edge shall grieve me still. in eyes of fighting man and thane, my strength and manhood are but vain, this is the thing that makes me grow a joyless man; is it enow?" thrand answered that whereso he was, he would still be deemed a brave man, "and now it is meet for thee to settle down and get married, and i would put forth my word and help, if i but knew whereto thou lookest." onund said he did in manly wise, but that his good hope for matches of any gain was gone by now. thrand answered, "ufeigh has a daughter who is called asa, thitherward will we turn if it seem good to thee." onund showed that he was willing enough hereto; so afterwards they talked the matter over with ufeigh; he answered well, and said that he knew how that onund was a man of great kin and rich of chattels; "but his lands," said he, "i put at low worth, nor do i deem him to be a hale man, and withal my daughter is but a child." thrand said, that onund was a brisker man yet than many who were hale of both legs, and so by thrand's help was this bargain struck; ufeigh was to give his daughter but chattels for dowry, because those lands that were in norway neither would lay down any money for. a little after thrand wooed the daughter of thormod shaft, and both were to sit in troth for three winters. so thereafter they went a harrying in the summer, but were in barra in the winter-tide. chap. iv. there were two vikings called vigbiod and vestmar; they were south-islanders, and lay out both winter and summer; they had thirteen ships, and harried mostly in ireland, and did many an ill deed there till eyvind the eastman took the land-wardship; thereafter they got them gone to the south-isles, and harried there and all about the firths of scotland: against these went thrand and onund, and heard that they had sailed to that island, which is called bute. now onund and his folk came there with five ships; and when the vikings see their ships and know how many they are, they deem they have enough strength gathered there, and take their weapons and lay their ships in the midst betwixt two cliffs, where was a great and deep sound; only on one side could they be set on, and that with but five ships at once. now onund was the wisest of men, and bade lay five ships up into the sound, so that he and his might have back way when they would, for there was plenty of sea-room astern. on one board of them too was a certain island, and under the lee thereof he let one ship lie, and his men brought many great stones forth on to the sheer cliffs above, yet might not be seen withal from the ships. now the vikings laid their ships boldly enough for the attack, and thought that the others quailed; and vigbiod asked who they were that were in such jeopardy. thrand said that he was the brother of eyvind the eastman, "and here beside me is onund treefoot my fellow." then laughed the vikings, and shouted-- "treefoot, treefoot, foot of tree, trolls take thee and thy company." "yea, a sight it is seldom seen of us, that such men should go into battle as have no might over themselves." onund said that they could know nought thereof ere it were tried; and withal they laid their ships alongside one of the other, and there began a great fight, and either side did boldly. but when they came to handy blows, onund gave back toward the cliff, and when the vikings saw this, they deemed he was minded to flee, and made towards his ship, and came as nigh to the cliff as they might. but in that very point of time those came forth on to the edge of the cliff who were appointed so to do, and sent at the vikings so great a flight of stones that they might not withstand it. then fell many of the viking-folk, and others were hurt so that they might not bear weapon; and withal they were fain to draw back, and might not, because their ships were even then come into the narrowest of the sound, and they were huddled together both by the ships and the stream; but onund and his men set on fiercely, whereas vigbiod was, but thrand set on vestmar, and won little thereby; so, when the folk were thinned on vigbiod's ship, onund's men and onund himself got ready to board her: that vigbiod saw, and cheered on his men without stint: then he turned to meet onund, and the more part fled before him; but onund bade his men mark how it went between them; for he was of huge strength. now they set a log of wood under onund's knee, so that he stood firmly enow; the viking fought his way forward along the ship till he reached onund, and he smote at him with his sword, and the stroke took the shield, and sheared off all it met; and then the sword drove into the log that onund had under his knee, and stuck fast therein; and vigbiod stooped in drawing it out, and even therewith onund smote at his shoulder in such wise, that he cut the arm from off him, and then was the viking unmeet for battle. but when vestmar knew that his fellow was fallen, he leaped into the furthermost ship and fled with all those who might reach her. thereafter they ransacked the fallen men; and by then was vigbiod nigh to his death: onund went up to him, and sang-- "yea, seest thou thy wide wounds bleed? what of shrinking didst thou heed in the one-foot sling of gold? what scratch here dost thou behold? and in e'en such wise as this many an axe-breaker there is strong of tongue and weak of hand: tried thou wert, and might'st not stand." so there they took much spoil and sailed back to barra in the autumn. chap. v. the summer after this they made ready to fare west to ireland. but at that time balk and hallvard betook themselves from the lands west over the sea, and went out to iceland, for from thence came tales of land good to choose. balk settled land in ramfirth and dwelt at either balkstead; hallvard settled sweepingsfirth, and hallwick out to the stair, and dwelt there. now thrand and onund met eyvind the eastman, and he received his brother well; but when he knew that onund was come with him, then he waxed wroth, and would fain set on him. thrand bade him do it not, and said that it was not for him to wage war against northmen, and least of all such men as fared peaceably. eyvind said that he fared otherwise before, and had broken the peace of kiarval the king, and that he should now pay for all. many words the brothers had over this, till thrand said at last that one fate should befall both him and onund; and then eyvind let himself be appeased. so they dwelt there long that summer, and went on warfare with eyvind, who found onund to be the bravest of men. in the autumn they fared to the south-isles, and eyvind gave to thrand to take all the heritage of their father, if biorn should die before thrand. now were the twain in the south-isles until they wedded their wives, and some winters after withal. chap. vi. and now it came to pass that biorn, the father of thrand, died; and when grim the hersir hears thereof he went to meet ondott crow, and claimed the goods left by biorn; but ondott said that thrand had the heritage after his father; grim said that thrand was west over seas, and that biorn was a gothlander of kin, and that the king took the heritage of all outland men. ondott said that he should keep the goods for the hands of thrand, his daughter's son; and therewith grim gat him gone, and had nought for his claiming the goods. now thrand had news of his father's death, and straightway got ready to go from the south-isles, and onund treefoot with him; but ufeigh grettir and thormod shaft went out to iceland with their kith and kin, and came out to the eres in the south country, and dwelt the first winter with thorbiorn salmon-carle. thereafter they settled gnup-wards'-rape, ufeigh, the outward part, between thwart-river and kalf-river, and he dwelt at ufeigh's-stead by stone-holt; but thormod settled the eastward part, and abode at shaft-holt. the daughters of thormod were these: thorvor, mother of thorod the godi[ ] of hailti, and thora, mother of thorstein, the godi, the father of biarni the sage. [footnote : "godi" is the name for the rulers of the thirty-nine districts into which the republic of iceland was anciently divided. while the ancient religion lasted, their office combined in itself the highest civil and sacerdotal functions.] now it is to be said of thrand and onund that they sailed from the lands west over the sea toward norway, and had fair wind, and such speed, that no rumour of their voyage was abroad till they came to ondott crow. he gave thrand good welcome, and told him how grim the hersir had claimed the heritage left by biorn. "meeter it seems to me, kinsman," said he, "that thou take the heritage of thy father and not king's-thralls; good luck has befallen thee, in that none knows of thy coming, but it misdoubts me that grim will come upon one or other of us if he may; therefore i would that thou shouldst take the inheritance to thee, and get thee gone to other lands." thrand said that so he would do, he took to him the chattels and got away from norway at his speediest; but before he sailed into the sea, he asked onund treefoot whether he would not make for iceland with him; onund said he would first go see his kin and friends in the south country. thrand said, "then must we part now, but i would that thou shouldst aid my kin, for on them will vengeance fall if i get off clear; but to iceland shall i go, and i would that thou withal shouldst make that journey." onund gave his word to all, and they parted in good love. so thrand went to iceland, and ufeigh and thormod shaft received him well. thrand dwelt at thrand's-holt, which is west of steer's-river. chap. vii. onund went south to rogaland, and met there many of his kin and friends; he dwelt there in secret at a man's called kolbein. now he heard that the king had taken his lands to him and set a man thereover who was called harek, who was a farmer of the king's; so on a night onund went to him, and took him in his house; there harek was led out and cut down, and onund took all the chattels they found and burnt the homestead; and thereafter he abode in many places that winter. but that autumn grim the hersir slew ondott crow, because he might not get the heritage-money for the king; and that same night of his slaying, signy, his wife, brought aboard ship all her chattels, and fared with her sons, asmund and asgrim, to sighvat her father; but a little after sent her sons to soknadale to hedin her foster-father; but that seemed good to them but for a little while, and they would fain go back again to their mother; so they departed and came at yule-tide to ingiald the trusty at hvin; he took them in because of the urgency of gyda his wife, and they were there the winter through. but in spring came onund north to agdir, because he had heard of the slaying of ondott crow; but when he found signy he asked her what help she would have of him. she said that she would fain have vengeance on grim the hersir for the slaying of ondott. then were the sons of ondott sent for, and when they met onund treefoot, they made up one fellowship together, and had spies abroad on the doings of grim. now in the summer was a great ale-drinking held at grim's, because he had bidden to him earl audun; and when onund and the sons of ondott knew thereof they went to grim's homestead and laid fire to the house, for they were come there unawares, and burnt grim the hersir therein, and nigh thirty men, and many good things they took there withal. then went onund to the woods, but the sons of ondott took a boat of ingiald's, their foster-father's, and rowed away therein, and lay hid a little way off the homestead. earl audun came to the feast, even as had been settled afore, and there "missed friend from stead." then he gathered men to him, and dwelt there some nights, but nought was heard of onund and his fellows; and the earl slept in a loft with two men. onund had full tidings from the homestead, and sent after those brothers; and, when they met, onund asked them whether they would watch the farm or fall on the earl; but they chose to set on the earl. so they drove beams at the loft-doors and broke them in; then asmund caught hold of the two who were with the earl, and cast them down so hard that they were well-nigh slain; but asgrim ran at the earl, and bade him render up weregild for his father, since he had been in the plot and the onslaught with grim the hersir when ondott crow was slain. the earl said he had no money with him there, and prayed for delay of that payment. then asgrim set his spear-point to the earl's breast and bade him pay there and then; so the earl took a chain from his neck, and three gold rings, and a cloak of rich web, and gave them up. asgrim took the goods and gave the earl a name, and called him audun goaty. but when the bonders and neighbouring folk were ware that war was come among them, they went abroad and would bring help to the earl, and a hard fight there was, for onund had many men, and there fell many good bonders and courtmen of the earl. now came the brothers, and told how they had fared with the earl, and onund said that it was ill that he was not slain, "that would have been somewhat of a revenge on the king for our loss at his hands of fee and friends." they said that this was a greater shame to the earl; and therewith they went away up to sorreldale to eric alefain, a king's lord, and he took them in for all the winter. now at yule they drank turn and turn about with a man called hallstein, who was bynamed horse; eric gave the first feast, well and truly, and then hallstein gave his, but thereat was there bickering between them, and hallstein smote eric with a deer-horn; eric gat no revenge therefor, but went home straightway. this sore misliked the sons of ondott, and a little after asgrim fared to hallstein's homestead, and went in alone, and gave him a great wound, but those who were therein sprang up and set on asgrim. asgrim defended himself well and got out of their hands in the dark; but they deemed they had slain him. onund and asmund heard thereof and supposed him dead, but deemed they might do nought. eric counselled them to make for iceland, and said that would be of no avail to abide there in the land (i.e. in norway), as soon as the king should bring matters about to his liking. so this they did, and made them ready for iceland and had each one ship. hallstein lay wounded, and died before onund and his folk sailed. kolbein withal, who is afore mentioned, went abroad with onund. chap. viii. now onund and asmund sailed into the sea when they were ready, and held company together; then sang onund this stave-- "meet was i in days agone for storm, wherein the sweeping one, midst rain of swords, and the darts' breath, blew o'er all a gale of death. now a maimed, one-footed man on rollers' steed through waters wan out to iceland must i go; ah, the skald is sinking low." they had a hard voyage of it and much of baffling gales from the south, and drove north into the main; but they made iceland, and were by then come to the north off longness when they found where they were: so little space there was betwixt them that they spake together; and asmund said that they had best sail to islefirth, and thereto they both agreed; then they beat up toward the land, and a south-east wind sprang up; but when onund and his folk laid the ship close to the wind, the yard was sprung; then they took in sail, and therewith were driven off to sea; but asmund got under the lee of brakeisle, and there lay till a fair wind brought him into islefirth; helgi the lean gave him all kraeklings' lithe, and he dwelt at south glass-river; asgrim his brother came out some winters later and abode at north glass-river; he was the father of ellida-grim, the father of asgrim ellida-grimson. chap. ix. now it is to be told of onund treefoot that he drave out to sea for certain days, but at last the wind got round to the north, and they sailed for land: then those knew who had been there before that they had come west off the skagi; then they sailed into strand-bay, and near to the south-strands, and there rowed toward them six men in a ten-oared boat, who hailed the big ship, and asked who was their captain; onund named himself, and asked whence they came; they said they were house-carles of thorvald, from drangar; onund asked if all land through the strands had been settled; they said there was little unsettled in the inner strands, and none north thereof. then onund asked his shipmates, whether they would make for the west country, or take such as they had been told of; they chose to view the land first. so they sailed in up the bay, and brought to in a creek off arness, then put forth a boat and rowed to land. there dwelt a rich man, eric snare, who had taken land betwixt ingolfs-firth, and ufoera in fishless; but when eric knew that onund was come there, he bade him take of his hands whatso he would, but said that there was little that had not been settled before. onund said he would first see what there was, so they went landward south past some firths, till they came to ufoera; then said eric, "here is what there is to look to; all from here is unsettled, and right in to the settlements of biorn." now a great mountain went down the eastern side of the firth, and snow had fallen thereon, onund looked on that mountain, and sang-- "brand-whetter's life awry doth go. fair lands and wide full well i know; past house, and field, and fold of man, the swift steed of the rollers ran: my lands, and kin, i left behind, that i this latter day might find, coldback for sunny meads to have; hard fate a bitter bargain drave." eric answered, "many have lost so much in norway, that it may not be bettered: and i think withal that most lands in the main-settlements are already settled, and therefore i urge thee not to go from hence; but i shall hold to what i spake, that thou mayst have whatso of my lands seems meet to thee." onund said, that he would take that offer, and so he settled land out from ufoera over the three creeks, byrgis creek, kolbein's creek, and coldback creek, up to coldback cleft. thereafter eric gave him all fishless, and reekfirth, and all reekness, out on that side of the firth; but as to drifts there was nought set forth, for they were then so plentiful that every man had of them what he would. now onund set up a household at coldback, and had many men about him; but when his goods began to grow great he had another stead in reekfirth. kolbein dwelt at kolbein's creek. so onund abode in peace for certain winters. chap. x. now onund was so brisk a man, that few, even of whole men, could cope with him; and his name withal was well known throughout the land, because of his forefathers. after these things, befell that strife betwixt ufeigh grettir and thorbiorn earl's-champion, which had such ending, that ufeigh fell before thorbiorn in grettir's-gill, near heel. there were many drawn together to the sons of ufeigh concerning the blood-suit, and onund treefoot was sent for, and rode south in the spring, and guested at hvamm, with aud the deeply-wealthy, and she gave him exceeding good welcome, because he had been with her west over the sea. in those days, olaf feilan, her son's son, was a man full grown, and aud was by then worn with great eld; she bade onund know that she would have olaf, her kinsman, married, and was fain that he should woo aldis of barra, who was cousin to asa, whom onund had to wife. onund deemed the matter hopeful, and olaf rode south with him. so when onund met his friends and kin-in-law they bade him abide with them: then was the suit talked over, and was laid to kialarnes thing, for as then the althing was not yet set up. so the case was settled by umpiredom, and heavy weregild came for the slayings, and thorbiorn earl's-champion was outlawed. his son was solmund, the father of kari the singed; father and son dwelt abroad a long time afterwards. thrand bade onund and olaf to his house, and so did thormod shaft, and they backed olaf's wooing, which was settled with ease, because men knew how mighty a woman aud was. so the bargain was made, and, so much being done, onund rode home, and aud thanked him well for his help to olaf. that autumn olaf feilan wedded aldis of barra; and then died aud the deeply-wealthy, as is told in the story of the laxdale men. chap. xi. onund and asa had two sons; the elder was called thorgeir, the younger ufeigh grettir; but asa soon died. thereafter onund got to wife a woman called thordis, the daughter of thorgrim, from gnup in midfirth, and akin to midfirth skeggi. of her onund had a son called thorgrim; he was early a big man, and a strong, wise, and good withal in matters of husbandry. onund dwelt on at coldback till he was old, then he died in his bed, and is buried in treefoot's barrow; he was the briskest and lithest of one-footed men who have ever lived in iceland. now thorgrim took the lead among the sons of onund, though others of them were older than he; but when he was twenty-five years old he grew grey-haired, and therefore was he bynamed greypate; thordis, his mother, was afterwards wedded north in willowdale, to audun skokul, and their son was asgeir, of asgeir's-river. thorgrim greypate and his brothers had great possessions in common, nor did they divide the goods between them. now eric, who farmed at arness, as is aforesaid, had to wife alof, daughter of ingolf, of ingolfs-firth; and flosi was the name of their son, a hopeful man, and of many friends. in those days three brothers came out hither, ingolf, ufeigh, and eyvind, and settled those three firths that are known by their names, and there dwelt afterwards. olaf was the name of eyvind's son, he first dwelt at eyvind's-firth, and after at drangar, and was a man to hold his own well. now there was no strife betwixt these men while their elders were alive; but when eric died, it seemed to flosi, that those of coldback had no lawful title to the lands which eric had given to onund; and from this befell much ill-blood betwixt them; but thorgrim and his kin still held their lands as before, but they might not risk having sports together. now thorgeir was head-man of the household of those brothers in reekfirth, and would ever be rowing out a-fishing, because in those days were the firths full of fish; so those in the creek made up their plot; a man there was, a house-carle of flosi in arness, called thorfin, him flosi sent for thorgeir's head, and he went and hid himself in the boat-stand; that morning, thorgeir got ready to row out to sea, and two men with him, one called hamund, the other brand. thorgeir went first, and had on his back a leather bottle and drink therein. it was very dark, and as he walked down from the boat-stand thorfin ran at him, and smote him with an axe betwixt the shoulders, and the axe sank in, and the bottle squeaked, but he let go the axe, for he deemed that there would be little need of binding up, and would save himself as swiftly as might be; and it is to be told of him that he ran off to arness, and came there before broad day, and told of thorgeir's slaying, and said that he should have need of flosi's shelter, and that the only thing to be done was to offer atonement, "for that of all things," said he, "is like to better our strait, great as it has now grown." flosi said that he would first hear tidings; "and i am minded to think that thou art afraid after thy big deed." now it is to be said of thorgeir, that he turned from the blow as the axe smote the bottle, nor had he any wound; they made no search for the man because of the dark, so they rowed over the firths to coldback, and told tidings of what had happed; thereat folk made much mocking, and called thorgeir, bottleback, and that was his by-name ever after. and this was sung withal-- "the brave men of days of old, whereof many a tale is told, bathed the whiting of the shield, in wounds' house on battle-field; but the honour-missing fool, both sides of his slaying tool, since faint heart his hand made vain. with but curdled milk must stain." chap. xii. in those days befell such hard times in iceland, that nought like them has been known there; well-nigh all gettings from the sea, and all drifts, came to an end; and this went on for many seasons. one autumn certain chapmen in a big ship were drifted thither, and were wrecked there in the creek, and flosi took to him four or five of them; stein was the name of their captain; they were housed here and there about the creek, and were minded to build them a new ship from the wreck; but they were unhandy herein, and the ship was over small stem and stern, but over big amidships. that spring befell a great storm from the north, which lasted near a week, and after the storm men looked after their drifts. now there was a man called thorstein, who dwelt at reekness; he found a whale driven up on the firthward side of the ness, at a place called rib-skerries, and the whale was a big whale. thorstein sent forthwith a messenger to wick to flosi, and so to the nighest farm-steads. now einar was the name of the farmer at combe, and he was a tenant of those of coldback, and had the ward of their drifts on that side of the firths; and now withal he was ware of the stranding of the whale: and he took boat and rowed past the firths to byrgis creek, whence he sent a man to coldback; and when thorgrim and his brothers heard that, they got ready at their swiftest, and were twelve in a ten-oared boat, and kolbein's sons fared with them, ivar and leif, and were six altogether; and all farmers who could bring it about went to the whale. now it is to be told of flosi that he sent to his kin in ingolfs-firth and ufeigh's-firth, and for olaf eyvindson, who then dwelt at drangar; and flosi came first to the whale, with the men of wick, then they fell to cutting up the whale, and what was cut was forthwith sent ashore; near twenty men were thereat at first, but soon folk came thronging thither. therewith came those of coldback in four boats, and thorgrim laid claim to the whale and forbade the men of wick to shear, allot, or carry off aught thereof: flosi bade him show if eric had given onund treefoot the drift in clear terms, or else he said he should defend himself with arms. thorgrim thought he and his too few, and would not risk an onset; but therewithal came a boat rowing up the firth, and the rowers therein pulled smartly. soon they came up, and there was swan, from knoll in biornfirth, and his house-carles; and straightway, when he came, he bade thorgrim not to let himself be robbed; and great friends they had been heretofore, and now swan offered his aid. the brothers said they would take it, and therewith set on fiercely; thorgeir bottleback first mounted the whale against flosi's house-carles; there the aforenamed thorfin was cutting the whale, he was in front nigh the head, and stood in a foot-hold he had cut for himself; then thorgeir said, "herewith i bring thee back thy axe," and smote him on the neck, and struck off his head. flosi was up on the foreshore when he saw that, and he egged on his men to meet them hardily; now they fought long together, but those of coldback had the best of it: few men there had weapons except the axes wherewith they were cutting up the whale, and some choppers. so the men of wick gave back to the foreshores; the eastmen had weapons, and many a wound they gave; stein, the captain, smote a foot off ivar kolbeinson, but leif, ivar's brother, beat to death a fellow of stein's with a whale-rib; blows were dealt there with whatever could be caught at, and men fell on either side. but now came up olaf and his men from drangar in many boats, and gave help to flosi, and then those of coldback were borne back overpowered; but they had loaded their boats already, and swan bade get aboard and thitherward they gave back, and the men of wick came on after them; and when swan was come down to the sea, he smote at stein, the sea-captain, and gave him a great wound, and then leapt aboard his boat; thorgrim wounded flosi with a great wound and therewith got away; olaf cut at ufeigh grettir, and wounded him to death; but thorgeir caught ufeigh up and leapt aboard with him. now those of coldback row east by the firths, and thus they parted; and this was sung of their meeting-- at rib-skerries, i hear folk tell, a hard and dreadful fray befell, for men unarmed upon that day with strips of whale-fat made good play. fierce steel-gods these in turn did meet with blubber-slices nowise sweet; certes a wretched thing it is to tell of squabbles such as this. after these things was peace settled between them, and these suits were laid to the althing; there thorod the godi and midfirth-skeggi, with many of the south-country folk, aided those of coldback; flosi was outlawed, and many of those who had been with him; and his moneys were greatly drained because he chose to pay up all weregild himself. thorgrim and his folk could not show that they had paid money for the lands and drifts which flosi claimed. thorkel moon was lawman then, and he was bidden to give his decision; he said that to him it seemed law, that something had been paid for those lands, though mayhap not their full worth; "for so did steinvor the old to ingolf, my grandfather, that she had from him all rosmwhale-ness and gave therefor a spotted cloak, nor has that gift been voided, though certes greater flaws be therein: but here i lay down my rede," said he, "that the land be shared, and that both sides have equal part therein; and henceforth be it made law, that each man have the drifts before his own lands." now this was done, and the land was so divided that thorgrim and his folk had to give up reekfirth and all the lands by the firth-side, but combe they were to keep still. ufeigh was atoned with a great sum; thorfin was unatoned, and boot was given to thorgeir for the attack on his life; and thereafter were they set at one together. flosi took ship for norway with stein, the ship-master, and sold his lands in the wick to geirmund hiuka-timber, who dwelt there afterwards. now that ship which the chapmen had made was very broad of beam, so that men called it the treetub, and by that name is the creek known: but in that keel did flosi go out, but was driven back to axefirth, whereof came the tale of bodmod, and grimulf, and gerpir. chap. xiii. now after this the brothers thorgrim and thorgeir shared their possessions. thorgrim took the chattels and thorgeir the land; thorgrim betook himself to midfirth and bought land at biarg by the counsel of skeggi; he had to wife thordis, daughter of asmund of asmund's-peak, who had settled the thingere lands: thorgrim and thordis had a son who was called asmund; he was a big man and a strong, wise withal, and the fairest-haired of men, but his head grew grey early, wherefore he was called asmund the greyhaired. thorgrim grew to be a man very busy about his household, and kept all his men well to their work. asmund would do but little work, so the father and son had small fellowship together; and so things fared till asmund had grown of age; then he asked his father for travelling money; thorgrim said he should have little enough, but gave him somewhat of huckstering wares. then asmund went abroad, and his goods soon grew great; he sailed to sundry lands, and became the greatest of merchants, and very rich; he was a man well beloved and trusty, and many kinsmen he had in norway of great birth. one autumn he guested east in the wick with a great man who was called thorstein; he was an uplander of kin, and had a sister called ranveig, one to be chosen before all women; her asmund wooed, and gained her by the help of thorstein her brother; and there asmund dwelt a while and was held in good esteem: he had of ranveig a son hight thorstein, strong, and the fairest of men, and great of voice; a man tall of growth he was, but somewhat slow in his mien, and therefore was he called dromund. now when thorstein was nigh grown up, his mother fell sick and died, and thereafter asmund had no joy in norway; the kin of thorstein's mother took his goods, and him withal to foster; but asmund betook himself once more to seafaring, and became a man of great renown. now he brought his ship into hunawater, and in those days was thorkel krafla chief over the waterdale folk; and he heard of asmund's coming out, and rode to the ship and bade asmund to his house; and he dwelt at marstead in waterdale; so asmund went to be guest there. this thorkel was the son of thorgrim the godi of cornriver, and was a very wise man. now this was after the coming out of bishop frederick, and thorvald kodran's son, and they dwelt at the brooks-meet, when these things came to pass: they were the first to preach the law of christ in the north country; thorkel let himself be signed with the cross and many men with him, and things enow betid betwixt the bishop and the north-country folk which come not into this tale. now at thorkel's was a woman brought up, asdis by name, who was the daughter of bard, the son of jokul, the son of ingimund the old, the son of thorstein, the son of ketil the huge: the mother of asdis was aldis the daughter of ufeigh grettir, as is aforesaid; asdis was as yet unwedded, and was deemed the best match among women, both for her kin and her possessions; asmund was grown weary of seafaring, and was fain to take up his abode in iceland; so he took up the word, and wooed this woman. thorkel knew well all his ways, that he was a rich man and of good counsel to hold his wealth; so that came about, that asmund got asdis to wife; he became a bosom friend of thorkel, and a great dealer in matters of farming, cunning in the law, and far-reaching. and now a little after this thorgrim greypate died at biarg, and asmund took the heritage after him and dwelt there. here begins the story of the life of grettir the strong chap. xiv. <i>of grettir as a child, and his froward ways with his father</i>. asmund the greyhaired kept house at biarg; great and proud was his household, and many men he had about him, and was a man much beloved. these were the children of him and asdis. atli was the eldest son; a man yielding and soft-natured, easy, and meek withal, and all men liked him well: another son they had called grettir; he was very froward in his childhood; of few words, and rough; worrying both in word and deed. little fondness he got from his father asmund, but his mother loved him right well. grettir asmundson was fair to look on, broad-faced, short-faced, red-haired, and much freckled; not of quick growth in his childhood. thordis was a daughter of asmund, whom glum, the son of uspak, the son of kiarlak of skridinsenni, afterwards had to wife. ranveig was another daughter of asmund; she was the wife of gamli, the son of thorhal, the son of the vendlander; they kept house at meals in ramfirth; their son was grim. the son of glum and thordis, the daughter of asmund, was uspak, who quarrelled with odd, the son of ufeigh, as is told in the bandamanna saga. grettir grew up at biarg till he was ten years old; then he began to get on a little; but asmund bade him do some work; grettir answered that work was not right meet for him, but asked what he should do. says asmund, "thou shalt watch my home-geese." grettir answered and said, "a mean work, a milksop's work." asmund said, "turn it well out of hand, and then matters shall get better between us." then grettir betook himself to watching the home-geese; fifty of them there were, with many goslings; but no long time went by before he found them a troublesome drove, and the goslings slow-paced withal. thereat he got sore worried, for little did he keep his temper in hand. so some time after this, wayfaring men found the goslings strewn about dead, and the home-geese broken-winged; and this was in autumn. asmund was mightily vexed hereat, and asked if grettir had killed the fowl: he sneered mockingly, and answered-- "surely as winter comes, shall i twist the goslings' necks awry. if in like case are the geese, i have finished each of these." "thou shalt kill them no more," said asmund. "well, <i>a friend should warn a friend of ill</i>," said grettir. "another work shall be found for thee then," said asmund. "<i>more one knows the more one tries</i>," said grettir; "and what shall i do now?" asmund answered, "thou shalt rub my back at the fire, as i have been wont to have it done." "hot for the hand, truly," said grettir; "but still a milksop's work." now grettir went on with this work for a while; but autumn came on, and asmund became very fain of heat, and he spurs grettir on to rub his back briskly. now, in those times there were wont to be large fire-halls at the homesteads, wherein men sat at long fires in the evenings; boards were set before the men there, and afterwards folk slept out sideways from the fires; there also women worked at the wool in the daytime. now, one evening, when grettir had to rub asmund's back, the old carle said,-- "now thou wilt have to put away thy sloth, thou milk-sop." says grettir, "<i>ill is it to goad the foolhardy</i>." asmund answers, "thou wilt ever be a good-for-nought." now grettir sees where, in one of the seats stood wool-combs: one of these he caught up, and let it go all down asmund's back. he sprang up, and was mad wroth thereat; and was going to smite grettir with his staff, but he ran off. then came the housewife, and asked what was this to-do betwixt them. then grettir answered by this ditty-- "this jewel-strewer, o ground of gold, (his counsels i deem over bold), on both these hands that trouble sow, (ah bitter pain) will burn me now; therefore with wool-comb's nails unshorn somewhat ring-strewer's back is torn: the hook-clawed bird that wrought his wound,-- lo, now i see it on the ground." hereupon was his mother sore vexed, that he should have taken to a trick like this; she said he would never fail to be the most reckless of men. all this nowise bettered matters between asmund and grettir. now, some time after this, asmund had a talk with grettir, that he should watch his horses. grettir said this was more to his mind than the back-rubbing. "then shalt thou do as i bid thee," said asmund. "i have a dun mare, which i call keingala; she is so wise as to shifts of weather, thaws, and the like, that rough weather will never fail to follow, when she will not go out on grazing. at such times thou shalt lock the horses up under cover; but keep them to grazing on the mountain neck yonder, when winter comes on. now i shall deem it needful that thou turn this work out of hand better than the two i have set thee to already." grettir answered, "this is a cold work and a manly, but i deem it ill to trust in the mare, for i know none who has done it yet." now grettir took to the horse-watching, and so the time went on till past yule-time; then came on much cold weather with snow, that made grazing hard to come at. now grettir was ill clad, and as yet little hardened, and he began to be starved by the cold; but keingala grazed away in the windiest place she could find, let the weather be as rough as it would. early as she might go to the pasture, never would she go back to stable before nightfall. now grettir deemed that he must think of some scurvy trick or other, that keingala might be paid in full for her way of grazing: so, one morning early, he comes to the horse-stable, opens it, and finds keingala standing all along before the crib; for, whatever food was given to the horses with her, it was her way to get it all to herself. grettir got on her back, and had a sharp knife in his hand, and drew it right across keingala's shoulder, and then all along both sides of the back. thereat the mare, being both fat and shy, gave a mad bound, and kicked so fiercely, that her hooves clattered against the wall. grettir fell off; but, getting on his legs, strove to mount her again. now their struggle is of the sharpest, but the end of it is, that he flays off the whole of the strip along the back to the loins. thereafter he drove the horses out on grazing; keingala would bite but at her back, and when noon was barely past, she started off, and ran back to the house. grettir now locks the stable and goes home. asmund asked grettir where the horses were. he said that he had stabled them as he was wont. asmund said that rough weather was like to be at hand, as the horses would not keep at their grazing in such good weather as now it was. grettir said, "<i>oft fail in wisdom folk of better trust</i>." now the night goes by, but no rough weather came on. grettir drove off the horses, but keingala cannot bear the grazing. this seemed strange to asmund, as the weather changed in nowise from what it had been theretofore. the third morning asmund went to the horses, and, coming to keingala, said,-- "i must needs deem these horses to be in sorry case, good as the winter has been, but thy sides will scarce lack flesh, my dun." "<i>things boded will happen</i>," said grettir, "<i>but so will things unboded</i>." asmund stroked the back of the mare, and, lo, the hide came off beneath his hand; he wondered how this could have happened, and said it was likely to be grettir's doing. grettir sneered mockingly, but said nought. now goodman asmund went home talking as one mad; he went straight to the fire-hall, and as he came heard the good wife say, "it were good indeed if the horse-keeping of my kinsman had gone off well." then asmund sang this stave-- "grettir has in such wise played, that keingala has he flayed, whose trustiness would be my boast (proudest women talk the most); so the cunning lad has wrought, thinking thereby to do nought of my biddings any more. in thy mind turn these words o'er." the housewife answered, "i know not which is least to my mind, that thou shouldst ever be bidding him work, or that he should turn out all his work in one wise." "that too we will make an end of," said asmund, "but he shall fare the worse therefor." then grettir said, "well, let neither make words about it to the other." so things went on awhile, and asmund had keingala killed; and many other scurvy tricks did grettir in his childhood whereof the story says nought. but he grew great of body, though his strength was not well known, for he was unskilled in wrestling; he would make ditties and rhymes, but was somewhat scurrilous therein. he had no will to lie anight in the fire-hall and was mostly of few words. chap. xv. <i>of the ball-play on midfirth water</i>. at this time there were many growing up to be men in midfirth; skald-torfa dwelt at torfa's-stead in those days; her son was called bessi, he was the shapeliest of men and a good skald. at meal lived two brothers, kormak and thorgils, with them a man called odd was fostered, and was called the foundling-skald. one called audun was growing up at audunstead in willowdale, he was a kind and good man to deal with, and the strongest in those north parts, of all who were of an age with him. kalf asgeirson dwelt at asgeir's-river, and his brother thorvald with him. atli also, grettir's brother, was growing into a ripe man at that time; the gentlest of men he was, and well beloved of all. now these men settled to have ball-play together on midfirth water; thither came the midfirthers, and willowdale men, and men from westhope, and waterness, and ramfirth, but those who came from far abode at the play-stead. now those who were most even in strength were paired together, and thereat was always the greatest sport in autumn-tide. but when he was fourteen years old grettir went to the plays, because he was prayed thereto by his brother atli. now were all paired off for the plays, and grettir was allotted to play against audun, the aforenamed, who was some winters the eldest of the two; audun struck the ball over grettir's head, so that he could not catch it, and it bounded far away along the ice; grettir got angry thereat, deeming that audun would outplay him; but he fetches the ball and brings it back, and, when he was within reach of audun, hurls it right against his forehead, and smites him so that the skin was broken; then audun struck at grettir with the bat he held in his hand, but smote him no hard blow, for grettir ran in under the stroke; and thereat they seized one another with arms clasped, and wrestled. then all saw that grettir was stronger than he had been taken to be, for audun was a man full of strength. a long tug they had of it, but the end was that grettir fell, and audun thrust his knees against his belly and breast, and dealt hardly with him. then atli and bessi and many others ran up and parted them; but grettir said there was no need to hold him like a mad dog, "for," said he, "<i>thralls wreak themselves at once, dastards never</i>." this men suffered not to grow into open strife, for the brothers, kalf and thorvald, were fain that all should be at one again, and audun and grettir were somewhat akin withal; so the play went on as before, nor did anything else befall to bring about strife. chap. xvi. <i>of the slaying of skeggi</i>. now thorkel krafla got very old; he had the rule of waterdale and was a great man. he was bosom friend of asmund the greyhaired, as was beseeming for the sake of their kinship; he was wont to ride to biarg every year and see his kin there, nor did he fail herein the spring following these matters just told. asmund and asdis welcomed him most heartily, he was there three nights, and many things did the kinsmen speak of between them. now thorkel asked asmund what his mind foreboded him about his sons, as to what kind of craft they would be likely to take to. asmund said that he thought atli would be a great man at farming, foreseeing, and money-making. thorkel answered, "a useful man and like unto thyself: but what dost thou say of grettir?" asmund said, "of him i say, that he will be a strong man and an unruly, and, certes, of wrathful mood, and heavy enough he has been to me." thorkel answered, "that bodes no good, friend; but how shall we settle about our riding to the thing next summer?" asmund answered, "i am growing heavy for wayfaring, and would fain sit at home." "wouldst thou that atli go in thy stead?" said thorkel. "i do not see how i could spare him," says asmund, "because of the farm-work and ingathering of household stores; but now grettir will not work, yet he bears about that wit with him that i deem he will know how to keep up the showing forth of the law for me through thy aid." "well, thou shall have thy will," said thorkel, and withal he rode home when he was ready, and asmund let him go with good gifts. some time after this thorkel made him ready to ride to the thing, he rode with sixty men, for all went with him who were in his rule: thus he came to biarg, and therefrom rode grettir with him. now they rode south over the heath that is called two-days'-ride; but on this mountain the baiting grounds were poor, therefore they rode fast across it down to the settled lands, and when they came down to fleet-tongue they thought it was time to sleep, so they took the bridles off their horses and let them graze with the saddles on. they lay sleeping till far on in the day, and when they woke, the men went about looking for their horses; but they had gone each his own way, and some of them had been rolling; but grettir was the last to find his horse. now it was the wont in those days that men should carry their own victuals when they rode to the althing, and most bore meal-bags athwart their saddles; and the saddle was turned under the belly of grettir's horse, and the meal-bag was gone, so he goes and searches, and finds nought. just then he sees a man running fast, grettir asks who it is who is running there; the man answered that his name was skeggi, and that he was a house-carle from the ridge in waterdale. "i am one of the following of goodman thorkel," he says, "but, faring heedlessly, i have lost my meal-bag." grettir said, "<i>odd haps are worst haps</i>, for i, also, have lost the meal-sack which i owned, and now let us search both together." this skeggi liked well, and a while they go thus together; but all of a sudden skeggi bounded off up along the moors and caught up a meal-sack. grettir saw him stoop, and asked what he took up there. "my meal-sack," says skeggi. "who speaks to that besides thyself?" says grettir; "let me see it, for many a thing has its like." skeggi said that no man should take from him what was his own; but grettir caught at the meal-bag, and now they tug one another along with the meal-sack between them, both trying hard to get the best of it. "it is to be wondered at," says the house-carle, "that ye waterdale men should deem, that because other men are not as wealthy as ye, that they should not therefore dare to hold aught of their own in your despite." grettir said, that it had nought to do with the worth of men that each should have his own. skeggi answers, "too far off is audun now to throttle thee as at that ball-play." "good," said grettir; "but, howsoever that went, thou at least shall never throttle me." then skeggi got at his axe and hewed at grettir; when grettir saw that, he caught the axe-handle with the left hand bladeward of skeggi's hand, so hard that straightway was the axe loosed from his hold. then grettir drave that same axe into his head so that it stood in the brain, and the house-carle fell dead to earth. then grettir seized the meal-bag and threw it across his saddle, and thereon rode after his fellows. now thorkel rode ahead of all, for he had no misgiving of such things befalling: but men missed skeggi from the company, and when grettir came up they asked him what he knew of skeggi; then he sang-- "a rock-troll her weight did throw at skeggi's throat a while ago: over the battle ogress ran the red blood of the serving-man; her deadly iron mouth did gape above him, till clean out of shape she tore his head and let out life: and certainly i saw their strife." then thorkel's men sprung up and said that surely trolls had not taken the man in broad daylight. thorkel grew silent, but said presently, "the matter is likely to be quite other than this; methinks grettir has in all likelihood killed him, or what could befall?" then grettir told all their strife. thorkel says, "this has come to pass most unluckily, for skeggi was given to my following, and was, nathless, a man of good kin; but i shall deal thus with the matter: i shall give boot for the man as the doom goes, but the outlawry i may not settle. now, two things thou hast to choose between, grettir; whether thou wilt rather go to the thing and risk the turn of matters, or go back home." grettir chose to go to the thing, and thither he went. but a lawsuit was set on foot by the heirs of the slain man: thorkel gave handsel, and paid up all fines, but grettir must needs be outlawed, and keep abroad three winters. now when the chiefs rode from the thing, they baited under sledgehill before they parted: then grettir lifted a stone which now lies there in the grass and is called grettir's-heave; but many men came up to see the stone, and found it a great wonder that so young a man should heave aloft such a huge rock. now grettir rode home to biarg and tells the tale of his journey; asmund let out little thereon, but said that he would turn out an unruly man. chap. xvii. <i>of grettir's voyage out</i>. there was a man called haflidi, who dwelt at reydarfell in whiteriverside, he was a seafaring man and had a sailing ship, which lay up whiteriver: there was a man on board his ship, hight bard, who had a wife with him young and fair. asmund sent a man to haflidi, praying him to take grettir and look after him; haflidi said that he had heard that the man was ill ruled of mood; yet for the sake of the friendship between him and asmund he took grettir to himself, and made ready for sailing abroad. asmund would give to his son no faring-goods but victuals for the voyage and a little wadmall. grettir prayed him for some weapon, but asmund answered, "thou hast not been obedient to me, nor do i know how far thou art likely to work with weapons things that may be of any gain; and no weapon shalt thou have of me." "<i>no deed no reward</i>," says grettir. then father and son parted with little love. many there were who bade grettir farewell, but few bade him come back. but his mother brought him on his road, and before they parted she spoke thus, "thou art not fitted out from home, son, as i fain would thou wert, a man so well born as thou; but, meseems, the greatest shortcoming herein is that thou hast no weapons of any avail, and my mind misgives me that thou wilt perchance need them sorely." with that she took out from under her cloak a sword well wrought, and a fair thing it was, and then she said, "this sword was owned by jokul, my father's father, and the earlier waterdale men, and it gained them many a day; now i give thee the sword, and may it stand thee in good stead." grettir thanked her well for this gift, and said he deemed it better than things of more worth; then he went on his way, and asdis wished him all good hap. now grettir rode south over the heath, and made no stay till he came to the ship. haflidi gave him a good welcome and asked him for his faring-goods, then grettir sang-- "rider of wind-driven steed, little gat i to my need, when i left my fair birth-stead, from the snatchers of worm's bed; but this man's-bane hanging here, gift of woman good of cheer, proves the old saw said not ill, <i>best to bairn is mother still</i>." haflidi said it was easily seen that she thought the most of him. but now they put to sea when they were ready, and had wind at will; but when they had got out over all shallows they hoisted sail. now grettir made a den for himself under the boat, from whence he would move for nought, neither for baling, nor to do aught at the sail, nor to work at what he was bound to work at in the ship in even shares with the other men, neither would he buy himself off from the work. now they sailed south by reekness and then south from the land; and when they lost land they got much heavy sea; the ship was somewhat leaky, and scarce seaworthy in heavy weather, therefore they had it wet enough. now grettir let fly his biting rhymes, whereat the men got sore wroth. one day, when it so happened that the weather was both squally and cold, the men called out to grettir, and bade him now do manfully, "for," said they, "now our claws grow right cold." grettir looked up and said-- "good luck, scurvy starvelings, if i should behold each finger ye have doubled up with the cold." and no work they got out of him, and now it misliked them of their lot as much again as before, and they said that he should pay with his skin for his rhymes and the lawlessness which he did. "thou art more fain," said they, "of playing with bard the mate's wife than doing thy duty on board ship, and this is a thing not to be borne at all." the gale grew greater steadily, and now they stood baling for days and nights together, and all swore to kill grettir. but when haflidi heard this, he went up to where grettir lay, and said, "methinks the bargain between thee and the chapmen is scarcely fair; first thou dost by them unlawfully, and thereafter thou castest thy rhymes at them; and now they swear that they will throw thee overboard, and this is unseemly work to go on." "why should they not be free to do as they will?" says grettir; "but i well would that one or two of them tarry here behind with me, or ever i go overboard." haflidi says, "such deeds are not to be done, and we shall never thrive if ye rush into such madness; but i shall give thee good rede." "what is that?" says grettir. "they blame thee for singing ill things of them; now, therefore, i would that thou sing some scurvy rhyme to me, for then it might be that they would bear with thee the easier." "to thee i never sing but good," says grettir: "i am not going to make thee like these starvelings." "one may sing so," says haflidi, "that the lampoon be not so foul when it is searched into, though at first sight it be not over fair." "i have ever plenty of that skill in me," says grettir. then haflidi went to the men where they were baling, and said, "great is your toil, and no wonder that ye have taken ill liking to grettir." "but his lampoons we deem worse than all the rest together," they said. haflidi said in a loud voice, "he will surely fare ill for it in the end." but when grettir heard haflidi speak blamefully of him, he sang-- "otherwise would matters be, when this shouting haflidi ate in house at reydarfell curdled milk, and deemed it well; he who decks the reindeer's side that 'twixt ness and ness doth glide, twice in one day had his fill of the feast of dart shower shrill."[ ] [footnote : this is about as obscure as the original, which seems to allude to some event not mentioned in the saga.] the shipmen thought this foul enough, and said he should not put shame on skipper haflidi for nought. then said haflidi, "grettir is plentifully worthy that ye should do him some shame, but i will not have my honour staked against his ill-will and recklessness; nor is it good for us to wreak vengeance for this forthwith while we have this danger hanging over us; but be ye mindful of it when ye land, if so it seem good to you." "well," they said, "why should we not fare even as thou farest? for why should his vile word bite us more than thee?" and in that mind haflidi bade them abide; and thence-forward the chapmen made far less noise about grettir's rhymes than before. now a long and a hard voyage they had, and the leak gained on the ship, and men began to be exceeding worn with toil. the young wife of the mate was wont to sew from grettir's hands, and much would the crew mock him therefor; but haflidi went up to where grettir lay and sang-- "grettir, stand up from thy grave, in the trough of the grey wave the keel labours, tell my say now unto thy merry may; from thy hands the linen-clad fill of sewing now has had, till we make the land will she deem that labour fitteth thee." then grettir stood up and sang-- "stand we up, for neath us now rides the black ship high enow; this fair wife will like it ill if my limbs are laid here still; certes, the white trothful one will not deem the deed well done, if the work that i should share other folk must ever bear." then he ran aft to where they were baling, and asked what they would he should do; they said he would do mighty little good. "well," said he, "<i>ye may yet be apaid of a man's aid</i>." haflidi bade them not set aside his help, "for it may be he shall deem his hands freed if he offers his aid." at that time pumping was not used in ships that fared over the main; the manner of baling they used men called tub or cask baling, and a wet work it was and a wearisome; two balers were used, and one went down while the other came up. now the chapmen bade grettir have the job of sinking the balers, and said that now it should be tried what he could do; he said that the less it was tried the better it would be. but he goes down and sinks the balers, and now two were got to bale against him; they held out but a little while before they were overcome with weariness, and then four came forward and soon fared in likewise, and, so say some, that eight baled against him before the baling was done and the ship was made dry. thenceforth the manner of the chapmen's words to grettir was much changed, for they saw what strength he had to fall back upon; and from that time he was the stoutest and readiest to help, wheresoever need was. now they bore off east into the main, and much thick weather they had, and one night unawares they ran suddenly on a rock, so that the nether part of the ship went from under her; then the boat was run down, and women and all the loose goods were brought off: nearby was a little holm whither they brought their matters as they best could in the night; but when it began to dawn they had a talk as to where they were come; then they who had fared between lands before knew the land for southmere in norway; there was an island hardby called haramsey; many folk dwelt there, and therein too was the manor of a lord. chap. xviii. <i>of grettir at haramsey and his dealings with karr the old</i>. now the lord who dwelt in the island was called thorfinn; he was the son of karr the old, who had dwelt there long; and thorfinn was a great chief. but when day was fully come men saw from the island that the chapmen were brought to great straits. this was made known to thorfinn, and he quickly bestirred himself, and had a large bark of his launched, rowed by sixteen men, on this bark were nigh thirty men in all; they came up speedily and saved the chapmen's wares; but the ship settled down, and much goods were lost there. thorfinn brought all men from the ship home to himself, and they abode there a week and dried their wares. then the chapmen went south into the land, and are now out of the tale. grettir was left behind with thorfinn, and little he stirred, and was at most times mighty short of speech. thorfinn bade give him meals, but otherwise paid small heed to him; grettir was loth to follow him, and would not go out with him in the day; this thorfinn took ill, but had not the heart to have food withheld from him. now thorfinn was fond of stately house-keeping, and was a man of great joyance, and would fain have other men merry too: but grettir would walk about from house to house, and often went into other farms about the island. there was a man called audun who dwelt at windham; thither grettir went every day, and he made friends with audun, and there he was wont to sit till far on in the day. now one night very late, as grettir made ready to go home, he saw a great fire burst out on a ness to the north of audun's farm. grettir asked what new thing this might be. audun said that he need be in no haste to know that. "it would be said," quoth grettir, "if that were seen in our land, that the flame burned above hid treasure." the farmer said, "that fire i deem to be ruled over by one into whose matters it avails little to pry." "yet fain would i know thereof," said grettir. "on that ness," said audun, "stands a barrow, great and strong, wherein was laid karr the old, thorfinn's father; at first father and son had but one farm in the island; but since karr died he has so haunted this place that he has swept away all farmers who owned lands here, so that now thorfinn holds the whole island; but whatsoever man thorfinn holds his hand over, gets no scathe." grettir said that he had told his tale well: "and," says he, "i shall come here to-morrow, and then thou shalt have digging-tools ready." "now, i pray thee," says audun, "to do nought herein, for i know that thorfinn will cast his hatred on thee therefor." grettir said he would risk that. so the night went by, and grettir came early on the morrow and the digging-tools were ready; the farmer goes with him to the barrow, and grettir brake it open, and was rough-handed enough thereat, and did not leave off till he came to the rafters, and by then the day was spent; then he tore away the rafters, and now audun prayed him hard not to go into the barrow; grettir bade him guard the rope, "but i shall espy what dwells within here." then grettir entered into the barrow, and right dark it was, and a smell there was therein none of the sweetest. now he groped about to see how things were below; first he found horse-bones, and then he stumbled against the arm of a high-chair, and in that chair found a man sitting; great treasures of gold and silver were heaped together there, and a small chest was set under the feet of him full of silver; all these riches grettir carried together to the rope; but as he went out through the barrow he was griped at right strongly; thereon he let go the treasure and rushed against the barrow-dweller, and now they set on one another unsparingly enough. everything in their way was kicked out of place, the barrow-wight setting on with hideous eagerness; grettir gave back before him for a long time, till at last it came to this, that he saw it would not do to hoard his strength any more; now neither spared the other, and they were brought to where the horse-bones were, and thereabout they wrestled long. and now one, now the other, fell on his knee; but the end of the strife was, that the barrow-dweller fell over on his back with huge din. then ran audun from the holding of the rope, and deemed grettir dead. but grettir drew the sword, 'jokul's gift,' and drave it at the neck of the barrow-bider so that it took off his head, and grettir laid it at the thigh of him.[ ] then he went to the rope with the treasure, and lo, audun was clean gone, so he had to get up the rope by his hands; he had tied a line to the treasure, and therewith he now haled it up. [footnote : the old belief was that by this means only could a ghost be laid.] grettir had got very stiff with his dealings with karr, and now he went back to thorfinn's house with the treasures, whenas all folk had set them down to table. thorfinn gave grettir a sharp look when he came into the drinking-hall, and asked him what work he had on hand so needful to do that he might not keep times of meals with other men. grettir answers, "many little matters will hap on late eves," and therewith he cast down on the table all the treasure he had taken in the barrow; but one matter there was thereof, on which he must needs keep his eyes; this was a short-sword, so good a weapon, that a better, he said, he had never seen; and this he gave up the last of all. thorfinn was blithe to see that sword, for it was an heirloom of his house, and had never yet gone out of his kin. "whence came these treasures to thine hand?" said thorfinn. grettir sang-- "lessener of the flame of sea, my strong hope was true to me, when i deemed that treasure lay in the barrow; from to-day folk shall know that i was right; the begetters of the fight small joy now shall have therein, seeking dragon's-lair to win." thorfinn answered, "blood will seldom seem blood to thine eyes; no man before thee has had will to break open the barrow; but, because i know that what wealth soever is hid in earth or borne into barrow is wrongly placed, i shall not hold thee blameworthy for thy deed as thou hast brought it all to me; yea, or whence didst thou get the good sword?" grettir answered and sang-- "lessener of waves flashing flame, to my lucky hand this came in the barrow where that thing through the dark fell clattering; if that helm-fire i should gain, made so fair to be the bane of the breakers of the bow, ne'er from my hand should it go." thorfinn said, "well hast thou prayed for it, but thou must show some deed of fame before i give thee that sword, for never could i get it of my father while he lived." said grettir, "who knows to whom most gain will come of it in the end?" so thorfinn took the treasures and kept the sword at his bed-head, and the winter wore on toward yule, so that little else fell out to be told of. chap. xix. <i>of yule at haramsey, and how grettir dealt with the bearserks</i>. now the summer before these things earl eric hakonson made ready to go from his land west to england, to see king knut the mighty, his brother-in-law, but left behind him in the rule of norway hakon, his son, and gave him into the hands of earl svein, his brother, for the watching and warding of his realm, for hakon was a child in years. but before earl eric went away from the land, he called together lords and rich bonders, and many things they spoke on laws and the rule of the land, for earl eric was a man good at rule. now men thought it an exceeding ill fashion in the land that runagates or bearserks called to holm high-born men for their fee or womankind, in such wise, that whosoever should fall before the other should lie unatoned; hereof many got both shame and loss of goods, and some lost their lives withal; and therefore earl eric did away with all holm-gangs and outlawed all bearserks who fared with raids and riots. in the making of this law, the chief of all, with earl eric, was thorfinn karrson, from haramsey, for he was a wise man, and a dear friend of the earls. two brothers are named as being of the worst in these matters, one hight thorir paunch, the other ogmund the evil; they were of halogaland kin, bigger and stronger than other men. they wrought the bearserks'-gang and spared nothing in their fury; they would take away the wives of men and hold them for a week or a half-month, and then bring them back to their husbands; they robbed wheresoever they came, or did some other ill deeds. now earl eric made them outlaws through the length and breadth of norway, and thorfinn was the eagerest of men in bringing about their outlawry, therefore they deemed that they owed him ill-will enow. so the earl went away from the land, as is said in his saga; but earl svein bore sway over norway. thorfinn went home to his house, and sat at home till just up to yule, as is aforesaid; but at yule he made ready to go to his farm called slysfirth, which is on the mainland, and thither he had bidden many of his friends. thorfinn's wife could not go with her husband, for her daughter of ripe years lay ill a-bed, so they both abode at home. grettir was at home too, and eight house-carles. now thorfinn went with thirty freedmen to the yule-feast, whereat there was the greatest mirth and joyance among men. now yule-eve comes on, and the weather was bright and calm; grettir was mostly abroad this day, and saw how ships fared north and south along the land, for each one sought the other's home where the yule drinking was settled to come off. by this time the goodman's daughter was so much better that she could walk about with her mother, and thus the day wore on. now grettir sees how a ship rows up toward the island; it was not right big, but shield-hung it was from stem to stern, and stained all above the sea: these folk rowed smartly, and made for the boat-stands of goodman thorfinn, and when the keel took land, those who were therein sprang overboard. grettir cast up the number of the men, and they were twelve altogether; he deemed their guise to be far from peaceful. they took up their ship and bore it up from the sea; thereafter they ran up to the boat-stand, and therein was that big boat of thorfinn, which was never launched to sea by less than thirty men, but these twelve shot it in one haul down to the shingle of the foreshore; and thereon they took up their own bark and bore it into the boat-stand. now grettir thought that he could see clear enough that they would make themselves at home. but he goes down to meet them, and welcomes them merrily, and asks who they were and what their leader was hight; he to whom these words were spoken answered quickly, and said that his name was thorir, and that he was called paunch, and that his brother was ogmund, and that the others were fellows of theirs. "i deem," said thorir, "that thy master thorfinn has heard tell of us; is he perchance at home?" grettir answered, "lucky men are ye, and hither have come in a good hour, if ye are the men i take you to be; the goodman is gone away with all his home-folk who are freemen, and will not be home again till after yule; but the mistress is at home, and so is the goodman's daughter; and if i thought that i had some ill-will to pay back, i should have chosen above all things to have come just thus; for here are all matters in plenty whereof ye stand in need both beer, and all other good things." thorir held his peace, while grettir let this tale run on, then he said to ogmund-- "how far have things come to pass other than as i guessed? and now am i well enough minded to take revenge on thorfinn for having made us outlaws; and this man is ready enough of tidings, and no need have we to drag the words out of him." "words all may use freely," said grettir, "and i shall give you such cheer as i may; and now come home with me." they bade him have thanks therefor, and said they would take his offer. but when they came home to the farm, grettir took thorir by the hand and led him into the hall; and now was grettir mightily full of words. the mistress was in the hall, and had had it decked with hangings, and made all fair and seemly; but when she heard grettir's talk, she stood still on the floor, and asked whom he welcomed in that earnest wise. he answered, "now, mistress, is it right meet to welcome these guests merrily, for here is come goodman thorir paunch and the whole twelve of them, and are minded to sit here yule over, and a right good hap it is, for we were few enough before." she answered, "am i to number these among bonders and goodmen, who are the worst of robbers and ill-doers? a large share of my goods had i given that they had not come here as at this time; and ill dost thou reward thorfinn, for that he took thee a needy man from shipwreck and has held thee through the winter as a free man." grettir said, "it would be better to take the wet clothes off these guests than to scold at me; since for that thou mayst have time long enough." then said thorir, "be not cross-grained, mistress; nought shall thou miss thy husband's being away, for a man shall be got in his place for thee, yea, and for thy daughter a man, and for each of the home-women." "that is spoken like a man," said grettir, "nor will they thus have any cause to bewail their lot." now all the women rushed forth from the hall smitten with huge dread and weeping; then said grettir to the bearserks, "give into my hands what it pleases you to lay aside of weapons and wet clothes, for the folk will not be yielding to us while they are scared." thorir said he heeded not how women might squeal; "but," said he, "thee indeed we may set apart from the other home-folk, and methinks we may well make thee our man of trust." "see to that yourselves," said grettir, "but certes i do not take to all men alike." thereupon they laid aside the more part of their weapons, and thereafter grettir said-- "methinks it is a good rede now that ye sit down to table and drink somewhat, for it is right likely that ye are thirsty after the rowing." they said they were ready enough for that, but knew not where to find out the cellar; grettir asked if they would that he should see for things and go about for them. the bearserks said they would be right fain of that; so grettir fetched beer and gave them to drink; they were mightily weary, and drank in huge draughts, and still he let them have the strongest beer that there was, and this went on for a long time, and meanwhile he told them many merry tales. from all this there was din enough to be heard among them, and the home-folk were nowise fain to come to them. now thorir said, "never yet did i meet a man unknown to me, who would do us such good deeds as this man; now, what reward wilt thou take of us for thy work?" grettir answered, "as yet i look to no reward for this; but if we be even such friends when ye go away, as it looks like we shall be, i am minded to join fellowship with you; and though i be of less might than some of you, yet shall i not let any man of big redes." hereat they were well pleased, and would settle the fellowship with vows. grettir said that this they should not do, "for true is the old saw, <i>ale is another man</i>, nor shall ye settle this in haste any further than as i have said, for on both sides are we men little meet to rule our tempers." they said that they would not undo what they had said. withal the evening wore on till it grew quite dark; then sees grettir that they were getting very heavy with drink, so he said-- "do ye not find it time to go to sleep?" thorir said, "time enough forsooth, and sure shall i be to keep to what i have promised the mistress." then grettir went forth from the hall, and cried out loudly-- "go ye to your beds, women all, for so is goodman thorir pleased to bid." they cursed him for this, and to hear them was like hearkening to the noise of many wolves. now the bearserks came forth from the hall, and grettir said-- "let us go out, and i will show you thorfinn's cloth bower." they were willing to be led there; so they came to an out-bower exceeding great; a door there was to it, and a strong lock thereon, and the storehouse was very strong withal; there too was a closet good and great, and a shield panelling between the chambers; both chambers stood high, and men went up by steps to them. now the bearserks got riotous and pushed grettir about, and he kept tumbling away from them, and when they least thought thereof, he slipped quickly out of the bower, seized the latch, slammed the door to, and put the bolt on. thorir and his fellows thought at first that the door must have got locked of itself, and paid no heed thereto; they had light with them, for grettir had showed them many choice things which thorfinn owned, and these they now noted awhile. meantime grettir made all speed home to the farm, and when he came in at the door he called out loudly, and asked where the goodwife was; she held her peace, for she did not dare to answer. he said, "here is somewhat of a chance of a good catch; but are there any weapons of avail here?" she answers, "weapons there are, but how they may avail thee i know not." "let us talk thereof anon," says he, "but now let every man do his best, for later on no better chance shall there be." the good wife said, "now god were in garth if our lot might better: over thorfinn's bed hangs the barbed spear, the big one that was owned by karr the old; there, too, is a helmet and a byrni, and the short-sword, the good one; and the arms will not fail if thine heart does well." grettir seizes the helmet and spear, girds himself with the short-sword, and rushed out swiftly; and the mistress called upon the house-carles, bidding them follow such a dauntless man, four of them rushed forth and seized their weapons, but the other four durst come nowhere nigh. now it is to be said of the bearserks that they thought grettir delayed his coming back strangely; and now they began to doubt if there were not some guile in the matter. they rushed against the door and found it was locked, and now they try the timber walls so that every beam creaked again; at last they brought things so far that they broke down the shield-panelling, got into the passage, and thence out to the steps. now bearserks'-gang seized them, and they howled like dogs. in that very nick of time grettir came up and with both hands thrust his spear at the midst of thorir, as he was about to get down the steps, so that it went through him at once. now the spear-head was both long and broad, and ogmund the evil ran on to thorir and pushed him on to grettir's thrust, so that all went up to the barb-ends; then the spear stood out through thorir's back and into ogmund's breast, and they both tumbled dead off the spear; then of the others each rushed down the steps as he came forth; grettir set on each one of them, and in turn hewed with the sword, or thrust with the spear; but they defended themselves with logs that lay on the green, and whatso thing they could lay hands on, therefore the greatest danger it was to deal with them, because of their strength, even though they were weaponless. two of the halogalanders grettir slew on the green, and then came up the house-carles; they could not come to one mind as to what weapons each should have; now they set on whenever the bearserks gave back, but when they turned about on them, then the house-carles slunk away up to the houses. six vikings fell there, and of all of them was grettir the bane. then the six others got off and came down to the boat-stand, and so into it, and thence they defended themselves with oars. grettir now got great blows from them, so that at all times he ran the risk of much hurt; but the house-carles went home, and had much to say of their stout onset; the mistress bade them espy what became of grettir, but that was not to be got out of them. two more of the bearserks grettir slew in the boat-stand, but four slipped out by him; and by this, dark night had come on; two of them ran into a corn-barn, at the farm of windham, which is aforenamed: here they fought for a long time, but at last grettir killed them both; then was he beyond measure weary and stiff, the night was far gone, and the weather got very cold with the drift of the snow. he was fain to leave the search of the two vikings who were left now, so he walked home to the farm. the mistress had lights lighted in the highest lofts at the windows that they might guide him on his way; and so it was that he found his road home whereas he saw the light. but when he was come into the door, the mistress went up to him, and bade him welcome. "now," she said, "thou hast reaped great glory, and freed me and my house from a shame of which we should never have been healed, but if thou hadst saved us." grettir answered, "methinks i am much the same as i was this evening, when thou didst cast ill words on me." the mistress answered, "we wotted not that thou wert a man of such prowess as we have now proved thee; now shall all things in the house be at thy will which i may bestow on thee, and which it may be seeming for thee to take; but methinks that thorfinn will reward thee better still when he comes home." grettir answered, "little of reward will be needed now, but i keep thine offer till the coming of the master; and i have some hope now that ye will sleep in peace as for the bearserks." grettir drank little that evening, and lay with his weapons about him through the night. in the morning, when it began to dawn, people were summoned together throughout the island, and a search was set on foot for the bearserks who had escaped the night before; they were found far on in the day under a rock, and were by then dead from cold and wounds; then they were brought unto a tidewashed heap of stones and buried thereunder. after that folk went home, and the men of that island deemed themselves brought unto fair peace. now when grettir came back to the mistress, he sang this stave-- "by the sea's wash have we made graves, where twelve spear-groves are laid; i alone such speedy end, unto all these folk did send. o fair giver forth of gold, whereof can great words be told, 'midst the deeds one man has wrought, if this deed should come to nought?" the good wife said, "surely thou art like unto very few men who are now living on the earth." so she set him in the high seat, and all things she did well to him, and now time wore on till thorfinn's coming home was looked for. chap. xx. <i>how thorfinn met grettir at haramsey again</i>. after yule thorfinn made ready for coming home, and he let those folk go with good gifts whom he had bidden to his feast. now he fares with his following till he comes hard by his boat-stands; they saw a ship lying on the strand, and soon knew it for thorfinn's bark, the big one. now thorfinn had as yet had no news of the vikings, he bade his men hasten landward, "for i fear," said he, "that friends have not been at work here." thorfinn was the first to step ashore before his men, and forthwith he went up to the boat-stand; he saw a keel standing there, and knew it for the bearserks' ship. then he said to his men, "my mind misgives me much that here things have come to pass, even such as i would have given the whole island, yea, every whit of what i have herein, that they might never have happed." they asked why he spake thus. then he said, "here have come the vikings, whom i know to be the worst of all norway, thorir paunch and ogmund the evil; in good sooth they will hardly have kept house happily for us, and in an icelander i have but little trust." withal he spoke many things hereabout to his fellows. now grettir was at home, and so brought it about, that folk were slow to go down to the shore; and said he did not care much if the goodman thorfinn had somewhat of a shake at what he saw before him; but when the mistress asked him leave to go, he said she should have her will as to where she went, but that he himself should stir nowhither. she ran swiftly to meet thorfinn, and welcomed him cheerily. he was glad thereof, and said, "praise be to god that i see thee whole and merry, and my daughter in likewise. but how have ye fared since i went from home?" she answered, "things have turned out well, but we were near being overtaken by such a shame as we should never have had healing of, if thy winter-guest had not holpen us." then thorfinn spake, "now shall we sit down, but do thou tell us these tidings." then she told all things plainly even as they had come to pass, and praised greatly grettir's stoutness and great daring; meanwhile thorfinn held his peace, but when she had made an end of her tale, he said, "how true is the saw, <i>long it takes to try a man</i>. but where is grettir now?" the goodwife said, "he is at home in the hall." thereupon they went home to the farm. thorfinn went up to grettir and kissed him, and thanked him with many fair words for the great heart which he had shown to him; "and i will say to thee what few say to their friends, that i would thou shouldst be in need of men, that then thou mightest know if i were to thee in a man's stead or not; but for thy good deed i can never reward thee unless thou comest to be in some troublous need; but as to thy abiding with me, that shall ever stand open to thee when thou willest it; and thou shalt be held the first of all my men." grettir bade him have much thank therefor. "and," quoth he, "this should i have taken even if thou hadst made me proffer thereof before." now grettir sat there the winter over, and was in the closest friendship with thorfinn; and for this deed he was now well renowned all over norway, and there the most, where the bearserks had erst wrought the greatest ill deeds. this spring thorfinn asked grettir what he was about to busy himself with: he said he would go north to vogar while the fair was. thorfinn said there was ready for him money as much as he would. grettir said that he needed no more money at that time than faring-silver: this, thorfinn said, was full-well due to him, and thereupon went with him to ship. now he gave him the short-sword, the good one, which grettir bore as long as he lived, and the choicest of choice things it was. withal thorfinn bade grettir come to him whenever he might need aid. but grettir went north to vogar, and a many folk were there; many men welcomed him there right heartily who had not seen him before, for the sake of that great deed of prowess which he had done when he saw the vikings; many high-born men prayed him to come and abide with them, but he would fain go back to his friend thorfinn. now he took ship in a bark that was owned of a man hight thorkel, who dwelt in salft in halogaland, and was a high-born man. but when grettir came to thorkel he welcomed him right heartily, and bade grettir abide with him that winter, and laid many words thereto. this offer grettir took, and was with thorkel that winter in great joyance and fame. chap. xxi. <i>of grettir and biorn and the bear</i>. there was a man, hight biorn, who was dwelling with thorkel; he was a man of rash temper, of good birth, and somewhat akin to thorkel; he was not well loved of men, for he would slander much those who were with thorkel, and in this wise he sent many away. grettir and he had little to do together; biorn thought him of little worth weighed against himself, but grettir was unyielding, so that things fell athwart between them. biorn was a mightily boisterous man, and made himself very big; many young men gat into fellowship with him in these things, and would stray abroad by night. now it befell, that early in winter a savage bear ran abroad from his winter lair, and got so grim that he spared neither man nor beast. men thought he had been roused by the noise that biorn and his fellows had made. the brute got so hard to deal with that he tore down the herds of men, and thorkel had the greatest hurt thereof, for he was the richest man in the neighbourhood. now one day thorkel bade his men to follow him, and search for the lair of the bear. they found it in sheer sea-rocks; there was a high rock and a cave before it down below, but only one track to go up to it: under the cave were scarped rocks, and a heap of stones down by the sea, and sure death it was to all who might fall down there. the bear lay in his lair by day, but went abroad as soon as night fell; no fold could keep sheep safe from him, nor could any dogs be set on him: and all this men thought the heaviest trouble. biorn, thorkel's kinsman, said that the greatest part had been done, as the lair had been found. "and now i shall try," said he, "what sort of play we[ ] namesakes shall have together." grettir made as if he knew not what biorn said on this matter. [footnote : biorn is icelandic for bear.] now it happened always when men went to sleep anights that biorn disappeared: and one night when biorn went to the lair, he was aware that the beast was there before him, and roaring savagely. biorn lay down in the track, and had over him his shield, and was going to wait till the beast should stir abroad as his manner was. now the bear had an inkling of the man, and got somewhat slow to move off. biorn waxed very sleepy where he lay, and cannot wake up, and just at this time the beast betakes himself from his lair; now he sees where the man lies, and, hooking at him with his claw, he tears from him the shield and throws it down over the rocks. biorn started up suddenly awake, takes to his legs and runs home, and it was a near thing that the beast gat him not. this his fellows knew, for they had spies about biorn's ways; in the morning they found the shield, and made the greatest jeering at all this. at yule thorkel went himself, and eight of them altogether, and there was grettir and biorn and other followers of thorkel. grettir had on a fur-cloak, which he laid aside while they set on the beast. it was awkward for an onslaught there, for thereat could folk come but by spear-thrusts, and all the spear-points the bear turned off him with his teeth. now biorn urged them on much to the onset, yet he himself went not so nigh as to run the risk of any hurt. amid this, when men looked least for it, biorn suddenly seized grettir's coat, and cast it into the beast's lair. now nought they could wreak on him, and had to go back when the day was far spent. but when grettir was going, he misses his coat, and he could see that the bear has it cast under him. then he said, "what man of you has wrought the jest of throwing my cloak into the lair?" biorn says, "he who is like to dare to own to it." grettir answers, "i set no great store on such matters." now they went on their way home, and when they had walked awhile, the thong of grettir's leggings brake. thorkel bid them wait for him; but grettir said there was no need of that. then said biorn, "ye need not think that grettir will run away from his coat; he will have the honour all to himself, and will slay that beast all alone, wherefrom we have gone back all eight of us; thus would he be such as he is said to be: but sluggishly enow has he fared forth to-day." "i know not," said thorkel, "how thou wilt fare in the end, but men of equal prowess i deem you not: lay as few burdens on him as thou mayst, biorn." biorn said, that neither of them should pick and choose words from out his mouth. now, when a hill's brow was between them, grettir went back to the pass, for now there was no striving with others for the onset. he drew the sword, jokul's gift, but had a loop over the handle of the short-sword, and slipped it up over his hand, and this he did in that he thought he could easier have it at his will if his hand were loose. he went up into the pass forthwith, and when the beast saw a man, it rushed against grettir exceeding fiercely, and smote at him with that paw which was furthest off from the rock; grettir hewed against the blow with the sword, and therewith smote the paw above the claws, and took it off; then the beast was fain to smite at grettir with the paw that was whole, and dropped down therewith on to the docked one, but it was shorter than he wotted of, and withal he tumbled into grettir's arms. now he griped at the beast between the ears and held him off, so that he got not at him to bite. and, so grettir himself says, that herein he deemed he had had the hardest trial of his strength, thus to hold the brute. but now as it struggled fiercely, and the space was narrow, they both tumbled down over the rock; the beast was the heaviest of the two, and came down first upon the stone heap below, grettir being the uppermost, and the beast was much mangled on its nether side. now grettir seized the short-sword and thrust it into the heart of the bear, and that was his bane. thereafter he went home, taking with him his cloak all tattered, and withal what he had cut from the paw of the bear. thorkel sat a-drinking when he came into the hall, and much men laughed at the rags of the cloak grettir had cast over him. now he threw on to the table what he had chopped off the paw. then said thorkel, "where is now biorn my kinsman? never did i see thy irons bite the like of this, biorn, and my will it is, that thou make grettir a seemly offer for this shame thou hast wrought on him." biorn said that was like to be long about, "and never shall i care whether he likes it well or ill." then grettir sang-- "oft that war-god came to hall frighted, when no blood did fall, in the dusk; who ever cried on the bear last autumn-tide; no man saw me sitting there late at eve before the lair; yet the shaggy one to-day from his den i drew away." "sure enough," said biorn, "thou hast fared forth well to-day, and two tales thou tellest of us twain therefor; and well i know that thou hast had a good hit at me." thorkel said, "i would, grettir, that thou wouldst not avenge thee on biorn, but for him i will give a full man-gild if thereby ye may be friends." biorn said he might well turn his money to better account, than to boot for this; "and, methinks it is wisest that in my dealings with grettir <i>one oak should have what from the other it shaves</i>." grettir said that he should like that very well. but thorkel said, "yet i hope, grettir, that thou wilt do this for my sake, not to do aught against biorn while ye are with me." "that shall be," said grettir. biorn said he would walk fearless of grettir wheresoever they might meet. grettir smiled mockingly, but would not take boot for biorn. so they were here that winter through. chap. xxii. <i>of the slaying of biorn</i>. in the spring grettir went north to vogar with chapmen. he and thorkel parted in friendship; but biorn went west to england, and was the master of thorkel's ship that went thither. biorn dwelt thereabout that summer and bought such things for thorkel as he had given him word to get; but as the autumn wore on he sailed from the west. grettir was at vogar till the fleet broke up; then he sailed from the north with some chapmen until they came to a harbour at an island before the mouth of drontheimfirth, called gartar, where they pitched their tents. now when they were housed, a ship came sailing havenward from the south along the land; they soon saw that it was an england farer; she took the strand further out, and her crew went ashore; grettir and his fellows went to meet them. but when they met, grettir saw that biorn was among those men, and spake-- "it is well that we have met here; now we may well take up our ancient quarrel, and now i will try which of us twain may do the most." biorn said that was an old tale to him, "but if there has been aught of such things between us, i will boot for it, so that thou mayst think thyself well holden thereof." then grettir sang-- "in hard strife i slew the bear, thereof many a man doth hear; then the cloak i oft had worn, by the beast to rags was torn; thou, o braggart ring-bearer, wrought that jest upon me there, now thou payest for thy jest, not in words am i the best?" biorn said, that oft had greater matters than these been atoned for. grettir said, "that few had chosen hitherto to strive to trip him up with spite and envy, nor ever had he taken fee for such, and still must matters fare in likewise. know thou that we shall not both of us go hence whole men if i may have my will, and a coward's name will i lay on thy back, if thou darest not to fight." now biorn saw that it would avail nought to try to talk himself free; so he took his weapons and went aland. then they ran one at the other and fought, but not long before biorn got sore wounded, and presently fell dead to earth. but when biorn's fellows saw that, they went to their ship, and made off north along the land to meet thorkel and told him of this hap: he said it had not come to pass ere it might have been looked for. soon after this thorkel went south to drontheim, and met there earl svein. grettir went south to mere after the slaying of biorn, and found his friend thorfinn, and told him what had befallen. thorfinn gave him good welcome, and said-- "it is well now that thou art in need of a friend; with me shalt thou abide until these matters have come to an end." grettir thanked him for his offer, and said he would take it now. earl svein was dwelling in drontheim, at steinker, when he heard of biorn's slaying; at that time there was with him hiarandi, the brother of biorn, and he was the earl's man; he was exceeding wroth when he heard of the slaying of biorn, and begged the earl's aid in the matter, and the earl gave his word thereto. then he sent men to thorfinn and summoned to him both him and grettir. thorfinn and grettir made ready at once at the earl's bidding to go north to drontheim to meet him. now the earl held a council on the matter, and bade hiarandi to be thereat; hiarandi said he would not bring his brother to purse; "and i shall either fare in a like wise with him, or else wreak vengeance for him." now when the matter was looked into, the earl found that biorn had been guilty towards grettir in many ways; and thorfinn offered weregild, such as the earl deemed might be befitting for biorn's kin to take; and thereon he had much to say on the freedom which grettir had wrought for men north there in the land, when he slew the bearserks, as has been aforesaid. the earl answered, "with much truth thou sayest this, thorfinn, that was the greatest land-ridding, and good it seems to us to take weregild because of thy words; and withal grettir is a man well renowned because of his strength and prowess." hiarandi would not take the settlement, and they broke up the meeting. thorfinn got his kinsman arnbiorn to go about with grettir day by day, for he knew that hiarandi lay in wait for his life. chap. xxiii. <i>the slaying of hiarandi</i>. it happened one day that grettir and arnbiorn were walking through some streets for their sport, that as they came past a certain court gate, a man bounded forth therefrom with axe borne aloft, and drave it at grettir with both hands; he was all unawares of this, and walked on slowly; arnbiorn caught timely sight of the man, and seized grettir, and thrust him on so hard that he fell on his knee; the axe smote the shoulder-blade, and cut sideways out under the arm-pit, and a great wound it was. grettir turned about nimbly, and drew the short-sword, and saw that there was hiarandi. now the axe stuck fast in the road, and it was slow work for hiarandi to draw it to him again, and in this very nick of time grettir hewed at him, and the blow fell on the upper arm, near the shoulder, and cut it off; then the fellows of hiarandi rushed forth, five of them, and a fight forthwith befell, and speedy change happed there, for grettir and arnbiorn slew those who were with hiarandi, all but one, who got off, and forthwith went to the earl to tell him these tidings. the earl was exceeding wroth when he heard of this, and the second day thereafter he had a thing summoned. then they, thorfinn and grettir, came both to the thing. the earl put forth against grettir the guilt for these manslaughters; he owned them all, and said he had had to defend his hands. "whereof methinks i bear some marks on me," says grettir, "and surely i had found death if arnbiorn had not saved me." the earl answered that it was ill hap that grettir was not slain. "for many a man's bane wilt thou be if thou livest, grettir." then came to the earl, bessi, son of skald-torfa, a fellow and a friend to grettir; he and thorfinn went before the earl had prayed him respite for grettir, and offered, that the earl alone should doom in this matter, but that grettir might have peace and leave to dwell in the land. the earl was slow to come to any settlement, but suffered himself to be led thereto because of their prayers. there respite was granted to grettir till the next spring; still the earl would not settle the peace till gunnar, the brother of biorn and hiarandi, was thereat; now gunnar was a court-owner in tunsberg. in the spring, the earl summoned grettir and thorfinn east to tunsberg, for he would dwell there east while the most sail was thereat. now they went east thither, and the earl was before them in the town when they came. here grettir found his brother, thorstein dromond, who was fain of him and bade him abide with him: thorstein was a court-owner in the town. grettir told him all about his matters, and thorstein gave a good hearing thereto, but bade him beware of gunnar. and so the spring wore on. chap. xxiv. <i>of the slaying of gunnar, and grettir's strife with earl svein</i>. now gunnar was in the town, and lay in wait for grettir always and everywhere. it happened on a day that grettir sat in a booth a-drinking, for he would not throw himself in gunnar's way. but, when he wotted of it the least, the door was driven at so that it brake asunder, four men all-armed burst in, and there was gunnar and his fellows. they set on grettir; but he caught up his weapons which hung over him, and then drew aback into the corner, whence he defended himself, having before him the shield, but dealing blows with the short-sword, nor did they have speedy luck with him. now he smote at one of gunnar's fellows, and more he needed not; then he advanced forth on the floor, and therewith they were driven doorward through the booth, and there fell another man of gunnar's; then were gunnar and his fellows fain of flight; one of them got to the door, struck his foot against the threshold and lay there grovelling and was slow in getting to his feet. gunnar had his shield before him, and gave back before grettir, but he set on him fiercely and leaped up on the cross-beam by the door. now the hands of gunnar and the shield were within the door, but grettir dealt a blow down amidst gunnar and the shield and cut off both his hands by the wrist, and he fell aback out of the door; then grettir dealt him his death-blow. but in this nick of time got to his feet gunnar's man, who had lain fallen awhile, and he ran straightway to see the earl, and to tell him these tidings. earl svein was wondrous wroth at this tale, and forthwith summoned a thing in the town. but when thorfinn and thorstein dromond knew this, they brought together their kin and friends and came thronging to the thing. very cross-grained was the earl, and it was no easy matter to come to speech with him. thorfinn went up first before the earl and said, "for this cause am i come hither, to offer thee peace and honour for these man-slayings that grettir has wrought; thou alone shall shape and settle all, if the man hath respite of his life." the earl answered sore wroth: "late wilt thou be loth to ask respite for grettir; but in my mind it is that thou hast no good cause in court; he has now slain three brothers, one at the heels of the other, who were men so brave that they would none bear the other to purse. now it will not avail thee, thorfinn, to pray for grettir, for i will not thus bring wrongs into the land so as to take boot for such unmeasured misdeeds." then came forward bessi, skald-torfa's son, and prayed the earl to take the offered settlement. "thereto," he said, "i will give up my goods, for grettir is a man of great kin and a good friend of mine; thou mayst well see, lord, that it is better to respite one man's life and to have therefor the thanks of many, thyself alone dooming the fines, than to break down thine own honour, and risk whether thou canst seize the man or not." the earl answered, "thou farest well herein, bessi, and showest at all times that thou art a high-minded man; still i am loth thus to break the laws of the land, giving respite to men of foredoomed lives." then stepped forth thorstein dromond and greeted the earl, and made offers on grettir's behalf, and laid thereto many fair words. the earl asked for what cause he made offers for this man. thorstein said that they were brothers. the earl said that he had not known it before: "now it is but the part of a man for thee to help him, but because we have made up our mind not to take money for these man-slayings, we shall make all men of equal worth here, and grettir's life will we have, whatsoever it shall cost and whensoever chance shall serve." thereat the earl sprang up, and would listen in nowise to the offered atonements. now thorfinn and his folk went home to thorstein's court and made ready. but when the earl saw this he bade all his men take weapons, and then he went thither with his folk in array. but before he came up thorfinn and his men ordered themselves for defence before the gate of the court. foremost stood thorfinn and thorstein and grettir, and then bessi, and each of them had a large following of men with him. the earl bade them to give up grettir, nor to bring themselves into an evil strait; they made the very same offer as before. the earl would not hearken thereto. then thorfinn and thorstein said that the earl should have more ado yet for the getting of grettir's life, "for one fate shall befall us all, and it will be said thou workest hard for one man's life, if all we have to be laid on earth therefor." the earl said he should spare none of them, and now they were at the very point to fight. then went to the earl many men of goodwill, and prayed him not to push matters on to such great evils, and said they would have to pay heavily before all these were slain. the earl found this rede to be wholesome, and became somewhat softened thereat. thereafter they drew up an agreement to which thorstein and thorfinn were willing enough, now that grettir should have respite of his life. the earl spake: "know ye," quoth he, "that though i deal by way of mean words with these man-slayings at this time, yet i call this no settlement, but i am loth to fight against my own folk; though i see that ye make little of me in this matter." then said thorfinn, "this is a greater honour for thee, lord, for that thou alone wilt doom the weregild." then the earl said that grettir should go in peace, as for him, out to iceland, when ships fared out, if so they would; they said that they would take this. they paid the earl fines to his mind, and parted from him with little friendship. grettir went with thorfinn; he and his brother thorstein parted fondly. thorfinn got great fame for the aid he had given grettir against such overwhelming power as he had to deal with: none of the men who had helped grettir were ever after well loved of the earl, save bessi. so quoth grettir-- "to our helping came the great of name; thorfinn was there born rule to bear; when all bolts fell into locks, and hell cried out for my life in the tunsberg strife. the dromund fair[ ] of red seas was there, the stone of the bane of steel-gods vain: from bylest's kin my life to win, above all men he laboured then. then the king's folk would strike no stroke to win my head; so great grew dread; for the leopard came with byrni's flame, and on thoughts-burg wall should that bright fire fall." grettir went back north with thorfinn, and was with him till he gat him to ship with chapmen who were bound out to iceland: he gave him many fair gifts of raiment, and a fair-stained saddle and a bridle withal. they parted in friendship, and thorfinn bade him come to him whensoever he should come back to norway. [footnote : the stone of steel-god's bane in thorstein; bylest's kin is hel, death. the leopard is bessi skald-torfason; byrni's flame, his sword. thoughts-burg, a warrior's head.] chap. xxv. <i>the slaying of thorgils makson</i>. asmund the greyhaired lived on at biarg, while grettir was abroad, and by that time he was thought to be the greatest of bonders in midfirth. thorkel krafla died during those seasons that grettir was out of iceland. thorvald asgeirson farmed then at the ridge in waterdale, and waxed a great chief. he was the father of dalla whom isleif had to wife, he who afterwards was bishop at skalholt. asmund had in thorvald the greatest help in suits and in many other matters. at asmund's grew up a man, hight thorgils, called thorgils makson, near akin to asmund. thorgils was a man of great strength and gained much money by asmund's foresight. asmund bought for thorgils the land at brookmeet, and there he farmed. thorgils was a great store-gatherer, and went a-searching to the strands every year, and there he gat for himself whales and other gettings; and a stout-hearted man he was. in those days was at its height the waxing of the foster-brothers, thorgeir havarson and thormod coalbrowskald; they had a boat and went therein far and wide, and were not thought men of much even-dealing. it chanced one summer that thorgils makson found a whale on the common drift-lands, and forthwith he and his folk set about cutting it up. but when the foster-brothers heard thereof they went thither, and at first their talk had a likely look out. thorgils offered that they should have the half of the uncut whale; but they would have for themselves all the uncut, or else divide all into halves, both the cut and the uncut. thorgils flatly refused to give up what was cut of the whale; and thereat things grew hot between them, and forthwithal both sides caught up their weapons and fought. thorgeir and thorgils fought long together without either losing or gaining, and both were of the eagerest. their strife was both fierce and long, but the end of it was, that thorgils fell dead to earth before thorgeir; but thormod and the men of thorgils fought in another place; thormod had the best of that strife, and three of thorgils' men fell before him. after the slaying of thorgils, his folk went back east to midfirth, and brought his dead body with them. men thought that they had the greatest loss in him. but the foster-brothers took all the whale to themselves. this meeting thormod tells of in that drapa that he made on thorgeir dead. asmund the greyhaired heard of the slaying of thorgils his kinsman; he was suitor in the case for thorgils' slaying, he went and took witnesses to the wounds, and summoned the case before the althing, for then this seemed to be law, as the case had happened in another quarter. and so time wears on. chap. xxvi. <i>of thorstein kuggson, and the gathering for the bloodsuit for the slaying of thorgils makson</i>. there was a man called thorstein, he was the son of thorkel kugg, the son of thord the yeller, the son of olaf feilan, the son of thorstein the red, the son of aud the deeply-wealthy. the mother of thorstein kuggson was thurid the daughter of asgeir madpate, asgeir was father's brother of asmund the greyhaired. thorstein kuggson was suitor in the case about thorgils makson's slaying along with asmund the greyhaired, who now sent word to thorstein that he should come to meet him. thorstein was a great champion, and the wildest-tempered of men; he went at once to meet his kinsman asmund, and they talked the blood-suit over together. thorstein was mightily wroth and said that no atonement should be for this, and said they had strength of kin enough to bring about for the slaying either outlawry or vengeance on men. asmund said that he would follow him in whatsoever he would have done. they rode north to thorvald their kinsman to pray his aid, and he quickly gave his word and said yea thereto. so they settled the suit against thorgeir and thormod; then thorstein rode home to his farmstead, he then farmed at liarskogar in hvamsveit. skeggi farmed at hvam, he also joined in the suit with thorstein. skeggi was the son of thorarinn fylsenni, the son of thord the yeller; the mother of skeggi was fridgerd, daughter of thord of head. these had a many men with them at the thing, and pushed their suit with great eagerness. asmund and thorvald rode from the north with six tens of men, and sat at liarskogar many nights. chap. xxvii. <i>the suit for the slaying of thorgils makson</i>. a man hight thorgils abode at reek-knolls in those days, he was the son of ari, the son of mar, the son of atli the red, the son of ulf the squinter, who settled at reekness; the mother of thorgils arisen was thorgerd, the daughter of alf a-dales; another daughter of alf was thorelf, mother of thorgeir havarson. there had thorgeir good kinship to trust in, for thorgils was the greatest chief in the westfirthers' quarter. he was a man of such bountifulness, that he gave food to any free-born man as long as he would have it, and therefore there was at all times a throng of people at reek-knolls; thus had thorgils much renown of his house-keeping. he was a man withal of good will and foreknowledge. thorgeir was with thorgils in winter, but went to the strands in summer. after the slaying of thorgils makson, thorgeir went to reek-knolls and told thorgils arisen these tidings; thorgils said that he was ready to give him harbour with him, "but, methinks," he says, "that they will be heavy in the suit, and i am loth to eke out the troubles. now i shall send a man to thorstein and bid weregild for the slaying of thorgils; but if he will not take atonement i shall not defend the case stiffly." thorgeir said he would trust to his foresight. in autumn thorgils sent a man to thorstein kuggson to try settling the case, but he was cross-grained to deal with as to the taking money for the blood-suit of thorgils makson; but about the other man-slayings, he said he would do as wise men should urge him. now when thorgils heard this, he called thorgeir to him for a talk, and asked him what kind of aid he now deemed meetest for him; thorgeir said that it was most to his mind to go abroad if he should be outlawed. thorgils said that should be tried. a ship lay up northriver in burgfirth; in that keel thorgils secretly paid faring for the foster-brothers, and thus the winter passed. thorgils heard that asmund and thorstein drew together many men to the althing, and sat in liarskogar. he drew out the time of riding from home, for he would that asmund and thorstein should have ridden by before him to the south, when he came from the west; and so it fell out. thorgils rode south, and with him rode the foster-brothers. in this ride thorgeir killed bundle-torfi of marswell, and skuf withal, and biarni in dog-dale; thus says thormod in thorgeir's-drapa-- "mighty strife the warrior made, when to earth was makson laid, well the sword-shower wrought he there, flesh the ravens got to tear; then when skuf and biarni fell, he was there the tale to tell; sea-steed's rider took his way through the thickest of the fray." thorgils settled the peace for the slaying of skuf and biarni then and there in the dale, and delayed no longer than his will was before; thorgeir went to ship, but thorgils to the althing, and came not thither until men were going to the courts. then asmund the greyhaired challenged the defence for the blood-suit on the slaying of thorgils makson. thorgils went to the court and offered weregild for the slaying, if thereby thorgeir might become free of guilt; he put forth for defence in the suit whether they had not free catch on all common foreshores. the lawman was asked if this was a lawful defence. skapti was the lawman, and backed asmund for the sake of their kinship. he said this was law if they were equal men, but said that bonders had a right to take before batchelors. asmund said that thorgils had offered an even sharing to the foster-brothers in so much of the whale as was uncut when they came thereto; and therewith that way of defence was closed against them. now thorstein and his kin followed up the suit with much eagerness, and nought was good to them but that thorgeir should be made guilty. thorgils saw that one of two things was to be done, either to set on with many men, not knowing what might be gained thereby, or to suffer them to go on as they would; and, whereas thorgeir had been got on board ship, thorgils let the suit go on unheeded. thorgeir was outlawed, but for thormod was taken weregild, and he to be quit. by this blood-suit thorstein and asmund were deemed to have waxed much. and now men ride home from the thing. some men would hold talk that thorgils had lightly backed the case, but he heeded their talk little, and let any one say thereon what he would. but when thorgeir heard of this outlawry, he said-- "fain am i that those who have made me an outlaw should have full pay for this, ere all be over." there was a man called gaut sleitason, who was akin to thorgils makson. gaut had made ready to go in this same ship wherein thorgeir was to sail. he bristled up against thorgeir, and showed mighty ill-will against him and went about scowling; when the chapmen found this out, they thought it far from safe that both should sail in one ship. thorgeir said he heeded not how much soever gaut would bend his brows on him; still it was agreed that gaut should take himself off from the ship, whereupon he went north into the upper settlements, and that time nought happed between him and thorgeir, but out of this sprang up between them ill blood, as matters showed after. chap. xxviii. <i>grettir comes out to iceland again</i>. this summer grettir asmundson came out to skagafirth: he was in those days so famed a man for strength and prowess, that none was deemed his like among young men. he rode home to biarg forthwith, and asmund welcomed him meetly. at that time atli managed the farming matters, and well things befell betwixt the brothers. but now grettir waxed so overbearing, that he deemed that nought was too much for him to do. at that time had many men grown into full manhood who were young in the days when grettir was wont to play with them on midfirth-water before he went abroad; one of these was audun, who then dwelt at audunstead, in willowdale; he was the son of asgeir, the son of audun, the son of asgeir madpate; of all men he was the strongest north there; but he was thought to be the gentlest of neighbours. now it came into grettir's mind that he had had the worst of audun in that ball-play whereof is told before; and now he would fain try which of the twain had ripened the most since then. for this cause grettir took his way from home, and fared unto audunstead. this was in early mowing tide; grettir was well dight, and rode in a fair-stained saddle of very excellent workmanship, which thorfinn had given him; a good horse he had withal, and all weapons of the best. grettir came early in the day to audunstead, and knocked at the door. few folk were within; grettir asked if audun was at home. men said that he had gone to fetch victuals from the hill-dairy. then grettir took the bridle off his horse; the field was unmowed, and the horse went whereas the grass was the highest. grettir went into the hall, sat down on the seat-beam, and thereon fell asleep. soon after audun came home, and sees a horse grazing in the field with a fair-stained saddle on; audun was bringing victuals on two horses, and carried curds on one of them, in drawn-up hides, tied round about: this fashion men called curd-bags. audun took the loads off the horses and carried the curd-bags in his arms into the house. now it was dark before his eyes, and grettir stretched his foot from out the beam so that audun fell flat down head-foremost on to the curd-bag, whereby the bonds of the bag brake; audun leaped up and asked who was that rascal in the way. grettir named himself. then said audun, "rashly hast thou done herein; what is thine errand then?" grettir said, "i will fight with thee." "first i will see about my victuals," said audun. "that thou mayst well do," said grettir, "if thou canst not charge other folk therewith." then audun stooped down and caught up the curd-bag and dashed it against grettir's bosom, and bade him first take what was sent him; and therewith was grettir all smothered in the curds; and a greater shame he deemed that than if audun had given him a great wound. now thereon they rushed at one another and wrestled fiercely; grettir set on with great eagerness, but audun gave back before him. yet he feels that grettir has outgrown him in strength. now all things in their way were kicked out of place, and they were borne on wrestling to and fro throughout all the hall; neither spared his might, but still grettir was the toughest of the twain, and at last audun fell, having torn all weapons from grettir. now they grapple hard with one another, and huge cracking was all around them. withal a great din was heard coming through the earth underneath the farmstead, and grettir heard some one ride up to the houses, get off his horse, and stride in with great strides; he sees a man come up, of goodly growth, in a red kirtle and with a helmet on his head. he took his way into the hall, for he had heard clamorous doings there as they were struggling together; he asked what was in the hall. grettir named himself, "but who asks thereof?" quoth he. "bardi am i hight," said the new comer. "art thou bardi, the son of gudmund, from asbiornsness?" "that very man am i," said bardi; "but what art thou doing?" grettir said, "we, audun and i, are playing here in sport." "i know not as to the sport thereof," said bardi, "nor are ye even men either; thou art full of unfairness and overbearing, and he is easy and good to deal with; so let him stand up forthwith." grettir said, "<i>many a man stretches round the door to the lock</i>; and meseems it lies more in thy way to avenge thy brother hall[ ] than to meddle in the dealings betwixt me and audun." [footnote : who was killed in norway by the sons of harek, and whose revenge is told of in the saga of the heath slayings (existing in fragment).] "at all times i hear this," said bardi, "nor know i if that will be avenged, but none the less i will that thou let audun be at peace, for he is a quiet man." grettir did so at bardi's bidding, nathless, little did it please him. bardi asked for what cause they strove. grettir sang-- "prithee, audun, who can tell, but that now thy throat shall swell; that from rough hands thou shalt gain by our strife a certain pain. e'en such wrong as i have done, i of yore from audun won, when the young, fell-creeping lad at his hands a choking had." bardi said that certes it was a matter to be borne with, if he had had to avenge himself. "now i will settle matters between you," quoth bardi; "i will that ye part, leaving things as they are, that thereby there may be an end of all between you." this they let hold good, but grettir took ill liking to bardi and his brothers. now they all rode off, and when they were somewhat on their way, grettir spake-- "i have heard that thou hast will to go to burgfirth this summer, and i now offer to go south with thee; and methinks that herein i do for thee more than thou art worthy of." hereat was bardi glad, and speedily said yea thereto, and bade him have thanks for this; and thereupon they parted. but a little after bardi came back and said-- "i will have it known that thou goest not unless my foster-father thorarin will have it so, for he shall have all the rule of the faring." "well mightest thou, methinks, have full freedom as to thine own redes," said grettir, "and my faring i will not have laid under the choice of other folk; and i shall mislike it if thou easiest me aside from thy fellowship." now either went their way, and bardi said he should let grettir know for sure if thorarin would that he should fare with him, but that otherwise he might sit quiet at home. grettir rode home to biarg, but bardi to his own house. chap. xxix. <i>of the horse-fight at longfit</i>. that summer was settled to be a great horse-fight at longfit, below reeks. thither came many men. atli of biarg had a good horse, a black-maned roan of keingala's kin, and father and son had great love for that horse. the brothers, kormak and thorgils of meal, had a brown horse, trusty in fight. these were to fight their horse against atli of biarg. and many other good horses were there. odd, the foundling-skald, of kormak's kin, was to follow the horse of his kinsman through the day. odd was then growing a big man, and bragged much of himself, and was untameable and reckless. grettir asked of atli his brother, who should follow his horse. "i am not so clear about that," said he. "wilt thou that i stand by it?" said grettir. "be thou then very peaceable, kinsman," said atli, "for here have we to deal with overbearing men." "well, let them pay for their own insolence," said grettir, "if they know not how to hold it back." now are the horses led out, but all stood forth on the river-bank tied together. there was a deep hollow in the river down below the bank. the horses bit well at each other, and the greatest sport it was. odd drave on his horse with all his might, but grettir held back, and seized the tail with one hand, and the staff wherewith he goaded the horse he held in the other. odd stood far before his horse, nor was it so sure that he did not goad atli's horse from his hold. grettir made as if he saw it not. now the horses bore forth towards the river. then odd drave his staff at grettir, and smote the shoulder-blade, for that grettir turned the shoulder towards him: that was so mighty a stroke, that the flesh shrank from under it, but grettir was little scratched. now in that nick of time the horses reared up high, and grettir ran under his horse's hocks, and thrust his staff so hard at the side of odd that three ribs brake in him, but he was hurled out into deep water, together with his horse and all the horses that were tied together. then men swam out to him and dragged him out of the river; then was a great hooting made thereat; kormak's folk ran to their weapons, as did the men of biarg in another place. but when the ramfirthers and the men of waterness saw that, they went betwixt them, and they were parted and went home, but both sides had ill-will one with the other, though they sat peacefully at home for a while. atli was sparing of speech over this, but grettir was right unsparing, and said that they would meet another time if his will came to pass. chap. xxx. <i>of thorbiorn oxmain and thorbiorn tardy, and of grettir's meeting with kormak on ramfirth-neck</i>. thorbiorn was the name of a man who dwelt at thorodstead in ramfirth; he was the son of arnor hay-nose,[ ] the son of thorod, who had settled ramfirth on that side out as far as bank was on the other. [footnote : in the landnáma he is called 'hy-nef;' the meaning is doubtful, but it seems that the author of this history means to call him hay-nose.] thorbiorn was the strongest of all men; he was called oxmain. thorod was the name of his brother, he was called drapa-stump; their mother was gerd, daughter of bodvar, from bodvars-knolls. thorbiorn was a great and hardy warrior, and had many men with him; he was noted as being worse at getting servants than other men, and barely gave he wages to any man, nor was he thought a good man to deal with. there was a kinsman of his hight thorbiorn, and bynamed tardy; he was a sailor, and the namesakes were partners. he was ever at thorodstead, and was thought to better thorbiorn but little. he was a fault-finding fellow, and went about jeering at most men. there was a man hight thorir, the son of thorkel of boardere. he farmed first at meals in ramfirth; his daughter was helga, whom sleita-helgi had to wife, but after the man-slaying in fairslope thorir set up for himself his abode south in hawkdale, and farmed at the pass, and sold the land at meals to thorhall, son of gamli the vendlander.[ ] his son was gamli, who had to wife ranveig, daughter of asmund the greyhaired, and grettir's sister. they dwelt at that time at meals, and had good hap. thorir of the pass had two sons, one hight gunnar, the other thorgeir; they were both hopeful men, and had then taken the farm after their father, yet were for ever with thorbiorn oxmain, and were growing exceeding unruly. [footnote : ed. has the "wide-landed, viðlendings," which here is altered agreeably to the correction in ch. , p. .] the summer after that just told, kormak and thorgils and narfi their kinsman rode south to northriverdale, on some errand of theirs. odd the foundling-skald fared also with them, and by then was gotten healed of the stiffness he gained at the horse-fight. but while they were south of the heath, grettir fared from biarg, and with him two house-carles of atli's. they rode over to bowerfell, and thence over the mountain neck to ramfirth, and came to meals in the evening. they were there three nights; ranveig and gamli welcomed grettir well, and bade him abide with them, but he had will to ride home. then grettir heard that kormak and his fellows were come from the south, and had guested at tongue through the night. grettir got ready early to leave meals; gamli offered him men to go with him. now grim was the name of gamli's brother; he was of all men the swiftest; he rode with grettir with another man; they were five in all. thus they rode on till they came to ramfirth-neck, west of bowerfell. there stands a huge stone that is called grettir's heave; for he tried long that day to lift that stone, and thus they delayed till kormak and his fellows were come. grettir rode to meet them, and both sides jumped off their horses. grettir said it was more like free men now to deal blows of the biggest, than to fight with staves like wandering churles. then kormak bade them take the challenge in manly wise, and do their best. thereafter they ran at one another and fought. grettir went before his men, and bade them take heed, that none came at his back. thus they fought a while, and men were wounded on both sides. now thorbiorn oxmain had ridden that day over the neck to bowerfell, and when he rode back he saw their meeting. there were with him then thorbiorn the tardy, and gunnar and thorgeir, thorir's sons, and thorod drapa-stump. now when they came thereto, thorbiorn called on his men to go between them. but the others were by then so eager that they could do nought. grettir broke forth fiercely, and before him were the sons of thorir, and they both fell as he thrust them from him; they waxed exceeding furious thereat, insomuch that gunnar dealt a death-blow at a house-carle of atli; and when thorbiorn saw that, he bade them part, saying withal that he would aid which side soever should pay heed to his words. by then were fallen two house-carles of kormak, but grettir saw, that it would hardly do if thorbiorn should bring aid to them against him, wherefore now he gave up the battle, and all were wounded who had been at that meeting. but much it misliked grettir that they had been parted. thereafter either side rode home, nor did they settle peace after these slayings. thorbiorn the tardy made much mocking at all this, therefore things began to worsen betwixt the men of biarg and thorbiorn oxmain, so that therefrom fell much ill-will as came to be known after. no boot was bidden to atli for his house-carle, but he made as if he knew it not. grettir sat at home at biarg until twainmonth.[ ] nor is it said in story that he and kormak met ever again after these things betid. [footnote : the second month in the year, corresponding to our september.] chap. xxxi. <i>how grettir met bardi, the son of gudmund, as he came back from the heath-slayings</i>. bardi, the son of gudmund, and his brothers, rode home to asbiornsness after their parting with grettir. they were the sons of gudmund, the son of solmund. the mother of solmund was thorlaug, the daughter of saemund, the south-island man, the foster-brother of ingimund the old, and bardi was a very noble man. now soon he rode to find thorarin the wise, his foster-father. he welcomed bardi well, and asked what gain he had got of followers and aid, for they had before taken counsel over bardi's journey. bardi answered that he had got the aid of that man to his fellow, whose aid he deemed better than that of any other twain. thorarin got silent thereat, and then said, "that man will be grettir asmundson." "<i>sooth is the sage's guess</i>," said bardi; "that is the very man, foster-father." thorarin answered, "true it is, that grettir is much before any other man of those who are to choose in our land, and late will he be won with weapons, if he be hale, yet it misdoubts me how far he will bring thee luck; but of thy following all must not be luckless, and enough ye will do, though he fare not with thee: nowise shall he go if i may have my will." "this i could not have deemed, foster-father," said he, "that thou wouldst grudge me the aid of the bravest of men, if my need should be hard. a man cannot foresee all things when he is driven on as methinks i am." "thou wilt do well," said thorarin; "though thou abidest by my foresight." now thus must things be, even as thorarin would, that no word more was sent to grettir, but bardi fared south to burgfirth, and then befell the heath-slayings. grettir was at biarg when he heard that bardi had ridden south; he started up in anger for that no word had been sent to him, and said that not thus should they part. he had news of them when they were looked for coming from the south, and thereat he rode down to thorey's-peak, for the waylaying of bardi's folk as they came back from the south: he fared from the homestead up on to the hill-side, and abode there. that same day rode bardi and his men north over twodaysway, from the heath-slayings; they were six in all, and every man sore wounded; and when they came forth by the homestead, then said bardi-- "a man there is up on the hill-side; a big man, armed. what man do ye take him to be?" they said that they wotted not who he was. bardi said, "methinks there," quoth he, "is grettir asmundson; and if so it is, there will he meet us. i deem that it has misliked him that he fared not with us, but methinks we are not in good case, if he be bent on doing us harm. i now shall send after men to thorey's-peak, and stake nought on the chance of his ill-will." they said this was a good rede, and so was it done. thereafter bardi and his folk rode on their way. grettir saw where they fared, and went in the way before them, and when they met, either greeted other. grettir asked for tidings, but bardi told them fearlessly, even as they were. grettir asked what men were in that journey with him. bardi said that there were his brothers, and eyulf his brother-in-law. "thou hast now cleared thyself from all blame," said grettir; "but now is it best that we try between us who is of most might here." said bardi, "too nigh to my garth have deeds of hard need been, than that i should fight with thee without a cause, and well methinks have i thrust these from me." "thou growest soft, methinks, bardi," said grettir, "since thou durst not fight with me." "call that what thou wilt," said bardi; "but in some other stead would i that thou wreak thine high-handedness than here on me; and that is like enough, for now does thy rashness pass all bounds." grettir thought ill of his spaedom, and now doubted within himself whether he should set on one or other of them; but it seemed rash to him, as they were six and he one: and in that nick of time came up the men from thorey's-peak to the aid of bardi and his folk; then grettir drew off from them, and turned aside to his horse. but bardi and his fellows went on their way, nor were there farewells between them at parting. no further dealings between bardi and grettir are told of after these things betid. now so has grettir said that he deemed himself well matched to fight with most men, though they were three together, but he would have no mind to flee before four, without trying it; but against more would he fight only if he must needs defend his hand, as is said in this stave-- "my life trust i 'gainst three skilled in mist's mystery; whatso in hilda's weather shall bring the swords together; if over four they are my wayfaring that bar no gale of swords will i wake with them willingly." after his parting with bardi, grettir fared to biarg, and very ill he it thought that he might nowhere try his strength, and searched all about if anywhere might be somewhat wherewith he might contend. chap. xxxii. <i>of the haunting at thorhall-stead; and how thorhall took a shepherd by the rede of skapti the lawman, and of what befell thereafter</i>. there was a man hight thorhall, who dwelt at thorhall-stead, in shady-vale, which runs up from waterdale. thorhall was the son of grim, son of thorhall, the son of fridmund, who settled shady-vale. thorhall had a wife hight gudrun. grim was their son, and thurid their daughter; they were well-nigh grown up. thorhall was a rich man, but mostly in cattle, so that no man had so much of live-stock as he. he was no chief, but an honest bonder he was. much was that place haunted, and hardly could he get a shepherd that he deemed should serve his turn. he sought counsel of many men as to what he might do therewith, but none gave him a rede that might serve him. thorhall rode each summer to the thing, and good horses he had. but one summer at the althing, thorhall went to the booth of skapti thorodson the lawman. skapti was the wisest of men, and wholesome were his redes when folk prayed him for them. but he and his father differed thus much, that thorod was foretelling, and yet was called under-handed of some folk; but skapti showed forth to every man what he deemed would avail most, if it were not departed from, therefore was he called "father-betterer." now thorhall went into skapti's booth, and skapti greeted him well, for he knew that he was a man rich in cattle, and he asked him what were the tidings. thorhall answered, "a wholesome counsel would i have from thee." "little am i meet for that," said skapti; "but what dost thou stand in need of?" thorhall said, "so is the matter grown to be, that but a little while do my shepherds avail me; for ever will they get badly hurt; but others will not serve to the end, and now no one will take the job when he knows what bides in the way." skapti answered, "some evil things shall be there then, since men are more unwilling to watch thy sheep than those of other men. now, therefore, as thou hast sought rede of me, i shall get thee a shepherd who is hight glam, a swede, from sylgsdale, who came out last summer, a big man and a strong, though he is not much to the mind of most folk." thorhall said he heeded that little if he watched the sheep well. skapti said that little would be the look out for others, if he could not watch them, despite his strength and daring. then thorhall went out from him, and this was towards the breaking up of the thing. thorhall missed two dun horses, and fared himself to seek for them; wherefore folk deem that he was no great man. he went up to sledgehill, and south along the fell which is called armansfell; then he saw how a man fared down from godi's-wood, and bore faggots on a horse. soon they met together, and thorhall asked him of his name. he said that he was called glam. this man was great of growth, uncouth to look on; his eyes were grey and glaring, and his hair was wolf-grey. thorhall stared at him somewhat when he saw this man, till he saw that this was he to whom he had been sent. "what work hast thou best will to do?" said thorhall. glam said, "that he was of good mind to watch sheep in winter." "wilt thou watch my sheep?" said thorhall. "skapti has given thee to my will." "so only shall my service avail thee, if i go of my own will, for i am evil of mood if matters mislike me," quoth glam. "i fear no hurt thereof," said thorhall, "and i will that thou fare to my house." "that may i do," said glam, "perchance there are some troubles there?" "folk deem the place haunted," said thorhall. "such bugs will not scare me," quoth glam; "life seems to me less irksome thereby." "it must needs seem so," said thorhall, "and truly it is better that a mannikin be not there." thereafter they struck bargain together, and glam is to come at winter nights: then they parted, and thorhall found his horses even where he had just been searching. thorhall rode home, and thanked skapti for his good deed. summer slipped away, and thorhall heard nought of his shepherd, nor did any man know aught about him; but at the appointed time he came to thorhall-stead. the bonder greeted him well, but none of the other folk could abide him, and the good wife least of all. now he took to the sheep-watching, and little trouble it seemed to give him; he was big-voiced and husky, and all the beasts would run together when he whooped. there was a church at thorhall-stead, but nowise would glam come therein; he was a loather of church-song, and godless, foul-tempered, and surly, and no man might abide him. now passed the time till it came to yule-eve; then glam got up and straightway called for his meat. the good wife said-- "no christian man is wont to eat meat this day, be-. cause that on the morrow is the first day of yule," says she, "wherefore must men first fast to-day." he answers, "many follies have ye, whereof i see no good come, nor know i that men fare better now than when they paid no heed to such things; and methinks the ways of men were better when they were called heathens; and now will i have my meat, and none of this fooling." then said the housewife, "i know for sure that thou shall fare ill to-day, if thou takest up this evil turn." glam bade her bring food straightway, and said that she should fare the worse else. she durst do but as he would, and so when he was full, he went out, growling and grumbling. now the weather was such, that mirk was over all, and the snow-flakes drave down, and great din there was, and still all grew much the worse, as the day slipped away. men heard the shepherd through the early morning, but less of him as the day wore; then it took to snowing, and by evening there was a great storm; then men went to church, and thus time drew on to nightfall; and glam came not home; then folk held talk, as to whether search should not be made for him, but, because of the snow-storm and pitch darkness, that came to nought. now he came not home on the night of yule-eve; and thus men abide till after the time of worship; but further on in the day men fared out to the search, and found the sheep scattered wide about in fens, beaten down by the storm, or strayed up into the mountains. thereafter they came on a great beaten place high up in the valley, and they thought it was as if strong wrestling had gone on there; for that all about the stones had been uptorn and the earth withal; now they looked closely and saw where glam lay a little way therefrom; he was dead, and as blue as hell, and as great as a neat. huge loathing took them, at the sight of him, and they shuddered in their souls at him, yet they strove to bring him to church, but could get him only as far as a certain gil-edge a little way below. then they fared home to the farm, and told the bonder what had happed. he asked what was like to have been glam's bane. they said they had tracked steps as great as if a cask-bottom had been stamped down, from there where the beaten place was, up to beneath sheer rocks which were high up the valley, and there along went great stains of blood. now men drew from this, that the evil wight which had been there before had killed glam, but had got such wounds as had been full enough for him, for of him none has since been ware. the second day of yule men went afresh to try to bring glam to church; drag horses were put to him, but could move him nowhere where they had to go on even ground and not down hill; then folk had to go away therefrom leaving things done so far. the third day the priest fared with them, and they sought all day, but found not glam. the priest would go no more on such search, but the herdsman was found whenso the priest was not in their company. then they let alone striving to bring him to church, and buried him there whereto he had been brought. a little time after men were ware that glam lay not quiet. folk got great hurt therefrom, so that many fell into swoons when they saw him, but others lost their wits thereby. but just after yule men thought they saw him home at the farm. folk became exceeding afeard thereat, and many fled there and then. next glam took to riding the house-roofs at night, so that he went nigh to breaking them in. now he walked well-nigh night and day. hardly durst men fare up into the dale, though they had errands enough there. and much scathe the men of the country-side deemed all this. chap. xxxiii. <i>of the doings of glam at thorhall-stead</i>. in the spring thorhall got serving-men, and set up house at his farm; then the hauntings began to go off while the sun was at its height; and so things went on to midsummer. that summer a ship came out to hunawater, wherein was a man named thorgaut. he was an outlander of kin, big and stout, and two men's strength he had. he was unhired and single, and would fain do some work, for he was moneyless. now thorhall rode to the ship, and asked thorgaut if he would work for him. thorgaut said that might be, and moreover that he was not nice about work. "be sure in thy mind," said thorhall, "that mannikins are of small avail there because of the hauntings that have been going on there for one while now; for i will not draw thee on by wiles." thorgaut answers, "i deem not myself given up, though i should see some wraithlings; matters will not be light when i am scared, nor will i give up my service for that." now they come speedily to a bargain, and thorgaut is to watch the sheep when winter comes. so the summer wore on, and thorgaut betook himself to the shepherding at winter nights, and all liked him well. but ever came glam home and rode the house-roofs; this thorgaut deemed sport enough, and quoth he-- "the thrall must come nigher to scare me." thorhall bade him keep silence over that. "better will it be that ye have no trial together." thorgaut said, "surely all might is shaken out of you, nor shall i drop down betwixt morn and eve at such talk." now so things go through the winter till yule-tide. on yule eve the shepherd would fare out to his sheep. then said the good wife-- "need is it that things go not the old way." he answered, "have no fear thereof, goodwife; something worth telling of will betide if i come not back." and thereafter he went to his sheep; and the weather was somewhat cold, and there was much snow. thorgaut was wont to come home when twilight had set in, and now he came not at that time. folk went to church as they were wont. men now thought things looked not unlike what they did before; the bonder would have search made for the shepherd, but the church-goers begged off, and said that they would not give themselves into the hands of trolls by night; so the bonder durst not go, and the search came to nought. yule-day, when men were full, they fared out and searched for the shepherd; they first went to glam's cairn, because men thought that from his deeds came the loss of the herdsman. but when they came nigh to the cairn, there they saw great tidings, for there they found the shepherd, and his neck was broken, and every bone in him smashed. then they brought him to church, and no harm came to men from thorgaut afterwards. but glam began afresh to wax mighty; and such deeds he wrought, that all men fled away from thorhall-stead, except the good man and his goodwife. now the same neatherd had long been there, and thorhall would not let him go, because of his good will and safe ward; he was well on in years, and was very loth to fare away, for he saw that all things the bonder had went to nought from not being watched. now after midwinter one morning the housewife fared to the byre to milk the cows after the wonted time; by then was it broad daylight, for none other than the neatherd would trust themselves out before day; but he went out at dawn. she heard great cracking in the byre, with bellowing and roaring; she ran back crying out, and said she knew not what uncouth things were going on in the byre. the bonder went out and came to the cows, which were goring one another; so he thought it not good to go in there, but went in to the hay-barn. there he saw where lay the neatherd, and had his head in one boose[ ] and his feet in the other; and he lay cast on his back. the bonder went up to him, and felt him all over with his hand, and finds soon that he was dead, and the spine of him broken asunder; it had been broken over the raised stone-edge of a boose. [footnote : boose, a cow-stall.] now the goodman thought there was no abiding there longer; so he fled away from the farm with all that he might take away; but all such live stock as was left behind glam killed, and then he fared all over the valley and destroyed farms up from tongue. but thorhall was with his friends the rest of the winter. no man might fare up the dale with horse or hound, because straightway it was slain. but when spring came, and the sun-light was the greatest, somewhat the hauntings abated; and now would thorhall go back to his own land; he had no easy task in getting servants, nathless he set up house again at thorhall-stead; but all went the same way as before; for when autumn came, the hauntings began to wax again; the bonder's daughter was most set on, and fared so that she died thereof. many redes were sought, but nought could be done; men thought it like that all waterdale would be laid waste if nought were found to better this. chap. xxxiv. <i>grettir hears of the hauntings</i>. now we take up the story where grettir asmundson sat at biarg through the autumn after they parted, he and slaying-bardi at thoreys-peak; and when the time of winter-nights had well-nigh come, grettir rode from home north over the neck to willowdale, and guested at audunstead; he and audun made a full peace, and grettir gave audun a good axe, and they talked of friendship between them. audun dwelt long at audunstead, and was a man of many and hopeful kin; his son was egil, who married ulfheid, daughter of eyulf gudmundson, and their son was eyulf, who was slain at the althing, he was the father of orm, who was the chaplain of bishop thorlak. grettir rode north to waterdale, and came to see his kin at tongue. in those days dwelt there jokull, the son of bard, the mother's brother of grettir: jokull was a big man and a strong, and the most violent of men; he was a seafaring man, very wild, and yet a man of great account. he greeted grettir well, and he was there three nights. there were so many words about glam's hauntings, that nought was so much spoken of as of that. grettir asked closely about all things that had happed. jokull said that thereof was told no more than the very truth; "and, perchance, thou art wishful to go there, kinsman?" grettir said that so it was. jokull bade him do it not, "because it is a great risk for thy good luck, and thy kinsmen have much to hazard where thou art," said he, "for of young men we think there is none such as thou; but <i>from ill cometh ill</i> whereas glam is; and far better it is to deal with men than with such evil wights." grettir said, "that he had a mind to go to thorhall-stead and see how things went there." said jokull, "now i see it is of no avail to let thee; but so it is, as men say, <i>good luck and goodliness are twain</i>." "<i>woe is before one's own door when it is inside one's neighbour's</i>; think how it may fare with thyself ere things are ended," said grettir. jokull answered, "maybe we may both see somewhat of things to come, but neither may help aught herein." they parted thereafter, and neither thought well of the other's foretelling. chap. xxxv. <i>grettir goes to thorhall-stead, and has to do with glam</i>. grettir rode to thorhall-stead, and the bonder gave him good welcome; he asked whither grettir was minded to fare, but grettir said he would be there that night if the bonder would have it so. thorhall said that he thanked him therefor, "but few have thought it a treat to guest here for any time; thou must needs have heard what is going on here, and i fain would that thou shouldest have no trouble from me: but though thou shouldest come off whole thyself, that know i for sure, that thou wilt lose thy horse, for none keeps his horse whole who comes here." grettir said that horses were to be had in plenty whatsoever might hap to this. then thorhall was glad that grettir was to be there, and gave him a hearty welcome. now grettir's horse was locked up in a strong house, and they went to sleep; and so the night slipped by, and glam came not home. then said thorhall, "things have gone well at thy coming, for every night is glam wont to ride the house-roofs, or break open doors, as thou mayest well see." grettir said, "then shall one of two things be, either he shall not hold himself back for long, or the hauntings will abate for more than one night; i will bide here another night and see how things fare." thereafter they went to grettir's horse, and nought had been tried against it; then all seemed to the bonder to go one way. now is grettir there another night, and neither came the thrall home; that the farmer deemed very hopeful; withal he fared to see after grettir's horse. when the farmer came there, he found the house broken into, but the horse was dragged out to the door, and every bone in him broken to pieces. thorhall told grettir what had happed there, and bade him save himself, "for sure is thy death if thou abidest glam." grettir answered, "i must not have less for my horse than a sight of the thrall." the bonder said it was no boon to see him, for he was unlike any shape of man; "but good methinks is every hour that thou art here." now the day goes by, and when men should go to sleep grettir would not put off his clothes, but lay down on the seat over against the bonder's lock-bed. he had a drugget cloak over him, and wrapped one skirt of it under his feet, and twined the other under his head, and looked out through the head-opening; a seat-beam was before the seat, a very strong one, and against this he set his feet. the door-fittings were all broken from the outer door, but a wrecked door was now bound thereby, and all was fitted up in the wretchedest wise. the panelling which had been before the seat athwart the hall, was all broken away both above and below the cross-beam; all beds had been torn out of place, and an uncouth place it was. light burned in the hall through the night; and when the third part of the night was passed, grettir heard huge din without, and then one went up upon the houses and rode the hall, and drave his heels against the thatch so that every rafter cracked again. that went on long, and then he came down from the house and went to the door; and as the door opened, grettir saw that the thrall stretched in his head, which seemed to him monstrously big, and wondrous thick cut. glam fared slowly when he came into the door and stretched himself high up under the roof, and turned looking along the hall, and laid his arms on the tie-beam, and glared inwards over the place. the farmer would not let himself be heard, for he deemed he had had enough in hearing himself what had gone on outside. grettir lay quiet, and moved no whit; then glam saw that some bundle lay on the seat, and therewith he stalked up the hall and griped at the wrapper wondrous hard; but grettir set his foot against the beam, and moved in no wise; glam pulled again much harder, but still the wrapper moved not at all; the third time he pulled with both hands so hard, that he drew grettir upright from the seat; and now they tore the wrapper asunder between them. glam gazed at the rag he held in his hand, and wondered much who might pull so hard against him; and therewithal grettir ran under his hands and gripped him round the middle, and bent back his spine as hard as he might, and his mind it was that glam should shrink thereat; but the thrall lay so hard on grettir's arms, that he shrank all aback because of glam's strength. then grettir bore back before him into sundry seats; but the seat-beams were driven out of place, and all was broken that was before them. glam was fain to get out, but grettir set his feet against all things that he might; nathless glam got him dragged from out the hall; there had they a wondrous hard wrestling, because the thrall had a mind to bring him out of the house; but grettir saw that ill as it was to deal with glam within doors, yet worse would it be without; therefore he struggled with all his might and main against going out-a-doors. now glam gathered up his strength and knit grettir towards him when they came to the outer door; but when grettir saw that he might not set his feet against that, all of a sudden in one rush he drave his hardest against the thrall's breast, and spurned both feet against the half-sunken stone that stood in the threshold of the door; for this the thrall was not ready, for he had been tugging to draw grettir to him, therefore he reeled aback and spun out against the door, so that his shoulders caught the upper door-case, and the roof burst asunder, both rafters and frozen thatch, and therewith he fell open-armed aback out of the house, and grettir over him. bright moonlight was there without, and the drift was broken, now drawn over the moon, now driven from off her; and, even as glam fell, a cloud was driven from the moon, and glam glared up against her. and grettir himself says that by that sight only was he dismayed amidst all that he ever saw. then his soul sank within him so, from all these things both from weariness, and because he had seen glam turn his eyes so horribly, that he might not draw the short-sword, and lay well-nigh 'twixt home and hell. but herein was there more fiendish craft in glam than in most other ghosts, that he spake now in this wise-- "exceeding eagerly hast thou wrought to meet me, grettir, but no wonder will it be deemed, though thou gettest no good hap of me; and this must i tell thee, that thou now hast got half the strength and manhood, which was thy lot if thou hadst not met me: now i may not take from thee the strength which thou hast got before this; but that may i rule, that thou shalt never be mightier than now thou art; and nathless art thou mighty enow, and that shall many an one learn. hitherto hast thou earned fame by thy deeds, but henceforth will wrongs and man-slayings fall on thee, and the most part of thy doings will turn to thy woe and ill-hap; an outlaw shalt thou be made, and ever shall it be thy lot to dwell alone abroad; therefore this weird i lay on thee, ever in those days to see these eyes with thine eyes, and thou wilt find it hard to be alone--and that shall drag thee unto death." now when the thrall had thus said, the astonishment fell from grettir that had lain on him, and therewith he drew the short-sword and hewed the head from glam, and laid it at his thigh. then came the farmer out; he had clad himself while glam had his spell going, but he durst come nowhere nigh till glam had fallen. thorhall praised god therefor, and thanked grettir well for that he had won this unclean spirit. then they set to work and burned glam to cold coals, thereafter they gathered his ashes into the skin of a beast, and dug it down whereas sheep-pastures were fewest, or the ways of men. they walked home thereafter, and by then it had got far on towards day; grettir laid him down, for he was very stiff: but thorhall sent to the nearest farm for men, and both showed them and told them how all things had fared. all men who heard thereof deemed this a deed of great worth, and in those days it was said by all that none in all the land was like to grettir asmundson for great heart and prowess. thorhall saw off grettir handsomely, and gave him a good horse and seemly clothes, for those were all torn to pieces that he had worn before; so they parted in friendly wise. grettir rode thence to the ridge in waterdale, and thorvald received him well, and asked closely about the struggle with glam. grettir told him all, and said thereto that he had never had such a trial of strength, so long was their struggle. thorvald bade him keep quiet, "then all will go well with thee, else wilt thou be a man of many troubles." grettir said that his temper had been nowise bettered by this, that he was worse to quiet than before, and that he deemed all trouble worse than it was; but that herein he found the greatest change, in that he was become so fearsome a man in the dark, that he durst go nowhither alone after nightfall, for then he seemed to see all kinds of horrors. and that has fallen since into a proverb, that glam lends eyes, or gives glamsight to those who see things nowise as they are. but grettir rode home to biarg when he had done his errands, and sat at home through the winter. chap. xxxvi. <i>of thorbiorn oxmain's autumn-feast, and the mocks of thorbiorn tardy</i>. thorbiorn oxmain held a great autumn feast, and many men came thither to him, and that was while grettir fared north to waterdale in the autumn; thorbiorn the tardy was there at the feast, and many things were spoken of there. there the ramfirthers asked of those dealings of grettir on the neck the summer before. thorbiorn oxmain told the story right fairly as towards grettir, and said that kormak would have got the worst of it, if none had come there to part them. then spake thorbiorn the tardy, "both these things are true," said he: "i saw grettir win no great honour, and i deem withal that fear shot through his heart when we came thereto, and right blithe was he to part, nor did i see him seek for vengeance when atli's house-carle was slain; therefore do i deem that there is no heart in him if he is not holpen enow." and thereat thorbiorn went on gabbling at his most; but many put in a word, and said that this was worthless fooling, and that grettir would not leave things thus, if he heard that talk. nought else befell worth telling of at the feast, and men went home; but much ill-will there was betwixt them that winter, though neither set on other; nor were there other tidings through the winter. chap. xxxvii. <i>olaf the saint, king in norway; the slaying of thorbiorn tardy; grettir goes to norway</i>. early the spring after came out a ship from norway; and that was before the thing; these folk knew many things to tell, and first that there was change of rulers in norway, for olaf haraldson was come to be king, and earl svein had fled the country in the spring after the fight at ness. many noteworthy matters were told of king olaf, and this withal, that he received such men in the best of ways who were of prowess in any deeds, and that he made such his men. thereat were many young men glad, and listed to go abroad, and when grettir heard the tidings he became much minded to sail out; for he, like others, hoped for honour at the king's hands. a ship lay in goose-ere in eyjafirth, therein grettir got him a berth and made ready for the voyage, nor had he yet much of faring-goods. now asmund was growing very feeble with eld, and was well-nigh bedridden; he and asdis had a young son who was called illugi, and was the hopefullest of men; and, by this time, atli tended all farming and money-keeping, and this was deemed to better matters, because he was a peaceable and foreseeing man. now grettir went shipward, but in that same ship had thorbiorn the tardy taken passage, before folk knew that grettir would sail therein. now men would hinder thorbiorn from sailing in the same ship with grettir, but thorbiorn said that he would go for all that. he gat him ready for the voyage out, and was somewhat late thereat, nor did he come to the north to goose-ere before the ship was ready for sea; and before thorbiorn fared from the west, asmund the greyhaired fell sick and was bedridden. now thorbiorn the tardy came late one day down to the sand; men were getting ready to go to table, and were washing their hands outside the booths; but when thorbiorn rode up the lane betwixt the booths, he was greeted, and asked for tidings. he made as if there was nought to tell, "save that i deem that asmund, the champion of biarg, is now dead." many men said that there where he went, departed a worthy goodman from the world. "but what brought it about?" said they. he answered, "little went to the death of that champion, for in the chamber smoke was he smothered like a dog; nor is there loss therein, for he was grown a dotard." "thou speakest marvellously of such a man," said they, "nor would grettir like thy words well, if he heard them." "that must i bear," said thorbiorn, "and higher must grettir bear the sword than he did last summer at ramfirth-neck, if i am to tremble at him." now grettir heard full well what thorbiorn said, and paid no heed thereto while he let his tale run on; but when he had made an end, then spake grettir-- "that fate i foretell for thee, tardy," said he, "that thou wilt not die in chamber smoke, yet may be withal thou wilt not die of eld; but it is strangely done to speak scorn of sackless men." thorbiorn said, "i have no will to hold in about these things, and methinks thou didst not bear thyself so briskly when we got thee off that time when the men of meals beat thee like a neat's head." then sang grettir-- "day by day full over long, arrow-dealer, grows thy tongue; such a man there is, that thou mayst be paid for all words now; many a man, who has been fain, wound-worm's tower with hands to gain, with less deeds his death has bought, than thou, tardy-one, hast wrought." said thorbiorn, "about as feign do i deem myself as before, despite thy squealing." grettir answered, "heretofore my spaedom has not been long-lived, and so shall things go still; now beware if thou wilt, hereafter will no out-look be left." therewith grettir hewed at thorbiorn, but he swung up his hand, with the mind to ward the stroke from him, but that stroke came on his arm about the wrist, and withal the short-sword drave into his neck so that the head was smitten off. then said the chapmen that he was a man of mighty strokes, and that such should king's men be; and no scathe they deemed it though thorbiorn were slain, in that he had been both quarrelsome and spiteful. a little after they sailed into the sea, and came in late summer to norway, south at hordaland, and then they heard that king olaf was north at drontheim; then grettir took ship in a trading keel to go north therefrom, because he would fain see the king. chap. xxxviii. <i>of thorir of garth and his sons; and how grettir fetched fire for his shipmates</i>. there was a man named thorir, who lived at garth, in maindale, he was the son of skeggi, the son of botulf. skeggi had settled well-wharf up to well-ness; he had to wife helga, daughter of thorkel, of fishbrook; thorir, his son, was a great chief, and a seafaring man. he had two sons, one called thorgeir and one skeggi, they were both hopeful men, and fully grown in those days. thorir had been in norway that summer, when king olaf came east from england, and got into great friendship with the king, and with bishop sigurd as well; and this is a token thereof, that thorir had had a large ship built in the wood, and prayed bishop sigurd to hallow it, and so he did. thereafter thorir fared out to iceland and caused the ship to be broken up, when he grew weary of sailing, but the beaks of the ship, he had set up over his outer door, and they were there long afterwards, and were so full of weather wisdom, that the one whistled before a south wind, and the other before a north wind. but when thorir knew that king olaf had got the sole rule over all norway, he deemed that he had some friendship there to fall back on; then he sent his sons to norway to meet the king, and was minded that they should become his men. they came there south, late in autumn, and got to themselves a row-barge, and fared north along the land, with the mind to go and meet the king. they came to a haven south of stead, and lay there some nights, and kept themselves in good case as to meat and drink, and were not much abroad when the weather was foul. now it is to be told that grettir and his fellows fared north along the land, and often had hard weather, because it was then the beginning of winter; and when they bore down north on stead, they had much foul weather, with snow and frost, and with exceeding trouble they make land one evening all much worn with wet; so they lay to by a certain dyke, and could thus save their money and goods; the chapmen were hard put to it for the cold, because they could not light any fire, though thereon they deemed well-nigh their life and health lay. thus they lay that evening in evil plight; but as the night wore on they saw that a great fire sprang up in the midst of the sound over against there whereas they had come. but when grettir's shipmates saw the fire, they said one to the other that he would be a happy man who might get it, and they doubted whether they should unmoor the ship, but to all of them there seemed danger in that. then they had a long talk over it, whether any man was of might enow to fetch that fire. grettir gave little heed thereto, but said, that such men had been as would not have feared the task. the chapmen said that they were not bettered by what had been, if now there was nought to take to. "perchance thou deemest thyself man enough thereto, grettir," said they, "since thou art called the man of most prowess among the men of iceland, and thou wottest well enough what our need is." grettir answered, "it seems to me no great deed to fetch the fire, but i wot not if ye will reward it according to the prayer of him who does it." they said, "why deemest thou us such shameful men as that we should reward that deed but with good?" quoth he, "i may try this if so be that ye think much lies on it, but my mind bids me hope to get nought of good thereby." they said that that should never be, and bade all hail to his words; and thereafter grettir made ready for swimming, and cast his clothes from off him; of clothes he had on but a cape and sail-cloth breeches; he girt up the cape and tied a bast-rope strongly round his middle, and had with him a cask; then he leaped overboard; he stretched across the sound, and got aland. there he saw a house stand, and heard therefrom the talk of men, and much clatter, and therewith he turned toward that house. now is it to be said of those that were there before, that here were come the sons of thorir, as is aforesaid; they had lain there many nights, and bided there the falling of the gale, that they might have wind at will to go north, beyond stead. they had set them down a-drinking, and were twelve men in all; their ship rode in the main haven, and they were at a house of refuge for such men to guest in, as went along the coast. much straw had been borne into the house, and there was a great fire on the floor; grettir burst into the house, and wotted not who was there before; his cape was all over ice when he came aland, and he himself was wondrous great to behold, even as a troll; now those first comers were exceeding amazed at him, and deemed he must be some evil wight; they smote at him with all things they might lay hold of, and mighty din went on around them; but grettir put off all blows strongly with his arms, then some smote him with fire-brands, and the fire burst off over all the house, and therewith he got off with the fire and fared back again to his fellows. they mightily praised his journey and the prowess of it, and said that his like would never be. and now the night wore, and they deemed themselves happy in that they had got the fire. the next morning the weather was fair; the chapmen woke early and got them ready to depart, and they talked together that now they should meet those who had had the rule of that fire, and wot who they were. now they unmoored their ship, and crossed over the sound; there they found no hall, but saw a great heap of ashes, and found therein many bones of men; then they deemed that this house of refuge had been utterly burned up, with all those men who had been therein. thereat they asked if grettir had brought about that ill-hap, and said that it was the greatest misdeed. grettir said, that now had come to pass even as he had misdoubted, that they should reward him ill for the fetching of the fire, and that it was ill to help unmanly men. grettir got such hurt of this, that the chapmen said, wheresoever they came, that grettir had burned those men. the news soon got abroad that in that house were lost the aforenamed sons of thorir of garth, and their fellows; then they drave grettir from their ship and would not have him with them; and now he became so ill looked on that scarce any one would do good to him. now he deemed that matters were utterly hopeless, but before all things would go to meet the king, and so made north to drontheim. the king was there before him, and knew all or ever grettir came there, who had been much slandered to the king. and grettir was some days in the town before he could get to meet the king. chap. xxxix. <i>how grettir would fain bear iron before the king</i>. now on a day when the king sat in council, grettir went before the king and greeted him well. the king looked at him and said, "art thou grettir the strong?" he answered, "so have i been called, and for that cause am i come to thee, that i hope from thee deliverance from the evil tale that is laid on me, though i deem that i nowise wrought that deed." king olaf said, "thou art great enough, but i know not what luck thou mayest bear about to cast off this matter from thee; but it is like, indeed, that thou didst not willingly burn the men." grettir said he was fain to put from him this slander, if the king thought he might do so; the king bade him tell truthfully, how it had gone betwixt him and those men: grettir told him all, even as has been said before, and this withal, that they were all alive when he came out with the fire-- "and now i will offer to free myself in such wise as ye may deem will stand good in law therefor." olaf the king said, "we will grant thee to bear iron for this matter if thy luck will have it so." grettir liked this exceeding well; and now took to fasting for the iron; and so the time wore on till the day came whereas the trial should come off; then went the king to the church, and the bishop and much folk, for many were eager to have a sight of grettir, so much as had been told of him. then was grettir led to the church, and when he came thither, many of those who were there before gazed at him and said one to the other, that he was little like to most folk, because of his strength and greatness of growth. now, as grettir went up the church-floor, there started up a lad of ripe growth, wondrous wild of look, and he said to grettir-- "marvellous is now the custom in this land, as men are called christians therein, that ill-doers, and folk riotous, and thieves shall go their ways in peace and become free by trials; yea, and what would the evil man do but save his life while he might? so here now is a misdoer, proven clearly a man of misdeeds, and has burnt sackless men withal, and yet shall he, too, have a trial to free him; ah, a mighty ill custom!" therewith he went up to grettir and pointed finger, and wagged head at him, and called him mermaid's son, and many other ill names. grettir grew wroth beyond measure hereat, and could not keep himself in; he lifted up his fist, and smote the lad under the ear, so that forthwith he fell down stunned, but some say that he was slain there and then. none seemed to know whence that lad came or what became of him, but men are mostly minded to think, that it was some unclean spirit, sent thither for grettir's hurt. now a great clamour rose in the church, and it was told the king, "he who should bear the iron is smiting all about him;" then king olaf went down the church, and saw what was going on, and spake-- "a most unlucky man art thou," said he, "that now the trial should not be, as ready as all things were thereto, nor will it be easy to deal with thine ill-luck." grettir answered, "i was minded that i should have gained more honour from thee, lord, for the sake of my kin, than now seems like to be;" and he told withal how men were faring to king olaf, as was said afore, "and now i am fain," said he, "that thou wouldest take me to thee; thou hast here many men with thee, who will not be deemed more like men-at-arms than i?" "that see i well," said the king, "that few men are like unto thee for strength and stoutness of heart, but thou art far too luckless a man to abide with us: now shall thou go in peace for me, wheresoever thou wilt, the winter long, but next summer go thou out to iceland, for there will it be thy fate to leave thy bones." grettir answered, "first would i put from me this affair of the burning, if i might, for i did not the deed willingly." "it is most like," said the king; "but yet, because the trial is now come to nought for thy heedlessness' sake, thou will not get this charge cast from thee more than now it is, <i>for ill-heed still to ill doth lead</i>, and if ever man has been cursed, of all men must thou have been." so grettir dwelt a while in the town thereafter, but dealt no more with the king than has been told. then he fared into the south country, and was minded east for tunsberg, to find thorstein dromond, his brother, and there is nought told of his travels till he came east to jadar. chap. xl. <i>of grettir and snoekoll</i>. at yule came grettir to a bonder who was called einar, he was a rich man, and was married and had one daughter of marriageable age, who was called gyrid; she was a fair woman, and was deemed a right good match; einar bade grettir abide with him through yule, and that proffer he took. then was it the wont far and wide in norway that woodmen and misdoers would break out of the woods and challenge men for their women, or they took away men's goods with violence, whereas they had not much help of men. now it so befell here, that one day in yule there came to einar the bonder many ill-doers together, and he was called snoekoll who was the head of them, and a great bearserk he was. he challenged goodman einar to give up his daughter, or to defend her, if he thought himself man enough thereto; but the bonder was then past his youth, and was no man for fighting; he deemed he had a great trouble on his hands, and asked grettir, in a whisper, what rede he would give thereto: "since thou art called a famous man." grettir bade him say yea to those things alone, which he thought of no shame to him. the bearserk sat on his horse, and had a helm on his head, but the cheek-pieces were not made fast; he had an iron-rimmed shield before him, and went on in the most monstrous wise. now he said to the bonder, "make one or other choice speedily, or what counsel is that big churl giving thee who stands there before thee; is it not so that he will play with me?" grettir said, "we are about equal herein, the bonder and i, for neither of us is skilled in arms." snoekoll said, "ye will both of you be somewhat afraid to deal with me, if i grow wroth." "that is known when it is tried," said grettir. now the bearserk saw that there was some edging out of the matter going on, and he began to roar aloud, and bit the rim of his shield, and thrust it up into his mouth, and gaped over the corner of the shield, and went on very madly. grettir took a sweep along over the field, and when he came alongside of the bearserk's horse, sent up his foot under the tail of the shield so hard, that the shield went up into the mouth of him, and his throat was riven asunder, and his jaws fell down on his breast. then he wrought so that, all in one rush, he caught hold of the helmet with his left hand, and swept the viking off his horse; and with the other hand drew the short-sword that he was girt withal, and drave it at his neck, so that off the head flew. but when snoekoll's fellows saw that, they fled, each his own way, and grettir had no mind to follow, for he saw there was no heart in them. the bonder thanked him well for his work and many other men too; and that deed was deemed to have been wrought both swiftly and hardily. grettir was there through yule, and the farmer saw him off handsomely: then he went east to tunsberg, and met his brother thorstein; he received grettir fondly, and asked of his travels and how he won the bearserk. then grettir sang a stave-- "there the shield that men doth save mighty spurn with foot i gave. snoekoll's throat it smote aright, the fierce follower of the fight, and by mighty dint of it were the tofts of tooth-hedge split; the strong spear-walk's iron rim, tore adown the jaws of him." thorstein said, "deft wouldst thou be at many things, kinsman, if mishaps went not therewith." grettir answered, "<i>deeds done will be told of</i>." chap. xli. <i>of thorstein dromond's arms, and what he deemed they might do</i>. now grettir was with thorstein for the rest of the winter and on into the spring; and it befell one morning, as those brothers, thorstein and grettir, lay in their sleeping-loft, that grettir had laid his arms outside the bed-clothes; and thorstein was awake and saw it. now grettir woke up a little after, and then spake thorstein: "i have seen thine arms, kinsman," said he, "and i deem it nowise wonderful, though thy strokes fall heavy on many, for no man's arms have i seen like thine." "thou mayst know well enough," said grettir, "that i should not have brought such things to pass as i have wrought, if i were not well knit." "better should i deem it," said thorstein, "if they were slenderer and somewhat luckier withal." grettir said, "true it is, as folk say, <i>no man makes himself</i>; but let me see thine arms," said he. thorstein did so; he was the longest and gauntest of men; and grettir laughed, and said, "no need to look at that longer; hooked together are the ribs in thee; nor, methinks, have i ever seen such tongs as thou bearest about, and i deem thee to be scarce of a woman's strength." "that may be," said thorstein; "yet shall thou know that these same thin arms shall avenge thee, else shall thou never be avenged; who may know what shall be, when all is over and done?" no more is told of their talk together; the spring wore on, and grettir took ship in the summer. the brothers parted in friendship, and saw each other never after. chap. xlii. <i>of the death of asmund the grey haired</i>. now must the tale be taken up where it was left before, for thorbiorn oxmain heard how thorbiorn tardy was slain, as aforesaid, and broke out into great wrath, and said it would please him well that <i>now this and now that should have strokes in his garth</i>. asmund the greyhaired lay long sick that summer, and when he thought his ailings drew closer on him, he called to him his kin, and said that it was his will, that atli should have charge of all his goods after his day. "but my mind misgives me," said asmund, "that thou mayst scarce sit quiet because of the iniquity of men, and i would that all ye of my kin should help him to the uttermost but of grettir nought can i say, for methinks overmuch on a whirling wheel his life turns; and though he be a mighty man, yet i fear me that he will have to heed his own troubles more than the helping of his kin: but illugi, though he be young, yet shall he become a man of prowess, if he keep himself whole." so, when asmund had settled matters about his sons as he would, his sickness lay hard on him, and in a little while he died, and was laid in earth at biarg; for there had he let make a church; but his death his neighbours deemed a great loss. now atli became a mighty bonder, and had many with him, and was a great gatherer of household-stuff. when the summer was far gone, he went out to snowfellness to get him stockfish. he drave many horses, and rode from home to meals in ramfirth to gamli his brother-in-law; and on this journey rode with him grim thorhallson, gamli's brother, and another man withal. they rode west to hawkdale pass, and so on, as the road lay west to ness: there they bought much stockfish, and loaded seven horses therewith, and turned homeward when they were ready. chap. xliii. <i>the onset on atli at the pass and the slaying of gunnar and thorgeir</i>. thorbiorn oxmain heard that atli and grim were on a journey from home, and there were with him the sons of thorir from the pass, gunnar and thorgeir. now thorbiorn envied atli for his many friendships, and therefore he egged on the two brothers, the sons of thorir, to way-lay atli as he came back from the outer ness. then they rode home to the pass, and abode there till atli and his fellows went by with their train; but when they came as far as the homestead at the pass, their riding was seen, and those brothers brake out swiftly with their house-carles and rode after them; but when atli and his folk saw their faring, atli bade them take the loads from the horses, "for perchance they will give me atonement for my house-carle, whom gunnar slew last summer. let us not begin the work, but defend ourselves if they be first to raise strife with us." now the brothers came up and leaped off their horses. atli welcomed them, and asked for tidings: "perchance, gunnar, thou wilt give me some atonement for my house-carle." gunnar answered, "something else is your due, men of biarg, than that i should lay down aught good therefor; yea, atonement is due withal for the slaying of thorbiorn, whom grettir slew." "it is not for me to answer thereto," said atli; "nor art thou a suitor in that case." gunnar said he would stand in that stead none-the-less. "come, let us set on them, and make much of it, that grettir is not nigh them now." then they ran at atli, eight of them altogether, but atli and his folk were six. atli went before his men, and drew the sword, jokul's gift, which grettir had given him. then said thorgeir, "many like ways have those who deem themselves good; high aloft did grettir bear his short-sword last summer on the ramfirth-neck." atli answered, "yea, he is more wont to deal in great deeds than i." thereafter they fought; gunnar set on atli exceeding fiercely, and was of the maddest; and when they had fought awhile, atli said, "no fame there is in thus killing workmen each for the other; more seeming it is that we ourselves play together, for never have i fought with weapons till now." gunnar would not have it so, but atli bade his house-carles look to the burdens; "but i will see what these will do herein." then he went forward so mightily that gunnar and his folk shrunk back before him, and he slew two of the men of those brothers, and thereafter turned to meet gunnar, and smote at him, so that the shield was cleft asunder almost below the handle, and the stroke fell on his leg below the knee, and then he smote at him again, and that was his bane. now is it to be told of grim thorhallson that he went against thorgeir, and they strove together long, for each was a hardy man. thorgeir saw the fall of his brother gunnar, and was fain to draw off. grim ran after him, and followed him till thorgeir stumbled, and fell face foremost; then grim smote at him with an axe betwixt the shoulders, so that it stood deep sunken therein. then they gave peace to three of their followers who were left; and thereafter they bound up their wounds, and laid the burdens on the horses, and then fared home, and made these man-slayings known. atli sat at home with many men through the winter. thorbiorn oxmain took these doings exceedingly ill, but could do naught therein because atli was a man well befriended. grim was with him through the winter, and gamli, his brother-in-law; and there was glum, son of uspak, another kinsman-in-law of his, who at that time dwelt at ere in bitra. they had many men dwelling at biarg, and great mirth was thereat through the winter. chap. xliv. <i>the suit for the slaying of the sons of thorir of the pass</i>. thorbiorn oxmain took on himself the suit for the slaying of the sons of thorir of the pass. he made ready a suit against grim and atli, but they set forth for their defence onset and attack, to make those brothers fall unatoned. the suit was brought to the hunawater thing, and men came thronging to both sides. atli had good help because he was exceeding strong of kin. now the friends of both stood forth and talked of peace, and all said that atli's ways were good, a peaceful man, but stout in danger none-the-less. now thorbiorn deemed that by nought would his honour be served better than by taking the peace offered. atli laid down before-hand that he would have neither district outlawry nor banishment. then were men chosen for the judges. thorvald, son of asgeir, on atli's side, and on thorbiorn's, solvi the proud, who was the son of asbrand, the son of thorbrand, the son of harald ring, who had settled all waterness from the foreland up to bond-maids river on the west, but on the east all up to cross-river, and there right across to berg-ridge, and all on that side of the bergs down to the sea: this solvi was a man of great stateliness and a wise man, therefore thorbiorn chose him to be judge on his behoof. now they set forth their judgment, that half-fines should be paid for the sons of thorir, but half fell away because of the onslaught and attack, and attempt on atli's life, the slaying of atli's house-carle, who was slain on ramfirth-neck, and the slaying of those twain who fell with the sons of thorir were set off one against the other. grim thorhallson should leave dwelling in the district, but atli alone should pay the money atonement. this peace pleased atli much, but thorbiorn misliked it, but they parted appeased, as far as words went; howsoever it fell from thorbiorn that their dealings would not be made an end of yet, if things went as he would. but atli rode home from the thing, and thanked thorvald well for his aid. grim thorhallson went south to burgfirth, and dwelt at gilsbank, and was a great bonder. chap. xlv. <i>of the slaying of atli asmundson</i>. there was a man with thorbiorn oxmain who was called ali; he was a house-carle, a somewhat lazy and unruly man. thorbiorn bade him work better, or he would beat him. ali said he had no list thereto, and was beyond measure worrying. thorbiorn would not abide it, and drave him under him, and handled him hardly. then ali went off from his service, and fared over the neck to midfirth, and made no stay till he came to biarg. atli was at home, and asked whither he went. he said that he sought service. "art thou not thorbiorn's workman?" said atli. "that did not go off so pleasantly," said ali; "i was not there long, and evil i deemed it while i was there, and we parted, so that i deemed his song about my throat nowise sweet; and i will go to dwell there no more, whatso else may hap to me; and true it is that much unlike ye are in the luck ye have with servants, and now i would fain work with thee if i might have the choice." atli answered, "enough i have of workmen, though i reach not out to thorbiorn's hands for such men as he has hired, and methinks there is no gain in thee, so go back to him." ali said, "thither i go not of my own free-will." and now he dwells there awhile; but one morning he went out to work with atli's house-carles, and worked so that his hands were everywhere, and thus he went on till far into summer. atli said nought to him, but bade give him meat, for he liked his working well. now thorbiorn hears that ali is at biarg; then he rode to biarg with two men, and called out atli to talk with him. atli went out and welcomed him. thorbiorn said, "still wilt thou take up afresh ill-will against me, and trouble me, atli. why hast thou taken my workman? wrongfully is this done." atli answered, "it is not proven to me that he is thy workman, nor will i withhold him from thee, if thou showest proofs thereof, yet am i loth to drag him out of my house." "thou must have thy will now," said thorbiorn; "but i claim the man, and forbid him to work here; and i will come again another time, and i know not if we shall then part better friends than now." atli said, "i shall abide at home, and take what may come to hand." then thorbiorn rode home; but when the workmen come home in the evening, atli tells all the talk betwixt him and thorbiorn, and bids ali go his way, and said he should not abide there longer. ali answered, "true is the old saw, <i>over-praised and first to fail</i>. i deemed not that thou wouldst drive me away after i had toiled here all the summer enough to break my heart, and i hoped that thou wouldst stand up for me somehow; but this is the way of you, though ye look as if good might be hoped from you. i shall be beaten here before thine eyes if thou givest me not some defence or help." atli altered his mind at this talk of his, and had no heart now to drive him away from him. now the time wore, till men began hay-harvest, and one day, somewhat before midsummer, thorbiorn oxmain rode to biarg, he was so attired that he had a helm on his head, and was girt with a sword, and had a spear in his hand. a barbed spear it was, and the barbs were broad. it was wet abroad that day. atli had sent his house-carles to the mowing, but some of them were north at horn a-fishing. atli was at home, and few other men. thorbiorn came there about high-noon; alone he was, and rode up to the outer door; the door was locked, and no men were abroad. thorbiorn smote on the door, and then drew aback behind the houses, so that none might see him from the door. the home-folk heard that the door was knocked at, and a woman went out. thorbiorn had an inkling of the woman, and would not let himself be seen, for he had a mind to do something else. now the woman went into the chamber, and atli asked who was come there. she said, "i have seen nought stirring abroad." and even as they spake thorbiorn let drive a great stroke on the door. then said atli, "this one would see me, and he must have some errand with me, whatever may be the gain thereof to me." then he went forth and out of the door, and saw no one without. exceeding wet it was, therefore he went not out, but laid a hand on either door-post, and so peered about him. in that point of time thorbiorn swung round before the door, and thrust the spear with both hands amidst of atli, so that it pierced him through. then said atli, when he got the thrust, "<i>broad spears are about now</i>," says he, and fell forward over the threshold. then came out women who had been in the chamber, and saw that atli was dead. by then was thorbiorn on horseback, and he gave out the slaying as having been done by his hand, and thereafter rode home. the goodwife asdis sent for her men, and atli's corpse was laid out, and he was buried beside his father. great mourning folk made for his death, for he had been a wise man, and of many friends. no weregild came for the slaying of atli, nor did any claim atonement for him, because grettir had the blood-suit to take up if he should come out; so these matters stood still for that summer. thorbiorn was little thanked for that deed of his; but he sat at peace in his homestead. chap. xlvi. <i>grettir outlawed at the thing at the suit of thorir of garth</i>. this summer, whereof the tale was telling e'en now, a ship came out to goose-ere before the thing. then was the news told of grettir's travels, and therewithal men spake of that house-burning; and at that story was thorir of garth mad wroth, and deemed that there whereas grettir was he had to look for vengeance for his sons. he rode with many men and set forth at the thing the case for the burning, but men deemed they knew nought to say therein, while there was none to answer. thorir said that he would have nought, but that grettir should be made an outlaw throughout the land for such misdeeds. then answered skapti the lawman, "surely an ill deed it is, if things are as is said; but a tale is half told if one man tells it, for most folk are readiest to bring their stories to the worser side when there are two ways of telling them; now, therefore, i shall not give my word that grettir be made guilty for this that has been done." now thorir was a man of might in his district and a great chief, and well befriended of many great men; and he pushed on matters so hard that nought could avail to acquit grettir; and so this thorir made grettir an outlaw throughout all the land, and was ever thenceforth the heaviest of all his foes, as things would oft show. now he put a price on his head, as was wont to be done with other wood-folk, and thereafter rode home. many men got saying that this was done rather by the high hand than according to law; but so it stood as it was done; and now nought else happed to tell of till past midsummer. chap. xlvii. <i>grettir comes out to iceland again</i>. when summer was far spent came grettir asmundson out to whiteriver in burgfirth; folk went down to the ship from thereabout, and these tidings came all at once to grettir; the first, that his father was dead, the second, that his brother was slain, the third, that he himself was made an outlaw throughout all the land. then sang grettir this stave:-- "heavy tidings thick and fast on the singer now are cast; my father dead, my brother dead, a price set upon my head; yet, o grove of hedin's maid, may these things one day be paid; yea upon another morn others may be more forlorn." so men say that grettir changed nowise at these tidings, but was even as merry as before. now he abode with the ship awhile, because he could get no horse to his mind. but there was a man called svein, who dwelt at bank up from thingness, he was a good bonder and a merry man, and often sang such songs as were gamesome to hear; he had a mare black to behold, the swiftest of all horses, and her svein called saddle-fair. now grettir went one night away from the wolds, but he would not that the chapmen should be ware of his ways; he got a black cape, and threw it over his clothes, and so was disguised; he went up past thingness, and so up to bank, and by then it was daylight. he saw a black horse in the homefield and went up to it, and laid bridle on it, leapt on the back of it, and rode up along whiteriver, and below bye up to flokedale-river, and then up the tracks above kalfness; the workmen at bank got up now and told the bonder of the man who had got on his mare; he got up and laughed, and sang-- "one that helm-fire well can wield rode off from my well-fenced field, helm-stalk stole away from me saddle-fair, the swift to see; certes, more great deeds this frey yet shall do in such-like way as this was done; i deem him then most overbold and rash of men." then he took horse and rode after him; grettir rode on till he came up to the homestead at kropp; there he met a man called hall, who said that he was going down to the ship at the wolds; grettir sang a stave-- "in broad-peopled lands say thou that thou sawest even now unto kropp-farm's gate anigh, saddle-fair and elm-stalk high; that thou sawest stiff on steed (get thee gone at greatest speed), one who loveth game and play clad in cape of black to-day." then they part, and hall went down the track and all the way down to kalfness, before svein met him; they greeted one another hastily, then sang svein-- "sawest thou him who did me harm on my horse by yonder farm? even such an one was he, sluggish yet a thief to see; from the neighbours presently doom of thief shall he abye and a blue skin shall he wear, if his back i come anear." "that thou mayst yet do," said hall, "i saw that man who said that he rode on saddle-fair, and bade me tell it over the peopled lands and settlements; great of growth he was, and was clad in a black cape." "he deems he has something to fall back on," said the bonder, "but i shall ride after him and find out who he is." now grettir came to deildar-tongue, and there was a woman without the door; grettir went up to talk to her, and sang this stave-- "say to guard of deep-sea's flame that here worm-land's haunter came; well-born goddess of red gold, thus let gamesome rhyme be told. 'giver forth of odin's mead of thy black mare have i need; for to gilsbank will i ride, meed of my rash words to bide.'" the woman learned this song, and thereafter grettir rode on his way; svein came there a little after, and she was not yet gone in, and as he came he sang this-- "what foreteller of spear-shower e'en within this nigh-passed hour, swift through the rough weather rode past the gate of this abode? he, the hound-eyed reckless one, by all good deeds left alone, surely long upon this day from my hands will flee away." then she told him what she had been bidden to; he thought over the ditty, and said, "it is not unlike that he will be no man to play with; natheless, i will find him out." now he rode along the peopled lands, and each man ever saw the other's riding; and the weather was both squally and wet. grettir came to gilsbank that day, and when grim thorhallson knew thereof, he welcomed him with great joy, and bade him abide with him. this grettir agreed to; then he let loose saddle-fair, and told grim how she had been come by. therewith came svein, and leapt from his horse, and saw his own mare, and sang this withal-- "who rode on my mare away? what is that which thou wilt pay? who a greater theft has seen? what does the cowl-covered mean?" grettir by then had doft his wet clothes, and he heard the stave, and answered-- "i did ride thy mare to grim (thou art feeble weighed with him), little will i pay to thee, yet good fellows let us be." "well, so be it then," said the farmer, "and the ride is well paid for." then each sang his own songs, and grettir said he had no fault to find, though he failed to hold his own; the bonder was there that night, and the twain of them together, and great game they made of this: and they called all this saddle-fair's lays. next morning the bonder rode home, and he and grettir parted good friends. now grim told grettir of many things from the north and midfirth, that had befallen while he was abroad, and this withal, that atli was unatoned, and how that thorbiorn oxmain waxed so great, and was so high-handed, that it was not sure that goodwife asdis might abide at biarg if matters still went so. grettir abode but few nights with grim, for he was fain that no news should go before him north over the heaths. grim bade him come thither if he should have any need of safeguard. "yet shall i shun being made guilty in law for the harbouring of thee." grettir said he did well. "but it is more like that later on i may need thy good deed more." now grettir rode north over twodaysway, and so to biarg, and came there in the dead of night, when all folk were asleep save his mother. he went in by the back of the house and through a door that was there, for the ways of the house were well known to him, and came to the hall, and got to his mother's bed, and groped about before him. she asked who was there, and grettir told her; then she sat up and kissed him, and sighed withal, heavily, and spake, "be welcome; son," she said, "but my joyance in my sons is slipping from me; for he is slain who was of most avail, and thou art made an outlaw and a guilty man, and the third is so young; that he may do nought for me." "an old saw it is," said grettir, "<i>even so shall bale be bettered, by biding greater bale</i>; but there are more things to be thought of by men than money atonements alone, and most like it is that atli will be avenged; but as to things that may fall to me, many must even take their lot at my hand in dealing with me, and like it as they may." she said that was not unlike. and now grettir was there a while with the knowledge of few folk; and he had news of the doings of the folk of the country-side; and men knew not that grettir was come into midfirth: but he heard that thorbiorn oxmain was at home with few men; and that was after the homefield hay-harvest. chap. xlviii. <i>the slaying of thorbiorn oxmain</i>. on a fair day grettir rode west over the necks to thorodstead, and came there about noon, and knocked at the door; women came out and welcomed him, but knew him not; he asked for thorbiorn, but they said he was gone to the meadow to bind hay, and with him his son of sixteen winters, who was called arnor; for thorbiorn was a very busy man, and well-nigh never idle. so when grettir knew this, he bade them well betide, and went his way on the road toward reeks, there a marsh stretches down from the hill-side, and on it was much grass to mow, and much hay had thorbiorn made there, and now it was fully dry, and he was minded to bind it up for home, he and the lad with him, but a woman did the raking. now grettir rode from below up into the field, but the father and son were higher up, and had bound one load, and were now at another; thorbiorn had set his shield and sword against the load, and the lad had a hand-axe beside him. now thorbiorn saw a man coming, and said to the lad, "yonder is a man riding toward us, let us leave binding the hay, and know what he will with us." so did they, and grettir leapt off his horse; he had a helm on his head, and was girt with the short-sword, and bore a great spear in his hand, a spear without barbs, and the socket inlaid with silver. now he sat down and knocked out the socket-nail, because he would not that thorbiorn should cast the spear back. then said thorbiorn, "he is a big man, and no man in field know i, if that is not grettir asmundson, and he must needs think he has enough against us; so let us meet him sharply, and let him see no signs of failing in us. we shall deal cunningly; for i will go against him in front, and take thou heed how matters go betwixt us, for i will trust myself against any man if i have one alone to meet; but do thou go behind him, and drive the axe at him with both hands atwixt his shoulders; thou needest not fear that he will do thee hurt, as his back will be turned to thee." neither thorbiorn nor his son had a helm. now grettir got into the mead, and when he came within spear-throw of them, he cast his spear at thorbiorn, but the head was looser on the shaft than he deemed it would be, and it swerved in its flight, and fell down from the shaft to the earth: then thorbiorn took his shield, and put it before him, but drew his sword and went against grettir when he knew him; then grettir drew his short-sword, and turned about somewhat, so that he saw how the lad stood at his back, wherefore he kept himself free to move here or there, till he saw that the lad was come within reach of him, and therewith he raised the short-sword high aloft, and sent it back against arnor's head so mightily that the skull was shattered, and that was his bane. then thorbiorn ran against grettir and smote at him, but he thrust forth his buckler with his left hand, and put the blow from him, and smote with the short-sword withal, and cleft the shield of thorbiorn, and the short-sword smote so hard into his head that it went even unto the brain, and he fell dead to earth beneath that stroke, nor did grettir give him any other wound. then he sought for his spear-head, and found it not; so he went to his horse and rode out to reeks, and there told of the slayings. withal the woman who was in the meadow saw the slayings, and ran home full of fear, and said that thorbiorn was slain, and his son both; this took those of the house utterly unawares, for they knew nought of grettir's travelling. so were men sent for to the next homestead, and soon came many folk, and brought the bodies to church. thorod drapa-stump took up the blood-suit for these slayings and had folk a-field forthwith. but grettir rode home to biarg, and found his mother, and told her what had happed; and she was glad thereat, and said that now he got to be like unto the waterdale kin. "yet will this be the root and stem of thine outlawry, and i know for sooth that thou mayest not abide here long because of the kin of thorbiorn; but now may they know that thou mayest be angered." grettir sang this stave thereupon-- "giant's friend fell dead to earth on the grass of wetherfirth, no fierce fighting would avail, oxmain in the odin's gale. so, and in no other wise, has been paid a fitting price for that atli, who of yore, lay dead-slain anigh his door." goodwife asdis said that was true; "but i know not what rede thou art minded to take?" grettir said that he would seek help of his friends and kin in the west; "but on thee shall no trouble fall for my sake," said he. so he made ready to go, and mother and son parted in love; but first he went to meals in ramfirth, and told gamli his brother-in-law all, even as it had happed, concerning the slaying of thorbiorn. gamli told him he must needs depart from ramfirth while thorbiorn's kin had their folk about; "but our aid in the suit for atli's slaying we shall yield thee as we may." so thereafter grettir rode west over laxdale-heath, and stayed not till he came to liarskogar to thorstein kuggson, where he dwelt long that autumn. chap. xlix. <i>the gathering to avenge thorbiorn oxmain</i>. thorod drapa-stump sought tidings of this who might have slain thorbiorn and his son, and when he came to reeks, it was told him that grettir had been there and given out the slayings as from his hand. now, thorod deemed he saw how things had come to pass; so he went to biarg, and there found many folk, but he asked if grettir were there. the goodwife said he had ridden away, and that she would not slip him into hiding-places if he were there. "now ye will be well pleased that matters have so been wrought; nor was the slaying of atli over-avenged, though this was paid for it. ye asked not then what grief of heart i had; and now, too, it is well that things are even so." therewith they rode home, and found it not easy to do aught therein. now that spear-head which grettir lost was not found till within the memory of men living now; it was found in the latter days of sturla thordson the lawman, and in that marsh where thorbiorn fell, which is now called spear-mead; and that sign men have to show that thorbiorn was slain there, though in some places it is said that he was slain on midfit. thorod and his kin heard that grettir abode at liarskogar; then they gathered men, and were minded to go thither; but when gamli of meals was ware thereof, he made thorstein and grettir sure of the farings of the ramfirthers; and when thorstein knew it, he sent grettir in to tongue to snorri godi, for then there was no strife between them, and thorstein gave that counsel to grettir that he should pray snorri the godi for his watch and ward; but if he would not grant it, he made grettir go west to reek-knolls to thorgils arisen, "and he will take thee to him through this winter, and keep within the westfirths till these matters are settled." grettir said he would take good heed to his counsels; then he rode into tongue, and found snorri the godi, and talked with him, and prayed him to take him in. snorri answered, "i grow an old man now, and loth am i to harbour outlawed men if no need drive me thereto. what has come to pass that the elder put thee off from him?" grettir said that thorstein had often done well to him; "but more shall i need than him alone, if things are to go well." said snorri, "my good word i shall put in for thee if that may avail thee aught, but in some other place than with me must thou seek a dwelling." with these words they parted, and grettir turned west to reekness; the ramfirthers with their band got as far as samstead, and there they heard that grettir had departed from liarskogar, and thereat they went back home. chap. l. <i>grettir and the foster-brothers at reek-knolls</i>. now grettir came to reek-knolls about winter-nights, and prayed thorgils for winter abode; thorgils said, that for him as for other free men meat was ready; "but the fare of guests here is nowise choice." grettir said he was not nice about that. "there is yet another thing here for thy trouble," said thorgils: "men are minded to harbour here, who are deemed somewhat hard to keep quiet, even as those foster-brothers, thorgeir and thormod; i wot not how meet it may be for you to be together; but their dwelling shall ever be here if they will it so: now mayst thou abide here if thou wilt, but i will not have it that either of you make strife with the other." grettir said he would not be the first to raise strife with any man, and so much the less as the bonder's will was such. a little after came those foster-brothers home; things went not merrily betwixt thorgeir and grettir, but thormod bore himself well. goodman thorgils said to the foster-brothers even as he had said to grettir; and of such worth they held him, that neither cast an untoward word at the other although their minds went nowise the same way: and so wore the early winter. now men say that thorgils owned those isles, which are called olaf's-isles, and lie out in the firth a sea-mile and a half off reekness; there had bonder thorgils a good ox that he might not fetch home in the autumn; and he was ever saying that he would fain have him against yule. now, one day those foster-brothers got ready to seek the ox, if a third man could be gotten to their aid: grettir offered to go with them, and they were well pleased thereat; they went, the three of them, in a ten-oared boat: the weather was cold, and the wind shifting from the north, and the craft lay up on whaleshead-holm. now they sail out, and somewhat the wind got up, but they came to the isle and got hold of the ox; then asked grettir which they would do, bear the ox aboard or keep hold of the craft, because the surf at the isle was great; then they bade him hold the boat; so he stood amidships on that side which looked from shore, and the sea took him up to the shoulder-blades, yet he held her so that she moved nowise: but thorgeir took the ox behind and thormod before, and so hove it down to the boat; then they sat down to row, and thormod rowed in the bows, thorgeir amidships, and grettir aft, and therewith they made out into the open bay; but when they came off goat-rock, a squall caught them, then said thorgeir, "the stern is fain to lag behind." then said grettir, "the stern will not be left if the rowing afore be good." thereat thorgeir fell to rowing so hard that both the tholes were broken: then said he, "row on, grettir, while i mend the thole-pins." then grettir pulled mightily while thorgeir did his mending, but when thorgeir took to rowing again, the oars had got so worn that grettir shook them asunder on the gunwale. "better," quoth thormod, "to row less and break nought." then grettir caught up two unshapen oar beams that lay in the boat and bored large holes in the gunwales, and rowed withal so mightily that every beam creaked, but whereas the craft was good, and the men somewhat of the brisker sort, they reached whaleshead-holm. then grettir asked whether they would rather go home with the ox or haul up the boat; they chose to haul up the boat, and hauled it up with all the sea that was in it, and all the ice, for it was much covered with icicles: but grettir led home the ox, and exceeding stiff in tow he was, and very fat, and he grew very weary, and when they came up below titling-stead could go no more. the foster-brothers went up to the house, for neither would help the other in his allotted work; thorgils asked after grettir, but they told him where they had parted; then he sent men to meet him, and when they came down to cave-knolls they saw how there came towards them a man with a neat on his back, and lo, there was grettir come, bearing the ox: then all men wondered at his great might. now thorgeir got very envious of grettir's strength, and one day somewhat after yule, grettir went alone to bathe; thorgeir knew thereof, and said to thormod, "let us go on now, and try how grettir will start if i set on him as he comes from his bathing." "that is not my mind," said thormod, "and no good wilt thou get from him." "i will go though," says thorgeir; and therewith he went down to the slope, and bore aloft an axe. by then was grettir walking up from the bath, and when they met, thorgeir said; "is it true, grettir," says he, "that thou hast said so much as that thou wouldst never run before one man?" "that i know not for sure," said grettir, "yet but a little way have i run before thee." thorgeir raised aloft the axe, but therewith grettir ran in under thorgeir and gave him an exceeding great fall: then said thorgeir to thormod, "wilt thou stand by and see this fiend drive me down under him?" thormod caught hold of grettir's feet, and was minded to pull him from off thorgeir, but could do nought thereat: he was girt with a short-sword and was going to draw it, when goodman thorgils came up and bade them be quiet and have nought to do with grettir. so did they and turned it all to game, and no more is told of their dealings; and men thought thorgils had great luck in that he kept such reckless men in good peace. but when spring came they all went away; grettir went round to codfirth, and he was asked, how he liked the fare of the winter abode at reek-knolls; he answered, "there have i ever been as fain as might be of my meals when i got at them." thereafter he went west over the heaths. chap. li. <i>of the suit for the slaying of thorbiorn oxmain, and how thorir of garth would not that grettir should be made sackless</i>. thorgils arison rode to the thing with many men; and thither came all the great men of the land. now thorgils and skapti the lawman soon met, and fell to talking. then said skapti, "is it true, thorgils, that thou hast harboured those three men through the winter who are deemed to be the wildest of all men; yea, and all of them outlawed withal, and yet hast kept them so quiet, that no one of them has done hurt to the other?" thorgils said it was true enough. skapti said that great might over men it showed forth in him; "but how goes it, thinkest thou, with the temper of each of them; and which of them thinkest thou the bravest man?" thorgils said, "i deem they are all of them full stout of heart; but two of them i deem know what fear is, and yet in unlike ways; for thormod is a great believer and fears god much; but grettir is so fearsome in the dark, that he dares go nowhither after dusk has set in, if he may do after his own mind. but my kinsman thorgeir i deem knows not how to fear." "yea, so it is with their minds as thou sayest," said skapti; and with that they left talking. now, at this althing thorod drapa-stump brought forward a suit for the slaying of thorbiorn oxmain, which he had not brought to a hearing at the hunawater thing, because of the kin of atli, and he deemed that here his case would be less like to be thrown over. the kinsmen of atli sought counsel of skapti about the case; and he said he saw in it a lawful defence, so that full atonement would be forthcoming therefor. then were these matters laid unto umpiredom, and most men were minded that the slayings of atli and thorbiorn should be set one against the other. but when skapti knew that, he went to the judges, and asked whence they had that? they said that they deemed the slain men were bonders of equal worth. then skapti asked, which was the first, the outlawry of grettir or the slaying of atli? so, when that was reckoned up, there was a week's space betwixt grettir's outlawry at the althing and the slaying of atli, which befell just after it. then said skapti, "thereof my mind misgave me, that ye had made an oversight in setting on foot the suit in that ye made him a suitor, who was outlawed already, and could neither defend nor prosecute his own case. now i say that grettir has nought to do with the case of the slaying, but let him take up the blood-suit, who is nighest of kin by law." then said thorod drapa-stump, "and who shall answer for the slaying of thorbiorn my brother?" "see ye to that for yourselves," said skapti; "but the kin of grettir will never pour out fee for him or his works, if no peace is to be bought for him." now when thorvald asgeirson was aware that grettir was set aside from following the blood-suit, he and his sought concerning who was the next of kin; and that turned out to be skeggi, son of gamli of meals, and uspak, son of glum of ere in bitra; they were both of them exceeding zealous and pushing. now must thorod give atonement for atli's slaying, and two hundreds in silver he had to pay. then spake snorri the godi, "will ye now, ramfirthers," says he, "that this money-fine should fall away, and that grettir be made sackless withal, for in my mind it is that as a guilty man he will be sorely felt?" grettir's kin took up his word well, and said that they heeded the fee nought if he might have peace and freedom. thorod said that he saw grettir's lot would be full of heavy trouble, and made as if he would take the offer, for his part. then snorri bade them first know if thorir of garth would give his leave to grettir being made free; but when thorir heard thereof he turned away exceeding wroth, and said that grettir should never either get out of his outlawry or be brought out of it: "and the more to bring that about," said he, "a greater price shall be put on his head than on the head of any outlaw or wood-man yet." so, when he took the thing so ill, the freeing of grettir came to nought, and gamli and his fellows took the money to them, and kept it in their ward; but thorod drapa-stump had no atonement for his brother thorbiorn. now thorir and thorod set each of them on grettir's head three marks of silver, and that folk deemed a new thing, for never had any greater price been laid down to such an end before than three marks in all. snorri said it was unwisely done to make a sport of keeping a man in outlawry who might work so much ill, and that many a man would have to pay for it. but now men part and ride home from the thing. chap. lii. <i>how grettir was taken by the icefirth carles</i>. when grettir came over codfirth-heath down into longdale, he swept up unsparingly the goods of the petty bonders, and had of every man what he would; from some he took weapons, from some clothes; and these folk gave up in very unlike ways; but as soon as he was gone, all said they gave them unwillingly. in those days dwelt in waterfirth vermund the slender, the brother of slaying-styr; he had to wife thorbiorg, the daughter of olaf peacock, son of hoskuld. she was called thorbiorg the big; but at the time that grettir was in longdale had vermund ridden to the thing. now grettir went over the neck to bathstead. there dwelt a man called helgi, who was the biggest of bonders thereabout: from there had grettir a good horse, which the bonder owned, and thence he went to giorvidale, where farmed a man named thorkel. he was well stored with victuals, yet a mannikin withal: therefrom took grettir what he would, nor durst thorkel blame him or withhold aught from him. thence went grettir to ere, and out along the side of the firth, and had from every farm victuals and clothes, and dealt hardly with many; so that most men deemed him a heavy trouble to live under. now he fared fearlessly withal, and took no keep of himself, and so went on till he came to waterfirth-dale, and went to the mountain-dairy, and there he dwelt a many nights, and lay in the woods there, and took no heed to himself; but when the herdsmen knew that, they went to the farm, and said that to that stead was a fiend come whom they deemed nowise easy to deal with; then the farmers gathered together, and were thirty men in all: they lurked in the wood, so that grettir was unaware of them, and let a shepherd spy on grettir till they might get at him, yet they wotted not clearly who the man was. now so it befell that on a day as grettir lay sleeping, the bonders came upon him, and when they saw him they took counsel how they should take him at the least cost of life, and settled so that ten men should leap on him, while some laid bonds on his feet; and this they did, and threw themselves on him, but grettir broke forth so mightily that they fell from off him, and he got to his knees, yet thereby they might cast the bonds over him, and round about his feet; then grettir spurned two of them so hard about the ears that they lay stunned on the earth. now one after the other rushed at him, and he struggled hard and long, yet had they might to overcome him at the last, and so bound him. thereafter they talked over what they should do with him, and they bade helgi of bathstead take him and keep him in ward till vermund came home from the thing. he answered-- "other things i deem more helpful to me than to let my house-carles sit over him, for my lands are hard to work, nor shall he ever come across me." then they bade thorkel of giorvidale take and keep him, and said that he was a man who had enow. but thorkel spake against it, and said that for nought would he do that: "whereas i live alone in my house with my carline, far from other men; nor shall ye lay that box on me," said he. "then, thoralf of ere," said they, "do thou take grettir and do well to him till after the thing; or else bring him on to the next farm, and be answerable that he get not loose, but deliver him bound as now thou hast him." he answers, "nay, i will not take grettir, for i have neither victuals nor money to keep him withal, nor has he been taken on my land, and i deem it more trouble than honour to take him, or to have aught to do with him, nor shall he ever come into my house." thereafter they tried it with every bonder, but one and all spake against it; and after this talk have merry men made that lay which is hight grettir's-faring, and added many words of good game thereto for the sport of men. so when they had talked it over long, they said, with one assent, that they would not make ill hap of their good-hap; so they went about and straightway reared up a gallows there in the wood, with the mind to hang grettir, and made great clatter thereover. even therewith they see six folk riding down below in the dale, and one in coloured clothes, and they guessed that there would goodwife thorbiorg be going from waterfirth; and so it was, and she was going to the mountain-dairy. now she was a very stirring woman, and exceeding wise; she had the ruling of the neighbourhood, and settled all matters, when vermund was from home. now she turned to where the men were gathered, and was helped off her horse, and the bonders gave her good welcome. then said she, "what have ye here? or who is the big-necked one who sits in bonds yonder?" grettir named himself, and greeted her. she spake again, "what drove thee to this, grettir," says she, "that thou must needs do riotously among my thing-men?" "i may not look to everything; i must needs be somewhere," said he. "great ill luck it is," says she, "that these milksops should take thee in such wise that none should fall before thee. what are ye minded to do with him?" the bonders told her that they were going to tie him up to the gallows for his lawlessness. she answers, "maybe grettir is guilty enough therefor, but it is too great a deed for you, icefirthers, to take his life, for he is a famous man, and of mighty kin, albeit he is no lucky man; but now what wilt thou do for thy life, grettir, if i give it thee?" he answered, "what sayest thou thereto?" she said, "thou shalt make oath to work no evil riots here in icefirth, and take no revenge on whomsoever has been at the taking of thee." grettir said that she should have her will, and so he was loosed; and he says of himself that at that time of all times did he most rule his temper, when he smote them not as they made themselves great before him. now thorbiorg bade him go home with her, and gave him a horse for his riding; so he went to waterfirth and abode there till vermund came home, and the housewife did well to him, and for this deed was she much renowned far and wide in the district. but vermund took this ill at his coming home, and asked what made grettir there? then thorbiorg told him how all had gone betwixt grettir and the icefirthers. "what reward was due to him," said vermund, "that thou gavest him his life?" "many grounds there were thereto," said thorbiorg; "and this, first of all, that thou wilt be deemed a greater chief than before in that thou hast a wife who has dared to do such a deed; and then withal surely would hrefna his kinswoman say that i should not let men slay him; and, thirdly, he is a man of the greatest prowess in many wise." "a wise wife thou art withal," said vermund, "and have thou thanks therefor." then he said to grettir, "stout as thou art, but little was to be paid for thee, when thou must needs be taken of mannikins; but so ever it fares with men riotous." then grettir sang this stave-- "ill luck-to me that i should be on sea-roof-firth borne unto earth; ill luck enow to lie alow, this head of mine griped fast by swine." "what were they minded to do to thee," said vermund, "when they took thee there?" quoth grettir-- "there many men bade give me then e'en sigar's meed for lovesome deed; till found me there that willow fair, whose leaves are praise, her stems good days." vermund asked, "would they have hanged thee then, if they alone had had to meddle with matters?" said grettir-- "yea, to the snare that dangled there my head must i soon bring anigh; but thorbiorg came the brightest dame, and from that need the singer freed." then said vermund, "did she bid thee to her?" grettir answered-- "sif's lord's good aid, my saviour, bade to take my way with her that day; so did it fall; and therewithal a horse she gave; good peace i have." "mighty will thy life be and troublous," said vermund; "but now thou hast learned to beware of thy foes; but i have no will to harbour thee, and gain therefor the ill-will of many rich men; but best is it for thee to seek thy kinsmen, though few men will be willing to take thee in if they may do aught else; nor to most men art thou an easy fellow withal." now grettir was in waterfirth a certain space, and then fared thence to the westfirths, and sought shelter of many great men; but something ever came to pass whereby none of them would harbour him. chap. liii. <i>grettir with thorstein kuggson</i>. when the autumn was somewhat spent, grettir turned back by the south, and made no stay till he came to liarskogar to thorstein kuggson, his kinsman, and there had he good welcome, for thorstein bade him abide there through the winter, and that bidding he agreed to. thorstein was a busy man and a good smith, and kept men close to their work; but grettir had little mind to work, wherefore their tempers went but little together. thorstein had let make a church at his homestead; and a bridge he had made out from his house, wrought with great craft; for in the outside bridge, under the beams that held it up, were rings wrought all about, and din-bells, so that one might hear over to scarf-stead, half a sea-mile off, if aught went over the bridge, because of the shaking of the rings. thorstein had much to do over this work, for he was a great worker of iron; but grettir went fiercely at the iron-smiting, yet was in many minds thereover; but he was quiet through the winter, so that nought befell worthy telling. but when the ramfirthers knew that grettir was with thorstein, they had their band afoot as soon as spring came. so when thorstein knew that, he bade grettir seek some other shelter than his house, "for i see thou wilt not work, and men who will do nought are not meet men for me." "where wouldst thou have me go, then?" said grettir. thorstein bade him fare to the south country, and find his kin, "but come to me if they avail thee not." now so grettir wrought that he went south to burgfirth, to grim thorhallson, and dwelt there till over the thing. then grim sent him on to skapti the lawman at hjalli, and he went south by the lower heaths and stayed not till he came to thorhall, son of asgrim, son of ellida-grim, and went little in the peopled lands. thorhall knew grettir because of his father and mother, and, indeed, by then was the name of grettir well renowned through all the land because of his great deeds. thorhall was a wise man, and he did well to grettir, but would not let him abide there long. chap. liv. <i>grettir meets hallmund on the keel</i>. now grettir fared from tongue up to hawkdale, and thence north upon the keel, and kept about there long that summer; nor was there trust of him that he would not take men's goods from them, as they went from or to the north over the keel, because he was hard put to it to get wares. now on a day, when as grettir would keep about the north at doveness-path, he saw a man riding from the north over the keel; he was huge to behold on horseback, and had a good horse, and an embossed bridle well wrought; another horse he had in tow and bags thereon; this man had withal a slouched hat on his head, nor could his face be clearly seen. now grettir looked hard at the horse and the goods thereon, and went to meet the man, and greeting him asked his name, but he said he was called air. "i wot well what thou art called," said he, "for thou shalt be grettir the strong, the son of asmund. whither art thou bound?" "as to the place i have not named it yet," said grettir; "but as to my errand, it is to know if thou wilt lay down some of the goods thou farest with." said air, "why should i give thee mine own, or what wilt thou give me therefor?" grettir answers, "hast thou not heard that i take, and give no money again? and yet it seems to most men that i get what i will." said air, "give such choice as this to those who deem it good, but not thus will i give up what i have; let each of us go his own way." and therewithal he rode forth past grettir and spurred his horse. "nay, we part not so hastily," said grettir, and laid hold of the reins of air's horse in front of his hands, and held on with both hands. said air, "go thy ways, nought thou hast of me if i may hold mine own." "that will now be proven," said grettir. now air stretched his hands down the head-gear and laid hold of the reins betwixt grettir's hands and the snaffle-rings and dragged at them so hard that grettir's hands were drawn down along the reins, till air dragged all the bridle from him. grettir looked into the hollow of his hands, and saw that this man must have strength in claws rather than not, and he looked after him, and said, "whither art thou minded to fare?" air answered and sang-- "to the kettle's side now will i ride, where the waters fall from the great ice-wall; if thou hast mind there mayest thou find with little stone[ ] fist's land alone." [footnote : hall, a "stone": mund, is hand, and by periphrasis "land of fist"; so that hallmund is meant by this couplet, and that was the real name of "air," who is not a mere man, but a friendly spirit of the mountains.] grettir said, "it is of no avail to seek after thine abode if thou tellest of it no clearer than this." then air spake and sang-- "i would not hide where i abide, if thou art fain to see me again; from that lone weald, over burgfirth field, that ye men name balljokul, i came." thereat they parted, and grettir sees that he has no strength against this man; and therewithal he sang a stave-- "too far on this luckless day, atli, good at weapon-play, brisk illugi were from me; such-like oft i shall not be as i was, when i must stand with the reins drawn through my hand by the unflinching losel air. maids weep when they know i fear." thereafter grettir went to the south from the keel; and rode to hjalli and found skapti, and prayed for watch and ward from him. skapti said, "it is told me that thou farest somewhat lawlessly, and layest hand on other men's goods; and this beseems thee ill, great of kin as thou art. now all would make a better tale, if thou didst not rob and reive; but whereas i have to bear the name of lawman in the land, folk would not abide that i should take outlawed men to me, and break the laws thereby. i will that thou seek some place wherein thou wilt not have need to take men's goods from them." grettir said he would do even so, yet withal that he might scarcely be alone because he so feared the dark. skapti said that of that one thing then, which he deemed the best, he might not avail himself; "but put not such trust in any as to fare as thou didst in the westfirths; it has been many a man's bane that he has been too trustful." grettir thanked him for his wholesome redes, and so turned back to burgfirth in the autumn, and found grim thorhallson, his friend, and told him of skapti's counsels; so grim bade him fare north to fishwater lakes on ernewaterheath; and thus did he. chap. lv. <i>of grettir on ernewaterheath, and his dealings with grim there</i>. grettir went up to ernewaterheath and made there a hut for himself (whereof are yet signs left) and dwelt there, for now was he fain to do anything rather than rob and reive; he got him nets and a boat and caught fish for his food; exceeding dreary he deemed it in the mountains, because he was so fearsome of the dark. but when other outlaws heard this, that grettir was come down there, many of them had a mind to see him, because they thought there was much avail of him. there was a man called grim, a northlander, who was an outlaw; with him the northlanders made a bargain that he should slay grettir, and promised him freedom and gifts of money, if he should bring it to pass; so he went to meet grettir, and prayed him to take him in. grettir answers, "i see not how thou art the more holpen for being with me, and troublous to heed are ye wood-folk; but ill i deem it to be alone, if other choice there were; but i will that such an one only be with me as shall do whatso work may befall." grim said he was of no other mind, and prayed hard that he might dwell there; then grettir let himself be talked round, and took him in; and he was there on into the winter, and watched grettir, but deemed it no little matter to set on him. grettir misdoubted him, and had his weapons by his side night and day, nor durst grim attack him while he was awake. but one morning whenas grim came in from fishing, he went into the hut and stamped with his foot, and would know whether grettir slept, but he started in nowise, but lay still; and the short-sword hung up over grettir's head. now grim thought that no better chance would happen, so he made a great noise, that grettir might chide him, therefore, if he were awake, but that befell not. now he thought that grettir must surely be asleep, so he went stealthily up to the bed and reached out for the short-sword, and took it down, and unsheathed it. but even therewith grettir sprang up on to the floor, and caught the short-sword just as the other raised it aloft, and laid the other hand on grim betwixt the shoulders, and cast him down with such a fall, that he was well-nigh stunned; "ah, such hast thou shown thyself," said he, "though thou wouldest give me good hope of thee." then he had a true story from him, and thereafter slew him. and now grettir deemed he saw what it was to take in wood-folk, and so the winter wore; and nothing grettir thought to be of more trouble than his dread of the dark. chap. lvi. <i>of grettir and thorir redbeard</i>. now thorir of garth heard where grettir had set himself down, and was fain to set afoot some plot whereby he might be slain. there was a man called thorir redbeard; he was the biggest of men, and a great man-slayer, and therefore was he made outlaw throughout the land. thorir of garth sent word to him, and when they met he bade him go on an errand of his, and slay grettir the strong. redbeard said that was no easy task, and that grettir was a wise man and a wary. thorir bade him make up his mind to this; "a manly task it is for so brisk a fellow as thou; but i shall bring thee out of thine outlawry, and therewithal give thee money enough." so by that counsel redbeard abode, and thorir told him how he should go about the winning of grettir. so thereafter he went round the land by the east, for thus he deemed his faring would be the less misdoubted; so he came to ernewaterheath when grettir had been there a winter. but when he met grettir, he prayed for winter dwelling at his hands. grettir answered, "i cannot suffer you often to play the like play with me that he did who came here last autumn, who bepraised me cunningly, and when he had been here a little while lay in wait for my life; now, therefore, i have no mind to run the risk any more of the taking in of wood-folk." thorir answered, "my mind goes fully with thine in that thou deemest ill of outlawed men: and thou wilt have heard tell of me as of a man-slayer and a misdoer, but not as of a doer of such foul deeds as to betray my master. now, <i>ill it is ill to be</i>, for many deem others to do after their own ways; nor should i have been minded to come hither, if i might have had a choice of better things; withal i deem we shall not easily be won while we stand together; thou mightest risk trying at first how thou likest me, and let me go my ways whenso thou markest ill faith in me." grettir answered, "once more then will i risk it, even with thee; but wot thou well, that if i misdoubt me of thee, that will be thy bane." thorir bade him do even so, and thereafter grettir received him, and found this, that he must have the strength of twain, what work soever he took in hand: he was ready for anything that grettir might set him to, and grettir need turn to nothing, nor had he found his life so good since he had been outlawed, yet was he ever so wary of himself that thorir never got a chance against him. thorir redbeard was with grettir on the heath for two winters, and now he began to loathe his life on the heath, and falls to thinking what deed he shall do that grettir will not see through; so one night in spring a great storm arose while they were asleep; grettir awoke therewith, and asked where was their boat. thorir sprang up, and ran down to the boat, and brake it all to pieces, and threw the broken pieces about here and there, so that it seemed as though the storm had driven them along. then he went into the hut, and called out aloud, "good things have not befallen us, my friend," said he; "for our boat is all broken to pieces, and the nets lie a long way out in the water." "go and bring them in then," said grettir, "for methinks it is with thy goodwill that the boat is broken." thorir answered, "among manly deeds swimming is the least handy to me, but most other deeds, i think, i may do against men who are not marvellous; thou mayest wot well enough that i was minded that thou shouldst not have to work while i abode here, and this i would not bid if it were in me to do it." then grettir arose and took his weapons, and went to the water-side. now the land was so wrought there that a ness ran into the water, and a great creek was on the other side, and the water was deep right up to the shore. now grettir spake: "swim off to the nets, and let me see how skilled a man thou art." "i told thee before," said thorir, "that i might not swim; and now i know not what is gone with thy manliness and daring." "well, the nets i may get in," said grettir, "but betray thou me not, since i trust in thee." said thorir, "deem me not to be so shamed and worthless." "thou wilt thyself prove thyself, what thou art," said grettir, and therewith he put off his clothes and weapons, and swam off for the nets. he swept them up together, and brought them to land, and cast them on to the bank; but when he was minded to come aland, then thorir caught up the short-sword and drew it hastily, and ran therewith swiftly on grettir, and smote at him as he set foot on the bank; but grettir fell on his back down into the water, and sank like a stone; and thorir stood gazing out on to the water, to keep him off from the shore if he came up again; but grettir dived and groped along the bottom as near as he might to the bank, so that thorir might not see him till he came into the creek at his back, and got aland; and thorir heeded him not, and felt nought till grettir heaved him up over his head, and cast him down so hard that the short-sword flew out of his hand; then grettir got hold of it and had no words with him, but smote off his head straightway, and this was the end of his life. but after this would grettir never take outlaws to him, yet hardly might he bear to be alone. chap. lvii. <i>how thorir of garth set on grettir on ernewaterheath</i>. at the althing thorir of garth heard of the slaying of thorir redbeard, and now he thought he saw that he had no light task to deal with; but such rede he took that he rode west over the lower heathlands from the thing with well-nigh eighty men, and was minded to go and take grettir's life: but when grim thorhallson knew thereof he sent grettir word and bade him beware of himself, so grettir ever took heed to the goings of men. but one day he saw many men riding who took the way to his abode; so he ran into a rift in the rocks, nor would he flee because he had not seen all the strength of those folk. then up came thorir and all his men, and bade them smite grettir's head from his body, and said that the ill-doer's life would be had cheaply now. grettir answered, "<i>though the spoon has taken it up, yet the mouth has had no sup</i>. from afar have ye come, and marks of the game shall some have ere we part." then thorir egged on his men busily to set on him; but the pass was narrow, and he could defend it well from one side; yet hereat he marvelled, that howsoever they went round to the back of him, yet no hurt he got thereby; some fell of thorir's company, and some were wounded, but nothing might they do. then said thorir, "oft have i heard that grettir is a man of marvel before all others for prowess and good heart, but never knew i that he was so wise a wizard as now i behold him; for half as many again fall at his back as fall before him; lo, now we have to do with trolls and no men." so he bid them turn away and they did so. grettir marvelled how that might be, for withal he was utterly foredone. thorir and his men turn away and ride toward the north country, and men deemed their journey to be of the shame fullest; eighteen men had they left there and many were wounded withal. now grettir went up into the pass, and found there one great of growth, who sat leaning against the rock and was sore wounded. grettir asked him of his name, and he said he was hight hallmund. "and this i will tell thee to know me by, that thou didst deem me to have a good hold of the reins that summer when we met on the keel; now, methinks, i have paid thee back therefor." "yea, in sooth," said grettir, "i deem that thou hast shown great manliness toward me; whenso i may, i will reward thee." hallmund said, "but now i will that thou come to my abode, for thou must e'en think time drags heavily here on the heaths." grettir said he was fain thereof; and now they fare both together south under balljokul, and there had hallmund a huge cave, and a daughter great of growth and of high mind; there they did well to grettir, and the woman healed the wounds of both of them, and grettir dwelt long there that summer, and a lay he made on hallmund, wherein is this-- "wide and high doth hallmund stride in the hollow mountain side." and this stave also is therein-- "at ernewater, one by one, stole the swords forth in the sun, eager for the road of death swept athwart by sharp spears' breath; many a dead wellwharfer's lands that day gave to other hands. hallmund, dweller in the cave, grettir's life that day did save." men say that grettir slew six men in that meeting, but hallmund twelve. now as the summer wore grettir yearned for the peopled country, to see his friends and kin; hallmund bade him visit him when he came to the south country again, and grettir promised him so to do; then he went west to burgfirth, and thence to the broadfirth dales, and sought counsel of thorstein kuggson as to where he should now seek for protection, but thorstein said that his foes were now so many that few would harbour him; "but thou mightest fare south to the marshes and see what fate abides thee there." so in the autumn grettir went south to the marshes. chap. lviii. <i>grettir in fairwoodfell</i>. in those days dwelt at holm biorn the hitdale-champion, who was the son of arngeir, the son of berse the godless, the son of balk, who settled ramfirth as is aforesaid; biorn was a great chief and a hardy man, and would ever harbour outlawed men. now grettir came to holm, and biorn gave him good cheer, for there had been friendship between the earlier kin of both of them; so grettir asked if he would give him harbourage; but biorn said that he had got to himself so many feuds through all the land that men would shun harbouring him so long as to be made outlaws therefor: "but some gain will i be to thee, if thou lettest those men dwell in peace who are under my ward, whatsoever thou dost by other men in the country-side." grettir said yea thereto. then said biorn, "well, i have thought over it, and in that mountain, which stretches forth outside of hitriver, is a stead good for defence, and a good hiding-place withal, if it be cunningly dealt with; for there is a hollow through the mountain, that is seen from the way below; for the highway lies beneath it, but above is a slip of sand and stones so exceeding steep, that few men may come up there if one hardy man stand on his defence above in the lair. now this seems to me the best rede for thee, and the one thing worth talking of for thine abode, because, withal, it is easy to go thence and get goods from the marshes, and right away to the sea." grettir said that he would trust in his foresight if he would give him any help. then he went up to fairwoodfell and made his abode there; he hung grey wadmal before the hole in the mountain, and from the way below it was like to behold as if one saw through. now he was wont to ride for things needful through the country-side, and men deemed a woful guest had come among them whereas he went. thord kolbeinson dwelt at hitness in those days, and a good skald he was; at that time was there great enmity betwixt him and biorn; and biorn was but half loth, though grettir wrought some ill on thord's men or his goods. grettir was ever with biorn, and they tried their skill in many sports, and it is shown in the story of biorn that they were deemed equal in prowess, but it is the mind of most that grettir was the strongest man ever known in the land, since orm the son of storolf, and thoralf the son of skolm, left off their trials of strength. grettir and biorn swam in one spell all down hitriver, from the lake right away to the sea: they brought those stepping-stones into the river that have never since been washed away either by floods, or the drift of ice, or glacier slips. so grettir abode in fairwoodfell for one winter, in such wise, that none set on him, though many lost their goods at his hands and could do nought therefor, for a good place for defence he had, and was ever good friend to those nighest to him. chap. lix. <i>gisli's meeting with grettir</i>. there was a man hight gisli, the son of that thorstein whom snorri godi had slain. gisli was a big man and strong, a man showy in weapons and clothes, who made much of himself, and was somewhat of a self-praiser; he was a seafaring man, and came one summer out to whiteriver, whenas grettir had been a winter on the fell. thord, son of kolbein, rode to his ship, and gisli gave him good welcome, and bade him take of his wares whatso he would; thereto thord agreed, and then they fell to talk one with the other, and gisli said: "is that true which is told me, that ye have no counsel that avails to rid you of a certain outlaw who is doing you great ill?" thord said, "we have not tried aught on him yet, but to many he seems a man hard to deal with, and that has been proven on many a man." "it is like, methinks, that you should find biorn a heavy trouble, if ye may not drive away this man: luckless it is for you withal, that i shall be too far off this winter to better matters for you." "thou wilt be better pleased to deal with him by hearsay." "nay, no need to tell me of grettir," said gisli; "i have borne harder brunts when i was in warfare along with king knut the mighty, and west over the sea, and i was ever thought to hold my own; and if i should have a chance at him i would trust myself and my weapons well enough." thord said he would not work for nought if he prevailed against grettir; "for there is more put upon his head than on the head of any other of wood-folk; six marks of silver it was; but last summer thorir of garth laid thereto yet three marks; and men deem he will have enough to do therefor whose lot it is to win it." "all things soever will men do for money," says gisli, "and we chapmen not the least; but now shall we keep this talk hushed up, for mayhap he will be the warier," says he, "if he come to know that i am with you against him: now i am minded to abide this winter at snowfellsness at wave-ridge. is his lair on my way at all? for he will not foresee this, nor shall i draw together many men against him." thord liked the plot well, he rode home therewith and held his peace about this; but now things went according to the saw, <i>a listening ear in the holt is anear</i>; men had been by at the talk betwixt thord and gisli, who were friends to biorn of hitdale, and they told him all from end to end; so when biorn and grettir met, biorn showed forth the whole matter to him, and said that now he might prove how he could meet a foe. "it would not be bad sport," said he, "if thou wert to handle him roughly, but to slay him not, if thou mightest do otherwise." grettir smiled thereat, but spake little. now at the folding time in the autumn grettir went down to flysia-wharf and got sheep for himself; he had laid hold on four wethers; but the bonders became ware of his ways and went after him; and these two things befell at the same time, that he got up under the fell-side, and that they came upon him, and would drive the sheep from him, yet bare they no weapon against him; they were six altogether, and stood thick in his path. now the sheep troubled him and he waxed wroth, and caught up two of those men, and cast them down over the hill-side, so that they lay stunned; and when the others saw that, they came on less eagerly; then grettir took up the sheep and locked them together by the horns, and threw them over his shoulders, two on each side, and went up into his lair. so the bonders turned back, and deemed they had got but ill from him, and their lot misliked them now worse than before. now gisli abode at his ship through the autumn till it was rolled ashore. many things made him abide there, so he was ready late, and rode away but a little before winter-nights. then he went from the south, and guested under raun on the south side of hitriver. in the morning, before he rode thence, he began a talk with his fellows: "now shall we ride in coloured clothes to-day, and let the outlaw see that we are not like other wayfarers who are drifted about here day by day." so this they did, and they were three in all: but when they came west over the river, he spake again to them: "here in these bents, i am told, lurks the outlaw, and no easy way is there up to him; but may it not perchance seem good to him to come and meet us and behold our array?" they said that it was ever his wont so to do. now that morning grettir had risen early in his lair; the weather was cold and frosty, and snow had fallen, but not much of it. he saw how three men rode from the south over hitriver, and their state raiment glittered and their inlaid shields. then it came into his mind who these should be, and he deems it would be good for him to get some rag of their array; and he was right wishful withal to meet such braggarts: so he catches up his weapons and runs down the slip-side. and when gisli heard the clatter of the stones, he spake thus: "there goes a man down the hill-side, and somewhat big he is, and he is coming to meet us: now, therefore, let us go against him briskly, for here is good getting come to hand." his fellows said that this one would scarce run into their very hands, if he knew not his might; "and good it is that <i>he bewail who brought the woe</i>." so they leapt off their horses, and therewith grettir came up to them, and laid hands on a clothes-bag that gisli had tied to his saddle behind him, and said-- "this will i have, for oft i lowt for little things." gisli answers, "nay, it shall not be; dost thou know with whom thou hast to do?" says grettir, "i am not very clear about that; nor will i have much respect for persons, since i am lowly now, and ask for little." "mayhap thou thinkest it little," says he, "but i had rather pay down thirty hundreds; but robbery and wrong are ever uppermost in thy mind methinks; so on him, good fellows, and let see what he may do." so did they, and grettir gave back before them to a stone which stands by the way and is called grettir's-heave, and thence defended himself; and gisli egged on his fellows eagerly; but grettir saw now that he was no such a hardy heart as he had made believe, for he was ever behind his fellows' backs; and withal he grew aweary of this fulling business, and swept round the short-sword, and smote one of gisli's fellows to the death, and leaped down from the stone, and set on so fiercely, that gisli shrank aback before him all along the hill-side: there gisli's other fellow was slain, and then grettir spake: "little is it seen in thee that thou hast done well wide in the world, and in ill wise dost thou part from thy fellows." gisli answers, "<i>hottest is the fire that lies on oneself--with hell's-man are dealings ill</i>." then they gave and took but a little, before gisli cast away his weapons, and took to his heels out along the mountain. grettir gave him time to cast off whatso he would, and every time gisli saw a chance for it he threw off somewhat of his clothes; and grettir never followed him so close but that there was still some space betwixt them. gisli ran right past that mountain and then across coldriver-dale, and then through aslaug's-lithe and above by kolbeinstead, and then out into burgh-lava; and by then was he in shirt and breech alone, and was now exceeding weary. grettir still followed after him, and there was ever a stone's throw between them; and now he pulled up a great bush. but gisli made no stay till he came out at haf-firth-river, and it was swollen with ice and ill to ford; gisli made straightway for the river, but grettir ran in on him and seized him, and then the strength of either was soon known: grettir drave him down under him, and said, "art thou that gisli who would fain meet grettir asmundson?" gisli answers, "i have found him now, in good sooth, nor do i know in what wise we shall part: keep that which thou hast got, and let me go free." grettir said, "nay, thou art scarce deft enow to learn what i have to teach thee, so needs must i give thee somewhat to remember it by." therewith he pulls the shirt up over his head and let the twigs go all down his back, and along both sides of him, and gisli strove all he might to wriggle away from him; but grettir flogged him through and through, and then let him go; and gisli thought he would learn no more of grettir and have such another flogging withal; nor did he ever again earn the like skin-rubbing. but when he got his legs under him again, he ran off unto a great pool in the river, and swam it, and came by night to a farm called horseholt, and utterly foredone he was by then. there he lay a week with his body all swollen, and then fared to his abode. grettir turned back, and took up the things gisli had cast down, and brought them to his place, nor from that time forth gat gisli aught thereof. many men thought gisli had his due herein for the noise and swagger he had made about himself; and grettir sang this about their dealings together-- "in fighting ring where steed meets steed, the sluggish brute of mongrel breed, certes will shrink back nothing less before the stallion's dauntlessness, than gisli before me to-day; as, casting shame and clothes away, and sweating o'er the marsh with fear, he helped the wind from mouth and rear." the next spring gisli got ready to go to his ship, and bade men above all things beware of carrying aught of his goods south along the mountain, and said that the very fiend dwelt there. gisli rode south along the sea all the way to his ship, and never met grettir again; and now he is out of the story. but things grew worse between thord kolbeinson and grettir, and thord set on foot many a plot to get grettir driven away or slain. chap. lx. <i>of the fight at hitriver</i>. when grettir had been two winters at fairwoodfell, and the third was now come, he fared south to the marshes, to the farm called brook-bow, and had thence six wethers against the will of him who owned them. then he went to acres and took away two neat for slaughtering, and many sheep, and then went up south of hitriver. but when the bonders were ware of his ways, they sent word to thord at hitness, and bade him take in hand the slaying of grettir; but he hung back, yet for the prayers of men got his son arnor, who was afterwards called earls' skald, to go with them, and bade them withal to take heed that grettir escaped not. then were men sent throughout all the country-side. there was a man called biarni, who dwelt at jorvi in flysia-wharf, and he gathered men together from without hitriver; and their purpose was that a band should be on either bank of the river. now grettir had two men with him; a man called eyolf, the son of the bonder at fairwood, and a stout man; and another he had besides. first came up thorarin of acres and thorfinn of brook-bow, and there were nigh twenty men in their company. then was grettir fain to make westward across the river, but therewith came up on the west side thereof arnor and biarni. a narrow ness ran into the water on the side whereas grettir stood; so he drave the beasts into the furthermost parts of the ness, when he saw the men coming up, for never would he give up what he had once laid his hands on. now the marsh-men straightway made ready for an onslaught, and made themselves very big; grettir bade his fellows take heed that none came at his back; and not many men could come on at once. now a hard fight there was betwixt them, grettir smote with the short-sword with both hands, and no easy matter it was to get at him; some of the marsh-men fell, and some were wounded; those on the other side of the river were slow in coming up, because the ford was not very near, nor did the fight go on long before they fell off; thorarin of acres was a very old man, so that he was not at this onslaught. but when this fight was over, then came up thrand, son of thorarin, and thorgils ingialdson, the brother's son of thorarin, and finnbogi, son of thorgeir thorhaddson of hitdale, and steinulf thorleifson from lavadale; these egged on their men eagerly to set on, and yet another fierce onslaught they made. now grettir saw that he must either flee or spare himself nought; and now he went forth so fiercely that none might withstand him; because they were so many that he saw not how he might escape, but that he did his best before he fell; he was fain withal that the life of such an one as he deemed of some worth might be paid for his life; so he ran at steinulf of lavadale, and smote him on the head and clave him down to the shoulders, and straightway with another blow smote thorgils ingialdson in the midst and well-nigh cut him asunder; then would thrand run forth to revenge his kinsman, but grettir smote him on the right thigh, so that the blow took off all the muscle, and straightway was he unmeet for fight; and thereafter withal a great wound grettir gave to finnbogi. then thorarin cried out and bade them fall back, "for the longer ye fight the worse ye will get of him, and he picks out men even as he willeth from your company." so did they, and turned away; and there had ten men fallen, and five were wounded to death, or crippled, but most of those who had been at that meeting had some hurt or other; grettir was marvellously wearied and yet but a little wounded. and now the marsh-men made off with great loss of men, for many stout fellows had fallen there. but those on the other side of the river fared slowly, and came not up till the meeting was all done; and when they saw how ill their men had fared, then arnor would not risk himself, and much rebuke he got therefor from his father and many others; and men are minded to think that he was no man of prowess. now that place where they fought is called grettir's-point to-day. chap. lxi. <i>how grettir left fairwoodfell, and of his abiding in thorir's-dale</i>. but grettir and his men took horse and rode up to the fell, for they were all wounded, and when they came to fairwood there was eyolf left; the farmer's daughter was out of doors, and asked for tidings; grettir told all as clearly as might be, and sang a stave withal-- "o thou warder of horn's wave, not on this side of the grave will steinulf s head be whole again; many more there gat their bane; little hope of thorgils now after that bone-breaking blow: eight gold-scatterers more they say, dead along the river lay." thereafter grettir went to his lair and sat there through the winter; but when he and biorn met, biorn said to him, that he deemed that much had been done; "and no peace thou wilt have here in the long run: now hast thou slain both kin and friends of mine, yet shall i not cast aside what i have promised thee whiles thou art here." grettir said he must needs defend his hands and life, "but ill it is if thou mislikest it." biorn said that things must needs be as they were. a little after came men to biorn who had lost kinsmen at grettir's hands, and bade him not to suffer that riotous man to abide there longer in their despite; and biorn said that it should be as they would as soon as the winter was over. now thrand, the son of thorarin of acres, was healed; a stout man he was, and had to wife steinun, daughter of rut of combeness; thorleif of lavadale, the father of steinulf, was a very mighty man, and from him are come the men of lavadale. now nought more is told of the dealings of grettir with the marsh-men while he was on the mountain; biorn still kept up his friendship with him, though his friends grew somewhat the fewer for that he let grettir abide there, because men took it ill that their kin should fall unatoned. at the time of the thing, grettir departed from the marsh-country, and went to burgfirth and found grim thorhallson, and sought counsel of him, as to what to do now. grim said he had no strength to keep him, therefore fared grettir to find hallmund his friend, and dwelt there that summer till it wore to its latter end. in the autumn grettir went to goatland, and waited there till bright weather came on; then he went up to goatland jokul, and made for the south-east, and had with him a kettle, and tools to strike fire withal. but men deem that he went there by the counsel of hallmund, for far and wide was the land known of him. so grettir went on till he found a dale in the jokul, long and somewhat narrow, locked up by jokuls all about, in such wise that they overhung the dale. he came down somehow, and then he saw fair hill-sides grass-grown and set with bushes. hot springs there were therein, and it seemed to him that it was by reason of earth-fires that the ice-cliffs did not close up over the vale. a little river ran along down the dale, with level shores on either side thereof. there the sun came but seldom; but he deemed he might scarcely tell over the sheep that were in that valley, so many they were; and far better and fatter than any he had ever seen. now grettir abode there, and made himself a hut of such wood as he could come by. he took of the sheep for his meat, and there was more on one of them than on two elsewhere: one ewe there was, brown with a polled head, with her lamb, that he deemed the greatest beauty for her goodly growth. he was fain to take the lamb, and so he did, and thereafter slaughtered it: three stone of suet there was in it, but the whole carcase was even better. but when brownhead missed her lamb, she went up on grettir's hut every night, and bleated in suchwise that he might not sleep anight, so that it misliked him above all things that he had slaughtered the lamb, because of her troubling. but every evening at twilight he heard some one hoot up in the valley, and then all the sheep ran together to one fold every evening. so grettir says, that a half-troll ruled over the valley, a giant hight thorir, and in trust of his keeping did grettir abide there; by him did grettir name the valley, calling it thorir's-dale. he said withal that thorir had daughters, with whom he himself had good game, and that they took it well, for not many were the new-comers thereto; but when fasting time was, grettir made this change therein, that fat and livers should be eaten in lent. now nought happed to be told of through the winter. at last grettir found it so dreary there, that he might abide there no longer: then he gat him gone from the valley, and went south across the jokul, and came from the north, right against the midst of shieldbroadfell. he raised up a flat stone and bored a hole therein, and said that whoso put his eye to the hole in that stone should straightway behold the gulf of the pass that leads from thorir's-vale. so he fared south through the land, and thence to the eastfirths; and in this journey he was that summer long, and the winter, and met all the great men there, but somewhat ever thrust him aside that nowhere got he harbouring or abode; then he went back by the north, and dwelt at sundry places. chap. lxii. <i>of the death of hallmund, grettir's friend</i>. a little after grettir had gone from ernewaterheath, there came a man thither, grim by name, the son of the widow at kropp. he had slain the son of eid skeggison of the ridge, and had been outlawed therefor; he abode whereas grettir had dwelt afore, and got much fish from the water. hallmund took it ill that he had come in grettir's stead, and was minded that he should have little good hap how much fish soever he caught. so it chanced on a day that grim had caught a hundred fish, and he bore them to his hut and hung them up outside, but the next morning when he came thereto they were all gone; that he deemed marvellous, and went to the water; and now he caught two hundred fish, went home and stored them up; and all went the same way, for they were all gone in the morning; and now he thought it hard to trace all to one spring. but the third day he caught three hundred fish, brought them home and watched over them from his shed, looking out through a hole in the door to see if aught might come anigh. thus wore the night somewhat, and when the third part of the night was gone by, he heard one going along outside with heavy footfalls; and when he was ware thereof, he took an axe that he had, the sharpest of weapons, for he was fain to know what this one was about; and he saw that the new-comer had a great basket on his back. now he set it down, and peered about, and saw no man abroad; he gropes about to the fishes, and deems he has got a good handful, and into the basket he scoops them one and all; then is the basket full, but the fishes were so big that grim thought that no horse might bear more. now he takes them up and puts himself under the load, and at that very point of time, when he was about to stand upright, grim ran out, and with both hands smote at his neck, so that the axe sank into the shoulder; thereat he turned off sharp, and set off running with the basket south over the mountain. grim turned off after him, and was fain to know if he had got enough. they went south all the way to balljokul, and there this man went into a cave; a bright fire burnt in the cave, and thereby sat a woman, great of growth, but shapely withal. grim heard how she welcomed her father, and called him hallmund. he cast down his burden heavily, and groaned aloud; she asked him why he was all covered with blood, but he answered and sang-- "now know i aright, that in man's might, and in man's bliss, no trust there is; on the day of bale shall all things fail; courage is o'er, luck mocks no more." she asked him closely of their dealings, but he told her all even as it had befallen. "now shall thou hearken," said he, "for i shall tell of my deeds and sing a song thereon, and thou shall cut it on a staff as i give it out." so she did, and he sung hallmund's song withal, wherein is this-- "when i drew adown the bridle brown grettir's hard hold, men deemed me bold; long while looked then the brave of men in his hollow hands, the harm of lands. "then came the day of thorir's play on ernelakeheath, when we from death our life must gain; alone we twain with eighty men must needs play then. "good craft enow did grettir show on many a shield in that same field; natheless i hear that my marks were the deepest still; the worst to fill. "those who were fain his back to gain lost head and hand, till of the band, from the well-wharf-side, must there abide eighteen behind that none can find. "with the giant's kin have i oft raised din; to the rock folk have i dealt out stroke; ill things could tell that i smote full well; the half-trolls know my baneful blow. "small gain in me did the elf-folk see, or the evil wights who ride anights." many other deeds of his did hallmund sing in that song, for he had fared through all the land. then spake his daughter, "a man of no slippery hand was that; nor was it unlike that this should hap, for in evil wise didst thou begin with him: and now what man will avenge thee?" hallmund answered, "it is not so sure to know how that may be; but, methinks, i know that grettir would avenge me if he might come thereto; but no easy matter will it be to go against the luck of this man, for much greatness lies stored up for him." thereafter so much did hallmund's might wane as the song wore, that well-nigh at one while it befell that the song was done and hallmund dead; then she grew very sad and wept right sore. then came grim forth and bade her be of better cheer, "<i>for all must fare when they are fetched</i>. this has been brought about by his own deed, for i could scarce look on while he robbed me." she said he had much to say for it, "<i>for ill deed gains ill hap</i>." now as they talked she grew of better cheer, and grim abode many nights in the cave, and got the song by heart, and things went smoothly betwixt them. grim abode at ernewaterheath all the winter after hallmund's death, and thereafter came thorkel eyulfson to meet him on the heath, and they fought together; but such was the end of their play that grim might have his will of thorkel's life, and slew him not. so thorkel took him to him, and got him sent abroad and gave him many goods; and therein either was deemed to have done well to the other. grim betook himself to seafaring, and a great tale is told of him. chap. lxiii. <i>how grettir beguiled thorir of garth when he was nigh taking him</i>. now the story is to be taken up where grettir came from the firths of the east-country; and now he fared with hidden-head for that he would not meet thorir, and lay out that summer on madderdale-heath and in sundry places, and at whiles he was at reek-heath. thorir heard that grettir was at reek-heath, so he gathered men and rode to the heath, and was well minded that grettir should not escape this time. now grettir was scarce aware of them before they were on him; he was just by a mountain-dairy that stood back a little from the wayside, and another man there was with him, and when he saw their band, speedy counsel must he take; so he bade that they should fell the horses and drag them into the dairy shed, and so it was done. then thorir rode north over the heath by the dairy, and <i>missed friend from stead</i>, for he found nought, and so turned back withal. but when his band had ridden away west, then said grettir, "they will not deem their journey good if we be not found; so now shall thou watch our horses while i go meet them, a fair play would be shown them if they knew me not." his fellow strove to let him herein, yet he went none-the-less, and did on him other attire, with a slouched hat over his face and a staff in his hand, then he went in the way before them. they greeted him and asked if he had seen any men riding over the heath. "those men that ye seek have i seen; but little was wanting e'ennow but that ye found them, for there they were, on the south of yon bogs to the left." now when they heard that, off they galloped out on to the bogs, but so great a mire was there that nohow could they get on, and had to drag their horses out, and were wallowing there the more part of the day; and they gave to the devil withal the wandering churl who had so befooled them. but grettir turned back speedily to meet his fellow, and when they met he sang this stave-- "now make i no battle-field with the searching stems of shield. rife with danger is my day, and alone i go my way: nor shall i go meet, this tide, odin's storm, but rather bide whatso fate i next may have; scarce, then, shall thou deem me brave. "thence where thorir's company thronging ride, i needs must flee; if with them i raised the din, little thereby should i win; brave men's clashing swords i shun, woods must hide the hunted one; for through all things, good and ill, unto life shall i hold still." now they ride at their swiftest west over the heath and forth by the homestead at garth, before ever thorir came from the wilderness with his band; and when they drew nigh to the homestead a man fell in with them who knew them not. then saw they how a woman, young and grand of attire, stood without, so grettir asked who that woman would be. the new-comer said that she was thorir's daughter. then grettir sang this stave-- "o wise sun of golden stall, when thy sire comes back to hall, thou mayst tell him without sin this, though little lies therein, that thou saw'st me ride hereby, with but two in company, past the door of skeggi's son, nigh his hearth, o glittering one." hereby the new-comer thought he knew who this would be, and he rode to peopled parts and told how grettir had ridden by. so when thorir came home, many deemed that grettir had done the bed well over their heads. but thorir set spies on grettir's ways, whereso he might be. grettir fell on such rede that he sent his fellow to the west country with his horses; but he went up to the mountains and was in disguised attire, and fared about north there in the early winter, so that he was not known. but all men deemed that thorir had got a worse part than before in their dealings together. chap. lxiv. <i>of the ill haps at sand-heaps, and how guest came to the goodwife there</i>. there was a priest called stein, who dwelt at isledale-river, in bard-dale; he was good at husbandry and rich in beasts; his son was kiartan, a brisk man and a well grown. thorstein the white was the name of him who dwelt at sand-heaps, south of isledale-river; his wife was called steinvor, a young woman and merry-hearted, and children they had, who were young in those days. but that place men deemed much haunted by the goings of trolls. now it befell two winters before grettir came into the north country that steinvor the goodwife of sand-heaps fared at yule-tide to the stead of isledale-river according to her wont, but the goodman abode at home. men lay down to sleep in the evening, but in the night they heard a huge crashing about the bonder's bed; none durst arise and see thereto, for very few folk were there. in the morning the goodwife came home, but the goodman was gone, and none knew what had become of him. now the next year wears through its seasons, but the winter after the goodwife would fain go to worship, and bade her house-carle abide behind at home; thereto was he loth, but said nathless that she must rule; so all went the same way and the house-carle vanished; and marvellous men deemed it; but folk saw certain stains of blood about the outer door; therefore they deemed it sure that an evil wight had taken them both. now that was heard of wide through the country-side, and grettir withal was told thereof; so he took his way to bard-dale, and came to sand-heaps at yule-eve, and made stay there, and called himself guest. the goodwife saw that he was marvellous great of growth, but the home-folk were exceeding afeard of him; he prayed for guesting there; the mistress said that there was meat ready for him, "but as to thy safety see to that thyself." he said that so he should do: "here will i abide, but thou shalt go to worship if thou wilt." she answered, "meseems thou art a brave man if thou durst abide at home here." "<i>for one thing alone will i not be known</i>," said he. she said, "i have no will to abide at home, but i may not cross the river." "i will go with thee," says guest. then she made her ready for worship, and her little daughter with her. it thawed fast abroad, and the river was in flood, and therein was the drift of ice great: then said the goodwife, "no way across is there either for man or horse." "nay, there will be fords there," said guest, "be not afeard." "carry over the little maiden first," said the goodwife; "she is the lightest." "i am loth to make two journeys of it," said guest, "i will bear thee in my arms." she crossed herself, and said, "this will not serve; what wilt thou do with the maiden?" "a rede i see for that," said he, and therewith caught them both up, and laid the little one in her mother's lap, and set both of them thus on his left arm, but had his right free; and so he took the ford withal, nor durst they cry out, so afeard were they. now the river took him up to his breast forthwith, and a great ice-floe drave against him, but he put forth the hand that was free and thrust it from him; then it grew so deep, that the stream broke on his shoulder; but he waded through it stoutly, till he came to the further shore, and there cast them aland: then he turned back, and it was twilight already by then he came home to sand-heaps, and called for his meat. so when he was fulfilled, he bade the home-folk go into the chamber; then he took boards and loose timber, and dragged it athwart the chamber, and made a great bar, so that none of the home-folk might come thereover: none durst say aught against him, nor would any of them make the least sound. the entrance to the hall was through the side wall by the gable, and dais was there within; there guest lay down, but did not put off his clothes, and light burned in the chamber over against the door: and thus guest lay till far on in the night. the goodwife came to isledale-river at church-time, and men marvelled how she had crossed the river; and she said she knew not whether a man or a troll had brought her over. the priest said he was surely a man, though a match for few; "but let us hold our peace hereon," he said; "maybe he is chosen for the bettering of thy troubles." so the goodwife was there through the night. chap. lxv. <i>of guest and the troll-wife</i>. now it is to be told of guest, that when it drew towards midnight, he heard great din without, and thereafter into the hall came a huge troll-wife, with a trough in one hand and a chopper wondrous great in the other; she peered about when she came in, and saw where guest lay, and ran at him; but he sprang up to meet her, and they fell a-wrestling terribly, and struggled together for long in the hall. she was the stronger, but he gave back with craft, and all that was before them was broken, yea, the cross-panelling withal of the chamber. she dragged him out through the door, and so into the outer doorway, and then he betook himself to struggling hard against her. she was fain to drag him from the house, but might not until they had broken away all the fittings of the outer door, and borne them out on their shoulders: then she laboured away with him down towards the river, and right down to the deep gulfs. by then was guest exceeding weary, yet must he either gather his might together, or be cast by her into the gulf. all night did they contend in such wise; never, he deemed, had he fought with such a horror for her strength's sake; she held him to her so hard that he might turn his arms to no account save to keep fast hold on the middle of the witch. but now when they came on to the gulf of the river, he gives the hag a swing round, and therewith got his right hand free, and swiftly seized the short-sword that he was girt withal, and smote the troll therewith on the shoulder, and struck off her arm; and therewithal was he free, but she fell into the gulf and was carried down the force. then was guest both stiff and weary, and lay there long on the rocks, then he went home, as it began to grow light, and lay down in bed, and all swollen and blue he was. but when the goodwife came from church, she thought her house had been somewhat roughly handled: so she went to guest and asked what had happed that all was broken and down-trodden. he told her all as it had befallen: she deemed these things imported much, and asked him what man he was in good sooth. so he told her the truth, and prayed that the priest might be fetched, for that he would fain see him: and so it was done. but when stein the priest came to sand-heaps, he knew forthwith, that thither was come grettir asmundson, under the name of guest. so the priest asked what he deemed had become of those men who had vanished; and grettir said that he thought they would have gone into the gulf: the priest said that he might not trow that, if no signs could be seen thereof: then said grettir that later on that should be known more thoroughly. so the priest went home. grettir lay many nights a-bed, and the mistress did well to him, and so yule-tide wore. now grettir's story is that the troll-wife cast herself into the gulf when she got her wound; but the men of bard-dale say that day dawned on her, while they wrestled, and that she burst, when he cut the arm from her; and that there she stands yet on the cliff, a rock in the likeness of a woman. now the dale-dwellers kept grettir in hiding there; but in the winter after yule, grettir fared to isledale-river, and when he met the priest, he said, "well, priest, i see that thou hadst little faith in my tale; now will i, that thou go with me to the river, and see what likelihood there is of that tale being true." so the priest did; and when they came to the force-side, they saw a cave up under the cliff; a sheer rock that cliff was, so great that in no place might man come up thereby, and well-nigh fifty fathoms was it down to the water. now they had a rope with them, but the priest said: "a risk beyond all measure, i deem it to go down here." "nay," said grettir, "it is to be done, truly, but men of the greatest prowess are meetest therefor: now will i know what is in the force, but thou shall watch the rope." the priest bade him follow his own rede, and drave a peg down into the sward on the cliff, and heaped stones up over it, and sat thereby. chap. lxvi. <i>of the dweller in the cave under the force</i>. now it is to be told of grettir that he set a stone in a bight of the rope and let it sink down into the water. "in what wise hast thou mind to go?" said the priest. "i will not go bound into the force," said grettir; "such things doth my heart forebode." with that he got ready for his journey, and was lightly clad, and girt with the short-sword, and had no weapon more. then he leapt off the cliff into the force; the priest saw the soles of his feet, and knew not afterwards what was become of him. but grettir dived under the force, and hard work it was, because the whirlpool was strong, and he had to dive down to the bottom, before he might come up under the force. but thereby was a rock jutting out, and thereon he gat; a great cave was under the force, and the river fell over it from the sheer rocks. he went up into the cave, and there was a great fire flaming from amidst of brands; and there he saw a giant sitting withal, marvellously great and dreadful to look on. but when grettir came anigh, the giant leapt up and caught up a glaive and smote at the new-comer, for with that glaive might a man both cut and thrust; a wooden shaft it had, and that fashion of weapon men called then, heft-sax. grettir hewed back against him with the short-sword, and smote the shaft so that he struck it asunder; then was the giant fain to stretch aback for a sword that hung up there in the cave; but therewithal grettir smote him afore into the breast, and smote off well-nigh all the breast bone and the belly, so that the bowels tumbled out of him and fell into the river, and were driven down along the stream; and as the priest sat by the rope, he saw certain fibres all covered with blood swept down the swirls of the stream; then he grew unsteady in his place, and thought for sure that grettir was dead, so he ran from the holding of the rope, and gat him home. thither he came in the evening and said, as one who knew it well, that grettir was dead, and that great scathe was it of such a man. now of grettir must it be told that he let little space go betwixt his blows or ever the giant was dead; then he went up the cave, and kindled a light and espied the cave. the story tells not how much he got therein, but men deem that it must have been something great. but there he abode on into the night; and he found there the bones of two men, and bore them together in a bag; then he made off from the cave and swam to the rope and shook it, and thought that the priest would be there yet; but when he knew that the priest had gone home, then must he draw himself up by strength of hand, and thus he came up out on to the cliff. then he fared home to isledale-river, and brought into the church porch the bag with the bones, and therewithal a rune-staff whereon this song was marvellous well cut-- "there into gloomy gulf i passed, o'er which from the rock's throat is cast the swirling rush of waters wan, to meet the sword-player feared of man. by giant's hall the strong stream pressed cold hands against the singer's breast; huge weight upon him there did hurl the swallower of the changing whirl." and this other one withal-- "the dreadful dweller of the cave great strokes and many 'gainst me drave; full hard he had to strive for it, but toiling long he wan no whit; for from its mighty shaft of tree the heft-sax smote i speedily; and dulled the flashing war-flame fair in the black breast that met me there." herein was it said how that grettir had brought those bones from the cave; but when the priest came to the church in the morning he found the staff and that which went with it, but grettir was gone home to sand-heaps. chap. lxvii. <i>grettir driven from sand-heaps to the west</i>. but when the priest met grettir he asked him closely about what had happed; so he told him all the tale of his doings, and said withal that the priest had been unfaithful to him in the matter of the rope-holding; and the priest must needs say that so it was. now men deemed they could see that these evil wights had wrought the loss of the men there in the dale; nor had folk hurt ever after from aught haunting the valley, and grettir was thought to have done great deeds for the cleansing of the land. so the priest laid those bones in earth in the churchyard. but grettir abode at sand-heaps the winter long, and was hidden there from all the world. but when thorir of garth heard certain rumours of grettir being in bard-dale, he sent men for his head; then men gave him counsel to get him gone therefrom, so he took his way to the west. now when he came to maddervales to gudmund the rich, he prayed gudmund for watch and ward; but gudmund said he might not well keep him. "but that only is good for thee," said he, "to set thee down there, whereas thou shouldst have no fear of thy life." grettir said he wotted not where such a place might be. gudmund said, "an isle there lies in skagafirth called drangey; so good a place for defence it is, that no man may come thereon unless ladders be set thereto. if thou mightest get there, i know for sure that no man who might come against thee, could have good hope while thou wert on the top thereof, of overcoming thee, either by weapons or craft, if so be thou shouldst watch the ladders well." "that shall be tried," said grettir, "but so fearsome of the dark am i grown, that not even for the keeping of my life may i be alone." gudmund said, "well, that may be; but trust no man whatsoever so much as not to trust thyself better; for many men are hard to see through." grettir thanked him for his wholesome redes, and then fared away from maddervales, nor made stay before he came to biarg; there his mother and illugi his brother welcomed him joyfully, and he abode there certain nights. there he heard of the slaying of thorstein kuggson, which had befallen the autumn before grettir went to bard-dale; and he deemed therewithal that felling went on fast enough. then grettir rode south to holtbeacon-heath, and was minded to avenge hallmund if he might meet grim; but when he came to northriverdale, he heard that grim had been gone two winters ago, as is aforesaid; but grettir had heard so late of these tidings because he had gone about disguised those two winters, and the third winter he had been in thorirs-dale, and had seen no man who might tell him any news. then he betook himself to the broadfirth-dales, and dwelt in eastriverdale, and lay in wait for folk who fared over steep-brent; and once more he swept away with the strong hand the goods of the small bonders. this was about the height of summer-tide. now when the summer was well worn, steinvor of sand-heaps bore a man-child, who was named skeggi; he was first fathered on kiartan, the son of stein, the priest of isle-dale-river. skeggi was unlike unto his kin because of his strength and growth, but when he was fifteen winters old he was the strongest man in the north-country, and was then known as grettir's son; men deemed he would be a marvel among men, but he died when he was seventeen years of age, and no tale there is of him. chap. lxviii. <i>how thorod, the son of snorri godi, went against grettir</i>. after the slaying of thorstein kuggson, snorri godi would have little to do with his son thorod, or with sam, the son of bork the fat; it is not said what they had done therefor, unless it might be that they had had no will to do some great deed that snorri set them to; but withal snorri drave his son thorod away, and said he should not come back till he had slain some wood-dweller; and so must matters stand. so thorod went over to the dales; and at that time dwelt at broadlair-stead in sokkolfsdale a widow called geirlaug; a herdsman she kept, who had been outlawed for some onslaught; and he was a growing lad. now thorod snorrison heard thereof, and rode in to broadlair-stead, and asked where was the herdsman; the goodwife said that he was with the sheep. "what wilt thou have to do with him?" "his life will i have," says thorod, "because he is an outlaw, and a wood-wight." she answers, "no glory is it for such a great warrior as thou deemest thyself, to slay a mannikin like that; i will show thee a greater deed, if thine heart is so great that thou must needs try thyself." "well, and what deed?" says he. she answers, "up in the fell here, lies grettir asmundson; play thou with him, for such a game is more meet for thee." thorod took her talk well; "so shall it be," says he, and therewith he smote his horse with his spurs, and rode along the valley; and when he came to the hill below eastriver, he saw where was a dun horse, with his saddle on, and thereby a big man armed, so he turned thence to meet him. grettir greeted him, and asked who he was. thorod named himself, and said, "why askest thou not of my errand rather than of my name?" "why, because," said grettir, "it is like to be such as is of little weight: art thou son to snorri godi?" "yea, yea," says thorod; "but now shall we try which of us may do the most." "a matter easy to be known," says grettir; "hast thou not heard that i have ever been a treasure-hill that most men grope in with little luck?" "yea, i know it," said thorod; "yet must somewhat be risked." and now he drew his sword therewith and set on grettir eagerly; but grettir warded himself with his shield, but bore no weapon against thorod; and so things went awhile, nor was grettir wounded. at last he said, "let us leave this play, for thou wilt not have victory in our strife." but thorod went on dealing blows at his maddest. now grettir got aweary of dealing with him, and caught him and set him down by his side, and said-- "i may do with thee even as i will, nor do i fear that thou wilt ever be my bane; but the grey old carle, thy father, snorri, i fear in good sooth, and his counsels that have brought most men to their knees: and for thee, thou shouldst turn thy mind to such things alone as thou mayst get done, nor is it child's play to fight with me." but when thorod saw that he might bring nought to pass, he grew somewhat appeased, and therewithal they parted. thorod rode home to tongue and told his father of his dealings with grettir. snorri godi smiled thereat, and said, "<i>many a man lies hid within himself</i>, and far unlike were your doings; for thou must needs rush at him to slay him, and he might have done with thee even as he would. yet wisely has grettir done herein, that he slew thee not; for i should scarce have had a mind to let thee lie unavenged; but now indeed shall i give him aid, if i have aught to do with any of his matters." it was well seen of snorri, that he deemed grettir had done well to thorod, and he ever after gave his good word for grettir. chap. lxix. <i>how grettir took leave of his mother at biarg, and fared with illugi his brother to drangey</i>. grettir rode north to biarg a little after he parted with thorod, and lay hid there yet awhile; then so great grew his fear in the dark, that he durst go nowhere as soon as dusk set in. his mother bade him abide there, but said withal, that she saw that it would scarce avail him aught, since he had so many cases against him throughout all the land. grettir said that she should never have trouble brought on her for his sake. "but i shall no longer do so much for the keeping of my life," says he, "as to be alone." now illugi his brother was by that time about fifteen winters old, and the goodliest to look on of all men; and he overheard their talk together. grettir was telling his mother what rede gudmund the rich had given him, and now that he should try, if he had a chance, to get out to drangey, but he said withal, that he might not abide there, unless he might get some trusty man to be with him. then said illugi, "i will go with thee, brother, though i know not that i shall be of any help to thee, unless it be that i shall be ever true to thee, nor run from thee whiles thou standest up; and moreover i shall know more surely how thou farest if i am still in thy fellowship." grettir answered, "such a man thou art, that i am gladder in thee than in any other; and if it cross not my mother's mind, fain were i that thou shouldst fare with me." then said asdis, "now can i see that it has come to this, that two troubles lie before us: for meseems i may ill spare illugi, yet i know that so hard is thy lot, grettir, that thou must in somewise find rede therefor: and howsoever it grieves me, o my sons, to see you both turn your backs on me, yet thus much will i do, if grettir might thereby be somewhat more holpen than heretofore." hereat was illugi glad, for that he deemed it good to go with grettir. so she gave them much of her chattels, and they made them ready for their journey. asdis led them from out the garth, and before they parted she spake thus: "ah, my sons twain, there ye depart from me, and one death ye shall have together; for no man may flee from that which is wrought for him: on no day now shall i see either of you once again; let one fate be over you both, then; for i know not what weal ye go to get for yourselves in drangey, but there shall ye both lay your bones, and many will begrudge you that abiding place. keep ye heedfully from wiles, yet none the less there shall ye be bitten of the edge of the sword, for marvellously have my dreams gone: be well ware of sorcery, for <i>little can cope with the cunning of eld</i>." and when she had thus spoken she wept right sore. then said grettir, "weep not, mother, for if we be set on with weapons, it shall be said of thee, that thou hast had sons, and not daughters: live on, well and hale." therewithal they parted. they fared north through the country side and saw their kin; and thus they lingered out the autumn into winter; then they turned toward skagafirth and went north through waterpass and thence to reekpass, and down saemunds-lithe and so unto longholt, and came to dinby late in the day. grettir had cast his hood back on to his shoulders, for in that wise he went ever abroad whether the day were better or worse. so they went thence, and when they had gone but a little way, there met them a man, big-headed, tall, and gaunt, and ill clad; he greeted them, and either asked other for their names; they said who they were, but he called himself thorbiorn: he was a land-louper, a man too lazy to work, and a great swaggerer, and much game and fooling was made with him by some folk: he thrust himself into their company, and told them much from the upper country about the folk there. grettir had great game and merriment of him; so he asked if they had no need of a man who should work for them, "for i would fain fare with you," says he; and withal he got so much from their talk that they suffered him to follow them. much snow there was that day, and it was cold; but whereas that man swaggered exceedingly, and was the greatest of tomfools, he had a by-name, and was called noise. "great wonder had those of dinby when thou wentest by e'en now unhooded, in the foul weather," said noise, "as to whether thou wouldst have as little fear of men as of the cold: there were two bonders' sons, both men of great strength, and the shepherd called them forth to go to the sheep-watching with him, and scarcely could they clothe themselves for the cold." grettir said, "i saw within doors there a young man who pulled on his mittens, and another going betwixt byre and midden, and of neither of them should i be afeared." thereafter they went down to sorbness, and were there through the night; then they fared out along the strand to a farm called reeks, where dwelt a man, thorwald by name, a good bonder. him grettir prayed for watch and ward, and told him how he was minded to get out to drangey: the bonder said that those of skagafirth would think him no god-send, and excused himself therewithal. then grettir took a purse his mother had given to him, and gave it to the bonder; his brows lightened over the money, and he got three house-carles of his to bring them out in the night time by the light of the moon. it is but a little way from reeks out to the island, one sea-mile only. so when they came to the isle, grettir deemed it good to behold, because it was grass-grown, and rose up sheer from the sea, so that no man might come up thereon save there where the ladders were let down, and if the uppermost ladder were drawn up, it was no man's deed to get upon the island. there also were the cliffs full of fowl in the summer-tide, and there were eighty sheep upon the island which the bonders owned, and they were mostly rams and ewes which they had mind to slaughter. there grettir set himself down in peace; and by then had he been fifteen or sixteen winters in outlawry, as sturla thordson has said. chap. lxx. <i>of the bonders who owned drangey between them</i>. in the days when grettir came to drangey, these were chief men of the country side of skagafirth. hialti dwelt at hof in hialtidale, he was the son of thord, the son of hialti, the son of thord the scalp: hialti was a great chief, a right noble man, and much befriended. thorbiorn angle was the name of his brother, a big man and a strong, hardy and wild withal. thord, the father of these twain, had married again in his old age, and that wife was not the mother of the brothers; and she did ill to her step-children, but served thorbiorn the worst, for that he was hard to deal with and reckless. and on a day thorbiorn angle sat playing at tables, and his stepmother passed by and saw that he was playing at the knave-game, and the fashion of the game was the large tail-game. now she deemed him thriftless, and cast some word at him, but he gave an evil answer; so she caught up one of the men, and drave the tail thereof into thorbiorn's cheek-bone wherefrom it glanced into his eye, so that it hung out on his cheek. he sprang up, caught hold of her, and handled her roughly, insomuch that she took to her bed, and died thereof afterwards, and folk say that she was then big with child. thereafter thorbiorn became of all men the most riotous; he took his heritage, and dwelt at first in woodwick. haldor the son of thorgeir, who was the son of head-thord, dwelt at hof on head-strand, he had to wife thordis, the daughter of thord hialtison, and sister to those brothers hialti and thorbiorn angle. haldor was a great bonder, and rich in goods. biorn was the name of a man who dwelt at meadness in the fleets; he was a friend to haldor of hof. these men held to each other in all cases. tongue-stein dwelt at stonestead; he was the son of biorn, the son of ufeigh thinbeard, son of that crow-hreidar to whom eric of god-dales gave the tongue of land down from hall-marsh. stein was a man of great renown. one named eric was the son of holmgang-starri, the son of eric of god-dales, the son of hroald, the son of geirmund thick-beard; eric dwelt at hof in god-dales. now all these were men of great account. two brothers there were who dwelt at a place called broad-river in flat-lithe, and they were both called thord; they were wondrous strong, and yet withal peaceable men both of them. all these men had share in drangey, and it is said that no less than twenty in all had some part in the island, nor would any sell his share to another; but the sons of thord, hialti and thorbiorn angle, had the largest share, because they were the richest men. chap. lxxi. <i>how those of skagafirth found grettir on drangey</i>. now time wears on towards the winter solstice; then the bonders get ready to go fetch the fat beasts for slaughter from the island; so they manned a great barge, and every owner had one to go in his stead, and some two. but when these came anigh the island they saw men going about there; they deemed that strange, but guessed that men had been shipwrecked, and got aland there: so they row up to where the ladders were, when lo, the first-comers drew up the ladders. then the bonders deemed that things were taking a strange turn, and hailed those men and asked them who they were: grettir named himself and his fellows withal: but the bonders asked who had brought him there. grettir answered, "he who owned the keel and had the hands, and who was more my friend than yours." the bonders answered and said, "let us now get our sheep, but come thou aland with us, keeping freely whatso of our sheep thou hast slaughtered." "a good offer," said grettir, "but this time let each keep what he has got; and i tell you, once for all, that hence i go not, till i am dragged away dead; for it is not my way to let that go loose which i have once laid hand on." thereat the bonders held their peace, and deemed that a woeful guest had come to drangey; then they gave him choice of many things, both moneys and fair words, but grettir said nay to one and all, and they gat them gone with things in such a stead, and were ill content with their fate; and told the men of the country-side what a wolf had got on to the island. this took them all unawares, but they could think of nought to do herein; plentifully they talked over it that winter, but could see no rede whereby to get grettir from the island. chap. lxxii. <i>of the sports at heron-ness thing</i>. now the days wore till such time as men went to the heron-ness thing in spring-tide, and many came thronging there from that part of the country, wherefrom men had to go to that thing for their suits. men sat there long time both over the suits and over sports, for there were many blithe men in that country-side. but when grettir heard that all men fared to the thing, he made a plot with his friends; for he was in goodwill with those who dwelt nighest to him, and for them he spared nought that he could get. but now he said that he would go aland, and gather victuals, but that illugi and noise should stay behind. illugi thought this ill counselled, but let things go as grettir would. so grettir bade them watch the ladders well, for that all things lay thereon; and thereafter he went to the mainland, and got what he deemed needful: he hid himself from men whereso he came, nor did any one know that he was on the land. withal he heard concerning the thing, that there was much sport there, and was fain to go thither; so he did on old gear and evil, and thus came to the thing, whenas men went from the courts home to their booths. then fell certain young men to talking how that the day was fair and good, and that it were well, belike, for the young men to betake them to wrestling and merrymaking. folk said it was well counselled; and so men went and sat them down out from the booths. now the sons of thord, hialti and thorbiorn angle, were the chief men in this sport; thorbiorn angle was boisterous beyond measure, and drove men hard and fast to the place of the sports, and every man must needs go whereas his will was; and he would take this man and that by the hands and drag him forth unto the playing-ground. now first those wrestled who were weakest, and then each man in his turn, and therewith the game and glee waxed great; but when most men had wrestled but those who were the strongest, the bonders fell to talking as to who would be like to lay hand to either of the thords, who have been aforenamed; but there was no man ready for that. then the thords went up to sundry men, and put themselves forward for wrestling, but <i>the nigher the call the further the man</i>. then thorbiorn angle looks about, and sees where a man sits, great of growth, and his face hidden somewhat. thorbiorn laid hold of him, and tugged hard at him, but he sat quiet and moved no whit. then said thorbiorn, "no one has kept his place before me to-day like thou hast; what man art thou?" he answers, "guest am i hight." said thorbiorn, "belike thou wilt do somewhat for our merriment; a wished-for guest wilt thou be." he answered, "about and about, methinks, will things change speedily; nor shall i cast myself into play with you here, where all is unknown to me." then many men said he were worthy of good at their hands, if he, an unknown man, gave sport to the people. then he asked what they would of him; so they prayed him to wrestle with some one. he said he had left wrestling, "though time agone it was somewhat of a sport to me." so, when he did not deny them utterly, they prayed him thereto yet the more. he said, "well, if ye are so fain that i be dragged about here, ye must do so much therefor, as to handsel me peace, here at the thing, and until such time as i come back to my home." then they all sprang up and said that so they would do indeed; but hafr was the name of him who urged most that peace should be given to the man. this hafr was the son of thorarin, the son of hafr, the son of thord knob, who had settled land up from the weir in the fleets to tongue-river, and who dwelt at knobstead; and a wordy man was hafr. so now he gave forth the handselling grandly with open mouth, and this is the beginning thereof. chap. lxxiii. <i>the handselling of peace</i>. says he, "<i>herewith i establish peace betwixt all men, but most of all betwixt all men and this same guest who sits here, and so is named; that is to say, all men of rule, and goodly bonders, and all men young, and fit to bear arms, and all other men of the country-side of heron-ness thing, whencesoever any may have come here, of men named or unnamed. let us handsel safety and full peace to that unknown new-comer, yclept guest by name, for game, wrestling, and all glee, for abiding here, and going home, whether he has need to fare over water, or over land, or over ferry; safety shall he have, in all steads named and unnamed, even so long as needs be for his coming home whole, under faith holden. this peace i establish on behoof of us, and of our kin, friends, and men of affinity, women even as men, bondswomen, even as bonds-men, swains and men of estate. let him be a shamed peace-breaker, who breaks the peace, or spills the troth settled; turned away and driven forth from god, and good men of the kingdom of heaven, and all holy ones. a man not to be borne of any man, but cast out from all, as wide as wolves stray, or christian men make for churches, or heathen in god's-houses do sacrifice, or fire burns, or earth brings forth, or a child, new-come to speech, calls mother, or mother bears son, or the sons of men kindle fire, or ships sweep on, or shields glitter, or the sun shines, or the snow falls, or a finn sweeps on skates, or a fir-tree waxes, or a falcon flies the spring-long day with a fair wind under either wing, or the heavens dwindle far away, or the world is built, or the wind turns</i> <i>waters seaward, or carles sow corn. let him shun churches, and christian folk, and heathen men, houses and caves, and every home but the home of hell. now shall we be at peace and of one mind each with the other, and of goodwill, whether we meet on fell or foreshore, ship or snow-shoes, earth or ice-mount, sea or swift steed, even as each found his friend on water, or his brother on broad ways; in just such peace one with other, as father with son, or son with father in all dealings together. now we lay hands together, each and all of us, to hold well this say of peace, and all words spoken in our settled troth: as witness god and good men, and all those who hear my words, and nigh this stead chance to stand</i>." chap. lxxiv. <i>of grettir's wrestling: and how thorbiorn angle now bought the more part of drangey</i>. then many fell to saying that many and great words had been spoken hereon; but now guest said, "good is thy say and well hast thou spoken it; if ye spill not things hereafter, i shall not withhold that which i have to show forth." so he cast off his hood, and therewith all his outer clothes. then they gazed one on the other, and awe spread over their faces, for they deemed they knew surely that this was grettir asmundson, for that he was unlike other men for his growth and prowess' sake: and all stood silent, but hafr deemed he had made himself a fool. now the men of the country-side fell into twos and twos together, and one upbraided the other, but him the most of all, who had given forth the words of peace. then said grettir; "make clear to me what ye have in your minds, because for no long time will i sit thus unclad; it is more your matter than mine, whether ye will hold the peace, or hold it not." they answered few words and then sat down: and now the sons of thord, and halldor their brother-in-law, talked the matter over together; and some would hold the peace, and some not; so as they elbowed one another, and laid their heads together. grettir sang a stave-- "i, well known to men, have been on this morn both hid and seen; double face my fortune wears, evil now, now good it bears; doubtful play-board have i shown unto these men, who have grown doubtful of their given word; hafr's big noise goes overboard." then said tongue-stein, "thinkest thou that, grettir? knowest thou then what the chiefs will make their minds up to? but true it is thou art a man above all others for thy great heart's sake: yea, but dost thou not see how they rub their noses one against the other?" then grettir sang a stave-- "raisers-up of roof of war, nose to nose in counsel are; wakeners of the shield-rain sit wagging beard to talk of it: scatterers of the serpent's bed round about lay head to head. for belike they heard my name; and must balance peace and shame." then spake hialti the son of thord; "so shall it not be," says he; "we shall hold to our peace and troth given, though we have been beguiled, for i will not that men should have such a deed to follow after, if we depart from that peace, that we ourselves have settled and handselled: grettir shall go whither he will, and have peace until such time as he comes back from this journey; and then and not till then shall this word of truce be void, whatsoever may befall betwixt us meanwhile." all thanked him therefor, and deemed that he had done as a great chief, such blood-guilt as there was on the other side: but the speech of thorbiorn angle was little and low thereupon. now men said that both the thords should lay hand to grettir, and he bade them have it as they would: so one of the brothers stood forth; and grettir stood up stiff before him, and he ran at grettir at his briskest, but grettir moved no whit from his place: then grettir stretched out his hand down thord's back, over the head of him, and caught hold of him by the breeches, and tripped up his feet, and cast him backward over his head in such wise that he fell on his shoulder, and a mighty fall was that. then men said that both those brothers should go against grettir at once; and thus was it done, and great swinging and pulling about there was, now one side, now the other getting the best of it, though one or other of the brothers grettir ever had under him; but each in turn must fall on his knee, or have some slip one of the other; and so hard they griped each at each, that they were all blue and bruised. all men thought this the best of sport, and when they had made an end of it, thanked them for the wrestling; and it was the deeming of those who sat thereby, that the two brothers together were no stronger than grettir alone, though each of them had the strength of two men of the strongest: so evenly matched they were withal, that neither might get the better of the other if they tried it between them. grettir abode no long time at the thing; the bonders bade him give up the island, but he said nay to this, nor might they do aught herein. so grettir fared back to drangey, and illugi was as fain of him as might be; and there they abode peacefully, and grettir told them the story of his doings and his journeys; and thus the summer wore away. all men deemed that those of skagafirth had shown great manliness herein, that they held to their peace given; and folk may well mark how trusty men were in those days, whereas grettir had done such deeds against them. now the less rich men of the bonders spake together, that there was little gain to them in holding small shares in drangey; so they offered to sell their part to the sons of thord; hialti said that he would not deal with them herein, for the bonders made it part of the bargain, that he who bought of them should either slay grettir or get him away. but thorbiorn angle said, that he would not spare to take the lead of an onset against grettir if they would give him wealth therefor. so his brother hialti gave up to him his share in the island, for that he was the hardest man, and the least befriended of the twain; and in likewise too did other bonders; so thorbiorn angle got the more part of the island for little worth, but bound himself withal to get grettir away. chap. lxxv. <i>thorbiorn angle goes to drangey to speak with grettir</i>. whenas summer was far spent, thorbiorn angle went with a well-manned barge out to drangey, and grettir and his fellows stood forth on the cliff's edge; so there they talked together. thorbiorn prayed grettir to do so much for his word, as to depart from the island; grettir said there was no hope of such an end. then said thorbiorn, "belike i may give thee meet aid if thou dost this, for now have many bonders given up to me their shares in the island." grettir answered, "now hast thou shown forth that which brings me to settle in my mind that i will never go hence, whereas thou sayest that thou now hast the more part of the island; and good is it that we twain alone share the kale: for in sooth, hard i found it to have all the men of skagafirth against me; but now let neither spare the other, for not such are we twain, as are like to be smothered in the friendship of men; and thou mayst leave coming hither, for on my side is all over and done." "<i>all things bide their day</i>," said thorbiorn, "and an ill day thou bidest." "i am content to risk it," said grettir; and in such wise they parted, and thorbiorn went home. chap. lxxvi. <i>how noise let the fire out on drangey, and how grettir must needs go aland for more</i>. so the tale tells, that by then they had been two winters on drangey, they had slaughtered well-nigh all the sheep that were there, but one ram, as men say, they let live; he was piebald of belly and head, and exceeding big-horned; great game they had of him, for he was so wise that he would stand waiting without, and run after them whereso they went; and he would come home to the hut anights and rub his horns against the door. now they deemed it good to abide on the island, for food was plenty, because of the fowl and their eggs; but firewood was right hard to come by; and ever grettir would let the thrall go watch for drift, and logs were often drifted there, and he would bear them to the fire; but no need had the brothers to do any work beyond climbing into the cliffs when it liked them. but the thrall took to loathing his work, and got more grumbling and heedless than he was wont heretofore: his part it was to watch the fire night by night, and grettir gave him good warning thereon, for no boat they had with them. now so it befell that on a certain night their fire went out; grettir was wroth thereat, and said it was but his due if noise were beaten for that deed; but the thrall said that his life was an evil life, if he must lie there in outlawry, and be shaken and beaten withal if aught went amiss. grettir asked illugi what rede there was for the matter, but he said he could see none, but that they should abide there till some keel should be brought thither: grettir said it was but blindness to hope for that. "rather will i risk whether i may not come aland." "much my mind misgives me thereof," said illugi, "for we are all lost if thou comest to any ill." "i shall not be swallowed up swimming," said grettir; "but henceforward i shall trust the thrall the worse for this, so much as lies hereon." now the shortest way to the mainland from the island, was a sea-mile long. chap. lxxvii. <i>grettir at the home-stead of reeks</i>. now grettir got all ready for swimming, and had on a cowl of market-wadmal, and his breeches girt about him, and he got his fingers webbed together, and the weather was fair. so he went from the island late in the day, and desperate illugi deemed his journey. grettir made out into the bay, and the stream was with him, and a calm was over all. he swam on fast, and came aland at reekness by then the sun had set: he went up to the homestead at reeks, and into a bath that night, and then went into the chamber; it was very warm there, for there had been a fire therein that evening, and the heat was not yet out of the place; but he was exceeding weary, and there fell into a deep sleep, and so lay till far on into the next day. now as the morning wore the home folk arose, and two women came into the chamber, a handmaid and the goodman's daughter. grettir was asleep, and the bed-clothes had been cast off him on to the floor; so they saw that a man lay there, and knew him. then said the handmaiden: "so may i thrive, sister! here is grettir asmundson lying bare, and i call him right well ribbed about the chest, but few might think he would be so small of growth below; and so then that does not go along with other kinds of bigness." the goodman's daughter answered: "why wilt thou have everything on thy tongue's end? thou art a measure-less fool; be still." "dear sister, how can i be still about it?" says the handmaid. "i would not have believed it, though one had told me." and now she would whiles run up to him and look, and whiles run back again to the goodman's daughter, screaming and laughing; but grettir heard what she said, and as she ran in over the floor by him he caught hold of her, and sang this stave-- "stay a little, foolish one! when the shield-shower is all done, with the conquered carles and lords, men bide not to measure swords: many a man had there been glad, lesser war-gear to have had. with a heart more void of fear; such i am not, sweet and dear." therewithal he swept her up into the bed, but the bonder's daughter ran out of the place; then sang grettir this other stave-- "sweet amender of the seam, weak and worn thou dost me deem: o light-handed dear delight, certes thou must say aright. weak i am, and certainly long in white arms must i lie: hast thou heart to leave me then, fair-limbed gladdener of great men?" the handmaid shrieked out, but in such wise did they part that she laid no blame on grettir when all was over. a little after, grettir arose, and went to thorvald the goodman, and told him of his trouble, and prayed bring him out; so did he, and lent him a boat, and brought him out, and grettir thanked him well for his manliness. but when it was heard that grettir had swam a sea-mile, all deemed his prowess both on sea and land to be marvellous. those of skagafirth had many words to say against thorbiorn angle, in that he drave not grettir away from drangey, and said they would take back each his own share; but he said he found the task no easy one, and prayed them be good to him, and abide awhile. chap. lxxviii. <i>of haring at drangey, and the end of him</i>. that same summer a ship came to the gangpass-mouth, and therein was a man called haering--a young man he was, and so lithe that there was no cliff that he might not climb. he went to dwell with thorbiorn angle, and was there on into the autumn; and he was ever urging thorbiorn to go to drangey, saying that he would fain see whether the cliffs were so high that none might come up them. thorbiorn said that he should not work for nought if he got up into the island, and slew grettir, or gave him some wound; and withal he made it worth coveting to haering. so they fared to drangey, and set the eastman ashore in a certain place, and he was to set on them unawares if he might come up on to the island, but they laid their keel by the ladders, and fell to talking with grettir; and thorbiorn asked him if he were minded now to leave the place; but he said that to nought was his mind so made up as to stay there. "a great game hast thou played with us," said thorbiorn; "but thou seemest not much afeard for thyself." thus a long while they gave and took in words, and came nowise together hereon. but of haering it is to be told that he climbed the cliffs, going on the right hand and the left, and got up by such a road as no man has gone by before or since; but when he came to the top of the cliff, he saw where the brothers stood, with their backs turned toward him, and thought in a little space to win both goods and great fame; nor were they at all aware of his ways, for they deemed that no man might come up, but there whereas the ladders were. grettir was talking with thorbiorn, nor lacked there words of the biggest on either side; but withal illugi chanced to look aside, and saw a man drawing anigh them. then he said, "here comes a man at us, with axe raised aloft, and in right warlike wise he seems to fare." "turn thou to meet him," says grettir, "but i will watch the ladders." so illugi turned to meet haering, and when the eastman saw him, he turned and fled here and there over the island. illugi chased him while the island lasted, but when he came forth on to the cliff's edge haering leapt down thence, and every bone in him was broken, and so ended his life; but the place where he was lost has been called haering's-leap ever since. illugi came back, and grettir asked how he had parted from this one who had doomed them to die. "he would have nought to do," says illugi, "with my seeing after his affairs, but must needs break his neck over the rock; so let the bonders pray for him as one dead." so when angle heard that, he bade his folk make off. "twice have i fared to meet grettir, but no third time will i go, if i am nought the wiser first; and now belike they may sit in drangey as for me; but in my mind it is, that grettir will abide here but a lesser time than heretofore." with that they went home, and men deemed this journey of theirs worser than the first, and grettir abode that winter in drangey, nor in that season did he and thorbiorn meet again. in those days died skapti thorodson the lawman, and great scathe was that to grettir, for he had promised to busy himself about his acquittal as soon as he had been twenty winters in outlawry, and this year, of which the tale was told e'en now, was the nineteenth year thereof. in the spring died snorri the godi, and many matters befell in that season that come not into this story. chap. lxxix. <i>of the talk at the thing about grettir's outlawry</i>. that summer, at the althing, the kin of grettir spake many things concerning his outlawry, and some deemed he had outworn the years thereof, if he had come at all into the twentieth year; but they who had blood-suits against him would not have it so, and said, that he had done many an outlaw's deed since he was first outlawed, and deemed his time ought to last longer therefor. at that time was a new lawman made, stein, the son of thorgest, the son of stein the far-sailing, the son of thorir autumn-mirk; the mother of stein was arnora, the daughter of thord the yeller; and stein was a wise man. now was he prayed for the word of decision; and he bade them search and see whether this were the twentieth summer since grettir was made an outlaw, and thus it seemed to be. but then stood forth thorir of garth, and brought all into dispute again, for he found that grettir had been one winter out here a sackless man, amidst the times of his outlawry, and then nineteen were the winters of his outlawry found to be. then said the lawman that no one should be longer in outlawry than twenty winters in all, though he had done outlaw's deeds in that time. "but before that, i declare no man sackless." now because of this was the acquittal delayed for this time, but it was thought a sure thing that he would be made sackless the next summer. but that misliked the skagafirthers exceeding ill, if grettir were to come out of his outlawry, and they bade thorbiorn angle do one of two things, either give back the island or slay grettir; but he deemed well that he had a work on his hands, for he saw no rede for the winning of grettir, and yet was he fain to hold the island; and so all manner of craft he sought for the overcoming of grettir, if he might prevail either by guile or hardihood, or in any wise soever. chap. lxxx. <i>thorbiorn angle goes with his foster-mother out to drangey</i>. thorbiorn angle had a foster-mother, thurid by name, exceeding old, and meet for little, as folk deemed, very cunning she had been in many and great matters of lore, when she was young, and men were yet heathen; but men thought of her as of one, who had lost all that. but now, though christ's law were established in the land, yet abode still many sparks of heathendom. it had been law in the land, that men were not forbidden to sacrifice secretly, or deal with other lore of eld, but it was lesser outlawry if such doings oozed out. now in such wise it fared with many, that <i>hand for wont did yearn</i>, and things grew handiest by time that had been learned in youth. so now, whenas thorbiorn angle was empty of all plots, he sought for help there, whereas most folk deemed it most unlike that help was--at the hands of his foster-mother, in sooth, and asked, what counsel was in her therefor. she answered, "now belike matters have come to this, even as the saw says--<i>to the goat-house for wool</i>: but what could i do less than this, to think myself before folk of the country-side, but be a man of nought, whenso anything came to be tried? nor see i how i may fare worse than thou, though i may scarce rise from my bed. but if thou art to have my rede, then shall i have my will as to how and what things are done." he gave his assent thereto, and said that she had long been of wholesome counsel to him. now the time wore on to twainmonth of summer; and one fair-weather day the carline spake to angle, "now is the weather calm and bright, and i will now that thou fare to drangey and pick a quarrel with grettir; i shall go with thee, and watch how heedful he may be of his words; and if i see them, i shall have some sure token as to how far they are befriended of fortune, and then shall i speak over them such words as seem good to me." angle answered, "loth am i to be faring to drangey, for ever am i of worser mind when i depart thence than when i come thereto." then said the carline, "nought will i do for thee if thou sufferest me to rule in no wise." "nay, so shall it not be, foster-mother," said he; "but so much have i said, as that i would so come thither the third time that somewhat should be made of the matter betwixt us." "the chance of that must be taken," said the carline "and many a heavy labour must thou have, or ever grettir be laid to earth; and oft will it be doubtful to thee what fortune thine shall be, and heavy troubles wilt thou get therefrom when that is done; yet art thou so bounden here-under, that to somewhat must thou make up thy mind." thereafter thorbiorn angle let put forth a ten-oared boat, and he went thereon with eleven men, and the carline was in their company. so they fell to rowing as the weather went, out to drangey; and when the brothers saw that, they stood forth at the ladders, and they began to talk the matter over yet once more; and thorbiorn said, that he was come yet again, to talk anew of their leaving the island, and that he would deal lightly with his loss of money and grettir's dwelling there, if so be they might part without harm. but grettir said that he had no words to make atwixt and atween of his going thence. "oft have i so said," says he, "and no need there is for thee to talk to me thereon; ye must even do as ye will, but here will i abide, whatso may come to hand." now thorbiorn deemed, that this time also his errand was come to nought, and he said, "yea, i deemed i knew with what men of hell i had to do; and most like it is that a day or two will pass away ere i come hither again." "i account that not in the number of my griefs, though thou never comest back," said grettir. now the carline lay in the stern, with clothes heaped up about and over her, and with that she moved, and said, "brave will these men be, and luckless withal; far hast thou outdone them in manliness; thou biddest them choice of many goodly things, but they say nay to all, and few things lead surer to ill, than not to know how to take good. now this i cast over thee, grettir, that thou be left of all health, wealth, and good-hap, all good heed and wisdom: yea, and that the more, the longer thou livest; good hope i have, grettir, that thy days of gladness shall be fewer here in time to come than in the time gone by." now when grettir heard these words, he was astonied withal, and said, "what fiend is there in the boat with them?" illugi answers, "i deem that it will be the carline, thorbiorn's foster-mother." "curses on the witch-wight!" says grettir, "nought worse could have been looked for; at no words have i shuddered like as i shuddered at those words she spake; and well i wot that from her, and her foul cunning, some evil will be brought on us; yet shall she have some token to mind her that she has sought us here." therewithal he caught up a marvellous great stone, and cast it down on to the boat, and it smote that clothes-heap; and a longer stone-throw was that than thorbiorn deemed any man might make; but therewithal a great shriek arose, for the stone had smitten the carline's thigh, and broken it. then said illugi, "i would thou hadst not done that!" "blame me not therefor," said grettir, "i fear me the stroke has been too little, for certes not overmuch weregild were paid for the twain of us, though the price should be one carline's life." "must she alone be paid?" said illugi, "little enough then will be laid down for us twain." now thorbiorn got him gone homeward, with no greetings at parting. but he said to the carline, "now have matters gone as i thought, that a journey of little glory thou shouldst make to the island; thou hast got maimed, and honour is no nigher to us than before, yea, we must have bootless shame on bootless shame." she answered, "this will be the springing of ill-hap to them; and i deem that henceforth they are on the wane; neither do i fear if i live, but that i shall have revenge for this deed they have thus done me." "stiff is thine heart, meseems, foster-mother," said thorbiorn. with that they came home, but the carline was laid in her bed, and abode there nigh a month; by then was the hurt thigh-bone grown together again, and she began to be afoot once more. great laughter men made at that journey of thorbiorn and the carline, and deemed he had been often enow out-played in his dealings with grettir: first, at the spring-thing in the peace handselling; next, when haering was lost, and now again, this third time, when the carline's thigh-bone was broken, and no stroke had been played against these from his part. but great shame and grief had thorbiorn angle from all these words. chap. lxxxi. <i>of the carline's evil gift to grettir</i>. now wore away the time of autumn till it wanted but three weeks of winter; then the carline bade bear her to the sea-shore. thorbiorn asked what she would there. "little is my errand, yet maybe," she says, "it is a foreboding of greater tidings." now was it done as she bade, and when she came down to the strand, she went limping along by the sea, as if she were led thereto, unto a place where lay before her an uprooted tree, as big as a man might bear on his shoulder. she looked at the tree and bade them turn it over before her eyes, and on one side it was as if singed and rubbed; so there whereas it was rubbed she let cut a little flat space; and then she took her knife and cut runes on the root, and made them red with her blood, and sang witch-words over them; then she went backwards and widdershins round about the tree, and cast over it many a strong spell; thereafter she let thrust the tree forth into the sea, and spake in such wise over it, that it should drive out to drangey, and that grettir should have all hurt therefrom that might be. thereafter she went back home to woodwick; and thorbiorn said that he knew not if that would come to aught; but the carline answered that he should wot better anon. now the wind blew landward up the firth, yet the carline's root went in the teeth of the wind, and belike it sailed swifter than might have been looked for of it. grettir abode in drangey with his fellows as is aforesaid, and in good case they were; but the day after the carline had wrought her witch-craft on the tree the brothers went down below the cliffs searching for firewood, so when they came to the west of the island, there they found that tree drifted ashore. then said illugi, "a big log of firewood, kinsman, let us bear it home." grettir kicked it with his foot and said, "an evil tree from evil sent; other firewood than this shall we have." therewithal he cast it out into the sea, and bade illugi beware of bearing it home, "for it is sent us for our ill-hap." and therewith they went unto their abode, and said nought about it to the thrall. but the next day they found the tree again, and it was nigher to the ladders than heretofore; grettir drave it out to sea, and said that it should never be borne home. now the days wore on into summer, and a gale came on with much wet, and the brothers were loth to be abroad, and bade noise go search for firewood. he took it ill, and said he was ill served in that he had to drudge and labour abroad in all the foulest weather; but withal he went down to the beach before the ladders and found the carline's tree there, and deemed things had gone well because of it; so he took it up and bore it to the hut, and cast it down thereby with a mighty thump. grettir heard it and said, "noise has got something, so i shall go out and see what it is." therewithal he took up a wood-axe, and went out, and straightway noise said, "split it up in as good wise as i have brought it home, then." grettir grew short of temper with the thrall, and smote the axe with both hands at the log, nor heeded what tree it was; but as soon as ever the axe touched the wood, it turned flatlings and glanced off therefrom into grettir's right leg above the knee, in such wise that it stood in the bone, and a great wound was that. then he looked at the tree and said, "now has evil heart prevailed, nor will this hap go alone, since that same tree has now come back to us that i have cast out to sea on these two days. but for thee, noise, two slips hast thou had, first, when thou must needs let the fire be slaked, and now this bearing home of that tree of ill-hap; but if a third thou hast, thy bane will it be, and the bane of us all." with that came illugi and bound up grettir's hurt, and it bled little, and grettir slept well that night; and so three nights slipped by in such wise that no pain came of the wound, and when they loosed the swathings, the lips of the wound were come together so that it was well-nigh grown over again. then said illugi, "belike thou wilt have no long hurt of this wound." "well were it then," said grettir, "but marvellously has this befallen, whatso may come of it; and my mind misgives me of the way things will take." chap. lxxxii. <i>grettir sings of his great deeds</i>. now they lay them down that evening, but at midnight grettir began to tumble about exceedingly. illugi asked why he was so unquiet. grettir said that his leg had taken to paining him, "and methinks it is like that some change of hue there be therein." then they kindled a light, and when the swathings were undone, the leg showed all swollen and coal-blue, and the wound had broken open, and was far more evil of aspect than at first; much pain there went therewith so that he might not abide at rest in any wise, and never came sleep on his eyes. then spake grettir, "let us make up our minds to it, that this sickness which i have gotten is not done for nought, for it is of sorcery, and the carline is minded to avenge her of that stone." illugi said, "yea, i told thee that thou wouldst get no good from that hag." "<i>all will come to one end</i>," said grettir, and sang this song withal-- "doubtful played the foredoomed fate round the sword in that debate, when the bearserks' outlawed crew, in the days of yore i slew. screamed the worm of clashing lands when hiarandi dropped his hands biorn and gunnar cast away, hope of dwelling in the day. "home again then travelled i; the broad-boarded ship must lie, under door-holm, as i went, still with weapon play content, through the land; and there the thane called me to the iron rain, bade me make the spear-storm rise, torfi vebrandson the wise. "to such plight the skald was brought, wounder of the walls of thought, howsoever many men stood, all armed, about us then, that his hand that knew the oar, grip of sword might touch no more; yet to me the wound who gave did he give a horse to have. "thorbiorn arnor's son, men said, of no great deed was afraid, folk spake of him far and wide; he forbade me to abide longer on the lovely earth; yet his heart was little worth, not more safe alone was i, than when armed he drew anigh. "from the sword's edge and the spears from my many waylayers, while might was, and my good day, often did i snatch away; now a hag, whose life outworn wicked craft and ill hath borne, meet for death lives long enow, grettir's might to overthrow."[ ] [footnote : this song is obviously incomplete, and the second and third stanzas speak of matters that do not come into this story.] "now must we take good heed to ourselves," said grettir, "for thorbiorn angle must be minded that this hap shall not go alone; and i will, noise, that thou watch the ladders every day from this time forth, but pull them up in the evening, and see thou do it well and truly, even as though much lay thereon, but if thou bewrayest us, short will be thy road to ill." so noise promised great things concerning this. now the weather grew harder, and a north-east wind came on with great cold: every night grettir asked if the ladders were drawn up. then said noise, "yea, certainly! men are above all things to be looked for now. can any man have such a mind to take thy life, that he will do so much as to slay himself therefor? for this gale is far other than fair; lo now, methinks thy so great bravery and hardihood has come utterly to an end, if thou must needs think that all things soever will be thy bane." "worse wilt thou bear thyself than either of us," said grettir, "when the need is on us; but now go watch the ladders, whatsoever will thou hast thereto." so every morning they drave him out, and ill he bore it. but grettir's hurt waxed in such wise that all the leg swelled up, and the thigh began to gather matter both above and below, and the lips of the wound were all turned out, so that grettir's death was looked for. illugi sat over him night and day, and took heed to nought else, and by then it was the second week since grettir hurt himself. chap. lxxxiii. <i>how thorbiorn angle gathered force and set sail for drangey</i>. thorbiorn angle sat this while at home at woodwick, and was ill-content in that he might not win grettir; but when a certain space had passed since the carline had put the sorcery into the root, she comes to talk with thorbiorn, and asks if he were not minded to go see grettir. he answers, that to nought was his mind so made up as that he would not go; "perchance thou wilt go meet him, foster-mother," says thorbiorn. "nay, i shall not go meet-him," says the carline; "but i have sent my greeting to him, and some hope i have that it has come home to him; and good it seems to me that thou go speedily to meet him, or else shalt thou never have such good hap as to overcome him." thorbiorn answered: "so many shameful journeys have i made thither, that there i go not ever again; moreover that alone is full enough to stay me, that such foul weather it is, that it is safe to go nowhither, whatso the need may be." she answered: "ill counselled thou art, not to see how to overcome herein. now yet once again will i lay down a rede for this; go thou first and get thee strength of men, and ride to hof to halldor thy brother-in-law, and take counsel of him. but if i may rule in some way how grettir's health goes, how shall it be said that it is past hope that i may also deal with the gale that has been veering about this while?" thorbiorn deemed it might well be that the carline saw further than he had thought she might, and straightway sent up into the country-side for men; but speedy answer there came that none of those who had given up their shares would do aught to ease his task, and they said that thorbiorn should have to himself both the owning of the island and the onset on grettir. but tongue-stein gave him two of his followers, and hialti, his brother, sent him three men, and eric of god-dales one, and from his own homestead he had six. so the twelve of them ride from woodwick out to hof. halldor bade them abide there, and asked their errand; then thorbiorn told it as clearly as might be. halldor asked whose rede this might be, and thorbiorn said that his foster-mother urged him much thereto. "that will bear no good," said halldor, "because she is cunning in sorcery, and such-like things are now forbidden." "i may not look closely into all these matters before-hand," said thorbiorn, "but in somewise or other shall this thing have an end if i may have my will. now, how shall i go about it, so that i may come to the island?" "meseems," says halldor, "that thou trustest in somewhat, though i wot not how good that may be. but now if thou wilt go forward with it, go thou out to meadness in the fleets to biorn my friend; a good keel he has, so tell him of my word, that i would he should lend you the craft, and thence ye may sail out to drangey. but the end of your journey i see not, if grettir is sound and hale: yea, and be thou sure that if ye win him not in manly wise, he leaves enough of folk behind to take up the blood-suit after him. and slay not illugi if ye may do otherwise. but methinks i see that all is not according to christ's law in these redes." then halldor gave them six men withal for their journey; one was called karr, another thorleif, and a third brand, but the rest are not named. so they fared thence, eighteen in company, out to the fleets, and came to meadness and gave biorn halldor's message, he said that it was but due for halldor's sake, but that he owed nought to thorbiorn; withal it seemed to him that they went on a mad journey, and he let them from it all he might. they said they might not turn back, and so went down to the sea, and put forth the craft, and all its gear was in the boat-stand hard by; so they made them ready for sailing, and foul enow the weather seemed to all who stood on land. but they hoisted sail, and the craft shot swiftly far into the firth, but when they came out into the main part thereof into deep water, the wind abated in such wise that they deemed it blew none too hard. so in the evening at dusk they came to drangey. chap. lxxxiv. <i>the slaying of grettir asmundson</i>. now it is to be told, that grettir was so sick, that he might not stand on his feet, but illugi sat beside him, and noise was to keep watch and ward; and many words he had against that, and said that they would still think that life was falling from them, though nought had happed to bring it about; so he went out from their abode right unwillingly, and when he came to the ladders he spake to himself and said that now he would not draw them up; withal he grew exceeding sleepy, and lay down and slept all day long, and right on till thorbiorn came to the island. so now they see that the ladders are not drawn up; then spake thorbiorn, "now are things changed from what the wont was, in that there are none afoot, and their ladder stands in its place withal; maybe more things will betide in this our journey than we had thought of in the beginning: but now let us hasten to the hut, and let no man lack courage; for, wot this well, that if these men are hale, each one of us must needs do his best." then they went up on to the island, and looked round about, and saw where a man lay a little space off the landing-place, and snored hard and fast. therewith thorbiorn knew noise, and went up to him and drave the hilt of his sword against the ear of him, and bade him, "wake up, beast! certes in evil stead is he who trusts his life to thy faith and troth." noise looked up thereat and said, "ah! now are they minded to go on according to their wont; do ye, may-happen, think my freedom too great, though i lie out here in the cold?" "art thou witless," said angle, "that thou seest not that thy foes are come upon thee, and will slay you all?" then noise answered nought, but yelled out all he might, when he knew the men who they were. "do one thing or other," says angle, "either hold thy peace forthwith, and tell us of your abode, or else be slain of us." thereat was noise as silent as if he had been thrust under water; but thorbiorn said, "are they at their hut, those brothers? why are they not afoot?" "scarce might that be," said noise, "for grettir is sick and come nigh to his death, and illugi sits over him." then angle asked how it was with their health, and what things had befallen. so noise told him in what wise grettir's hurt had come about. then angle laughed and said, "yea, sooth is the old saw, <i>old friends are the last to sever</i>; and this withal, <i>ill if a thrall is thine only friend</i>, whereso thou art, noise; for shamefully hast thou bewrayed thy master, albeit he was nought good." then many laid evil things to his charge for his ill faith, and beat him till he was well-nigh past booting for, and let him lie there; but they went up to the hut and smote mightily on the door. "pied-belly[ ] is knocking hard at the door, brother," says illugi. [footnote : 'pied-belly,' the name of the tame ram told of before.] "yea, yea, hard, and over hard," says grettir; and therewithal the door brake asunder. then sprang illugi to his weapons and guarded the door, in such wise that there was no getting in for them. long time they set on him there, and could bring nought against him save spear-thrusts, and still illugi smote all the spear-heads from the shafts. but when they saw that they might thus bring nought to pass, they leapt up on to the roof of the hut, and tore off the thatch; then grettir got to his feet and caught up a spear, and thrust out betwixt the rafters; but before that stroke was karr, a home-man of halldor of hof, and forthwithal it pierced him through. then spoke angle, and bade men fare warily and guard themselves well, "for we may prevail against them if we follow wary redes." so they tore away the thatch from the ends of the ridge-beam, and bore on the beam till it brake asunder. now grettir might not rise from his knee, but he caught up the short-sword, karr's-loom, and even therewith down leapt those men in betwixt the walls, and a hard fray befell betwixt them. grettir smote with the short-sword at vikar, one of the followers of hialti thordson, and caught him on the left shoulder, even as he leapt in betwixt the walls, and cleft him athwart the shoulder down unto the right side, so that the man fell asunder, and the body so smitten atwain tumbled over on to grettir, and for that cause he might not heave aloft the short-sword as speedily as he would, and therewith thorbiorn angle thrust him betwixt the shoulders, and great was that wound he gave. then cried grettir, "<i>bare is the back of the brotherless</i>." and illugi threw his shield over grettir, and warded him in so stout a wise that all men praised his defence. then said grettir to angle, "who then showed thee the way here to the island?" said angle, "the lord christ showed it us." "nay," said grettir, "but i guess that the accursed hag, thy foster-mother, showed it thee, for in her redes must thou needs have trusted." "all shall be one to thee now," said angle, "in whomsoever i have put my trust." then they set on them fiercely, and illugi made defence for both in most manly wise; but grettir was utterly unmeet for fight, both for his wounds' sake and for his sickness. so angle bade bear down illugi with shields, "for never have i met his like, amongst men of such age." now thus they did, besetting him with beams and weapons till he might ward himself no longer; and then they laid hands on him, and so held him fast. but he had given some wound or other to the more part of those who had been at the onset, and had slain outright three of angle's fellows. thereafter they went up to grettir, but he was fallen forward on to his face, and no defence there was of him, for that he was already come to death's door by reason of the hurt in his leg, for all the thigh was one sore, even up to the small guts; but there they gave him many a wound, yet little or nought he bled. so when they thought he was dead, angle laid hold of the short-sword, and said that he had carried it long enough; but grettir's fingers yet kept fast hold of the grip thereof, nor could the short-sword be loosened; many went up and tried at it, but could get nothing done therewith; eight of them were about it before the end, but none the more might bring it to pass. then said angle, "why should we spare this wood-man here? lay his hand on the block." so when that was done they smote off his hand at the wrist, and the fingers straightened, and were loosed from the handle. then angle took the short-sword in both hands and smote at grettir's head, and a right great stroke that was, so that the short-sword might not abide it, and a shard was broken from the midst of the edge thereof; and when men saw that, they asked why he must needs spoil a fair thing in such wise. but angle answered, "more easy is it to know that weapon now if it should be asked for." they said it needed not such a deed since the man was dead already. "ah! but yet more shall be done," said angle, and hewed therewith twice or thrice at grettir's neck, or ever the head came off; and then he spake, "now know i for sure that grettir is dead." in such wise grettir lost his life, the bravest man of all who have dwelt in iceland; he lacked but one winter of forty-five years whenas he was slain; but he was fourteen winters old when he slew skeggi, his first man-slaying; and from thenceforth all things turned to his fame, till the time when he dealt with glam, the thrall; and in those days was he of twenty winters-; but when he fell into outlawry, he was twenty-five years old; but in outlawry was he nigh nineteen winters, and full oft was he the while in great trials of men; and such as his life was, and his needs, he held well to his faith and troth, and most haps did he foresee, though he might do nought to meet them. chap. lxxxv. <i>how thorbiorn angle claimed grettir's head-money</i>. "a great champion have we laid to earth here," said thorbiorn; "now shall we bring the head aland with us, for i will not lose the money which has been laid thereon; nor may they then feign that they know not if i have slain grettir." they bade him do his will, but had few words to say hereon, for to all the deed seemed a deed of little prowess. then angle fell to speaking with illugi, "great scathe it is of such a brave man as thou art, that thou hast fallen to such folly, as to betake thee to ill deeds with this outlaw here, and must needs lie slain and unatoned therefore." illugi answered, "then first when the althing is over this summer, wilt thou know who are outlaws; but neither thou nor the carline, thy foster-mother, will judge in this matter, because that your sorcery and craft of old days have slain grettir, though thou didst, indeed, bear steel against him, as he lay at death's door, and wrought that so great coward's deed there, over and above thy sorcery." then said angle, "in manly wise speakest thou, but not thus will it be; and i will show thee that i think great scathe in thy death, for thy life will i give thee if thou wilt swear an oath for us here, to avenge thyself on none of those who have been in this journey." illugi said, "that might i have deemed a thing to talk about, if grettir had been suffered to defend himself, and ye had won him with manliness and hardihood; but now nowise is it to be thought, that i will do so much for the keeping of my life, as to become base, even as thou art: and here i tell thee, once for all, that no one of men shall be of less gain to thee than i, if i live; for long will it be or ever i forget how ye have prevailed against grettir.--yea, much rather do i choose to die." then thorbiorn angle held talk with his fellows, whether they should let illugi live or not; they said that, whereas he had ruled the journey, so should he rule the deeds; so angle said that he knew not how to have that man hanging over his head, who would neither give troth, nor promise aught. but when illugi knew that they were fully minded to slay him, he laughed, and spake thus, "yea, now have your counsels sped, even as my heart would." so at the dawning of the day they brought him to the eastern end of the island, and there slaughtered him; but all men praised his great heart, and deemed him unlike to any of his age. they laid both the brothers in cairn on the island there; and thereafter took grettir's head, and bore it away with them, and whatso goods there were in weapons or clothes; but the good short-sword angle would not put into the things to be shared, and he bare it himself long afterwards. noise they took with them, and he bore himself as ill as might be. at nightfall the gale abated, and they rowed aland in the morning. angle took land at the handiest place, and sent the craft out to biorn; but by then they were come hard by oyce-land, noise began to bear himself so ill, that they were loth to fare any longer with him, so there they slew him, and long and loud he greeted or ever he was cut down. thorbiorn angle went home to woodwick, and deemed he had done in manly wise in this journey; but grettir's head they laid in salt in the out-bower at woodwick, which was called therefrom grettir's-bower; and there it lay the winter long. but angle was exceeding ill thought of for this work of his, as soon as folk knew that grettir had been overcome by sorcery. thorbiorn angle sat quiet till past yule; then he rode to meet thorir of garth, and told him of these slayings; and this withal, that he deemed that money his due which had been put on grettir's head. thorir said that he might not hide that he had brought about grettir's outlawry, "yea, and oft have i dealt hardly with him, yet so much for the taking of his life i would not have done, as to make me a misdoer, a man of evil craft, even as thou hast done; and the less shall i lay down that money for thee, in that i deem thee surely to be a man of forfeit life because of thy sorcery and wizard-craft." thorbiorn angle answers, "meseems thou art urged hereto more by closefistedness and a poor mind, than by any heed of how grettir was won." thorir said that a short way they might make of it, in that they should abide the althing, and take whatso the lawman might deem most rightful: and in such wise they parted that there was no little ill-will betwixt thorir and thorbiorn angle. chap. lxxxvi. <i>how thorbiorn angle brought grettir's head to biarg</i>. the kin of grettir and illugi were exceeding ill-content when they heard of these slayings, and they so looked on matters as deeming that angle had wrought a shameful deed in slaying a man at death's door; and that, besides that, he had become guilty of sorcery. they sought the counsel of the wisest men, and everywhere was angle's work ill spoken of. as for him, he rode to midfirth, when it lacked four weeks of summer; and when his ways were heard of, asdis gathered men to her, and there came many of her friends: gamli and glum, her brothers-in-law, and their sons, skeggi, who was called the short-handed, and uspak, who is aforesaid. asdis was so well befriended, that all the midfirthers came to aid her; yea, even those who were aforetime foes to grettir; and the first man there was thorod drapa-stump, and the more part of the ramfirthers. now angle came to biarg with twenty men, and had grettir's head with him; but not all those had come yet who had promised aid to asdis; so angle and his folk went into the chamber with the head, and set it down on the floor; the goodwife was there in the chamber, and many men with her; nor did it come to greetings on either side; but angle sang this stave-- "a greedy head i bring with me up from the borders of the sea; now may the needle-pliers weep, the red-haired outlaw lies asleep; gold-bearer, cast adown thine eyes, and see how on the pavement lies, the peace-destroying head brought low, that but for salt had gone ere now." the goodwife sat silent when he gave forth the stave, and thereafter she sang-- "o thou poor wretch, as sheep that flee to treacherous ice when wolves they see, so in the waves would ye have drowned your shame and fear, had ye but found that steel-god hale upon the isle: now heavy shame, woe worth the while! hangs over the north country-side, nor i my loathing care to hide." then many said that it was nought wonderful, though she had brave sons, so brave as she herself was, amid such grief of heart as was brought on her. uspak was without, and held talk with such of angle's folk as had not gone in, and asked concerning the slayings; and all men praised illugi's defence; and they told withal how fast grettir had held the short-sword after he was dead, and marvellous that seemed to men. amidst these things were seen many men riding from the west, and thither were coming many friends of the goodwife, with gamli and skeggi west from meals. now angle had been minded to take out execution after illugi, for he and his men claimed all his goods; but when that crowd of men came up, angle saw that he might do nought therein, but gamli and uspak were of the eagerest, and were fain to set on angle; but those who were wisest bade them take the rede of thorwald their kinsman, and the other chief men, and said that worse would be deemed of angle's case the more wise men sat in judgment over it; then such truce there was that angle rode away, having grettir's head with him, because he was minded to bear it to the althing. so he rode home, and thought matters looked heavy enough, because well-nigh all the chief men of the land were either akin to grettir and illugi, or tied to them and theirs by marriage: that summer, moreover, skeggi the short-handed took to wife the daughter of thorod drapa-stump, and therewithal thorod joined grettir's kin in these matters. chap. lxxxvii. <i>affairs at the althing</i>. now men rode to the althing, and angle's helpers were fewer than he had looked for, because that his case was spoken ill of far and wide. then asked halldor whether they were to carry grettir's head with them to the althing. angle said that he would bear it with him. "ill-counselled is that," said halldor; "for many enough will thy foes be, though thou doest nought to jog the memories of folk, or wake up their grief." by then were they come on their way, and were minded to ride south over the sand; so angle let take the head, and bury it in a hillock of sand, which is called grettir's hillock. thronged was the althing, and angle put forth his case, and praised his own deeds mightily, in that he had slain the greatest outlaw in all the land, and claimed the money as his, which had been put on grettir's head. but thorir had the same answer for him as was told afore. then was the lawman prayed for a decision, and he said that he would fain hear if any charges came against this, whereby angle should forfeit his blood-money, or else he said he must have whatsoever had been put on grettir's head. then thorvald asgeirson called on skeggi the short-handed to put forth his case, and he summoned thorbiorn angle with a first summons for the witch-craft and sorcery, whereby grettir must have got his bane, and then with another summons withal, for that they had borne weapons against a half-dead man, and hereon he claimed an award of outlawry. now folk drew much together on this side and on that, but few they were that gave aid to thorbiorn; and things turned out otherwise than he had looked for, because thorvald, and isleif, his son-in-law, deemed it a deed worthy of death to bring men to their end by evil sorcery; but through the words of wise men these cases had such end, that thorbiorn should sail away that same summer, and never come back to iceland while any such were alive, as had the blood-suit for grettir and illugi. and then, moreover, was it made law that all workers of olden craft should be made outlaws. so when angle saw what his lot would be, he gat him gone from the thing, because it might well hap that grettir's kin would set on him; nor did he get aught of the fee that was put on grettir's head, for that stein the lawman would not that it should be paid for a deed of shame. none of those men of thorbiorn's company who had fallen in drangey were atoned, for they were to be made equal to the slaying of illugi, but their kin were exceeding ill content therewith. so men rode home from the thing, and all blood-suits that men had against grettir fell away. skeggi, the son of gamli, who was son-in-law of thorod drapa-stump, and sister's son of grettir, went north to skagafirth at the instance of thorvald asgeirson, and isleif his son-in-law, who was afterwards bishop of skalholt, and by the consent of all the people got to him a keel, and went to drangey to seek the corpses of the brothers, grettir and illugi; and he brought them back to reeks, in reek-strand, and buried them there at the church; and it is for a token that grettir lies there, that in the days of the sturlungs, when the church of the reeks was moved, grettir's bones were dug up, nor were they deemed so wondrous great, great enough though they were. the bones of illugi were buried afterwards north of the church, but grettir's head at home in the church at biarg. goodwife asdis abode at home at biarg, and so well beloved she was, that no trouble was ever brought against her, no, not even while grettir was in outlawry. skeggi the short-handed took the household at biarg after asdis, and a mighty man he was; his son was gamli, the father of skeggi of scarf-stead, and asdis the mother of odd the monk. many men are come from him. chap. lxxxviii. <i>thorbiorn angle goes to norway, and thence to micklegarth</i>. thornbiorn angle took ship at goose-ere, with whatso of his goods he might take with him; but hialti his brother took to him his lands, and angle gave him drangey withal. hialti became a great chief in aftertimes, but he has nought more to do with this tale. so angle fared out to norway; he yet made much of himself, for he deemed he had wrought a great deed in the slaying of grettir, and so thought many others, who knew not how all had come to pass, for many knew how renowned a man grettir had been; withal angle told just so much of their dealings together as might do him honour, and let such of the tale lie quiet as was of lesser glory. now this tale came in the autumn-tide east to tunsberg, and when thorstein dromund heard of the slayings he grew all silent, because it was told him that angle was a mighty man and a hardy; and he called to mind the words which he had spoken when he and grettir talked together, long time agone, concerning the fashion of their arms. so thorstein put out spies on angle's goings; they were both in norway through the winter, but thorbiorn was in the north-country, and thorstein in tunsberg, nor had either seen other; yet was angle ware that grettir had a brother in norway, and thought it hard to keep guard of himself in an unknown land, wherefore he sought counsel as to where he should betake himself. now in those days many northmen went out to micklegarth, and took war-pay there; so thorbiorn deemed it would be good to go thither and get to him thereby both fee and fame, nor to abide in the north-lands because of the kin of grettir. so he made ready to go from norway, and get him gone from out the land, and made no stay till he came to micklegarth, and there took war-hire. chap. lxxxix. <i>how the short-sword was the easier known when sought for by reason of the notch in the blade</i>. thorstein dromund was a mighty man, and of the greatest account; and now he heard that thorbiorn angle had got him gone from the land out to micklegarth; speedy were his doings thereon, he gave over his lands into his kinsmen's hands, and betook himself to journeying and to search for angle; and ever he followed after whereas angle had gone afore, nor was angle ware of his goings. so thorstein dromund came out to micklegarth a little after angle, and was fain above all things to slay him, but neither knew the other. now had they will to be taken into the company of the varangians, and the matter went well as soon as the varangians knew that they were northmen; and in those days was michael katalak king over micklegarth. thorstein dromund watched for angle, if in some wise he might know him, but won not the game because of the many people there; and ever would he lie awake, ill-content with his lot, and thinking how great was his loss. now hereupon it befell that the varangians were to go on certain warfare, and free the land from harrying; and their manner and law it was before they went from home to hold a weapon-show, and so it was now done; and when the weapon-show was established, then were all varangians to come there, and those withal who were minded to fall into their company, and they were to show forth their weapons. thither came both thorstein and angle; but thorbiorn angle showed forth his weapons first; and he had the short-sword, grettir's-loom; but when he showed it many praised it and said that it was an exceeding good weapon, but that it was a great blemish, that notch in the edge thereof; and asked him withal what had brought that to pass. angle said it was a thing worthy to be told of, "for this is the next thing to be said," says he, "that out in iceland i slew that champion who was called grettir the strong, and who was the greatest warrior and the stoutest-hearted of all men of that land, for him could no man vanquish till i came forth for that end; and whereas i had the good hap to win him, i took his life; though indeed he had my strength many times over; then i drave this short-sword into his head, and thereby was a shard broken from out its edge." so those who stood nigh said, that he must have been hard of head then, and each showed the short-sword to the other; but hereby thorstein deemed he knew now who this man was, and he prayed withal to see the short-sword even as the others; then angle gave it up with good will, for all were praising his bravery and that daring onset, and even in such wise did he think this one would do; and in no wise did he misdoubt him that thorstein was there, or that the man was akin to grettir. then dromund took the short-sword, and raised it aloft, and hewed at angle and smote him on the head, and so great was the stroke that it stayed but at the jaw-teeth, and thorbiorn angle fell to earth dead and dishonoured. thereat all men became hushed; but the chancellor of the town seized thorstein straightway, and asked for what cause he did such an ill-deed there at the hallowed thing. thorstein said that he was the brother of grettir the strong, and that withal he had never been able to bring vengeance to pass till then; so thereupon many put in their word, and said that the strong man must needs have been of great might and nobleness, in that thorstein had fared so far forth into the world to avenge him: the rulers of the city deemed that like enough; but whereas there was none there to bear witness in aught to thorstein's word, that law of theirs prevailed, that whosoever slew a man should lose nought but his life. so then speedy doom and hard enow did thorstein get; for in a dark chamber of a dungeon should he be cast and there abide his death, if none redeemed him therefrom with money. but when thorstein came into the dungeon, there was a man there already, who had come to death's door from misery; and both foul and cold was that abode; thorstein spake to that man and said, "how deemest thou of thy life?" he answered, "as of a right evil life, for of nought can i be holpen, nor have i kinsmen to redeem me." thorstein said, "nought is of less avail in such matters than lack of good rede; let us be merry then, and do somewhat that will be glee and game to us." the man said that he might have no glee of aught. "nay, then, but let us try it," said thorstein. and therewithal he fell to singing; and he was a man of such goodly voice that scarcely might his like be found therefor, nor did he now spare himself. now the highway was but a little way from the dungeon, and thorstein sang so loud and clear that the walls resounded therewith, and great game this seemed to him who had been half-dead erst; and in such wise did thorstein keep it going till the evening. chap. xc. <i>how the lady spes redeemed thorstein from the dungeon</i>. there was a great lady of a castle in that town called spes, exceeding rich and of great kin; sigurd was the name of her husband, a rich man too, but of lesser kin than she was, and for money had she been wedded to him; no great love there was betwixt them, for she thought she had been wedded far beneath her; high-minded she was and a very stirring woman. now so it befell, that, as thorstein made him merry that night, spes walked in the street hard by the dungeon, and heard thence so fair a voice, that she said she had never yet heard its like. she went with many folk, and so now she bade them go learn who had that noble voice. so they called out and asked who lay there in such evil plight; and thorstein named himself. then said spes, "art thou a man as much skilled in other matters as in singing?" he said there was but little to show for that. "what ill-deed hast thou done," said she, "that thou must needs be tormented here to the death?" he said that he had slain a man, and avenged his brother thereby, "but i could not show that by witnesses," said thorstein, "and therefore have i been cast into ward here, unless some man should redeem me, nor do i hope therefor, for no man have i here akin to me." "great loss of thee if thou art slain! and that brother of thine whom thou didst avenge, was he a man so famed, then?" he said that he was more mighty than he by the half; and so she asked what token there was thereof. then sang thorstein this stave-- "field of rings, eight men, who raise din of sword in clattering ways, strove the good short-sword in vain from the strong dead hand to gain; so they ever strained and strove, till at last it did behove, the feared quickener of the fight, from the glorious man to smite." "great prowess such a thing shows of the man," said those who understood the stave; and when she knew thereof, she spake thus, "wilt thou take thy life from me, if such a choice is given thee?" "that will i," said thorstein, "if this fellow of mine, who sits hereby, is redeemed along with me; or else will we both abide here together." she answers, "more of a prize do i deem thee than him." "howsoever that may be," said thorstein, "we shall go away in company both of us together, or else shall neither go." then she went there, whereas were the varangians, and prayed for freedom for thorstein, and offered money to that end; and to this were they right willing; and so she brought about by her mighty friendships and her wealth that they were both set free. but as soon as thorstein came out of the dungeon he went to see goodwife spes, and she took him to her and kept him privily; but whiles was he with the varangians in warfare, and in all onsets showed himself the stoutest of hearts. chap. xci. <i>of the doings of thorstein and the lady spes</i>. in those days was harald sigurdson at micklegarth, and thorstein fell into friendship with him. of much account was thorstein held, for spes let him lack no money; and greatly they turned their hearts one to the other, thorstein and spes; and many folk beside her deemed great things of his prowess. now her money was much squandered, because she ever gave herself to the getting of great friends; and her husband deemed that he could see that she was much changed, both in temper and many other of her ways, but most of all in the spending of money; both gold and good things he missed, which were gone from her keeping. so on a time sigurd her husband talks with her, and says that she has taken to strange ways. "thou givest no heed to our goods," says he, "but squanderest them in many wise; and, moreover, it is even as if i saw thee ever in a dream, nor ever wilt thou be there whereas i am; and i know for sure that something must bring this about." she answered, "i told thee, and my kinsfolk told thee, whenas we came together, that i would have my full will and freedom over all such things as it was beseeming for me to bestow, and for that cause i spare not thy goods. hast thou perchance aught to say to me concerning other matters which may be to my shame?" he answers, "somewhat do i misdoubt me that thou holdest some man or other whom thou deemest better than i be." "i wot not," says she, "what ground there may be thereto; but meseems thou mayest speak with little truth; and yet, none-the-less, we two alone shall not speak on this matter if thou layest this slander on me." so he let the talk drop for that time; she and thorstein went on in the same way, nor were they wary of the words of evil folk, for she ever trusted in her many and wise friends. oft they sat talking together and making merry; and on an evening as they sat in a certain loft, wherein were goodly things of hers, she bade thorstein sing somewhat, for she thought the goodman was sitting at the drink, as his wont was, so she bolted the door. but, when he had sung a certain while, the door was driven at, and one called from outside to open; and there was come the husband with many of his folk. the goodwife had unlocked a great chest to show thorstein her dainty things; so when she knew who was there, she would not unlock the door, but speaks to thorstein, "quick is my rede, jump into the chest and keep silent." so he did, and she shot the bolt of the chest and sat thereon herself; and even therewith in came the husband into the loft, for he and his had broken open the door thereof. then said the lady, "why do ye fare with all this uproar? are your foes after you then?" the goodman answered, "now it is well that thou thyself givest proof of thyself what thou art; where is the man who trolled out that song so well e'en now? i wot thou deemest him of far fairer voice than i be." she said: "not altogether a fool is he who can be silent; but so it fares not with thee: thou deemest thyself cunning, and art minded to bind thy lie on my back. well, then, let proof be made thereof! if there be truth in thy words, take the man; he will scarce have leapt out through the walls or the roof." so he searched through the place, and found him not, and she said, "why dost thou not take him then, since thou deemest the thing so sure?" he was silent, nor knew in sooth amid what wiles he was come; then he asked his fellows if they had not heard him even as he had. but whereas they saw that the mistress misliked the matter, their witness came to nought, for they said that oft folk heard not things as they were in very sooth. so the husband went out, and deemed he knew that sooth well enough, though they had not found the man; and now for a long time he left spying on his wife and her ways. another time, long after, thorstein and spes sat in a certain cloth-bower, and therein were clothes, both cut and uncut, which the wedded folk owned; there she showed to thorstein many kinds of cloth, and they unfolded them; but when they were least ware of it the husband came on them with many men, and brake into the loft; but while they were about that she heaped up clothes over thorstein, and leaned against the clothes-stack when they came into the chamber. "wilt thou still deny," said the goodman, "that there was a man with thee, when such men there are as saw you both?" she bade them not to go on so madly. "this time ye will not fail, belike; but let me be at peace, and worry me not." so they searched through the place and found nought, and at last gave it up. then the goodwife answered and said, "it is ever good to give better proof than the guesses of certain folk; nor was it to be looked for that ye should find that which was not. wilt thou now confess thy folly, husband, and free me from this slander?" he said, "the less will i free thee from it in that i trow thou art in very sooth guilty of that which i have laid to thy charge; and thou wilt have to put forth all thy might in this case, if thou art to get this thrust from thee." she said that that was in nowise against her mind, and therewithal they parted. thereafter was thorstein ever with the varangians, and men say that he sought counsel of harald sigurdson, and their mind it is that thorstein and spes would not have taken to those redes but for the trust they had in him and his wisdom. now as time wore on, goodman sigurd gave out that he would fare from home on certain errands of his own. the goodwife nowise let him herein; and when he was gone, thorstein came to spes, and the twain were ever together. now such was the fashion of her castle that it was built forth over the sea, and there were certain chambers therein whereunder the sea flowed; in such a chamber thorstein and spes ever sat; and a little trap-door there was in the floor of it, whereof none knew but those twain, and it might be opened if there were hasty need thereof. now it is to be told of the husband that he went nowhither, save into hiding, that he might spy the ways of the housewife; so it befell that, one night as they sat alone in the sea-loft and were glad together, the husband came on them unawares with a crowd of folk, for he had brought certain men to a window of the chamber, and bade them see if things were not even according to his word: and all said that he spake but the sooth, and that so belike he had done aforetime. so they ran into the loft, but when spes heard the crash, she said to thorstein, "needs must thou go down hereby, whatsoever be the cost, but give me some token if thou comest safe from the place." he said yea thereto, and plunged down through the floor, and the housewife spurned her foot at the lid, and it fell back again into its place, and no new work was to be seen on the floor. now the husband and his men came into the loft, and went about searching, and found nought, as was likely; the loft was empty, so that there was nought therein save the floor and the cross-benches, and there sat the goodwife, and played with the gold on her fingers; she heeded them little, and made as if there was nought to do. all this the goodman thought the strangest of all, and asked his folk if they had not seen the man, and they said that they had in good sooth seen him. then said the goodwife, "hereto shall things come as is said; <i>thrice of yore have all things happed</i>, and in likewise hast thou fared, sigurd," says she, "for three times hadst thou undone my peace, meseems, and are ye any wiser than in the beginning?" "this time i was not alone in my tale," said the goodman; "and now to make an end, shall thou go through the freeing by law, for in nowise will i have this shame unbooted." "meseems," says the goodwife, "thou biddest me what i would bid of thee, for good above all things i deem it to free myself from this slander, which has spread so wide and high, that it would be great dishonour if i thrust it not from off me." "in likewise," said the goodman, "shalt thou prove that thou hast not given away or taken to thyself my goods." she answers, "at that time when i free myself shall i in one wise thrust off from me all charges that thou hast to bring against me; but take thou heed whereto all shall come; i will at once free myself from all words that have been spoken here on this charge that thou now makest." the goodman was well content therewith, and got him gone with his men. now it is to be told of thorstein that he swam forth from under the chamber, and went aland where he would, and took a burning log, and held it up in such wise that it might be seen from the goodwife's castle, and she was abroad for long that evening, and right into the night, for that she would fain know if thorstein had come aland; and so when she saw the fire, she deemed that she knew that thorstein had taken land, for even such a token had they agreed on betwixt them. the next morning spes bade her husband speak of their matters to the bishop, and thereto was he fully ready. now they come before the bishop, and the goodman put forward all the aforesaid charges against her. the bishop asked if she had been known for such an one aforetime, but none said that they had heard thereof. then he asked with what likelihood he brought those things against her. so the goodman brought forward men who had seen her sit in a locked room with a man beside her, and they twain alone: and therewith the goodman said that he misdoubted him of that man beguiling her. the bishop said that she might well free herself lawfully from this charge if so she would. she said that it liked her well so to do, "and good hope i have," said spes, "that i shall have great plenty of women to purge me by oath in this case." now was an oath set forward in words for her, and a day settled whereon the case should come about; and thereafter she went home, and was glad at heart, and thorstein and spes met, and settled fully what they should do. chap. xcii. <i>of the oath that spes made before the bishop</i>. now that day past, and time wore on to the day when spes should make oath, and she bade thereto all her friends and kin, and arrayed herself in the best attire she had, and many noble ladies went with her. wet was the weather about that time, and the ways were miry, and a certain slough there was to go over or ever they might come to the church; and whenas spes and her company came forth anigh this slough, a great crowd was there before them, and a multitude of poor folk who prayed them of alms, for this was in the common highway, and all who knew her deemed it was their part to welcome her, and prayed for good things for her as for one who had oft holpen them well. a certain staff-propped carle there was amidst those poor folk, great of growth and long-bearded. now the women made stay at the slough, because that the great people deemed the passage across over miry, and therewith when that staff-carle saw the goodwife, that she was better arrayed than the other women, he spake to her on this wise, "good mistress," said he, "be so lowly as to suffer me to bear thee over this slough, for it is the bounden duty of us staff-carles to serve thee all we may." "what then," says she, "wilt thou bear me well, when thou mayst not bear thyself?" "yet would it show forth thy lowliness," says he, "nor may i offer better than i have withal; and in all things wilt thou fare the better, if thou hast no pride against poor folk." "wot thou well, then," says she, "that if thou bearest me not well it shall be for a beating to thee, or some other shame greater yet." "well, i would fain risk it," said he; and therewithal he got on to his feet and stood in the slough. she made as if she were sore afeard of his carrying her, yet nathless she went on, borne on his back; and he staggered along exceeding slowly, going on two crutches, and when he got midmost of the slough he began to reel from side to side. she bade him gather up his strength. "never shalt thou have made a worse journey than this if thou easiest me down here." then the poor wretch staggers on, and gathers up all his courage and strength, and gets close to the dry land, but stumbles withal, and falls head-foremost in such wise, that he cast her on to the bank, but fell into the ditch up to his armpits, and therewithal as he lay there caught at the goodwife, and gat no firm hold of her clothes, but set his miry hand on her knee right up to the bare thigh. she sprang up and cursed him, and said that ever would evil come from wretched gangrel churles: "and thy full due it were to be beaten, if i thought it not a shame, because of thy misery." then said he, "meted in unlike ways is man's bliss; me-thought i had done well to thee, and i looked for an alms at thy hands, and lo, in place thereof, i get but threats and ill-usage and no good again withal;" and he made as if he were exceeding angry. many deemed that he looked right poor and wretched, but she said that he was the wiliest of old churles; but whereas many prayed for him, she took her purse to her, and therein was many a penny of gold; then she shook down the money and said, "take thou this, carle; nowise good were it, if thou hadst not full pay for the hard words thou hadst of me; now have i parted with thee, even according to thy worth." then he picked up the gold, and thanked her for her good deed. spes went to the church, and a great crowd was there before her. sigurd pushed the case forward eagerly, and bade her free herself from those charges he had brought against her. she said, "i heed not thy charges; what man dost thou say thou hast seen in my chamber with me? lo now oft it befalls that some worthy man will be with me, and that do i deem void of any shame; but hereby will i swear that to no man have i given gold, and of no man have i had fleshly defilement save of my husband, and that wretched staff-carle who laid his miry hand on my thigh when i was borne over the slough this same day." now many deemed that this was a full oath, and that no shame it was to her, though the carle had laid hand on her unwittingly; but she said that all things must be told even as they were. thereafter she swore the oath in such form as is said afore, and many said thereon that she showed the old saw to be true, <i>swear loud and say little</i>. but for her, she said that wise men would think that this was not done by guile. then her kin fell to saying that great shame and grief it was for high-born women to have such lying charges brought against them bootless, whereas it was a crime worthy of death if it were openly known of any woman that she had done whoredoms against her husband. therewithal spes prayed the bishop to make out a divorce betwixt her and her husband sigurd, because she said she might nowise bear his slanderous lying charges. her kinsfolk pushed the matter forward for her, and so brought it about by their urgency that they were divorced, and sigurd got little of the goods, and was driven away from the land withal, for here matters went as is oft shown that they will, and <i>the lower must lowt</i>; nor could he bring aught about to avail him, though he had but said the very sooth. now spes took to her all their money, and was deemed the greatest of stirring women; but when folk looked into her oath, it seemed to them that there was some guile in it, and were of a mind that wise men must have taught her that way of swearing; and men dug out this withal, that the staff-carle who had carried her was even thorstein dromund. yet for all that sigurd got no righting of the matter. chap. xciii. <i>thorstein and spes come out to norway</i>. thorstein dromund was with the varangians while the talk ran highest about these matters; so famed did he become that it was deemed that scarce had any man of the like prowess come thither; the greatest honours he gat from harald sigurdson, for he was of his kin; and after his counsels did thorstein do, as men are minded to think. but a little after sigurd was driven from the land, thorstein fell to wooing spes to wife, and she took it meetly, but went to her kinsmen for rede; then they held meetings thereon, and were of one accord that she herself must rule the matter; then was the bargain struck, and good was their wedded life, and they were rich in money, and all men deemed thorstein to be a man of exceeding good luck, since he had delivered himself from all his troubles. the twain were together for two winters in micklegarth, and then thorstein said to his goodwife that he would fain go back to see his possessions in norway. she said he should have his will, so they sold the lands they had there, and gat them great wealth of chattels, and then betook them from that land, with a fair company, and went all the way till they came to norway. thorstein's kin welcomed them both right heartily, and soon saw that spes was bountiful and high-minded, and she speedily became exceeding well befriended. some children they had between them, and they abode on their lands, and were well content with their life. in those days was magnus the good king over norway. thorstein soon went to meet him, and had good welcome of him, for he had grown famous for the avenging of grettir the strong (for men scarce know of its happening that any other icelander, save grettir asmundson, was avenged in micklegarth); and folk say that thorstein became a man of king magnus, and for nine winters after he had come to norway he abode in peace, and folk of the greatest honour were they deemed, he and his wife. then came home from micklegarth king harald sigurdson, and king magnus gave him half norway, and they were both kings therein for a while; but after the death of king magnus many of those who had been his friends were ill-content, for all men loved him; but folk might not abide the temper of king harald, for that he was hard and was wont to punish men heavily. but thorstein dromund was fallen into eld, though he was still the halest of men; and now was the slaying of grettir asmundson sixteen winters agone. chap. xciv. <i>thorstein dromund and spes leave norway again</i>. at that time many urged thorstein to go meet king harald, and become his man; but he took not kindly to it. then spes spake, "i will, thorstein," says she, "that thou go not to meet harald the king, for to another king have we much more to pay, and need there is that we turn our minds to that; for now we both grow old and our youth is long departed, and far more have we followed after worldly devices, than the teaching of christ, or the ways of justice and uprightness; now wot i well that this debt can be paid for us neither by our kindred or our goods, and i will that we ourselves should pay it: now will i therefore that we change our way of life and fare away from this land and unto the abode of the pope, because i well believe that so only may my case be made easy to me." thorstein said, "as well known to me as to thee are the things thou talkest of; and it is meet that thou have thy will herein, since thou didst ever give me my will, in a matter of far less hope; and in all things will we do as thou biddest." this took men utterly unawares; thorstein was by then sixty-seven years of age, yet hale in all wise. so now he bid to him all his kindred and folk allied to him, and laid before them the things he had determined on. wise men gave good words thereto, though they deemed of their departing as of the greatest loss. but thorstein said that there was nought sure about his coming back: "now do i give thanks to all of you," says he, "for the heed ye paid to my goods when i was last away from the land; now i will offer you, and pray you to take to you my children's havings, and my children, and bring them up according to the manliness that is in you; for i am fallen so far into eld that there is little to say as to whether i may return or not, though i may live; but ye shall in such wise look after all that i leave behind me here, even as if i should never come back to norway." then men answered, that good redes would be plenteous if the housewife should abide behind to look after his affairs; but she said-- "for that cause did i come hither from the out-lands, and from micklegarth, with thorstein, leaving behind both kin and goods, for that i was fain that one fate might be over us both; now have i thought it good to be here; but i have no will to abide long in norway or the north-lands if he goes away; ever has there been great love betwixt us withal, and nought has happed to divide us; now therefore will we depart together, for to both of us is known the truth about many things that befell since we first met." so, when they had settled their affairs in this wise, thorstein bade chosen folk divide his goods into halves; and his kin took the half which his children were to own, and they were brought up by their father's kin, and were in aftertimes the mightiest of men, and great kin in the wick has come from them. but thorstein and spes divided their share of the goods, and some they gave to churches for their souls' health, and some they took with them. then they betook themselves romeward, and many folk prayed well for them. chap. xcv. <i>how thorstein dromund and spes fared to rome and died there</i>. now they went their ways till they came to rome-town; and so when they came before him, who was appointed to hear the shrifts of men, they told him well and truly all things even as they had happed, and with what cunning and craft they had joined together in wedlock; therewithal they gave themselves up with great humility to such penance for the amending of their lives as he should lay on them; but because that they themselves had turned their minds to the atoning of their faults, without any urging or anger from the rulers of the church, they were eased of all fines as much as might be, but were bidden gently that they should now and henceforth concern themselves reasonably for their souls' health, and from this time forward live in chastity, since they had gotten them release from all their guilt; and herewith they were deemed to have fared well and wisely. then said spes, "now, meseems, our matters have gone well and are come to an end, and no unlucky life have we had together; yet maybe fools will do after the pattern of our former life; now therefore let us make such an end to all, that good men also may follow after us and do the like: so let us go bargain with those who are deft in stone-craft; that they make for each of us a cell of stone, that we may thereby atone for what we have done against god." so thorstein laid down money for the making of a stone cell for each of them, and for such-like other things as they might need, and might not be without for the keeping of their lives; and then, when the stone work was done, and the time was meet therefor and all things were ready, they departed their worldly fellowship of their own free will, that they might the more enjoy a holy fellowship in another world. and there they abode both in their stone cells, and lived as long as god would have it, and so ended their lives. and most men say that thorstein dromund and spes his wife may be deemed to be folk of the greatest good luck, all things being accounted of; but neither his children or any of his issue have come to iceland for a tale to be made of them. now sturla the lawman says so much as that he deems no outlawed man ever to have been so mighty as grettir the strong; and thereto he puts forth three reasons-- and first in that he was the wisest of them all; for the longest in outlawry he was of any man, and was never won whiles he was hale. and again, in that he was the strongest in all the land among men of a like age; and more fitted to lay ghosts and do away with hauntings than any other. and thirdly, in that he was avenged out in micklegarth, even as no other man of iceland has been; and this withal, that thorstein dromund, who avenged him, was so lucky a man in his last days. so here ends the story of grettir asmundson, our fellow-countryman. thank have they who listened thereto; but thank little enow to him who scribbled out the tale. good people, here the work hath end: may all folk to the good god wend! notes and corrections. p. . the genealogy of gamli of meals, as here recorded, seems to be peculiar to grettir's saga. yet its statements are inconsistent in the matter, for it gives this twofold genealogy of the man. see ed. kaupmannahöfn: . p. . ranveig was the wife of gamli, the son of <i>thorald</i>, the son of the <i>vendlander</i>. p. . and (thorir of the pass) sold the land at meals to <i>thorhalli</i>, son of gamli the <i>widelander</i>. his son was gamli, who had to wife ranveig, the daughter of asmund greyhaired. according to 'landnáma,' this gamli of meals, asmund's son-in-law, was son of thord, and great-great-grandson of thorhrolf or thorolf fasthaldi (fastholding), who settled lands on the north coast of icefirth-deep (isafjartðardjúp), and farmed at snowfells (snaefjöll). we have given thorhall in our translation in both places as the man's name. perhaps thoraldr is nothing but a corruption of thorólfr fasthaldi; and thorhalli again a corruption of the first. but gamli the vendlander or widelander, we have no means of identifying. p. . 'now in those times there were wont to be large fire-halls at the homesteads.' the hall, <i>holl, skáli, stofa</i>, was the principal room in every home. <i>elda-skáli</i>, or fire-hall, as the one alluded to at biarg, was so called from its serving as a cooking-hall and a sitting-hall at once. the main features in the construction of a hall were the following: it was generally built from east to west, in an oblong form, having doors either at one or both ends through the south-side wall, where it met the gable end. these two entrances were called carles'-door and queens'-door (<i>karldyrr, kvenndyrr</i>), being respectively for the ingress and egress of men and women. sometimes the men's-door was adorned with the beaks (<i>brandar</i>) of a hewn-up ship, as was the case with the hall of thorir of garth, standing as door-posts on either side. the door led to a front-hall (<i>forkáli, fortofa, and-dyri, framhús</i>), which, sometimes at least, seems to have been portioned off into an inner room (<i>klefi</i>), or bay, and the vestibule proper. in the bay were kept victuals, such as dried fish, flour, and sometimes, no doubt, beer. within, the hall fell into three main portions: the main hall, or the nave, and the aisles on either side thereof (<i>skot</i>): the plan of the hall was much like that of one of our regular-built churches without chancel, say like a suffolk church of the fifteenth century, the nave being lighted by a clerestory, and the aisles running the whole way along the nave, and communicating behind the dais. these aisles were used for sleeping-places; so that along the whole length of the hall, and behind the dais, all was partitioned into bedsteads, open or locked,--open, that is to say, communicating with the nave by a doorless aperture,--locked, that is, shut out of view from the nave (<i>lok-rekkja, lok-hvila</i>). on the wall between nave and aisles, which was covered with a panelling on its inside at least, were hung the shields and weapons of the chief and his retainers, or home-men. sometimes it was painted with mythic subjects, and adorned with fantastic carvings; on great occasions it was covered with hangings. along both side-walls ran a row of seats, called benches (<i>bekkr</i>), the north-most of which, or the one which faced the sun, was called the nobler bench (<i>aeðri bekkr</i>), the south-most one, the less noble bench, (<i>úoeðri bekkr</i>). in the middle of either bench was a seat, called the high seat (<i>öndvegi</i>); that of the nobler bench being occupied by the chief or head of the house, unless he had for his guest a man nobler than himself, in which case the latter took it; that of the less noble bench being allotted to the noblest among the guests. the nobler bench was on ordinary occasions the bench for the chief and the household. the less noble for the guests. in front of the chiefs high-seat were the high-seat-poles which in the early ages of paganism in the north were objects of much veneration, and must always accompany the chief if he moved his abode, and point out his new homestead, if he fared for it over sea, by the spot where they drifted ashore, as, when land was sighted, they were thrown overboard. in front of the seat-rows just described were placed the tables whereon the meals were put forth. and when the number of people exceeded the capacity of the ordinary benches, a new row of benches was placed in front of the tables, so that there were two rows of benches down along either side of the hall with the tables between them. the last-named rows of benches were called <i>forsoeti</i>; and their occupiers, when seated at table, faced those of the upper and lower bench. in the centre of the hall, if of the fashion, as it probably was in early times, of a fire-hall, was a narrow oblong stone-pavement, probably as long as the rows of the benches, whereon fires were lit for heating of the room, for cooking of food in some cases, and for the purpose of lighting up the hall. the smoke that rose from the burning fuel found its way out through the luffer or louvre, in the middle of the ridge of the roof (<i>ljóri</i>); the <i>reyk-beri</i>, reek-bearer, seems to have been a contrivance for creating draught to carry the smoke out through the <i>ljóri</i>. in that end of the hall which was opposite to the entrance was the cross-bench, dais (<i>pallr</i>), occupied by the women. here was also a high seat (<i>öndvegi á palli</i>), which was generally taken by the mistress of the house. in our saga it seems that the hall of sand-heaps made an exception to this general rule, as it apparently had the dais immediately within the doorway. p. (cpr. ). it is worth observing here, that thorvald, son of asgeir madpate the younger, dwells at as in waterdale, about , when thorgils makson was slain. when grettir played, as a youth, on midfirth-water (or <i>cca</i>. ), he dwelt at asgeirsriver. we mention this because there has been some confusion about the matter. on the slight authority of the Þáttr af isleifi biskupi', biskupa sögur i. , it has been maintained that he dwelt at asgeirsriver even as late as <i>cca</i>. , when his daughter dalla was wooed by isleif the bishop. g. vigfússon, safn til sögu islands, i. . on the other hand, the statement of hungrvaka that he farmed at as (<i>i.e.</i>, at the ridge), at the time aforesaid, has given rise to the conjecture that thereby must be meant valdar-as, a farm in willowdale, near asgeirsriver, the manor of the madpate family. g. vigfússon, in biskupa sögur, i. , note . it seems there is no need of setting aside the clear statement of our saga, that the as was as in waterdale (<i>see</i> index), and not valdarás in willowdale at all, or that thorvald had, by , moved up to the neighbouring country-side of waterdale, and settled among the kin of his great-grandmother. p. , . . 'the men of meals,' is a close translation of the original, which, however, is incorrect; for the men of meals were grettir's kin-in-law, and natural allies. the saga means the men of meal, kormak and his followers, and the original should be either, þeir mel-menn, or mels-menn, or þeir kormakr frá mel. p. , . , . we have purposely altered the text from: en þú öruggr í einangri, <i>i.e.</i>, 'but thou stout in danger,' into: en <i>þó, i.e.</i>, 'but stout in danger none-the-less.' the former reading seems barely to give any sense, the last a natural and the required one. p. . hallmund. our saga is one among the historic sagas of iceland which deals with traditions of ancient belief in the spirits of the unknown regions of the land that are interested in the well-being of the mere men who dwell near them. hallmund and the giant thorir are the representatives of these powers in our saga. of these hallmund is the more interesting of the two, both for his human sympathies, his tragic end, and the poetry ascribed to him. at one time or other he has had a great name in the icelandic folk-lore among the spirits of the land, the so-called land wights <i>(land-voetir)</i>, and there is still existing a poem of ancient type, the refrain of which is closely similar to that of grettir's song on hallmund, but which is stated to be by some cave-wight that lived in a deep and gloomy cavern somewhere in deepfirth, on the north side of broadfirth. in the so-called bergbúaþáttr or cave-dweller's tale (edited by g. vigfússon in nordiske old-skrifter, xxvii., pp. - , and - , copenhagen, ), this song is said to have been heard by two men, who, on their way to church, had lost their road, and were overtaken by the darkness of night, and, in order to escape straying too far out of their way, sought shelter under the lee of a sheer rock which chanced to be on their way. they soon found a mouth of a cave where they knew not that any cave was to be looked for, whereupon one of the wayfarers set up a cross-mark in the door of the cave, and then with his fellow-traveller sat down on two stones at the mouth of the cave, as they did not dare to risk themselves too far in the gloomy abode away from the cross. when the first third part of the night was spent they heard something come along from within the cave doorwards out to them.[ ] they signed themselves with the sign of the cross, and prayed god's mercy to be on them, for they thought the doings within the deep of the cavern now grew big enough. on looking into the darkness they saw a sight like unto two full-moons, or huge targets, with some monstrous figure (unreadable in the ms.) between them. they thought this was nothing but two eyes, and that nowise narrow of face might he be who bore such torches. next they heard a chanting of a monstrous kind and in a big voice. a lay there was sung of twelve staves, with the final refrain of each twice repeated. [footnote : <i>innan eptir</i>, as here rendered, is the reading of the ms. from which bergbua páttr is edited. <i>innar eptir</i>, as the aforesaid edition of the tale has it, is wrong.] the poem seems to be a death-song over the cave-kin of the country by the new change of thought brought in by christianity. p. . 'grettir lay out that summer on madderdale-heath, and in sundry places, and at whiles he was at reek-heath.' a corroboration of the saga has been clearly set forth by the discovery of a grettir's-lair, in axefirth-peak, in . true the saga passes over grettir's doings on these vast eastern wildernesses, but tradition has preserved the name for the place, and it shows by its construction and position that it must have been constructed by one skilled in choosing a good fighting stand, and a good and wide view at the same time. an icelandic farmer has thus given an accurate and reliable description of grettir's lair: 'in the summer of , when i came north to axefirth, i heard talk of a grettir's lair upon axefirth-peak.... many who had seen it made a slight matter of it, which brought me to think it must have few peculiarities of antiquarian interest to show. but on the th of september, this summer ( ), i went with the rape-ruler arni jónsson of wood-stead to inspect the lair. walking up to it from the level ground below took us three minutes. the lair stands in the lower part of a slip of stones beneath some sheer rocks between a sandstone rock, called the carline, and the stone slip from the peak. it is built up of stones, straight as a line, and runs, - / ells in length, inches broad, and is, within walls, / of an ell deep. the half of it is deftly covered in with flat stones, the longest of which are ells inches long, and about half an ell in thickness, and a little more in breadth. small thin fragments of stone are wedged in between these where their junctures do not close tight, and so firmly are they fixed, that without instruments they may not be removed. one stone in the south wall is so large that we deemed it fully the task of from four to six men to move it when loose. the north side wall is beginning to give way, where the room is covered in. on the outside it is overgrown with black scurf and grey moss. the head end we deemed was the one which is turned to the rock and is not covered in, and evidently has been open from the beginning. here the floor is overgrown with moss, grass, thyme, ferns, crow-foot, and lady's-mantle. in all likelihood the inmate has closed that part of the room in with hides, when needful. on sitting up, all who went to and fro on the road below, must have been within view; not only those who came from the north of foxplain (melrakkaslètta) and nupa-sveit, but also far toward the north he had a view even unto the open sea, nay, even unto budluga-haven. looking southwards, he must have seen all who came up from the outer firth; for from the lair there is a clear view even unto burn-river, past which the high-road goes. a popular tradition says, too, that all who must needs pass this way, when grettir was in the peak, had taken at last to going over the top of the peak, where there was no road, but the sheep-wilds of the axefirthers. the lair-bider, even if he was set on by an overwhelming force, was not easily won, and least of all a man of such prowess as grettir, except by shot; for he might at a moment's notice take his stand in the rock above his head, where one side only gives the chance of an onset, and where there is an ample supply of loose stones, large and small, on the peak side of the rock to defend oneself; on three sides sheer rocks hem in the position, and those overhead are many times the height of a man's.' p. . knave-game. perhaps the truer rendering would have been 'nut-game,' if indeed 'hnet tafl' here stands not for 'hnef-tafl,' as we at first supposed. it is undoubtedly true that among the early games of iceland the 'hettafl,' 'hnottafl,' was a distinct kind of game, as was also the 'hneftafl,' 'hnefatafl,' knave-game. if we follow the text as it stands, the game that thorbiorn played is supposed to have borne some resemblance to what is now called in iceland 'refskák,' fox-play, anglice 'fox and geese,' the aim of which is, by twelve pieces, called lambs, to bring the fox into such a position as to leave him no place to move, whichso way he turns. p. . pied-belly we call the ram, although the saga seems to mean that he was called autumn-belly, which is a name of little, if of any, sense at all. we suppose that <i>haus-mögóttr</i>, p. , and <i>haust-magi</i>, p. , is one and the same thing, the <i>t</i> having spuriously crept into the text from a scribe's inadvertence. p. (cpr. , , ). 'in such wise grettir lost his life, &c.' the hardest thing to account for, or to bring to an intelligible issue in grettir's saga, is the incongruity between the statements as to his age at his death and the number of years of his outlawry, as compared with the truthful account of the events told in the saga itself. from the time when grettir slew his first man, all the events of the saga may be traced clearly year for year up to his death, and their truthfulness is borne out whensoever they chance to run parallel to events mentioned in other trustworthy sagas, and they fall in with the right time nearly without an exception. but the statement on the page referred to above, that he was fourteen years old when he slew skeggi, that he was twenty when he dealt with glam; twenty-five when he fell into outlawry, and forty-four when he was slain, is utterly confuted by the chronology of the saga itself. these numbers given above are obviously made to fall in with the story in page about the talk of the time of his outlawry at the thing. the question is stated to have been this: whether he had been a fraction of the twentieth year an outlaw, his friends hoping that in such case a part might count <i>pro toto</i>. but the truth of the matter was that he had neither been an outlaw for a fraction of the twentieth year, nor even for anything like nineteen years. he was outlawed at the thing held in , his year of outlawry dated from thing to thing; this talk befell in , consequently he had been full fifteen years and no fraction of a year in outlawry. the story, therefore, of the twenty years, or nineteen years and a fraction, of outlawry falls utterly to the ground when brought to the test of the actual facts as recorded in the saga. but, despite of this, it is not to be supposed that this episode at the thing in is brought in at random and without any cause. there are two obvious reasons for assigning twenty years to the length of grettir's outlawry, and for bringing into the tale a discussion on that subject just where it is done. the one we may call the reason of traditional belief, the other the reason of dramatic effect. grettir was indisputably for all reasons the greatest of icelandic outlaws, and the fond imagination of his biographers at all times urged them to give the longest endurance to the time of his outlawry above all outlaws, without inquiring closely as to whether it agreed with the saga itself or not. the other, or the dramatic motive, lies in bringing in the discussion on this long outlawry just at this particular thing of ; for it was obviously the teller's object to suggest to the reader the hope of the great outlaw's legal restoration to the cherished society of man just before the falling of the crushing blow, in order to give an enhanced tragic interest to his end, and he undoubtedly succeeds in doing this. to these reasons, besides others less obvious, we imagine this main inconsistency in grettir's saga is to be ascribed. nevertheless, it is worth observing that blunders of scribes may have in a measure been at work here. if we are not mistaken most of the existing mss. of our saga state that when he fell (p. ) 'he was one winter short of--<i>var hánum vetri fátt á</i>'--whatever number of years they give as his age. and we venture the suggestion that originally the passage ran thus: var hánum vetri fátt á hálf iv{tugum},[ ] <i>i.e.</i>, he lacked one winter of thirty-five years, when he was slain. if a subsequent scribe committed the easy blunder of dropping i before v, the reading of our original (edition, ) would be the natural result, and an offspring of that same blunder would also as easily be the other reading, common to one class of the grettir mss.: var hánum vetri fátt í v{tugum} or í hinum v. tug, by dropping the syllable 'hálf.' [footnote : a man of twenty, thirty, forty, &c., is in the icelandic expressed by the adjective <i>tvítugr, prítugr, fertugr</i>; a man twenty-five, thirty-five, &c., is <i>hálf-prítugr, hálf-fertugr</i>, &c.; the units beyond the tens are expressed by the particle <i>um</i>, a man of twenty-one, thirty-seven, or forty-nine, is said to have <i>einn</i> (<i>i.e.</i>, vetr. winter) um = beyond, tvítugt, sjö um þrítugt, níu um fertugt, &c.] if the whole passage on page , beginning with the words quoted in the commencement of this note, be not indeed a later interpolation, we believe that all that follows the words, 'till the time when he dealt with glam, the thrall,' must, indeed, be taken as an interpolation of later commentators. our suggestion recommends itself in this at least, that it brings about full harmony between the statements, here treated of, and the saga itself, for when grettir left the land in he was fourteen years of age, and twenty years later, or , he fell. how far his age thus given agrees or not with the decrepitude of his father, who died in , having been apparently already a bedridden man for some time, is a matter of itself, and need not affect the accuracy of our suggestion, which, however, we only put forth as a conjecture, not having within reach the mss. of grettir's saga. a critical examination of these might, perhaps, allow of a more positive discourse on this vexed point, which to all commentators on grettir has hitherto remained an insoluble riddle. p. , . . the original makes asdis daughter of skeggi the short-handed. this is here corrected agreeably to landnáma, and other records of her family. indices. index i. * * * * * personal names. air (loptr), <i>alias</i> hallmund, the mountain sprite, , , aldis konal's-daughter, called a. from barra, , , aldis, ufeigh grettir's daughter, , alf a-dales, , ali, an house-carle of thorbiorn oxmain's, , , alof ingolf's-daughter, wife of eric snare, angle. <i>see</i> thorbiorn angle. ari marson, arinbiorn. <i>see</i> arnbiorn. arnbiorn, kinsman of thorfinn of haramsey, grettir's companion, , arngeir berseson, father of biorn hitdale-champion, arni jónsson, arnor thorbiornson, - arnor thordson, called earls' skald (jarlaskáld), , , arnor thorodson, called hay-nose (heynef, or hýnef, landnáma), arnora, thord yeller's daughter, asa, ufeigh grettir's daughter, first wife of onund treefoot, , , , asbiorn, ufeigh grettir's son, asbrand thorbrandson, asdis, bard jokulson's daughter, the mother of grettir asmundson, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , asdis gamli's-daughter, asgeir audunson the older, called madpate (son of audun skokul, al. onund treefoot), , , asgeir audunson the younger, grandson of the preceding, called madpate , , , asgrim ellida-grimson, , asgrim ondottson, , , , asmund from asmund's-peak, asmund ondottson, , , , asmund thorgrimson, called the greyhaired (haerulángr), the father of grettir the strong, - , - , - , , , - , , , , , , , , asmund ufeigh's-son, called the beardless (skegglauss), asny vestar's-daughter, wife of ufeigh grettir, asta gudbrand's-daughter, mother of olaf the saint, king of norway, asvor, ufeigh grettir's daughter, atli asmundson, grettir's brother, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , - , , , , , , , atli ulfson, called the red (hinn rauði), aud (<i>alias</i> unnr) the deeply wealthy, , , audun, asgeir madpate's son, audun asgeir's-son, of audunstead, , , , , , , , audun goaty (geit), an earl in norway, , audun skokul (skökull), audun, goodman of windham in haramsey, , , balk blaengson of sotaness, , , , bard jokulson, , bard, the mate of haflidi's ship, bardi (al. slaying-bardi) gudmundson, of asbiornsness, , , , , , , , bessi balkson, called the godless (goðlauss), bessi skald-torfa's-son, , , , , biarni, <i>see</i> biorn, the settler of biornfirth. biarni of dog-dale, biarni of jorvi in flysia-wharf, , biarni thorsteinson, the sage (hinn spaki), biorn arngeirson, called hitdale-champion, , , , , , biorn, settler of biornfirth, , biorn, kinsman of thorkel in salft, , , , , , , , biorn of meadness, , , , biorn rolfson, father of eyvind the eastman, , , , , biorn ufeigh's-son, bloeng of sotaness, bodmod, bodvar of bodvar's-knolls, bork the fat, botulf, grandfather of thorir of garth, brand, a fisherman, one of thorgeir bottleback's house-carles, brand, one of thorbiorn angle's followers at the slaying of grettir, bundle-torfi, crow-hreidar. <i>see</i> hreida. dalla thorvald's-daughter, wife of bishop isleif, dromund. <i>see</i> thorstein dromund. egil audunson, eid skeggison, from the ridge, eilif ketilson, einar, a bonder in jadar, einar of combe, einar olvirson, ellida-grim asgrimson, , eric alefain (ölfúss), of sorreldale, , eric hakonson, earl of norway, , eric hroaldson, of god-dales, , eric snare (snara), , , eric starrison, eyulf, brother-in-law of slaying-bardi, eyolf of fairwood, , eyulf egilson, eyulf gudmundson, eyvind biornson, called the eastman (austmaðr), , , , , , eyvind (herraudson), settler of eyvind's-firth, finnbogi thorgeirson, , flosi ericson, of arnes, , , , , , frederick the bishop, fridgerd thord's-daughter, fridmund of shady-vale, frodi, the king, gamli skeggison, gamli, the vendlander or widelander (viðlendingr, vindlendingr) , , gamli thorhallson, of meals, , , , , , , , , , , gaut sleitason, , geirlaug, goodwife of broadlair-stead, geirmund helskin (heljarskinn), king of hordaland, , geirmund hiuka-timber, gerd bodvar's-daughter, gerpir, gisli thorsteinson, , , , , glam from sylgsdales, afterwards a ghost, - , glum uspakson, , , grettir asmundson, called the strong, - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , - , , - , , , , - , - , - , - , - , - , , - , - , - , , - , - , , , - , - , - , - , - , , - , - , , , , , - , , , , - , - , , , , , , , , , , , , grim gamlison, grim kolbiornson, a hersir in norway, , , , , grim the northlander, an outlaw and hired assassin, , grim thorhallson, of thorhall-stead in shady-vale, grim thorhallson, grandson of the preceding, grim thorhallson of meals, afterwards of gilsbank, , , , , , , , , , , , grim, son of the widow of kropp, , , , , grimulf, gudbiorg ufeigh's-daughter, gudbrand ball (kúla), gudbrandr vigfússon, , gudmund the rich (hinn ríki), of maddervales, , gudmund solmundson, , gudrun, wife of thorhall grimson of shady-vale, guest (= grettir asmundson), , , , - gunnar, court-owner in tunsberg, , , gunnar thorirson, of the pass, , , , , gyda, wife of ingiald the trusty, gyrid einar's-daughter, haeng, father of vestar, haering, , , , haflidi of reydarfell, a skipper, , , , , , , hafr thorarinson, , , hafr thordson, hakon, earl of norway, hakon ericson, an earl of norway, haldor thorgeirson of hof in head-strand, , , , , , , , haldora steinmod's-daughter, halfdan the black (hinn svarti), hall gudmundson of asbiornsness, hall of kropp, , hallmund, a mountain sprite, , , , , - , , hallstein horse (hestr), , hallvard sweeping (súgandi), , , , hamund, a fisherman, one of thorgeir bottleback's household, harald halfdanson, called the unshorn (lúfa) and the fair-hair (hárfagri), king of norway, , , , harald ring, harald sigurdson, varangian chief, afterwards king of norway, , , , , harek, a king's farmer in norway, , head-thord = thord of hofdi, , hedin, a skald. hedin of soknadale, helga ondott's-daughter, second wife of biorn rolfson, and mother of thrand, helga thorkel's-daughter, of fishbrook, helga thorir's-daughter, from boardere, helgi of bathstead, , helgi eyvindson, called the lean (hinn magri), , hjalti thord scalp's-son, hialti thordson, of hof, , , , , , , , , hiarandi, earl svein's man, , , hlif rolfs-daughter, the first wife of biorn rolfson, holmgang-starri. <i>see</i> starri ericson. hoskuld, father of olaf peacock, hrefna asgeir's-daughter (d. of asgeir madpate the younger), hreiðar, called crow-hreiðar (kráku-h.), hroald geirmundson, illugi asmundson, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ingiald the trusty (tryggvi) of hvin, ingiald frodison, an earl, ingimund thorsteinson, called the old (hinn gamli), , ingolf (herraudson), of ingolf's-firth, ingolf ornsorn, jokul bardson, , jokul ingimundson, isleif gissurson, first bishop of skalholt, , , ivar kolbeinson, , ivar smiter (beytill), kalf asgeirson, of asgeir's-river, son of asgeir madpate the younger, , kari solmundson, called singed-(sviðu)-kari, karr, one of thorbiorn angle's followers in the slaying of grettir, , karr the old, a ghost, , , , ketil the huge (raumr), ketil the onehanded (hinn ein-hendi), kiarlak of skridinsenni, kiartan steinson, of isledale-river, , kiarval, a sea-king, kiarval, king of ireland, , kiotvi the wealthy (hinn auðgi), knut the mighty, king of england, , kolbein (of rogaland), , kolbiorn the abasher (sneypir), konal steinmodson, kormak of meal in midfirth, , , , , , , leif kolbeinson, , magnus the good, king of norway, mar atlison, michael katalak, 'king' of constantinople, midfirth-skeggi, , , narfi, kinsman of kormak and thorgils of meal, noise. <i>see</i> thorbiorn noise. odd foundling-skald (úmaga-skáld), , , , odd, the monk, odd ufeigh's son, ogmund the evil (illi), - , olaf eyvindson of drangar, , , , olaf haraldson, saint, king of norway, , , , , , , , olaf hoskuldson, called peacock (pá), olaf thorsteinson, called feilan, , , oleif einarson, called the broad (breiðr), olvir bairn-carle (barnakarl), ondott crow (kráka), , , , , onund ufeigh's son, called treefoot (trèfótr), , - , - , , , - , - , , , orm eyolfson, chaplain of bishop thorlak, orm storolfson, , orm the wealthy (hinn audgi), rafarta kiarval's-daughter, ranveig asmund's-daughter, , , ranveig, first wife of asmund gray-hair, redbeard. <i>see</i> thorir redbeard. rognvald, an earl, rolf of am, father of biorn, rolf ingialdson, father of hlif, rut of combeness, saemund, the south-island man, , sam borkson, sigfast, son-in-law of king solver, sighvat, father-in-law of ondott crow, signy sighvat's-daughter, sigurd, bishop, sigurd, the husband of spes, , , , , , , , , skald-torfa, , , skapti thorodson of hjalli, lawman, , , , , , , , , , , skeggi. <i>see</i> midfirth skeggi. skeggi botulfson, skeggi gamlison, of scarf-stead, skeggi, a house-carle from the ridge in waterdale, , , , skeggi of the ridge, skeggi, son of steinvor, fathered on kiartan, skeggi thorarinson, skeggi thorirson, from garth, skeggi gamlison (from meals), called the short-handed (skammhöndúngr), , , , , , skeggi gamlison, grandson of the preceding, skuf of dog-dale, slaying-styr, sleita-helgi, snaebiorn eyvindson, snaeskoll, a bearserk, , snorri thorgrimson, called s. godi, , , , , , , , solmund (eilifson), solmund thorbiornson, solver, king of gothland, solvi asbrandson, called the proud (prúði), sons of thord = hjalti of hof and thorbiorn angle, sons of thorir = gunnar and thorgeir from the pass, , , sons of thorir = thorgeir and skeggi, from garth, , , spes, the wife of sigurd, afterwards wife of thorstein dromund, starri ericson, called holmgang-starri (hólmgaungu-s.), stein biornson, called tongue-stein (túngu-s.), , stein, priest of isledale-river, , , stein, a shipwrecked skipper, , , , stein thorgestson, lawman, , stein thorirson, called the far-sailing (mjöksiglandi), steinmod konalson, steinmod olvirson, steinulf olvirson, steinulf thorleifson, from lavadale, , , steinun rut's-daughter, steinvor the old (gamla), steinvor of sand-heaps, , , sturla thordson, lawman, , , sulki, a king in norway, swan of knoll, , svein of bank, - svein, earl of norway, , , , , , . . , tardy. <i>see</i> thorbiorn tardy. thora thormod's-daughter, thoralf of ere in icefirth, thoralf skolmson, , thorarin hafrson, thorarin ingialdson of acres, , , thorarin thordson, called fylsenni, thorarin the wise (hinn spaki), , , thorbiorg olaf's-daughter, called the big (digra), , , , , thorbiorn arnorson, called oxmain (öxnamegin), , , , , , , , , , , , , . . , , , , , , , thorbiorn earls' champion (jarlakappi), , thorbiorn noise (glaumr), grettir's servant-man, , , , , , , , , thorbiorn salmon-carle, , thorbiorn thordson, called angle, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , thorbiorn tardy (ferðalángr), , , , - , , , thorbrand haraldson, thord hialtison, , thord of hofdi (==head-thord), thord knob, thord kolbeinson, of hitness, , , , thord scalp, thord olafson, called the yeller (gellir), , , thord thordson (son of head-thord). <i>see</i> thorgeir. thordis asmund's-daughter, wife of thorgrim greypate, thordis asmund's daughter, wife of glum uspakson, thordis thord's-daughter, thordis thorgrim's-daughter, second wife of onund treefoot, , thords, two brothers of broad-river in flat-lithe in skagafirth, , , thorelf alf a-dales'-daughter, thorfinn of brook-bow, thorfinn, house-carle of flosi in arnes, , , thorfinn karrson of haramsey, - , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , thorgaut, a herdsman of thorhall-stead in shady-vale, , thorgeir havarson, , , , , , , , , , , , thorgeir onundson, called bottleback (flöskubak), , , , , , thorgeir thordson (s. of head-thord), , thorgeir thorhaddson of hitdale, thorgeir thorirson from garth, thorgeir thorirson, from the pass, , , , , thorgerd alf a-dales'-daughter, thorgest steinson, thorgils arison, of reek-knolls, , , , , , , , , thorgils ingialdson, , , thorgils makson, , , , , , thorgils of meal in midfirth, , , thorgrim of gnup in midfirth, thorgrim (hallormson), the godi of cornriver, thorgrim onundson, called greypate (haerukollr), , , , , , , , thorhadd steinson, thorhall asgrimson, of tongue, thorhall fridmundson, thorhall gamlison, , , thorhall grimson, of thorhall-stead in shady-vale, - , , - thorir autumn-mirk (haustmyrkr), thorir longchin (haklángr), , thorir thorkelson, of the pass, , , thorir redbeard (rauðskeggr), an outlaw and hired assassin, - thorir skeggison, of garth, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , thorir paunch (Þömb), - , thorir in thorirs-dale, a mountain-sprite, , thorkel of boardere, thorkel eyulfson, thorkel of fishbrook, thorkel of giorvidale, , , thorkel moon (máni), thorkel thordson, called kugg, thorkel thorgrimson, called krafla, , , , , , , , thorkel of salft, , , , , , , thorlak (thorhallson, saint), bishop of skalholt, thorlaug saemund's daughter, thorleif, one of thorbiorn angle's followers at the slaying of grettir, thorleif of lavadale, thormod coalbrowskald (kolbrúnarskáld), , , , , , , , , , thormod oleifson, called shaft (skapti), , , , , , , thorod, who settled ramfirth, thorod arnorson, called drapa-stump (drápustúfr), , , , , , , , , , thorod eyvindson, the godi, of hjalli, , , thorod snorrison, , , , thorolf of ere, thorolf, called the fastholding (fasthaldi), thorolf skolmson. <i>see</i> thoralf. thorstein asmundson, called dromund, , , , , - , , , , , , , , , , , , , - thorstein, whom snorri godi had slain, thorstein godi, thorstein ketilson, thorstein the red (rauðr), thorstein of reekness, thorstein, thorkel kugg's son, called kuggson, , , , , , , , , , , , , thorstein the uplander, thorstein the white (hvíti), of sand-heaps, thorvald asgeirson, son of asgeir madpate the younger, , , , , , , , , , , thorvald of drangar, thorvald kodranson, thorvald of reeks in skagafirth, , thorvor, thormod's daughter, thrand biornson, , , , , , , , , , , thrand thorarinson, , , thurid asgeir's-daughter, d. of asgeir madpate the older, thurid thorhall's-daughter, , thurid, thorbiorn angle's stepmother, , - tongue-stein. <i>see</i> stein biornson. torfi vebrandson, ufeigh, the father of odd, ufeigh ivarson, called clubfoot (burlufótr), ufeigh einarson, called grettir, , , , , , , ufeigh (herraudson), the settler of ufeigh's-firth, ufeigh hreiðarson (crow-hr.), called thinbeard (Þunnskeggr), ufeigh onundson, called grettir, , , ulf the squinter (skjálgi), ulfheid eyulf's-daughter, una steinulf's-daughter, uspak glumson, of ere in bitra, , , , , uspak kiarlakson of skridinsenni, vermund the slender, , , , , , vestar haengson, vestmar, a viking, , vigbiod, a viking, , , vikar, one of thord angle's followers at the slaying of grettir, index ii. local names. acres (akrar), , , agdir, now nedenes-lister-og mandals-fogderi, in norway, , armansfell, arness in the strands, , , asbiornsness (asbjarnarnes) in willowdale, , asgeir's-river (asgeirsá), a farm in willowdale, , , aslaugs-lithe (aslaugarhlið), audunstead in willowdale (auðunarstaðir), , , , axefirth (axarfjörðr), , axefirth-peak (axarfjardar-nupr), balkstead (bálkastaðir), two farm-steads in ramfirth, ball-jokull, , bank (bakki), a farmstead in ramfirth, bank (bakki), a farmstead above thingness, in bugfirth, , bard-dale (bárðardalr), north of islefirth, , , , barra (barrey), one of the hebrides, , , , bathstead (laugaból), a farmhouse in icefirth, , berg-ridge (bjarga-ás), in waterness, in hunawater thing, bergs (björg), ibid. biarg, a farmstead in midfirth, grettir's birthplace, , , , , , - , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , bitra, , biornfirth (bjarnarfjörðr), in the strands, boardere (borðeyri), a farmstead in ramfirth, bodvar's-knolls (böðvarshólar), in westhope, in hunawaterthing, bondmaid's-river (ambáttará), bowerfell (búrfell), a farmstead on ramfirth-neck, , brakeisle (hrísey), in islefirth, brakelithe, <i>see</i> kraeklingslithe. broadfirth (breiðifjörðr), broadfirth-dales (breiðafjarðardalir), , broadlair-stead (breiðibólstaðr), in sokkolfsdale, broad-river (breiðá), a farmstead in flat-lithe, in skagafirth, brooks-meet (laekjamót), a farmstead in willowdale, , brook-bow (laekjarbugr), a farmstead in the marshes, , burgfirth (borgarfjörðr), , , , , , , , , burglava (borgarhraun), burn-river (brunná), bute (bótz, or bót), isle of, byrgirs-creek (byrgisvík), , bye (baer), a farmstead in burgfirth, cave-knolls (hellishólar), on reekness, codfirth (þorskafjörðr) in bardastrandsylla, codfirth-heath (þorskafjarðarheiði), coldback (kaldbak), a fell in the strands, , coldback, the farmstead of onund treefoot, in the strands, , , , , , coldback-cleft (kaldbakskleif), coldback-creek (kaldbaksvik), , , coldriver-dale (kaldárdalr), combe (gjögr), a farmstead in the strands, combe (kambr), in reekness in the strands, combeness (kambnes), cornriver (kornsá), a farm in waterdale, creek, , . = treetub-creek. cross-river (Þverá), a stream in waterness, dales = broadfirth-dales, deepfirth (djúpifjördr), deildar-tongue (d-túnga), dinby (glaumbaerr), a farmstead in skagafirth, dog-dale (hundadalr), door-holm (dyrhólmr), the southeastmost point of iceland, doveness-path (dúfuness-skeiði), a portion of the way over the keel, drangar, a farmstead in the strands, , , drangey, an island in skagafirth, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , drontheim (Þrándheimr), now trondhiem, in norway, , , drontheimfirth (Þrándheimsfjörðr), eastfirths (austfirðir), eastriver (austrá), eastriverdale (austrárdalr), one of the broadfirth-dales, england, , ere (eyri, al. uspakseyri), in bitra, , ere (eyri), in icefirth, , eres (eyrar, now eyrabakki), on the south coast of iceland, eyjafirth, = islefirth. eyvindsfirth (eyvindarfjörðr), ernelakeheath, = ernewaterheath. ernewaterheath (arnarvatnsheitði), , , , fairslope (fagrabrekka), fairwood (fögruskógar), a farm near fairwoodfell, , , fairwoodfell (fagraskógarfjall), north of the marsh country and west side of hitdale, , , , fishbrook (fiskilaekr), fishwaterlakes (fiskivötn), fishless (veiðilausa), in the strands, , flat-lithe (slèttahlíð), in skagafirth, fleets (fljót), on the north side of the mouth of skagafirth, , , , fleet-tongue (fljótstúnga), flokedale-river (flókadalsá), in burgfirth, flysja-wharf (flysju-hverfi or flysu-hverfi), , foxplain (melrakkaslètta), gangpass-mouth (gaunguskarðsós, better gaunguskarðsárós), gartar, now garten, an island in the mouth of drontheimfirth, garth (garðr), in maindale, , , , , , , gilsbank (gilsbakki), , , gjorvidale, gnup-wards'-rape (gnúpverjahreppr), gnup, a farmstead in midfirth, goatland (geitland), goatland's-jokul (geitland's-jökull), goat-rock (hafraklettr), god-dales (goðdalir), , godis-wood (goðaskógr), goosere (gáseyri, gásir, prop. geese, or perhaps creeks), a market-place in islefirth, , , , gothland (gautland), grettirs-point (g-oddi), grettirs-hillock (g-þufa), grettirs-gill, hafrsfirth (hafrsfjorðr), now hafsfjord, in jadar in norway, haffirth-river (hafsfjarðrara), in the marshes, hall-marsh (skálamyrr), in skagafirth, hallwick (skálavík), in sweeping's firth halogaland, now nordlandene, in norway, haramsey, properly hárhamars-ey, now haramsö, in south-mere, in norway, , , hawkdale (haukadalr), a valley in the broadfirth-dales, hawkdale (haukadalr), a farmstead in biskupstúngr in arnesthing, hawkdale-pass (haukadals-skarð), a mountain road between hawkdale and ramfirth, head, a farm on head-strand, , head-strand (höfðastrond), in skagafirth, heel (haell), heron-ness (hegranes), in skagafirth, , hjalli in olfus, , , hjaltidale (hjaltadalr), in skagafirth, hitdale (hitardalr), north of the marshes, , hitness (hitarnes), in the marshes, , hitriver (hitará), in the marshes, , , , , , hof in hjaltidale, hof on head-strand, , hofði (hofði), , holm (hólmr), the homestead of biorn the hitdale-champion in the marshes, holtbeacon-heath (holtavörðuheiði), a mountain over which lay the main road between northriverdale and ramfirth, hordaland, a province of norway, now söndre bergenhus amt, , , , horn, horseholt (hrossholt), in the marshes, hunawater (húnavatn), , , hvamm, a farmstead in hvamsveit by hvamsfirth , hvamsveit, hvin, now kvinen, in norway, hvinisfirth, now fedde-fjorden, in norway, haeringsleap, in drangey, jadar, now jaederen, in norway, icefirth (isafjörðar), icefirth-deep (isafjarðar-djúp), iceland (island), , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ingolfs-firth (ingóilfafjördr), , , jorvi (jorvi) in flysia-wharf, ireland (irland), , , , , islefirth (eyjafirth, eyjafjörðr), isledale-river (eyjardalsá), a farmstead in bard-dale, , , , , , kalf-river (káifá), in gnup-wards'-rape, kalfness (kalfanes), , keel (kjölr), a mountain between the north and south quarter of, iceland, over which a main road led from biskupstúngur to islefirth, , , kialarnes, knobstead (knappstaðir), a farmstead in the fleets, knoll (hóll), in the strands, the farm of swan, kolbeins-creek (kolbeinsvik) in the strands, kolbeinstead (kolbeinsstaðir), a farmstead in the marshes, kraeklings-lithe, a country side in islefirth, , kropp, lavadale (hraundalr), in the marshlands, , , laxdale-heath (laxárdalsheiði), a mountain road between laxardale and ramfirth, liarskogar (ljárskógar), a farmstead in hvamsveit, , , , , , longdale (langidalr), in icefirth, longfit (langafit), below reeks in midfirth, longholt (langholt), in skagafirth, longness (langanes), the north-eastmost promontory of iceland, madderdale-heath (möðrudalsheiði), in the north-east of iceland, , maddervales (möðruvellir) in islefirth, maindale (aðaldalr), in the north-east of iceland, marshes (mýrar; marsh-country), , , marstead (márstaðir) in waterdale, marswell (márskelda), meadness (haganes), a farmstead in the fleets, , , meal (melr, now melstaðr) in midfirth, , , meals (melar) in ramfirth, , , , , , , , mere (moeri) = south-mere, micklegarth (constantinople), , , , , midfirth (miðfjörðr) in hunawaterthing, , , , , , , , , midfirth-water (miðfjörðarvatn), , midfit (miðfitjar) in ramfirth, neck (= ramfirth-neck), necks (= ramfirth--and--midfirth-neck), nes (nesjar) in norway, ness = snowfellsness, north-glass-river (glerá en nyrðri), in islefirth, northriver (norðrá), a stream in burgfirth, northriverdale (norðrárdalr), ibid. , , norway (noregr), , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , núpasveit in axefirth, olaf's-isles (olafseyjar) in broadfirth, oyce-land (osland) in skagafirth, pass (skarð) the, a farm in hawkdale, , , , , ramfirth (hrútafjöðr), in hunawaterthing, , , , , ramfirth-neck (hrútafjarðarháls), , , , , raun (hraun), a farmstead in the marshes, reekfirth (reykjafjörðr), a bay in the strands, , reekfirth, a farmstead in the last-named bay, , reek-heath (reykjaheiði), in the north-east of iceland, reek-knolls (reykhólar), a farmstead on reekness in broadfirth, , , reekness (reykjanes), a promontory in the strands, , reekness, a farmstead on the last-named ness, reekness, south-westmost point of iceland, reekness, east side of codfirth, in broadfirth, , , reekpass (reykjaskarð) in skagafirth, reeks (reykir), a farmstead in midfirth below biarg, reeks, a farmstead nigh to thorodstead in ramfirth, , , reeks, a farmstead in reek-strand in skagafirth, , , , reek-strand (reykjaströnd), in skagafirth, reydarfell in whiteriverside, in burgfirth, rib-skerries (rifsker) in reekfirth, , ridge, the, (as, al. oddsás) in waterdale, the farm of thorvald asgeirson, , , ridge, the, (as, al. stóriás), in burgfirth, ridge (as, al. valdarás), in willowdale, rogaland, now stavanger amt, in norvay, , , , rome, rosmwhale-ness (rosmhvalanes), saemund's-lithe (saemundarhlíð) in skagafirth, salft (prop. sálpti or sálfti), now salten in salten-fjord, in halogafand, samstead (sámsstaðir), sand, a wilderness between the north and the south country, crossed by a road from skagafirth south to burgfirth and thingvellir, sand-heaps (sandhaugar), , , , . , scarf-stead (skarfsstaðir), , scotland, , , shady-vale (forsaeludalr), inland of waterdale, slaftholt (skaptaholt), in gnup-wards'-rape, shieldbroadfell (skjaldbreið), a volcano north-east of thingvellir, skagafirth, , , , , , skagi, a mountain promontory between strandbay and skagafirth, skalholt (skálaholt), in biskupstúngur, , skridinsenni, a farmstead in bitra, sledgehill (sleðaás), north of thingvellir, , slysfirth (slysfjörðr, prop. slygsfjörðr), now storfjorden in söndmöres fogderi, in norway, snowfells (snaefjöll), snowfellsness (snaefellsnes), the west-most promontory of iceland, , sokkolfsdale (sökkolfsdalr), in the broadfirth-dales, soknadale (sóknadalr, or sóknardalr), now sognedalen, in norway, sorbness (reynines), in skagafirth, sorreldale (súrnadalr), now surendalen, in norway, sotanes, in norway, south-glass-river (glerá en syðri), a farmstead in islefirth, south-mere (summaeri), now söndmöres fogderi, in norway, , cpr. south-isles (suðr-eyjar), the hebrides, , , , , , south-strands (suðr-strandir), spear-mead (spjótsmýrr), in ramfirth, stair (stigi), a foreland peak east of sweepingsfirth, stead (staðr), now stadtland, promontory in norway, , , steep-brent (brattabrekka), steersriver (þiórsá), steinker, an earl's seat in drontheim, stone-holt (steinsholt), in gnup-wards'-rape, stonestead (steinstaðir), in skagafirth, strandbay (strandaflói), strands (strandir), north-westmost part of iceland, , , sweepingsfirth (súgandafjörðr), sylgdale (sylgsdalir), in sweden, thingere-lands (þíngeyrasveit), in hunawaterthing, thingness (þíngnes), in burghfirth, , thoreys-peak (þóreyjar-núpr) a farm in willowdale, , , thorhall-stead (þórhallsstaðir) in shady-vale, , , , , , thorodstead (þóroddsstadir) in ramfirth, , thorir's-dale (þórir's-vale, , thorisdalr), , , thrandsholt (þrándarholt), in gnup-ward's-rape, thwart-river (þverá), a stream in gnup-ward's-rape, titling-stead (titlíngastaðir), on reekness, tongue (túnga, saelíngsdalstúnga), snorri godi's home, , , tongue (túnga), a farmstead in waterdale, tongue (túnga, now núpsdalstúnga(?)), a farmstead in midfirth, tongue (túnga), the home of asgrim ellida grimson, in arnesthing, tongue-river (túnguá), a stream in the fleets, torfa's-stead (torfustaþir), a homestead in midfirth, treetub-creek, the creek, the wick, (trèkyllisvík), in the strands, , , , , tunsberg, a market-place in norway, now tönsberg, , , , , , twodays-way (twodays-ride, tvídaegra), a mountain-road from northriverdale to the midfirth-dales and willowdale, , ufeigh's-firth (ufeigsfjörðr), in the strands, ufeigh's-stead (ufeigsstaðir), in gnup-ward's-rape, ufaera, in the strands, uplands (upplönd), oplandene in norway, vogar a fish-fair in halogaland, in norway, now vaagen, , waterdale (vatnsdalr), in euna-waterthing, , , , , , , , , waterfirth (vatnsfjörðr), home-stead of vermund the slender, , , , waterfirth-dale (vatnsfjarðandalr), in icefirth, waterness (vatnsnes), pron. between hunafirth and midfirth, waterpass (vatnsskarð), between hunawaterthing and skagafirth, wave-ridge (Ölduhryggr), in staðarsveit, weir (stýfla), in the fleets, well-ness (keldunes), well-wharf (kelduhverfi), well-wharfside, id. westfirths (vestfirðir), , , westhope, (vestrhóp), in hunawaterthing, wetherfirth=ramfirth, whalesheadholme, (hvalshaushólmr), , whiteriver (hvítá), in burgfirth, , , whiteriverside (hvítársída), in burgfirth, wick (víkin), in norway, wick=treetub-creek. willowdale (víðdalr), west of waterdale, , , , , windham (vindheimr), a farmstead of haramsey, , wolds (vellir), a harbour on the whiteriver, , woods-tead (skógar), a farm in axefirth, woodwick (viðvík), a farmstead in skagafirth, , , , , index iii. things. a nithing's deed, setting on a dying man with weapons, arson, , , assassins (hired), , barrow of karr the old of haramsey, , of onund treefoot, called "treefoot's-barrow," <i>battles and fights</i>. battle of barra, between onund treefoot, and king kiarval, , of bute, between onund treefoot and the vikings, vigbiod and vestmar, , of ernewaterheath, between grettir and hallmund on one side, and thorir of garth with eighty men on the other, , of grettirsoddi by hitriver, between grettir and the marshmen, , of hafrsfirth, between harald fairhair and several norwegian petty kings, , of nesjar, between st. olaf and earl svein, of the pass, between ath asmundson and the sons of thorir of the pass, , at bowerfell, between grettir and the men of meal, fight in drangey, between the brothers grettir and illugi, on one side, and thorbiorn angle and his band on the other, , fight on ernewaterheath, with the assassins grim and thorir redbeard, , at fairwoodfell with gish, , at fleet-tongue with skeggi, in gartar, with biorn, at goosere, with thorbiorn tardy, in grettir's-gill, between ufeigh grettir and thorbiorn earls' champion, , in haramsey, with karr the old, in his harrow, , in haramsey, with twelve bearserks, , on midfit, with thorbiorn oxmain, on reekness, between the men of the creek and those of coldback, over a whale, on a common driftland in the strands over a whale, between the foster-brothers Þorgeir havarson and thormod coalbrowskald on one side, and thorgils makson on the other, , at sand-heaps, with a troll-wife, , nigh to sand-heaps, in a cave, with a giant, at steinker, with hiarandi, , fight at thorhall-stead with glam the thrall, , in tunsberg, with gunnar, the brother of hiarandi, , with snaekoll the bearserk, , bridge of liarskogar, a work of great art, hung with rings and 'din-bells,' <i>domestic implements</i>. bottles of leather, for keeping drink in, chopper, , clothes-bag, curd-bags, hides drawn up to fetch curds in from mountain dairies, deer-horn, for drinking at feasts, digging-tools, kettle, meal-bags, wherein victuals were kept for the thing-ride, tools to strike fire, trough, wool-combs. dowry, <i>dress and ornamental apparel</i>. breeches (of sail-cloth, ), , cape, , , chain, round the neck, cloak of rich web, coloured clothes (over--clothes), , cowl, drugget-cloak, fur-cloak, hat (slouched), , hood, kirtle (red), leggings (hose), mittens, rings of gold, shirt, spurs, state-raiment, thongs (hose-thongs), fair in vagar in halogaland, famine, <i>feasts</i>. (there were three principal festals in the year: at winter-nights, yule, and midsummer.) autumn-feast (= winter nights' feast, oct. ), at thorbiorn oxmain's, iii "drinking turn and turn about," is probably the same that elsewhere is called "samburðsarol," an ale-club or rotation drinking by common subscription, yule-ale, yule-biddings, , <i>fights, see</i> battles and fights. <i>food and drink</i>. (the saga mentions no imported articles of food.) beer, , curds, fish (stockfish), , lent-fare, fat and livers, mutton, <i>passim</i>. fire above hid treasure, foster-brothers (sworn brothers), , , , godi's-wood, a wood said to have belonged to six godar, grettir's-heave, , , <i>horse-outfit</i>. bridle (embossed, ), , head-gear, saddle (fair-stained, ), snaffle-rings, hospitality, , hospitality, , <i>houses and their outfit</i>. beaks of vessels put over the door, bed, boards (= tables), bolt, boose (= cow-stall in a byre), booth at the thing, --for drinking assemblages, --for trade-purposes, bower, serving as a ward-robe, cloth-bower, --a storehouse apart from other houses, out-bower, , closet, corn-barn, cross-beam (= tie-beam), , cross-bench (= dais), door, and <i>passim</i>. doorcase, doorpost, dungeon, gable, hall, fire-hall, <i>passim</i>, see also note on hall pp. - hangings, high-chair, hill-dairy, , , horse-stable, house of refuge (sáluhús), latch, lock-bed, loft (sleeping-loft), , long-fires, rafters, roof, , seat-beam, , side-wall, thatch, , threshold, , tie-beam, <i>landwights</i>. amongst these are to be numbered hallmund and thorir the half-troll of thorir's-dale, and the wights told of in hallmund's song, atonement. <i>see</i> weregild. <i>law, suits, penalties</i>. boot for insulting language, banishment, declaring manslaughter as having been done by one's own hand, , district-outlawry, execution (féránsdómr), - fine, , and <i>passim</i>. handselling of a lawsuit, handselling of lawful truce, , law-provisions: for drift-right, for bearserks challenging men to holm, for heritage of outlawed men in norway in the days of harold fairhair, for the utmost limit of outlawry, for heathen sacrifices in the earliest days of christianity in iceland, for a rightful suitor in a blood-suit, lawsuits, , , , , , , , , , , , <i>manners and customs, civil and religious</i>. bathing, , burial of misdoers in cairns and tidewashed heap of stones, , burial in barrows. <i>see</i> barrows. --at churches, , fasting on yule-eve, --to iron birth, hallowing of a vessel by a bishop, iron-birth, meal-times, riding, to the althing, , rubbing of one's back by the fire, sailors' duties have to be per-formed on board ship by the passengers, , <i>sqq</i>. sitting at table in the evening, sleeping in fire-halls, thing-men have to provide themselves, each one with fare at his own cost, varangian weapon-show, washing of hands ere going to table, <i>money</i>. hundred in silver, mark in silver, , <i>names of folk derived from their</i> <i>country or dwelling-stead</i>. axefirthers, gothlander, halogalander, icefirthers, , lavadale-men, marshmen, northlanders, northmen, , ramfirthers, , and <i>passim</i>. south-islander, , the men of biarg, , the men of coldback, , <i>sqq.</i> the men of the creek, , <i>sqq. </i> varangians, , <i>sqq.</i> waterdale-folk, , waterdale-kin, waterness-men, , well-wharfers, westfirthers, westhope-men, willowdale-men, <i>occupations</i>. binding of hay into horseloads for being conveyed into rick-yard or barn, , catching of fowl, drift-watching, fetching home victuals from mountain dairies, fetching home stockfish on horses, , fishing in sea and fresh water, , , folding, gathering sheep in autumn up from the wilds and mountains, to be sorted for their owners according to the marks in the ears of each sheep, gathering of eggs, hay-harvest, falls into two parts, the first, the haymaking in the manured homefield, the second, in unmanured meads and mountains, , iron-smithying, mowing-tide, the whole season of the summer while grass can be mown, , watching of home-geese, of horses in winter, of neat, of sheep, , , whale-getting, , whale-cutting, <i>pet animals</i>. keingala, a mare, pied-belly, a ram, saddle-fair, a mare, <i>runes</i>. songs cut on staffs, in runes, , baneful runes cut on a bewitched log of wood, , <i>sagas quoted</i>. the saga of the bandamenn, of bodmod, grimulf, and gerpir, of eric the earl, of grim who slew hallmund, of the heath-slayings, the saga of the laxdale-men, settlings of land in iceland, , , , , <i>ships and their outfit</i>. boat, ten oars aboard, , boat-stand, , <i>and passim</i> beaks, bark (karfi), of sixteen oars aboard, , , bulwark, forecastle, grapplings, gunwale, row-barge, sail, , ship shield-hung from stem to stern, stained above sea, cleared from stem to stern, stem, stern, , viking-ship, i war-ship, work in connection with ship: baling, , , pumping, rolling ship ashore, launching of, building of, yard, <i>skalds named in the saga</i>. arnor earls'-skald, bessi, skald-torfa's son, , grettir asmundson. hallmund, , - odd the foundling-skald, , - skald-torfa, svein of bank, thormod coalbrowskald, <i>social stations</i>. bonder, , and <i>passim</i> chapmen, <i>passim</i> court-owner, an owner of all such houses in a town as form the surrounding of a court, earl, a man next after the king in dignity, , <i>sqq</i>., <i>sqq</i>., free-men, godi, a chief combining in his person the religious and administrative authority of the district over which he ruled, , hand-maid, , herdsman. <i>see</i> occupations. hersir, a man next to an earl in dignity, home-folk, home-women, house-carle, <i>passim</i>. <i>sports and games</i>. ball-play, ball, bat, horse-fight, , knave-game (note), sports at heron-ness thing, , swimming, , , tale-game, wrestling, , , <i>things, or public law-assemblages</i>. the althing, <i>passim</i> the thing of kialarness, heron-ness, hunawater, , trade on england, <i>trolls and evil wights</i>. see hallmund's song, troll-carle, troll-wife, - the wight that slew glam, , , troth, to sit in troth for three winters, twainmonth, the second month in the year, corresponding to our september (aug. --sept. ). wadmall as an article of trade, , <i>weapons and war-gear</i>. axe, <i>passim</i>. barb-end, barb, , buckler, byrni, chopper, cheek-pieces of a helmet, glaive (heft-sax), grigs of the sword, hand-axe, helmet, , , , shield (iron-rimmed, inlaid), , , , , , socket inlaid with silver, socket-nail, short-sword, karrs-loom, , and <i>passim</i> spear, great without barbs, with broad barbs, , stones used for missiles, spear-head, sword, girt with a sword, , jokul's gift, the heirloom of the kinsmen of ingimund the old, , and <i>passim</i>. weird of a ghost, of a sorceress, winter-nights, the first days in winter about oct. , <i>witchcraft and sorcery</i>. gale of wind brought on by evil craft, - witchcraft, an illegal means for overcoming an enemy, , witchcraft wrought into a log of wood, the manner thereof, , wound growing deadly through the effect of evil and witchcrafty runes, , wooing, , , periphrastic expressions in the songs. an axe: battle ogress, rock-troll, blood: rain of swords, cave (hallmund's): kettle, where waters fall from great ice-wall, fight: dart's breath, dart-shower, gale of death, gale of swords, hilda's[ ] weather, iron-rain, mist's[ ] mystery, odin's gale; odin's storm, , shield-fire's thunder, shield-rain, spears' breath, spear-shower, spear-storm, sword-shower, gallows: sigar's meed for lovesome deed, (sigarr hung hag-bard the viking for having befooled his daughter), gold: deep sea's flame, dragon's lair, serpent's bed, the flame of sea, wave's flashing flame, worm's bed, worm-land, grettir (an eddaic name for a serpent): fell-creeping lad, head: thoughts' burg, man: elm-stalk, gold-scatterer, helm-stalk, jewel-strewer, lessener of the flame of sea, lessener of waves' flashing flame, ring-bearer, ring-strewer, scatterer of serpent's bed, wormland's haunter, snatcher of worm's bed, mouth: tofts of tooth-hedge, sailor: he who decks the reindeer's side that 'twixt ness and ness doth glide, rider of wind-driven steed, sea-steeds' rider, ; shield: roof of war, spear-walk, ship: reindeer that 'twixt ness and ness doth glide, sea-steed, steed of the rollers, wind-driven steed, skald: giver forth of odin's mead (svein of bank), sword: byrni's flame, [footnote : hilda (hildr) and mist, goddesses of fight and manslaughter.] sword: helmfire, , man's-bane, war-flame, whiting of the shield, wound-worm, thor: sifs lord, warrior: arrow-dealer, axe-breaker, begetter of fight, brand-whetter, breaker of the bow, foreteller of spear-shower, warrior: grove of hedin's maid, raiser-up of roof of war, spear-grove, stem of shield, sword-player, war-god, wound-worm's tower, wool-combe: hook-clawed bird, woman: giver forth of gold, goddess of red gold, ground of gold, son of golden stall, warder of horns' wave, proverbs and proverbial sayings that occur in the story. page a friend should warn a friend of ill ............................. ale is another man ............................................... all must fare when they are fetched............................... all things bide their day......................................... all will come to an end .......................................... bare is the back of the brotherless .............................. best to bairn is mother still .................................... bewail he, who brought the woe ................................... broad spears are about now ....................................... deeds done will be told of ....................................... even so shall bale be bettered by biding greater bale ............ for one thing alone will i not be known .......................... from ill cometh ill .............................................. good luck and goodliness are twain ............................... hand for wont doth yearn ......................................... hottest is the fire that lies on oneself ......................... ill deed gains ill hap .......................................... ill heed still to ill doth lead ................................. ill if a thrall is thine only friend ............................. ill it is ill to be .............................................. ill it is to goad the foolhardy .................................. let one oak have what from the other it shaves ................... little can cope with cunning of eld .............................. long it takes to try a man ....................................... many a man lies hid within himself ............................... many a man stretches round the door to the lock .................. more one knows the more one tries ................................ no man makes himself ............................................. now this, now that has strokes in his garth ...................... odd haps are worst haps .......................................... oft a listening ear in the holt is anear ......................... oft fail in wisdom folk of better trust .......................... old friends are the last to sever ................................ one may be apaid of a man's aid .................................. overpraised, and first to fail ................................... sooth is the sage's guess ........................................ swear loud and say little ........................................ the lower must lowt .............................................. the nigher the call, the further the man ......................... things boded will happen, so will things unboded ................. though the spoon has taken it up, yet the mouth has had no sup ... thralls wreak themselves at once, dastards never ................. thrice of yore have all things happed ............................ to the goat-house for wool ....................................... with hell's man are dealings ill ................................. woe is before one's own door when it is inside one's neighbour's ................................................ heimskringla or the chronicle of the kings of norway by snorri sturlason (c. - ) originally written in old norse, app. a.d., by the poet and historian snorri sturlason. transcriber's note: the "heimskringla" of snorri sturlason is a collection of sagas concerning the various rulers of norway, from about a.d. to the year a.d. . the sagas covered in this work are the following: . halfdan the black saga . harald harfager's saga . hakon the good's saga . saga of king harald grafeld and of earl hakon son of sigurd . king olaf trygvason's saga . saga of olaf haraldson (st. olaf) . saga of magnus the good . saga of harald hardrade . saga of olaf kyrre . magnus barefoot's saga . saga of sigurd the crusader and his brothers eystein and olaf . saga of magnus the blind and of harald gille . saga of sigurd, inge, and eystein, the sons of harald . saga of hakon herdebreid ("hakon the broad-shouldered") . magnus erlingson's saga while scholars and historians continue to debate the historical accuracy of sturlason's work, the "heimskringla" is still considered an important original source for information on the viking age, a period which sturlason covers almost in its entirety. preface of snorre sturlason. in this book i have had old stories written down, as i have heard them told by intelligent people, concerning chiefs who have have held dominion in the northern countries, and who spoke the danish tongue; and also concerning some of their family branches, according to what has been told me. some of this is found in ancient family registers, in which the pedigrees of kings and other personages of high birth are reckoned up, and part is written down after old songs and ballads which our forefathers had for their amusement. now, although we cannot just say what truth there may be in these, yet we have the certainty that old and wise men held them to be true. thjodolf of hvin was the skald of harald harfager, and he composed a poem for king rognvald the mountain-high, which is called "ynglingatal." this rognvald was a son of olaf geirstadalf, the brother of king halfdan the black. in this poem thirty of his forefathers are reckoned up, and the death and burial-place of each are given. he begins with fjolner, a son of yngvefrey, whom the swedes, long after his time, worshipped and sacrificed to, and from whom the race or family of the ynglings take their name. eyvind skaldaspiller also reckoned up the ancestors of earl hakon the great in a poem called "haleygjatal", composed about hakon; and therein he mentions saeming, a son of yngvefrey, and he likewise tells of the death and funeral rites of each. the lives and times of the yngling race were written from thjodolf's relation enlarged afterwards by the accounts of intelligent people. as to funeral rites, the earliest age is called the age of burning; because all the dead were consumed by fire, and over their ashes were raised standing stones. but after frey was buried under a cairn at upsala, many chiefs raised cairns, as commonly as stones, to the memory of their relatives. the age of cairns began properly in denmark after dan milkillate had raised for himself a burial cairn, and ordered that he should be buried in it on his death, with his royal ornaments and armour, his horse and saddle-furniture, and other valuable goods; and many of his descendants followed his example. but the burning of the dead continued, long after that time, to be the custom of the swedes and northmen. iceland was occupied in the time that harald harfager was the king of norway. there were skalds in harald's court whose poems the people know by heart even at the present day, together with all the songs about the kings who have ruled in norway since his time; and we rest the foundations of our story principally upon the songs which were sung in the presence of the chiefs themselves or of their sons, and take all to be true that is found in such poems about their feats and battles: for although it be the fashion with skalds to praise most those in whose presence they are standing, yet no one would dare to relete to a chief what he, and all those who heard it, knew to be a false and imaginary, not a true account of his deeds; because that would be mockery, not praise. of the priest are frode the priest are frode (the learned), a son of thorgils the son of geller, was the first man in this country who wrote down in the norse language narratives of events both old and new. in the beginning of his book he wrote principally about the first settlements in iceland, the laws and government, and next of the lagmen, and how long each had administered the law; and he reckoned the years at first, until the time when christianity was introduced into iceland, and afterwards reckoned from that to his own times. to this he added many other subjects, such as the lives and times of kings of norway and denmark, and also of england; beside accounts of great events which have taken place in this country itself. his narratives are considered by many men of knowledge to be the most remarkable of all; because he was a man of good understanding, and so old that his birth was as far back as the year after harald sigurdson's fall. he wrote, as he himself says, the lives and times of the kings of norway from the report of od kolson, a grandson of hal of sida. od again took his information from thorgeir afradskol, who was an intelligent man, and so old that when earl hakon the great was killed he was dwelling at nidarnes--the same place at which king olaf trygvason afterwards laid the foundation of the merchant town of nidaros (i.e., throndhjem) which is now there. the priest are came, when seven years old, to haukadal to hal thorarinson, and was there fourteen years. hal was a man of great knowledge and of excellent memory; and he could even remember being baptized, when he was three years old, by the priest thanghrand, the year before christianity was established by law in iceland. are was twelve years of age when bishop isleif died, and at his death eighty years had elapsed since the fall of olaf trygvason. hal died nine years later than bishop isleif, and had attained nearly the age of ninety-four years. hal had traded between the two countries, and had enjoyed intercourse with king olaf the saint, by which he had gained greatly in reputation, and he had become well acquainted with the kingdom of norway. he had fixed his residence in haukadal when he was thirty years of age, and he had dwelt there sixty-four years, as are tells us. teit, a son of bishop isleif, was fostered in the house of hal at haukadal, and afterwards dwelt there himself. he taught are the priest, and gave him information about many circumstances which are afterwards wrote down. are also got many a piece of information from thurid, a daughter of the gode snorre. she was wise and intelligent, and remembered her father snorre, who was nearly thirty-five years of age when christianity was introduced into iceland, and died a year after king olaf the saint's fall. so it is not wonderful that are the priest had good information about ancient events both here in iceland, and abroad, being a man anxious for information, intelligent and of excellent memory, and having besides learned much from old intelligent persons. but the songs seem to me most reliable if they are sung correctly, and judiciously interpreted. halfdan the black saga. preliminary remarks. of this saga there are other versions found in "fagrskinna" and in "flateyjarbok". the "flateyjarbok" version is to a great extent a copy of snorre. the story about halfdan's dream is found both in "fagrskinna" and in "flateyjarbok". the probability is that both snorre and the author of "fagrskinna" must have transcribed the same original text.--ed. . halfdan fights with gandalf and sigtryg. halfdan was a year old when his father was killed, and his mother asa set off immediately with him westwards to agder, and set herself there in the kingdom which her father harald had possessed. halfdan grew up there, and soon became stout and strong; and, by reason of his black hair, was called halfdan the black. when he was eighteen years old he took his kingdom in agder, and went immediately to vestfold, where he divided that kingdom, as before related, with his brother olaf. the same autumn he went with an army to vingulmark against king gandalf. they had many battles, and sometimes one, sometimes the other gained the victory; but at last they agreed that halfdan should have half of vingulmark, as his father gudrod had had it before. then king halfdan proceeded to raumarike, and subdued it. king sigtryg, son of king eystein, who then had his residence in hedemark, and who had subdued raumarike before, having heard of this, came out with his army against king halfdan, and there was great battle, in which king halfdan was victorious; and just as king sigtryg and his troops were turning about to fly, an arrow struck him under the left arm, and he fell dead. halfdan then laid the whole of raumarike under his power. king eystein's second son, king sigtryg's brother, was also called eystein, and was then king in hedemark. as soon as halfdan had returned to vestfold, king eystein went out with his army to raumarike, and laid the whole country in subjection to him. . battle between halfdan and eystein. when king halfdan heard of these disturbances in raumarike, he again gathered his army together; and went out against king eystein. a battle took place between them, and halfdan gained the victory, and eystein fled up to hedemark, pursued by halfdan. another battle took place, in which halfdan was again victorious; and eystein fled northwards, up into the dales to the herse gudbrand. there he was strengthened with new people, and in winter he went towards hedemark, and met halfdan the black upon a large island which lies in the mjosen lake. there a great battle was fought, and many people on both sides were slain, but halfdan won the victory. there fell guthorm, the son of the herse gudbrand, who was one of the finest men in the uplands. then eystein fled north up the valley, and sent his relation halvard skalk to king halfdan to beg for peace. on consideration of their relationship, king halfdan gave king eystein half of hedemark, which he and his relations had held before; but kept to himself thoten, and the district called land. he likewise appropriated to himself hadeland, and thus became a mighty king. . halfdan's marriage halfdan the black got a wife called ragnhild, a daughter of harald gulskeg (goldbeard), who was a king in sogn. they had a son, to whom harald gave his own name; and the boy was brought up in sogn, by his mother's father, king harald. now when this harald had lived out his days nearly, and was become weak, having no son, he gave his dominions to his daughter's son harald, and gave him his title of king; and he died soon after. the same winter his daughter ragnhild died; and the following spring the young harald fell sick and died at ten years of age. as soon as halfdan the black heard of his son's death, he took the road northwards to sogn with a great force, and was well received. he claimed the heritage and dominion after his son; and no opposition being made, he took the whole kingdom. earl atle mjove (the slender), who was a friend of king halfdan, came to him from gaular; and the king set him over the sogn district, to judge in the country according to the country's laws, and collect scat upon the king's account. thereafter king halfdan proceeded to his kingdom in the uplands. . halfdan's strife with gandalf's sons. in autumn, king halfdan proceeded to vingulmark. one night when he was there in guest quarters, it happened that about midnight a man came to him who had been on the watch on horseback, and told him a war force was come near to the house. the king instantly got up, ordered his men to arm themselves, and went out of the house and drew them up in battle order. at the same moment, gandalf's sons, hysing and helsing, made their appearance with a large army. there was a great battle; but halfdan being overpowered by the numbers of people fled to the forest, leaving many of his men on this spot. his foster-father, olver spake (the wise), fell here. the people now came in swarms to king halfdan, and he advanced to seek gandalf's sons. they met at eid, near lake oieren, and fought there. hysing and helsing fell, and their brother hake saved himself by flight. king halfdan then took possession of the whole of vingulmark, and hake fled to alfheimar. . halfdan's marriage with hjort's daughter. sigurd hjort was the name of a king in ringerike, who was stouter and stronger than any other man, and his equal could not be seen for a handsome appearance. his father was helge hvasse (the sharp); and his mother was aslaug, a daughter of sigurd the worm-eyed, who again was a son of ragnar lodbrok. it is told of sigurd that when he was only twelve years old he killed in single combat the berserk hildebrand, and eleven others of his comrades; and many are the deeds of manhood told of him in a long saga about his feats. sigurd had two children, one of whom was a daughter, called ragnhild, then twenty years of age, and an excellent brisk girl. her brother guthorm was a youth. it is related in regard to sigurd's death that he had a custom of riding out quite alone in the uninhabited forest to hunt the wild beasts that are hurtful to man, and he was always very eager at this sport. one day he rode out into the forest as usual, and when he had ridden a long way he came out at a piece of cleared land near to hadeland. there the berserk hake came against him with thirty men, and they fought. sigurd hjort fell there, after killing twelve of hake's men; and hake himself lost one hand, and had three other wounds. then hake and his men rode to sigurd's house, where they took his daughter ragnhild and her brother guthorm, and carried them, with much property and valuable articles, home to hadeland, where hake had many great farms. he ordered a feast to be prepared, intending to hold his wedding with ragnhild; but the time passed on account of his wounds, which healed slowly; and the berserk hake of hadeland had to keep his bed, on account of his wounds, all the autumn and beginning of winter. now king halfdan was in hedemark at the yule entertainments when he heard this news; and one morning early, when the king was dressed, he called to him harek gand, and told him to go over to hadeland, and bring him ragnhild, sigurd hjort's daughter. harek got ready with a hundred men, and made his journey so that they came over the lake to hake's house in the grey of the morning, and beset all the doors and stairs of the places where the house-servants slept. then they broke into the sleeping-room where hake slept, took ragnhild, with her brother guthorm, and all the goods that were there, and set fire to the house-servants' place, and burnt all the people in it. then they covered over a magnificent waggon, placed ragnhild and guthorm in it, and drove down upon the ice. hake got up and went after them a while; but when he came to the ice on the lake, he turned his sword-hilt to the ground and let himself fall upon the point, so that the sword went through him. he was buried under a mound on the banks of the lake. when king halfdan, who was very quick of sight, saw the party returning over the frozen lake, and with a covered waggon, he knew that their errand was accomplished according to his desire. thereupon he ordered the tables to be set out, and sent people all round in the neighbourhood to invite plenty of guests; and the same day there was a good feast which was also halfdan's marriage-feast with ragnhild, who became a great queen. ragnhild's mother was thorny, a daughter of klakharald king in jutland, and a sister of thrye dannebod who was married to the danish king, gorm the old, who then ruled over the danish dominions. . of ragnhild's dream. ragnhild, who was wise and intelligent, dreamt great dreams. she dreamt, for one, that she was standing out in her herb-garden, and she took a thorn out of her shift; but while she was holding the thorn in her hand it grew so that it became a great tree, one end of which struck itself down into the earth, and it became firmly rooted; and the other end of the tree raised itself so high in the air that she could scarcely see over it, and it became also wonderfully thick. the under part of the tree was red with blood, but the stem upwards was beautifully green and the branches white as snow. there were many and great limbs to the tree, some high up, others low down; and so vast were the tree's branches that they seemed to her to cover all norway, and even much more. . of halfdan's dream. king halfdan never had dreams, which appeared to him an extraordinary circumstance; and he told it to a man called thorleif spake (the wise), and asked him what his advice was about it. thorleif said that what he himself did, when he wanted to have any revelation by dream, was to take his sleep in a swine-sty, and then it never failed that he had dreams. the king did so, and the following dream was revealed to him. he thought he had the most beautiful hair, which was all in ringlets; some so long as to fall upon the ground, some reaching to the middle of his legs, some to his knees, some to his loins or the middle of his sides, some to his neck, and some were only as knots springing from his head. these ringlets were of various colours; but one ringlet surpassed all the others in beauty, lustre, and size. this dream he told to thorleif, who interpreted it thus:--there should be a great posterity from him, and his descendants should rule over countries with great, but not all with equally great, honour; but one of his race should be more celebrated than all the others. it was the opinion of people that this ringlet betokened king olaf the saint. king halfdan was a wise man, a man of truth and uprightness--who made laws, observed them himself, and obliged others to observe them. and that violence should not come in place of the laws, he himself fixed the number of criminal acts in law, and the compensations, mulcts, or penalties, for each case, according to every one's birth and dignity ( ). queen ragnhild gave birth to a son, and water was poured over him, and the name of harald given him, and he soon grew stout and remarkably handsome. as he grew up he became very expert at all feats, and showed also a good understanding. he was much beloved by his mother, but less so by his father. endnotes: ( ) the penalty, compensation, or manbod for every injury, due the party injured, or to his family and next of kin if the injury was the death or premeditated murder of the party, appears to have been fixed for every rank and condition, from the murder of the king down to the maiming or beating a man's cattle or his slave. a man for whom no compensation was due was a dishonored person, or an outlaw. it appears to have been optional with the injured party, or his kin if he had been killed, to take the mulct or compensation, or to refuse it, and wait for an opportunity of taking vengeance for the injury on the party who inflicted it, or on his kin. a part of each mulct or compensation was due to the king; and, these fines or penalties appear to have constituted a great proportion of the king's revenues, and to have been settled in the things held in every district for administering the law with the lagman.--l. . halfdan's meat vanishes at a feast king halfdan was at a yule-feast in hadeland, where a wonderful thing happened one yule evening. when the great number of guests assembled were going to sit down to table, all the meat and all the ale disappeared from the table. the king sat alone very confused in mind; all the others set off, each to his home, in consternation. that the king might come to some certainty about what had occasioned this event, he ordered a fin to be seized who was particularly knowing, and tried to force him to disclose the truth; but however much he tortured the man, he got nothing out of him. the fin sought help particularly from harald, the king's son, and harald begged for mercy for him, but in vain. then harald let him escape against the king's will, and accompanied the man himself. on their journey they came to a place where the man's chief had a great feast, and it appears they were well received there. when they had been there until spring, the chief said, "thy father took it much amiss that in winter i took some provisions from him,--now i will repay it to thee by a joyful piece of news: thy father is dead; and now thou shalt return home, and take possession of the whole kingdom which he had, and with it thou shalt lay the whole kingdom of norway under thee." . halfdan s death. halfdan the black was driving from a feast in hadeland, and it so happened that his road lay over the lake called rand. it was in spring, and there was a great thaw. they drove across the bight called rykinsvik, where in winter there had been a pond broken in the ice for cattle to drink at, and where the dung had fallen upon the ice the thaw had eaten it into holes. now as the king drove over it the ice broke, and king halfdan and many with him perished. he was then forty years old. he had been one of the most fortunate kings in respect of good seasons. the people thought so much of him, that when his death was known and his body was floated to ringerike to bury it there, the people of most consequence from raumarike, vestfold, and hedemark came to meet it. all desired to take the body with them to bury it in their own district, and they thought that those who got it would have good crops to expect. at last it was agreed to divide the body into four parts. the head was laid in a mound at stein in ringerike, and each of the others took his part home and laid it in a mound; and these have since been called halfdan's mounds. harald harfager's saga. . harald's strife with hake and his father gandalf. harald ( ) was but ten years old when he succeeded his father (halfdan the black). he became a stout, strong, and comely man, and withal prudent and manly. his mother's brother, guthorm, was leader of the hird, at the head of the government, and commander ('hertogi') of the army. after halfdan the black's death, many chiefs coveted the dominions he had left. among these king gandalf was the first; then hogne and frode, sons of eystein, king of hedemark; and also hogne karuson came from ringerike. hake, the son of gandalf, began with an expedition of men against vestfold, marched by the main road through some valleys, and expected to come suddenly upon king harald; while his father gandalf sat at home with his army, and prepared to cross over the fiord into vestfold. when duke guthorm heard of this he gathered an army, and marched up the country with king harald against hake. they met in a valley, in which they fought a great battle, and king harald was victorious; and there fell king hake and most of his people. the place has since been called hakadale. then king harald and duke guthorm turned back, but they found king gandalf had come to vestfold. the two armies marched against each other, and met, and had a great battle; and it ended in king gandalf flying, after leaving most of his men dead on the spot, and in that state he came back to his kingdom. now when the sons of king eystein in hedemark heard the news, they expected the war would come upon them, and they sent a message to hogne karuson and to herse gudbrand, and appointed a meeting with them at ringsaker in hedemark. endnotes: ( ) the first twenty chapters of this saga refer to harald's youth and his conquest of norway. this portion of the saga is of great importance to the icelanders, as the settlement of their isle was a result of harald's wars. the second part of the saga (chaps. - ) treats of the disputes between harald's sons, of the jarls of orkney, and of the jarls of more. with this saga we enter the domain of history.--ed. . king harald overcomes five kings. after the battle king harald and guthorm turned back, and went with all the men they could gather through the forests towards the uplands. they found out where the upland kings had appointed their meeting-place, and came there about the time of midnight, without the watchmen observing them until their army was before the door of the house in which hogne karuson was, as well as that in which gudbrand slept. they set fire to both houses; but king eystein's two sons slipped out with their men, and fought for a while, until both hogne and frode fell. after the fall of these four chiefs, king harald, by his relation guthorm's success and powers, subdued hedemark, ringerike, gudbrandsdal, hadeland, thoten, raumarike, and the whole northern part of vingulmark. king harald and guthorm had thereafter war with king gandalf, and fought several battles with him; and in the last of them king gandalf was slain, and king harald took the whole of his kingdom as far south as the river raum. . of gyda, daughter of eirie. king harald sent his men to a girl called gyda, daughter of king eirik of hordaland, who was brought up as foster-child in the house of a great bonde in valdres. the king wanted her for his concubine; for she was a remarkably handsome girl, but of high spirit withal. now when the messengers came there, and delivered their errand to the girl, she answered, that she would not throw herself away even to take a king for her husband, who had no greater kingdom to rule over than a few districts. "and methinks," said she, "it is wonderful that no king here in norway will make the whole country subject to him, in the same way as gorm the old did in denmark, or eirik at upsala." the messengers thought her answer was dreadfully haughty, and asked what she thought would come of such an answer; for harald was so mighty a man, that his invitation was good enough for her. but although she had replied to their errand differently from what they wished, they saw no chance, on this occasion, of taking her with them against her will; so they prepared to return. when they were ready, and the people followed them out, gyda said to the messengers, "now tell to king harald these my words. i will only agree to be his lawful wife upon the condition that he shall first, for my sake, subject to himself the whole of norway, so that he may rule over that kingdom as freely and fully as king eirik over the swedish dominions, or king gorm over denmark; for only then, methinks, can he be called the king of a people." . king harald's vow. now came the messengers back to king harald, bringing him the words of the girl, and saying she was so bold and foolish that she well deserved that the king should send a greater troop of people for her, and inflict on her some disgrace. then answered the king, "this girl has not spoken or done so much amiss that she should be punished, but rather she should be thanked for her words. she has reminded me," said he, "of something which it appears to me wonderful i did not think of before. and now," added he, "i make the solemn vow, and take god to witness, who made me and rules over all things, that never shall i clip or comb my hair until i have subdued the whole of norway, with scat ( ), and duties, and domains; or if not, have died in the attempt." guthorm thanked the king warmly for his vow; adding, that it was royal work to fulfil royal words. endnotes: ( ) scat was a land-tax, paid to the king in money, malt, meal, or flesh-meat, from all lands, and was adjudged by the thing to each king upon his accession, and being proposed and accepted as king. . the battle in orkadal. after this the two relations gather together a great force, and prepare for an expedition to the uplands, and northwards up the valley (gudbrandsdal), and north over dovrefjeld; and when the king came down to the inhabited land he ordered all the men to be killed, and everything wide around to be delivered to the flames. and when the people came to know this, they fled every one where he could; some down the country to orkadal, some to gaulardal, some to the forests. but some begged for peace, and obtained it, on condition of joining the king and becoming his men. he met no opposition until he came to orkadal. there a crowd of people had assembled, and he had his first battle with a king called gryting. harald won the victory, and king gryting was made prisoner, and most of his people killed. he took service himself under the king, and swore fidelity to him. thereafter all the people in orkadal district went under king harald, and became his men. . king harald s laws for land property. king harald made this law over all the lands he conquered, that all the udal property should belong to him; and that the bondes, both great and small, should pay him land dues for their possessions. over every district he set an earl to judge according to the law of the land and to justice, and also to collect the land dues and the fines; and for this each earl received a third part of the dues, and services, and fines, for the support of his table and other expenses. each earl had under him four or more herses, each of whom had an estate of twenty marks yearly income bestowed on him and was bound to support twenty men-at-arms, and the earl sixty men, at their own expenses. the king had increased the land dues and burdens so much, that each of his earls had greater power and income than the kings had before; and when that became known at throndhjem, many great men joined the king and took his service. . battle in gaulardal. it is told that earl hakon grjotgardson came to king harald from yrjar, and brought a great crowd of men to his service. then king harald went into gaulardal, and had a great battle, in which he slew two kings, and conquered their dominions; and these were gaulardal district and strind district. he gave earl hakon strind district to rule over as earl. king harald then proceeded to stjoradal, and had a third battle, in which he gained the victory, and took that district also. there upon the throndhjem people assembled, and four kings met together with their troops. the one ruled over veradal, the second over skaun, third over the sparbyggja district, and the fourth over eyin idre (inderoen); and this latter had also eyna district. these four kings marched with their men against king harald, but he won the battle; and some of these kings fell, and some fled. in all, king harald fought at the least eight battles, and slew eight kings, in the throndhjem district, and laid the whole of it under him. . harald seizes naumudal district. north in naumudal were two brothers, kings,--herlaug and hrollaug; and they had been for three summers raising a mound or tomb of stone and lime and of wood. just as the work was finished, the brothers got the news that king harald was coming upon them with his army. then king herlaug had a great quantity of meat and drink brought into the mound, and went into it himself, with eleven companions, and ordered the mound to be covered up. king hrollaug, on the contrary, went upon the summit of the mound, on which the kings were wont to sit, and made a throne to be erected, upon which he seated himself. then he ordered feather-beds to be laid upon the bench below, on which the earls were wont to be seated, and threw himself down from his high seat or throne into the earl's seat, giving himself the title of earl. now hrollaug went to meet king harald, gave up to him his whole kingdom, offered to enter into his service, and told him his whole proceeding. then took king harald a sword, fastened it to hrollaug's belt, bound a shield to his neck, and made him thereupon an earl, and led him to his earl's seat; and therewith gave him the district naumudal, and set him as earl over it ((a.d. )). ( ) endnotes: ( ) before writing was in general use, this symbolical way of performing all important legal acts appears to have entered into the jurisprudence of all savage nations; and according to gibbon, chap. , "the jurisprudence of the first romans exhibited the scenes of a pantomime; the words were adapted to the gestures, and the slightest error or neglect in the forms of proceeding was sufficient to annul the substance of the fairest claims."--ed. . king harald's home affairs. king harald then returned to throndhjem, where he dwelt during the winter, and always afterwards called it his home. he fixed here his head residence, which is called lade. this winter he took to wife asa, a daughter of earl hakon grjotgardson, who then stood in great favour and honour with the king. in spring the king fitted out his ships. in winter he had caused a great frigate (a dragon) to be built, and had it fitted-out in the most splendid way, and brought his house-troops and his berserks on board. the forecastle men were picked men, for they had the king's banner. from the stem to the mid-hold was called rausn, or the fore-defence; and there were the berserks. such men only were received into king harald's house-troop as were remarkable for strength, courage, and all kinds of dexterity; and they alone got place in his ship, for he had a good choice of house-troops from the best men of every district. king harald had a great army, many large ships, and many men of might followed him. hornklofe, in his poem called "glymdrapa", tells of this; and also that king harald had a battle with the people of orkadal, at opdal forest, before he went upon this expedition. "o'er the broad heath the bowstrings twang, while high in air the arrows sang. the iron shower drives to flight the foeman from the bloody fight. the warder of great odin's shrine, the fair-haired son of odin's line, raises the voice which gives the cheer, first in the track of wolf or bear. his master voice drives them along to hel--a destined, trembling throng; and nokve's ship, with glancing sides, must fly to the wild ocean's tides.-- must fly before the king who leads norse axe-men on their ocean steeds." . battle at solskel king harald moved out with his army from throndhjem, and went southwards to more. hunthiof was the name of the king who ruled over the district of more. solve klofe was the name of his son, and both were great warriors. king nokve, who ruled over raumsdal, was the brother of solve's mother. those chiefs gathered a great force when they heard of king harald, and came against him. they met at solskel, and there was a great battle, which was gained by king harald (a.d. ). hornklofe tells of this battle:-- "thus did the hero known to fame, the leader of the shields, whose name strikes every heart with dire dismay, launch forth his war-ships to the fray. two kings he fought; but little strife was needed to cut short their life. a clang of arms by the sea-shore,-- and the shields' sound was heard no more." the two kings were slain, but solve escaped by flight; and king harald laid both districts under his power. he stayed here long in summer to establish law and order for the country people, and set men to rule them, and keep them faithful to him; and in autumn he prepared to return northwards to throndhjem. ragnvald earl of more, a son of eystein glumra, had the summer before become one of harald's men; and the king set him as chief over these two districts, north more and raumsdal; strengthened him both with men of might and bondes, and gave him the help of ships to defend the coast against enemies. he was called ragnvald the mighty, or the wise; and people say both names suited him well. king harald came back to throndhjem about winter. . fall of kings arnvid and audbjorn. the following spring (a.d. ) king harald raised a great force in throndhjem, and gave out that he would proceed to south more. solve klofe had passed the winter in his ships of war, plundering in north more, and had killed many of king harald's men; pillaging some places, burning others, and making great ravage; but sometimes he had been, during the winter, with his friend king arnvid in south more. now when he heard that king harald was come with ships and a great army, he gathered people, and was strong in men-at-arms; for many thought they had to take vengeance of king harald. solve klofe went southwards to firdafylke (the fjord district), which king audbjorn ruled over, to ask him to help, and join his force to king arnvid's and his own. "for," said he, "it is now clear that we all have but one course to take; and that is to rise, all as one man, against king harald, for we have strength enough, and fate must decide the victory; for as to the other condition of becoming his servants, that is no condition for us, who are not less noble than harald. my father thought it better to fall in battle for his kingdom, than to go willingly into king harald's service, or not to abide the chance of weapons like the naumudal kings." king solve's speech was such that king audbjorn promised his help, and gathered a great force together and went with it to king arnvid, and they had a great army. now, they got news that king harald was come from the north, and they met within solskel. and it was the custom to lash the ships together, stem to stem; so it was done now. king harald laid his ship against king arnvid's, and there was the sharpest fight, and many men fell on both sides. at last king harald was raging with anger, and went forward to the fore-deck, and slew so dreadfully that all the forecastle men of arnvid's ship were driven aft of the mast, and some fell. thereupon harald boarded the ship, and king arnvid's men tried to save themselves by flight, and he himself was slain in his ship. king audbjorn also fell; but solve fled. so says hornklofe:-- "against the hero's shield in vain the arrow-storm fierce pours its rain. the king stands on the blood-stained deck, trampling on many a stout foe's neck; and high above the dinning stound of helm and axe, and ringing sound of blade and shield, and raven's cry, is heard his shout of 'victory!'" of king harald's men, fell his earls asgaut and asbjorn, together with his brothers-in-law, grjotgard and herlaug, the sons of earl hakon of lade. solve became afterwards a great sea-king, and often did great damage in king harald's dominions. . king vemund burnt to death. after this battle (a.d. ) king harald subdued south more; but vemund, king audbjorn's brother, still had firdafylke. it was now late in harvest, and king harald's men gave him the counsel not to proceed south-wards round stad. then king harald set earl ragnvald over south and north more and also raumsdal, and he had many people about him. king harald returned to throndhjem. the same winter (a.d. ) ragnvald went over eid, and southwards to the fjord district. there he heard news of king vemund, and came by night to a place called naustdal, where king vemund was living in guest-quarters. earl ragnvald surrounded the house in which they were quartered, and burnt the king in it, together with ninety men. the came berdlukare to earl ragnvald with a complete armed long-ship, and they both returned to more. the earl took all the ships vemund had, and all the goods he could get hold of. berdlukare proceeded north to throndhjem to king harald, and became his man; and dreadful berserk he was. . death of earls hakon, and atle mjove. the following spring (a.d. ) king harald went southwards with his fleet along the coast, and subdued firdafylke. then he sailed eastward along the land until he came to vik; but he left earl hakon grjotgardson behind, and set him over the fjord district. earl hakon sent word to earl atle mjove that he should leave sogn district, and be earl over gaular district, as he had been before, alleging that king harald had given sogn district to him. earl atle sent word that he would keep both sogn district and gaular district, until he met king harald. the two earls quarreled about this so long, that both gathered troops. they met at fialar, in stavanger fiord, and had a great battle, in which earl hakon fell, and earl atle got a mortal wound, and his men carried him to the island of atley, where he died. so says eyvind skaldaspiller:-- "he who stood a rooted oak, unshaken by the swordsman's stroke, amidst the whiz of arrows slain, has fallen upon fjalar's plain. there, by the ocean's rocky shore, the waves are stained with the red gore of stout earl hakon grjotgard's son, and of brave warriors many a one." . harald and the swedish king eirik. king harald came with his fleet eastward to viken and landed at tunsberg, which was then a trading town. he had then been four years in throndhjem, and in all that time had not been in viken. here he heard the news that eirik eymundson, king of sweden, had laid under him vermaland, and was taking scat or land-tax from all the forest settlers; and also that he called the whole country north to svinasund, and west along the sea, west gautland; and which altogether he reckoned to his kingdom, and took land-tax from it. over this country he had set an earl, by name hrane gauzke, who had the earldom between svinasund and the gaut river, and was a mighty earl. and it was told to king harald that the swedish king said he would not rest until he had as great a kingdom in viken as sigurd hring, or his son ragnar lodbrok, had possessed; and that was raumarike and vestfold, all the way to the isle grenmar, and also vingulmark, and all that lay south of it. in all these districts many chiefs, and many other people, had given obedience to the swedish king. king harald was very angry at this, and summoned the bondes to a thing at fold, where he laid an accusation against them for treason towards him. some bondes defended themselves from the accusation, some paid fines, some were punished. he went thus through the whole district during the summer, and in harvest he did the same in raumarike, and laid the two districts under his power. towards winter he heard that eirik king of sweden was, with his court, going about in vermaland in guest-quarters. . harald at a feast of the peasant ake. king harald takes his way across the eid forest eastward, and comes out in vermaland, where he also orders feasts to be prepared for himself. there was a man by name ake, who was the greatest of the bondes of vermaland, very rich, and at that time very aged. he sent men to king harald, and invited him to a feast, and the king promised to come on the day appointed. ake invited also king eirik to a feast, and appointed the same day. ake had a great feasting hall, but it was old; and he made a new hall, not less than the old one, and had it ornamented in the most splendid way. the new hall he had hung with new hangings, but the old had only its old ornaments. now when the kings came to the feast, king eirik with his court was taken into the old hall; but harald with his followers into the new. the same difference was in all the table furniture, and king eirik and his men had the old-fashioned vessels and horns, but all gilded and splendid; while king harald and his men had entirely new vessels and horns adorned with gold, all with carved figures, and shining like glass; and both companies had the best of liquor. ake the bonde had formerly been king halfdan the black s man. now when daylight came, and the feast was quite ended, and the kings made themselves ready for their journey, and the horses were saddled, came ake before king harald, leading in his hand his son ubbe, a boy of twelve years of age, and said, "if the goodwill i have shown to thee, sire, in my feast, be worth thy friendship, show it hereafter to my son. i give him to thee now for thy service." the king thanked him with many agreeable words for his friendly entertainment, and promised him his full friendship in return. then ake brought out great presents, which he gave to the king, and they gave each other thereafter the parting kiss. ake went next to the swedish king, who was dressed and ready for the road, but not in the best humour. ake gave to him also good and valuable gifts; but the king answered only with few words, and mounted his horse. ake followed the king on the road and talked with him. the road led through a wood which was near to the house; and when ake came to the wood, the king said to him, "how was it that thou madest such a difference between me and king harald as to give him the best of everything, although thou knowest thou art my man?" "i think" answered ake, "that there failed in it nothing, king, either to you or to your attendants, in friendly entertainment at this feast. but that all the utensils for your drinking were old, was because you are now old; but king harald is in the bloom of youth, and therefore i gave him the new things. and as to my being thy man, thou art just as much my man." on this the king out with his sword, and gave ake his deathwound. king harald was ready now also to mount his horse, and desired that ake should be called. the people went to seek him; and some ran up the road that king eirik had taken, and found ake there dead. they came back, and told the news to king harald, and he bids his men to be up, and avenge ake the bonde. and away rode he and his men the way king eirik had taken, until they came in sight of each other. each for himself rode as hard as he could, until eirik came into the wood which divides gautland and vermaland. there king harald wheels about, and returns to vermaland, and lays the country under him, and kills king eirik's men wheresoever he can find them. in winter king harald returned to raumarike, and dwelt there a while. . harald's journey to tunsberg. king harald went out in winter to his ships at tunsberg, rigged them, and sailed away eastward over the fiord, and subjected all vingulmark to his dominion. all winter he was out with his ships, and marauded in ranrike; so says thorbjorn hornklofe:-- "the norseman's king is on the sea, tho' bitter wintry cold it be.-- on the wild waves his yule keeps he. when our brisk king can get his way, he'll no more by the fireside stay than the young sun; he makes us play the game of the bright sun-god frey. but the soft swede loves well the fire the well-stuffed couch, the doway glove, and from the hearth-seat will not move." the gautlanders gathered people together all over the country. . the battle in gautland. in spring, when the ice was breaking up, the gautlanders drove stakes into the gaut river to hinder king harald with his ships from coming to the land. but king harald laid his ships alongside the stakes, and plundered the country, and burnt all around; so says horn klofe:-- "the king who finds a dainty feast, for battle-bird and prowling beast, has won in war the southern land that lies along the ocean's strand. the leader of the helmets, he who leads his ships o'er the dark sea, harald, whose high-rigged masts appear like antlered fronts of the wild deer, has laid his ships close alongside of the foe's piles with daring pride." afterwards the gautlanders came down to the strand with a great army, and gave battle to king harald, and great was the fall of men. but it was king harald who gained the day. thus says hornklofe:-- "whistles the battle-axe in its swing o'er head the whizzing javelins sing, helmet and shield and hauberk ring; the air-song of the lance is loud, the arrows pipe in darkening cloud; through helm and mail the foemen feel the blue edge of our king's good steel who can withstand our gallant king? the gautland men their flight must wing." . hrane gauzke's death. king harald went far and wide through gautland, and many were the battles he fought there on both sides of the river, and in general he was victorious. in one of these battles fell hrane gauzke; and then the king took his whole land north of the river and west of the veneren, and also vermaland. and after he turned back there-from, he set duke guthorm as chief to defend the country, and left a great force with him. king harald himself went first to the uplands, where he remained a while, and then proceeded northwards over the dovrefjeld to throndhjem, where he dwelt for a long time. harald began to have children. by asa he had four sons. the eldest was guthorm. halfdan the black and halfdan the white were twins. sigfrod was the fourth. they were all brought up in throndhjem with all honour. . battle in hafersfjord. news came in from the south land that the people of hordaland and rogaland, agder and thelemark, were gathering, and bringing together ships and weapons, and a great body of men. the leaders of this were eirik king of hordaland; sulke king of rogaland, and his brother earl sote: kjotve the rich, king of agder, and his son thor haklang; and from thelemark two brothers, hroald hryg and had the hard. now when harald got certain news of this, he assembled his forces, set his ships on the water, made himself ready with his men, and set out southwards along the coast, gathering many people from every district. king eirik heard of this when he same south of stad; and having assembled all the men he could expect, he proceeded southwards to meet the force which he knew was coming to his help from the east. the whole met together north of jadar, and went into hafersfjord, where king harald was waiting with his forces. a great battle began, which was both hard and long; but at last king harald gained the day. there king eirik fell, and king sulke, with his brother earl sote. thor haklang, who was a great berserk, had laid his ship against king harald's, and there was above all measure a desperate attack, until thor haklang fell, and his whole ship was cleared of men. then king kjotve fled to a little isle outside, on which there was a good place of strength. thereafter all his men fled, some to their ships, some up to the land; and the latter ran southwards over the country of jadar. so says hornklofe, viz.:-- "has the news reached you?--have you heard of the great fight at hafersfjord, between our noble king brave harald and king kjotve rich in gold? the foeman came from out the east, keen for the fray as for a feast. a gallant sight it was to see their fleet sweep o'er the dark-blue sea: each war-ship, with its threatening throat of dragon fierce or ravenous brute ( ) grim gaping from the prow; its wales glittering with burnished shields, ( ) like scales its crew of udal men of war, whose snow-white targets shone from far and many a mailed spearman stout from the west countries round about, english and scotch, a foreign host, and swordamen from the far french coast. and as the foemen's ships drew near, the dreadful din you well might hear savage berserks roaring mad, and champions fierce in wolf-skins clad, ( ) howling like wolves; and clanking jar of many a mail-clad man of war. thus the foe came; but our brave king taught them to fly as fast again. for when he saw their force come o'er, he launched his war-ships from the shore. on the deep sea he launched his fleet and boldly rowed the foe to meet. fierce was the shock, and loud the clang of shields, until the fierce haklang, the foeman's famous berserk, fell. then from our men burst forth the yell of victory, and the king of gold could not withstand our harald bold, but fled before his flaky locks for shelter to the island rocks. all in the bottom of the ships the wounded lay, in ghastly heaps; backs up and faces down they lay under the row-seats stowed away; and many a warrior's shield, i ween might on the warrior's back be seen, to shield him as he fled amain from the fierce stone-storm's pelting rain. the mountain-folk, as i've heard say, ne'er stopped as they ran from the fray, till they had crossed the jadar sea, and reached their homes--so keen each soul to drown his fright in the mead bowl." endnotes: ( ) the war-ships were called dragons, from being decorated with the head of a dragon, serpent, or other wild animal; and the word "draco" was adopted in the latin of the middle ages to denote a ship of war of the larger class. the snekke was the cutter or smaller war-ship.--l. ( ) the shields were hung over the side-rails of the ships.--l. ( ) the wolf-skin pelts were nearly as good as armour against the sword. . harald supreme sovereign in norway. after this battle king harald met no opposition in norway, for all his opponents and greatest enemies were cut off. but some, and they were a great multitude, fled out of the country, and thereby great districts were peopled. jemtaland and helsingjaland were peopled then, although some norwegians had already set up their habitation there. in the discontent that king harald seized on the lands of norway, the out-countries of iceland and the farey isles were discovered and peopled. the northmen had also a great resort to hjaltland (shetland isles) and many men left norway, flying the country on account of king harald, and went on viking cruises into the west sea. in winter they were in the orkney islands and hebrides; but marauded in summer in norway, and did great damage. many, however, were the mighty men who took service under king harald, and became his men, and dwelt in the land with him. . harald's marriage and his children. when king harald had now become sole king over all norway, he remembered what that proud girl had said to him; so he sent men to her, and had her brought to him, and took her to his bed. and these were their children: alof--she was the eldest; then was their son hrorek; then sigtryg, frode, and thorgils. king harald had many wives and many children. among them he had one wife, who was called ragnhild the mighty, a daughter of king eirik, from jutland; and by her he had a son, eirik blood-axe. he was also married to svanhild, a daughter of earl eystein; and their sons were olaf geirstadaalf, bjorn and ragnar rykkil. lastly, king harald married ashild, a daughter of hring dagson, up in ringerike; and their children were, dag, hring, gudrod skiria, and ingigerd. it is told that king harald put away nine wives when he married ragnhild the mighty. so says hornklofe:-- "harald, of noblest race the head, a danish wife took to his bed; and out of doors nine wives he thrust,-- the mothers of the princes first. who 'mong holmrygians hold command, and those who rule in hordaland. and then he packed from out the place the children born of holge's race." king harald's children were all fostered and brought up by their relations on the mother's side. guthorm the duke had poured water over king harald's eldest son and had given him his own name. he set the child upon his knee, and was his foster-father, and took him with himself eastward to viken, and there he was brought up in the house of guthorm. guthorm ruled the whole land in viken and the uplands, when king harald was absent. . king harald's voyage to the west. king harald heard that the vikings, who were in the west sea in winter, plundered far and wide in the middle part of norway; and therefore every summer he made an expedition to search the isles and out-skerries ( ) on the coast. wheresoever the vikings heard of him they all took to flight, and most of them out into the open ocean. at last the king grew weary of this work, and therefore one summer he sailed with his fleet right out into the west sea. first he came to hjaltland (shetland), and he slew all the vikings who could not save themselves by flight. then king harald sailed southwards, to the orkney islands, and cleared them all of vikings. thereafter he proceeded to the sudreys (hebrides), plundered there, and slew many vikings who formerly had had men-at-arms under them. many a battle was fought, and king harald was always victorious. he then plundered far and wide in scotland itself, and had a battle there. when he was come westward as far as the isle of man, the report of his exploits on the land had gone before him; for all the inhabitants had fled over to scotland, and the island was left entirely bare both of people and goods, so that king harald and his men made no booty when they landed. so says hornklofe:-- "the wise, the noble king, great whose hand so freely scatters gold, led many a northern shield to war against the town upon the shore. the wolves soon gathered on the sand of that sea-shore; for harald's hand the scottish army drove away, and on the coast left wolves a prey." in this war fell ivar, a son of ragnvald, earl of more; and king harald gave ragnvald, as a compensation for the loss, the orkney and shetland isles, when he sailed from the west; but ragnvald immediately gave both these countries to his brother sigurd, who remained behind them; and king harald, before sailing eastward, gave sigurd the earldom of them. thorstein the red, a son of olaf the white and of aud the wealthy, entered into partnership with him; and after plundering in scotland, they subdued caithness and sutherland, as far as ekkjalsbakke. earl sigurd killed melbridge tooth, a scotch earl, and hung his head to his stirrup-leather; but the calf of his leg were scratched by the teeth, which were sticking out from the head, and the wound caused inflammation in his leg, of which the earl died, and he was laid in a mound at ekkjalsbakke. his son guthorm ruled over these countries for about a year thereafter, and died without children. many vikings, both danes and northmen, set themselves down then in those countries. endnotes: ( ) skerries are the uninhabited dry or halt-tide rocks of a coast.--l. . harald has his hair clipped. after king harald had subdued the whole land, he was one day at a feast in more, given by earl ragnvald. then king harald went into a bath, and had his hair dressed. earl ragnvald now cut his hair, which had been uncut and uncombed for ten years; and therefore the king had been called lufa (i.e., with rough matted hair). but then earl ragnvald gave him the distinguishing name--harald harfager (i.e., fair hair); and all who saw him agreed that there was the greatest truth in the surname, for he had the most beautiful and abundant head of hair. . rolf ganger driven into banishment. earl ragnvald was king harald's dearest friend, and the king had the greatest regard for him. he was married to hild, a daughter of rolf nefia, and their sons were rolf and thorer. earl ragnvald had also three sons by concubines,--the one called hallad, the second einar, the third hrollaug; and all three were grown men when their brothers born in marriage were still children rolf became a great viking, and was of so stout a growth that no horse could carry him, and wheresoever he went he must go on foot; and therefore he was called rolf ganger. he plundered much in the east sea. one summer, as he was coming from the eastward on a viking's expedition to the coast of viken, he landed there and made a cattle foray. as king harald happened, just at that time, to be in viken, he heard of it, and was in a great rage; for he had forbid, by the greatest punishment, the plundering within the bounds of the country. the king assembled a thing, and had rolf declared an outlaw over all norway. when rolf's mother, hild heard of it she hastened to the king, and entreated peace for rolf; but the king was so enraged that here entreaty was of no avail. then hild spake these lines:-- "think'st thou, king harald, in thy anger, to drive away my brave rolf ganger like a mad wolf, from out the land? why, harald, raise thy mighty hand? why banish nefia's gallant name-son, the brother of brave udal-men? why is thy cruelty so fell? bethink thee, monarch, it is ill with such a wolf at wolf to play, who, driven to the wild woods away may make the king's best deer his prey." rolf ganger went afterwards over sea to the west to the hebrides, or sudreys; and at last farther west to valland, where he plundered and subdued for himself a great earldom, which he peopled with northmen, from which that land is called normandy. rolf ganger's son was william, father to richard, and grandfather to another richard, who was the father of robert longspear, and grandfather of william the bastard, from whom all the following english kings are descended. from rolf ganger also are descended the earls in normandy. queen ragnhild the mighty lived three years after she came to norway; and, after her death, her son and king harald's was taken to the herse thorer hroaldson, and eirik was fostered by him. . of the fin svase and king harald. king harald, one winter, went about in guest-quarters in the uplands, and had ordered a christmas feast to be prepared for him at the farm thoptar. on christmas eve came svase to the door, just as the king went to table, and sent a message to the king to ask if he would go out with him. the king was angry at such a message, and the man who had brought it in took out with him a reply of the king's displeasure. but svase, notwithstanding, desired that his message should be delivered a second time; adding to it, that he was the fin whose hut the king had promised to visit, and which stood on the other side of the ridge. now the king went out, and promised to go with him, and went over the ridge to his hut, although some of his men dissuaded him. there stood snaefrid, the daughter of svase, a most beautiful girl; and she filled a cup of mead for the king. but he took hold both of the cup and of her hand. immediately it was as if a hot fire went through his body; and he wanted that very night to take her to his bed. but svase said that should not be unless by main force, if he did not first make her his lawful wife. now king harald made snaefrid his lawful wife, and loved her so passionately that he forgot his kingdom, and all that belonged to his high dignity. they had four sons: the one was sigurd hrise; the others halfdan haleg, gudrod ljome and ragnvald rettilbeine. thereafter snaefrid died; but her corpse never changed, but was as fresh and red as when she lived. the king sat always beside her, and thought she would come to life again. and so it went on for three years that he was sorrowing over her death, and the people over his delusion. at last thorleif the wise succeeded, by his prudence, in curing him of his delusion by accosting him thus:--"it is nowise wonderful, king, that thou grievest over so beautiful and noble a wife, and bestowest costly coverlets and beds of down on her corpse, as she desired; but these honours fall short of what is due, as she still lies in the same clothes. it would be more suitable to raise her, and change her dress." as soon as the body was raised in the bed all sorts of corruption and foul smells came from it, and it was necessary in all haste to gather a pile of wood and burn it; but before this could be done the body turned blue, and worms, toads, newts, paddocks, and all sorts of ugly reptiles came out of it, and it sank into ashes. now the king came to his understanding again, threw the madness out of his mind, and after that day ruled his kingdom as before. he was strengthened and made joyful by his subjects, and his subjects by him and the country by both. . of thjodolf of hvin, the skald. after king harald had experienced the cunning of the fin woman, he was so angry that he drove from him the sons he had with her, and would not suffer them before his eyes. but one of them, gudrod ljome, went to his foster-father thjodolf of hvin, and asked him to go to the king, who was then in the uplands; for thjodolf was a great friend of the king. and so they went, and came to the king's house late in the evening, and sat down together unnoticed near the door. the king walked up and down the floor casting his eye along the benches; for he had a feast in the house, and the mead was just mixed. the king then murmured out these lines:-- "tell me, ye aged gray-haired heroes, who have come here to seek repose, wherefore must i so many keep of such a set, who, one and all, right dearly love their souls to steep, from morn till night, in the mead-bowl?" then thjodolf replies:-- "a certain wealthy chief, i think, would gladly have had more to drink with him, upon one bloody day, when crowns were cracked in our sword-play." thjodolf then took off his hat, and the king recognised him, and gave him a friendly reception. thjodolf then begged the king not to cast off his sons; "for they would with great pleasure have taken a better family descent upon the mother's side, if the king had given it to them." the king assented, and told him to take gudrod with him as formerly; and he sent halfdan and sigurd to ringerike, and ragnvald to hadaland, and all was done as the king ordered. they grew up to be very clever men, very expert in all exercises. in these times king harald sat in peace in the land, and the land enjoyed quietness and good crops. . of earl torfeinar's obtaining orkney. when earl ragnvald in more heard of the death of his brother earl sigurd, and that the vikings were in possession of the country, he sent his son hallad westward, who took the title of earl to begin with, and had many men-at-arms with him. when he arrived at the orkney islands, he established himself in the country; but both in harvest, winter, and spring, the vikings cruised about the isles plundering the headlands, and committing depredations on the coast. then earl hallad grew tired of the business, resigned his earldom, took up again his rights as an allodial owner, and afterwards returned eastward into norway. when earl ragnvald heard of this he was ill pleased with hallad, and said his son were very unlike their ancestors. then said einar, "i have enjoyed but little honour among you, and have little affection here to lose: now if you will give me force enough, i will go west to the islands, and promise you what at any rate will please you--that you shall never see me again." earl ragnvald replied, that he would be glad if he never came back; "for there is little hope," said he, "that thou will ever be an honour to thy friends, as all thy kin on thy mother's side are born slaves." earl ragnvald gave einar a vessel completely equipped, and he sailed with it into the west sea in harvest. when he came to the orkney isles, two vikings, thorer treskeg and kalf skurfa, were in his way with two vessels. he attacked them instantly, gained the battle, and slew the two vikings. then this was sung:-- "then gave he treskeg to the trolls, torfeinar slew skurfa." he was called torfeinar, because he cut peat for fuel, there being no firewood, as in orkney there are no woods. he afterwards was earl over the islands, and was a mighty man. he was ugly, and blind of an eye, yet very sharp-sighted withal. . king eirik eymundson's death. duke guthorm dwelt principally at tunsberg, and governed the whole of viken when the king was not there. he defended the land, which, at that time, was much plundered by the vikings. there were disturbances also up in gautland as long as king eirik eymundson lived; but he died when king harald harfager had been ten years king of all norway. . guthorm's death in tunsberg. after eirik, his son bjorn was king of svithjod for fifty years. he was father of eirik the victorious, and of olaf the father of styrbjorn. guthorm died on a bed of sickness at tunsberg, and king harald gave his son guthorm the government of that part of his dominions and made him chief of it. . earl ragnvald burnt in his house. when king harald was forty years of age many of his sons were well advanced, and indeed they all came early to strength and manhood. and now they began to take it ill that the king would not give them any part of the kingdom, but put earls into every district; for they thought earls were of inferior birth to them. then halfdan haleg and gudrod ljome set off one spring with a great force, and came suddenly upon earl ragnvald, earl of more, and surrounded the house in which he was, and burnt him and sixty men in it. thereafter halfdan took three long-ships, and fitted them out, and sailed into the west sea; but gudrod set himself down in the land which ragnvald formerly had. now when king harald heard this he set out with a great force against gudrod, who had no other way left but to surrender, and he was sent to agder. king harald then set earl ragnvald's son thorer over more, and gave him his daughter alof, called arbot, in marriage. earl thorer, called the silent, got the same territory his father earl ragnvald had possessed. . halfdan haleg's death. halfdan haleg came very unexpectedly to orkney, and earl einar immediately fled; but came back soon after about harvest time, unnoticed by halfdan. they met and after a short battle halfdan fled the same night. einar and his men lay all night without tents, and when it was light in the morning they searched the whole island and killed every man they could lay hold of. then einar said "what is that i see upon the isle of rinansey? is it a man or a bird? sometimes it raises itself up, and sometimes lies down again." they went to it, and found it was halfdan haleg, and took him prisoner. earl einar sang the following song the evening before he went into this battle:-- "where is the spear of hrollaug? where is stout rolf ganger's bloody spear! i see them not; yet never fear, for einar will not vengeance spare against his father's murderers, though hrollaug and rolf are somewhat slow, and silent thorer sits add dreams at home, beside the mead-bowl's streams." thereafter earl einar went up to halfdan, and cut a spread eagle upon his back, by striking his sword through his back into his belly, dividing his ribs from the backbone down to his loins, and tearing out his lungs; and so halfdan was killed. einar then sang:-- "for ragnvald's death my sword is red: of vengeance it cannot be said that einar's share is left unsped. so now, brave boys, let's raise a mound,-- heap stones and gravel on the ground o'er halfdan's corpse: this is the way we norsemen our scat duties pay." then earl einar took possession of the orkney isles as before. now when these tidings came to norway, halfdan's brothers took it much to heart, and thought that his death demanded vengeance; and many were of the same opinion. when einar heard this, he sang:-- "many a stout udal-man, i know, has cause to wish my head laid low; and many an angry udal knife would gladly drink of eina's life. but ere they lay earl einar low,-- ere this stout heart betrays its cause, full many a heart will writhe, we know, in the wolf's fangs, or eagle's claws." . harald and einar reconciled. king harald now ordered a levy, and gathered a great force, with which he proceeded westward to orkney; and when earl einar heard that king harald was come, he fled over to caithness. he made the following verses on this occasion:-- "many a bearded man must roam, an exile from his house and home, for cow or horse; but halfdan's gore is red on rinansey's wild shore. a nobler deed--on harald's shield the arm of one who ne'er will yield has left a scar. let peasants dread the vengeance of the norsemen's head: i reck not of his wrath, but sing, 'do thy worst!--i defy thee, king!--'" men and messages, however, passed between the king and the earl, and at last it came to a conference; and when they met the earl submitted the case altogether to the king's decision, and the king condemned the earl einar and the orkney people to pay a fine of sixty marks of gold. as the bondes thought this was too heavy for them to pay, the earl offered to pay the whole if they would surrender their udal lands to him. this they all agreed to do: the poor because they had but little pieces of land; the rich because they could redeem their udal rights again when they liked. thus the earl paid the whole fine to the king, who returned in harvest to norway. the earls for a long time afterwards possessed all the udal lands in orkney, until sigurd son of hlodver gave back the udal rights. . death of guthorm and halfdan the white. while king harald's son guthorm had the defence of viken, he sailed outside of the islands on the coast, and came in by one of the mouths of the tributaries of the gaut river. when he lay there solve klofe came upon him, and immediately gave him battle, and guthorm fell. halfdan the white and halfdan the black went out on an expedition, and plundered in the east sea, and had a battle in eistland, where halfdan the white fell. . marriage of eirik. eirik, harald's son, was fostered in the house of the herse thorer, son of hroald, in the fjord district. he was the most beloved and honoured by king harald of all his sons. when eirik was twelve years old, king harald gave him five long-ships, with which he went on an expedition,--first in the baltic; then southwards to denmark, friesland, and saxland; on which expedition he passed four years. he then sailed out into the west sea and plundered in scotland, bretland, ireland, and valland, and passed four years more in this way. then he sailed north to finmark, and all the way to bjarmaland, where he had many a battle, and won many a victory. when he came back to finmark, his men found a girl in a lapland hut, whose equal for beauty they never had seen. she said her name was gunhild, and that her father dwelt in halogaland, and was called ozur tote. "i am here," she said, "to learn sorcery from two of the most knowing fins in all finmark, who are now out hunting. they both want me in marriage. they are so skilful that they can hunt out traces either upon the frozen or the thawed earth, like dogs; and they can run so swiftly on skees that neither man nor beast can come near them in speed. they hit whatever they take aim at, and thus kill every man who comes near them. when they are angry the very earth turns away in terror, and whatever living thing they look upon then falls dead. now ye must not come in their way; but i will hide you here in the hut, and ye must try to get them killed." they agreed to it, and she hid them, and then took a leather bag, in which they thought there were ashes which she took in her hand, and strewed both outside and inside of the hut. shortly after the fins came home, and asked who had been there; and she answered, "nobody has been here." "that is wonderful," said they, "we followed the traces close to the hut, and can find none after that." then they kindled a fire, and made ready their meat, and gunhild prepared her bed. it had so happened that gunhild had slept the three nights before, but the fins had watched the one upon the other, being jealous of each other. "now," she said to the fins, "come here, and lie down one on each side of me." on which they were very glad to do so. she laid an arm round the neck of each and they went to sleep directly. she roused them up; but they fell to sleep again instantly, and so soundly the she scarcely could waken them. she even raised them up in the bed, and still they slept. thereupon she too two great seal-skin bags, and put their heads in them, and tied them fast under their arms; and then she gave a wink to the king's men. they run forth with their weapons, kill the two fins, and drag them out of the hut. that same night came such a dreadful thunder-storm that the could not stir. next morning they came to the ship, taking gunhild with them, and presented her to eirik. eirik and his followers then sailed southwards to halogaland and he sent word to ozur tote, the girl's father, to meet him. eirik said he would take his daughter in marriage, to which ozur tote consented, and eirik took gunhild and went southwards with her (a.d. ). . harald divides his kingdom. when king harald was fifty years of age many of his sons were grown up, and some were dead. many of them committed acts of great violence in the country, and were in discord among themselves. they drove some of the king's earls out of their properties, and even killed some of them. then the king called together a numerous thing in the south part of the country, and summoned to it all the people of the uplands. at this thing he gave to all his sons the title of king, and made a law that his descendants in the male line should each succeed to the kingly title and dignity; but his descendants by the female side only to that of earl. and he divided the country among them thus:--vingulmark, raumarike, vestfold and thelamark, he bestowed on olaf, bjorn, sigtryg, frode, and thorgils. hedemark and gudbrandsdal he gave to dag, hring, and ragnar. to snaefrid's sons he gave ringerike, hadeland, thoten, and the lands thereto belonging. his son guthorm, as before mentioned, he had set over the country from glommen to svinasund and ranrike. he had set him to defend the country to the east, as before has been written. king harald himself generally dwelt in the middle of the country, and hrorek and gudrod were generally with his court, and had great estates in hordaland and in sogn. king eirik was also with his father king harald; and the king loved and regarded him the most of all his sons, and gave him halogaland and north more, and raumsdal. north in throndhjem he gave halfdan the black, halfdan the white, and sigrod land to rule over. in each of these districts he gave his sons the one half of his revenues, together with the right to sit on a high-seat,--a step higher than earls, but a step lower than his own high-seat. his king's seat each of his sons wanted for himself after his death, but he himself destined it for eirik. the throndhjem people wanted halfdan the black to succeed to it. the people of viken, and the uplands, wanted those under whom they lived. and thereupon new quarrels arose among the brothers; and because they thought their dominions too little, they drove about in piratical expeditions. in this way, as before related, guthorm fell at the mouth of the gaut river, slain by solve klofe; upon which olaf took the kingdom he had possessed. halfdan the white fell in eistland, halfdan haleg in orkney. king harald gave ships of war to thorgils and frode, with which they went westward on a viking cruise, and plundered in scotland, ireland, and bretland. they were the first of the northmen who took dublin. it is said that frode got poisoned drink there; but thorgils was a long time king over dublin, until he fell into a snare of the irish, and was killed. . death of ragnvald rettilbeine. eirik blood-axe expected to be head king over all his brothers and king harald intended he should be so; and the father and son lived long together. ragnvald rettilbeine governed hadaland, and allowed himself to be instructed in the arts of witchcraft, and became an area warlock. now king harald was a hater of all witchcraft. there was a warlock in hordaland called vitgeir; and when the king sent a message to him that he should give up his art of witchcraft, he replied in this verse:-- "the danger surely is not great from wizards born of mean estate, when harald's son in hadeland, king ragnvald, to the art lays hand." but when king harald heard this, king eirik blood-axe went by his orders to the uplands, and came to hadeland and burned his brother ragnvald in a house, along with eighty other warlocks; which work was much praised. . death of gudrod ljome. gudrod ljome was in winter on a friendly visit to his foster-father thjodolf in hvin, and had a well-manned ship, with which he wanted to go north to rogaland. it was blowing a heavy storm at the time; but gudrod was bent on sailing, and would not consent to wait. thjodolf sang thus:-- "wait, gudrod, till the storm is past,-- loose not thy long-ship while the blast howls over-head so furiously,-- trust not thy long-ship to the sea,-- loose not thy long-ship from the shore; hark to the ocean's angry roar! see how the very stones are tost by raging waves high on the coast! stay, gudrod, till the tempest's o'er-- deep runs the sea off the jadar's shore." gudrod set off in spite of what thjodolf could say: and when they came off the jadar the vessel sunk with them, and all on board were lost. . king bjorn kaupman's death. king harald's son, bjorn, ruled over vestfold at that time, and generally lived at tunsberg, and went but little on war expeditions. tunsberg at that time was much frequented by merchant vessels, both from viken and the north country, and also from the south, from denmark, and saxland. king bjorn had also merchant ships on voyages to other lands, by which he procured for himself costly articles, and such things as he thought needful; and therefore his brothers called him farman (the seaman), and kaupman (the chapman). bjorn was a man of sense and understanding, and promised to become a good ruler. he made a good and suitable marriage, and had a son by his wife, who was named gudrod. eirik blood-axe came from his baltic cruise with ships of war, and a great force, and required his brother bjorn to deliver to him king harald's share of the scat and incomes of vestfold. but it had always been the custom before, that bjorn himself either delivered the money into the king's hands, or sent men of his own with it; and therefore he would continue with the old custom, and would not deliver the money. eirik again wanted provisions, tents, and liquor. the brothers quarrelled about this; but eirik got nothing and left the town. bjorn went also out of the town towards evening up to saeheim. in the night eirik came back after bjorn, and came to saeheim just as bjorn and his men were seated at table drinking. eirik surrounded the house in which they were; but bjorn with his men went out and fought. bjorn, and many men with him, fell. eirik, on the other hand, got a great booty, and proceeded northwards. but this work was taken very ill by the people of viken, and eirik was much disliked for it; and the report went that king olaf would avenge his brother bjorn, whenever opportunity offered. king bjorn lies in the mound of farmanshaug at saeheim. . reconciliation of the kings. king eirik went in winter northwards to more, and was at a feast in solve, within the point agdanes; and when halfdan the black heard of it he set out with his men, and surrounded the house in which they were. eirik slept in a room which stood detached by itself, and he escaped into the forest with four others; but halfdan and his men burnt the main house, with all the people who were in it. with this news eirik came to king harald, who was very wroth at it, and assembled a great force against the throndhjem people. when halfdan the black heard this he levied ships and men, so that he had a great force, and proceeded with it to stad, within thorsbjerg. king harald lay with his men at reinsletta. now people went between them, and among others a clever man called guthorm sindre, who was then in halfdan the black's army, but had been formerly in the service of king harald, and was a great friend of both. guthorm was a great skald, and had once composed a song both about the father and the son, for which they had offered him a reward. but he would take nothing; but only asked that, some day or other, they should grant him any request he should make, which they promised to do. now he presented himself to king harald, brought words of peace between them, and made the request to them both that they should be reconciled. so highly did the king esteem him, that in consequence of his request they were reconciled. many other able men promoted this business as well as he; and it was so settled that halfdan should retain the whole of his kingdom as he had it before, and should let his brother eirik sit in peace. after this event jorun, the skald-maid, composed some verses in "sendibit" ("the biting message"):-- "i know that harald fairhair knew the dark deed of halfdan. to harald halfdan seemed angry and cruel." . birth of hakon the good. earl hakon grjotgardson of hlader had the whole rule over throndhjem when king harald was anywhere away in the country; and hakon stood higher with the king than any in the country of throndhjem. after hakon's death his son sigurd succeeded to his power in throndhjem, and was the earl, and had his mansion at hlader. king harald's sons, halfdan the black and sigrod, who had been before in the house of his father earl hakon, continued to be brought up in his house. the sons of harald and sigurd were about the same age. earl sigurd was one of the wisest men of his time, and married bergljot, a daughter of earl thorer the silent; and her mother was alof arbot, a daughter of harald harfager. when king harald began to grow old he generally dwelt on some of his great farms in hordaland; namely, alreksstader or saeheim, fitjar, utstein, or ogvaldsnes in the island kormt. when harald was seventy years of age he begat a son with a girl called thora mosterstang, because her family came from moster. she was descended from good people, being connected with kare (aslakson) of hordaland; and was moreover a very stout and remarkably handsome girl. she was called the king's servant-girl; for at that time many were subject to service to the king who were of good birth, both men and women. then it was the custom, with people of consideration, to choose with great care the man who should pour water over their children, and give them a name. now when the time came that thora, who was then at moster, expected her confinement, she would to king harald, who was then living at saeheim; and she went northwards in a ship belonging to earl sigurd. they lay at night close to the land; and there thora brought forth a child upon the land, up among the rocks, close to the ship's gangway, and it was a man child. earl sigurd poured water over him, and called him hakon, after his own father, hakon earl of hlader. the boy soon grew handsome, large in size, and very like his father king harald. king harald let him follow his mother, and they were both in the king's house as long as he was an infant. . king athelstan's message at this time a king called aethelstan had taken the kingdom of england. he was called victorious and faithful. he sent men to norway to king harald, with the errand that the messengers should present him with a sword, with the hilt and handle gilt, and also the whole sheath adorned with gold and silver, and set with precious jewels. the ambassador presented the sword-hilt to the king, saying, "here is a sword which king athelstan sends thee, with the request that thou wilt accept it." the king took the sword by the handle; whereupon the ambassador said, "now thou hast taken the sword according to our king's desire, and therefore art thou his subject as thou hast taken his sword." king harald saw now that this was an insult, for he would be subject to no man. but he remembered it was his rule, whenever anything raised his anger, to collect himself, and let his passion run off, and then take the matter into consideration coolly. now he did so, and consulted his friends, who all gave him the advice to let the ambassadors, in the first place, go home in safety. . hauk's journey to england. the following summer king harald sent a ship westward to england, and gave the command of it to hauk habrok. he was a great warrior, and very dear to the king. into his hands he gave his son hakon. hank proceeded westward in england, and found king athelstan in london, where there was just at the time a great feast and entertainment. when they came to the hall, hauk told his men how they should conduct themselves; namely, that he who went first in should go last out, and all should stand in a row at the table, at equal distance from each other; and each should have his sword at his left side, but should fasten his cloak so that his sword should not be seen. then they went into the hall, thirty in number. hauk went up to the king and saluted him, and the king bade him welcome. then hauk took the child hakon, and set it on the king's knee. the king looks at the boy, and asks hauk what the meaning of this is. hauk replies, "herald the king bids thee foster his servant-girl's child." the king was in great anger, and seized a sword which lay beside him, and drew it, as if he was going to kill the child. hauk says, "thou hast borne him on thy knee, and thou canst murder him if thou wilt; but thou wilt not make an end of all king harald's sons by so doing." on that hauk went out with all his men, and took the way direct to his ship, and put to sea,--for they were ready,--and came back to king harald. the king was highly pleased with this; for it is the common observation of all people, that the man who fosters another's children is of less consideration than the other. from these transactions between the two kings, it appears that each wanted to be held greater than the other; but in truth there was no injury, to the dignity of either, for each was the upper king in his own kingdom till his dying day. . hakon, the foster-son of athelstan, is baptized. king athelstan had hakon baptized, and brought up in the right faith, and in good habits, and all sorts of good manners, and he loved hakon above all his relations; and hakon was beloved by all men. he was henceforth called athelstan's foster-son. he was an accomplished skald, and he was larger, stronger and more beautiful than other men; he was a man of understanding and eloquence, and also a good christian. king athelstan gave hakon a sword, of which the hilt and handle were gold, and the blade still better; for with it hakon cut down a mill-stone to the centre eye, and the sword thereafter was called the quernbite ( ). better sword never came into norway, and hakon carried it to his dying day. endnotes: ( ) quern is the name of the small hand mill-stones still found. in use among the cottars in orkney, shetland, and the hebrides. this sword is mentioned in the younger edda. there were many excellent swords in the olden time, and many of them had proper names. . eirik brought to the sovereignty. when king harald was eighty years of age (a.d. ) he became very heavy, and unable to travel through the country, or do the business of a king. then he brought his son eirik to his high-seat, and gave him the power and command over the whole land. now when king harald's other sons heard this, king halfdan the black also took a king's high-seat, and took all throndhjem land, with the consent of all the people, under his rule as upper king. after the death of bjorn the chapman, his brother olaf took the command over vestfold, and took bjorn's son, gudrod, as his foster-child. olaf's son was called trygve; and the two foster-brothers were about the same age, and were hopeful and clever. trygve, especially, was remarkable as a stout and strong man. now when the people of viken heard that those of hordaland had taken eirik as upper king, they did the same, and made olaf the upper king in viken, which kingdom he retained. eirik did not like this at all. two years after this, halfdan the black died suddenly at a feast in throndhjem and the general report was that gunhild had bribed a witch to give him a death-drink. thereafter the throndhjem people took sigrod to be their king. . king harald's death. king harald lived three years after he gave eirik the supreme authority over his kingdom, and lived mostly on his great farms which he possessed, some in rogaland, and some in hordaland. eirik and gunhild had a son on whom king harald poured water, and gave him his own name, and the promise that he should be king after his father eirik. king harald married most of his daughters within the country to his earls, and from them many great families are descended. harald died on a bed of sickness in hogaland (a.d. ), and was buried under a mound at haugar in karmtsund. in haugesund is a church, now standing; and not far from the churchyard, at the north-west side, is king harald harfager's mound; but his grave-stone stands west of the church, and is thirteen feet and a half high, and two ells broad. one stone was set at head and one at the feet; on the top lay the slab, and below on both sides were laid small stones. the grave, mound, and stone, are there to the present day. harald harfager was, according to the report of men of knowledge, or remarkably handsome appearance, great and strong, and very generous and affable to his men. he was a great warrior in his youth; and people think that this was foretold by his mother's dream before his birth, as the lowest part of the tree she dreamt of was red as blood. the stem again was green and beautiful, which betokened his flourishing kingdom; and that the tree was white at the top showed that he should reach a grey-haired old age. the branches and twigs showed forth his posterity, spread over the whole land; for of his race, ever since. norway has always had kings. . the death of olaf and of sigrod. king eirik took all the revenues (a.d. ), which the king had in the middle of the country, the next winter after king harald's decease. but olaf took all the revenues eastward in viken, and their brother sigrod all that of the throndhjem country. eirik was very ill pleased with this; and the report went that he would attempt with force to get the sole sovereignty over the country, in the same way as his father had given it to him. now when olaf and sigrod heard this, messengers passed between them; and after appointing a meeting place, sigrod went eastward in spring to viken, and he and his brother olaf met at tunsberg, and remained there a while. the same spring (a.d. ), king eirik levied a great force, and ships and steered towards viken. he got such a strong steady gale that he sailed night and day, and came faster than the news of him. when he came to tunsberg, olaf and sigrod, with their forces, went out of the town a little eastward to a ridge, where they drew up their men in battle order; but as eirik had many more men he won the battle. both brothers, olaf and sigrod, fell there; and both their grave-mounds are upon the ridge where they fell. then king eirik went through viken, and subdued it, and remained far into summer. gudrod and trygve fled to the uplands. eirik was a stout handsome man, strong, and very manly,--a great and fortunate man of war; but bad-minded, gruff, unfriendly, and silent. gunhild, his wife, was the most beautiful of women,--clever, with much knowledge, and lively; but a very false person, and very cruel in disposition. the children of king eirik and gunhild were, gamle, the oldest; then guthorm, harald, ragnfrod, ragnhild, erling, gudrod, and sigurd sleva. all were handsome, and of manly appearance ( ). endnotes: ( ) of eirik, his wife, and children, see the following sagas. hakon the good's saga. preliminary remarks. of eirik blood-axe's five years' reign snorre has no separate saga. he appears not to have been beloved by the people and his queen gunhild seems to have had a bad influence on him. other accounts of hakon may be found in "fagrskinna" (chaps. - ), "agrip", "historia", "norvegiae", and in "thjodrek" (chap. ). the reader is also referred to "saxo", "egla", "laxdaela", "kormaks saga", "gisle surssons saga", "halfred's saga", "floamanna saga", "viga glum's saga", and to "landnamabok". skald mentioned in this saga are:--glum geirason, thord sjarekson, guthorm sindre, kormak ogmundson, and eyvind skaldaspiller. in the "egla" are found many poems belonging to this epoch by egil skallagrimson. in "fagrskinna" is found a poem (not given by snorre) which gunhild (his wife) had made on king eirik after his death, telling how odin welcomed him to valhal. the author or skald who composed it is not known, but it is considered to be one of the gems of old norse poetry, and we here quote it in vigfusson's translation in his "corpus poeticum", vol. i. pp. , . gudbrand vigfusson has filled up a few gaps from "hakonarmat", the poem at the end of this saga. we have changed vigfusson's orthography of names, and brought them into harmony with the spelling used in this work:--ed. "odin wakes in the morning and cries, as he opens his eyes, with his dream still fresh in his mind:--'what dreams are these? i thought i arose before daybreak to make valhal ready for a host of slain. i woke up the host of the chosen. i bade them ride up to strew the benches, and to till up the beer-vats, and i bade valkyries to bear the wine, as if a king were coming. i look for the coming of some noble chiefs from the earth, wherefore my heart is glad.' "brage, odin's counsellor, now wakes, as a great din is heard without, and calls out:--'what is that thundering? as if a thousand men or some great host were tramping on--the walls and the benches are creaking withal--as if balder was coming back to the ball of odin?' "odin answers:--'surely thou speakest foolishly, good brage, although thou art very wise. it thunders for eirik the king, that is coming to the hall of odin.' "then turning to his heroes, he cries:--'sigmund and sinfjotle, rise in haste and go forth to meet the prince! bid him in if it be eirik, for it is he whom i look for.' "sigmund answers:--'why lookest thou more for eirik, the king, to odin's hall, than for other kings?' "odin answers:--'because he has reddened his brand, and borne his bloody sword in many a land.' "quoth sigmund:--'why didst thou rob him, the chosen king of victory then, seeing thou thoughtest him so brave?' "odin answered:--'because it is not surely to be known, when the grey wolf shall come upon the seat of the god.' second scene.--without valhal. sigmund and sinfjotle go outside the hall and meet eirik. "quoth sigmund:--'hail to thee, eirik, be welcome here, and come into the hall, thou gallant king! now i will ask thee, what kings are these that follow thee from the clash of the sword edges?' "eirik answers:--'they are five kings; i will tell thee all their names; i myself am the sixth (the names followed in the song, whereof the rest is lost.) "fagrskinna" says "hakonarmal" was the model of this poem. . hakon chosen king. hakon, athelstan's foster-son, was in england at the time (a.d. ) he heard of his father king harald's death, and he immediately made himself ready to depart. king athelstan gave him men, and a choice of good ships, and fitted him out for his journey most excellently. in harvest time he came to norway, where he heard of the death of his brothers, and that king eirik was then in viken. then hakon sailed northwards to throndhjem, where he went to sigurd earl of hlader who was the ablest man in norway. he gave hakon a good reception; and they made a league with each other, by which hakon promised great power to sigurd if he was made king. they assembled then a numerous thing, and sigurd the earl recommended hakon's cause to the thing, and proposed him to the bondes as king. then hakon himself stood up and spoke; and the people said to each other, two and two, as they heard him, "herald harfager is come again, grown and young." the beginning of hakon's speech was, that he offered himself to the bondes as king, and desired from them the title of king, and aid and forces to defend the kingdom. he promised, on the other hand, to make all the bondes udal-holders, and give every man udal rights to the land he lived on. this speech met such joyful applause, that the whole public cried and shouted that they would take him to be king. and so it was that the throndhjem people took hakon, who was then fifteen years old, for king; and he took a court or bodyguard, and servants, and proceeded through the country. the news reached the uplands that the people in throndhjem had taken to themselves a king, who in every respect was like king harald harfager,--with the difference, that harald had made all the people of the land vassals, and unfree; but this hakon wished well to every man, and offered the bondes to give them their udal rights again, which harald had taken from them. all were rejoiced at this news, and it passed from mouth to mouth,--it flew, like fire in dry grass, through the whole land, and eastward to the land's end. many bondes came from the uplands to meet king hakon. some sent messengers, some tokens; and all to the same effect--that his men they would be: and the king received all thankfully. . king hakon's progress through the country. early in winter ( ), the king went to the uplands, and summoned the people to a thing; and there streamed all to him who could come. he was proclaimed king at every thing; and then he proceeded eastward to viken, where his brother's sons, trygve and gudrod, and many others, came unto him, and complained of the sorrow and evil his brother eirik had wrought. the hatred to king eirik grew more and more, the more liking all men took to king hakon; and they got more boldness to say what they thought. king hakon gave trygve and gudrod the title of kings, and the dominions which king harald had bestowed on their fathers. trygve got ranrike and vingulmark, and gudrod, vestfold; but as they were young, and in the years of childhood, he appointed able men to rule the land for them. he gave them the country on the same conditions as it had been given before,--that they should have half of the scat and revenues with him. towards spring king hakon returned north, over the uplands, to throndhjem. . eirik's departure from the country. king hakon, early in spring, collected a great army at throndhjem, and fitted out ships. the people of viken also had a great force on foot, and intended to join hakon. king eirik also levied people in the middle of the country; but it went badly with him to gather people, for the leading men left him, and went over to hakon. as he saw himself not nearly strong enough to oppose hakon, he sailed (a.d. ) out to the west sea with such men as would follow him. he first sailed to orkney, and took many people with him from that country; and then went south towards england, plundering in scotland, and in the north parts of england, wherever he could land. athelstan, the king of england, sent a message to eirik, offering him dominions under him in england; saying that king harald his father was a good friend of king athelstan, and therefore he would do kindly towards his sons. messengers passed between the two kings; and it came to an agreement that king eirik should take northumberland as a fief from king athelstan, and which land he should defend against the danes or other vikings. eirik should let himself be baptized, together with his wife and children, and all the people who had followed him. eirik accepted this offer, and was baptized, and adopted the right faith. northumberland is called a fifth part of england. eirik had his residence at york, where lodbrok's sons, it was said, had formerly been, and northumberland was principally inhabited by northmen. since lodbrok's sons had taken the country, danes and northmen often plundered there, when the power of the land was out of their hands. many names of places in the country are norwegian; as grimsby, haukfliot, and many others. . eirik's death. king eirik had many people about him, for he kept many northmen who had come with him from the east; and also many of his friends had joined him from norway. but as he had little land, he went on a cruise every summer, and plundered in scotland, the hebrides, ireland, and bretland, by which he gathered property. king athelstan died on a sick bed, after a reign of fourteen years, eight weeds, and three days. after him his brother jatmund was king of england, and he was no friend to the northmen. king eirik, also, was in no great favour with him; and the word went about that king jatmund would set another chief over northumberland. now when king eirik heard this, he set off on a viking cruise to the westward; and from the orkneys took with him the earls arnkel and erlend, the sons of earl torfeinar. then he sailed to the hebrides, where there were many vikings and troop-kings, who joined their men to his. with all this force he steered to ireland first, where he took with him all the men he could, and then to bretland, and plundered; and sailed thereafter south to england, and marauded there as elsewhere. the people fled before him wherever he appeared. as king eirik was a bold warrior, and had a great force, he trusted so much to his people that he penetrated far inland in the country, following and plundering the fugitives. king jatmund had set a king, who was called olaf, to defend the land; and he gathered an innumerable mass of people, with whom he marched against king eirik. a dreadful battle ensued, in which many englishmen fell; but for one who fell came three in his place out of the country behind, and when evening came on the loss of men turned on the side of the northmen, and many people fell. towards the end of the day, king eirik and five kings with him fell. three of them were guthorm and his two sons, ivar and harek: there fell, also, sigurd and ragnvald; and with them torfeinar's two sons, arnkel and erlend. besides these, there was a great slaughter of northmen; and those who escaped went to northumberland, and brought the news to gunhild and her sons (a.d. ). . gunhild and her sons. when gunhild and her sons knew for certain that king eirik had fallen, after having plundered the land of the king of england, they thought there was no peace to be expected for them; and they made themselves ready to depart from northumberland, with all the ships king eirik had left, and all the men who would go with them. they took also all the loose property, and goods which they had gathered partly as taxes in england, partly as booty on their expeditions. with their army they first steered northward to orkney, where thorfin hausakljufer was earl, a son of torfeinar, and took up their station there for a time. eirik's sons subdued these islands and hjaltland, took scat for themselves, and staid there all the winter; but went on viking cruises in summer to the west, and plundered in scotland and ireland. about this glum geirason sings:-- "the hero who knows well to ride the sea-horse o'er the foamingtide,-- he who in boyhood wild rode o'er the seaman's horse to skanea's shore. and showed the danes his galley's bow, right nobly scours the ocean now. on scotland's coast he lights the brand of flaming war; with conquering hand drives many a scottish warrior tall to the bright seats in odin's hall. the fire-spark, by the fiend of war fanned to a flame, soon spreads afar. crowds trembling fly,--the southern foes fall thick beneath the hero's blows: the hero's blade drips red with gore, staining the green sward on the shore." . battle in jutland. when king eirik had left the country, king hakon, athelstan's foster-son, subdued the whole of norway. the first winter (a.d. ) he visited the western parts, and then went north, and settled in throndhjem. but as no peace could be reasonably looked for so long as king eirik with his forces could come to norway from the west sea, he set himself with his men-at-arms in the middle of the country,--in the fjord district, or in sogn, or hordaland, or rogaland. hakon placed sigurd earl of hlader over the whole throradhjem district, as he and his father had before had it under harald harfager. when king hakon heard of his brother eirik's death, and also that his sons had no footing in england, he thought there was not much to fear from them, and he went with his troops one summer eastward to viken. at that time the danes plundered often in viken, and wrought much evil there; but when they heard that king hakon was come with a great army, they got out of the way, to halland; and those who were nearest to king hakon went out to sea, and over to jotland (jutland). when the king heard of this, he sailed after them with all his army. on arriving in jutland he plundered all round; and when the country people heard of it, they assembled in a great body, and determined to defend their land, and fight. there was a great battle; and king hakon fought so boldly, that he went forward before his banner without helmet or coat of mail. king hakon won the victory, and drove the fugitives far up the country. so says guthorm sindre, in his song of hakon:-- "furrowing the deep-blue sea with oars, the king pursues to jutland's shores. they met; and in the battle storm of clashing shields, full many a form of goodly warrior on the plain, full many a corpse by hakon slain, glutted the ravens, who from far, scenting the banquet-feast of war, came in black flocks to jutland's plains to drink the blood-wine from the veins." . battle in eyrarsund (the sound). then hakon steered southwards with his fleet to seek the vikings, and so on to sealand. he rowed with two cutters into the eyrarsund, where he found eleven viking ships, and instantly attacked them. it ended in his gaining the victory, and clearing the viking ships of all their men. so says guthorm sindre:-- "hakon the brave, whose skill all know to bend in battle storm the bow, rushed o'er the waves to sealand's tongue, his two war-ships with gilt shields hung, and cleared the decks with his blue sword that rules the fate of war, on board eleven ships of the vindland men.-- famous is hakon's name since then." . king hakon's expedition to denmark. thereafter king hakon carried war far and wide in sealand; plundering some, slaying others, taking some prisoners of war, taking ransom from others, and all without opposition. then hakon proceeded along the coast of skane, pillaging everywhere, levying taxes and ransome from the country, and killing all vikings, both danish and vindish. he then went eastwards to the district of gautland, marauded there, and took great ransom from the country. so says guthorm sindre:-- "hakon, who midst the battle shock stands like a firmly-rooted oak, subdued all sealand with the sword: from vindland vikings the sea-bord of scania swept; and, with the shield of odin clad, made gautland yield a ransom of the ruddy gold, which hakon to his war-men bold gave with free hand, who in his feud against the arrow-storm had stood." king hakon returned back in autumn with his army and an immense booty; and remained all the winter (a.d. ) in viken to defend it against the danes and gautlanders, if they should attack it. . of king trygve. in the same winter king trygve olafson returned from a viking cruise in the west sea, having before ravaged in ireland and scotland. in spring (a.d. ) king hakon went north, and set his brother's son, king trygve, over viken to defend that country against enemies. he gave him also in property all that he could reconquer of the country in denmark, which the summer before king hakon had subjected to payment of scat to him. so says guthorm:-- "king hakon, whose sharp sword dyes red the bright steel cap on many a head, has set a warrior brave and stout the foreign foeman to keep out,-- to keep that green land safe from war which black night bore to dwarf annar ( ). for many a carle whose trade's to wield the battle-axe, and swing the shield, on the swan's ocean-skates has come, in white-winged ships, across the foam,-- across the sea, from far ireland, to war against the norseman's land." endnotes: ( ) the dwarf annar was the husband of night, and earth was their daughter.--l. . of gunhild s sons. king harald gormson ruled over denmark at that time. he took it much amiss that king hakon had made war in his dominions, and the report went that he would take revenge; but this did not take place so soon. when gunhild and her sons heard there was enmity between denmark and norway, they began to turn their course from the west. they married king eirik's daughter, ragnhild, to arnfin, a son of thorfin hausakljufer; and as soon as eirik's sons went away, thorfin took the earldom again over the orkney islands. gamle eirikson was somewhat older than the other brothers, but still he was not a grown man. when gunhild and her sons came from the westward to denmark, they were well received by king harald. he gave them great fiefs in his kingdom, so that they could maintain themselves and their men very well. he also took harald eirikson to be his foster-son, set him on his knee, and thereafter he was brought up at the danish king's court. some of eirik's sons went out on viking expeditions as soon as they were old enough, and gathered property, ravaging all around in the east sea. they grew up quickly to be handsome men, and far beyond their years in strength and perfection. glum geirason tells of one of them in the grafeld song:-- "i've heard that, on the eastland coast, great victories were won and lost. the king, whose hand is ever graced with gift to skald, his banner placed on, and still on; while, midst the play of swords, sung sharp his good sword's sway as strong in arm as free of gold, he thinn'd the ranks of warriors bold." then eirik's sons turned northwards with their troops to viken and marauded there; but king trygve kept troops on foot with which he met them, and they had many a battle, in which the victory was sometimes on one side, and sometimes on the other. sometimes eirik's sons plundered in viken, and sometimes trygve in sealand and halland. . king hakon as a law-giver. as long as hakon was king in norway, there was good peace between the bondes and merchants; so that none did harm either to the life or goods of the other. good seasons also there were, both by sea and land. king hakon was of a remarkably cheerful disposition, clever in words, and very condescending. he was a man of great understanding also, and bestowed attention on law-giving. he gave out the gula-thing's laws on the advice of thorleif spake (the wise); also the frosta-thing's laws on the advice of earl sigurd, and of other throndhjem men of wisdom. eidsiva-thing laws were first established in the country by halfdan the black, as has before been written. . the birth of earl hakon the great. king hakon kept yule at throndhjem, and earl sigurd had made a feast for him at hlader. the night of the first day of yule the earl's wife, bergljot, was brought to bed of a boy-child, which afterwards king hakon poured water over, and gave him his own name. the boy grew up, and became in his day a mighty and able man, and was earl after his father, who was king hakon's dearest friend. . of eystein the bad. eystein, a king of the uplands, whom some called the great, and some the bad, once on a time made war in throndhjem, and subdued eyna district and sparbyggia district, and set his own son onund over them; but the throndhjem people killed him. then king eystein made another inroad into throndhjem, and ravaged the land far and wide, and subdued it. he then offered the people either his slave, who was called thorer faxe, or his dog, whose name was saur, to be their king. they preferred the dog, as they thought they would sooner get rid of him. now the dog was, by witchcraft, gifted with three men's wisdom; and when he barked, he spoke one word and barked two. a collar and chain of gold and silver were made for him, and his courtiers carried him on their shoulders when the weather or ways were foul. a throne was erected for him, and he sat upon a high place, as kings are used to sit. he dwelt on eyin idre (idre isle), and had his mansion in a place now called saurshaug. it is told that the occasion of his death was that the wolves one day broke into his fold, and his courtiers stirred him up to defend his cattle; but when he ran down from his mound, and attacked the wolves, they tore him into pieces. many other extraordinary things were done by this king eystein against the throndhjem people, and in consequence of this persecution and trouble, many chiefs and people fled and left their udal properties. . jamtaland and helsingjaland. ketil jamte, a son of earl onund of sparabu, went eastward across the mountain ridge, and with him a great multitude, who took all their farm-stock and goods with them. they cleared the woods, and established large farms, and settled the country afterwards called jamtaland. thorer helsing, ketil's grandson, on account of a murder, ran away from jamtaland and fled eastward through the forest, and settled there. many people followed, and that country, which extends eastward down to the seacoast, was called helsingjaland; and its eastern parts are inhabited by swedes. now when harald harfager took possession of the whole country many people fled before him, both people of throndhjem and of naumudal districts; and thus new settlers came to jamtaland, and some all the way to helsingjaland. the helsingjaland people travelled into svithiod for their merchandise, and thus became altogether subjects of that country. the jamtaland people, again, were in a manner between the two countries; and nobody cared about them, until hakon entered into friendly intercourse with jamtaland, and made friends of the more powerful people. then they resorted to him, and promised him obedience and payment of taxes, and became his subjects; for they saw nothing but what was good in him, and being of norwegian race they would rather stand under his royal authority than under the king of sweden: and he gave them laws, and rights to their land. all the people of helsingjaland did the same,--that is, all who were of norwegian race, from the other side of the great mountain ridge. . hakon spreads christianity. king hakon was a good christian when he came to norway; but as the whole country was heathen, with much heathenish sacrifice, and as many great people, as well as the favour of the common people, were to be conciliated, he resolved to practice his christianity in private. but he kept sundays, and the friday fasts, and some token of the greatest holy-days. he made a law that the festival of yule should begin at the same time as christian people held it, and that every man, under penalty, should brew a meal of malt into ale, and therewith keep the yule holy as long as it lasted. before him, the beginning of yule, or the slaughter night, was the night of mid-winter (dec. ), and yule was kept for three days thereafter. it was his intent, as soon as he had set himself fast in the land, and had subjected the whole to his power, to introduce christianity. he went to work first by enticing to christianity the men who were dearest to him; and many, out of friendship to him, allowed themselves to be baptized, and some laid aside sacrifices. he dwelt long in the throndhjem district, for the strength of the country lay there; and when he thought that, by the support of some powerful people there, he could set up christianity he sent a message to england for a bishop and other teachers; and when they arrived in norway, hakon made it known that he would proclaim christianity over all the land. the people of more and raumsdal referred the matter to the people of throndhjem. king hakon then had several churches consecrated, and put priests into them; and when he came to throndhjem he summoned the bondes to a thing, and invited them to accept christianity. they gave an answer to the effect that they would defer the matter until the frosta-thing, at which there would be men from every district of the throndhjem country, and then they would give their determination upon this difficult matter. . about sacrifices. sigurd, earl of hlader, was one of the greatest men for sacrifices, and so had hakon his father been; and sigurd always presided on account of the king at all the festivals of sacrifice in the throndhjem country. it was an old custom, that when there was to be sacrifice all the bondes should come to the spot where the temple stood and bring with them all that they required while the festival of the sacrifice lasted. to this festival all the men brought ale with them; and all kinds of cattle, as well as horses, were slaughtered, and all the blood that came from them was called "hlaut", and the vessels in which it was collected were called hlaut-vessels. hlaut-staves were made, like sprinkling brushes, with which the whole of the altars and the temple walls, both outside and inside, were sprinkled over, and also the people were sprinkled with the blood; but the flesh was boiled into savoury meat for those present. the fire was in the middle of the floor of the temple, and over it hung the kettles, and the full goblets were handed across the fire; and he who made the feast, and was a chief, blessed the full goblets, and all the meat of the sacrifice. and first odin's goblet was emptied for victory and power to his king; thereafter, niord's and freyja's goblets for peace and a good season. then it was the custom of many to empty the brage-goblet ( ); and then the guests emptied a goblet to the memory of departed friends, called the remembrance goblet. sigurd the earl was an open-handed man, who did what was very much celebrated; namely, he made a great sacrifice festival at hlader of which he paid all the expenses. kormak ogmundson sings of it in his ballad of sigurd:-- "of cup or platter need has none the guest who seeks the generous one,-- sigurd the generous, who can trace his lineage from the giant race; for sigurd's hand is bounteous, free,-- the guardian of the temples he. he loves the gods, his liberal hand scatters his sword's gains o'er the land--" endnotes: ( ) the brage-goblet, over which vows were made.--l. . the frosta-thing. king hakon came to the frosta-thing, at which a vast multitude of people were assembled. and when the thing was seated, the king spoke to the people, and began his speech with saying,--it was his message and entreaty to the bondes and householding men, both great and small, and to the whole public in general, young and old, rich and poor, women as well as men, that they should all allow themselves to be baptized, and should believe in one god, and in christ the son of mary and refrain from all sacrifices and heathen gods; and should keep holy the seventh day, and abstain from all work on it, and keep a fast on the seventh day. as soon as the king had proposed this to the bondes, great was the murmur and noise among the crowd. they complained that the king wanted to take their labour and their old faith from them, and the land could not be cultivated in that way. the labouring men and slaves thought that they could not work if they did not get meat; and they said it was the character of king hakon, and his father, and all the family, to be generous enough with their money, but sparing with their diet. asbjorn of medalhus in the gaulardal stood up, and answered thus to the king's proposal:-- "we bondes, king hakon, when we elected thee to be our king, and got back our udal rights at the thing held in throndhjem, thought we had got into heaven; but now we don't know whether we have really got back our freedom, or whether thou wishest to make vassals of us again by this extraordinary proposal that we should abandon the ancient faith which our fathers and forefathers have held from the oldest times, in the times when the dead were burnt, as well as since that they are laid under mounds, and which, although they were braver than the people of our days, has served us as a faith to the present time. we have also held thee so dear, that we have allowed thee to rule and give law and right to all the country. and even now we bondes will unanimously hold by the law which thou givest us here in the frosta-thing, and to which we have also given our assent; and we will follow thee, and have thee for our king, as long as there is a living man among us bondes here in this thing assembled. but thou, king, must use some moderation towards us, and only require from us such things as we can obey thee in, and are not impossible for us. if, however, thou wilt take up this matter with a high hand, and wilt try thy power and strength against us, we bondes have resolved among ourselves to part with thee, and to take to ourselves some other chief, who will so conduct himself towards us that we can freely and safely enjoy that faith that suits our own inclinations. now, king, thou must choose one or other of these conditions before the thing is ended." the bondes gave loud applause to this speech, and said it expressed their will, and they would stand or fall by what had been spoken. when silence was again restored, earl sigurd said, "it is king hakon's will to give way to you, the bondes, and never to separate himself from your friendship." the bondes replied, that it was their desire that the king should offer a sacrifice for peace and a good year, as his father was want to do; and thereupon the noise and tumult ceased, and the thing was concluded. earl sigurd spoke to the king afterwards, and advised him not to refuse altogether to do as the people desired, saying there was nothing else for it but to give way to the will of the bondes; "for it is, as thou hast heard thyself, the will and earnest desire of the head-people, as well as of the multitude. hereafter we may find a good way to manage it." and in this resolution the king and earl agreed (a.d. ). . king hakon offers sacrifices. the harvest thereafter, towards the winter season, there was a festival of sacrifice at hlader, and the king came to it. it had always been his custom before, when he was present at a place where there was sacrifice, to take his meals in a little house by himself, or with some few of his men; but the bondes grumbled that he did not seat himself in his high-seat at these the most joyous of the meetings of the people. the earl said that the king should do so this time. the king accordingly sat upon his high-seat. now when the first full goblet was filled, earl sigurd spoke some words over it, blessed it in odin's name, and drank to the king out of the horn; and the king then took it, and made the sign of the cross over it. then said kar of gryting, "what does the king mean by doing so? will he not sacrifice?" earl sigurd replies, "the king is doing what all of you do, who trust to your power and strength. he is blessing the full goblet in the name of thor, by making the sign of his hammer over it before he drinks it." on this there was quietness for the evening. the next day, when the people sat down to table, the bondes pressed the king strongly to eat of horse-flesh ( ); and as he would on no account do so, they wanted him to drink of the soup; and as he would not do this, they insisted he should at least taste the gravy; and on his refusal they were going to lay hands on him. earl sigurd came and made peace among them, by asking the king to hold his mouth over the handle of the kettle, upon which the fat smoke of the boiled horse-flesh had settled itself; and the king first laid a linen cloth over the handle, and then gaped over it, and returned to the high-seat; but neither party was satisfied with this. endnotes: ( ) this eating of horse-flesh at these religious festivals was considered the most direct proof of paganism in the following times, and was punished by death or mutilation by saint olaf. it was a ceremony apparently commemorative of their asiatic origin and ancestors. . feast of the sacrifice at more. the winter thereafter the king prepared a yule feast in more, and eight chiefs resolved with each other to meet at it. four of them were from without the throndhjem district--namely, kar of gryting, asbjorn of medalhus, thorberg of varnes, and orm from ljoxa; and from the throndhjem district, botolf of olvishaug, narfe of staf in veradal, thrand hak from egg, and thorer skeg from husaby in eyin idre. these eight men bound themselves, the four first to root out christianity in norway, and the four others to oblige the king to offer sacrifice to the gods. the four first went in four ships southwards to more, and killed three priests, and burnt three churches, and then they returned. now, when king hakon and earl sigurd came to more with their court, the bondes assembled in great numbers; and immediately, on the first day of the feast, the bondes insisted hard with the king that he should offer sacrifice, and threatened him with violence if he refused. earl sigurd tried to make peace between them, and brought it so far that the king took some bits of horse-liver, and emptied all the goblets the bondes filled for him without the sign of the cross; but as soon as the feast was over, the king and the earl returned to hlader. the king was very ill pleased, and made himself ready to leave throndhjem forthwith with all his people; saying that the next time he came to throndhjem, he would come with such strength of men-at-arms that he would repay the bondes for their enmity towards him. earl sigurd entreated the king not to take it amiss of the bondes; adding, that it was not wise to threaten them, or to make war upon the people within the country, and especially in the throndhjem district, where the strength of the land lay; but the king was so enraged that he would not listen to a word from anybody. he went out from throndhjem, and proceeded south to more, where he remained the rest of the winter, and on to the spring season (a.d. ); and when summer came he assembled men, and the report was that he intended with this army to attack the throndhjem people. . battle at ogvaldsnes. but just as the king had embarked with a great force of troops, the news was brought him from the south of the country, that king eirik's sons had come from denmark to viken and had driven king trygve olafson from his ships at sotanes, and then had plundered far and wide around in viken, and that many had submitted to them. now when king hakon heard this news, he thought that help was needed; and he sent word to earl sigurd, and to the other chiefs from whom he could expect help, to hasten to his assistance. sigurd the earl came accordingly with a great body of men, among whom were all the throndhjem people who had set upon him the hardest to offer sacrifice; and all made their peace with the king, by the earl's persuasion. now king hakon sailed south along the coast; and when he came south as far as stad, he heard that eirik's sons were come to north agder. then they advanced against each other, and met at kormt. both parties left their ships there, and gave battle at ogvaldsnes. both parties had a great force, and it was a great battle. king hakon went forward bravely, and king guthorm eirikson met him with his troop, and they exchanged blows with each other. guthorm fell, and his standard was cut down. many people fell around him. the army of eirik's sons then took flight to their ships and rowed away with the loss of many a man. so says guthorm sindre:-- "the king's voice waked the silent host who slept beside the wild sea-coast, and bade the song of spear and sword over the battle plain be heard. where heroes' shields the loudest rang, where loudest was the sword-blade's clang, by the sea-shore at kormt sound, hakon felled guthorm to the ground." now king hakon returned to his ships, and pursued gunhild's sons. and both parties sailed all they could sail, until they came to east adger, from whence eirik's sons set out to sea, and southwards for jutland (a.d. ). guthorm sindre speaks of it in his song:-- "and guthorm's brothers too, who know so skilfully to bend the bow, the conquering hand must also feel of hakon, god of the bright steel,-- the sun-god, whose bright rays, that dart flame-like, are swords that pierce the heart. well i remember how the king hakon, the battle's life and spring, o'er the wide ocean cleared away eirik's brave sons. they durst not stay, but round their ships' sides hung their shields and fled across the blue sea-fields." king hakon returned then northwards to norway, but eirik's sons remained a long time in denmark. . king hakon's laws. king hakon after this battle made a law, that all inhabited land over the whole country along the sea-coast, and as far back from it as the salmon swims up in the rivers, should be divided into ship-raths according to the districts; and it was fixed by law how many ships there should be from each district, and how great each should be, when the whole people were called out on service. for this outfit the whole inhabitants should be bound whenever a foreign army came to the country. with this came also the order that beacons should be erected upon the hills, so that every man could see from the one to the other; and it is told that a war-signal could thus be given in seven days, from the most southerly beacon to the most northerly thing-seat in halogaland . concerning eirik's sons. eirik's sons plundered much on the baltic coasts and sometimes, as before related, in norway; but so long as hakon ruled over norway there was in general good peace, and good seasons, and he was the most beloved of kings. when hakon had reigned about twenty years in norway (a.d. ), eirik's sons came from denmark with a powerful army, of which a great part consisted of the people who had followed them on their expeditions; but a still greater army of danes had been placed at their disposal by king harald gormson. they sailed with a fair wind from vendil, and came to agder; and then sailed northwards, night and day, along the coast. but the beacons were not fired, because it had been usual to look for them lighted from the east onwards, and nobody had observed them from the east coast; and besides king hakon had set heavy penalties for giving false alarm, by lighting the beacons without occasion. the reason of this was, that ships of war and vikings cruised about and plundered among the outlying islands, and the country people took them for eirik's sons, and lighted the beacons, and set the whole country in trouble and dread of war. sometimes, no doubt, the sons of eirik were there; but having only their own troops, and no danish army with them, they returned to denmark; and sometimes these were other vikings. king hakon was very angry at this, because it cost both trouble and money to no purpose. the bondes also suffered by these false alarms when they were given uselessly; and thus it happened that no news of this expedition of eirik's sons circulated through the land until they had come as far north as ulfasund, where they lay for seven days. then spies set off across eid and northwards to more. king hakon was at that time in the island frede, in north more, at a place called birkistrand, where he had a dwelling-house, and had no troops with him, only his bodyguard or court, and the neighbouring bondes he had invited to his house. . of egil ulserk. the spies came to king hakon, and told him that eirik's sons, with a great army, lay just to the south of stad. then he called together the most understanding of the men about him, and asked their opinion, whether he should fight with eirik's sons, although they had such a great multitude with them, or should set off northwards to gather together more men. now there was a bonde there, by name egil ulserk, who was a very old man, but in former days had been strong and stout beyond most men, and a hardy man-at-arms withal, having long carried king harald harfager's banner. egil answered thus to the king's speech,--"i was in several battles with thy father harald the king, and he gave battle sometimes with many, sometimes with few people; but he always came off with victory. never did i hear him ask counsel of his friends whether he should fly--and neither shalt thou get any such counsel from us, king; but as we know we have a brave leader, thou shalt get a trusty following from us." many others agreed with this speech, and the king himself declared he was most inclined to fight with such strength as they could gather. it was so determined. the king split up a war-arrow, which he sent off in all directions, and by that token a number of men was collected in all haste. then said egil ulserk,--"at one time the peace had lasted so long i was afraid i might come to die the death of old age ( ), within doors upon a bed of straw, although i would rather fall in battle following my chief. and now it may so turn out in the end as i wished it to be." endnotes: ( ) in all the sagas of this pagan time, the dying on a bed of sickness is mentioned as a kind of derogatory end of a man of any celebrity.--l. . battle at fredarberg. eirik's sons sailed northwards around stad; as soon as the wind suited; and when they had passed it, and heard where king hakon was, they sailed to meet him. king hakon had nine ships, with which he lay under fredarberg in feeysund; and eirik's sons had twenty ships, with which they brought up on the south side of the same cape, in feeysund. king hakon sent them a message, asking them to go upon the land; and telling them that he had hedged in with hazel boughs a place of combat at rastarkalf, where there is a flat large field, at the foot of a long and rather low ridge. then eirik's sons left their ships, and went northwards over the neck of land within fredarberg, and onward to rastarkalf. then egil asked king hakon to give him ten men with ten banners, and the king did so. then egil went with his men under the ridge; but king hakon went out upon the open field with his army, and set up his banner, and drew up his army, saying, "let us draw up in a long line, that they may not surround us, as they have the most men." and so it was done; and there was a severe battle, and a very sharp attack. then egil ulserk set up the ten banners he had with him, and placed the men who carried them so that they should go as near the summit of the ridge as possible, and leaving a space between each of them. they went so near the summit that the banners could be seen over it, and moved on as if they were coming behind the army of eirik's sons. now when the men who stood uppermost in the line of the troops of eirik's sons saw so many flying banners advancing high over the edge of the ridge, they supposed a great force must be following, who would come behind their army, and between them and their ships. they made each other acquainted with what was going on in a loud shout, and the whole took to flight; and when the king saw it, they fled with the rest. king hakon now pushes on briskly with his people, pursuing the flying, and killing many. . of king gamle. when gamle eirikson came up the ridge of the hill he turned round, and he observed that not more people were following than his men had been engaged with already, and he saw it was but a stratagem of war; so he ordered the war-horns to be blown, his banner to be set up, and he put his men in battle order. on this, all his northmen stood, and turned with him, but the danes fled to the ships; and when king hakon and his men came thither, there was again sharp conflict; but now hakon had most people. at last the eirik's sons' force fled, and took the road south about the hill; but a part of their army retreated upon the hill southwards, followed by king hakon. there is a flat field east of the ridge which runs westward along the range of hills, and is bounded on its west side by a steep ridge. gamle's men retreated towards this ground; but hakon followed so closely that he killed some, and others ran west over the ridge, and were killed on that side of it. king hakon did not part with them till the last man of them was killed. . king gamle and ulserk fall. gamle eirikson fled from the ridge down upon the plain to the south of the hill. there he turned himself again, and waited until more people gathered to him. all his brothers, and many troops of their men, assembled there. egil ulserk was in front, and in advance of hakon's men, and made a stout attack. he and king gamle exchanged blows with each other, and king gamle got a grievous wound; but egil fell, and many people with him. then came hakon the king with the troops which had followed him, and a new battle began. king hakon pushed on, cutting down men on both sides of him, and killing the one upon the top of the other. so sings guthorm sindre:-- "scared by the sharp sword's singing sound, brandished in air, the foe gave ground. the boldest warrior cannot stand before king hakon's conquering hand; and the king's banner ever dies where the spear-forests thickest rise. altho' the king had gained of old enough of freyja's tears of gold ( ), he spared himself no more than tho' he'd had no well-filled purse to show." when eirik's sons saw their men falling all round, they turned and fled to their ships; but those who had sought the ships before had pushed off some of them from the land, while some of them were still hauled up and on the strand. now the sons of eirik and their men plunged into the sea, and betook themselves to swimming. gamle eirikson was drowned; but the other sons of eirik reached their ships, and set sail with what men remained. they steered southwards to denmark, where they stopped a while, very ill satisfied with their expedition. endnotes: ( ) freyja's husband was od; and her tears, when she wept at the long absence of her husband, were tears of gold. od's wife's tears is the skald's expression here for gold-- understood, no doubt, as readily as any allusion to plutus would convey the equivalent meaning in modern poetry.--l. . egil ulserk's burial-ground. king hakon took all the ships of the sons of eirik that had been left upon the strand, and had them drawn quite up, and brought on the land. then he ordered that egil ulserk, and all the men of his army who had fallen, should be laid in the ships, and covered entirely over with earth and stones. king hakon made many of the ships to be drawn up to the field of battle, and the hillocks over them are to be seen to the present day a little to the south of fredarberg. at the time when king hakon was killed, when glum geirason, in his song, boasted of king hakon's fall, eyvind skaldaspiller composed these verses on this battle:-- "our dauntless king with gamle's gore sprinkled his bright sword o'er and o'er: sprinkled the gag that holds the mouth of the fell demon fenriswolf ( ). proud swelled our warriors' hearts when he drove eirik's sons out to the sea, with all their guatland host: but now our warriors weep--hakon lies low!" high standing stones mark egil uslerk s grave. endnotes: ( ) the fenriswolf, one of the children of loke, begotten with a giantess, was chained to a rock, and gagged by a sword placed in his mouth, to prevent him devouring mankind. fenriswolf's gag is a skaldic expression for a sword.--l. . news of war comes to king hakon. when king hakon, athelstan's foster-son, had been king for twenty-six years after his brother eirik had left the country, it happened (a.d. ) that he was at a feast in hordaland in the house at fitjar on the island stord, and he had with him at the feast his court and many of the peasants. and just as the king was seated at the supper-table, his watchmen who were outside observed many ships coming sailing along from the south, and not very far from the island. now, said the one to the other, they should inform the king that they thought an armed force was coming against them; but none thought it advisable to be the bearer of an alarm of war to the king, as he had set heavy penalties on those who raised such alarms falsely, yet they thought it unsuitable that the king should remain in ignorance of what they saw. then one of them went into the room and asked eyvind finson to come out as fast as possible, for it was very needful. eyvind immediately came out and went to where he could see the ships, and saw directly that a great army was on the way; and he returned in all haste into the room, and, placing himself before the kind, said, "short is the hour for acting, and long the hour for feasting." the king cast his eyes upon him, and said, "what now is in the way?" eyvind said-- "up king! the avengers are at hand! eirik's bold sons approach the land! the judgment of the sword they crave against their foe. thy wrath i brave; tho' well i know 'tis no light thing to bring war-tidings to the king and tell him 'tis no time to rest. up! gird your armour to your breast: thy honour's dearer than my life; therefore i say, up to the strife!" then said the king, "thou art too brave a fellow, eyvind, to bring us any false alarm of war." the others all said it was a true report. the king ordered the tables to be removed, and then he went out to look at the ships; and when it could be clearly seen that these were ships of war, the king asked his men what resolution they should take--whether to give battle with the men they had, or go on board ship and sail away northwards along the land. "for it is easy to see," said he, "that we must now fight against a much greater force than we ever had against us before; although we thought just the same the last time we fought against gunhild's sons." no one was in a hurry to give an answer to the king; but at last eyvind replied to the king's speech:-- "thou who in the battle-plain hast often poured the sharp spear-rain! ill it beseems our warriors brave to fly upon the ocean wave: to fly upon the blue wave north, when harald from the south comes forth, with many a ship riding in pride upon the foaming ocean-tide; with many a ship and southern viking,-- let us take shield in hand, brave king!" the king replied, "thy counsel, eyvind, is manly, and after my own heart; but i will hear the opinion of others upon this matter." now as the king's men thought they discerned what way the king was inclined to take, they answered that they would rather fall bravely and like men, than fly before the danes; adding, that they had often gained the victory against greater odds of numbers. the king thanked them for their resolution, and bade them arm themselves; and all the men did so. the king put on his armour, and girded on his sword kvernbit, and put a gilt helmet upon his head, and took a spear (kesja) in his hand, and a shield by his side. he then drew up his courtmen and the bondes in one body, and set up his banner. . the armament of eirik's sons. after gamle's death king harald, eirik's son, was the chief of the brothers, and he had a great army with him from denmark. in their army were also their mother's brothers,--eyvind skreyja, and alf askman, both strong and able men, and great man slayers. the sons of eirik brought up with their ships off the island, and it is said that their force was not less than six to one,--so much stronger in men were eirik's sons. . king hakon's battle array. when king hakon had drawn up his men, it is told of him that he threw off his armour before the battle began. so sings eyvind skaldaspiller, in hakmarmal:-- "they found blorn's brother bold under his banner as of old, ready for battle. foes advance,-- the front rank raise the shining lance: and now begins the bloody fray! now! now begins hild's wild play! our noble king, whose name strikes fear into each danish heart,--whose spear has single-handed spilt the blood of many a danish noble,--stood beneath his helmet's eagle wing amidst his guards; but the brave king scorned to wear armour, while his men bared naked breasts against the rain of spear and arrow, his breast-plate rung against the stones; and, blithe and gay, he rushed into the thickest fray. with golden helm, and naked breast, brave hakon played at slaughter's feast." king hakon selected willingly such men for his guard or court-men as were distinguished for their strength and bravery, as his father king harald also used to do; and among these was thoralf skolmson the strong, who went on one side of the king. he had helmet and shield, spear and sword; and his sword was called by the name of footbreadth. it was said that thoralf and king hakon were equal in strength. thord sjarekson speaks of it in the poem he composed concerning thoralf:-- "the king's men went with merry words to the sharp clash of shields and flame swords, when these wild rovers of the sea at fitlar fought. stout thoralf he next to the northmen's hero came, scattering wide round the battle flame for in the storm of shields not one ventured like him with brave hakon." when both lines met there was a hard combat, and much bloodshed. the combatants threw their spears and then drew their swords. then king hakon, and thoralf with him, went in advance of the banner, cutting down on both sides of them. so says eyvind skaldaspiller:-- "the body-coats of naked steel, the woven iron coats of mail, like water fly before the swing of hakon's sword--the champion-king. about each gotland war-man's head helm splits, like ice beneath the tread, cloven by the axe or sharp swordblade, the brave king, foremost in the fight, dyes crimson-red the spotless white of his bright shield with foemen's gore.-- amidst the battle's wild uproar, wild pealing round from shore to shore." . fall of skreyja and askman. king hakon was very conspicuous among other men, and also when the sun shone his helmet glanced, and thereby many weapons were directed at him. then eyvind finson took a hat and put it over the king's helmet. now eyvind skreyja called out, "does the king of the norsemen hide himself, or has he fled? where is now the golden helmet?" then eyvind, and his brother alf with him, pushed on like fools or madmen. king hakon shouted to eyvind, "come on as thou art coming, and thou shalt find the king of the norsemen." so says eyvind skaldaspiller:-- "the raiser of the storm of shields, the conqueror in battle fields,-- hakon the brave, the warrior's friend, who scatters gold with liberal hand, heard skreyja's taunt, and saw him rush, amidst the sharp spears' thickest push, and loudly shouted in reply-- 'if thou wilt for the victory try, the norseman's king thou soon shall find! hold onwards, friend! hast thou a mind!" it was also but a short space of time before eyvind did come up swinging his sword, and made a cut at the king; but thoralf thrust his shield so hard against eyvind that he tottered with the shock. now the king takes his sword kvernbit with both hands, and hewed eyvind through helm and head, and clove him down to the shoulders. thoralf also slew alf askman. so says eyvind skaldaspiller:-- "with both his hands the gallant king swung round his sword, and to the chin clove eyvind down: his faithless mail against it could no more avail, than the thin plank against the shock when the ship's side beats on the rock. by his bright sword with golden haft thro' helm, and head, and hair, was cleft the danish champion; and amain, with terror smitten, fled his men." after this fall of the two brothers, king hakon pressed on so hard that all men gave way before his assault. now fear came over the army of eirik's sons, and the men began to fly; and king hakon, who was at the head of his men, pressed on the flying, and hewed down oft and hard. then flew an arrow, one of the kind called "flein", into hakon's arm, into the muscles below the shoulder; and it is said by many people that gunhild's shoe-boy, whose name was kisping, ran out and forwards amidst the confusion of arms, called out "make room for the king-killer," and shot king hakon with the flein. others again say that nobody could tell who shot the king, which is indeed the most likely; for spears, arrows, and all kinds of missiles flew as thick as a snow-drift. many of the people of eirik's sons were killed, both on the field of battle and on the way to the ships, and also on the strand, and many threw themselves into the water. many also, among whom were eirik's sons, got on board their ships, and rowed away as fast as they could, and hakon's men after them. so says thord sjarekson:-- "the wolf, the murderer, and the thief, fled from before the people's chief: few breakers of the peace grew old under the northmen's king so bold. when gallant hakon lost his life black was the day, and dire the strife. it was bad work for gunhild's sons, leading their pack of hungry danes from out the south, to have to fly, and many a bonde leave to die, leaning his heavy wounded head on the oar-bench for feather-bed. thoralf was nearest to the side of gallant hakon in the tide of battle; his the sword that best carved out the raven's bloody feast: amidst the heaps of foemen slain he was named bravest on the plain." . hakon's death. when king hakon came out to his ship he had his wound bound up; but the blood ran from it so much and so constantly, that it could not be stopped; and when the day was drawing to an end his strength began to leave him. then he told his men that he wanted to go northwards to his house at alreksstader; but when he came north, as far as hakonarhella hill, they put in towards the land, for by this time the king was almost lifeless. then he called his friends around him, and told them what he wished to be done with regard to his kingdom. he had only one child, a daughter, called thora, and had no son. now he told them to send a message to eirik's sons, that they should be kings over the country; but asked them to hold his friends in respect and honour. "and if fate," added he, "should prolong my life, i will, at any rate, leave the country, and go to a christian land, and do penance for what i have done against god; but should i die in heathen land, give me any burial you think fit." shortly afterwards hakon expired, at the little hill on the shore-side at which he was born. so great was the sorrow over hakon's death, that he was lamented both by friends and enemies; and they said that never again would norway see such a king. his friends removed his body to saeheim, in north hordaland, and made a great mound, in which they laid the king in full armour and in his best clothes, but with no other goods. they spoke over his grave, as heathen people are used to do, and wished him in valhal. eyvind skaldaspiller composed a poem on the death of king hakon, and on how well he was received in valhal. the poem is called "hakonarmal":-- "in odin's hall an empty place stands for a king of yngve's race; 'go, my valkyries,' odin said, 'go forth, my angels of the dead, gondul and skogul, to the plain drenched with the battle's bloody rain, and to the dying hakon tell, here in valhal shall he dwell.' "at stord, so late a lonely shore, was heard the battle's wild uproar; the lightning of the flashing sword burned fiercely at the shore of stord. from levelled halberd and spearhead life-blood was dropping fast and red; and the keen arrows' biting sleet upon the shore at stord fast beat. "upon the thundering cloud of shield flashed bright the sword-storm o'er the field; and on the plate-mail rattled loud the arrow-shower's rushing cloud, in odin's tempest-weather, there swift whistling through the angry air; and the spear-torrents swept away ranks of brave men from light of day. "with batter'd shield, and blood-smear'd sword slits one beside the shore of stord, with armour crushed and gashed sits he, a grim and ghastly sight to see; and round about in sorrow stand the warriors of his gallant band: because the king of dags' old race in odin's hall must fill a place. "then up spake gondul, standing near resting upon her long ash spear,-- 'hakon! the gods' cause prospers well, and thou in odin's halls shalt dwell!' the king beside the shore of stord the speech of the valkyrie heard, who sat there on his coal-black steed, with shield on arm and helm on head. "thoughtful, said hakon, 'tell me why ruler of battles, victory is so dealt out on stord's red plain? have we not well deserved to gain?' 'and is it not as well dealt out?' said gondul. 'hearest thou not the shout? the field is cleared--the foemen run-- the day is ours--the battle won!' "then skogul said, 'my coal-black steed, home to the gods i now must speed, to their green home, to tell the tiding that hakon's self is thither riding.' to hermod and to brage then said odin, 'here, the first of men, brave hakon comes, the norsemen's king,-- go forth, my welcome to him bring.' "fresh from the battle-field came in, dripping with blood, the norsemen'a king. 'methinks,' said he, great odin's will is harsh, and bodes me further ill; thy son from off the field to-day from victory to snatch away!' but odin said, 'be thine the joy valhal gives, my own brave boy!' "and brage said, 'eight brothers here welcome thee to valhal's cheer, to drain the cup, or fights repeat where hakon eirik's earls beat.' quoth the stout king, 'and shall my gear, helm, sword, and mail-coat, axe and spear, be still at hand! 'tis good to hold fast by our trusty friends of old.' "well was it seen that hakon still had saved the temples from all ill ( ); for the whole council of the gods welcomed the king to their abodes. happy the day when men are born like hakon, who all base things scorn.-- win from the brave and honoured name, and die amidst an endless fame. "sooner shall fenriswolf devour the race of man from shore to shore, than such a grace to kingly crown as gallant hakon want renown. life, land, friends, riches, all will fly, and we in slavery shall sigh. but hakon in the blessed abodes for ever lives with the bright gods." endnotes: ( ) hakon, although a christian, appears to have favoured the old religion, and spared the temples of odin, and therefore a place in valhal is assigned him.--l. saga of king harald grafeld and of earl hakon son of sigurd. preliminary remarks this saga might be called gunhild's saga, as she is the chief person in it. the reign of king harald and earl hakon is more fully described in the next saga, that is, olaf trygvason's. other literature on this epoch: "agrip" (chap. ), "historia norvegia", (p. ), "thjodrek" (chap. ), "saxo" (pp. - ), "egla" (chaps. , ), "floamanna" (chap. ), "fareyinga" (chaps. , , ), "halfred's saga" (chap. ), "hord grimkelsons saga" (chaps. , ), "kormak" (chaps. - ), "laxdaela" (chaps. - ), "njala" (chaps, - ). the skalds of this saga are:--glum geirason, kormak agmundson, eyvind skaldaspiller, and einar helgason skalaglam. . government of the sons of eirik. when king hakon was killed, the sons of eirik took the sovereignty of norway. harald, who was the oldest of the living brothers, was over them in dignity. their mother gunhild, who was called the king-mother, mixed herself much in the affairs of the country. there were many chiefs in the land at that time. there was trygve olafson in the eastland, gudrod bjornson in vestfold, sigurd earl of hlader in the throndhjem land; but gunhild's sons held the middle of the country the first winter. there went messages and ambassadors between gunhild's sons and trygve and gudrod, and all was settled upon the footing that they should hold from gunhild's sons the same part of the country which they formerly had held under king hakon. a man called glum geirason, who was king harald's skald, and was a very brave man, made this song upon king hakon's death:-- "gamle is avenged by harald! great is thy deed, thou champion bold! the rumour of it came to me in distant lands beyond the sea, how harald gave king hakon's blood to odin's ravens for their food." this song was much favoured. when eyvind finson heard of it he composed the song which was given before, viz.:-- "our dauntless king with gamle's gore sprinkled his bright sword o'er and o'er," &c. this song also was much favoured, and was spread widely abroad; and when king harald came to hear of it, he laid a charge against evyind affecting his life; but friends made up the quarrel, on the condition that eyvind should in future be harald's skald, as he had formerly been king hakon's. there was also some relationship between them, as gunhild, eyvind's mother, was a daughter of earl halfdan, and her mother was ingibjorg, a daughter of harald harfager. thereafter eyvind made a song about king harald:-- "guardian of norway, well we know thy heart failed not when from the bow the piercing arrow-hail sharp rang on shield and breast-plate, and the clang of sword resounded in the press of battle, like the splitting ice; for harald, wild wolf of the wood, must drink his fill of foeman's blood." gunhild's sons resided mostly in the middle of the country, for they did not think it safe for them to dwell among the people of throndhjem or of viken, where king hakon's best friends lived; and also in both places there were many powerful men. proposals of agreement then passed between gunhild's sons and earl sigurd, or they got no scat from the throndhjem country; and at last an agreement was concluded between the kings and the earl, and confirmed by oath. earl sigurd was to get the same power in the throndhjem land which he had possessed under king hakon, and on that they considered themselves at peace. all gunhild's sons had the character of being penurious; and it was said they hid their money in the ground. eyvind skaldaspiller made a song about this:-- "main-mast of battle! harald bold! in hakon's days the skald wore gold upon his falcon's seat; he wore rolf krake's seed, the yellow ore sown by him as he fled away, the avenger adils' speed to stay. the gold crop grows upon the plain; but frode's girls so gay ( ) in vain grind out the golden meal, while those who rule o'er norway's realm like foes, in mother earth's old bosom hide the wealth which hakon far and wide scattered with generous hand: the sun shone in the days of that great one, on the gold band of fulla's brow,( ) on gold-ringed hands that bend the bow, on the skald's hand; but of the ray of bright gold, glancing like the spray of sun-lit waves, no skald now sings-- buried are golden chains and rings." now when king harald heard this song, he sent a message to eyvind to come to him, and when eyvind came made a charge against him of being unfaithful. "and it ill becomes thee," said the king, "to be my enemy, as thou hast entered into my service." eyvind then made these verses:-- "one lord i had before thee, harald! one dear-loved lord! now am i old, and do not wish to change again,-- to that loved lord, through strife and pain, faithful i stood; still true to hakon,-- to my good king, and him alone. but now i'm old and useless grown, my hands are empty, wealth is flown; i am but fir for a short space in thy court-hall to fill a place." but king harald forced eyvind to submit himself to his clemency. eyvind had a great gold ring, which was called molde, that had been dug up out of the earth long since. this ring the king said he must have as the mulet for the offence; and there was no help for it. then eyvind sang:-- "i go across the ocean-foam, swift skating to my iceland home upon the ocean-skates, fast driven by gales by thurse's witch fire given. for from the falcon-bearing hand harald has plucked the gold snake band my father wore--by lawless might has taken what is mine by right." eyvind went home; but it is not told that he ever came near the king again. endnotes: ( ) menja and fenja were strong girls of the giant race, whom frode bought in sweden to grind gold and good luck to him; and their meal means gold.--l. ( ) fulla was one of frig's attendants, who wore a gold band on the forehead, and the figure means gold,--that the sun shone on gold rings on the hands of the skalds in hakon's days.--l. . christianity of gunhild's sons. gunhild's sons embraced christianity in england, as told before; but when they came to rule over norway they made no progress in spreading christianity--only they pulled down the temples of the idols, and cast away the sacrifices where they had it in their power, and raised great animosity by doing so. the good crops of the country were soon wasted in their days, because there were many kings, and each had his court about him. they had therefore great expenses, and were very greedy. besides, they only observed those laws of king hakon which suited themselves. they were, however, all of them remarkably handsome men--stout, strong, and expert in all exercises. so says glum geirason, in the verses he composed about harald, gunhild's son:-- "the foeman's terror, harald bold, had gained enough of yellow gold; had heimdal's teeth ( ) enough in store, and understood twelve arts or more." the brothers sometimes went out on expeditions together, and sometimes each on his own account. they were fierce, but brave and active; and great warriors, and very successful. endnotes: ( ) heimdal was one of the gods, whose horse was called gold-top; and the horse's teeth were of gold. . councils by gunhild and her sons. gunhild the king-mother, and her sons, often met, and talked together upon the government of the country. once gunhild asked her sons what they intended to do with their kingdom of throndhjem. "ye have the title of king, as your forefathers had before you; but ye have little land or people, and there are many to divide with. in the east, at viken, there are trygve and gudrod; and they have some right, from relationship, to their governments. there is besides earl sigurd ruling over the whole throndhjem country; and no reason can i see why ye let so large a kingdom be ruled by an earl, and not by yourselves. it appears wonderful to me that ye go every summer upon viking cruises against other lands, and allow an earl within the country to take your father's heritage from you. your grandfather, whose name you bear, king harald, thought it but a small matter to take an earl's life and land when he subdued all norway, and held it under him to old age." harald replied, "it is not so easy, mother, to cut off earl sigurd as to slay a kid or a calf. earl sigurd is of high birth, powerful in relations, popular, and prudent; and i think if the throndhjem people knew for certain there was enmity between us, they would all take his side, and we could expect only evil from them. i don't think it would be safe for any of us brothers to fall into the hands of the throndhjem people." then said gunhild, "we shall go to work another way, and not put ourselves forward. harald and erling shall come in harvest to north more, and there i shall meet you, and we shall consult together what is to be done." this was done. . gunhild's sons and grjotgard. earl sigurd had a brother called grjotgard, who was much younger, and much less respected; in fact, was held in no title of honour. he had many people, however, about him, and in summer went on viking cruises, and gathered to himself property. now king harald sent messengers to throndhjem with offers of friendship, and with presents. the messengers declared that king harald was willing to be on the same friendly terms with the earl that king hakon had been; adding, that they wished the earl to come to king harald, that their friendship might be put on a firm footing. the earl sigurd received well the king's messengers and friendly message, but said that on account of his many affairs he could not come to the king. he sent many friendly gifts, and many glad and grateful words to the king, in return for his friendship. with this reply the messengers set off, and went to grjotgard, for whom they had the same message, and brought him good presents, and offered him king harald's friendship, and invited him to visit the king. grjotgard promised to come and at the appointed time he paid a visit to king harald and gunhild, and was received in the most friendly manner. they treated him on the most intimate footing, so that grjotgard had access to their private consultations and secret councils. at last the conversation, by an understanding between the king and queen, was turned upon earl sigurd; and they spoke to grjotgard about the earl having kept him so long in obscurity, and asked him if he would not join the king's brothers in an attack on the earl. if he would join with them, the king promised grjotgard that he should be his earl, and have the same government that sigurd had. it came so far that a secret agreement was made between them, that grjotgard should spy out the most favourable opportunity of attacking by surprise earl sigurd, and should give king harald notice of it. after this agreement grjotgard returned home with many good presents from the king. . sigurd burnt in a house in stjoradal earl sigurd went in harvest into stjoradal to guest-quarters, and from thence went to oglo to a feast. the earl usually had many people about him, for he did not trust the king; but now, after friendly messages had passed between the king and him, he had no great following of people with him. then grjotgard sent word to the king that he could never expect a better opportunity to fall upon earl sigurd; and immediately, that very evening, harald and erling sailed into throndhjem fjord with several ships and many people. they sailed all night by starlight, and grjotgard came out to meet them. late in the night they came to oglo, where earl sigurd was at the feast, and set fire to the house; and burnt the house, the earl, and all his men. as soon as it was daylight, they set out through the fjord, and south to more, where they remained a long time. . history of hakon, sigurd's son. hakon, the son of earl sigurd, was up in the interior of the throndhjem country when he heard this news. great was the tumult through all the throndhjem land, and every vessel that could swim was put into the water; and as soon as the people were gathered together they took earl sigurd's son hakon to be their earl and the leader of the troops, and the whole body steered out of throndhjem fjord. when gunhild's sons heard of this, they set off southwards to raumsdal and south more; and both parties kept eye on each other by their spies. earl sigurd was killed two years after the fall of king hakon (a.d. ). so says eyvind skaldaspiller in the "haleygjatal":-- "at oglo, as i've heard, earl sigurd was burnt to death by norway's lord,-- sigurd, who once on hadding's grave a feast to odin's ravens gave. in oglo's hall, amidst the feast, when bowls went round and ale flowed fast, he perished: harald lit the fire which burnt to death the son of tyr." earl hakan, with the help of his friends, maintained himself in the throndhjem country for three years; and during that time (a.d. - ) gunhild's sons got no revenues from it. hakon had many a battle with gunhild's sons, and many a man lost his life on both sides. of this einar skalaglam speaks in his lay, called "vellekla," which he composed about earl hakon:-- "the sharp bow-shooter on the sea spread wide his fleet, for well loved he the battle storm: well loved the earl his battle-banner to unfurl, o'er the well-trampled battle-field he raised the red-moon of his shield; and often dared king eirik's son to try the fray with the earl hakon." and he also says:-- "who is the man who'll dare to say that sigurd's son avoids the fray? he gluts the raven--he ne'er fears the arrow's song or flight of spears, with thundering sword he storms in war, as odin dreadful; or from far he makes the arrow-shower fly to swell the sail of victory. the victory was dearly bought, and many a viking-fight was fought before the swinger of the sword was of the eastern country lord." and einar tells also how earl hakon avenged his father's murderer:-- "i praise the man, my hero he, who in his good ship roves the sea, like bird of prey, intent to win red vengeance for his slaughtered kin. from his blue sword the iron rain that freezes life poured down amain on him who took his father's life, on him and his men in the strife. to odin many a soul was driven,-- to odin many a rich gift given. loud raged the storm on battle-field-- axe rang on helm, and sword on shield." the friends on both sides at last laid themselves between, and brought proposals of peace; for the bondes suffered by this strife and war in the land. at last it was brought to this, by the advice of prudent men, that earl hakon should have the same power in the throndhjem land which his father earl sigurd had enjoyed; and the kings, on the other hand, should have the same dominion as king hakon had: and this agreement was settled with the fullest promises of fidelity to it. afterwards a great friendship arose between earl hakon and gunhild, although they sometimes attempted to deceive each other. and thus matters stood for three years longer (a.d. - ), in which time earl hakon sat quietly in his dominions. . of harald grafeld. king hakon had generally his seat in hordaland and rogaland, and also his brothers; but very often, also, they went to hardanger. one summer it happened that a vessel came from iceland belonging to icelanders, and loaded with skins and peltry. they sailed to hardanger, where they heard the greatest number of people assembled; but when the folks came to deal with them, nobody would buy their skins. then the steersman went to king harald, whom he had been acquainted with before, and complained of his ill luck. the king promised to visit him, and did so. king harald was very condescending, and full of fun. he came with a fully manned boat, looked at the skins, and then said to the steersman, "wilt thou give me a present of one of these gray-skins?" "willingly," said the steersman, "if it were ever so many." on this the king wrapped himself up in a gray-skin, and went back to his boat; but before they rowed away from the ship, every man in his suite bought such another skin as the king wore for himself. in a few days so many people came to buy skins, that not half of them could be served with what they wanted; and thereafter the king was called harald grafeld (grayskin). . earl eirik's birth. earl hakon came one winter to the uplands to a feast, and it so happened that he had intercourse with a girl of mean birth. some time after the girl had to prepare for her confinement, and she bore a child, a boy, who had water poured on him, and was named eirik. the mother carried the boy to earl hakon, and said that he was the father. the earl placed him to be brought up with a man called thorleif the wise, who dwelt in medaldal, and was a rich and powerful man, and a great friend of the earl. eirik gave hopes very early that he would become an able man, was handsome in countenance, and stout and strong for a child; but the earl did not pay much attention to him. the earl himself was one of the handsomest men in countenance,--not tall, but very strong, and well practised in all kinds of exercises; and withal prudent, of good understanding, and a deadly man at arms. . king trygve olafson's murder. it happened one harvest (a.d. ) that earl hakon, on a journey in the uplands, came to hedemark; and king trygve olafson and king gudrod bjornson met him there, and dale-gudbrand also came to the meeting. they had agreed to meet, and they talked together long by themselves; but so much only was known of their business, that they were to be friends of each other. they parted, and each went home to his own kingdom. gunhild and her sons came to hear of this meeting, and they suspected it must have been to lay a treasonable plot against the kings; and they often talked of this among themselves. when spring (a.d. ) began to set in, king harald and his brother king gudrod proclaimed that they were to make a viking cruise, as usual, either in the west sea, or the baltic. the people accordingly assembled, launched the ships into the sea, and made themselves ready to sail. when they were drinking the farewell ale,--and they drank bravely,--much and many things were talked over at the drink-table, and, among other things, were comparisons between different men, and at last between the kings themselves. one said that king harald excelled his brothers by far, and in every way. on this king gudrod was very angry, and said that he was in no respect behind harald, and was ready to prove it. instantly both parties were so inflamed that they challenged each other to battle, and ran to their arms. but some of the guests who were less drunk, and had more understanding, came between them, and quieted them; and each went to his ship, but nobody expected that they would all sail together. gudrod sailed east ward along the land, and harald went out to sea, saying he would go to the westward; but when he came outside of the islands he steered east along the coast, outside of the rocks and isles. gudrod, again, sailed inside, through the usual channel, to viken, and eastwards to folden. he then sent a message to king trygve to meet him, that they might make a cruise together in summer in the baltic to plunder. trygve accepted willingly, and as a friend, the invitation; and as heard king gudrod had but few people with him, he came to meet him with a single boat. they met at veggen, to the east of sotanes; but just as they were come to the meeting place, gudrod's men ran up and killed king trygve and twelve men. he lies buried at a place called trygve's cairn (a.d. ). . king gudrod's fall. king harald sailed far outside of the rocks and isles; but set his course to viken, and came in the night-time to tunsberg, and heard that gudrod bjornson was at a feast a little way up the country. then king harald set out immediately with his followers, came in the night, and surrounded the house. king gudrod bjornson went out with his people; but after a short resistance he fell, and many men with him. then king harald joined his brother king gudrod, and they subdued all viken. . of harald grenske. king gudrod bjornson had made a good and suitable marriage, and had by his wife a son called harald, who had been sent to be fostered to grenland to a lenderman called hroe the white. hroe's son, called hrane vidforle (the far-travelled), was harald's foster-brother, and about the same age. after his father gudrod's fall, harald, who was called grenske, fled to the uplands, and with him his foster-brother hrane, and a few people. harald staid a while there among his relations; but as eirik's sons sought after every man who interfered with them, and especially those who might oppose them, harald grenske's friends and relations advised him to leave the country. harald therefore went eastward into svithjod, and sought shipmates, that he might enter into company with those who went out a cruising to gather property. harald became in this way a remarkably able man. there was a man in svithjod at that time called toste, one of the most powerful and clever in the land among those who had no high name or dignity; and he was a great warrior, who had been often in battle, and was therefore called skoglar-toste. harald grenske came into his company, and cruised with toste in summer; and wherever harald came he was well thought of by every one. in the winter harald, after passing two years in the uplands, took up his abode with toste, and lived five years with him. toste had a daughter, who was both young and handsome, but she was proud and high-minded. she was called sigrid, and was afterwards married to the swedish king, eirik the victorious, and had a son by him, called olaf the swede, who was afterwards king of svithjod. king eirik died in a sick-bed at upsala ten years after the death of styrbjorn. . earl hakon's feuds. gunhild's sons levied a great army in viken (a.d. ), and sailed along the land northwards, collecting people and ships on the way out of every district. they then made known their intent, to proceed northwards with their army against earl hakon in throndhjem. when earl hakon heard this news, he also collected men, and fitted out ships; and when he heard what an overwhelming force gunhild's sons had with them, he steered south with his fleet to more, pillaging wherever he came, and killing many people. he then sent the whole of the bonde army back to throndhjem; but he himself, with his men-at-arms, proceeded by both the districts of more and raumsdal, and had his spies out to the south of stad to spy the army of gunhild's sons; and when he heard they were come into the fjords, and were waiting for a fair wind to sail northwards round stad, earl hakon set out to sea from the north side of stad, so far that his sails could not be seen from the land, and then sailed eastward on a line with the coast, and came to denmark, from whence he sailed into the baltic, and pillaged there during the summer. gunhild's sons conducted their army north to throndhjem, and remained there the whole summer collecting the scat and duties. but when summer was advanced they left sigurd slefa and gudron behind; and the other brothers returned eastward with the levied army they had taken up in summer. . of earl hakon and gunhild's sons. earl hakon, towards harvest (a.d. ), sailed into the bothnian gulf to helsingjaland, drew his ships up there on the beach, and took the land-ways through helsingjaland and jamtaland, and so eastwards round the dividing ridge (the kjol, or keel of the country), and down into the throndhjem district. many people streamed towards him, and he fitted out ships. when the sons of gunhild heard of this they got on board their ships, and sailed out of the fjord; and earl hakon came to his seat at hlader, and remained there all winter. the sons of gunhild, on the other hand, occupied more; and they and the earl attacked each other in turns, killing each other's people. earl hakon kept his dominions of throndhjem, and was there generally in the winter; but in summer he sometimes went to helsingjaland, where he went on board of his ships and sailed with them down into the baltic, and plundered there; and sometimes he remained in throndhjem, and kept an army on foot, so that gunhild's sons could get no hold northwards of stad. . sigurd slefa's murder. one summer harald grayskin with his troops went north to bjarmaland, where be forayed, and fought a great battle with the inhabitants on the banks of the vina (dwina). king harald gained the victory, killed many people, plundered and wasted and burned far and wide in the land, and made enormous booty. glum geirason tells of it thus:-- "i saw the hero harald chase with bloody sword bjarme's race: they fly before him through the night, all by their burning city's light. on dwina's bank, at harald's word, arose the storm of spear and sword. in such a wild war-cruise as this, great would he be who could bring peace." king sigurd slefa came to the herse klyp's house. klyp was a son of thord, and a grandson of hordakare, and was a man of power and great family. he was not at home; but his wife alof give a good reception to the king, and made a great feast at which there was much drinking. alof was a daughter of asbjorn, and sister to jarnskegge, north in yrjar. asbjorn's brother was called hreidar, who was father to styrkar, whose son was eindride, father of einar tambaskielfer. in the night the king went to bed to alof against her will, and then set out on his journey. the harvest thereafter, king harald and his brother king sigurd slefa went to vors, and summoned the bondes to a thing. there the bondes fell on them, and would have killed them, but they escaped and took different roads. king harald went to hardanger, but king sigurd to alrekstader. now when the herse klyp heard of this, he and his relations assembled to attack the king; and vemund volubrjot ( ) was chief of their troop. now when they came to the house they attacked the king, and herse klyp, it is said, ran him through with his sword and killed him; but instantly klyp was killed on the spot by erling gamle (a.d. ). endnotes: ( ) volubrjotr.--literally "the one who breaks the vala", that is, breaks the skulls of witches. . grjotgard's fall. king harald grafeld and his brother king gudrod gathered together a great army in the east country, with which they set out northwards to throndhjem (a.d. ). when earl hakon heard of it he collected men, and set out to more, where he plundered. there his father's brother, grjotgard, had the command and defence of the country on account of gunhild's sons, and he assembled an army by order of the kings. earl hakon advanced to meet him, and gave him battle; and there fell grjotgard and two other earls, and many a man besides. so says einar skalaglam:-- "the helm-crown'd hakon, brave as stout, again has put his foes to rout. the bowl runs o'er with odin's mead, ( ) that fires the skald when mighty deed has to be sung. earl hakon's sword, in single combat, as i've heard, three sons of earls from this one fray to dwell with odin drove away." ( ) thereafter earl hakon went out to sea, and sailed outside the coast, and came to denmark. he went to the danish king, harald gormson, and was well received by him, and staid with him all winter (a.d. ). at that time there was also with the danish king a man called harald, a son of knut gormson, and a brother's son of king harald. he was lately come home from a long viking cruise, on which he had gathered great riches, and therefore he was called gold harald. he thought he had a good chance of coming to the danish kingdom. endnotes: ( ) odin's mead, called bodn, was the blood or mead the sons of brage, the god of poets, drank to inspire them.--l. ( ) to dwell with odin,--viz. slew them.--l. . king erling's fall. king harald grafeld and his brothers proceeded northwards to throndhjem, where they met no opposition. they levied the scat-duties, and all other revenues, and laid heavy penalties upon the bondes; for the kings had for a long time received but little income from throndhjem, because earl hakon was there with many troops, and was at variance with these kings. in autumn (a.d. ) king harald went south with the greater part of the men-at-arms, but king erlin remained behind with his men. he raised great contributions from the bondes, and pressed severely on them; at which the bondes murmured greatly, and submitted to their losses with impatience. in winter they gathered together in a great force to go against king erling, just as he was at a feast; and they gave battle to him, and he with the most of his men fell (a.d. ). . the seasons in norway at this time. while gunhild's sons reigned in norway the seasons were always bad, and the longer they reigned the worse were the crops; and the bondes laid the blame on them. they were very greedy, and used the bondes harshly. it came at length to be so bad that fish, as well as corn, were wanting. in halogaland there was the greatest famine and distress; for scarcely any corn grew, and even snow was lying, and the cattle were bound in the byres ( ) all over the country until midsummer. eyvind skaldaspiller describes it in his poem, as he came outside of his house and found a thick snowdrift at that season:-- "tis midsummer, yet deep snows rest on odin's mother's frozen breast: like laplanders, our cattle-kind in stall or stable we must bind." endnotes: ( ) byres = gards or farms. . the icelanders and eyvind the skald. eyvind composed a poem about the people of iceland, for which they rewarded him by each bonde giving him three silver pennies, of full weight and white in the fracture. and when the silver was brought together at the althing, the people resolved to have it purified, and made into a row of clasps; and after the workmanship of the silver was paid, the row of clasps was valued at fifty marks. this they sent to eyvind; but eyvind was obliged to separate the clasps from each other, and sell them to buy food for his household. but the same spring a shoal of herrings set in upon the fishing ground beyond the coast-side, and eyvind manned a ship's boat with his house servants and cottars, and rowed to where the herrings were come, and sang:-- "now let the steed of ocean bound o'er the north sea with dashing sound: let nimble tern and screaming gull fly round and round--our net is full. fain would i know if fortune sends a like provision to my friends. welcome provision 'tis, i wot, that the whale drives to our cook's pot." so entirely were his movable goods exhausted, that he was obliged to sell his arrows to buy herrings, or other meat for his table:-- "our arms and ornaments of gold to buy us food we gladly sold: the arrows of the bow gave we for the bright arrows of the sea." ( ) endnotes: ( ) herrings, from their swift darting along, are called the arrows of the sea. king olaf trygvason's saga. preliminary remarks. hitherto the narrative has been more or less fragmentary. with olaf trygvason's saga reliable history begins, and the narration is full and connected. the story of hakon the earl is incorporated in this saga. accounts of olaf trygvason may be found in od the monk's legendary saga, in parts of "agrip", "historia norvegiae", and in thjodrek. icelandic works on this epoch are: "egla", "eyrbyggja", "finboga", "floamanna", "faereyinga", "hallfredar saga", "havardar saga", "are's islendinga-bok", "kristni saga", "laxdaela", "ljosvetninga", "njala", "orkneyinga", "viga glums saga", and "viga styrs saga". the skalds quoted are: glum geirason, eyvind finson, skaldaspiller, einar skalaglam, tind halkelson, eyjolf dadaskald, hallarstein, halfred vandraedaskald, haldor ukristne, skule thorsteinson, and thord kolbeinson. . olaf trygvason's birth. king trygve olafson had married a wife who was called astrid. she was a daughter of eirik bjodaskalle, a great man, who dwelt at oprustader. but after trygve's death (a.d. ) astrid fled, and privately took with her all the loose property she could. her foster-father, thorolf lusarskeg, followed her, and never left her; and others of her faithful followers spied about to discover her enemies, and where they were. astrid was pregnant with a child of king trygve, and she went to a lake, and concealed herself in a holm or small island in it with a few men. here her child was born, and it was a boy; and water was poured over it, and it was called olaf after the grandfather. astrid remained all summer here in concealment; but when the nights became dark, and the day began to shorten and the weather to be cold, she was obliged to take to the land, along with thorolf and a few other men. they did not seek for houses unless in the night-time, when they came to them secretly; and they spoke to nobody. one evening, towards dark, they came to oprustader, where astrid's father eirik dwelt, and privately sent a man to eirik to tell him; and eirik took them to an out-house, and spread a table for them with the best of food. when astrid had been here a short time her travelling attendants left her, and none remained, behind with her but two servant girls, her child olaf, thorolf lusarskeg, and his son thorgils, who was six years old; and they remained all winter (a.d. ). . of gunhild s sons. after trygve olafson's murder, harald grafeld and his brother gudrod went to the farm which he owned; but astrid was gone, and they could learn no tidings of her. a loose report came to their ears that she was pregnant to king trygve; but they soon went away northwards, as before related. as soon as they met their mother gunhild they told her all that had taken place. she inquired particularly about astrid, and they told her the report they had heard; but as gunhild's sons the same harvest and winter after had bickerings with earl hakon, as before related, they did not seek after astrid and her son that winter. . astrid's journey. the spring after (a.d. ) gunhild sent spies to the uplands, and all the way down to viken, to spy what they could about astrid; and her men came back, and could only tell her that astrid must be with her father eirik, and it was probable was bringing up her infant, the son of trygve. then gunhild, without delay, sent off men well furnished with arms and horses, and in all a troop of thirty; and as their leader she sent a particular friend of her own, a powerful man called hakon. her orders were to go to oprustader, to eirik, and take king trygve's son from thence, and bring the child to her; and with these orders the men went out. now when they were come to the neighbourhood of oprustader, some of eirik's friends observed the troop of travellers, and about the close of the day brought him word of their approach. eirik immediately, in the night, made preparation for astrid's flight, gave her good guides, and send her away eastward to svithjod, to his good friend hakon gamle, who was a powerful man there. long before day they departed, and towards evening they reached a domain called skaun. here they saw a large mansion, towards which they went, and begged a night's lodging. for the sake of concealment they were clad in mean clothing. there dwelt here a bonde called bjorn eiterkveisa, who was very rich, but very inhospitable. he drove them away; and therefore, towards dark, they went to another domain close by that was called vidar. thorstein was the name of the bonde; and he gave them lodging, and took good care of them, so that they slept well, and were well entertained. early that morning gunhild's men had come to oprustader, and inquired for astrid and her son. as eirik told them she was not there, they searched the whole house, and remained till late in the day before they got any news of astrid. then they rode after her the way she had taken, and late at night they came to bjorn eiterkveisa in skaun, and took up their quarters there. hakon asked bjorn if he knew anything about astrid, and he said some people had been there in the evening wanting lodgings; "but i drove them away, and i suppose they have gone to some of the neighbouring houses." thorstein's labourer was coming from the forest, having left his work at nightfall, and called in at bjorn's house because it was in his way; and finding there were guests come to the house, and learning their business, he comes to thorstein and tells him of it. as about a third part of the night was still remaining, thorstein wakens his guests and orders them in an angry voice to go about their business; but as soon as they were out of the house upon the road, thorstein tells them that gunhild's messengers were at bjorn's house, and are upon the trace of them. they entreat of him to help them, and he gave them a guide and some provisions. he conducted them through a forest to a lake, in which there was an islet overgrown with reeds. they waded out to the islet, and hid themselves among the reeds. early in the morning hakon rode away from bjorn's into the township, and wherever he came he asked after astrid; and when he came to thorstein's he asked if she had been there. he said that some people had been there; but as soon as it was daylight they had set off again, eastwards, to the forest. hakon made thorstein go along with them, as he knew all the roads and hiding-places. thorstein went with them; but when they were come into the woods, he led them right across the way astrid had taken. they went about and about the whole day to no purpose, as they could find no trace of her, so they turned back to tell gunhild the end of their travel. astrid and her friends proceeded on their journey, and came to svithjod, to hakon gamle (the old), where she and her son remained a long time, and had friendly welcome. . hakon's embassy to sweden. when gunhild, the mother of the kings, heard that astrid and her son olaf were in the kingdom of svithjod, she again sent hakon, with a good attendance, eastward, to eirik king of sweden, with presents and messages of friendship. the ambassadors were well received and well treated. hakon, after a time, disclosed his errand to the king, saying that gunhild had sent him with the request that the king would assist him in getting hold of olaf trygvason, to conduct him to norway, where gunhild would bring him up. the king gave hakon people with him, and he rode with them to hakon the old, where hakon desired, with many friendly expressions, that olaf should go with him. hakon the old returned a friendly answer, saying that it depended entirely upon olaf's mother. but astrid would on no account listen to the proposal; and the messengers had to return as they came, and to tell king eirik how the matter stood. the ambassadors then prepared to return home, and asked the king for some assistance to take the boy, whether hakon the old would or not. the king gave them again some attendants; and when they came to hakon the old, they again asked for the boy, and on his refusal to deliver him they used high words and threatened violence. but one of the slaves, buste by name, attacked hakon, and was going to kill him; and they barely escaped from the thralls without a cudgelling, and proceeded home to norway to tell gunhild their ill success, and that they had only seen olaf. . of sigurd eirikson. astrid had a brother called sigurd, a son of eirik bjodaskalle, who had long been abroad in gardarike (russia) with king valdemar, and was there in great consideration. astrid had now a great inclination to travel to her brother there. hakon the old gave her good attendants, and what was needful for the journey, and she set out with some merchants. she had then been two years (a.d. - ) with hakon the old, and olaf was three years of age. as they sailed out into the baltic, they were captured by vikings of eistland, who made booty both of the people and goods, killing some, and dividing others as slaves. olaf was separated from his mother, and an eistland man called klerkon got him as his share along with thorolf and thorgils. klerkon thought that thorolf was too old for a slave, and that there was not much work to be got out of him, so he killed him; but took the boys with him, and sold them to a man called klerk for a stout and good ram. a third man, called reas, bought olaf for a good cloak. reas had a wife called rekon, and a son by her whose name was rekone. olaf was long with them, was treated well, and was much beloved by the people. olaf was six years in eistland in this banishment (a.d. - ). . olaf is set free in eistland. sigurd, the son of eirik (astrid's brother), came into eistland from novgorod, on king valdemar's business to collect the king's taxes and rents. sigurd came as a man of consequence, with many followers and great magnificence. in the market-place he happened to observe a remarkably handsome boy; and as he could distinguish that he was a foreigner, he asked him his name and family. he answered him, that his name was olaf; that he was a son of trygve olafson; and astrid, a daughter of eirik bjodaskalle, was his mother. then sigurd knew that the boy was his sister's son, and asked him how he came there. olaf told him minutely all his adventures, and sigurd told him to follow him to the peasant reas. when he came there he bought both the boys, olaf and thorgils, and took them with him to holmgard. but, for the first, he made nothing known of olaf's relationship to him, but treated him well. . klerkon killed by olaf. olaf trygvason was one day in the market-place, where there was a great number of people. he recognized klerkon again, who had killed his foster-father thorolf lusarskeg. olaf had a little axe in his hand, and with it he clove klerkon's skull down to the brain, and ran home to his lodging, and told his friend sigurd what he had done. sigurd immediately took olaf to queen allogia's house, told her what had happened, and begged her to protect the boy. she replied, that the boy appeared far too comely to allow him to be slain; and she ordered her people to be drawn out fully armed. in holmgard the sacredness of peace is so respected, that it is law there to slay whoever puts a man to death except by judgment of law; and, according to this law and usage, the whole people stormed and sought after the boy. it was reported that he was in the queen's house, and that there was a number of armed men there. when this was told to the king, he went there with his people, but would allow no bloodshed. it was settled at last in peace, that the king should name the fine for the murder; and the queen paid it. olaf remained afterwards with the queen, and was much beloved. it is a law at holmgard, that no man of royal descent shall stay there without the king's permission. sigurd therefore told the queen of what family olaf was, and for what reason he had come to russia; namely, that he could not remain with safety in his own country: and begged her to speak to the king about it. she did so, and begged the king to help a king's son whose fate had been so hard; and in consequence of her entreaty the king promised to assist him, and accordingly he received olaf into his court, and treated him nobly, and as a king's son. olaf was nine years old when he came to russia, and he remained nine years more (a.d. - ) with king valdemar. olaf was the handsomest of men, very stout and strong, and in all bodily exercises he excelled every northman that ever was heard of. . of hakon earl of hlader. earl hakon, sigurd's son, was with the danish king, harald gormson, the winter after he had fled from norway before gunhild's sons. during the winter (a.d. ) the earl had so much care and sorrow that he took to bed, and passed many sleepless nights, and ate and drank no more than was needful to support his strength. then he sent a private message to his friends north in throndhjem, and proposed to them that they should kill king erling, if they had an opportunity; adding, that he would come to them in summer. the same winter the throndhjem people accordingly, as before related, killed king erling. there was great friendship between earl hakon and gold harald, and harald told hakon all his intentions. he told him that he was tired of a ship-life, and wanted to settle on the land; and asked hakon if he thought his brother king harald would agree to divide the kingdom with him if he asked it. "i think," replied hakon, "that the danish king would not deny thy right; but the best way to know is to speak to the king himself. i know for certain so much, that you will not get a kingdom if you don't ask for it." soon after this conversation gold harald spoke to the king about the matter, in the presence of many great men who were friends to both; and gold harald asked king harald to divide the kingdom with him in two equal parts, to which his royal birth and the custom of the danish monarchy gave him right. the king was highly incensed at this demand, and said that no man had asked his father gorm to be king over half of denmark, nor yet his grandfather king hordaknut, or sigurd orm, or ragnar lodbrok; and he was so exasperated and angry, that nobody ventured to speak of it to him. . of gold harald. gold harald was now worse off than before; for he had got no kingdom, and had got the king's anger by proposing it. he went as usual to his friend hakon, and complained to him of his fate, and asked for good advice, and if he could help him to get his share of the kingdom; saying that he would rather try force, and the chance of war, than give it up. hakon advised him not to speak to any man so that this should be known; "for," said he, "it concerns thy life: and rather consider with thyself what thou art man enough to undertake; for to accomplish such a purpose requires a bold and firm man, who will neither stick at good nor evil to do that which is intended; for to take up great resolutions, and then to lay them aside, would only end in dishonour." gold harald replies--"i will so carry on what i begin, that i will not hesitate to kill harald with my own hands, if i can come thereby to the kingdom he denies me, and which is mine by right." and so they separated. now king harald comes also to earl hakon, and tells him the demand on his kingdom which gold harald had made, and also his answer, and that he would upon no account consent to diminish his kingdom. "and if gold harald persists in his demand, i will have no hesitation in having him killed; for i will not trust him if he does not renounce it." the earl answered,--"my thoughts are, that harald has carried his demand so far that he cannot now let it drop, and i expect nothing but war in the land; and that he will be able to gather a great force, because his father was so beloved. and then it would be a great enormity if you were to kill your relation; for, as things now stand, all men would say that he was innocent. but i am far from saying, or advising, that you should make yourself a smaller king than your father gorm was, who in many ways enlarged, but never diminished his kingdom." the king replies,--"what then is your advice,--if i am neither to divide my kingdom, nor to get rid of my fright and danger?" "let us meet again in a few days," said earl hakon, "and i will then have considered the matter well, and will give you my advice upon it." the king then went away with his people. . councils held by hakon and harald. earl hakon had now great reflection, and many opinions to weigh, and he let only very few be in the house with him. in a few days king harald came again to the earl to speak with him, and ask if he had yet considered fully the matter they had been talking of. "i have," said the earl, "considered it night and day ever since, and find it most advisable that you retain and rule over the whole of your kingdom just as your father left it; but that you obtain for your relation harald another kingdom, that he also may enjoy honour and dignity." "what kind of kingdom is that," said the king, "which i can give to harald, that i may possess denmark entire?" "it is norway," said the earl. "the kings who are there are oppressive to the people of the country, so that every man is against them who has tax or service to pay." the king replies,--"norway is a large country, and the people fierce, and not good to attack with a foreign army. we found that sufficiently when hakon defended that country; for we lost many people, and gained no victory. besides, harald the son of eirik is my foster-son, and has sat on my knee." the earl answers, "i have long known that you have helped gunhild's sons with your force, and a bad return you have got for it; but we shall get at norway much more easily than by fighting for it with all the danish force. send a message to your foster-son harald, eirik's son, and offer him the lands and fiefs which gunhild's sons held before in denmark. appoint him a meeting, and gold harald will soon conquer for himself a kingdom in norway from harald grafeld." the king replies, that it would be called a bad business to deceive his own foster-son. "the danes," answered the earl, "will rather say that it was better to kill a norwegian viking than a danish, and your own brother's son." they spoke so long over the matter, that they agreed on it. . harald gormson's message to norway. thereafter gold harald had a conference with earl hakon; and the earl told him he had now advanced his business so far, that there was hope a kingdom might stand open for him in norway. "we can then continue," said he, "our ancient friendship, and i can be of the greatest use to you in norway. take first that kingdom. king harald is now very old, and has but one son, and cares but little about him, as he is but the son of a concubine." the earl talked so long to gold harald that the project pleased him well; and the king, the earl, and gold harald often talked over the business together. the danish king then sent messengers north to norway to harald grafeld, and fitted them out magnificently for their journey. they were well received by harald. the messengers told him that earl hakon was in denmark, but was lying dangerously sick, and almost out of his senses. they then delivered from harald, the danish king, the invitation to harald grafeld, his foster-son, to come to him and receive investiture of the fiefs he and his brothers before him had formerly held in denmark; and appointing a meeting in jutland. harald grafeld laid the matter before his mother and other friends. their opinions were divided. some thought that the expedition was not without its danger, on account of the men with whom they had to deal; but the most were in haste to begin the journey, for at that time there was such a famine in norway that the kings could scarcely feed their men-at-arms; and on this account the fjord, on which the kings resided, usually got the name of hardanger (hardacre). in denmark, on the other hand, there had been tolerably good crops; so that people thought that if king harald got fiefs, and something to rule over there they would get some assistance. it was therefore concluded, before the messengers returned, that harald should travel to denmark to the danish king in summer, and accept the conditions king harald offered. . treachery of harald and hakon. harald grafeld went to denmark in the summer (a.d. ) with three long-ships; and herse arinbjorn, from the fjord district, commanded one of them. king harald sailed from viken over to limfjord in jutland, and landed at the narrow neck of land where the danish king was expected. now when gold harald heard of this, he sailed there with nine ships which he had fitted out before for a viking cruise. earl hakon had also his war force on foot; namely, twelve large ships, all ready, with which he proposed to make an expedition. when gold harald had departed earl hakon says to the king, "now i don't know if we are not sailing on an expedition, and yet are to pay the penalty of not having joined it. gold harald may kill harald grafeld, and get the kingdom of norway; but you must not think he will be true to you, although you do help him to so much power, for he told me in winter that he would take your life if he could find opportunity to do so. now i will win norway for you, and kill gold harald, if you will promise me a good condition under you. i will be your earl; swear an oath of fidelity to you, and, with your help, conquer all norway for you; hold the country under your rule; pay you the scat and taxes; and you will be a greater king than your father, as you will have two kingdoms under you." the king and the earl agreed upon this, and hakon set off to seek gold harald. . death of harald grafeld. gold harald came to the neck of land at limfjord, and immediately challenged harald grafeld to battle; and although harald had fewer men, he went immediately on the land, prepared for battle, and drew up his troops. before the lines came together harald grafeld urged on his men, and told them to draw their swords. he himself advanced the foremost of the troop, hewing down on each side. so says glum geirason, in grafeld's lay:-- "brave were thy words in battlefield, thou stainer of the snow-white shield!-- thou gallant war-god! with thy voice thou couldst the dying man rejoice: the cheer of harald could impart courage and life to every heart. while swinging high the blood-smeared sword, by arm and voice we knew our lord." there fell harald grafeld. so says glum geirason:-- "on limfjord's strand, by the tide's flow, stern fate has laid king harald low; the gallant viking-cruiser--he who loved the isle-encircling sea. the generous ruler of the land fell at the narrow limfjord strand. enticed by hakon's cunning speech to his death-bed on limfjord's beach." the most of king harald's men fell with him. there also fell herse arinbjorn. this happened fifteen years after the death of hakon, athelstan's foster-son, and thirteen years after that of sigurd earl of hlader. the priest are frode says that earl hakon was thirteen years earl over his father's dominions in throndhjem district before the fall of harald grafeld; but, for the last six years of harald grafeld's life, are frode says the earl hakon and gunhild's sons fought against each other, and drove each other out of the land by turns. . gold harald's death. soon after harald grafeld's fall, earl hakon came up to gold harald, and the earl immediately gave battle to harald. hakon gained the victory, and harald was made prisoner; but hakon had him immediately hanged on a gallows. hakon then went to the danish king, and no doubt easily settled with him for the killing his relative gold harald. . division of the country. soon after king harald gormson ordered a levy of men over all his kingdom, and sailed with ships ( ). there were with him earl hakon, harald grenske, a son of king gudrod, and many other great men who had fled from their udal estates in norway on account of gunhild's sons. the danish king sailed with his fleet from the south to viken, where all the people of the country surrendered to him. when he came to tunsberg swarms of people joined him; and king harald gave to earl hakon the command of all the men who came to him in norway, and gave him the government over rogaland, hordaland, sogn, fjord-district, south more, raumsdal, and north more. these seven districts gave king harald to earl hakon to rule over, with the same rights as harald harfager gave with them to his sons; only with the difference, that hakon should there, as well as in throndhjem, have the king's land-estates and land-tax, and use the king's money and goods according to his necessities whenever there was war in the country. king harald also gave harald grenske vingulmark, vestfold, and agder all the way to lidandisnes (the naze), together with the title of king; and let him have these dominions with the same rights as his family in former times had held them, and as harald harfager had given with them to his sons. harald grenske was then eighteen years old, and he became afterwards a celebrated man. harald king of denmark returned home thereafter with all his army. endnotes: ( ) i.e., ships, as they were counted by long hundreds, = . . gunhild's sons leave the country. earl hakon proceeded northwards along the coast with his force; and when gunhild and her sons got the tidings they proceeded to gather troops, but were ill off for men. then they took the same resolution as before, to sail out to sea with such men as would follow them away to the westward (a.d. ). they came first to the orkney islands, and remained there a while. there were in orkney then the earls hlodver. arnfid, ljot, and skule, the sons of thorfin hausakljufer. earl hakon now brought all the country under him, and remained all winter (a.d. ) in throndhjem. einar skalaglam speaks of his conquests in "vellekla":-- "norway's great watchman, harald, now may bind the silk snood on his brow-- seven provinces he seized. the realm prospers with hakon at the helm." as hakon the earl proceeded this summer along the coast subjecting all the people to him, he ordered that over all his dominions the temples and sacrifices should be restored, and continued as of old. so it is said in the "vellekla":-- "hakon the earl, so good and wise, let all the ancient temples rise;-- thor's temples raised with fostering hand that had been ruined through the land. his valiant champions, who were slain on battle-fields across the main, to thor, the thunder-god, may tell how for the gods all turns out well. the hardy warrior now once more offers the sacrifice of gore; the shield-bearer in loke's game invokes once more great odin's name. the green earth gladly yields her store, as she was wont in days of yore, since the brave breaker of the spears the holy shrines again uprears. the earl has conquered with strong hand all that lies north of viken land: in battle storm, and iron rain hakon spreads wide his sword's domain." the first winter that hakon ruled over norway the herrings set in everywhere through the fjords to the land, and the seasons ripened to a good crop all that had been sown. the people, therefore, laid in seed for the next year, and got their lands sowed, and had hope of good times. . hakon's battle with ragnfred. king ragnfred and king gudrod, both sons of gunhild and eirik, were now the only sons of gunhild remaining in life. so says glum geirason in grafeld's lay:-- "when in the battle's bloody strife the sword took noble harald's life, half of my fortunes with him fell: but his two brothers, i know well, my loss would soon repair, should they again in norway bear the sway, and to their promises should stand, if they return to rule the land." ragnfred began his course in the spring after he had been a year in the orkney islands. he sailed from thence to norway, and had with him fine troops, and large ships. when he came to norway he learnt that earl hakon was in throndhjem; therefore he steered northwards around stad, and plundered in south more. some people submitted to him; for it often happens, when parties of armed men scour over a country, that those who are nearest the danger seek help where they think it may be expected. as soon as earl hakon heard the news of disturbance in more, he fitted out ships, sent the war-token through the land, made ready in all haste, and proceeded out of the fjord. he had no difficulty in assembling men. ragnfred and earl hakon met at the north corner of more; and hakon, who had most men, but fewer ships, began the battle. the combat was severe, but heaviest on hakon's side; and as the custom then was, they fought bow to bow, and there was a current in the sound which drove all the ships in upon the land. the earl ordered to row with the oars to the land where landing seemed easiest. when the ships were all grounded, the earl with all his men left them, and drew them up so far that the enemy might not launch them down again, and then drew up his men on a grass-field, and challenged ragnfred to land. ragnfred and his men laid their vessels in along the land, and they shot at each other a long time; but upon the land ragnfred would not venture: and so they separated. ragnfred sailed with his fleet southwards around stad; for he was much afraid the whole forces of the country would swarm around hakon. hakon, on his part, was not inclined to try again a battle, for he thought the difference between their ships in size was too great; so in harvest he went north to throndhjem, and staid there all winter (a.d. ). king ragnfred consequently had all the country south of stad at his mercy; namely, fjord district, hordaland, sogn, rogaland; and he had many people about him all winter. when spring approached he ordered out the people and collected a large force. by going about the districts he got many men, ships, and warlike stores sent as he required. . battle between hakon and ragnfred. towards spring earl hakon ordered out all the men north in the country; and got many people from halogaland and naumudal; so that from bryda to stad he had men from all the sea-coast. people flocked to him from all the throndhjem district and from raumsdal. it was said for certain that he had men from four great districts, and that seven earls followed him, and a matchless number of men. so it is said in the "vellekla":-- "hakon, defender of the land, armed in the north his warrior-band to sogn's old shore his force he led, and from all quarters thither sped war-ships and men; and haste was made by the young god of the sword-blade, the hero-viking of the wave, his wide domain from foes to save. with shining keels seven kings sailed on to meet this raven-feeding one. when the clash came, the stunning sound was heard in norway's farthest bound; and sea-borne corpses, floating far, brought round the naze news from the war." earl hakon sailed then with his fleet southwards around stad; and when he heard that king ragnfred with his army had gone towards sogn, he turned there also with his men to meet him: and there ragnfred and hakon met. hakon came to the land with his ships, marked out a battle-field with hazel branches for king ragnfred, and took ground for his own men in it. so it is told in the "vellekla":-- "in the fierce battle ragnfred then met the grim foe of vindland men; and many a hero of great name fell in the sharp sword's bloody game. the wielder of fell narve's weapon, the conquering hero, valiant hakon had laid his war-ships on the strand, and ranged his warriors on the land." there was a great battle; but earl hakon, having by far the most people, gained the victory. it took place on the thinganes, where sogn and hordaland meet. king rangfred fled to his ships, after of his men had fallen. so it is said in the "vellekla":-- "sharp was the battle-strife, i ween,-- deadly and close it must have been, before, upon the bloody plain, three hundred corpses of the slain were stretched for the black raven's prey; and when the conquerors took their way to the sea-shore, they had to tread o'er piled-up heaps of foemen dead." after this battle king ragnfred fled from norway; but earl hakon restored peace to the country, and allowed the great army which had followed him in summer to return home to the north country, and he himself remained in the south that harvest and winter (a.d. ). . earl hakon's marriage. earl hakon married a girl called thora, a daughter of the powerful skage skoptason, and very beautiful she was. they had two sons, svein and heming, and a daughter called bergljot who was afterwards married to einar tambaskielfer. earl hakon was much addicted to women, and had many children; among others a daughter ragnhild, whom he married to skopte skagason, a brother of thora. the earl loved thora so much that he held thora's family in higher respect than any other people, and skopte his brother-in-law in particular; and he gave him many great fiefs in more. whenever they were on a cruise together, skopte must lay his ship nearest to the earl's, and no other ship was allowed to come in between. . death of skopte. one summer that earl hakon was on a cruise, there was a ship with him of which thorleif spake (the wise) was steersman. in it was also eirik, earl hakon's son, then about ten or eleven years old. now in the evenings, as they came into harbour, eirik would not allow any ship but his to lie nearest to the earl's. but when they came to the south, to more, they met skopte the earl's brother-in-law, with a well-manned ship; and as they rowed towards the fleet, skopte called out that thorleif should move out of the harbour to make room for him, and should go to the roadstead. eirik in haste took up the matter, and ordered skopte to go himself to the roadstead. when earl hakon heard that his son thought himself too great to give place to skopte, he called to them immediately that they should haul out from their berth, threatening them with chastisement if they did not. when thorleif heard this, he ordered his men to slip their land-cable, and they did so; and skopte laid his vessel next to the earl's as he used to do. when they came together, skopte brought the earl all the news he had gathered, and the earl communicated to skopte all the news he had heard; and skopte was therefore called tidindaskopte (the newsman skopte). the winter after (a.d. ) eirik was with his foster-father thorleif, and early in spring he gathered a crew of followers, and thorleif gave him a boat of fifteen benches of rowers, with ship furniture, tents, and ship provisions; and eirik set out from the fjord, and southwards to more. tidindaskopte happened also to be going with a fully manned boat of fifteen rowers' benches from one of his farms to another, and eirik went against him to have a battle. skopte was slain, but eirik granted life to those of his men who were still on their legs. so says eyjolf dadaskald in the "banda lay":-- "at eve the youth went out to meet the warrior stout-- to meet stout skopte--he whose war-ship roves the sea like force was on each side, but in the whirling tide the young wolf eirik slew skopte, and all his crew and he was a gallant one, dear to the earl hakon. up, youth of steel-hard breast-- no time hast thou to rest! thy ocean wings spread wide-- speed o'er the foaming tide! speed on--speed on thy way! for here thou canst not stay." eirik sailed along the land and came to denmark, and went to king harald gormson, and staid with him all winter (a.d. ). in spring the danish king sent him north to norway, and gave him an earldom, and the government of vingulmark and raumarike, on the same terms as the small scat-paying kings had formerly held these domains. so says eyjolf dadaskald:-- "south through ocean's spray his dragon flew away to gormson's hall renowned. where the bowl goes bravely round. and the danish king did place this youth of noble race where, shield and sword in hand, he would aye defend his land." eirik became afterwards a great chief. . olaf trygvason's journey from russia. all this time olaf trygvason was in gardarike (russia), and highly esteemed by king valdemar, and beloved by the queen. king valdemar made him chief over the men-at-arms whom he sent out to defend the land. so says hallarsteid:-- "the hater of the niggard band, the chief who loves the northman's land, was only twelve years old when he his russian war-ships put to sea. the wain that ploughs the sea was then loaded with war-gear by his men-- with swords, and spears, and helms: and deep out to the sea his good ships sweep." olaf had several battles, and was lucky as a leader of troops. he himself kept a great many men-at-arms at his own expense out of the pay the king gave him. olaf was very generous to his men, and therefore very popular. but then it came to pass, what so often happens when a foreigner is raised to higher power and dignity than men of the country, that many envied him because he was so favoured by the king, and also not less so by the queen. they hinted to the king that he should take care not to make olaf too powerful,--"for such a man may be dangerous to you, if he were to allow himself to be used for the purpose of doing you or your kingdom harm; for he is extremely expert in all exercises and feats, and very popular. we do not, indeed, know what it is he can have to talk of so often with the queen." it was then the custom among great monarchs that the queen should have half of the court attendants, and she supported them at her own expense out of the scat and revenue provided for her for that purpose. it was so also at the court of king valdemar that the queen had an attendance as large as the king, and they vied with each other about the finest men, each wanting to have such in their own service. it so fell out that the king listened to such speeches, and became somewhat silent and blunt towards olaf. when olaf observed this, he told it to the queen; and also that he had a great desire to travel to the northern land, where his family formerly had power and kingdoms, and where it was most likely he would advance himself. the queen wished him a prosperous journey, and said he would be found a brave man wherever he might be. olaf then made ready, went on board, and set out to sea in the baltic. as he was coming from the east he made the island of borgundarholm (bornholm), where he landed and plundered. the country people hastened down to the strand, and gave him battle; but olaf gained the victory, and a large booty. . olaf trygvason's marriage. while olaf lay at borgundarholm there came on bad weather, storm, and a heavy sea, so that his ships could not lie there; and he sailed southwards under vindland, where they found a good harbour. they conducted themselves very peacefully, and remained some time. in vindland there was then a king called burizleif, who had three daughters,--geira, gunhild, and astrid. the king's daughter geira had the power and government in that part where olaf and his people landed, and dixen was the name of the man who most usually advised queen geira. now when they heard that unknown people were came to the country, who were of distinguished appearance, and conducted themselves peaceably, dixen repaired to them with a message from queen geira, inviting the strangers to take up their winter abode with her; for the summer was almost spent, and the weather was severe and stormy. now when dixen came to the place he soon saw that the leader was a distinguished man, both from family and personal appearance, and he told olaf the queen's invitation with the most kindly message. olaf willingly accepted the invitation, and went in harvest (a.d. ) to queen geira. they liked each other exceedingly, and olaf courted queen geira; and it was so settled that olaf married her the same winter, and was ruler, along with queen geira, over her dominions. halfred vandredaskald tells of these matters in the lay he composed about king olaf:-- "why should the deeds the hero did in bornholm and the east he hid? his deadly weapon olaf bold dyed red: why should not this be told?" . earl hakon pays no scat. earl hakon ruled over norway, and paid no scat; because the danish king gave him all the scat revenue that belonged to the king in norway, for the expense and trouble he had in defending the country against gunhild's sons. . harald opposes christianity. the emperor otta (otto) was at that time in the saxon country, and sent a message to king harald, the danish king, that he must take on the true faith and be baptized, he and all his people whom he ruled; "otherwise," says the emperor, "we will march against him with an army." the danish king ordered the land defence to be fitted out, danavirke ( ) (the danish wall) to be well fortified, and his ships of war rigged out. he sent a message also to earl hakon in norway to come to him early in spring, and with as many men as he could possibly raise. in spring (a.d. ) earl hakon levied an army over the whole country which was very numerous, and with it he sailed to meet the danish king. the king received him in the most honourable manner. many other chiefs also joined the danish king with their men, so that he had gathered a very large army. endnotes: ( ) danavirke. the danish work was a wall of earth, stones, and wood, with a deep ditch in front, and a castle at every hundred fathoms, between the rivers eider and slien, constructed by harald blatand (bluetooth) to oppose the progress of charlemagne. some traces of it still exist. --l. . olaf trygvason's war expedition. olaf trygvason had been all winter (a.d. ) in vindland, as before related, and went the same winter to the baronies in vindland which had formerly been under queen geira, but had withdrawn themselves from obedience and payment of taxes. there olaf made war, killed many people, burnt out others, took much property, and laid all of them under subjection to him, and then went back to his castle. early in spring olaf rigged out his ships and set off to sea. he sailed to skane and made a landing. the people of the country assembled, and gave him battle; but king olaf conquered, and made a great booty. he then sailed eastward to the island of gotland, where he captured a merchant vessel belonging to the people of jamtaland. they made a brave defence; but the end of it was that olaf cleared the deck, killed many of the men, and took all the goods. he had a third battle in gotland, in which he also gained the victory, and made a great booty. so says halfred vandredaskald:-- "the king, so fierce in battle-fray, first made the vindland men give way: the gotlanders must tremble next; and scania's shores are sorely vexed by the sharp pelting arrow shower the hero and his warriors pour; and then the jamtaland men must fly, scared by his well-known battle-cry." . otta and hakon in battle. the emperor otta assembled a great army from saxland, frakland, frisland, and vindland. king burizleif followed him with a large army, and in it was his son-in-law, olaf trygvason. the emperor had a great body of horsemen, and still greater of foot people, and a great army from holstein. harald, the danish king, sent earl hakon with the army of northmen that followed him southwards to danavirke, to defend his kingdom on that side. so it is told in the "vellekla":-- "over the foaming salt sea spray the norse sea-horses took their way, racing across the ocean-plain southwards to denmark's green domain. the gallant chief of hordaland sat at the helm with steady hand, in casque and shield, his men to bring from dovre to his friend the king. he steered his war-ships o'er the wave to help the danish king to save mordalf, who, with a gallant band was hastening from the jutes' wild land, across the forest frontier rude, with toil and pain through the thick wood. glad was the danish king, i trow, when he saw hakon's galley's prow. the monarch straightway gave command to hakon, with a steel-clad band, to man the dane-work's rampart stout, and keep the foreign foemen out." the emperor otta came with his army from the south to danavirke, but earl hakon defended the rampart with his men. the dane-work (danavirke) was constructed in this way:--two fjords run into the land, one on each side; and in the farthest bight of these fjords the danes had made a great wall of stone, turf, and timber, and dug a deep and broad ditch in front of it, and had also built a castle over each gate of it. there was a hard battle there, of which the "vellekla" speaks:-- "thick the storm of arrows flew, loud was the din, black was the view of close array of shield and spear of vind, and frank, and saxon there. but little recked our gallant men; and loud the cry might be heard then of norway's brave sea-roving son-- 'on 'gainst the foe! on! lead us on!" earl hakon drew up his people in ranks upon all the gate-towers of the wall, but the greater part of them he kept marching along the wall to make a defence wheresoever an attack was threatened. many of the emperor's people fell without making any impression on the fortification, so the emperor turned back without farther attempt at an assault on it. so it is said in the "vellekla":-- "they who the eagle's feast provide in ranked line fought side by side, 'gainst lines of war-men under shields\ close packed together on the fields, earl hakon drive by daring deeds the saxons to their ocean-steeds; and the young hero saves from fall the danavirke--the people's wall." after this battle earl hakon went back to his ships, and intended to sail home to norway; but he did not get a favourable wind, and lay for some time outside at limafjord. . harald and hakon are baptized. the emperor otta turned back with his troops to slesvik, collected his ships of war, and crossed the fjord of sle into jutland. as soon as the danish king heard of this he marched his army against him, and there was a battle, in which the emperor at last got the victory. the danish king fled to limafjord and took refuge in the island marsey. by the help of mediators who went between the king and the emperor, a truce and a meeting between them were agreed on. the emperor otta and the danish king met upon marsey. there bishop poppo instructed king harald in the holy faith; he bore red hot irons in his hands, and exhibited his unscorched hands to the king. thereafter king harald allowed himself to be baptized, and also the whole danish army. king harald, while he was in marsey, had sent a message to hakon that he should come to his succour; and the earl had just reached the island when the king had received baptism. the king sends word to the earl to come to him, and when they met the king forced the earl to allow himself also to be baptized. so earl hakon and all the men who were with him were baptized; and the king gave them priests and other learned men with them, and ordered that the earl should make all the people in norway be baptized. on that they separated; and the earl went out to sea, there to wait for a wind. . hakon renounces christianity. when a wind came with which he thought he could get clear out to sea, he put all the learned men on shore again, and set off to the ocean; but as the wind came round to the south-west, and at last to west, he sailed eastward, out through eyrarsund, ravaging the land on both sides. he then sailed eastward along skane, plundering the country wherever he came. when he got east to the skerries of east gautland, he ran in and landed, and made a great blood-sacrifice. there came two ravens flying which croaked loudly; and now, thought the earl, the blood-offering has been accepted by odin, and he thought good luck would be with him any day he liked to go to battle. then he set fire to his ships, landed his men, and went over all the country with armed hand. earl ottar, who ruled over gautland, came against him, and they held a great battle with each other; but earl hakon gained the day, and earl ottar and a great part of his men were killed. earl hakon now drove with fire and sword over both the gautlands, until he came into norway; and then he proceeded by land all the way north to throndhjem. the "vellekla" tells about this:-- "on the silent battle-field, in viking garb, with axe and shield, the warrior, striding o'er the slain, asks of the gods 'what days will gain?' two ravens, flying from the east, come croaking to the bloody feast: the warrior knows what they foreshow-- the days when gautland blood will flow. a viking-feast earl hakon kept, the land with viking fury swept, harrying the land far from the shore where foray ne'er was known before. leaving the barren cold coast side, he raged through gautland far and wide,-- led many a gold-decked viking shield o'er many a peaceful inland field. bodies on bodies odin found heaped high upon each battle ground: the moor, as if by witchcraft's power, grows green, enriched by bloody shower. no wonder that the gods delight to give such luck in every fight to hakon's men--for he restores their temples on our norway shores." . the emperor otta returns home. the emperor otta went back to his kingdom in the saxon land, and parted in friendship with the danish king. it is said that the emperor otta stood godfather to svein, king harald's son, and gave him his name; so that he was baptized otta svein. king harald held fast by his christianity to his dying day. king burizleif went to vindland, and his son-in-law king olaf went with him. this battle is related also by halfred vandredaskald in his song on olaf:-- "he who through the foaming surges his white-winged ocean-coursers urges, hewed from the danes, in armour dressed, the iron bark off mail-clad breast." . olaf's journey from vindland. olaf trygvason was three years in vindland (a.d. - ) when geira his queen fell sick, and she died of her illness. olaf felt his loss so great that he had no pleasure in vindland after it. he provided himself, therefore, with warships, and went out again a plundering, and plundered first in frisland, next in saxland, and then all the way to flaemingjaland (flanders). so says halfred vandredaskald:-- "olaf's broad axe of shining steel for the shy wolf left many a meal. the ill-shaped saxon corpses lay heaped up, the witch-wife's horses' ( ) prey. she rides by night: at pools of blood. where frisland men in daylight stood, her horses slake their thirst, and fly on to the field where flemings lie. the raven-friend in odin's dress-- olaf, who foes can well repress, left flemish flesh for many a meal with his broad axe of shining steel." endnotes: ( ) ravens were the witches' horses.--l. . king olaf's forays. thereafter olaf trygvason sailed to england, and ravaged wide around in the land. he sailed all the way north to northumberland, where he plundered; and thence to scotland, where he marauded far and wide. then he went to the hebrides, where he fought some battles; and then southwards to man, where he also fought. he ravaged far around in ireland, and thence steered to bretland, which he laid waste with fire and sword, and all the district called cumberland. he sailed westward from thence to valland, and marauded there. when he left the west, intending to sail to england, he came to the islands called the scilly isles, lying westward from england in the ocean. thus tells halfred vandraskald of these events:-- the brave young king, who ne'er retreats, the englishman in england beats. death through northumberland is spread from battleaxe and broad spearhead. through scotland with his spears he rides; to man his glancing ships he guides: feeding the wolves where'er he came, the young king drove a bloody game. the gallant bowmen in the isles slew foemen, who lay heaped in piles. the irish fled at olaf's name-- fled from a young king seeking fame. in bretland, and in cumberland, people against him could not stand: thick on the fields their corpses lay, to ravens and howling wolves a prey." olaf trygvason had been four years on this cruise (a.d. - ), from the time he left vindland till he came to the scilly islands. . king olaf is baptized. while olaf trygvason lay in the scilly isles he heard of a seer, or fortune-teller, on the islands, who could tell beforehand things not yet done, and what he foretold many believed was really fulfilled. olaf became curious to try this man's gift of prophecy. he therefore sent one of his men, who was the handsomest and strongest, clothed him magnificently, and bade him say he was the king; for olaf was known in all countries as handsomer, stronger, and braver than all others, although, after he had left russia, he retained no more of his name than that he was called ole, and was russian. now when the messenger came to the fortune-teller, and gave himself out for the king, he got the answer, "thou art not the king, but i advise thee to be faithful to thy king." and more he would not say to that man. the man returned, and told olaf, and his desire to meet the fortune-teller was increased; and now he had no doubt of his being really a fortune-teller. olaf repaired himself to him, and, entering into conversation, asked him if he could foresee how it would go with him with regard to his kingdom, or of any other fortune he was to have. the hermit replies in a holy spirit of prophecy, "thou wilt become a renowned king, and do celebrated deeds. many men wilt thou bring to faith and baptism, and both to thy own and others' good; and that thou mayst have no doubt of the truth of this answer, listen to these tokens: when thou comest to thy ships many of thy people will conspire against thee, and then a battle will follow in which many of thy men will fall, and thou wilt be wounded almost to death, and carried upon a shield to thy ship; yet after seven days thou shalt be well of thy wounds, and immediately thou shalt let thyself be baptized." soon after olaf went down to his ships, where he met some mutineers and people who would destroy him and his men. a fight took place, and the result was what the hermit had predicted, that olaf was wounded, and carried upon a shield to his ship, and that his wound was healed in seven days. then olaf perceived that the man had spoken truth, that he was a true fortune-teller, and had the gift of prophecy. olaf went once more to the hermit, and asked particularly how he came to have such wisdom in foreseeing things to be. the hermit replied, that the christian god himself let him know all that he desired; and he brought before olaf many great proofs of the power of the almighty. in consequence of this encouragement olaf agreed to let himself be baptized, and he and all his followers were baptized forthwith. he remained here a long time, took the true faith, and got with him priests and other learned men. . olaf marries gyda. in autumn (a.d. ) olaf sailed from scilly to england, where he put into a harbour, but proceeded in a friendly way; for england was christian, and he himself had become christian. at this time a summons to a thing went through the country, that all men should come to hold a thing. now when the thing was assembled a queen called gyda came to it, a sister of olaf kvaran, who was king of dublin in ireland. she had been married to a great earl in england, and after his death she was at the head of his dominions. in her territory there was a man called alfvine, who was a great champion and single-combat man. he had paid his addresses to her; but she gave for answer, that she herself would choose whom of the men in her dominions she would take in marriage; and on that account the thing was assembled, that she might choose a husband. alfvine came there dressed out in his best clothes, and there were many well-dressed men at the meeting. olaf had come there also; but had on his bad-weather clothes, and a coarse over-garment, and stood with his people apart from the rest of the crowd. gyda went round and looked at each, to see if any appeared to her a suitable man. now when she came to where olaf stood she looked at him straight in the face, and asked "what sort of man he was?" he said, "i am called ole; and i am a stranger here." gyda replies, "wilt thou have me if i choose thee?" "i will not say no to that," answered he; and he asked what her name was, and her family, and descent. "i am called gyda," said she; "and am daughter of the king of ireland, and was married in this country to an earl who ruled over this territory. since his death i have ruled over it, and many have courted me, but none to whom i would choose to be married." she was a young and handsome woman. they afterwards talked over the matter together, and agreed, and olaf and gyda were betrothed. . king olaf and alfvine's duel. alfvine was very ill pleased with this. it was the custom then in england, if two strove for anything, to settle the matter by single combat ( ); and now alfvine challenges olaf trygvason to fight about this business. the time and place for the combat were settled, and that each should have twelve men with him. when they met, olaf told his men to do exactly as they saw him do. he had a large axe; and when alfvine was going to cut at him with his sword he hewed away the sword out of his hand, and with the next blow struck down alfvine himself. he then bound him fast. it went in the same way with all alfvine's men. they were beaten down, bound, and carried to olaf's lodging. thereupon he ordered alfvine to quit the country, and never appear in it again; and olaf took all his property. olaf in this way got gyda in marriage, and lived sometimes in england, and sometimes in ireland. endnotes: ( ) holm-gang: so called because the combatants went to a holm or uninhabited isle to fight in norway.--l. . king olaf gets his dog vige. while olaf was in ireland he was once on an expedition which went by sea. as they required to make a foray for provisions on the coast, some of his men landed, and drove down a large herd of cattle to the strand. now a peasant came up, and entreated olaf to give him back the cows that belonged to him. olaf told him to take his cows, if he could distinguish them; "but don't delay our march." the peasant had with him a large house-dog, which he put in among the herd of cattle, in which many hundred head of beasts were driven together. the dog ran into the herd, and drove out exactly the number which the peasant had said he wanted; and all were marked with the same mark, which showed that the dog knew the right beasts, and was very sagacious. olaf then asked the peasant if he would sell him the dog. "i would rather give him to you," said the peasant. olaf immediately presented him with a gold ring in return, and promised him his friendship in future. this dog was called vige, and was the very best of dogs, and olaf owned him long afterwards. . harald gormson sails against iceland. the danish king, harald gormson, heard that earl hakon had thrown off christianity, and had plundered far and wide in the danish land. the danish king levied an army, with which he went to norway; and when he came to the country which earl hakon had to rule over he laid waste the whole land, and came with his fleet to some islands called solunder. only five houses were left standing in laeradal; but all the people fled up to the mountains, and into the forest, taking with them all the moveable goods they could carry with them. then the danish king proposed to sail with his fleet to iceland, to avenge the mockery and scorn all the icelanders had shown towards him; for they had made a law in iceland, that they should make as many lampoons against the danish king as there were headlands in his country; and the reason was, because a vessel which belonged to certain icelanders was stranded in denmark, and the danes took all the property, and called it wreck. one of the king's bailiffs called birger was to blame for this; but the lampoons were made against both. in the lampoons were the following lines:-- "the gallant harald in the field between his legs lets drop his shield; into a pony he was changed. and kicked his shield, and safely ranged. and birger, he who dwells in halls for safety built with four stone walls, that these might be a worthy pair, was changed into a pony mare." . harald sends a warlock to iceland. king harald told a warlock to hie to iceland in some altered shape, and to try what he could learn there to tell him: and he set out in the shape of a whale. and when he came near to the land he went to the west side of iceland, north around the land, where he saw all the mountains and hills full of guardian-spirits, some great, some small. when he came to vapnafjord he went in towards the land, intending to go on shore; but a huge dragon rushed down the dale against him with a train of serpents, paddocks, and toads, that blew poison towards him. then he turned to go westward around the land as far as eyjafjord, and he went into the fjord. then a bird flew against him, which was so great that its wings stretched over the mountains on either side of the fjord, and many birds, great and small, with it. then he swam farther west, and then south into breidafjord. when he came into the fjord a large grey bull ran against him, wading into the sea, and bellowing fearfully, and he was followed by a crowd of land-spirits. from thence he went round by reykjanes, and wanted to land at vikarsskeid, but there came down a hill-giant against him with an iron staff in his hands. he was a head higher than the mountains, and many other giants followed him. he then swam eastward along the land, and there was nothing to see, he said, but sand and vast deserts, and, without the skerries, high-breaking surf; and the ocean between the countries was so wide that a long-ship could not cross it. at that time brodhelge dwelt in vapnafjord, eyjolf valgerdson in eyjafjord, thord geller in breidafjord, and thorod gode in olfus. then the danish king turned about with his fleet, and sailed back to denmark. hakon the earl settled habitations again in the country that had been laid waste, and paid no scat as long as he lived to denmark. . harald gormson's death. svein, king harald's son, who afterwards was called tjuguskeg (forked beard), asked his father king harald for a part of his kingdom; but now, as before, harald would not listen to dividing the danish dominions, and giving him a kingdom. svein collected ships of war, and gave out that he was going on a viking cruise; but when all his men were assembled, and the jomsborg viking palnatoke had come to his assistance he ran into sealand to isafjord, where his father had been for some time with his ships ready to proceed on an expedition. svein instantly gave battle, and the combat was severe. so many people flew to assist king harald, that svein was overpowered by numbers, and fled. but king harald received a wound which ended in his death: and svein was chosen king of denmark. at this time sigvalde was earl over jomsborg in vindland. he was a son of king strutharald, who had ruled over skane. heming, and thorkel the tall, were sigvalde's brothers. bue the thick from bornholm, and sigurd his brother, were also chiefs among the jomsborg vikings: and also vagn, a son of ake and thorgunna, and a sister's son of bue and sigurd. earl sigvalde had taken king svein prisoner, and carried him to vindland, to jomsborg, where he had forced him to make peace with burizleif, the king of the vinds, and to take him as the peace-maker between them. earl sigvalde was married to astrid, a daughter of king burizleif; and told king svein that if he did not accept of his terms, he would deliver him into the hands of the vinds. the king knew that they would torture him to death, and therefore agreed to accept the earl's mediation. the earl delivered this judgment between them--that king svein should marry gunhild, king burizleif's daughter; and king burizleif again thyre, a daughter of harald, and king svein's sister; but that each party should retain their own dominions, and there should be peace between the countries. then king svein returned home to denmark with his wife gunhild. their sons were harald and knut (canute) the great. at that time the danes threatened much to bring an army into norway against earl hakon. . vow of the jomsborg vikings. king svein made a magnificent feast, to which he invited all the chiefs in his dominions; for he would give the succession-feast, or the heirship-ale, after his father harald. a short time before, strutharald in skane, and vesete in bornholm, father to bue the thick and to sigurd, had died; and king svein sent word to the jomsborg vikings that earl sigvalde and bue, and their brothers, should come to him, and drink the funeral-ale for their fathers in the same feast the king was giving. the jomsborg vikings came to the festival with their bravest men, forty ships of them from vindland, and twenty ships from skane. great was the multitude of people assembled. the first day of the feast, before king svein went up into his father's high-seat, he drank the bowl to his father's memory, and made the solemn vow, that before three winters were past he would go over with his army to england, and either kill king adalrad (ethelred), or chase him out of the country. this heirship bowl all who were at the feast drank. thereafter for the chiefs of the jomsborg vikings was filled and drunk the largest horn to be found, and of the strongest drink. when that bowl was emptied, all men drank christ's health; and again the fullest measure and the strongest drink were handed to the jomsborg vikings. the third bowl was to the memory of saint michael, which was drunk by all. thereafter earl sigvalde emptied a remembrance bowl to his father's honour, and made the solemn vow, that before three winters came to an end he would go to norway, and either kill earl hakon, or chase him out of the country. thereupon thorkel the tall, his brother, made a solemn vow to follow his brother sigvalde to norway, and not flinch from the battle so long as sigvalde would fight there. then bue the thick vowed to follow them to norway, and not flinch so long as the other jomsborg vikings fought. at last vagn akason vowed that he would go with them to norway, and not return until he had slain thorkel leira, and gone to bed to his daughter ingebjorg without her friends' consent. many other chiefs made solemn vows about different things. thus was the heirship-ale drunk that day, but the next morning, when the jomsborg vikings had slept off their drink, they thought they had spoken more than enough. they held a meeting to consult how they should proceed with their undertaking, and they determined to fit out as speedily as possible for the expedition; and without delay ships and men-at-arms were prepared, and the news spread quickly. . eirik and hakon make a war levy. when earl eirik, the son of hakon, who at that time was in raumarike, heard the tidings, he immediately gathered troops, and went to the uplands, and thence over the mountains to throndhjem, and joined his father earl hakon. thord kolbeinson speaks of this in the lay of eirik:-- "news from the south are flying round; the bonde comes with look profound, bad news of bloody battles bringing, of steel-clad men, of weapons ringing. i hear that in the danish land long-sided ships slide down the strand, and, floating with the rising tide, the ocean-coursers soon will ride." the earls hakon and eirik had war-arrows split up and sent round the throndhjem country; and despatched messages to both the mores, north more and south more, and to raumsdal, and also north to naumudal and halogaland. they summoned all the country to provide both men and ships. so it is said in eirik's lay: "the skald must now a war-song raise, the gallant active youth must praise, who o'er the ocean's field spreads forth ships, cutters, boats, from the far north. his mighty fleet comes sailing by,-- the people run to see them glide, mast after mast, by the coast-side." earl hakon set out immediately to the south, to more, to reconnoitre and gather people; and earl eirik gathered an army from the north to follow. . expedition of the jomsborg vikings. the jomsborg vikings assembled their fleet in limafjord, from whence they went to sea with sixty sail of vessels. when they came under the coast of agder, they steered northwards to rogaland with their fleet, and began to plunder when they came into the earl's territory; and so they sailed north along the coast, plundering and burning. a man, by name geirmund, sailed in a light boat with a few men northwards to more, and there he fell in with earl hakon, stood before his dinner table, and told the earl the tidings of an army from denmark having come to the south end of the land. the earl asked if he had any certainty of it. then geirmund stretched forth one arm, from which the hand was cut off, and said, "here is the token that the enemy is in the land." then the earl questioned him particularly about this army. geirmund says it consists of jomsborg vikings, who have killed many people, and plundered all around. "and hastily and hotly they pushed on," says he "and i expect it will not be long before they are upon you." on this the earl rode into every fjord, going in along the one side of the land and out at the other, collecting men; and thus he drove along night and day. he sent spies out upon the upper ridges, and also southwards into the fjords; and he proceeded north to meet eirik with his men. this appears from eirik's lay:-- "the earl, well skilled in war to speed o'er the wild wave the viking-steed, now launched the high stems from the shore, which death to sigvalde's vikings bore. rollers beneath the ships' keels crash, oar-blades loud in the grey sea splash, and they who give the ravens food row fearless through the curling flood." eirik hastened southwards with his forces the shortest way he could. . of the jomsborg vikings. earl sigvalde steered with his fleet northwards around stad, and came to the land at the herey isles. although the vikings fell in with the country people, the people never told the truth about what the earl was doing; and the vikings went on pillaging and laying waste. they laid to their vessels at the outer end of hod island, landed, plundered, and drove both men and cattle down to the ships, killing all the men able to bear arms. as they were going back to their ships, came a bonde, walking near to bue's troop, who said to them, "ye are not doing like true warriors, to be driving cows and calves down to the strand, while ye should be giving chase to the bear, since ye are coming near to the bear's den." "what says the old man?" asked some. "can he tell us anything about earl hakon?" the peasant replies, "the earl went yesterday into the hjorundarfjord with one or two ships, certainly not more than three, and then he had no news about you." bue ran now with his people in all haste down to the ships, leaving all the booty behind. bue said, "let us avail ourselves now of this news we have got of the earl, and be the first to the victory." when they came to their ships they rode off from the land. earl sigvalde called to them, and asked what they were about. they replied, "the earl is in the fjord;" on which earl sigvalde with the whole fleet set off, and rowed north about the island hod. . battle with the jomsborg vikings. the earls hakon and eirik lay in halkelsvik, where all their forces were assembled. they had ships, and they had heard that the jomsborg vikings had come in from sea, and lay at the island hod; and they, in consequence, rowed out to seek them. when they reached a place called hjorungavag they met each other, and both sides drew up their ships in line for an attack. earl sigvalde's banner was displayed in the midst of his army, and right against it earl hakon arranged his force for attack. earl sigvalde himself had ships, but earl hakon had . in earl's army were these chiefs,--thorer hjort from halogaland, and styrkar from gimsar. in the wing of the opposite array of the jomsborg vikings was bue the thick, and his brother sigurd, with ships. against him earl eirik laid himself with ships; and with him were these chiefs,--gudbrand hvite from the uplands, and thorkel leira from viken. in the other wing of the jomsborg vikings' array was vagn akason with ships; and against him stood svein the son of hakon, in whose division was skegge of yrjar at uphaug, and rognvald of aervik at stad, with ships. it is told in the eirik's lay thus:-- "the bonde's ships along the coast sailed on to meet the foemen's host; the stout earl's ships, with eagle flight, rushed on the danes in bloody fight. the danish ships, of court-men full, were cleared of men,--and many a hull was driving empty on the main, with the warm corpses of the slain." eyvind skaldaspiller says also in the "haleygja-tal":-- "twas at the peep of day,-- our brave earl led the way; his ocean horses bounding-- his war-horns loudly sounding! no joyful morn arose for yngve frey's base foes these christian island-men wished themselves home again." then the fleets came together, and one of the sharpest of conflicts began. many fell on both sides, but the most by far on hakon's side; for the jomsborg vikings fought desperately, sharply, and murderously, and shot right through the shields. so many spears were thrown against earl hakon that his armour was altogether split asunder, and he threw it off. so says tind halkelson:-- "the ring-linked coat of strongest mail could not withstand the iron hail, though sewed with care and elbow bent, by norn ( ), on its strength intent. the fire of battle raged around,-- odin's steel shirt flew all unbound! the earl his ring-mail from him flung, its steel rings on the wet deck rung; part of it fell into the sea,-- a part was kept, a proof to be how sharp and thick the arrow-flight among the sea-steeds in this fight." endnotes: ( ) norn, one of the fates, stands here for women, whose business it was to sew the rings of iron upon the cloth which made these ring-mail coats or shirts. the needles, although some of them were of gold, appear to have been without eyes, and used like shoemaker's awls.--l. . earl sigvalde's flight. the jomsborg vikings had larger and higher-sided ships; and both parties fought desperately. vagn akason laid his ship on board of svein earl hakon's son's ship, and svein allowed his ship to give way, and was on the point of flying. then earl eirik came up, and laid his ship alongside of vagn, and then vagn gave way, and the ships came to lie in the same position as before. thereupon eirik goes to the other wing, which had gone back a little, and bue had cut the ropes, intending to pursue them. then eirik laid himself, board to board, alongside of bue's ship, and there was a severe combat hand to hand. two or three of eirik's ships then laid themselves upon bue's single vessel. a thunder-storm came on at this moment, and such a heavy hail-storm that every hailstone weighed a pennyweight. the earl sigvalde cut his cable, turned his ship round, and took flight. vagn akason called to him not to fly; but as earl sigvalde paid no attention to what he said, vagn threw his spear at him, and hit the man at the helm. earl sigvalde rowed away with ships, leaving of his fleet behind. . bue throws himself overboard. then earl hakon laid his ship on the other side of bue's ship, and now came heavy blows on bue's men. vigfus, a son of vigaglum, took up an anvil with a sharp end, which lay upon the deck, and on which a man had welded the hilt to his sword just before, and being a very strong man cast the anvil with both hands at the head of aslak holmskalle, and the end of it went into his brains. before this no weapon could wound this aslak, who was bue's foster-brother, and forecastle commander, although he could wound right and left. another man among the strongest and bravest was havard hoggande. in this attack eirik's men boarded bue's ship, and went aft to the quarter-deck where bue stood. there thorstein midlang cut at bue across his nose, so that the nosepiece of his helmet was cut in two, and he got a great wound; but bue, in turn, cut at thorstein's side, so that the sword cut the man through. then bue lifted up two chests full of gold, and called aloud, "overboard all bue s men," and threw himself overboard with his two chests. many of his people sprang overboard with him. some fell in the ship, for it was of no use to call for quarter. bue's ship was cleared of people from stem to stern, and afterwards all the others, the one after the other. . vikings bound together in one chain. earl eirik then laid himself alongside of vagn's ship, and there was a brave defence; but at last this ship too was cleared, and vagn and thirty men were taken prisoners, and bound, and brought to land. then came up thorkel leira, and said, "thou madest a solemn vow, vagn, to kill me, but now it seems more likely that i will kill thee." vagn and his men sat all upon a log of wood together. thorkel had an axe in his hands, with which he cut at him who sat outmost on the log. vagn and the other prisoners were bound so that a rope was fastened on their feet, but they had their hands free. one of them said, "i will stick this cloak-pin that i have in my hand into the earth, if it be so that i know anything, after my head is cut off." his head was cut off, but the cloak-pin fell from his hand. there sat also a very handsome man with long hair, who twisted his hair over his head, put out his neck, and said, "don't make my hair bloody." a man took the hair in his hands and held it fast. thorkel hewed with his axe; but the viking twitched his head so strongly that he who was holding his hair fell forwards, and the axe cut off both his hands, and stuck fast in the earth. then earl eirik came up, and asked, "who is that handsome man?" he replies, "i am called sigurd, and am bue's son. but are all the jomsborg vikings dead?" eirik says, "thou art certainly boe's son. wilt thou now take life and peace?" "that depends," says he, "upon who it is that offers it." "he offers who has the power to do it--earl eirik." "that will i," says he, "from his hands." and now the rope was loosened from him. then said thorkel leira, "although thou should give all these men life and peace, earl, vagn akason shall never come from this with life." and he ran at him with uplifted axe; but the viking skarde swung himself in the rope, and let himself fall just before thorkel's feet, so that thorkel ell over him, and vagn caught the axe and gave thorkel a death-wound. then said the earl, "vagn, wilt thou accept life?" "that i will," says he, "if you give it to all of us." "loose them from the rope," said the earl, and it was done. eighteen were killed, and twelve got their lives. . death of gissur of valders. earl hakon, and many with him, were sitting upon a piece of wood, and a bow-string twanged from bue's ship, and the arrow struck gissur from valders, who was sitting next the earl, and was clothed splendidly. thereupon the people went on board, and found havard hoggande standing on his knees at the ship's railing, for his feet had been cut off ( ), and he had a bow in his hand. when they came on board the ship havard asked, "who fell by that shaft?" they answered, "a man called gissur." "then my luck was less than i thought," said he. "great enough was the misfortune," replied they; "but thou shalt not make it greater." and they killed him on the spot. the dead were then ransacked, and the booty brought all together to be divided; and there were twenty-five ships of the jomsborg vikings in the booty. so says tind: "many a viking's body lay dead on the deck this bloody day, before they cut their sun-dried ropes, and in quick flight put all their hopes. he whom the ravens know afar cleared five-and-twenty ships of war: a proof that in the furious fight none can withstand the norsemen's might." then the army dispersed. earl hakon went to throndhjem, and was much displeased that earl eirik had given quarter to vagn akason. it was said that at this battle earl hakon had sacrificed for victory his son, young erling, to the gods; and instantly came the hailstorm, and the defeat and slaughter of the jomsborg vikings. earl eirik went to the uplands, and eastward by that route to his own kingdom, taking vagn akason with him. earl eirik married vagn to ingebjorg, a daughter of thorkel leira, and gave him a good ship of war and all belonging to it, and a crew; and they parted the best of friends. then vagn went home south to denmark, and became afterwards a man of great consideration, and many great people are descended from him. endnotes: ( ) this traditionary tale of a warrior fighting on his knees after his legs were cut off, appears to have been a popular idea among the northmen, and is related by their descendants in the ballad o chevy chase.--l. . king harald grenske's death. harald grenske, as before related, was king in vestfold, and was married to asta, a daughter of gudbrand kula. one summer (a.d. ) harald grenske made an expedition to the baltic to gather property, and he came to svithjod. olaf the swede was king there, a son of eirik the victorious, and sigrid, a daughter of skoglartoste. sigrid was then a widow, and had many and great estates in svithjod. when she heard that her foster-brother was come to the country a short distance from her, she sent men to him to invite him to a feast. he did not neglect the invitation, but came to her with a great attendance of his followers, and was received in the most friendly way. he and the queen sat in the high-seat, and drank together towards the evening, and all his men were entertained in the most hospitable manner. at night, when the king went to rest, a bed was put up for him with a hanging of fine linen around it, and with costly bedclothes; but in the lodging-house there were few men. when the king was undressed, and had gone to bed, the queen came to him, filled a bowl herself for him to drink, and was very gay, and pressed to drink. the king was drunk above measure, and, indeed, so were they both. then he slept, and the queen went away, and laid herself down also. sigrid was a woman of the greatest understanding, and clever in many things. in the morning there was also the most excellent entertainment; but then it went on as usual when people have drunk too much, that next day they take care not to exceed. the queen was very gay, and she and the king talked of many things with each other; among other things she valued her property, and the dominions she had in svithjod, as nothing less than his property in norway. with that observation the king was nowise pleased, and he found no pleasure in anything after that, but made himself ready for his journey in an ill humor. on the other hand, the queen was remarkably gay, and made him many presents, and followed him out to the road. now harald returned about harvest to norway, and was at home all winter; but was very silent and cast down. in summer he went once more to the baltic with his ships, and steered to svithjod. he sent a message to queen sigrid that he wished to have a meeting with her and she rode down to meet him. they talked together and he soon brought out the proposal that she should marry him. she replied, that this was foolish talk for him, who was so well married already that he might think himself well off. harald says, "asta is a good and clever woman; but she is not so well born as i am." sigrid replies, "it may be that thou art of higher birth, but i think she is now pregnant with both your fortunes." they exchanged but few words more before the queen rode away. king harald was now depressed in mind, and prepared himself again to ride up the country to meet queen sigrid. many of his people dissuaded him; but nevertheless he set off with a great attendance, and came to the house in which the queen dwelt. the same evening came another king, called vissavald, from gardarike (russia), likewise to pay his addresses to queen sigrid. lodging was given to both the kings, and to all their people, in a great old room of an out-building, and all the furniture was of the same character; but there was no want of drink in the evening, and that so strong that all were drunk, and the watch, both inside and outside, fell fast asleep. then queen sigrid ordered an attack on them in the night, both with fire and sword. the house was burnt, with all who were in it and those who slipped out were put to the sword. sigrid said that she would make these small kings tired of coming to court her. she was afterwards called sigrid the haughty (storrada). . birth of olaf, son of harald grenske. this happened the winter after the battle of the jomsborg vikings at hjorungavag. when harald went up the country after sigrid, he left hrane behind with the ships to look after the men. now when hrane heard that harald was cut off, he returned to norway the shortest way he could, and told the news. he repaired first to asta, and related to her all that had happened on the journey, and also on what errand harald had visited queen sigrid. when asta got these tidings she set off directly to her father in the uplands, who received her well; but both were enraged at the design which had been laid in svithjod, and that king harald had intended to set her in a single condition. in summer (a.d. ) asta, gudbrand's daughter, was confined, and had a boy child, who had water poured over him, and was called olaf. hrane himself poured water over him, and the child was brought up at first in the house of gudbrand and his mother asta. . about earl hakon. earl hakon ruled over the whole outer part of norway that lies on the sea, and had thus sixteen districts under his sway. the arrangement introduced by harald harfager, that there should be an earl in each district, was afterward continued for a long time; and thus earl hakon had sixteen earls under him. so says the "vellekla":-- "who before has ever known sixteen earls subdued by one? who has seen all norway's land conquered by one brave hero's hand? it will be long in memory held, how hakon ruled by sword and shield. when tales at the viking's mast go round, his praise will every mouth resound." while earl hakon ruled over norway there were good crops in the land, and peace was well preserved in the country among the bondes. the earl, for the greater part of his lifetime, was therefore much beloved by the bondes; but it happened, in the longer course of time, that the earl became very intemperate in his intercourse with women, and even carried it so far that he made the daughters of people of consideration be carried away and brought home to him; and after keeping them a week or two as concubines, he sent them home. he drew upon himself the indignation of me relations of these girls; and the bondes began to murmur loudly, as the throndhjem people have the custom of doing when anything goes against their judgment. . thorer klakka's journey. earl hakon, in the mean time, hears some whisper that to the westward, over the nor h sea, was a man called ole, who was looked upon as a king. from the conversation of some people, he fell upon the suspicion that he must be of the royal race of norway. it was, indeed, said that this ole was from russia; but the earl had heard that trygve olafson had had a son called olaf, who in his infancy had gone east to gardarike, and had been brought up by king valdemar. the earl had carefully inquired about this man, and had his suspicion that he must be the same person who had now come to these western countries. the earl had a very good friend called thorer klakka, who had been long upon viking expeditions, sometimes also upon merchant voyages; so that he was well acquainted all around. this thorer earl hakon sends over the north sea, and told him to make a merchant voyage to dublin, many were in the habit of doing, and carefully to discover who this ole was. provided he got any certainty that he was olaf trygvason, or any other of the norwegian royal race, then thorer should endeavor to ensnare him by some deceit, and bring him into the earl's power. . olaf trygvason comes to norway. on this thorer sails westward to ireland, and hears that ole is in dublin with his wife's father king olaf kvaran. thorer, who was a plausible man, immediately got acquainted with ole; and as they often met, and had long conversations together, ole began to inquire about news from norway, and above all of the upland kings and great people,--which of them were in life, and what dominations they now had. he asked also about earl hakon, and if he was much liked in the country. thorer replies, that the earl is such a powerful man that no one dares to speak otherwise than he would like; but that comes from there being nobody else in the country to look to. "yet, to say the truth, i know it to be the mind of many brave men, and of whole communities, that they would much rather see a king of harald harfager's race come to the kingdom. but we know of no one suited for this, especially now that it is proved how vain every attack on earl hakon must be." as they often talked together in the same strain, olaf disclosed to thorer his name and family, and asked him his opinion, and whether he thought the bondes would take him for their king if he were to appear in norway. thorer encouraged him very eagerly to the enterprise, and praised him and his talents highly. then olaf's inclination to go to the heritage of his ancestors became strong. olaf sailed accordingly, accompanied by thorer, with five ships; first to the hebrides, and from thence to the orkneys. at that time earl sigurd, hlodver's son, lay in osmundswall, in the island south ronaldsa, with a ship of war, on his way to caithness. just at the same time olaf was sailing with his fleet from the westward to the islands, and ran into the same harbour, because pentland firth was not to be passed at that tide. when the king was informed that the earl was there, he made him be called; and when the earl came on board to speak with the king, after a few words only had passed between them, the king says the earl must allow himself to be baptized, and all the people of the country also, or he should be put to death directly; and he assured the earl he would lay waste the islands with fire and sword, if the people did not adopt christianity. in the position the earl found himself, he preferred becoming christian, and he and all who were with him were baptized. afterwards the earl took an oath to the king, went into his service, and gave him his son, whose name was hvelp (whelp), or hunde (dog), as an hostage; and the king took hvelp to norway with him. thereafter olaf went out to sea to the eastward, and made the land at morster island, where he first touched the ground of norway. he had high mass sung in a tent, and afterwards on the spot a church was built. thorer klakka said now to the king, that the best plan for him would be not to make it known who he was, or to let any report about him get abroad; but to seek out earl hakon as fast as possible and fall upon him by surprise. king olaf did so, sailing northward day and night, when wind permitted, and did not let the people of the country know who it was that was sailing in such haste. when he came north to agdanes, he heard that the earl was in the fjord, and was in discord with the bondes. on hearing this, thorer saw that things were going in a very different way from what he expected; for after the battle with the jomsborg vikings all men in norway were the most sincere friends of the earl on account of the victory he had gained, and of the peace and security he had given to the country; and now it unfortunately turns out that a great chief has come to the country at a time when the bondes are in arms against the earl. . earl hakon's flight. earl hakon was at a feast in medalhus in gaulardal and his ships lay out by viggja. there was a powerful bonde, by name orm lyrgja, who dwelt in bunes, who had a wife called gudrun, a daughter of bergthor of lundar. she was called the lundasol; for she was the most-beautiful of women. the earl sent his slaves to orm, with the errand that they should bring orm's wife, gudrun, to the earl. the thralls tell their errand, and orm bids them first seat themselves to supper; but before they had done eating, many people from the neighbourhood, to whom orm had sent notice, had gathered together: and now orm declared he would not send gudrun with the messengers. gudrun told the thralls to tell the earl that she would not come to him, unless he sent thora of rimul after her. thora was a woman of great influence, and one of the earl's best beloved. the thralls say that they will come another time, and both the bonde and his wife would be made to repent of it; and they departed with many threats. orm, on the other hand, sent out a message-token to all the neighbouring country, and with it the message to attack earl hakon with weapons and kill him. he sent also a message to haldor in skerdingsstedja, who also sent out his message-token. a short time before, the earl had taken away the wife of a man called brynjolf, and there had very nearly been an insurrection about that business. having now again got this message-token, the people made a general revolt, and set out all to medalhus. when the earl heard of this, he left the house with his followers, and concealed himself in a deep glen, now called jarlsdal (earl's dale). later in the day, the earl got news of the bondes' army. they had beset all the roads; but believed the earl had escaped to his ships, which his son erlend, a remarkably handsome and hopeful young man, had the command of. when night came the earl dispersed his people, and ordered them to go through the forest roads into orkadal; "for nobody will molest you," said he, "when i am not with you. send a message to erlend to sail out of the fjord, and meet me in more. in the mean time i will conceal myself from the bondes." then the earl went his way with one thrall or slave, called kark, attending him. there was ice upon the gaul (the river of gaulardal), and the earl drove his horse upon it, and left his coat lying upon the ice. they then went to a hole, since called jarlshella (the earl's hole), where they slept. when kark awoke he told his dream,--that a black threatening mad had come into the hole, and was angry that people should have entered it; and that the man had said, "ulle is dead." the earl said that his son erlend must be killed. kark slept again and was again disturbed in his sleep; and when he awoke he told his dream,--that the same man had again appeared to him, and bade him tell the earl that all the sounds were closed. from this dream the earl began to suspect that it betokened a short life to him. they stood up, and went to the house of rimul. the earl now sends kark to thora, and begs of her to come secretly to him. she did so and received the earl kindly and he begged her to conceal him for a few nights until the army of the bondes had dispersed. "here about my house," said she, "you will be hunted after, both inside and outside; for many know that i would willingly help you if i can. there is but one place about the house where they could never expect to find such a man as you, and that is the swine-stye." when they came there the earl said, "well, let it be made ready for us; as to save our life is the first and foremost concern." the slave dug a great hole in it, bore away the earth that he dug out, and laid wood over it. thora brought the tidings to the earl that olaf trygvason had come from sea into the fjord, and had killed his son erlend. then the earl and kark both went into the hole. thora covered it with wood, and threw earth and dung over it, and drove the swine upon the top of it. the swine-style was under a great stone. . erlend's death. olaf trygvason came from sea into the fjord with five long-ships, and erlend, hakon's son, rowed towards him with three ships. when the vessels came near to each other, erlend suspected they might be enemies, and turned towards the land. when olaf and his followers saw long-ships coming in haste out of the fjord, and rowing towards them, they thought earl hakon must be here; and they put out all oars to follow them. as soon as erlend and his ships got near the land they rowed aground instantly, jumped overboard, and took to the land; but at the same instant olaf's ship came up with them. olaf saw a remarkably handsome man swimming in the water, and laid hold of a tiller and threw it at him. the tiller struck erlend, the son of hakon the earl, on the head, and clove it to the brain; and there left erlend his life. olaf and his people killed many; but some escaped, and some were made prisoners, and got life and freedom that they might go and tell what had happened. they learned then that the bondes had driven away earl hakon, and that he had fled, and his troops were all dispersed. . earl hakon's death. the bondes then met olaf, to the joy of both, and they made an agreement together. the bondes took olaf to be their king, and resolved, one and all, to seek out earl hakon. they went up gaulardal; for it seemed to them likely that if the earl was concealed in any house it must be at rimul, for thora was his dearest friend in that valley. they come up, therefore, and search everywhere, outside and inside the house, but could not find him. then olaf held a house thing (trusting), or council out in the yard, and stood upon a great stone which lay beside the swine-stye, and made a speech to the people, in which he promised to enrich the man with rewards and honours who should kill the earl. this speech was heard by the earl and the thrall kark. they had a light in their room. "why art thou so pale," says the earl, "and now again black as earth? thou hast not the intention to betray me?" "by no means," replies kark. "we were born on the same night," says the earl, "and the time will be short between our deaths." king olaf went away in the evening. when night came the earl kept himself awake but kark slept, and was disturbed in his sleep. the earl woke him, and asked him "what he was dreaming of?" he answered, "i was at hlader and olaf trygvason was laying a gold ring about my neck." the earl says, "it will be a red ring olaf will lay about thy neck if he catches thee. take care of that! from me thou shalt enjoy all that is good, therefore betray me not." they then kept themselves awake both; the one, as it were, watching upon the other. but towards day the earl suddenly dropped asleep; but his sleep was so unquiet that he drew his heels under him, and raised his neck, as if going to rise, and screamed dreadfully high. on this kark, dreadfully alarmed, drew a large knife out of his belt, stuck it in the earl's throat, and cut it across, and killed earl hakon. then kark cut off the earl's head, and ran away. late in the day he came to hlader, where he delivered the earl's head to king olaf, and told all these circumstances of his own and earl hakon's doings. olaf had him taken out and beheaded. . earl hakon's head. king olaf, and a vast number of bondes with him, then went out to nidarholm, and had with him the heads of earl hakon and kark. this holm was used then for a place of execution of thieves and ill-doers, and there stood a gallows on it. he had the heads of the earl and of kark hung upon it, and the whole army of the bondes cast stones at them, screaming and shouting that the one worthless fellow had followed the other. they then sent up to gaulardal for the earl's dead body. so great was the enmity of the throndhjem people against earl hakon, that no man could venture to call him by any other name than hakon the bad; and he was so called long after those days. yet, sooth to say of earl hakon, he was in many respects fitted to be a chief: first, because he was descended from a high race; then because he had understanding and knowledge to direct a government; also manly courage in battle to gain victories, and good luck in killing his enemies. so says thorleif raudfeldson:-- "in norway's land was never known a braver earl than the brave hakon. at sea, beneath the clear moon's light, no braver man e'er sought to fight. nine kings to odin's wide domain were sent, by hakon's right hand slain! so well the raven-flocks were fed-- so well the wolves were filled with dead!" earl hakon was very generous; but the greatest misfortunes attended even such a chief at the end of his days: and the great cause of this was that the time was come when heathen sacrifices and idolatrous worship were doomed to fall, and the holy faith and good customs to come in their place. . olaf trygvason elected king. olaf trvgvason was chosen at throndhjem by the general thing to be the king over the whole country, as harald harfager had been. the whole public and the people throughout all the land would listen to nothing else than that olaf trygvason should be king. then olaf went round the whole country, and brought it under his rule, and all the people of norway gave in their submission; and also the chiefs in the uplands and in viken, who before had held their lands as fiefs from the danish king, now became king olaf's men, and held their hands from him. he went thus through the whole country during the first winter (a.d. ) and the following summer. earl eirik, the son of earl hakon, his brother svein, and their friends and relations, fled out of the country, and went east to sweden to king olaf the swede, who gave them a good reception. so says thord kolbeinson:-- "o thou whom bad men drove away, after the bondes by foul play, took hakon's life! fate will pursue these bloody wolves, and make them rue. when the host came from out the west, like some tall stately war-ship's mast, i saw the son of trygve stand, surveying proud his native land." and again,-- "eirik has more upon his mind, against the new norse king designed, than by his words he seems to show-- and truly it may well be so. stubborn and stiff are throndhjem men, but throndhjem's earl may come again; in swedish land he knows no rest-- fierce wrath is gathering in his breast." . lodin's marriage lodin was the name of a man from viken who was rich and of good family. he went often on merchant voyages, and sometimes on viking cruises. it happened one summer that he went on a merchant voyage with much merchandise in a ship of his own. he directed his course first to eistland, and was there at a market in summer. to the place at which the market was held many merchant goods were brought, and also many thralls or slaves for sale. there lodin saw a woman who was to be sold as a slave: and on looking at her he knew her to be astrid eirik's daughter, who had been married to king trygve. but now she was altogether unlike what she had been when he last saw her; for now she was pale, meagre in countenance, and ill clad. he went up to her, and asked her how matters stood with her. she replied, "it is heavy to be told; for i have been sold as a slave, and now again i am brought here for sale." after speaking together a little astrid knew him, and begged him to buy her; and bring her home to her friends. "on this condition," said he, "i will bring thee home tn norway, that thou wilt marry me." now as astrid stood in great need, and moreover knew that lodin was a man of high birth, rich, and brave, she promised to do so for her ransom. lodin accordingly bought astrid, took her home to norway with him, and married her with her friends' consent. their children were thorkel nefia, ingerid, and ingegerd. ingebjorg and astrid were daughters of astrid by king trygve. eirik bjodaskalle's sons were sigird, karlshofud, jostein, and thorkel dydril, who were all rich and brave people who had estates east in the country. in viken in the east dwelt two brothers, rich and of good descent; one called thorgeir, and the other hyrning; and they married lodin and astrid's daughters, ingerid and ingegerd. . olaf baptizes the country of viken. when harald gormson, king of denmark, had adopted christianity, he sent a message over all his kingdom that all people should be baptized, and converted to the true faith. he himself followed his message, and used power and violence where nothing else would do. he sent two earls, urguthrjot and brimilskjar, with many people to norway, to proclaim christianity there. in viken, which stood directly under the king's power, this succeeded, and many were baptized of the country folk. but when svein forked-beard, immediately after his father king harald's death, went out on war expeditions in saxland, frisland, and at last in england, the northmen who had taken up christianity returned back to heathen sacrifices, just as before; and the people in the north of the country did the same. but now that olaf trygvason was king of norway, he remained long during the summer (a.d. ) in viken, where many of his relatives and some of his brothers-in-law were settled, and also many who had been great friends of his father; so that he was received with the greatest affection. olaf called together his mother's brothers, his stepfather lodin, and his brothers-in-law thorgeir and hyrning, to speak with them, and to disclose with the greatest care the business which he desired they themselves should approve of, and support with all their power; namely, the proclaiming christianity over all his kingdom. he would, he declared, either bring it to this, that all norway should be christian, or die. "i shall make you all," said he, "great and mighty men in promoting this work; for i trust to you most, as blood relations or brothers-in-law." all agreed to do what he asked, and to follow him in what he desired. king olaf immediately made it known to the public that he recommended christianity to all the people in his kingdom, which message was well received and approved of by those who had before given him their promise; and these being the most powerful among the people assembled, the others followed their example, and all the inhabitants of the east part of viken allowed themselves to be baptized. the king then went to the north part of viken and invited every man to accept christianity; and those who opposed him he punished severely, killing some, mutilating others, and driving some into banishment. at length he brought it so far, that all the kingdom which his father king trvgve had ruled over, and also that of his relation harald grenske, accepted of christianity; and during that summer (a.d. ) and the following winter (a.d. ) all viken was made christian. . of the hordaland people. early in spring (a.d. ) king olaf set out from viken with a great force northwards to agder, and proclaimed that every man should be baptized. and thus the people received christianity, for nobody dared oppose the king's will, wheresoever he came. in hordaland, however, were many bold and great men of hordakare's race. he, namely, had left four sons,--the first thorleif spake; the second, ogmund, father of thorolf skialg, who was father of erling of sole; the third was thord father of the herse klyp who killed king sigurd slefa, gunhild's son; and lastly, olmod, father of askel, whose son was aslak fitjaskalle; and that family branch was the greatest and most considered in hordaland. now when this family heard the bad tidings, that the king was coming along the country from the eastward with a great force, and was breaking the ancient law of the people, and imposing punishment and hard conditions on all who opposed him, the relatives appointed a meeting to take counsel with each other, for they knew the king would come down upon them at once: and they all resolved to appear in force at the gula-thing, there to hold a conference with king olaf trygvason. . rogaland baptized. when king olaf came to rogaland, he immediately summoned the people to a thing; and when the bondes received the message-token for a thing, they assembled in great numbers well armed. after they had come together, they resolved to choose three men, the best speakers of the whole, who should answer king olaf, and argue with the king; and especially should decline to accept of anything against the old law, even if the king should require it of them. now when the bondes came to the thing, and the thing was formed, king olaf arose, and at first spoke good-humoredly to the people; but they observed he wanted them to accept christianity, with all his fine words: and in the conclusion he let them know that those who should speak against him, and not submit to his proposal, must expect his displeasure and punishment, and all the ill that it was in his power to inflict. when he had ended his speech, one of the bondes stood up, who was considered the most eloquent, and who had been chosen as the first who should reply to king olaf. but when he would begin to speak such a cough seized him, and such a difficulty of breathing, that he could not bring out a word, and had to sit down again. then another bonde stood up, resolved not to let an answer be wanting, although it had gone so ill with the former: but he stammered so that he could not get a word uttered, and all present set up a laughter, amid which the bonde sat down again. and now the third stood up to make a speech against king olaf's; but when he began he became so hoarse and husky in his throat, that nobody could hear a word he said, and he also had to sit down. there was none of the bondes now to speak against the king, and as nobody answered him there was no opposition; and it came to this, that all agreed to what the king had proposed. all the people of the thing accordingly were baptized before the thing was dissolved. . erling skjalgson's wooing. king olaf went with his men-at-arms to the gula-thing; for the bondes had sent him word that they would reply there to his speech. when both parties had come to the thing, the king desired first to have a conference with the chief people of the country; and when the meeting was numerous the king set forth his errand,--that he desired them, according to his proposal, to allow themselves to be baptized. then said olmod the old, "we relations have considered together this matter, and have come to one resolution. if thou thinkest, king, to force us who are related together to such things as to break our old law, or to bring us under thyself by any sort of violence, then will we stand against thee with all our might: and be the victory to him to whom fate ordains it. but if thou, king, wilt advance our relations' fortunes, then thou shalt have leave to do as thou desirest, and we will all serve thee with zeal in thy purpose." the king replies, "what do you propose for obtaining this agreement?" then answers olmod, "the first is, that thou wilt give thy sister astrid in marriage to erling skjalgson, our relation, whom we look upon as the most hopeful young man in all norway." king olaf replied, that this marriage appeared to him also very suitable; "as erling is a man of good birth, and a good-looking man in appearance: but astrid herself must answer to this proposal." thereupon the king spoke to his sister. she said, "it is but of little use that i am a king's sister, and a king's daughter, if i must marry a man who has no high dignity or office. i will rather wait a few years for a better match." thus ended this conference. . hordaland baptized. king olaf took a falcon that belonged to astrid, plucked off all its feathers, and then sent it to her. then said astrid, "angry is my brother." and she stood up, and went to the king, who received her kindly, and she said that she left it to the king to determine her marriage. "i think," said the king, "that i must have power enough in this land to raise any man i please to high dignity." then the king ordered olmod and erling to be called to a conference, and all their relations; and the marriage was determined upon, and astrid betrothed to erling. thereafter the king held the thing, and recommended christianity to the bondes; and as olmod, and erling, and all their relations, took upon themselves the most active part in forwarding the king's desire, nobody dared to speak against it; and all the people were baptized, and adopted christianity. . erling skjalgson's wedding. erling skjalgson had his wedding in summer, and a great many people were assembled at it. king olaf was also there, and offered erling an earldom. erling replied thus: "all my relations have been herses only, and i will take no higher title than they have; but this i will accept from thee, king, that thou makest me the greatest of that title in the country." the king consented; and at his departure the king invested his brother-in law erling with all the land north of the sognefjord, and east to the lidandisnes, on the same terms as harald harfager had given land to his sons, as before related. . raumsdal and fjord-districts baptized. the same harvest king olaf summoned the bondes to a thing of the four districts at dragseid, in stad: and there the people from sogn, the fjord-districts, south more, and raumsdal, were summoned to meet. king olaf came there with a great many people who had followed him from the eastward, and also with those who had joined him from rogaland and hordaland. when the king came to the thing, he proposed to them there, as elsewhere, christianity; and as the king had such a powerful host with him, they were frightened. the king offered them two conditions,--either to accept christianity, or to fight. but the bondes saw they were in no condition to fight the king, and resolved, therefore, that all the people should agree to be baptized. the king proceeded afterwards to north more, and baptized all that district. he then sailed to hlader, in throndhjem; had the temple there razed to the ground; took all the ornaments and all property out of the temple, and from the gods in it; and among other things the great gold ring which earl hakon had ordered to be made, and which hung in the door of the temple; and then had the temple burnt. but when the bondes heard of this, they sent out a war-arrow as a token through the whole district, ordering out a warlike force, and intended to meet the king with it. in the meantime king olaf sailed with a war force out of the fjord along the coast northward, intending to proceed to halogaland, and baptize there. when he came north to bjarnaurar, he heard from halogaland that a force was assembled there to defend the country against the king. the chiefs of this force were harek of thjotta, thorer hjort from vagar, and eyvind kinrifa. now when king olaf heard this, he turned about and sailed southwards along the land; and when he got south of stad proceeded at his leisure, and came early in winter (a.d. ) all the way east to viken. . olaf proposes marriage to queen sigrid. queen sigrid in svithjod, who had for surname the haughty, sat in her mansion, and during the same winter messengers went between king olaf and sigrid to propose his courtship to her, and she had no objection; and the matter was fully and fast resolved upon. thereupon king olaf sent to queen sigrid the great gold ring he had taken from the temple door of hlader, which was considered a distinguished ornament. the meeting for concluding the business was appointed to be in spring on the frontier, at the gaut river. now the ring which king olaf had sent queen sigrid was highly prized by all men; yet the queen's gold-smiths, two brothers, who took the ring in their hands, and weighed it, spoke quietly to each other about it, and in a manner that made the queen call them to her, and ask "what they smiled at?" but they would not say a word, and she commanded them to say what it was they had discovered. then they said the ring is false. upon this she ordered the ring to be broken into pieces, and it was found to be copper inside. then the queen was enraged, and said that olaf would deceive her in more ways than this one. in the same year (a.d. ) king olaf went into ringenke, and there the people also were baptized. . olaf haraldson baptized. asta, the daughter of gudbrand, soon after the fall of harald grenske married again a man who was called sigurd syr, who was a king in ringerike. sigurd was a son of halfdan, and grandson of sigurd hrise, who was a son of harald harfager. olaf, the son of asta and harald grenske, lived with asta, and was brought up from childhood in the house of his stepfather, sigurd syr. now when king olaf trygvason came to ringerike to spread christianity, sigurd syr and his wife allowed themselves to be baptized, along with olaf her son; and olaf trygvason was godfather to olaf, the stepson of harald grenske. olaf was then three years old. olaf returned from thence to viken, where he remained all winter. he had now been three years king in norway (a.d. ). . meeting of olaf and sigrid. early in spring (a.d. ) king olaf went eastwards to konungahella to the meeting with queen sigrid; and when they met the business was considered about which the winter before they had held communication, namely, their marriage; and the business seemed likely to be concluded. but when olaf insisted that sigrid should let herself be baptized, she answered thus:--"i must not part from the faith which i have held, and my forefathers before me; and, on the other hand, i shall make no objection to your believing in the god that pleases you best." then king olaf was enraged, and answered in a passion, "why should i care to have thee, an old faded woman, and a heathen jade?" and therewith struck her in the face with his glove which he held in his hands, rose up, and they parted. sigrid said, "this may some day be thy death." the king set off to viken, the queen to svithjod. . the burning of warlocks. then the king proceeded to tunsberg, and held a thing, at which he declared in a speech that all the men of whom it should be known to a certainty that they dealt with evil spirits, or in witchcraft, or were sorcerers, should be banished forth of the land. thereafter the king had all the neighborhood ransacked after such people, and called them all before him; and when they were brought to the thing there was a man among them called eyvind kelda, a grandson of ragnvald rettilbeine, harald harfager's son. eyvind was a sorcerer, and particularly knowing in witchcraft. the king let all these men be seated in one room, which was well adorned, and made a great feast for them, and gave them strong drink in plenty. now when they were all very drunk, he ordered the house be set on fire, and it and all the people within it were consumed, all but eyvind kelda, who contrived to escape by the smoke-hole in the roof. and when he had got a long way off, he met some people on the road going to the king, and he told them to tell the king that eyvind kelda had slipped away from the fire, and would never come again in king olaf's power, but would carry on his arts of witchcraft as much as ever. when the people came to the king with such a message from eyvind, the king was ill pleased that eyvind had escaped death. . eyvind kelda's death. when spring (a.d. ) came king olaf went out to viken, and was on visits to his great farms. he sent notice over all viken that he would call out an army in summer, and proceed to the north parts of the country. then he went north to agder; and when easter was approaching he took the road to rogaland with (= ) men, and came on easter evening north to ogvaldsnes, in kormt island, where an easter feast was prepared for him. that same night came eyvind kelda to the island with a well-manned long-ship, of which the whole crew consisted of sorcerers and other dealers with evil spirits. eyvind went from his ship to the land with his followers, and there they played many of their pranks of witchcraft. eyvind clothed them with caps of darkness, and so thick a mist that the king and his men could see nothing of them; but when they came near to the house at ogvaldsnes, it became clear day. then it went differently from what eyvind had intended: for now there came just such a darkness over him and his comrades in witchcraft as they had made before, so that they could see no more from their eyes than from the back of their heads but went round and round in a circle upon the island. when the king's watchman saw them going about, without knowing what people these were, they told the king. thereupon he rose up with his people, put on his clothes, and when he saw eyvind with his men wandering about he ordered his men to arm, and examine what folk these were. the king's men discovered it was eyvind, took him and all his company prisoners, and brought them to the king. eyvind now told all he had done on his journey. then the king ordered these all to be taken out to a skerry which was under water in flood tide, and there to be left bound. eyvind and all with him left their lives on this rock, and the skerry is still called skrattasker. . olaf and odin's apparition. it is related that once on a time king olaf was at a feast at this ogvaldsnes, and one eventide there came to him an old man very gifted in words, and with a broad-brimmed hat upon his head. he was one-eyed, and had something to tell of every land. he entered into conversation with the king; and as the king found much pleasure in the guest's speech, he asked him concerning many things, to which the guest gave good answers: and the king sat up late in the evening. among other things, the king asked him if he knew who the ogvald had been who had given his name both to the ness and to the house. the guest replied, that this ogvald was a king, and a very valiant man, and that he made great sacrifices to a cow which he had with him wherever he went, and considered it good for his health to drink her milk. this same king ogvald had a battle with a king called varin, in which battle ogvald fell. he was buried under a mound close to the house; "and there stands his stone over him, and close to it his cow also is laid." such and many other things, and ancient events, the king inquired after. now, when the king had sat late into the night, the bishop reminded him that it was time to go to bed, and the king did so. but after the king was undressed, and had laid himself in bed, the guest sat upon the foot-stool before the bed, and still spoke long with the king; for after one tale was ended, he still wanted a new one. then the bishop observed to the king, it was time to go to sleep, and the king did so; and the guest went out. soon after the king awoke, asked for the guest, and ordered him to be called, but the guest was not to be found. the morning after, the king ordered his cook and cellar-master to be called, and asked if any strange person had been with them. they said, that as they were making ready the meat a man came to them, and observed that they were cooking very poor meat for the king's table; whereupon he gave them two thick and fat pieces of beef, which they boiled with the rest of the meat. then the king ordered that all the meat should be thrown away, and said this man can be no other than the odin whom the heathens have so long worshipped; and added, "but odin shall not deceive us." . the thing in throndhjem. king olaf collected a great army in the east of the country towards summer, and sailed with it north to nidaros in the throndhjem country. from thence he sent a message-token over all the fjord, calling the people of eight different districts to a thing; but the bondes changed the thing-token into a war-token; and called together all men, free and unfree, in all the throndhjem land. now when the king met the thing, the whole people came fully armed. after the thing was seated, the king spoke, and invited them to adopt christianity; but he had only spoken a short time when the bondes called out to him to be silent, or they would attack him and drive him away. "we did so," said they, "with hakon foster-son of athelstan, when he brought us the same message, and we held him in quite as much respect as we hold thee." when king olaf saw how incensed the bondes were, and that they had such a war force that he could make no resistance, he turned his speech as if he would give way to the bondes, and said, "i wish only to be in a good understanding with you as of old; and i will come to where ye hold your greatest sacrifice-festival, and see your customs, and thereafter we shall consider which to hold by." and in this all agreed; and as the king spoke mildly and friendly with the bondes, their answer was appeased, and their conference with the king went off peacefully. at the close of it a midsummer sacrifice was fixed to take place in maeren, and all chiefs and great bondes to attend it as usual. the king was to be at it. . jarnskegge or iron beard. there was a great bonde called skegge, and sometimes jarnskegge, or iron beard, who dwelt in uphaug in yrjar. he spoke first at the thing to olaf; and was the foremost man of the bondes in speaking against christianity. the thing was concluded in this way for that time,--the bondes returned home, and the king went to hlader. . the feast at hlader. king olaf lay with his ships in the river nid, and had thirty vessels, which were manned with many brave people; but the king himself was often at hlader, with his court attendants. as the time now was approaching at which the sacrifices should be made at maeren, the king prepared a great feast at hlader, and sent a message to the districts of strind, gaulardal, and out to orkadal, to invite the chiefs and other great bondes. when the feast was ready, and the chiefs assembled, there was a handsome entertainment the first evening, at which plenty of liquor went round, and the guests were made very drunk. the night after they all slept in peace. the following morning, when the king was dressed, he had the early mass sung before him; and when the mass was over, ordered to sound the trumpets for a house thing: upon which all his men left the ships to come up to the thing. when the thing was seated, the king stood up, and spoke thus: "we held a thing at frosta, and there i invited the bondes to allow themselves to be baptized; but they, on the other hand, invited me to offer sacrifice to their gods, as king hakon, athelstan's foster-son, had done; and thereafter it was agreed upon between us that we should meet at maerin, and there make a great sacrifice. now if i, along with you, shall turn again to making sacrifice, then will i make the greatest of sacrifices that are in use; and i will sacrifice men. but i will not select slaves or malefactors for this, but will take the greatest men only to be offered to the gods; and for this i select orm lygra of medalhus, styrkar of gimsar, kar of gryting, asbjorn thorbergson of varnes, orm of lyxa, haldor of skerdingsstedja;" and besides these he named five others of the principal men. all these, he said, he would offer in sacrifice to the gods for peace and a fruitful season; and ordered them to be laid hold of immediately. now when the bondes saw that they were not strong enough to make head against the king, they asked for peace, and submitted wholly to the king's pleasure. so it was settled that all the bondes who had come there should be baptized, and should take an oath to the king to hold by the right faith, and to renounce sacrifice to the gods. the king then kept all these men as hostages who came to his feast, until they sent him their sons, brothers, or other near relations. . of the thing in throndhjem. king olaf went in with all his forces into the throndhjem country; and when he came to maeren all among the chiefs of the throndhjem people who were most opposed to christianity were assembled, and had with them all the great bondes who had before made sacrifice at that place. there was thus a greater multitude of bondes than there had been at the frosta-thing. now the king let the people be summoned to the thing, where both parties met armed; and when the thing was seated the king made a speech, in which he told the people to go over to christianity. jarnskegge replies on the part of the bondes, and says that the will of the bondes is now, as formerly, that the king should not break their laws. "we want, king," said he, "that thou shouldst offer sacrifice, as other kings before thee have done." all the bondes applauded his speech with a loud shout, and said they would have all things according to what skegge said. then the king said he would go into the temple of their gods with them, and see what the practices were when they sacrificed. the bondes thought well of this proceeding, and both parties went to the temple. . the throndhjem people baptized. now king olaf entered into the temple with some few of his men and a few bondes; and when the king came to where their gods were, thor, as the most considered among their gods, sat there adorned with gold and silver. the king lifted up his gold-inlaid axe which he carried in his hands, and struck thor so that the image rolled down from its seat. then the king's men turned to and threw down all the gods from their seats; and while the king was in the temple, jarnskegge was killed outside of the temple doors, and the king's men did it. when the king came forth out of the temple he offered the bondes two conditions,--that all should accept of christianity forthwith, or that they should fight with him. but as skegge was killed, there was no leader in the bondes' army to raise the banner against king olaf; so they took the other condition, to surrender to the king's will and obey his order. then king olaf had all the people present baptized, and took hostages from them for their remaining true to christianity; and he sent his men round to every district, and no man in the throndhjem country opposed christianity, but all people took baptism. . a town in the throndhjem country. king olaf with his people went out to nidaros, and made houses on the flat side of the river nid, which he raised to be a merchant town, and gave people ground to build houses upon. the king's house he had built just opposite skipakrok; and he transported thither, in harvest, all that was necessary for his winter residence, and had many people about him there. . king olaf's marriage. king olaf appointed a meeting with the relations of jarnskegge, and offered them the compensation or penalty for his bloodshed; for there were many bold men who had an interest in that business. jarnskegge had a daughter called gudrun; and at last it was agreed upon between the parties that the king should take her in marriage. when the wedding day came king olaf and gudrun went to bed together. as soon as gudrun, the first night they lay together, thought the king was asleep, she drew a knife, with which she intended to run him through; but the king saw it, took the knife from her, got out of bed, and went to his men, and told them what had happened. gudrun also took her clothes, and went away along with all her men who had followed her thither. gudrun never came into the king's bed again. . building of the ship crane. the same autumn (a.d. ) king olaf laid the keel of a great long-ship out on the strand at the river nid. it was a snekkja; and he employed many carpenters upon her, so that early in winter the vessel was ready. it had thirty benches for rowers, was high in stem and stern, but was not broad. the king called this ship tranen (the crane). after jarnskegge's death his body was carried to yrjar, and lies there in the skegge mound on austrat. . thangbrand the priest goes to iceland. when king olaf trygvason had been two years king of norway (a.d. ), there was a saxon priest in his house who was called thangbrand, a passionate, ungovernable man, and a great man-slayer; but he was a good scholar, and a clever man. the king would not have him in his house upon account of his misdeeds; but gave him the errand to go to iceland, and bring that land to the christian faith. the king gave him a merchant vessel: and, as far as we know of this voyage of his, he landed first in iceland at austfjord in the southern alptfjord, and passed the winter in the house of hal of sida. thangbrand proclaimed christianity in iceland, and on his persuasion hal and all his house people, and many other chiefs, allowed themselves to be baptized; but there were many more who spoke against it. thorvald veile and veterlide the skald composed a satire about thangbrand; but he killed them both outright. thangbrand was two years in iceland, and was the death of three men before he left it. . of sigurd and hauk. there was a man called sigurd, and another called hauk, both of halogaland, who often made merchant voyages. one summer (a.d. ) they had made a voyage westward to england; and when they came back to norway they sailed northwards along the coast, and at north more they met king olaf's people. when it was told the king that some halogaland people were come who were heathen, he ordered the steersmen to be brought to him, and he asked them if they would consent to be baptized; to which they replied, no. the king spoke with them in many ways, but to no purpose. he then threatened them with death and torture: but they would not allow themselves to be moved. he then had them laid in irons, and kept them in chains in his house for some time, and often conversed with them, but in vain. at last one night they disappeared, without any man being able to conjecture how they got away. but about harvest they came north to harek of thjotta, who received them kindly, and with whom they stopped all winter (a.d. ), and were hospitably entertained. . of harek of thjotta. it happened one good-weather day in spring (a.d. ) that harek was at home in his house with only few people, and time hung heavy on his hands. sigurd asked him if he would row a little for amusement. harek was willing; and they went to the shore, and drew down a six-oared skiff; and sigurd took the mast and rigging belonging to the boat out of the boat-house, for they often used to sail when they went for amusement on the water. harek went out into the boat to hang the rudder. the brothers sigurd and hauk, who were very strong men, were fully armed, as they were used to go about at home among the peasants. before they went out to the boat they threw into her some butter-kits and a bread-chest, and carried between them a great keg of ale. when they had rowed a short way from the island the brothers hoisted the sail, while harek was seated at the helm; and they sailed away from the island. then the two brothers went aft to where harek the bonde was sitting; and sigurd says to him, "now thou must choose one of these conditions,--first, that we brothers direct this voyage; or, if not, that we bind thee fast and take the command; or, third, that we kill thee." harek saw how matters stood with him. as a single man, he was not better than one of those brothers, even if he had been as well armed; so it appeared to him wisest to let them determine the course to steer, and bound himself by oath to abide by this condition. on this sigurd took the helm, and steered south along the land, the brothers taking particular care that they did not encounter people. the wind was very favourable; and they held on sailing along until they came south to throndhjem and to nidaros, where they found the king. then the king called harek to him, and in a conference desired him to be baptized. harek made objections; and although the king and harek talked over it many times, sometimes in the presence of other people, and sometimes alone, they could not agree upon it. at last the king says to harek, "now thou mayst return home, and i will do thee no injury; partly because we are related together, and partly that thou mayst not have it to say that i caught thee by a trick: but know for certain that i intend to come north next summer to visit you halogalanders, and ye shall then see if i am not able to punish those who reject christianity." harek was well pleased to get away as fast as he could. king olaf gave harek a good boat of ten or twelve pair of oars, and let it be fitted out with the best of everything needful; and besides he gave harek thirty men, all lads of mettle, and well appointed. . eyvind kinrifa's death. harek of thjotta went away from the town as fast as he could; but hauk and sigurd remained in the king's house, and both took baptism. harek pursued his voyage until he came to thjotta. he sent immediately a message to his friend eyvind kinrifa, with the word that he had been with king olaf; but would not let himself be cowed down to accept christianity. the message at the same time informed him that king olaf intended coming to the north in summer against them, and they must be at their posts to defend themselves; it also begged eyvind to come and visit him, the sooner the better. when this message was delivered to eyvind, he saw how very necessary it was to devise some counsel to avoid falling into the king's hands. he set out, therefore, in a light vessel with a few hands as fast as he could. when he came to thjotta he was received by harek in the most friendly way, and they immediately entered into conversation with each other behind the house. when they had spoken together but a short time, king olaf's men, who had secretly followed harek to the north, came up, and took eyvind prisoner, and carried him away to their ship. they did not halt on their voyage until they came to throndhjem, and presented themselves to king olaf at nidaros. then eyvind was brought up to a conference with the king, who asked him to allow himself to be baptized, like other people; but eyvind decidedly answered he would not. the king still, with persuasive words, urged him to accept christianity, and both he and the bishop used many suitable arguments; but eyvind would not allow himself to be moved. the king offered him gifts and great fiefs, but eyvind refused all. then the king threatened him with tortures and death, but eyvind was steadfast. then the king ordered a pan of glowing coals to be placed upon eyvind's belly, which burst asunder. eyvind cried, "take away the pan, and i will say something before i die," which also was done. the king said, "wilt thou now, eyvind, believe in christ?" "no," said eyvind, "i can take no baptism; for i am an evil spirit put into a man's body by the sorcery of fins because in no other way could my father and mother have a child." with that died eyvind, who had been one of the greatest sorcerers. . halogaland made christian. the spring after (a.d. ) king olaf fitted out and manned his ships, and commanded himself his ship the crane. he had many and smart people with him; and when he was ready, he sailed northwards with his fleet past bryda, and to halogaland. wheresoever he came to the land, or to the islands, he held a thing, and told the people to accept the right faith, and to be baptized. no man dared to say anything against it, and the whole country he passed through was made christian. king olaf was a guest in the house of harek of thjotta, who was baptized with all his people. at parting the king gave harek good presents; and he entered into the king's service, and got fiefs, and the privileges of lendsman from the king. . thorer hjort's death. there was a bonde, by name raud the strong, who dwelt in godey in salten fjord. raud was a very rich man, who had many house servants; and likewise was a powerful man, who had many fins in his service when he wanted them. raud was a great idolater, and very skillful in witchcraft, and was a great friend of thorer hjort, before spoken of. both were great chiefs. now when they heard that king olaf was coming with a great force from the south to halogaland, they gathered together an army, ordered out ships, and they too had a great force on foot. raud had a large ship with a gilded head formed like a dragon, which ship had thirty rowing benches, and even for that kind of ship was very large. thorer hjort had also a large ship. these men sailed southwards with their ships against king olaf, and as soon as they met gave battle. a great battle there was, and a great fall of men; but principally on the side of the halogalanders, whose ships were cleared of men, so that a great terror came upon them. raud rode with his dragon out to sea, and set sail. raud had always a fair wind wheresoever he wished to sail, which came from his arts of witchcraft; and, to make a short story, he came home to godey. thorer hjort fled from the ships up to the land: but king olaf landed people, followed those who fled, and killed them. usually the king was the foremost in such skirmishes, and was so now. when the king saw where thorer hjort, who was quicker on foot than any man, was running to, he ran after him with his dog vige. the king said, "vige! vige! catch the deer." vige ran straight in upon him; on which thorer halted, and the king threw a spear at him. thorer struck with his sword at the dog, and gave him a great wound; but at the same moment the king's spear flew under thorer's arm, and went through and through him, and came out at his other-side. there thorer left his life; but vige was carried to the ships. . king olaf's voyage to godey. king olaf gave life and freedom to all the men who asked it and agreed to become christian. king olaf sailed with his fleet northwards along the coast, and baptized all the people among whom he came; and when he came north to salten fjord, he intended to sail into it to look for raud, but a dreadful tempest and storm was raging in the fjord. they lay there a whole week, in which the same weather was raging within the fjord, while without there was a fine brisk wind only, fair for proceeding north along the land. then the king continued his voyage north to omd, where all the people submitted to christianity. then the king turned about and sailed to the south again; but when he came to the north side of salten fjord, the same tempest was blowing, and the sea ran high out from the fjord, and the same kind of storm prevailed for several days while the king was lying there. then the king applied to bishop sigurd, and asked him if he knew any counsel about it; and the bishop said he would try if god would give him power to conquer these arts of the devil. . of raud's being tortured. bishop sigurd took all his mass robes and went forward to the bow of the king's ship; ordered tapers to be lighted, and incense to be brought out. then he set the crucifix upon the stem of the vessel, read the evangelist and many prayers, besprinkled the whole ship with holy water, and then ordered the ship-tent to be stowed away, and to row into the fjord. the king ordered all the other ships to follow him. now when all was ready on board the crane to row, she went into the fjord without the rowers finding any wind; and the sea was curled about their keel track like as in a calm, so quiet and still was the water; yet on each side of them the waves were lashing up so high that they hid the sight of the mountains. and so the one ship followed the other in the smooth sea track; and they proceeded this way the whole day and night, until they reached godey. now when they came to raud's house his great ship, the dragon, was afloat close to the land. king olaf went up to the house immediately with his people; made an attack on the loft in which raud was sleeping, and broke it open. the men rushed in: raud was taken and bound, and of the people with him some were killed and some made prisoners. then the king's men went to a lodging in which raud's house servants slept, and killed some, bound others, and beat others. then the king ordered raud to be brought before him, and offered him baptism. "and," says the king, "i will not take thy property from thee, but rather be thy friend, if thou wilt make thyself worthy to be so." raud exclaimed with all his might against the proposal, saying he would never believe in christ, and making his scoff of god. then the king was wroth, and said raud should die the worst of deaths. and the king ordered him to be bound to a beam of wood, with his face uppermost, and a round pin of wood set between his teeth to force his mouth open. then the king ordered an adder to be stuck into the mouth of him; but the serpent would not go into his mouth, but shrunk back when raud breathed against it. now the king ordered a hollow branch of an angelica root to be stuck into raud's mouth; others say the king put his horn into his mouth, and forced the serpent to go in by holding a red-hot iron before the opening. so the serpent crept into the mouth of raud and down his throat, and gnawed its way out of his side; and thus raud perished. king olaf took here much gold and silver, and other property of weapons, and many sorts of precious effects; and all the men who were with raud he either had baptized, or if they refused had them killed or tortured. then the king took the dragonship which raud had owned, and steered it himself; for it was a much larger and handsomer vessel than the crane. in front it had a dragon's head, and aft a crook, which turned up, and ended with the figure of the dragon's tail. the carved work on each side of the stem and stern was gilded. this ship the king called the serpent. when the sails were hoisted they represented, as it were, the dragon's wings; and the ship was the handsomest in all norway. the islands on which raud dwelt were called gylling and haering; but the whole islands together were called godey isles, and the current between the isles and the mainland the godey stream. king olaf baptized the whole people of the fjord, and then sailed southwards along the land; and on this voyage happened much and various things, which are set down in tales and sagas,--namely, how witches and evil spirits tormented his men, and sometimes himself; but we will rather write about what occurred when king olaf made norway christian, or in the other countries in which he advanced christianity. the same autumn olaf with his fleet returned to throndhjem, and landed at nidaros, where he took up his winter abode. what i am now going to write about concerns the icelanders. . of the icelanders. kjartan olafson, a son's son of hoskuld, and a daughter's son of egil skallagrimson, came the same autumn (a.d. ) from iceland to nidaros, and he was considered to be the most agreeable and hopeful man of any born in iceland. there was also haldor, a son of gudmund of modruveller; and kolbein, a son of thord, frey's gode, and a brother's son of brennuflose; together with sverting, a son of the gode runolf. all these were heathens; and besides them there were many more,--some men of power, others common men of no property. there came also from iceland considerable people, who, by thangbrand's help, had been made christians; namely, gissur the white, a son of teit ketilbjornson; and his mother was alof, daughter of herse bodvar, who was the son of vikingakare. bodvar's brother was sigurd, father of eirik bjodaskalle, whose daughter astrid was king olaf's mother. hjalte skeggjason was the name of another iceland man, who was married to vilborg, gissur the white's daughter. hjalte was also a christian; and king olaf was very friendly to his relations gissur and hjalte, who live with him. but the iceland men who directed the ships, and were heathens, tried to sail away as soon as the king came to the town of nidaros, for they were told the king forced all men to become christians; but the wind came stiff against them, and drove them back to nidarholm. they who directed the ships were thorarin nefjulson, the skald halfred ottarson, brand the generous, and thorleik, brand's son. it was told the king that there were icelanders with ships there, and all were heathen, and wanted to fly from a meeting with the king. then the king sent them a message forbidding them to sail, and ordering them to bring their ships up to the town, which they did, but without discharging the cargoes. (they carried on their dealings and held a market at the king's pier. in spring they tried three times to slip away, but never succeeded; so they continued lying at the king's pier. it happened one fine day that many set out to swim for amusement, and among them was a man who distinguished himself above the others in all bodily exercises. kjartan challenged halfred vandredaskald to try himself in swimming against this man, but he declined it. "then will i make a trial," said kjartan, casting off his clothes, and springing into the water. then he set after the man, seizes hold of his foot, and dives with him under water. they come up again, and without speaking a word dive again, and are much longer under water than the first time. they come up again, and without saying a word dive a third time, until kjartan thought it was time to come up again, which, however, he could in no way accomplish, which showed sufficiently the difference in their strength. they were under water so long that kjartan was almost drowned. they then came up, and swam to land. this northman asked what the icelander's name was. kjartan tells his name. he says, "thou art a good swimmer; but art thou expert also in other exercises?" kjartan replied, that such expertness was of no great value. the northman asks, "why dost thou not inquire of me such things as i have asked thee about?" kjartan replies, "it is all one to me who thou art, or what thy name is." "then will i," says he, "tell thee: i am olaf trygvason." he asked kjartan much about iceland, which he answered generally, and wanted to withdraw as hastily as he could; but the king said, "here is a cloak which i will give thee, kjartan." and kjartan took the cloak with many thanks.) ( ) endnotes: ( ) the part included in parenthesis is not found in the original text of "heimskringla", but taken from "codex frisianus". . baptism of the icelanders. when michaelmas came, the king had high mass sung with great splendour. the icelanders went there, listening to the fine singing and the sound of the bells; and when they came back to their ships every man told his opinion of the christian man's worship. kjartan expressed his pleasure at it, but most of the others scoffed at it; and it went according to the proverb, "the king had many ears," for this was told to the king. he sent immediately that very day a message to kjartan to come to him. kjartan went with some men, and the king received him kindly. kjartan was a very stout and handsome man, and of ready and agreeable speech. after the king and kjartan had conversed a little, the king asked him to adopt christianity. kjartan replies, that he would not say no to that, if he thereby obtained the king's friendship; and as the king promised him the fullest friendship, they were soon agreed. the next day kjartan was baptized, together with his relation bolle thorlakson, and all their fellow-travelers. kjartan and bolle were the king's guests as long as they were in their white baptismal clothes, and the king had much kindness for them. wherever they came they were looked upon as people of distinction. . halfred vandredaskald baptized. as king olaf one day was walking in the street some men met him, and he who went the foremost saluted the king. the king asked the man his name, and he called himself halfred. "art thou the skald?" said the king. "i can compose poetry," replied he. "wilt thou then adopt christianity, and come into my service?" asked the king. "if i am baptized," replies he, "it must be on one condition,--that thou thyself art my godfather; for no other will i have." the king replies, "that i will do." and halfred was baptized, the king holding him during the baptism. afterwards the king said, "wilt thou enter into my service?" halfred replied, "i was formerly in earl hakon's court; but now i will neither enter into thine nor into any other service, unless thou promise me it shall never be my lot to be driven away from thee." "it has been reported to me," said the king, "that thou are neither so prudent nor so obedient as to fulfil my commands." "in that case," replied halfred, "put me to death." "thou art a skald who composes difficulties," says the king; "but into my service, halfred, thou shalt be received." halfred says, "if i am to be named the composer of difficulties, what cost thou give me, king, on my name-day?" the king gave him a sword without a scabbard, and said, "now compose me a song upon this sword, and let the word sword be in every line of the strophe." halfred sang thus: "this sword of swords is my reward. for him who knows to wield a sword, and with his sword to serve his lord, yet wants a sword, his lot is hard. i would i had my good lord's leave for this good sword a sheath to choose: i'm worth three swords when men use, but for the sword-sheath now i grieve." then the king gave him the scabbard, observing that the word sword was wanting in one line of his strophe. "but there instead are three swords in one of the lines," says halfred. "that is true," replies the king.--out of halfred's lays we have taken the most of the true and faithful accounts that are here related about olaf trygvason. . thangbrand returns from iceland. the same harvest (a.d. ) thangbrand the priest came back from iceland to king olaf, and told the ill success of his journey; namely, that the icelanders had made lampoons about him; and that some even sought to kill him, and there was little hope of that country ever being made christian. king olaf was so enraged at this, that he ordered all the icelanders to be assembled by sound of horn, and was going to kill all who were in the town, but kjartan, gissur, and hjalte, with the other icelanders who had become christians, went to him, and said, "king, thou must not fail from thy word--that however much any man may irritate thee, thou wilt forgive him if he turn from heathenism and become christian. all the icelanders here are willing to be baptized; and through them we may find means to bring christianity into iceland: for there are many amongst them, sons of considerable people in iceland, whose friends can advance the cause; but the priest thangbrand proceeded there as he did here in the court, with violence and manslaughter, and such conduct the people there would not submit to." the king harkened to those remonstrances; and all the iceland men who were there were baptized. . of king olaf's feats. king olaf was more expert in all exercises than any man in norway whose memory is preserved to us in sagas; and he was stronger and more agile than most men, and many stories are written down about it. one is that he ascended the smalsarhorn, and fixed his shield upon the very peak. another is, that one of his followers had climbed up the peak after him, until he came to where he could neither get up nor down; but the king came to his help, climbed up to him, took him under his arm, and bore him to the flat ground. king olaf could run across the oars outside of the vessel while his men were rowing the serpent. he could play with three daggers, so that one was always in the air, and he took the one falling by the handle. he could walk all round upon the ship's rails, could strike and cut equally well with both hands, and could cast two spears at once. king olaf was a very merry frolicsome man; gay and social; was very violent in all respects; was very generous; was very finical in his dress, but in battle he exceeded all in bravery. he was distinguished for cruelty when he was enraged, and tortured many of his enemies. some he burnt in fire; some he had torn in pieces by mad dogs; some he had mutilated, or cast down from high precipices. on this account his friends were attached to him warmly, and his enemies feared him greatly; and thus he made such a fortunate advance in his undertakings, for some obeyed his will out of the friendliest zeal, and others out of dread. . baptism of leif eirikson. leif, a son of eirik the red, who first settled in greenland, came this summer (a.d. ) from greenland to norway; and as he met king olaf he adopted christianity, and passed the winter (a.d. ) with the king. . fall of king gudrod. gudrod, a son of eirik bloodaxe and gunhild, had been ravaging in the west countries ever since he fled from norway before the earl hakon. but the summer before mentioned (a.d. ), where king olaf trygvason had ruled four years over norway, gudrod came to the country, and had many ships of war with him. he had sailed from england; and when he thought himself near to the norway coast, he steered south along the land, to the quarter where it was least likely king olaf would be. gudrod sailed in this way south to viken; and as soon as he came to the land he began to plunder, to subject the people to him, and to demand that they should accept of him as king. now as the country people saw that a great army was come upon them, they desired peace and terms. they offered king gudrod to send a thing-message over all the country, and to accept of him at the thing as king, rather than suffer from his army; but they desired delay until a fixed day, while the token of the thing's assembling was going round through the land. the king demanded maintenance during the time this delay lasted. the bondes preferred entertaining the king as a guest, by turns, as long as he required it; and the king accepted of the proposal to go about with some of his men as a guest from place to place in the land, while others of his men remained to guard the ships. when king olaf's relations, hyrning and thorgeir, heard of this, they gathered men, fitted out ships, and went northwards to viken. they came in the night with their men to a place at which king gudrod was living as a guest, and attacked him with fire and weapons; and there king gudrod fell, and most of his followers. of those who were with his ships some were killed, some slipped away and fled to great distances; and now were all the sons of eirik and gunhild dead. . building of the ship long serpent. the winter after, king olaf came from halogaland (a.d. ), he had a great vessel built at hladhamrar, which was larger than any ship in the country, and of which the beam-knees are still to be seen. the length of keel that rested upon the grass was seventy-four ells. thorberg skafhog was the man's name who was the master-builder of the ship; but there were many others besides,--some to fell wood, some to shape it, some to make nails, some to carry timber; and all that was used was of the best. the ship was both long and broad and high-sided, and strongly timbered. while they were planking the ship, it happened that thorberg had to go home to his farm upon some urgent business; and as he remained there a long time, the ship was planked up on both sides when he came back. in the evening the king went out, and thorberg with him, to see how the vessel looked, and everybody said that never was seen so large and so beautiful a ship of war. then the king returned to the town. early next morning the king returns again to the ship, and thorberg with him. the carpenters were there before them, but all were standing idle with their arms across. the king asked, "what was the matter?" they said the ship was destroyed; for somebody had gone from, stem to stern, and cut one deep notch after the other down the one side of the planking. when the king came nearer he saw it was so, and said, with an oath, "the man shall die who has thus destroyed the vessel out of envy, if he can be discovered, and i shall bestow a great reward on whoever finds him out." "i can tell you, king," said thorberg, "who has done this piece of work."-- "i don't think," replies the king, "that any one is so likely to find it out as thou art." thorberg says, "i will tell you, king, who did it. i did it myself." the king says, "thou must restore it all to the same condition as before, or thy life shall pay for it." then thorberg went and chipped the planks until the deep notches were all smoothed and made even with the rest; and the king and all present declared that the ship was much handsomer on the side of the hull which thorberg, had chipped, and bade him shape the other side in the same way; and gave him great thanks for the improvement. afterwards thorberg was the master builder of the ship until she was entirely finished. the ship was a dragon, built after the one the king had captured in halogaland; but this ship was far larger, and more carefully put together in all her parts. the king called this ship serpent the long, and the other serpent the short. the long serpent had thirty-four benches for rowers. the head and the arched tail were both gilt, and the bulwarks were as high as in sea-going ships. this ship was the best and most costly ship ever made in norway. . earl eirik, the son of hakon. earl eirik, the son of earl hakon, and his brothers, with many other valiant men their relations, had left the country after earl hakon's fall. earl eirik went eastwards to svithjod, to olaf, the swedish king, and he and his people were well received. king olaf gave the earl peace and freedom in the land, and great fiefs; so that he could support himself and his men well. thord kolbeinson speaks of this in the verses before given. many people who fled from the country on account of king olaf trygvason came out of norway to earl eirik; and the earl resolved to fit out ships and go a-cruising, in order to get property for himself and his people. first he steered to gotland, and lay there long in summer watching for merchant vessels sailing towards the land, or for vikings. sometimes he landed and ravaged all round upon the sea-coasts. so it is told in the "banda-drapa":-- "eirik, as we have lately heard, has waked the song of shield and sword-- has waked the slumbering storm of shields upon the vikings' water-fields: from gotland's lonely shore has gone far up the land, and battles won: and o'er the sea his name is spread, to friends a shield, to foes a dread." afterwards earl eirik sailed south to vindland, and at stauren found some viking ships, and gave them battle. eirik gained the victory, and slew the vikings. so it is told in the "banda-drapa":-- "earl eirik, he who stoutly wields the battle-axe in storm of shields, with his long ships surprised the foe at stauren, and their strength laid low many a corpse floats round the shore; the strand with dead is studded o'er: the raven tears their sea-bleached skins-- the land thrives well when eirik wins." . eirik's foray on the baltic coasts. earl eirik sailed back to sweden in autumn, and staid there all winter (a.d. ); but in the spring fitted out his war force again, and sailed up the baltic. when he came to valdemar's dominions he began to plunder and kill the inhabitants, and burn the dwellings everywhere as he came along, and to lay waste the country. he came to aldeigiuburg, and besieged it until he took the castle; and he killed many people, broke down and burned the castle, and then carried destruction all around far and wide in gardarike. so it is told in the "banda-drapa":-- "the generous earl, brave and bold, who scatters his bright shining gold, eirik with fire-scattering hand, wasted the russian monarch's land,-- with arrow-shower, and storm of war, wasted the land of valdemar. aldeiga burns, and eirik's might scours through all russia by its light." earl eirik was five years in all on this foray; and when he returned from gardarike he ravaged all adalsysla and eysysla, and took there four viking ships from the danes and killed every man on board. so it is told in the "banda-drapa":-- "among the isles flies round the word, that eirik's blood-devouring sword has flashed like fire in the sound, and wasted all the land around. and eirik too, the bold in fight, has broken down the robber-might of four great vikings, and has slain all of the crew--nor spared one dane. in gautland he has seized the town, in syssels harried up and down; and all the people in dismay fled to the forests far away. by land or sea, in field or wave, what can withstand this earl brave? all fly before his fiery hand-- god save the earl, and keep the land." when eirik had been a year in sweden he went over to denmark (a.d. ) to king svein tjuguskeg, the danish king, and courted his daughter gyda. the proposal was accepted, and earl eirik married gyda; and a year after (a.d. ) they had a son, who was called hakon. earl eirik was in the winter in denmark, or sometimes in sweden; but in summer he went a-cruising. . king svein's marriage. the danish king, svein tjuguskeg, was married to gunhild, a daughter of burizleif, king of the vinds. but in the times we have just been speaking of it happened that queen gunhild fell sick and died. soon after king svein married sigrid the haughty, a daughter of skoglartoste, and mother of the swedish king olaf; and by means of this relationship there was great friendship between the kings and earl eirik, hakon's son. . king burizleif's marriage. burizleif, the king of the vinds, complained to his relation earl sigvalde, that the agreement was broken which sigvalde had made between king svein and king burizleif, by which burizleif was to get in marriage thyre, harald's daughter, a sister of king svein: but that marriage had not proceeded, for thyre had given positive no to the proposal to marry her to an old and heathen king. "now," said king burizleif to earl sigvalde, "i must have the promise fulfilled." and he told earl sigvalde to go to denmark, and bring him thyre as his queen. earl sigvalde loses no time, but goes to king svein of denmark, explains to him the case; and brings it so far by his persuasion, that the king delivered his sister thyre into his hands. with her went some female attendants, and her foster-father, by name ozur agason, a man of great power, and some other people. in the agreement between the king and the earl, it was settled that thyre should have in property the possessions which queen gunhild had enjoyed in vindland, besides other great properties as bride-gifts. thyre wept sorely, and went very unwillingly. when the earl came to vindland, burizleif held his wedding with queen thyre, and received her in marriage; bus as long as she was among heathens she would neither eat nor drink with them, and this lasted for seven days. . olaf gets thyre in marriage. it happened one night that queen thyre and ozur ran away in the dark, and into the woods, and, to be short in our story, came at last to denmark. but here thyre did not dare to remain, knowing that if her brother king svein heard of her, he would send her back directly to vindland. she went on, therefore, secretly to norway, and never stayed her journey until she fell in with king olaf, by whom she was kindly received. thyre related to the king her sorrows, and entreated his advice in her need, and protection in his kingdom. thyre was a well-spoken woman, and the king had pleasure in her conversation. he saw she was a handsome woman, and it came into his mind that she would be a good match; so he turns the conversation that way, and asks if she will marry him. now, as she saw that her situation was such that she could not help herself, and considered what a luck it was for her to marry so celebrated a man, she bade him to dispose himself of her hand and fate; and, after nearer conversation, king olaf took thyre in marriage. this wedding was held in harvest after the king returned from halogaland (a.d. ), and king olaf and queen thyre remained all winter (a.d. ) at nidaros. the following spring queen thyre complained often to king olaf, and wept bitterly over it, that she who had so great property in vindland had no goods or possessions here in the country that were suitable for a queen; and sometimes she would entreat the king with fine words to get her property restored to her, and saying that king burizleif was so great a friend of king olaf that he would not deny king olaf anything if they were to meet. but when king olaf's friends heard of such speeches, they dissuaded him from any such expedition. it is related at the king one day early in spring was walking in the street, and met a man in the market with many, and, for that early season, remarkably large angelica roots. the king took a great stalk of the angelica in his hand, and went home to queen thyre's lodging. thyre sat in her room weeping as the king came in. the king said, "set here, queen, is a great angelica stalk, which i give thee." she threw it away, and said, "a greater present harald gormson gave to my mother; and he was not afraid to go out of the land and take his own. that was shown when he came here to norway, and laid waste the greater part of the land, and seized on all the scat and revenues; and thou darest not go across the danish dominions for this brother of mine, king svein." as she spoke thus, king olaf sprang up, and answered with loud oath, "never did i fear thy brother king svein; and if we meet he shall give way before me!" . olaf's levy for war. soon after the king convoked a thing in the town, and proclaimed to all the public, that in summer would go abroad upon an expedition out of the country, and would raise both ships and men from every district; and at the same time fixed how many ships would have from the whole throndhjem fjord. then he sent his message-token south and north, both along the sea-coast and up in the interior of the country, to let an army be gathered. the king ordered the long serpent to be put into the water, along with all his other ships both small and great. he himself steered the long serpent. when the crews were taken out for the ships, they were so carefully selected that no man on board the long serpent was older than sixty or younger than twenty years, and all were men distinguished for strength and courage. those who were olaf's bodyguard were in particular chosen men, both of the natives and of foreigners, and the boldest and strongest. . crew on board of the long serpent. ulf the red was the name of the man who bore king olaf's banner, and was in the forecastle of the long serpent; and with him was kolbjorn the marshal, thorstein uxafot, and vikar of tiundaland, a brother of arnliot gelline. by the bulkhead next the forecastle were vak raumason from gaut river, berse the strong, an skyte from jamtaland, thrand the strong from thelamork, and his brother uthyrmer. besides these were, of halogaland men, thrand skjalge and ogmund sande, hlodver lange from saltvik, and harek hvasse; together with these throndhjem men--ketil the high, thorfin eisle, havard and his brothers from orkadal. the following were in the fore-hold: bjorn from studla, bork from the fjords. thorgrim thjodolfson from hvin, asbjorn and orm, thord from njardarlog, thorstein the white from oprustadar, arnor from more, halstein and hauk from the fjord district, eyvind snak, bergthor bestil, halkel from fialer, olaf dreng, arnfin from sogn, sigurd bild, einar from hordaland, and fin, and ketil from rogaland and grjotgard the brisk. the following were in the hold next the mast: einar tambaskelfer, who was not reckoned as fully experienced, being only eighteen years old; thorstein hlifarson, thorolf, ivar smetta, and orm skogarnef. many other valiant men were in the serpent, although we cannot tell all their names. in every half division of the hold were eight men, and each and all chosen men; and in the fore-hold were thirty men. it was a common saying among people, that the long serpent's crew was as distinguished for bravery, strength, and daring, among other men, as the long serpent was distinguished among other ships. thorkel nefja, the king's brother, commanded the short serpent; and thorkel dydril and jostein, the king's mother's brothers, had the crane; and both these ships were well manned. king olaf had eleven large ships from throndhjem, besides vessels with twenty rowers' benches, smaller vessels, and provision-vessels. . iceland baptized. when king olaf had nearly rigged out his fleet in nidaros, he appointed men over the throndhjem country in all districts and communities. he also sent to iceland gissur the white and hjalte skeggjason, to proclaim christianity there; and sent with them a priest called thormod, along with several men in holy orders. but he retained with him, as hostages, four icelanders whom he thought the most important; namely, kjartan olafson, haldor gudmundson, kolbein thordson, and sverting runolfson. of gissur and hjalte's progress, it is related that they came to iceland before the althing, and went to the thing; and in that thing christianity was introduced by law into iceland, and in the course of the summer all the people were baptized (a.d. ). . greenland baptized the same spring king olaf also sent leif eirikson (a.d. ) to greenland to proclaim christianity there, and leif went there that summer. in the ocean he took up the crew of a ship which had been lost, and who were clinging to the wreck. he also found vinland the good; arrived about harvest in greenland; and had with him for it a priest and other teachers, with whom he went to brattahild to lodge with his father eirik. people called him afterwards leif the lucky: but his father eirik said that his luck and ill luck balanced each other; for if leif had saved a wreck in the ocean, he had brought a hurtful person with him to greenland, and that was the priest. . ragnvald sends messengers to olaf. the winter after king olaf had baptized halogaland, he and queen thyre were in nidaros; and the summer before queen thyre had brought king olaf a boy child, which was both stout and promising, and was called harald, after its mother's father. the king and queen loved the infant exceedingly, and rejoiced in the hope that it would grow up and inherit after its father; but it lived barely a year after its birth, which both took much to heart. in that winter were many icelanders and other clever men in king olaf's house, as before related. his sister ingebjorg, trygve's daughter, king olaf's sister, was also at the court at that time. she was beautiful in appearance, modest and frank with the people, had a steady manly judgment, and was beloved of all. she was very fond of the icelanders who were there, but most of kjartan olafson, for he had been longer than the others in the king's house; and he found it always amusing to converse with her, for she had both understanding and cleverness in talk. the king was always gay and full of mirth in his intercourse with people; and often asked about the manners of the great men and chiefs in the neighbouring countries, when strangers from denmark or sweden came to see him. the summer before halfred vandredaskald had come from gautland, where he had been with earl ragnvald, ulf's son, who had lately come to the government of west gautland. ulf, ragnvald's father, was a brother of sigurd the haughty; so that king olaf the swede and earl ragnvald were brother's and sister's children. halfred told olaf many things about the earl: he said he was an able chief, excellently fitted for governing, generous with money, brave and steady in friendship. halfred said also the earl desired much the friendship of king olaf, and had spoken of making court ingebjorg, trygve's daughter. the same winter came ambassadors from gautland, and fell in with king olaf in the north, in nidaros, and brought the message which halfred had spoken of,--that the earl desired to be king olaf's entire friend, and wished to become his brother-in-law by obtaining his sister ingebjorg in marriage. therewith the ambassadors laid before the king sufficient tokens in proof that in reality they came from the earl on this errand. the king listened with approbation to their speech; but said that ingebjorg must determine on his assent to the marriage. the king then talked to his sister about the matter, and asked her opinion about it. she answered to this effect,--"i have been with you for some time, and you have shown brotherly care and tender respect for me ever since you came to the country. i will agree therefore to your proposal about my marriage, provided that you do not marry me to a heathen man." the king said it should be as she wished. the king then spoke to the ambassadors; and it was settled before they departed that in summer earl ragnvald should meet the king in the east parts of the country, to enter into the fullest friendship with each other, and when they met they would settle about the marriage. with this reply the earl's messengers went westward, and king olaf remained all winter in nidaros in great splendour, and with many people about him. . olaf sends expedition to vindland. king olaf proceeded in summer with his ships and men southwards along the land (and past stad. with him were queen thyre and ingebjorg, trygveis daughter, the king's sister). many of his friends also joined him, and other persons of consequence who had prepared themselves to travel with the king. the first man among these was his brother-in-law, erling skjalgson, who had with him a large ship of thirty benches of rowers, and which was in every respect well equipt. his brothers-in-law hyrning and thorgeir also joined him, each of whom for himself steered a large vessel; and many other powerful men besides followed him. (with all this war-force he sailed southwards along the land; but when he came south as far as rogaland he stopped there, for erling skjalgson had prepared for him a splendid feast at sole. there earl ragnvald, ulf's son, from gautland, came to meet the king, and to settle the business which had been proposed in winter in the messages between them, namely, the marriage with ingebjorg the king's sister. olaf received him kindly; and when the matter came to be spoken of, the king said he would keep his word, and marry his sister ingebjorg to him, provided he would accept the true faith, and make all his subjects he ruled over in his land be baptized; the earl agreed to this, and he and all his followers were baptized. now was the feast enlarged that erling had prepared, for the earl held his wedding there with ingebjorg the king's sister. king olaf had now married off all his sisters. the earl, with ingebjorg, set out on his way home; and the king sent learned men with him to baptize the people in gautland, and to teach them the right faith and morals. the king and the earl parted in the greatest friendship.) . olaf's expedition vindland. (after his sister ingebjorg's wedding, the king made ready in all haste to leave the country with his army, which was both great and made up of fine men.) when he left the land and sailed southwards he had sixty ships of war, with which he sailed past denmark, and in through the sound, and on to vindland. he appointed a meeting with king burizleif; and when the kings met, they spoke about the property which king olaf demanded, and the conference went off peaceably, as a good account was given of the properties which king olaf thought himself entitled to there. he passed here much of the summer, and found many of his old friends. . conspiracy against king olaf. the danish king, svein tjuguskeg, was married, as before related, to sigrid the haughty. sigrid was king olaf trygvason's greatest enemy; the cause of which, as before said, was that king olaf had broken off with her, and had struck her in the face. she urged king svein much to give battle to king olaf trygvason; saying that he had reason enough, as olaf had married his sister thyre without his leave, "and that your predecessors would not have submitted to." such persuasions sigrid had often in her mouth; and at last she brought it so far that svein resolved firmly on doing so. early in spring king svein sent messengers eastward into svithjod, to his son-in-law olaf, the swedish king, and to earl eirik; and informed them that king olaf of norway was levying men for an expedition, and intended in summer to go to vindland. to this news the danish king added an invitation to the swedish king and earl eirik to meet king svein with an army, so that all together they might make an attack; on king olaf trygvason. the swedish king and earl eirik were ready enough for this, and immediately assembled a great fleet and an army through all svithjod, with which they sailed southwards to denmark, and arrived there after king olaf trygvason had sailed to the eastward. haldor the unchristian tells of this in his lay on earl eirik:-- "the king-subduer raised a host of warriors on the swedish coast. the brave went southwards to the fight, who love the sword-storm's gleaming light; the brave, who fill the wild wolf's mouth, followed bold eirik to the south; the brave, who sport in blood--each one with the bold earl to sea is gone." the swedish king and earl eirik sailed to meet the danish king, and they had all, when together, an immense force. . earl sigvalde's treacherous plans. at the same time that king svein sent a message to svithjod for an army, he sent earl sigvalde to vindland to spy out king olaf trygvason's proceedings, and to bring it about by cunning devices that king svein and king olaf should fall in with each other. so sigvalde sets out to go to vindland. first, he came to jomsborg, and then he sought out king olaf trygvason. there was much friendship in their conversation, and the earl got himself into great favour with the king. astrid, the earl's wife, king burizleif's daughter, was a great friend of king olaf trygvason, particularly on account of the connection which had been between them when olaf was married to her sister geira. earl sigvalde was a prudent, ready-minded man; and as he had got a voice in king olaf's council, he put him off much from sailing homewards, finding various reasons for delay. olaf's people were in the highest degree dissatisfied with this; for the men were anxious to get home, and they lay ready to sail, waiting only for a wind. at last earl sigvalde got a secret message from denmark that the swedish king's army was arrived from the east, and that earl eirik's also was ready; and that all these chiefs had resolved to sail eastwards to vindland, and wait for king olaf at an island which is called svold. they also desired the earl to contrive matters so that they should meet king olaf there. . king olaf's voyage from vindland. there came first a flying report to vindland that the danish king, svein, had fitted out an army; and it was soon whispered that he intended to attack king olaf. but earl sigvalde says to king olaf, "it never can be king svein's intention to venture with the danish force alone, to give battle to thee with such a powerful army; but if thou hast any suspicion that evil is on foot, i will follow thee with my force (at that time it was considered a great matter to have jomsborg vikings with an army), and i will give thee eleven well-manned ships." the king accepted this offer; and as the light breeze of wind that came was favourable, he ordered the ships to get under weigh, and the war-horns to sound the departure. the sails were hoisted and all the small vessels, sailing fastest, got out to sea before the others. the earl, who sailed nearest to the king's ship, called to those on board to tell the king to sail in his keel-track: "for i know where the water is deepest between the islands and in the sounds, and these large ships require the deepest." then the earl sailed first with his eleven ships, and the king followed with his large ships, also eleven in number; but the whole of the rest of the fleet sailed out to sea. now when earl sigvalde came sailing close under the island svold, a skiff rowed out to inform the earl that the danish king's army was lying in the harbour before them. then the earl ordered the sails of his vessels to be struck, and they rowed in under the island. haldor the unchristian says:-- "from out the south bold trygve's son with one-and-seventy ships came on, to dye his sword in bloody fight, against the danish foeman's might. but the false earl the king betrayed; and treacherous sigvalde, it is said, deserted from king olaf's fleet, and basely fled, the danes to meet." it is said here that king olaf and earl sigvalde had seventy sail of vessels: and one more, when they sailed from the south. . consultation of the kings. the danish king svein, the swedish king olaf, and earl eirik, were there with all their forces ( ). the weather being fine and clear sunshine, all these chiefs, with a great suite, went out on the isle to see the vessels sailing out at sea, and many of them crowded together; and they saw among them one large and glancing ship. the two kings said, "that is a large and very beautiful vessel: that will be the long serpent." earl eirik replied, "that is not the long serpent." and he was right; for it was the ship belonging to eindride of gimsar. soon after they saw another vessel coming sailing along much larger than the first; then says king svein, "olaf trygvason must be afraid, for he does not venture to sail with the figure-head of the dragon upon his ship." says earl eirik, "that is not the king's ship yet; for i know that ship by the coloured stripes of cloth in her sail. that is erling skialgson's. let him sail; for it is the better for us that the ship is away from olaf's fleet, so well equipt as she is." soon after they saw and knew earl sigvalde's ships, which turned in and laid themselves under the island. then they saw three ships coming along under sail, and one of them very large. king svein ordered his men to go to their ships, "for there comes the long serpent." earl eirik says, "many other great and stately vessels have they besides the long serpent. let us wait a little." then said many, "earl eirik will not fight and avenge his father; and it is a great shame that it should be told that we lay here with so great a force, and allowed king olaf to sail out to sea before our eyes." but when they had spoken thus for a short time, they saw four ships coming sailing along, of which one had a large dragon-head richly gilt. then king svein stood up and said, "that dragon shall carry me this evening high, for i shall steer it." then said many, "the long serpent is indeed a wonderfully large and beautiful vessel, and it shows a great mind to have built such a ship." earl eirik said so loud that several persons heard him, "if king olaf had no ether vessels but only that one, king svein would never take it from him with the danish force alone." thereafter all the people rushed on board their ships, took down the tents, and in all haste made ready for battle. while the chiefs were speaking among themselves as above related, they saw three very large ships coming sailing along, and at last after them a fourth, and that was the long serpent. of the large ships which had gone before, and which they had taken for the long serpent, the first was the crane; the one after that was the short serpent; and when they really, saw the long serpent, all knew, and nobody had a word to say against it, that it must be olaf trygvason who was sailing in such a vessel; and they went to their ships to arm for the fight. an agreement had been concluded among the chiefs, king svein, king olaf the swede, and earl eirik, that they should divide norway among them in three parts, in case they succeeded against olaf trygvason; but that he of the chiefs who should first board the serpent should have her, and all the booty found in her, and each should have the ships he cleared for himself. earl eirik had a large ship of war which he used upon his viking expeditions; and there was an iron beard or comb above on both sides of the stem, and below it a thick iron plate as broad as the combs, which went down quite to the gunnel. . of king olaf's people. when earl sigvalde with his vessels rowed in under the island, thorkel dydril of the crane, and the other ship commanders who sailed with him, saw that he turned his ships towards the isle, and thereupon let fall the sails, and rowed after him, calling out, and asking why he sailed that way. the earl answered, that he was waiting for king olaf, as he feared there were enemies in the water. they lay upon their oars until thorkel nefia came up with the short serpent and the three ships which followed him. when they told them the same they too struck sail, and let the ships drive, waiting for king olaf. but when the king sailed in towards the isle, the whole enemies' fleet came rowing within them out to the sound. when they saw this they begged the king to hold on his way, and not risk battle with so great a force. the king replied, high on the quarter-deck where he stood, "strike the sails; never shall men of mine think of flight. i never fled from battle. let god dispose of my life, but flight i shall never take." it was done as the king commanded. halfred tells of it thus:-- "and far and wide the saying bold of the brave warrior shall be told. the king, in many a fray well tried, to his brave champions round him cried, 'my men shall never learn from me from the dark weapon-cloud to flee.' nor were the brave words spoken then forgotten by his faithful men." . olaf's ships prepared for battle. king olaf ordered the war-horns to sound for all his ships to close up to each other. the king's ship lay in the middle of the line, and on one side lay the little serpent, and on the other the crane; and as they made fast the stems together ( ), the long serpent's stem and the short serpent's were made fast together; but when the king saw it he called out to his men, and ordered them to lay the larger ship more in advance, so that its stern should not lie so far behind in the fleet. then says ulf the red, "if the long serpent is to lie as much more ahead of the other ships as she is longer than them, we shall have hard work of it here on the forecastle." the king replies, "i did not think i had a forecastle man afraid as well as red." says ulf, "defend thou the quarterdeck as i shall the forecastle." the king had a bow in his hands, and laid an arrow on the string, and aimed at ulf. ulf said, "shoot another way, king, where it is more needful: my work is thy gain." endnotes: ( ) the mode of fighting in sea battles appears, from this and many other descriptions, to have been for each party to bind together the stems and sterns of their own ships, forming them thus into a compact body as soon as the fleets came within fighting distance, or within spears' throw. they appear to have fought principally from the forecastles; and to have used grappling irons for dragging a vessel out of the line, or within boarding distance.--l. . of king olaf. king olaf stood on the serpent's quarterdeck, high over the others. he had a gilt shield, and a helmet inlaid with gold; over his armour he had a short red coat, and was easy to be distinguished from other men. when king olaf saw that the scattered forces of the enemy gathered themselves together under the banners of their ships, he asked, "who is the chief of the force right opposite to us?" he was answered, that it was king svein with the danish army. the king replies, "we are not afraid of these soft danes, for there is no bravery in them; but who are the troops on the right of the danes?" he was answered, that it was king olaf with the swedish forces. "better it were," says king olaf, "for these swedes to be sitting at home killing their sacrifices, than to be venturing under our weapons from the long serpent. but who owns the large ships on the larboard side of the danes?" "that is earl eirik hakonson," say they. the king replies, "he, methinks, has good reason for meeting us; and we may expect the sharpest conflict with these men, for they are norsemen like ourselves." . the battle begins. the kings now laid out their oars, and prepared to attack (a.d. ). king svein laid his ship against the long serpent. outside of him olaf the swede laid himself, and set his ship's stern against the outermost ship of king olaf's line; and on the other side lay earl eirik. then a hard combat began. earl sigvalde held back with the oars on his ships, and did not join the fray. so says skule thorsteinson, who at that time was with earl eirik:-- "i followed sigvalde in my youth, and gallant eirik, and in truth the' now i am grown stiff and old, in the spear-song i once was bold. where arrows whistled on the shore of svold fjord my shield i bore, and stood amidst the loudest clash when swords on shields made fearful crash." and halfred also sings thus:-- "in truth i think the gallant king, midst such a foemen's gathering, would be the better of some score of his tight throndhjem lads, or more; for many a chief has run away, and left our brave king in the fray, two great kings' power to withstand, and one great earl's, with his small band, the king who dares such mighty deed a hero for his skald would need." . flight of svein and olaf the swede. this battle was one of the severest told of, and many were the people slain. the forecastle men of the long serpent, the little serpent, and the crane, threw grapplings and stem chains into king svein's ship, and used their weapons well against the people standing below them, for they cleared the decks of all the ships they could lay fast hold of; and king svein, and all the men who escaped, fled to other vessels, and laid themselves out of bow-shot. it went with this force just as king olaf trygvason had foreseen. then king olaf the swede laid himself in their place; but when he came near the great ships it went with him as with them, for he lost many men and some ships, and was obliged to get away. but earl eirik laid his ship side by side with the outermost of king olaf's ships, thinned it of men, cut the cables, and let it drive. then he laid alongside of the next, and fought until he had cleared it of men also. now all the people who were in the smaller ships began to run into the larger, and the earl cut them loose as fast as he cleared them of men. the danes and swedes laid themselves now out of shooting distance all around olaf's ship; but earl eirik lay always close alongside of the ships, and used hid swords and battle-axes, and as fast as people fell in his vessel others, danes and swedes, came in their place. so says haldor, the unchristian:-- "sharp was the clang of shield and sword, and shrill the song of spears on board, and whistling arrows thickly flew against the serpent's gallant crew. and still fresh foemen, it is said, earl eirik to her long side led; whole armies of his danes and swedes, wielding on high their blue sword-blades." then the fight became most severe, and many people fell. but at last it came to this, that all king olaf trygvason's ships were cleared of men except the long serpent, on board of which all who could still carry their arms were gathered. then earl eirik lay with his ship by the side of the serpent, and the fight went on with battle-axe and sword. so says haldor:-- "hard pressed on every side by foes, the serpent reels beneath the blows; crash go the shields around the bow! breast-plates and breasts pierced thro' and thro! in the sword-storm the holm beside, the earl's ship lay alongside the king's long serpent of the sea-- fate gave the earl the victory." . of earl eirik. earl eirik was in the forehold of his ship, where a cover of shields ( ) had been set up. in the fight, both hewing weapons, sword, and axe, and the thrust of spears had been used; and all that could be used as weapon for casting was cast. some used bows, some threw spears with the hand. so many weapons were cast into the serpent, and so thick flew spears and arrows, that the shields could scarcely receive them, for on all sides the serpent was surrounded by war-ships. then king olaf's men became so mad with rage, that they ran on board of the enemies ships, to get at the people with stroke of sword and kill them; but many did not lay themselves so near the serpent, in order to escape the close encounter with battle-axe or sword; and thus the most of olaf's men went overboard and sank under their weapons, thinking they were fighting on plain ground. so says halfred:-- "the daring lads shrink not from death;-- o'erboard they leap, and sink beneath the serpent's keel: all armed they leap, and down they sink five fathoms deep. the foe was daunted at the cheers; the king, who still the serpent steers, in such a strait--beset with foes-- wanted but some more lads like those." endnotes: ( ) both in land and sea fights the commanders appear to have been protected from missile weapons,--stones, arrows, spears,--by a shieldburg: that is, by a party of men bearing shields surrounding them in such a way that the shields were a parapet, covering those within the circle. the romans had a similar military arrangement of shields in sieges--the testudo.--l. . of einar tambarskelver. einar tambarskelver, one of the sharpest of bowshooters, stood by the mast, and shot with his bow. einar shot an arrow at earl eirik, which hit the tiller end just above the earl's head so hard that it entered the wood up to the arrow-shaft. the earl looked that way, and asked if they knew who had shot; and at the same moment another arrow flew between his hand and his side, and into the stuffing of the chief's stool, so that the barb stood far out on the other side. then said the earl to a man called fin,--but some say he was of fin (laplander) race, and was a superior archer,--"shoot that tall man by the mast." fin shot; and the arrow hit the middle of einar's bow just at the moment that einar was drawing it, and the bow was split in two parts. "what is that," cried king olaf, "that broke with such a noise?" "norway, king, from thy hands," cried einar. "no! not quite so much as that," says the king; "take my bow, and shoot," flinging the bow to him. einar took the bow, and drew it over the head of the arrow. "too weak, too weak," said he, "for the bow of a mighty king!" and, throwing the bow aside, he took sword and shield, and fought valiantly. . olaf gives his men sharp swords. the king stood on the gangways of the long serpent, and shot the greater part of the day; sometimes with the bow, sometimes with the spear, and always throwing two spears at once. he looked down over the ship's sides, and saw that his men struck briskly with their swords, and yet wounded but seldom. then he called aloud, "why do ye strike so gently that ye seldom cut?" one among the people answered, "the swords are blunt and full of notches." then the king went down into the forehold, opened the chest under the throne, and took out many sharp swords, which he handed to his men; but as he stretched down his right hand with them, some observed that blood was running down under his steel glove, but no one knew where he was wounded. . the serpent boarded. desperate was the defence in the serpent, and there was the heaviest destruction of men done by the forecastle crew, and those of the forehold, for in both places the men were chosen men, and the ship was highest, but in the middle of the ship the people were thinned. now when earl eirik saw there were but few people remaining beside the ship's mast, he determined to board; and he entered the serpent with four others. then came hyrning, the king's brother-in-law, and some others against him, and there was the most severe combat; and at last the earl was forced to leap back on board his own ship again, and some who had accompanied him were killed, and others wounded. thord kolbeinson alludes to this:-- "on odin's deck, all wet with blood, the helm-adorned hero stood; and gallant hyrning honour gained, clearing all round with sword deep stained. the high mountain peaks shall fall, ere men forget this to recall." now the fight became hot indeed, and many men fell on board the serpent; and the men on board of her began to be thinned off, and the defence to be weaker. the earl resolved to board the serpent again, and again he met with a warm reception. when the forecastle men of the serpent saw what he was doing, they went aft and made a desperate fight; but so many men of the serpent had fallen, that the ship's sides were in many places quite bare of defenders; and the earl's men poured in all around into the vessel, and all the men who were still able to defend the ship crowded aft to the king, and arrayed themselves for his defence. so says haldor the unchristian:-- "eirik cheers on his men,-- 'on to the charge again!' the gallant few of olaf's crew must refuge take on the quarter-deck. around the king they stand in ring; their shields enclose the king from foes, and the few who still remain fight madly, but in vain. eirik cheers on his men-- 'on to the charge again!'" . the serpent's decks cleared. kolbjorn the marshal, who had on clothes and arms like the kings, and was a remarkably stout and handsome man, went up to king on the quarter-deck. the battle was still going on fiercely even in the forehold ( ). but as many of the earl's men had now got into the serpent as could find room, and his ships lay all round her, and few were the people left in the serpent for defence against so great a force; and in a short time most of the serpent's men fell, brave and stout though they were. king olaf and kolbjorn the marshal both sprang overboard, each on his own side of the ship; but the earl's men had laid out boats around the serpent, and killed those who leaped overboard. now when the king had sprung overboard, they tried to seize him with their hands, and bring him to earl eirik; but king olaf threw his shield over his head, and sank beneath the waters. kolbjorn held his shield behind him to protect himself from the spears cast at him from the ships which lay round the serpent, and he fell so upon his shield that it came under him, so that he could not sink so quickly. he was thus taken and brought into a boat, and they supposed he was the king. he was brought before the earl; and when the earl saw it was kolbjorn, and not the king, he gave him his life. at the same moment all of king olaf's men who were in life sprang overboard from the serpent; and thorkel nefia, the king's brother, was the last of all the men who sprang overboard. it is thus told concerning the king by halfred:-- "the serpent and the crane lay wrecks upon the main. on his sword he cast a glance,-- with it he saw no chance. to his marshal, who of yore many a war-chance had come o'er, he spoke a word--then drew in breath, and sprang to his deep-sea death." endnotes: ( ) from the occasional descriptions of vessels in this and other battles, it may be inferred that even the long serpent, described in the th chapter as of feet of keel was only docked fore and aft; the thirty-four benches for rowers occupying the open area in the middle, and probably gangways running along the side for communicating from the quarter-deck to the forcastle.--l. . report among the people. earl sigvalde, as before related, came from vindland, in company with king olaf, with ten ships; but the eleventh ship was manned with the men of astrid, the king's daughter, the wife of earl sigvalde. now when king olaf sprang overboard, the whole army raised a shout of victory; and then earl sigvalde and his men put their oars in the water and rowed towards the battle. haldor the unchristian tells of it thus:-- "then first the vindland vessels came into the fight with little fame; the fight still lingered on the wave, tho' hope was gone with olaf brave. war, like a full-fed ravenous beast, still oped her grim jaws for the feast. the few who stood now quickly fled, when the shout told--'olaf is dead!'" but the vindland cutter, in which astrid's men were, rowed back to vindland; and the report went immediately abroad and was told by many, that king olaf had cast off his coat-of-mail under water, and had swum, diving under the longships, until he came to the vindland cutter, and that astrid's men had conveyed him to vindland: and many tales have been made since about the adventures of olaf the king. halfred speaks thus about it:-- "does olaf live? or is he dead? has he the hungry ravens fed? i scarcely know what i should say, for many tell the tale each way. this i can say, nor fear to lie, that he was wounded grievously-- so wounded in this bloody strife, he scarce could come away with life." but however this may have been, king olaf trygvason never came back again to his kingdom of norway. halfred vandredaskald speaks also thus about it: "the witness who reports this thing of trygvason, our gallant king, once served the king, and truth should tell, for olaf hated lies like hell. if olaf 'scaped from this sword-thing, worse fate, i fear, befel our king than people guess, or e'er can know, for he was hemm'd in by the foe. from the far east some news is rife of king sore wounded saving life; his death, too sure, leaves me no care for cobweb rumours in the air. it never was the will of fate that olaf from such perilous strait should 'scape with life! this truth may grieve-- 'what people wish they soon believe.'" . of earl eirik, the son of hakon. by this victory earl eirik hakonson became owner of the long serpent, and made a great booty besides; and he steered the serpent from the battle. so says haldor:-- "olaf, with glittering helmet crowned, had steered the serpent through the sound; and people dressed their boats, and cheered as olaf's fleet in splendour steered. but the descendent of great heming, whose race tells many a gallant sea-king, his blue sword in red life-blood stained, and bravely olaf's long ship gained." svein, a son of earl hakon, and earl eirik's brother, was engaged at this time to marry holmfrid, a daughter of king olaf the swedish king. now when svein the danish king, olaf the swedish king, and earl eirik divided the kingdom of norway between them, king olaf got four districts in the throndhjem country, and also the districts of more and raumsdal; and in the east part of the land he got ranrike, from the gaut river to svinasund. olaf gave these dominions into earl svein's hands, on the same conditions as the sub kings or earls had held them formerly from the upper-king of the country. earl eirik got four districts in the throndhjem country, and halogaland, naumudal, the fjord districts, sogn, hordaland, rogaland, and north agder, all the way to the naze. so says thord kolbeinson:-- "all chiefs within our land on eirik's side now stand: erling alone, i know remains earl eirik's foe. all praise our generous earl,-- he gives, and is no churl: all men are well content fate such a chief has sent. from veiga to agder they, well pleased, the earl obey; and all will by him stand, to guard the norsemen's land. and now the news is spread that mighty svein is dead, and luck is gone from those who were the norsemen's foes." the danish king svein retained viken as he had held it before, but he gave raumarike and hedemark to earl eirik. svein hakonson got the title of earl from olaf the swedish king. svein was one of the handsomest men ever seen. the earls eirik and svein both allowed themselves to be baptized, and took up the true faith; but as long as they ruled in norway they allowed every one to do as he pleased in holding by his christianity. but, on the other hand, they held fast by the old laws, and all the old rights and customs of the land, and were excellent men and good rulers. earl eirik had most to say of the two brothers in all matters of government. saga of olaf haraldson. ( ) preliminary remarks. olaf haraldson the saint's saga is the longest, the most important, and the most finished of all the sagas in "heimskringla". the life of olaf will be found treated more or less freely in "agrip", in "historia norvegiae", in "thjodrek the monk", in the legendary saga, and in "fagrskinna". other old norse literature relating to this epoch: are's "islendingabok", "landnama", "kristni saga", "biskupa-sogur", "njala", "gunlaugs saga", "ormstungu", "bjarnar saga hitdaelakappa", "hallfredar thattr vandraedaskalde", "eyrbyggia", "viga styrs saga", "laxdaela", "fostbraedra", "gretla", "liosvetninga", "faereyinga", "orkneyinga". olaf haraldson was born , went as a viking at the age of twelve, ; visited england, one summer and three winters, - ; in france two summers and one winter, - ; spent the winter in normandy, ; returned to norway and was recognized as king, april , ; fled from norway the winter of - ; fell at stiklestad, july (or august ), . skalds quoted in this saga are:--ottar svarte, sigvat skald, thord kolbeinson, berse torfason, brynjolf, arnor jarlaskald, thord siarekson, harek, thorarin loftunga, halvard hareksblese, bjarne gulbraskald, jokul bardson, thormod kolbrunarskald, gissur, thorfin mun, hofgardaref. endnotes: ( ) king olaf the saint reigned from about the year to . the death of king olaf trygvason was in the year : and earl eirik held the government for the danish and swedish kings about fifteen years.--l. . of saint olaf's bringing up. olaf, harald grenske's son, was brought up by his stepfather sigurd syr and his mother asta. hrane the far-travelled lived in the house of asta, and fostered this olaf haraldson. olaf came early to manhood, was handsome in countenance, middle-sized in growth, and was even when very young of good understanding and ready speech. sigurd his stepfather was a careful householder, who kept his people closely to their work, and often went about himself to inspect his corn-rigs and meadowland, the cattle, and also the smith-work, or whatsoever his people had on hand to do. . of olaf and king sigurd syr. it happened one day that king sigurd wanted to ride from home, but there was nobody about the house; so he told his stepson olaf to saddle his horse. olaf went to the goats' pen, took out the he-goat that was the largest, led him forth, and put the king's saddle on him, and then went in and told king sigurd he had saddled his riding horse. now when king sigurd came out and saw what olaf had done, he said "it is easy to see that thou wilt little regard my orders; and thy mother will think it right that i order thee to do nothing that is against thy own inclination. i see well enough that we are of different dispositions, and that thou art far more proud than i am." olaf answered little, but went his way laughing. . of ring olaf's accomplishments. when olaf haraldson grew up he was not tall, but middle-sized in height, although very thick, and of good strength. he had light brown hair, and a broad face, which was white and red. he had particularly fine eyes, which were beautiful and piercing, so that one was afraid to look him in the face when he was angry. olaf was very expert in all bodily exercises, understood well to handle his bow, and was distinguished particularly in throwing his spear by hand: he was a great swimmer, and very handy, and very exact and knowing in all kinds of smithwork, whether he himself or others made the thing. he was distinct and acute in conversation, and was soon perfect in understanding and strength. he was beloved by his friends and acquaintances, eager in his amusements, and one who always liked to be the first, as it was suitable he should be from his birth and dignity. he was called olaf the great. . king olaf's war expedition. olaf haraldson was twelve years old when he, for the first time, went on board a ship of war (a.d. ). his mother asta got hrane, who was called the foster-father of kings, to command a ship of war and take olaf under his charge; for hrane had often been on war expeditions. when olaf in this way got a ship and men, the crew gave him the title of king; for it was the custom that those commanders of troops who were of kingly descent, on going out upon a viking cruise, received the title of king immediately although they had no land or kingdom. hrane sat at the helm; and some say that olaf himself was but a common rower, although he was king of the men-at-arms. they steered east along the land, and came first to denmark. so says ottar svarte, in his lay which he made about king olaf:-- "young was the king when from his home he first began in ships to roam, his ocean-steed to ride to denmark o'er the tide. well exercised art thou in truth-- in manhood's earnest work, brave youth! out from the distant north mighty hast thou come forth." towards autumn he sailed eastward to the swedish dominions, and there harried and burnt all the country round; for he thought he had good cause of hostility against the swedes, as they killed his father harald. ottar svarte says distinctly that he came from the east, out by way of denmark:-- "thy ship from shore to shore, with many a well-plied car, across the baltic foam is dancing.-- shields, and spears, and helms glancing! hoist high the swelling sail to catch the freshening gale! there's food for the raven-flight where thy sail-winged ship shall light; thy landing-tread the people dread; and the wolf howls for a feast on the shore-side in the east." . olaf's first battle. the same autumn olaf had his first battle at sotasker, which lies in the swedish skerry circle. he fought there with some vikings, whose leader was sote. olaf had much fewer men, but his ships were larger, and he had his ships between some blind rocks, which made it difficult for the vikings to get alongside; and olaf's men threw grappling irons into the ships which came nearest, drew them up to their own vessels, and cleared them of men. the vikings took to flight after losing many men. sigvat the skald tells of this fight in the lay in which he reckons up king olaf's battles:-- "they launch his ship where waves are foaming-- to the sea shore both mast and oar, and sent his o'er the seas a-roaming. where did the sea-king first draw blood? in the battle shock at sote's rock; the wolves howl over their fresh food." . foray in svithjod. king olaf steered thereafter eastwards to svithjod, and into the lag (the maelar lake), and ravaged the land on both sides. he sailed all the way up to sigtuna, and laid his ships close to the old sigtuna. the swedes say the stone-heaps are still to be seen which olaf had laid under the ends of the gangways from the shore to the ships. when autumn was advanced, olaf haraldson heard that olaf the swedish king was assembling an army, and also that he had laid iron chains across stoksund (the channel between the maelar lake and the sea), and had laid troops there; for the swedish king thought that olaf haraldson would be kept in there till frost came, and he thought little of olaf's force knowing he had but few people. now when king olaf haraldson came to stoksund he could not get through, as there was a castle west of the sound, and men-at-arms lay on the south; and he heard that the swedish king was come there with a great army and many ships. he therefore dug a canal across the flat land agnafit out to the sea. over all svithjod all the running waters fall into the maelar lake; but the only outlet of it to the sea is so small that many rivers are wider, and when much rain or snow falls the water rushes in a great cataract out by stoksund, and the lake rises high and floods the land. it fell heavy rain just at this time; and as the canal was dug out to the sea, the water and stream rushed into it. then olaf had all the rudders unshipped and hoisted all sail aloft. it was blowing a strong breeze astern, and they steered with their oars, and the ships came in a rush over all the shallows, and got into the sea without any damage. now went the swedes to their king, olaf, and told him that olaf the great had slipped out to sea; on which the king was enraged against those who should have watched that olaf did not get away. this passage has since been called king's sound; but large vessels cannot pass through it, unless the waters are very high. some relate that the swedes were aware that olaf had cut across the tongue of land, and that the water was falling out that way; and they flocked to it with the intention to hinder olaf from getting away, but the water undermined the banks on each side so that they fell in with the people, and many were drowned: but the swedes contradict this as a false report, and deny the loss of people. the king sailed to gotland in harvest, and prepared to plunder; but the gotlanders assembled, and sent men to the king, offering him a scat. the king found this would suit him, and he received the scat, and remained there all winter. so says ottar svarte:-- "thou seaman-prince! thy men are paid: the scat on gotlanders is laid; young man or old to our seamen bold must pay, to save his head: the yngling princes fled, eysvssel people bled; who can't defend the wealth they have must die, or share with the rover brave." . the second battle. it is related here that king olaf, when spring set in, sailed east to eysyssel, and landed and plundered; the eysyssel men came down to the strand and grave him battle. king olaf gained the victory, pursued those who fled, and laid waste the land with fire and sword. it is told that when king olaf first came to eysvssel they offered him scat, and when the scat was to be brought down to the strand the king came to meet it with an armed force, and that was not what the bondes there expected; for they had brought no scat, but only their weapons with which they fought against the king, as before related. so says sigvat the skald:-- "with much deceit and bustle to the heath of eysyssel the bondes brought the king, to get scat at their weapon-thing. but olaf was too wise to be taken by surprise; their legs scarce bore them off o'er the common test enough." . the third battle. after this they sailed to finland and plundered there, and went up the country. all the people fled to the forest, and they had emptied their houses of all household goods. the king went far up the country, and through some woods, and came to some dwellings in a valley called herdaler,--where, however, they made but small booty, and saw no people; and as it was getting late in the day, the king turned back to his ships. now when they came into the woods again people rushed upon them from all quarters, and made a severe attack. the king told his men to cover themselves with their shields, but before they got out of the woods he lost many people, and many were wounded; but at last, late in the evening, he got to the ships. the finlanders conjured up in the night, by their witchcraft, a dreadful storm and bad weather on the sea; but the king ordered the anchors to be weighed and sail hoisted, and beat off all night to the outside of the land. the king's luck prevailed more than the finlanders' witchcraft; for he had the luck to beat round the balagard's side in the night, and so got out to sea. but the finnish army proceeded on land, making the same progress as the king made with his ships. so says sigvat:-- "the third fight was at herdaler, where the men of finland met in war the hero of the royal race, with ringing sword-blades face to face. off balagard's shore the waves ran hollow; but the sea-king saves his hard-pressed ship, and gains the lee of the east coast through the wild sea." . the fourth battle in sudervik. king olaf sailed from thence to denmark, where he met thorkel the tall, brother of earl sigvalde, and went into partnership with him; for he was just ready to set out on a cruise. they sailed southwards to the jutland coast, to a place called sudervik, where they overcame many viking ships. the vikings, who usually have many people to command, give themselves the title of kings, although they have no lands to rule over. king olaf went into battle with them, and it was severe; but king olaf gained the victory, and a great booty. so says sigvat:-- "hark! hark! the war-shout through sudervik rings, and the vikings bring out to fight the two kings. great honour, i'm told, won these vikings so bold: but their bold fight was vain, for the two brave kings gain." . the fifth battle in friesland. king olaf sailed from thence south to friesland, and lay under the strand of kinlima in dreadful weather. the king landed with his men; but the people of the country rode down to the strand against them, and he fought them. so says sigvat:-- "under kinlima's cliff, this battle is the fifth. the brave sea-rovers stand all on the glittering sand; and down the horsemen ride to the edge of the rippling tide: but olaf taught the peasant band to know the weight of a viking's hand." . death of king svein forked beard. the king sailed from thence westward to england. it was then the case that the danish king, svein forked beard, was at that time in england with a danish army, and had been fixed there for some time, and had seized upon king ethelred's kingdom. the danes had spread themselves so widely over england, that it was come so far that king ethelred had departed from the country, and had gone south to valland. the same autumn that king olaf came to england, it happened that king svein died suddenly in the night in his bed; and it is said by englishmen that edmund the saint killed him, in the same way that the holy mercurius had killed the apostate julian. when ethelred, the king of the english, heard this in flanders, he returned directly to england; and no sooner was he come back, than he sent an invitation to all the men who would enter into his pay, to join him in recovering the country. then many people flocked to him; and among others, came king olaf with a great troop of northmen to his aid. they steered first to london, and sailed into the thames with their fleet; but the danes had a castle within. on the other side of the river is a great trading place, which is called sudvirke. there the danes had raised a great work, dug large ditches, and within had built a bulwark of stone, timber, and turf, where they had stationed a strong army. king ethelred ordered a great assault; but the danes defended themselves bravely, and king ethelred could make nothing of it. between the castle and southwark (sudvirke) there was a bridge, so broad that two wagons could pass each other upon it. on the bridge were raised barricades, both towers and wooden parapets, in the direction of the river, which were nearly breast high; and under the bridge were piles driven into the bottom of the river. now when the attack was made the troops stood on the bridge everywhere, and defended themselves. king ethelred was very anxious to get possession of the bridge, and he called together all the chiefs to consult how they should get the bridge broken down. then said king olaf he would attempt to lay his fleet alongside of it, if the other ships would do the same. it was then determined in this council that they should lay their war forces under the bridge; and each made himself ready with ships and men. . the sixth battle. king olaf ordered great platforms of floating wood to be tied together with hazel bands, and for this he took down old houses; and with these, as a roof, he covered over his ships so widely, that it reached over the ships' sides. under this screen he set pillars so high and stout, that there both was room for swinging their swords, and the roofs were strong enough to withstand the stones cast down upon them. now when the fleet and men were ready, they rode up along the river; but when they came near the bridge, there were cast down upon them so many stones and missile weapons, such as arrows and spears, that neither helmet nor shield could hold out against it; and the ships themselves were so greatly damaged, that many retreated out of it. but king olaf, and the northmen's fleet with him, rowed quite up under the bridge, laid their cables around the piles which supported it, and then rowed off with all the ships as hard as they could down the stream. the piles were thus shaken in the bottom, and were loosened under the bridge. now as the armed troops stood thick of men upon the bridge, and there were likewise many heaps of stones and other weapons upon it, and the piles under it being loosened and broken, the bridge gave way; and a great part of the men upon it fell into the river, and all the ethers fled, some into the castle, some into southwark. thereafter southwark was stormed and taken. now when the people in the castle saw that the river thames was mastered, and that they could not hinder the passage of ships up into the country, they became afraid, surrendered the tower, and took ethelred to be their king. so says ottar svarte:-- "london bridge is broken down.-- gold is won, and bright renown. shields resounding, war-horns sounding, hild is shouting in the din! arrows singing, mail-coats ringing-- odin makes our olaf win!" and he also composed these:-- "king ethelred has found a friend: brave olaf will his throne defend-- in bloody fight maintain his right, win back his land with blood-red hand, and edmund's son upon his throne replace-- edmund, the star of every royal race!" sigvat also relates as follows:-- "at london bridge stout olaf gave odin's law to his war-men brave-- 'to win or die!' and their foemen fly. some by the dyke-side refuge gain-- some in their tents on southwark plain! the sixth attack brought victory back." . the seventh battle. king olaf passed all the winter with king ethelred, and had a great battle at hringmara heath in ulfkel's land, the domain which ulfkel snilling at that time held; and here again the king was victorious. so says sigvat the skald:-- "to ulfkel's land came olaf bold, a seventh sword-thing he would hold. the race of ella filled the plain-- few of them slept at home again! hringmara heath was a bed of death: harfager's heir dealt slaughter there." and ottar sings of this battle thus:-- "from hringmara field the chime of war, sword striking shield, rings from afar. the living fly; the dead piled high the moor enrich; red runs the ditch." the country far around was then brought in subjection to king ethelred: but the thingmen ( ) and the danes held many castles, besides a great part of the country. endnotes: ( ) thing-men were hired men-at-arms; called thing-men probably from being men above the class of thralls or unfree men, and entitled to appear at things, as being udal-born to land at home. . eighth and ninth battles of olaf. king olaf was commander of all the forces when they went against canterbury; and they fought there until they took the town, killing many people and burning the castle. so says ottar svarte:-- "all in the grey of morn broad canterbury's forced. black smoke from house-roofs borne hides fire that does its worst; and many a man laid low by the battle-axe's blow, waked by the norsemen's cries, scarce had time to rub his eyes." sigvat reckons this king olaf's eighth battle:-- "of this eighth battle i can tell how it was fought, and what befell, the castle tower with all his power he could not take, nor would forsake. the perthmen fought, nor quarter sought; by death or flight they left the fight. olaf could not this earl stout from canterbury quite drive out." at this time king olaf was entrusted with the whole land defence of england, and he sailed round the land with his ships of war. he laid his ships at land at nyjamoda, where the troops of the thingmen were, and gave them battle and gained the victory. so says sigvat the skald:-- "the youthful king stained red the hair of angeln men, and dyed his spear at newport in their hearts' dark blood: and where the danes the thickest stood-- where the shrill storm round olaf's head of spear and arrow thickest fled. there thickest lay the thingmen dead! nine battles now of olaf bold, battle by battle, i have told." king olaf then scoured all over the country, taking scat of the people and plundering where it was refused. so says ottar:-- "the english race could not resist thee, with money thou madest them assist thee; unsparingly thou madest them pay a scat to thee in every way; money, if money could be got-- goods, cattle, household gear, if not. thy gathered spoil, borne to the strand, was the best wealth of english land." olaf remained here for three years (a.d. - ). . the tenth battle. the third year king ethelred died, and his sons edmund and edward took the government (a.d. ). then olaf sailed southwards out to sea, and had a battle at hringsfjord, and took a castle situated at holar, where vikings resorted, and burnt the castle. so says sigvat the skald:-- "of the tenth battle now i tell, where it was fought, and what befell. up on the hill in hringsfjord fair a robber nest hung in the air: the people followed our brave chief, and razed the tower of the viking thief. such rock and tower, such roosting-place, was ne'er since held by the roving race." . eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth battles. then king olaf proceeded westwards to grislupollar, and fought there with vikings at williamsby; and there also king olaf gained the victory. so says sigvat:-- "the eleventh battle now i tell, where it was fought, and what befell. at grislupol our young fir's name o'ertopped the forest trees in fame: brave olaf's name--nought else was heard but olaf's name, and arm, and sword. of three great earls, i have heard say, his sword crushed helm and head that day." next he fought westward on fetlafjord, as sigvat tells:-- "the twelfth fight was at fetlafjord, where olaf's honour-seeking sword gave the wild wolf's devouring teeth a feast of warriors doomed to death." from thence king olaf sailed southwards to seljupollar, where he had a battle. he took there a castle called gunvaldsborg, which was very large and old. he also made prisoner the earl who ruled over the castle and who was called geirfin. after a conference with the men of the castle, he laid a scat upon the town and earl, as ransom, of twelve thousand gold shillings: which was also paid by those on whom it was imposed. so says sigvat:-- "the thirteenth battle now i tell, where it was fought, and what befell. in seljupol was fought the fray, and many did not survive the day. the king went early to the shore, to gunvaldsborg's old castle-tower; and a rich earl was taken there, whose name was geridin, i am sure." . fourteenth battle and olaf's dream. thereafter king olaf steered with his fleet westward to karlsar, and tarried there and had a fight. and while king olaf was lying in karlsa river waiting a wind, and intending to sail up to norvasund, and then on to the land of jerusalem, he dreamt a remarkable dream--that there came to him a great and important man, but of a terrible appearance withal, who spoke to him, and told him to give up his purpose of proceeding to that land. "return back to thy udal, for thou shalt be king over norway for ever." he interpreted this dream to mean that he should be king over the country, and his posterity after him for a long time. . fifteenth battle. after this appearance to him he turned about, and came to poitou, where he plundered and burnt a merchant town called varrande. of this ottar speaks:-- "our young king, blythe and gay, is foremost in the fray: poitou he plunders, tuskland burns,-- he fights and wins where'er he turns." and also sigvat says:-- "the norsemen's king is on his cruise, his blue steel staining, rich booty gaining, and all men trembling at the news. the norsemen's kings up on the loire: rich partheney in ashes lay; far inland reached the norsemen's spear." . of the earls of rouen. king olaf had been two summers and one winter in the west in valland on this cruise; and thirteen years had now passed since the fall of king olaf trygvason. during this time earls had ruled over norway; first hakon's sons eirik and svein, and afterwards eirik's sons hakon and svein. hakon was a sister's son of king canute, the son of svein. during this time there were two earls in valland, william and robert; their father was richard earl of rouen. they ruled over normandy. their sister was queen emma, whom the english king ethelred had married; and their sons were edmund, edward the good, edwy, and edgar. richard the earl of rouen was a son of richard the son of william long spear, who was the son of rolf ganger, the earl who first conquered normandy; and he again was a son of ragnvald the mighty, earl of more, as before related. from rolf ganger are descended the earls of rouen, who have long reckoned themselves of kin to the chiefs in norway, and hold them in such respect that they always were the greatest friends of the northmen; and every northman found a friendly country in normandy, if he required it. to normandy king olaf came in autumn (a.d. ), and remained all winter (a.d. ) in the river seine in good peace and quiet. . of einar tambaskelfer. after olaf trygvason's fall, earl eirik gave peace to einar tambaskelfer, the son of eindride styrkarson; and einar went north with the earl to norway. it is said that einar was the strongest man and the best archer that ever was in norway. his shooting was sharp beyond all others; for with a blunt arrow he shot through a raw, soft ox-hide, hanging over a beam. he was better than any man at running on snow-shoes, was a great man at all exercises, was of high family, and rich. the earls eirik and svein married their sister bergliot to einar. their son was named eindride. the earls gave einar great fiefs in orkadal, so that he was one of the most powerful and able men in the throndhjem country, and was also a great friend of the earls, and a great support and aid to them. . of erling skialgson. when olaf trygvason ruled over norway, he gave his brother-in-law erling half of the land scat, and royal revenues between the naze and sogn. his other sister he married to the earl ragnvald ulfson, who long ruled over west gautland. ragnvald's father, ulf, was a brother of sigrid the haughty, the mother of olaf the swedish king. earl eirik was ill pleased that erling skialgson had so large a dominion, and he took to himself all the king's estates, which king olaf had given to erling. but erling levied, as before, all the land scat in rogaland; and thus the inhabitants had often to pay him the land scat, otherwise he laid waste their land. the earl made little of the business, for no bailiff of his could live there, and the earl could only come there in guest-quarters, when he had a great many people with him. so says sigvat:-- "olaf the king thought the bonde erling a man who would grace his own royal race. one sister the king gave the bonde erling; and one to an earl, and she saved him in peril." earl eirik did not venture to fight with erling, because he had very powerful and very many friends, and was himself rich and popular, and kept always as many retainers about him as if he held a king's court. erling was often out in summer on plundering expeditions, and procured for himself means of living; for he continued his usual way of high and splendid living, although now he had fewer and less convenient fiefs than in the time of his brother-in-law king olaf trygvason. erling was one of the handsomest, largest, and strongest men; a better warrior than any other; and in all exercises he was like king olaf himself. he was, besides, a man of understanding, jealous in everything he undertook, and a deadly man at arms. sigvat talks thus of him:-- "no earl or baron, young or old, match with this bonde brave can hold. mild was brave erling, all men say, when not engaged in bloody fray: his courage he kept hid until the fight began, then foremost still erling was seen in war's wild game, and famous still is erling's name." it was a common saying among the people, that erling had been the most valiant who ever held lands under a king in norway. erlings and astrid s children were these--aslak, skialg, sigurd, lodin, thorer, and ragnhild, who was married to thorberg arnason. erling had always with him ninety free-born men or more, and both winter and summer it was the custom in his house to drink at the mid-day meal according to a measure ( ), but at the night meal there was no measure in drinking. when the earl was in the neighbourhood he had ( ) men or more. he never went to sea with less than a fully-manned ship of twenty benches of rowers. erling had also a ship of thirty-two benches of rowers, which was besides, very large for that size, and which he used in viking cruises, or on an expedition; and in it there were men at the very least. endnotes: ( ) there were silver-studs in a row from the rim to the bottom of the drinking born or cup; and as it went round each drank till the stud appeared above the liquor. this was drinking by measure.--l. ( ) i.e., . . of the herse erling skialgson. erling had always at home on his farm thirty slaves, besides other serving-people. he gave his slaves a certain day's work; but after it he gave them leisure, and leave that each should work in the twilight and at night for himself, and as he pleased. he gave them arable land to sow corn in, and let them apply their crops to their own use. he laid upon each a certain quantity of labour to work themselves free by doing it; and there were many who bought their freedom in this way in one year, or in the second year, and all who had any luck could make themselves free within three years. with this money he bought other slaves: and to some of his freed people he showed how to work in the herring-fishery, to others he showed some useful handicraft; and some cleared his outfields and set up houses. he helped all to prosperity. . of earl eirik. when earl eirik had ruled over norway for twelve years, there came a message to him from his brother-in-law king canute, the danish king, that he should go with him on an expedition westward to england; for eirik was very celebrated for his campaigns, as he had gained the victory in the two hardest engagements which had ever been fought in the north countries. the one was that in which the earls hakon and eirik fought with the jomsborg vikings; the other that in which earl eirik fought with king olaf trygvason. thord kolbeinson speaks of this:-- "a song of praise again i raise. to the earl bold the word is told, that knut the brave his aid would crave; the earl, i knew, to friend stands true." the earl would not sleep upon the message of the king, but sailed immediately out of the country, leaving behind his son earl hakon to take care of norway; and, as he was but seventeen years of age, einar tambaskelfer was to be at his hand to rule the country for him. eirik met king canute in england, and was with him when he took the castle of london. earl eirik had a battle also to the westward of the castle of london, and killed ulfkel snilling. so says thord kolbeinson:-- "west of london town we passed, and our ocean-steeds made fast, and a bloody fight begin, england's lands to lose or win. blue sword and shining spear laid ulfkel's dead corpse there, our thingmen hear the war-shower sounding our grey arrows from their shields rebounding." earl eirik was a winter in england, and had many battles there. the following autumn he intended to make a pilgrimage to rome, but he died in england of a bloody flux. . the murder of edmund. king canute came to england the summer that king ethelred died, and had many battles with ethelred's sons, in which the victory was sometimes on one side, sometimes on the other. then king canute took queen emma in marriage; and their children were harald, hardacanute, and gunhild. king canute then made an agreement with king edmund, that each of them should have a half of england. in the same month henry strion murdered king edmund. king canute then drove all ethelred's sons out of england. so says sigvat:-- "now all the sons of ethelred were either fallen, or had fled: some slain by canute,--some they say, to save their lives had run away." . olaf and ethelred's sons. king ethelred's sons came to rouen in valland from england, to their mother's brother, the same summer that king olaf haraldson came from the west from his viking cruise, and they were all during the winter in normandy together. they made an agreement with each other that king olaf should have northumberland, if they could succeed in taking england from the danes. therefore about harvest, olaf sent his foster-father hrane to england to collect men-at-arms; and ethelred's sons sent tokens to their friends and relations with him. king olaf, besides, gave him much money with him to attract people to them. hrane was all winter in england, and got promises from many powerful men of fidelity, as the people of the country would rather have native kings over them; but the danish power had become so great in england, that all the people were brought under their dominion. . battle of king olaf. in spring (a.d. ) king olaf and king ethelred's sons set out together to the west, and came to a place in england called jungufurda, where they landed with their army and moved forward against the castle. many men were there who had promised them their aid. they took the castle; and killed many people. now when king canute's men heard of this they assembled an army, and were soon in such force that ethelred's sons could not stand against it; and they saw no other way left but to return to rouen. then king olaf separated from them, and would not go back to valland, but sailed northwards along england, all the way to northumberland, where he put into a haven at a place called valde; and in a battle there with the townspeople and merchants he gained the victory, and a great booty. . olaf's expedition to norway. king olaf left his long-ships there behind, but made ready two ships of burden; and had with him men in them, well-armed, and chosen people. he sailed out to sea northwards in harvest, but encountered a tremendous storm and they were in danger of being lost; but as they had a chosen crew, and the king s luck with them, all went on well. so says ottar:-- "olaf, great stem of kings, is brave-- bold in the fight, bold on the wave. no thought of fear thy heart comes near. undaunted, 'midst the roaring flood, firm at his post each shipman stood; and thy two ships stout the gale stood out." and further he says:-- "thou able chief! with thy fearless crew thou meetest, with skill and courage true, the wild sea's wrath on thy ocean path. though waves mast-high were breaking round. thou findest the middle of norway's ground, with helm in hand on saela's strand." it is related here that king olaf came from the sea to the very middle of norway; and the isle is called saela where they landed, and is outside of stad. king olaf said he thought it must be a lucky day for them, since they had landed at saela in norway; and observed it was a good omen that it so happened. as they were going up in the isle, the king slipped with one foot in a place where there was clay, but supported himself with the other foot. then said he "the king falls." "nay," replies hrane, "thou didst not fall, king, but set fast foot in the soil." the king laughed thereat, and said, "it may be so if god will." they went down again thereafter to their ships, and sailed to ulfasund, where they heard that earl hakon was south in sogn, and was expected north as soon as wind allowed with a single ship. . hakon taken prisoner by olaf. king olaf steered his ships within the ordinary ships' course when he came abreast of fjaler district, and ran into saudungssund. there he laid his two vessels one on each side of the sound with a thick cable between them. at the same moment hakon, earl eirik's son, came rowing into the sound with a manned ship; and as they thought these were but two merchant-vessels that were lying in the sound, they rowed between them. then olaf and his men draw the cable up right under hakon's ship's keel and wind it up with the capstan. as soon as the vessel's course was stopped her stern was lifted up, and her bow plunged down; so that the water came in at her fore-end and over both sides, and she upset. king olaf's people took earl hakon and all his men whom they could get hold of out of the water, and made them prisoners; but some they killed with stones and other weapons, and some were drowned. so says ottar:-- "the black ravens wade in the blood from thy blade. young hakon so gay, with his ship, is thy prey: his ship, with its gear, thou hast ta'en; and art here, thy forefather's land from the earl to demand." earl hakon was led up to the king's ship. he was the handsomest man that could be seen. he had long hair, as fine as silk, bound about his bead with a gold ornament. when he sat down in the fore-hold, the king said to him, "it is not false what is said of your family, that ye are handsome people to look at; but now your luck has deserted you." hakon the earl replied, "it has always been the case that success is changeable; and there is no luck in the matter. it has gone with your family as with mine, to have by turns the better lot. i am little beyond childhood in years; and at any rate we could not have defended ourselves, as we did not expect any attack on the way. it may turn out better with us another time." then said king olaf, "dost thou not apprehend that thou art in that condition that, hereafter, there can be neither victory nor defeat for thee?" the earl replies, "that is what thou only canst determine, king, according to thy pleasure." olaf says, "what wilt thou give me, earl, if for this time i let thee go, whole and unhurt?" the earl asks what he would take. "nothing," says the king, "except that thou shalt leave the country, give up thy kingdom, and take an oath that thou shalt never go into battle against me." the earl answered, that he would do so. and now earl hakon took the oath that he would never fight against olaf, or seek to defend norway against him, or attack him; and king olaf thereupon gave him and all his men life and peace. the earl got back the ship which had brought him there, and he and his men rowed their way. thus says sigvat of him:-- "in old saudungs sound the king earl hakon found, who little thought that there a foeman was so near. the best and fairest youth earl hakon was in truth, that speaks the danish tongue, and of the race of great hakon." . hakon's departure from norway. after this (a.d. ) the earl made ready as fast as possible to leave the country and sail over to england. he met king canute, his mother's brother, there, and told him all that had taken place between him and king olaf. king canute received him remarkably well, placed him in his court in his own house, and gave him great power in his kingdom. earl hakon dwelt a long time with king canute. during the time svein and hakon ruled over norway, a reconciliation with erling skialgson was effected, and secured by aslak, erling's son, marrying gunhild, earl svein's daughter; and the father and son, erling and aslak, retained all the fiefs which king olaf trygvason had given to erling. thus erling became a firm friend of the earl's, and their mutual friendship was confirmed by oath. . asta receives her son olaf. king olaf went now eastward along the land, holding things with the bondes all over the country. many went willingly with him; but some, who were earl svein's friends or relations, spoke against him. therefore king olaf sailed in all haste eastward to viken; went in there with his ships; set them on the land; and proceeded up the country, in order to meet his stepfather, sigurd syr. when he came to vestfold he was received in a friendly way by many who had been his father's friends or acquaintances; and also there and in folden were many of his family. in autumn (a.d. ) he proceeded up the country to his stepfather king sigurd's, and came there one day very early. as olaf was coming near to the house, some of the servants ran beforehand to the house, and into the room. olaf's mother, asta, was sitting in the room, and around her some of her girls. when the servants told her of king olaf's approach, and that he might soon be expected, asta stood up directly, and ordered the men and girls to put everything in the best order. she ordered four girls to bring out all that belonged to the decoration of the room and put it in order with hangings and benches. two fellows brought straw for the floor, two brought forward four-cornered tables and the drinking-jugs, two bore out victuals and placed the meat on the table, two she sent away from the house to procure in the greatest haste all that was needed, and two carried in the ale; and all the other serving men and girls went outside of the house. messengers went to seek king sigurd wherever he might be, and brought to him his dress-clothes, and his horse with gilt saddle, and his bridle, which was gilt and set with precious stones. four men she sent off to the four quarters of the country to invite all the great people to a feast, which she prepared as a rejoicing for her son's return. all who were before in the house she made to dress themselves with the best they had, and lent clothes to those who had none suitable. . king sigurd's dress. king sigurd syr was standing in his corn-field when the messengers came to him and brought him the news, and also told him all that asta was doing at home in the house. he had many people on his farm. some were then shearing corn, some bound it together, some drove it to the building, some unloaded it and put it in stack or barn; but the king, and two men with him, went sometimes into the field, sometimes to the place where the corn was put into the barn. his dress, it is told, was this:--he had a blue kirtle and blue breeches; shoes which were laced about the legs; a grey cloak, and a grey wide-brimmed hat; a veil before his face; a staff in his hand with a gilt-silver head on it and a silver ring around it. of sigurd's living and disposition it is related that he was a very gain-making man who attended carefully to his cattle and husbandry, and managed his housekeeping himself. he was nowise given to pomp, and was rather taciturn. but he was a man of the best understanding in norway, and also excessively wealthy in movable property. peaceful he was, and nowise haughty. his wife asta was generous and high-minded. their children were, guthorm, the eldest; then gunhild; the next halfdan, ingerid, and harald. the messengers said to sigurd, "asta told us to bring thee word how much it lay at her heart that thou shouldst on this occasion comport thyself in the fashion of great men, and show a disposition more akin to harald harfager's race than to thy mother's father's, hrane thin-nose, or earl nereid the old, although they too were very wise men." the king replies, "the news ye bring me is weighty, and ye bring it forward in great heat. already before now asta has been taken up much with people who were not so near to her; and i see she is still of the same disposition. she takes this up with great warmth; but can she lead her son out of the business with the same splendour she is leading him into it? if it is to proceed so methinks they who mix themselves up in it regard little property or life. for this man, king olaf, goes against a great superiority of power; and the wrath of the danish and swedish kings lies at the foot of his determination, if he ventures to go against them." . of the feast. when the king had said this he sat down, and made them take off his shoes, and put corduvan boots on, to which he bound his gold spurs. then he put off his cloak and coat, and dressed himself in his finest clothes, with a scarlet cloak over all; girded on his sword, set a gilded helmet upon his head, and mounted his horse. he sent his labouring people out to the neighbourhood, and gathered to him thirty well-clothed men, and rode home with them. as they rode up to the house, and were near the room, they saw on the other side of the house the banners of olaf coming waving; and there was he himself, with about men all well equipped. people were gathered over all upon the house-tops. king sigurd immediately saluted his stepson from horseback in a friendly way, and invited him and his men to come in and drink a cup with him. asta, on the contrary, went up and kissed her son, and invited him to stay with her; and land, and people, and all the good she could do for him stood at his service. king olaf thanked her kindly for her invitation. then she took him by the hand, and led him into the room to the high-seat. king sigurd got men to take charge of their clothes, and give their horses corn; and then he himself went to his high-seat, and the feast was made with the greatest splendour. . conversation of olaf and sigurd. king olaf had not been long here before he one day called his stepfather king sigurd, his mother asta, and his foster-father hrane to a conference and consultation. olaf began thus: "it has so happened," said he, "as is well known to you, that i have returned to this country after a very long sojourn in foreign parts, during all which time i and my men have had nothing for our support but what we captured in war, for which we have often hazarded both life and soul: for many an innocent man have we deprived of his property, and some of their lives; and foreigners are now sitting in the possessions which my father, his father, and their forefathers for a long series of generations owned, and to which i have udal right. they have not been content with this, but have taken to themselves also the properties of all our relations who are descended from harald harfager. to some they have left little, to others nothing at all. now i will disclose to you what i have long concealed in my own mind, that i intend to take the heritage of my forefathers; but i will not wait upon the danish or swedish king to supplicate the least thing from them, although they for the time call that their property which was harald harfager's heritage. to say the truth, i intend rather to seek my patrimony with battle-axe and sword, and that with the help of all my friends and relations, and of those who in this business will take my side. and in this matter i will so lay hand to the work that one of two things shall happen,--either i shall lay all this kingdom under my rule which they got into their hands by the slaughter of my kinsman olaf trygvason, or i shall fall here upon my inheritance in the land of my fathers. now i expect of thee, sigurd, my stepfather, as well as other men here in the country who have udal right of succession to the kingdom, according to the law made by king harald harfager, that nothing shall be of such importance to you as to prevent you from throwing off the disgrace from our family of being slow at supporting the man who comes forward to raise up again our race. but whether ye show any manhood in this affair or not, i know the inclination of the people well,--that all want to be free from the slavery of foreign masters, and will give aid and strength to the attempt. i have not proposed this matter to any before thee, because i know thou art a man of understanding, and can best judge how this my purpose shall be brought forward in the beginning, and whether we shall, in all quietness, talk about it to a few persons, or instantly declare it to the people at large. i have already shown my teeth by taking prisoner the earl hakon, who has now left the country, and given me, under oath, the part of the kingdom which he had before; and i think it will be easier to have earl svein alone to deal with, than if both were defending the country against us." king sigurd answers, "it is no small affair, king olaf, thou hast in thy mind; and thy purpose comes more, methinks, from hasty pride than from prudence. but it may be there is a wide difference between my humble ways and the high thoughts thou hast; for whilst yet in thy childhood thou wast full always of ambition and desire of command, and now thou art experienced in battles, and hast formed thyself upon the manner of foreign chiefs. i know therefore well, that as thou hast taken this into thy head, it is useless to dissuade thee from it; and also it is not to be denied that it goes to the heart of all who have courage in them, that the whole harfager race and kingdom should go to the ground. but i will not bind myself by any promise, before i know the views and intentions of other upland kings; but thou hast done well in letting me know thy purpose, before declaring it publicly to the people. i will promise thee, however, my interest with the kings, and other chiefs, and country people; and also, king olaf, all my property stands to thy aid, and to strengthen thee. but we will only produce the matter to the community so soon as we see some progress, and expect some strength to this undertaking; for thou canst easily perceive that it is a daring measure to enter into strife with olaf the swedish king, and canute, who is king both of denmark and england; and thou requirest great support under thee, if it is to succeed. it is not unlikely, in my opinion, that thou wilt get good support from the people, as the commonalty always loves what is new; and it went so before, when olaf trygvason came here to the country, that all rejoiced at it, although he did not long enjoy the kingdom." when the consultation had proceeded so far, asta took up the word. "for my part, my son, i am rejoiced at thy arrival, but much more at thy advancing thy honour. i will spare nothing for that purpose that stands in my power, although it be but little help that can be expected from me. but if a choice could be made, i would rather that thou shouldst be the supreme king of norway, even if thou shouldst not sit longer in thy kingdom than olaf trygvason did, than that thou shouldst not be a greater king than sigurd syr is, and die the death of old age." with this the conference closed. king olaf remained here a while with all his men. king sigurd entertained them, day about, the one day with fish and milk, the other day with flesh-meat and ale. . kings in the upland districts. at that time there were many kings in the uplands who had districts to rule over, and the most of them were descended from harald harfager. in hedemark two brothers ruled--hrorek and ring; in gudbrandsdal, gudrod; and there was also a king in raumarike; and one had hadaland and thoten; and in valders also there was a king. with these district-kings sigurd had a meeting up in hadaland, and olaf haraldson also met with them. to these district-kings whom sigurd had assembled he set forth his stepson olaf's purpose, and asked their aid, both of men and in counsel and consent; and represented to them how necessary it was to cast off the yoke which the danes and swedes had laid upon them. he said that there was now a man before them who could head such an enterprise; and he recounted the many brave actions which olaf had achieved upon his war-expeditions. then king hrorek says, "true it is that harald harfager's kingdom has gone to decay, none of his race being supreme king over norway. but the people here in the country have experienced many things. when king hakon, athelstan's foster-son, was king, all were content; but when gunhild's sons ruled over the country, all were so weary of their tyranny and injustice that they would rather have foreign men as kings, and be themselves more their own rulers; for the foreign kings were usually abroad and cared little about the customs of the people if the scat they laid on the country was paid. when enmity arose between the danish king harald and earl hakon, the jomsborg vikings made an expedition against norway; then the whole people arose, and threw the hostilities from themselves; and thereafter the people encouraged earl hakon to keep the country, and defend it with sword and spear against the danish king. but when he had set himself fast in the kingdom with the help of the people, he became so hard and overbearing towards the country-folks, that they would no longer suffer him. the throndhjem people killed him, and raised to the kingly power olaf trygvason, who was of the udal succession to the kingdom, and in all respects well fitted to be a chief. the whole country's desire was to make him supreme king, and raise again the kingdom which harald harfager had made for himself. but when king olaf thought himself quite firmly seated in his kingdom, no man could rule his own concerns for him. with us small kings he was so unreasonable, as to take to himself not only all the scat and duties which harald harfager had levied from us, but a great deal more. the people at last had so little freedom under him, that it was not allowed to every man to believe in what god he pleased. now since he has been taken away we have kept friendly with the danish king; have received great help from him when we have had any occasion for it; and have been allowed to rule ourselves, and live in peace and quiet in the inland country, and without any overburden. i am therefore content that things be as they are, for i do not see what better rights i am to enjoy by one of my relations ruling over the country; and if i am to be no better off, i will take no part in the affair." then said king ring, his brother, "i will also declare my opinion that it is better for me, if i hold the same power and property as now, that my relative is king over norway, rather than a foreign chief, so that our family may again raise its head in the land. it is, besides, my opinion about this man olaf, that his fate and luck must determine whether he is to obtain the kingdom or not; and if he succeed in making himself supreme king, then he will be the best off who has best deserved his friendship. at present he has in no respect greater power than any of us; nay, indeed, he has less; as we have lands and kingdoms to rule over, and he has nothing, and we are equally entitled by the udal right to the kingdom as he is himself. now, if we will be his men, give him our aid, allow him to take the highest dignity in the country, and stand by him with our strength, how should he not reward us well, and hold it in remembrance to our great advantage, if he be the honourable man i believe him to be, and all say he is? therefore let us join the adventure, say i, and bind ourselves in friendship with him." then the others, one after the other, stood up and spoke; and the conclusion was, that the most of them determined to enter into a league with king olaf. he promised them his perfect friendship, and that he would hold by and improve the country's laws and rights, if he became supreme king of norway. this league was confirmed by oath. . olaf gets the title of king from the thing. thereafter the kings summoned a thing, and there king olaf set forth this determination to all the people, and his demand on the kingly power. he desires that the bondes should receive him as king; and promises, on the other hand, to allow them to retain their ancient laws, and to defend the land from foreign masters and chiefs. on this point he spoke well, and long; and he got great praise for his speech. then the kings rose and spoke, the one after the other, and supported his cause, and this message to the people. at last it came to this, that king olaf was proclaimed king over the whole country, and the kingdom adjudged to him according to law in the uplands (a.d. ). . king olaf travels in the uplands. king olaf began immediately his progress through the country, appointing feasts before him wherever there were royal farms. first he travelled round in hadaland, and then he proceeded north to gudbrandsdal. and now it went as king sigurd syr had foretold, that people streamed to him from all quarters; and he did not appear to have need for half of them, for he had nearly men. but the entertainments bespoken did not half serve; for it had been the custom that kings went about in guest-quarters in the uplands with or men only, and never with more than men. the king therefore hastened over the country, only stopping one night at the same place. when he came north to dovrefield, he arranged his journey so that he came over the mountain and down upon the north side of it, and then came to opdal, where he remained all night. afterwards he proceeded through opdal forest, and came out at medaldal, where he proclaimed a thing, and summoned the bondes to meet him at it. the king made a speech to the thing, and asked the bondes to accept him as king; and promised, on his part, the laws and rights which king olaf trygvason had offered them. the bondes had no strength to make opposition to the king; so the result was that they received him as king, and confirmed it by oath: but they sent word to orkadal and skaun of all that they knew concerning olaf's proceedings. . levy against olaf in throndhjem. einar tambaskelfer had a farm and house at husaby in skaun; and now when he got news of olaf's proceedings, he immediately split up a war-arrow, and sent it out as a token to the four quarters--north, south, east, west,--to call together all free and unfree men in full equipment of war: therewith the message, that they were to defend the land against king olaf. the message-stick went to orkadal, and thence to gaulardal, where the whole war-force was to assemble. . olaf's progress in throndhjem. king olaf proceeded with his men down into orkadal, and advanced in peace and with all gentleness; but when he came to griotar he met the assembled bondes, amounting to more than men. then the king arrayed his army, for he thought the bondes were to give battle. when the bondes saw this, they also began to put their men in order; but it went on very slowly, for they had not agreed beforehand who among them should be commander. now when king olaf saw there was confusion among the bondes, he sent to them thorer gudbrandson; and when he came he told them king olaf did not want to fight them, but named twelve of the ablest men in their flock of people, who were desired to come to king olaf. the bondes agreed to this; and the twelve men went over a rising ground which is there, and came to the place where the king's army stood in array. the king said to them, "ye bondes have done well to give me an opportunity to speak with you, for now i will explain to you my errand here to the throndhjem country. first i must tell you, what ye already must have heard, that earl hakon and i met in summer; and the issue of our meeting was, that he gave me the whole kingdom he possessed in the throndhjem country, which, as ye know, consists of orkadal, gaulardal, strind, and eyna district. as a proof of this, i have here with me the very men who were present, and saw the earl's and my own hands given upon it, and heard the word and oath, and witnessed the agreement the earl made with me. now i offer you peace and law, the same as king olaf trygvason offered before me." the king spoke well, and long; and ended by proposing to the bondes two conditions--either to go into his service and be subject to him, or to fight him. thereupon the twelve bondes went back to their people, and told the issue of their errand, and considered with the people what they should resolve upon. although they discussed the matter backwards and forwards for a while, they preferred at last to submit to the king; and it was confirmed by the oath of the bondes. the king now proceeded on his journey, and the bondes made feasts for him. the king then proceeded to the sea-coast, and got ships; and among others he got a long-ship of twenty benches of rowers from gunnar of gelmin; another ship of twenty benches he got from loden of viggia; and three ships of twenty benches from the farm of angrar on the ness which farm earl hakon had possessed, but a steward managed it for him, by name bard white. the king had, besides, four or five boats; and with these vessels he went in all haste into the fjord of throndhjem. . of earl svein's proceedings. earl svein was at that time far up in the throndhjem fjord at steinker, which at that time was a merchant town, and was there preparing for the yule festival (a.d. ). when einar tambaskelfer heard that the orkadal people had submitted to king olaf, he sent men to earl svein to bring him the tidings. they went first to nidaros, and took a rowing-boat which belonged to einar, with which they went out into the fjord, and came one day late in the evening to steinker, where they brought to the earl the news about all king olaf's proceedings. the earl owned a long-ship, which was lying afloat and rigged just outside the town: and immediately, in the evening, he ordered all his movable goods, his people's clothes, and also meat and drink, as much as the vessel could carry, to be put on board, rowed immediately out in the night-time, and came with daybreak to skarnsund. there he saw king olaf rowing in with his fleet into the fjord. the earl turned towards the land within masarvik, where there was a thick wood, and lay so near the rocks that the leaves and branches hung over the vessel. they cut down some large trees, which they laid over the quarter on the sea-side, so that the ship could not be seen for leaves, especially as it was scarcely clear daylight when the king came rowing past them. the weather was calm, and the king rowed in among the islands; and when the king's fleet was out of sight the earl rowed out of the fjord, and on to frosta, where his kingdom lay, and there he landed. . earl svein's and einar's consultations. earl svein sent men out to gaulardal to his brother-in-law, einar tambaskelfer; and when einar came the earl told him how it had been with him and king olaf, and that now he would assemble men to go out against king olaf, and fight him. einar answers, "we should go to work cautiously, and find out what king olaf intends doing; and not let him hear anything concerning us but that we are quiet. it may happen that if he hears nothing about our assembling people, he may sit quietly where he is in steinker all the yule; for there is plenty prepared for him for the yule feast: but if he hears we are assembling men, he will set right out of the fjord with his vessels, and we shall not get hold of him." einar's advice was taken; and the earl went to stjoradal, into guest-quarters among the bondes. when king olaf came to steinker he collected all the meat prepared for the yule feast, and made it be put on board, procured some transport vessels, took meat and drink with him, and got ready to sail as fast as possible, and went out all the way to nidaros. here king olaf trygvason had laid the foundation of a merchant town, and had built a king's house: but before that nidaros was only a single house, as before related. when earl eirik came to the country, he applied all his attention to his house of lade, where his father had had his main residence, and he neglected the houses which olaf had erected at the nid; so that some were fallen down, and those which stood were scarcely habitable. king olaf went now with his ships up the nid, made all the houses to be put in order directly that were still standing, and built anew those that had fallen down, and employed in this work a great many people. then he had all the meat and drink brought on shore to the houses, and prepared to hold yule there; so earl svein and einar had to fall upon some other plan. . of sigvat the skald. there was an iceland man called thord sigvaldaskald, who had been long with earl sigvalde, and afterwards with the earl's brother, thorkel the tall; but after the earl's death thord had become a merchant. he met king olaf on his viking cruise in the west, and entered into his service, and followed him afterwards. he was with the king when the incidents above related took place. thord had a son called sigvat fostered in the house of thorkel at apavatn, in iceland. when he was nearly a grown man he went out of the country with some merchants; and the ship came in autumn to the throndhjem country, and the crew lodged in the hered (district). the same winter king olaf came to throndhjem, as just now related by us. now when sigvat heard that his father thord was with the king, he went to him, and stayed a while with him. sigvat was a good skald at an early age. he made a lay in honour of king olaf, and asked the king to listen to it. the king said he did not want poems composed about him, and said he did not understand the skald's craft. then sigvat sang:-- "rider of dark-blue ocean's steeds! allow one skald to sing thy deeds; and listen to the song of one who can sing well, if any can. for should the king despise all others, and show no favour to my brothers, yet i may all men's favour claim, who sing, still of our great king's fame." king olaf gave sigvat as a reward for his verse a gold ring that weighed half a mark, and sigvat was made one of king olaf's court-men. then sigvat sang:-- "i willingly receive this sword-- by land or sea, on shore, on board, i trust that i shall ever be worthy the sword received from thee. a faithful follower thou hast bound-- a generous master i have found; master and servant both have made just what best suits them by this trade." earl svein had, according to custom, taken one half of the harbour-dues from the iceland ship-traders about autumn (a.d. ); for the earls eirik and hakon had always taken one half of these and all other revenues in the throndhjem country. now when king olaf came there, he sent his men to demand that half of the tax from the iceland traders; and they went up to the king's house and asked sigvat to help them. he went to the king, and sang:-- "my prayer, i trust, will not be vain-- no gold by it have i to gain: all that the king himself here wins is not red gold, but a few skins. it is not right that these poor men their harbour-dues should pay again. that they paid once i know is true; remit, great king, what scarce is due." . of earl svein. earl svein and einar tambaskelfer gathered a large armed force, with which they came by the upper road into gaulardal, and so down to nidaros, with nearly men. king olaf's men were out upon the gaular ridge, and had a guard on horseback. they became aware that a force was coming down the gaulardal, and they brought word of it to the king about midnight. the king got up immediately, ordered the people to be wakened, and they went on board of the ships, bearing all their clothes and arms on board, and all that they could take with them, and then rowed out of the river. then came the earl's men to the town at the same moment, took all the christmas provision, and set fire to the houses. king olaf went out of the fjord down to orkadal, and there landed the men from their ships. from orkadal they went up to the mountains, and over the mountains eastwards into gudbrandsdal. in the lines composed about kleng brusason, it is said that earl eirik burned the town of nidaros:-- "the king's half-finished hall, rafters, root, and all, is burned down by the river's side; the flame spreads o'er the city wide." . of king olaf. king olaf went southwards through gudbrandsdal, and thence out to hedemark. in the depth of winter (a.d. ) he went about in guest-quarters; but when spring returned he collected men, and went to viken. he had with him many people from hedemark, whom the kings had given him; and also many powerful people from among the bondes joined him, among whom ketil kalf from ringanes. he had also people from raumarike. his stepfather, sigurd syr, gave him the help also of a great body of men. they went down from thence to the coast, and made ready to put to sea from viken. the fleet, which was manned with many fine fellows, went out then to tunsberg. . of earl svein's forces. after yule (a.d. ) earl svein gathers all the men of the throndhjem country, proclaims a levy for an expedition, and fits out ships. at that time there were in the throndhjem country a great number of lendermen; and many of them were so powerful and well-born, that they descended from earls, or even from the royal race, which in a short course of generations reckoned to harald harfager, and they were also very rich. these lendermen were of great help to the kings or earls who ruled the land; for it was as if the lenderman had the bonde-people of each district in his power. earl svein being a good friend of the lendermen, it was easy for him to collect people. his brother-in-law, einar tambaskelfer, was on his side, and with him many other lendermen; and among them many, both lendermen and bondes, who the winter before had taken the oath of fidelity to king olaf. when they were ready for sea they went directly out of the fjord, steering south along the land, and drawing men from every district. when they came farther south, abreast of rogaland, erling skialgson came to meet them, with many people and many lendermen with him. now they steered eastward with their whole fleet to viken, and earl svein ran in there towards the end of easter. the earl steered his fleet to grenmar, and ran into nesjar (a.d. ). . king olaf s forces. king olaf steered his fleet out from viken, until the two fleets were not far from each other, and they got news of each other the saturday before palm sunday. king olaf himself had a ship called the carl's head, on the bow of which a king's head was carved out, and he himself had carved it. this head was used long after in norway on ships which kings steered themselves. . king olaf's speech. as soon as day dawned on sunday morning, king olaf got up, put on his clothes, went to the land, and ordered to sound the signal for the whole army to come on shore. then he made a speech to the troops, and told the whole assembly that he had heard there was but a short distance between them and earl svein. "now," said he, "we shall make ready; for it can be but a short time until we meet. let the people arm, and every man be at the post that has been appointed him, so that all may be ready when i order the signal to sound for casting off from the land. then let us row off at once; and so that none go on before the rest of the ships, and none lag behind when i row out of the harbour: for we cannot tell if we shall find the earl where he was lying, or if he has come out to meet us. when we do meet, and the battle begins, let people be alert to bring all our ships in close order, and ready to bind them together. let us spare ourselves in the beginning, and take care of our weapons, that we do not cast them into the sea, or shoot them away in the air to no purpose. but when the fight becomes hot and the ships are bound together, then let each man show what is in him of manly spirit." . of the battle at nesjar. king olaf had in his ship men armed in coats of ring-mail, and in foreign helmets. the most of his men had white shields, on which the holy cross was gilt; but some had painted it in blue or red. he had also had the cross painted in front on all the helmets, in a pale colour. he had a white banner on which was a serpent figured. he ordered a mass to be read before him, went on board ship, and ordered his people to refresh themselves with meat and drink. he then ordered the war-horns to sound to battle, to leave the harbour, and row off to seek the earl. now when they came to the harbour where the earl had lain, the earl's men were armed, and beginning to row out of the harbour; but when they saw the king's fleet coming they began to bind the ships together, to set up their banners, and to make ready for the fight. when king olaf saw this he hastened the rowing, laid his ship alongside the earl's, and the battle began. so says sigvat the skald:-- "boldly the king did then pursue earl svein, nor let him out of view. the blood ran down the reindeer's flank of each sea-king--his vessel's plank. nor did the earl's stout warriors spare in battle-brunt the sword and spear. earl svein his ships of war pushed on, and lashed their stout stems one to one." it is said that king olaf brought his ships into battle while svein was still lying in the harbour. sigvat the skald was himself in the fight; and in summer, just after the battle, he composed a lay, which is called the "nesjar song", in which he tells particularly the circumstances:-- "in the fierce fight 'tis known how near the scorner of the ice-cold spear laid the charles' head the earl on board, all eastward of the agder fjord." then was the conflict exceedingly sharp, and it was long before it could be seen how it was to go in the end. many fell on both sides, and many were the wounded. so says sigvat:-- "no urging did the earl require, midst spear and sword--the battle's fire; no urging did the brave king need the ravens in this shield-storm to feed. of limb-lopping enough was there, and ghastly wounds of sword and spear. never, i think, was rougher play than both the armies had that day." the earl had most men, but the king had a chosen crew in his ship, who had followed him in all his wars; and, besides, they were so excellently equipped, as before related, that each man had a coat of ring-mail, so that he could not be wounded. so says sigvat:-- "our lads, broad-shouldered, tall, and hale, drew on their cold shirts of ring-mail. soon sword on sword was shrilly ringing, and in the air the spears were singing. under our helms we hid our hair, for thick flew arrows through the air. right glad was i our gallant crew, steel-clad from head to foot, to view." . earl svein's flight. when the men began to fall on board the earl's ships, and many appeared wounded, so that the sides of the vessels were but thinly beset with men, the crew of king olaf prepared to board. their banner was brought up to the ship that was nearest the earl's, and the king himself followed the banner. so says sigvat:-- "'on with the king!' his banners waving: 'on with the king!' the spears he's braving! 'on, steel-clad men! and storm the deck, slippery with blood and strewed with wreck. a different work ye have to share, his banner in war-storm to bear, from your fair girl's, who round the hall brings the full mead-bowl to us all.'" now was the severest fighting. many of svein's men fell, and some sprang overboard. so says sigvat:-- "into the ship our brave lads spring,-- on shield and helm their red blades ring; the air resounds with stroke on stroke,-- the shields are cleft, the helms are broke. the wounded bonde o'er the side falls shrieking in the blood-stained tide-- the deck is cleared with wild uproar-- the dead crew float about the shore." and also these lines:-- "the shields we brought from home were white, now they are red-stained in the fight: this work was fit for those who wore ringed coats-of-mail their breasts before. where for the foe blunted the best sword i saw our young king climb on board. he stormed the first; we followed him-- the war-birds now in blood may swim." now defeat began to come down upon the earl's men. the king's men pressed upon the earl's ship and entered it; but when the earl saw how it was going, he called out to his forecastle-men to cut the cables and cast the ship loose, which they did. then the king's men threw grapplings over the timber heads of the ship, and so held her fast to their own; but the earl ordered the timber heads to be cut away, which was done. so says sigvat:-- "the earl, his noble ship to save, to cut the posts loud order gave. the ship escaped: our greedy eyes had looked on her as a clear prize. the earl escaped; but ere he fled we feasted odin's fowls with dead:-- with many a goodly corpse that floated round our ship's stern his birds were bloated." einar tambaskelfer had laid his ship right alongside the earl's. they threw an anchor over the bows of the earl's ship, and thus towed her away, and they slipped out of the fjord together. thereafter the whole of the earl's fleet took to flight, and rowed out of the fjord. the skald berse torfason was on the forecastle of the earl's ship; and as it was gliding past the king's fleet, king olaf called out to him--for he knew berse, who was distinguished as a remarkably handsome man, always well equipped in clothes and arms--"farewell, berse!" he replied, "farewell, king!" so says berse himself, in a poem he composed when he fell into king olaf's power, and was laid in prison and in fetters on board a ship:-- "olaf the brave a 'farewell' gave, (no time was there to parley long,) to me who knows the art of song. the skald was fain 'farewell' again in the same terms back to send-- the rule in arms to foe or friend. earl svein's distress i well can guess, when flight he was compelled to take: his fortunes i will ne'er forsake, though i lie here in chains a year, in thy great vessel all forlorn, to crouch to thee i still will scorn: i still will say, no milder sway than from thy foe this land e'er knew: to him, my early friend, i'm true." . earl svein leaves the country. now some of the earl's men fled up the country, some surrendered at discretion; but svein and his followers rowed out of the fjord, and the chiefs laid their vessels together to talk with each other, for the earl wanted counsel from his lendermen. erling skialgson advised that they should sail north, collect people, and fight king olaf again; but as they had lost many people, the most were of opinion that the earl should leave the country, and repair to his brother-in-law the swedish king, and strengthen himself there with men. einar tambaskelfer approved also of that advice, as they had no power to hold battle against olaf. so they discharged their fleet. the earl sailed across folden, and with him einar tambaskelfer. erling skialgson again, and likewise many other lendermen who would not abandon their udal possessions, went north to their homes; and erling had many people that summer about him. . olaf's and sigurd's consultation. when king olaf and his men saw that the earl had gathered his ships together, sigurd syr was in haste for pursuing the earl, and letting steel decide their cause. but king olaf replies, that he would first see what the earl intended doing--whether he would keep his force together or discharge his fleet. sigurd syr said, "it is for thee, king, to command; but," he adds, "i fear, from thy disposition and wilfulness, that thou wilt some day be betrayed by trusting to those great people, for they are accustomed of old to bid defiance to their sovereigns." there was no attack made, for it was soon seen that the earl's fleet was dispersing. then king olaf ransacked the slain, and remained there some days to divide the booty. at that time sigvat made these verses:-- "the tale i tell is true to their homes returned but few of svein's men who came to meet king olaf's gallant fleet. from the north these warmen came to try the bloody game,-- on the waves their corpses borne show the game that sunday morn. the throndhjem girls so fair their jeers, i think, will spare, for the king's force was but small that emptied throndhjem's hall. but if they will have their jeer, they may ask their sweethearts dear, why they have returned shorn who went to shear that sunday morn." and also these:-- "now will the king's power rise, for the upland men still prize the king who o'er the sea steers to bloody victory. earl svein! thou now wilt know that our lads can make blood flow-- that the hedemarkers hale can do more than tap good ale." king olaf gave his stepfather king sigurd syr, and the other chiefs who had assisted him, handsome presents at parting. he gave ketil of ringanes a yacht of fifteen benches of rowers, which ketil brought up the raum river and into the mjosen lake. . of king olaf. king olaf sent spies out to trace the earl's doings (a.d. ); and when he found that the earl had left the country he sailed out west, and to viken, where many people came to him. at the thing there he was taken as king, and so he proceeded all the way to the naze; and when he heard that erling skialgson had gathered a large force, he did not tarry in north agder, but sailed with a steady fair wind to the throndhjem country; for there it appeared to him was the greatest strength of the land, if he could subdue it for himself while the earl was abroad. when olaf came to throndhjem there was no opposition, and he was elected there to be king. in harvest (a.d. ) he took his seat in the town of nidaros, and collected the needful winter provision (a.d. ). he built a king's house, and raised clement's church on the spot on which it now stands. he parcelled out building ground, which he gave to bondes, merchants, or others who he thought would build. there he sat down with many men-at-arms around him; for he put no great confidence in the throndhjem people, if the earl should return to the country. the people of the interior of the throndhjem country showed this clearly, for he got no land-scat from them. . plan of svein and the swedish king. earl svein went first to svithjod to his brother-in-law olaf the swedish king, told him all that had happened between him and olaf the thick, and asked his advice about what he should now undertake. the king said that the earl should stay with him if he liked, and get such a portion of his kingdom to rule over as should seem to him sufficient; "or otherwise," says he, "i will give thee help of forces to conquer the country again from olaf." the earl chose the latter; for all those among his men who had great possessions in norway, which was the case with many who were with him, were anxious to get back; and in the council they held about this, it was resolved that in winter they should take the land-way over helsingjaland and jamtaland, and so down into the throndhjem land; for the earl reckoned most upon the faithful help and strength of the throndhjem people of the interior as soon as he should appear there. in the meantime, however, it was determined to take a cruise in summer in the baltic to gather property. . earl svein's death. earl svein went eastward with his forces to russia, and passed the summer (a.d. ) in marauding there; but on the approach of autumn returned with his ships to svithjod. there he fell into a sickness, which proved fatal. after the earl's death some of the people who had followed him remained in svithjod; others went to helsingjaland, thence to jamtaland, and so from the east over the dividing ridge of the country to the throndhjem district, where they told all that had happened upon their journey: and thus the truth of earl svein's death was known (a.d. ). . of the throndhjem people. einar tambaskelfer, and the people who had followed him went in winter to the swedish king, and were received in a friendly manner. there were also among them many who had followed the earl. the swedish king took it much amiss that olaf the thick had set himself down in his scat-lands, and driven the earl out of them, and therefore he threatened the king with his heaviest vengeance when opportunity offered. he said that olaf ought not to have had the presumption to take the dominions which the earl had held of him; and all the swedish king's men agreed with him. but the throndhjem people, when they heard for certain that the earl was dead. and could not be expected back to norway, turned all to obedience to king olaf. many came from the interior of the throndhjem country, and became king olaf's men; others sent word and tokens that they would service him. then, in autumn, he went into the interior of throndhjem, and held things with the bondes, and was received as king in each district. he returned to nidaros, and brought there all the king's scat and revenue, and had his winter-seat provided there (a.d. ). . of king olaf's household. king olaf built a king's house in nidaros, and in it was a large room for his court, with doors at both ends. the king's high-seat was in the middle of the room; and within sat his court-bishop, grimkel, and next him his other priests; without them sat his counsellors; and in the other high-seat opposite to the king sat his marshal, bjorn, and next to him his pursuivants. when people of importance came to him, they also had a seat of honour. the ale was drunk by the fire-light. he divided the service among his men after the fashion of other kings. he had in his house sixty court-men and thirty pursuivants; and to them he gave pay and certain regulations. he had also thirty house-servants to do the needful work about the house, and procure what was required. he had, besides, many slaves. at the house were many outbuildings, in which the court-men slept. there was also a large room, in which the king held his court-meetings. . of king olaf's habits. it was king olaf's custom to rise betimes in the morning, put on his clothes, wash his hands, and then go to the church and hear the matins and morning mass. thereafter he went to the thing-meeting, to bring people to agreement with each other, or to talk of one or the other matter that appeared to him necessary. he invited to him great and small who were known to be men of understanding. he often made them recite to him the laws which hakon athelstan's foster-son had made for throndhjem; and after considering them with those men of understanding, he ordered laws adding to or taking from those established before. but christian privileges he settled according to the advice of bishop grimbel and other learned priests; and bent his whole mind to uprooting heathenism, and old customs which he thought contrary to christianity. and he succeeded so far that the bondes accepted of the laws which the king proposed. so says sigvat:-- "the king, who at the helm guides his warlike ship through clashing tides, now gives one law for all the land-- a heavenly law, which long will stand." king olaf was a good and very gentle man, of little speech, and open-handed although greedy of money. sigvat the skald, as before related, was in king olaf's house, and several iceland men. the king asked particularly how christianity was observed in iceland, and it appeared to him to be very far from where it ought to be; for, as to observing christian practices, it was told the king that it was permitted there to eat horse-flesh, to expose infants as heathens do, besides many other things contrary to christianity. they also told the king about many principal men who were then in iceland. skapte thorodson was then the lagman of the country. he inquired also of those who were best acquainted with it about the state of people in other distant countries; and his inquiries turned principally on how christianity was observed in the orkney, shetland, and farey islands: and, as far as he could learn, it was far from being as he could have wished. such conversation was usually carried on by him; or else he spoke about the laws and rights of the country. . king olaf's messengers. the same winter (a.d. ) came messengers from the swedish king, olaf the swede, out of svithjod: and their leaders were two brothers, thorgaut skarde and asgaut the bailiff; and they, had twenty-four men with them, when they came from the eastward, over the ridge of the country down into veradal, they summoned a thing of the bondes, talked to them, and demanded of them scat and duties upon account of the king of sweden. but the bondes, after consulting with each other, determined only to pay the scat which the swedish king required in so far as king olaf required none upon his account, but refused to pay scat to both. the messengers proceeded farther down the valley; but received at every thing they held the same answer, and no money. they went forward to skaun, held a thing there, and demanded scat; but it went there as before. then they came to stjoradal, and summoned a thing, but the bondes would not come to it. now the messengers saw that their business was a failure; and thorgaut proposed that they should turn about, and go eastward again. "i do not think," says asgaut, "that we have performed the king's errand unless we go to king olaf the thick, since the bondes refer the matter to him." he was their commander; so they proceeded to the town (nidaros), and took lodging there. the day after they presented themselves to the king, just as he was seated at table, saluted him, and said they came with a message of the swedish king. the king told them to come to him next day. next day the king, having heard mass, went to his thing-house, ordered the messengers of the swedish king to be called, and told them to produce their message. then thorgaut spoke, and told first what his errand was, and next how the throndhjem people of the interior had replied to it; and asked the king's decision on the business, that they might know what result their errand there was to have. the king answers, "while the earls ruled over the country, it was not to be wondered at if the country people thought themselves bound to obey them, as they were at least of the royal race of the kingdom. but it would have been more just if those earls had given assistance and service to the kings who had a right to the country, rather than to foreign kings, or to stir up opposition to their lawful kings, depriving them of their land and kingdom. with regard to olaf the swede, who calls himself entitled to the kingdom of norway, i, who in fact am so entitled, can see no ground for his claim; but well remember the skaith and damage we have suffered from him and his relations." then says asgaut. "it is not wonderful that thou art called olaf the thick, seeing thou answerest so haughtily to such a prince's message, and canst not see clearly how heavy the king's wrath will be for thee to support, as many have experienced who had greater strength than thou appearest to have. but if thou wishest to keep hold of thy kingdom, it will be best for thee to come to the king, and be his man; and we shall beg him to give thee this kingdom in fief under him." the king replies with all gentleness, "i will give thee an advice, asgaut, in return. go back to the east again to thy king, and tell him that early in spring i will make myself ready, and will proceed eastward to the ancient frontier that divided formerly the kingdom of the kings of norway from sweden. there he may come if he likes, that we may conclude a peace with each other; and each of us will retain the kingdom to which he is born." now the messengers turned back to their lodging, and prepared for their departure, and the king went to table. the messengers came back soon after to the king's house; but the doorkeepers saw it, and reported it to the king, who told them not to let the messengers in. "i will not speak with them," said he. then the messengers went off, and thorgaut said he would now return home with his men; but asgaut insisted still that he would go forward with the king's errand: so they separated. thorgaut proceeded accordingly through strind; but asgaut went into gaulardal and orkadal, and intended proceeding southwards to more, to deliver his king's message. when king olaf came to the knowledge of this he sent out his pursuivants after them, who found them at the ness in stein, bound their hands behind their backs, and led them down to the point called gaularas, where they raised a gallows, and hanged them so that they could be seen by those who travelled the usual sea-way out of the fjord. thorgaut heard this news before he had travelled far on his way home through the throndhjem country; and he hastened on his journey until he came to the swedish king, and told him how it had gone with them. the king was highly enraged when he heard the account of it; and he had no lack of high words. . olaf and erling reconciled. the spring thereafter (a.d. ) king olaf haraldson calls out an army from the throndhjem land, and makes ready to proceed eastward. some of the iceland traders were then ready to sail from norway. with them king olaf sent word and token to hjalte skeggjason, and summoned him to come to him, and at the same time sent a verbal message to skapte the lagman, and other men who principally took part in the lawgiving of iceland, to take out of the law whatever appeared contrary to christianity. he sent, besides, a message of friendship to the people in general. the king then proceeded southwards himself along the coast, stopping at every district, and holding things with the bondes; and in each thing he ordered the christian law to be read, together with the message of salvation thereunto belonging, and with which many ill customs and much heathenism were swept away at once among the common people: for the earls had kept well the old laws and rights of the country; but with respect to keeping christianity, they had allowed every man to do as he liked. it was thus come so far that the people were baptized in the most places on the sea-coast, but the most of them were ignorant of christian law. in the upper ends of the valleys, and in the habitations among the mountains, the greater part of the people were heathen; for when the common man is left to himself, the faith he has been taught in his childhood is that which has the strongest hold over his inclination. but the king threatened the most violent proceedings against great or small, who, after the king's message, would not adopt christianity. in the meantime olaf was proclaimed king in every law thing in the country, and no man spoke against him. while he lay in karmtsund messengers went between him and erling skjalgson, who endeavoured to make peace between them; and the meeting was appointed in whitings isle. when they met they spoke with each other about agreement together; but erling found something else than he expected in the conversation: for when he insisted on having all the fiefs which olaf trygvason, and afterwards the earls svein and hakon, had given him, and on that condition would be his man and dutiful friend, the king answered, "it appears to me, erling, that it would be no bad bargain for thee to get as great fiefs from me for thy aid and friendship as thou hadst from earl eirik, a man who had done thee the greatest injury by the bloodshed of thy men; but even if i let thee remain the greatest lenderman in norway, i will bestow my fiefs according to my own will, and not act as if ye lendermen had udal right to my ancestor's heritage, and i was obliged to buy your services with manifold rewards." erling had no disposition to sue for even the smallest thing; and he saw that the king was not easily dealt with. he saw also that he had only two conditions before him: the one was to make no agreement with the king, and stand by the consequences; the other to leave it entirely to the king's pleasure. although it was much against his inclination, he chose the latter, and merely said to the king, "the service will be the most useful to thee which i give with a free will." and thus their conference ended. erling's relations and friends came to him afterwards, and advised him to give way, and proceed with more prudence and less pride. "thou wilt still," they said, "be the most important and most respected lenderman in norway, both on account of thy own and thy relations' abilities and great wealth." erling found that this was prudent advice, and that they who gave it did so with a good intention, and he followed it accordingly. erling went into the king's service on such conditions as the king himself should determine and please. thereafter they separated in some shape reconciled, and olaf went his way eastward along the coast (a.d. ). . eilif of gautland's murder. as soon as it was reported that olaf had come to viken, the danes who had offices under the danish king set off for denmark, without waiting for king olaf. but king olaf sailed in along viken, holding things with the bondes. all the people of the country submitted to him, and thereafter he took all the king's taxes, and remained the summer (a.d. ) in viken. he then sailed east from tunsberg across the fjord, and all the way east to svinasund. there the swedish king's dominions begin, and he had set officers over this country; namely, eilif gautske over the north part, and hroe skialge over the east part, all the way to the gaut river. hroe had family friends on both sides of the river, and also great farms on hising island, and was besides a mighty and very rich man. eilif was also of great family, and very wealthy. now when king olaf came to ranrike he summoned the people to a thing, and all who dwelt on the sea-coast or in the out-islands came to him. now when the thing was seated the king's marshal, bjorn, held a speech to them, in which he told the bondes to receive olaf as their king, in the same way as had been done in all other parts of norway. then stood up a bold bonde by name brynjolf ulfalde, and said, "we bondes know where the division-boundaries between the norway and danish and swedish kings' lands have stood by rights in old times; namely, that the gaut river divided their lands between the vener lake and the sea; but towards the north the forests until eid forest, and from thence the ridge of the country all north to finmark. we know, also, that by turns they have made inroads upon each other's territories, and that the swedes have long had power all the way to svinasund. but, sooth to say, i know that it is the inclination of many rather to serve the king of norway, but they dare not; for the swedish king's dominions surround us, both eastward, southwards, and also up the country; and besides, it may be expected that the king of norway must soon go to the north, where the strength of his kingdom lies, and then we have no power to withstand the gautlanders. now it is for the king to give us good counsel, for we have great desire to be his men." after the thing, in the evening, brynjolf was in the king's tent, and the day after likewise, and they had much private conversation together. then the king proceeded eastwards along viken. now when eilif heard of his arrival, he sent out spies to discover what he was about; but he himself, with thirty men, kept himself high up in the habitations among the hills, where he had gathered together bondes. many of the bondes came to king olaf, but some sent friendly messages to him. people went between king olaf and eilif, and they entreated each separately to hold a thing-meeting between themselves, and make peace in one way or another. they told eilif that they might expect violent treatment from king olaf if they opposed his orders; but promised eilif he should not want men. it was determined that they should come down from the high country, and hold a thing with the bondes and the king. king olaf thereupon sent the chief of his pursuivants, thorer lange, with six men, to brynjolf. they were equipped with their coats-of-mail under their cloaks, and their hats over their helmets. the following day the bondes came in crowds down with eilif; and in his suite was brynjolf, and with him thorer. the king laid his ships close to a rocky knoll that stuck out into the sea, and upon it the king went with his people, and sat down. below was a flat field, on which the bondes' force was; but eilif's men were drawn up, forming a shield-fence before him. bjorn the marshal spoke long and cleverly upon the king's account, and when he sat down eilif arose to speak; but at the same moment thorer lange rose, drew his sword, and struck eilif on the neck, so that his head flew off. then the whole bonde-force started up; but the gautland men set off in full flight and thorer with his people killed several of them. now when the crowd was settled again, and the noise over the king stood up, and told the bondes to seat themselves. they did so, and then much was spoken. the end of it was that they submitted to the king, and promised fidelity to him; and he, on the other hand, promised not to desert them, but to remain at hand until the discord between him and the swedish olaf was settled in one way or other. king olaf then brought the whole northern district under his power, and went in summer eastward as far as the gaut river, and got all the king's scat among the islands. but when summer (a.d. ) was drawing towards an end he returned north to viken, and sailed up the raum river to a waterfall called sarp. on the north side of the fall, a point of land juts out into the river. there the king ordered a rampart to be built right across the ness, of stone, turf, and wood, and a ditch to be dug in front of it; so that it was a large earthen fort or burgh, which he made a merchant town of. he had a king's house put up, and ordered the building of mary church. he also laid out plans for other houses, and got people to build on them. in harvest (a.d. ) he let everything be gathered there that was useful for his winter residence (a.d. ), and sat there with a great many people, and the rest he quartered in the neighbouring districts. the king prohibited all exports from viken to gautland of herrings and salt, which the gautland people could ill do without. this year the king held a great yule feast, to which he invited many great bondes. . the history of eyvind urarhorn. there was a man called eyvind urarhorn, who was a great man, of high birth, who had his descent from the east agder country. every summer he went out on a viking cruise, sometimes to the west sea, sometimes to the baltic, sometimes south to flanders, and had a well-armed cutter (snekkia) of twenty benches of rowers. he had been also at nesjar, and given his aid to the king; and when they separated the king promised him his favour, and eyvind, again, promised to come to the king's aid whenever he was required. this winter (a.d. ) eyvind was at the yule feast of the king, and received goodly gifts from him. brynjolf ulfalde was also with the king, and he received a yule present from the king of a gold-mounted sword, and also a farm called vettaland, which is a very large head-farm of the district. brynjolf composed a song about these gifts, of which the refrain was-- "the song-famed hero to my hand gave a good sword, and vettaland." the king afterwards gave him the title of lenderman, and brynjolf was ever after the king's greatest friend. . thrand white's murder. this winter (a.d. ) thrand white from throndhjem went east to jamtaland, to take up scat upon account of king olaf. but when he had collected the scat he was surprised by men of the swedish king, who killed him and his men, twelve in all, and brought the scat to the swedish king. king olaf was very ill-pleased when he heard this news. . christianity proclaimed in viken. king olaf made christian law to be proclaimed in viken, in the same way as in the north country. it succeeded well, because the people of viken were better acquainted with the christian customs than the people in the north; for, both winter and summer, there were many merchants in viken, both danish and saxon. the people of viken, also, had much trading intercourse with england, and saxony, and flanders, and denmark; and some had been on viking expeditions, and had had their winter abode in christian lands. . hroe's fall. about spring-time (a.d. ) king olaf sent a message that eyvind urarhorn should come to him; and they spake together in private for a long time. thereafter eyvind made himself ready for a viking cruise. he sailed south towards viken, and brought up at the eikreys isles without hising isle. there he heard that hroe skialge had gone northwards towards ordost, and had there made a levy of men and goods on account of the swedish king, and was expected from the north. eyvind rowed in by haugasund, and hroe came rowing from the north, and they met in the sound and fought. hroe fell there, with nearly thirty men; and eyvind took all the goods hroe had with him. eyvind then proceeded to the baltic, and was all summer on a viking cruise. . fall of gudleik and thorgaut. there was a man called gudleik gerske, who came originally from agder. he was a great merchant, who went far and wide by sea, was very rich, and drove a trade with various countries. he often went east to gardarike (russia), and therefore was called gudleik gerske (the russian). this spring (a.d. ) gudleik fitted out his ship, and intended to go east in summer to russia. king olaf sent a message to him that he wanted to speak to him; and when gudleik came to the king he told him he would go in partnership with him, and told him to purchase some costly articles which were difficult to be had in this country. gudleik said that it should be according to the king's desire. the king ordered as much money to be delivered to gudleik as he thought sufficient, and then gudleik set out for the baltic. they lay in a sound in gotland; and there it happened, as it often does, that people cannot keep their own secrets, and the people of the country came to know that in this ship was olaf the thick's partner. gudleik went in summer eastwards to novgorod, where he bought fine and costly clothes, which he intended for the king as a state dress; and also precious furs, and remarkably splendid table utensils. in autumn (a.d. ), as gudleik was returning from the east, he met a contrary wind, and lay for a long time at the island eyland. there came thorgaut skarde, who in autumn had heard of gudleik's course, in a long-ship against him, and gave him battle. they fought long, and gudleik and his people defended themselves for a long time; but the numbers against them were great, and gudleik and many of his ship's crew fell, and a great many of them were wounded. thorgaut took all their goods, and king olaf's, and he and his comrades divided the booty among them equally; but he said the swedish king ought to have the precious articles of king olaf, as these, he said, should be considered as part of the scat due to him from norway. thereafter thorgaut proceeded east to svithjod. these tidings were soon known; and as eyvind urarhorn came soon after to eyland, he heard the news, and sailed east after thorgaut and his troop, and overtook them among the swedish isles on the coast, and gave battle. there thorgaut and the most of his men were killed, and the rest sprang overboard. eyvind took all the goods and all the costly articles of king olaf which they had captured from gudleik, and went with these back to norway in autumn, and delivered to king olaf his precious wares. the king thanked him in the most friendly way for his proceeding, and promised him anew his favour and friendship. at this time olaf had been three years king over norway (a.d. - ). . meeting of olaf and ragnvald. the same summer (a.d. ) king olaf ordered a levy, and went out eastwards to the gaut river, where he lay a great part of the summer. messages were passing between king olaf, earl ragnvald, and the earl's wife, ingebjorg, the daughter of trygve. she was very zealous about giving king olaf of norway every kind of help, and made it a matter of her deepest interest. for this there were two causes. she had a great friendship for king olaf; and also she could never forget that the swedish king had been one at the death of her brother, olaf trygvason; and also that he, on that account only, had any presence to rule over norway. the earl, by her persuasion, turned much towards friendship with king olaf; and it proceeded so far that the earl and the king appointed a meeting, and met at the gaut river. they talked together of many things, but especially of the norwegian and swedish kings' relations with each other; both agreeing, as was the truth also, that it was the greatest loss, both to the people of viken and of gautland, that there was no peace for trade between the two countries; and at last both agreed upon a peace, and still-stand of arms between them until next summer; and they parted with mutual gifts and friendly speeches. . king olaf the swede. the king thereupon returned north to viken, and had all the royal revenues up to the gaut river; and all the people of the country there had submitted to him. king olaf the swede had so great a hatred of olaf haraldson, that no man dared to call him by his right name in the king's hearing. they called him the thick man; and never named him without some hard by-name. . account of their reconciliation. the bondes in viken spoke with each other about there being nothing for it but that the kings should make peace and a league with each other, and insisted upon it that they were badly used by the kings going to war; but nobody was so bold as to bring these murmurs before the king. at last they begged bjorn the marshal to bring this matter before the king, and entreat him to send messengers to the swedish king to offer peace on his side. bjorn was disinclined to do this, and put it off from himself with excuses; but on the entreaties of many of his friends, he promised at last to speak of it to the king; but declared, at the same time, that he knew it would be taken very ill by the king to propose that he should give way in anything to the swedish king. the same summer (a.d. ) hjalte skeggjason came over to norway from iceland, according to the message sent him by king olaf, and went directly to the king. he was well received by the king, who told him to lodge in his house, and gave him a seat beside bjorn the marshal, and hjalte became his comrade at table. there was good-fellowship immediately between them. once, when king olaf had assembled the people and bondes to consult upon the good of the country, bjorn the marshal said, "what think you, king, of the strife that is between the swedish king and you? many people have fallen on both sides, without its being at all more determined than before what each of you shall have of the kingdom. you have now been sitting in viken one winter and two summers, and the whole country to the north is lying behind your back unseen; and the men who have property or udal rights in the north are weary of sitting here. now it is the wish of the lendermen, of your other people, and of the bondes that this should come to an end. there is now a truce, agreement, and peace with the earl, and the west gautland people who are nearest to us; and it appears to the people it would be best that you sent messengers to the swedish king to offer a reconciliation on your side; and, without doubt, many who are about the swedish king will support the proposal, for it is a common gain for those who dwell in both countries, both here and there." this speech of bjorn's received great applause. then the king said, "it is fair, bjorn, that the advice thou hast given should be carried out by thyself. thou shalt undertake this embassy thyself, and enjoy the good of it, if thou hast advised well; and if it involve any man in danger, thou hast involved thyself in it. moreover, it belongs to thy office to declare to the multitude what i wish to have told." then the king stood up, went to the church, and had high mass sung before him; and thereafter went to table. the following day hjalte said to bjorn, "why art thou so melancholy, man? art thou sick, or art thou angry at any one?" bjorn tells hjalte his conversation with the king, and says it is a very dangerous errand. hjalte says, "it is their lot who follow kings that they enjoy high honours, and are more respected than other men, but stand often in danger of their lives: and they must understand how to bear both parts of their lot. the king's luck is great; and much honour will be gained by this business, if it succeed." bjorn answered, "since thou makest so light of this business in thy speech, wilt thou go with me? the king has promised that i shall have companions with me on the journey." "certainly," says hjalte; "i will follow thee, if thou wilt: for never again shall i fall in with such a comrade if we part." . journey of bjorn the marshal. a few days afterwards, when the king was at a thing-meeting, bjorn came with eleven others. he says to the king that they were now ready to proceed on their mission, and that their horses stood saddled at the door. "and now," says he, "i would know with what errand i am to go, or what orders thou givest us." the king replies, "ye shall carry these my words to the swedish king--that i will establish peace between our countries up to the frontier which olaf trygvason had before me; and each shall bind himself faithfully not to trespass over it. but with regard to the loss of people, no man must mention it if peace there is to be; for the swedish king cannot with money pay for the men the swedes have deprived us of." thereupon the king rose, and went out with bjorn and his followers; and he took a gold-mounted sword and a gold ring, and said, in handing over the sword to bjorn, "this i give thee: it was given to me in summer by earl ragnvald. to him ye shall go; and bring him word from me to advance your errand with his counsel and strength. this thy errand i will think well fulfilled if thou hearest the swedish king's own words, be they yea or nay: and this gold ring thou shalt give earl ragnvald. these are tokens ( ) he must know well." hjalte went up to the king, saluted him, and said, "we need much, king, that thy luck attend us;" and wished that they might meet again in good health. the king asked where hjalte was going. "with bjorn," said he. the king said, "it will assist much to the good success of the journey that thou goest too, for thy good fortune has often been proved; and be assured that i shall wish that all my luck, if that be of any weight, may attend thee and thy company." bjorn and his followers rode their way, and came to earl ragnvald's court, where they were well received. bjorn was a celebrated and generally known man,--known by sight and speech to all who had ever seen king olaf; for at every thing, bjorn stood up and told the king's message. ingebjorg, the earl's wife, went up to hjalte and looked at him. she recognized him, for she was living with her brother olaf trygvason when hjalte was there: and she knew how to reckon up the relationship between king olaf and vilborg, the wife of hjalte; for eirik bjodaskalle father of astrid, king olaf trygvason's mother, and bodvar father of olaf, mother of gissur white the father of vilborg, were brother's sons of the lenderman vikingakare of vors. they enjoyed here good entertainment. one day bjorn entered into conversation with the earl and ingebjorg, in which he set forth his errand, and produced to the earl his tokens. the earl replies, "what hast thou done, bjorn, that the king wishes thy death? for, so far from thy errand having any success, i do not think a man can be found who could speak these words to the swedish king without incurring wrath and punishment. king olaf, king of sweden, is too proud for any man to speak to him on anything he is angry at." then bjorn says, "nothing has happened to me that king olaf is offended at; but many of his disposition act both for themselves and others, in a way that only men who are daring can succeed in. but as yet all his plans have had good success, and i think this will turn out well too; so i assure you, earl, that i will actually travel to the swedish king, and not turn back before i have brought to his ears every word that king olaf told me to say to him, unless death prevent me, or that i am in bonds, and cannot perform my errand; and this i must do, whether you give any aid or no aid to me in fulfilling the king's wishes." then said ingebjorg, "i will soon declare my opinion. i think, earl, thou must turn all thy attention to supporting king olaf the king of norway's desire that this message be laid before the swedish king, in whatever way he may answer it. although the swedish king's anger should be incurred, and our power and property be at stake, yet will i rather run the risk, than that it should be said the message of king olaf was neglected from fear of the swedish king. thou hast that birth, strength of relations, and other means, that here in the swedish land it is free to thee to tell thy mind, if it be right and worthy of being heard, whether it be listened to by few or many, great or little people, or by the king himself." the earl replies, "it is known to every one how thou urgest me: it may be, according to thy counsel, that i should promise the king's men to follow them, so that they may get their errand laid before the swedish king, whether he take it ill or take it well. but i will have my own counsel followed, and will not run hastily into bjorn's or any other man's measures, in such a highly important matter. it is my will that ye all remain here with me, so long as i think it necessary for the purpose of rightly forwarding this mission." now as the earl had thus given them to understand that he would support them in the business, bjorn thanked him most kindly, and with the assurance that his advice should rule them altogether. thereafter bjorn and his fellow-travellers remained very long in the earl's house. endnotes: ( ) before writing was a common accomplishment in courts, the only way of accrediting a special messenger between kings and great men was by giving the messenger a token; that is. some article well known by the person receiving the message to be the property of and valued by the person sending it. . conversation of bjorn and ingebjorg. ingebjorg was particularly kind to them; and bjorn often spoke with her about the matter, and was ill at ease that their journey was so long delayed. hjalte and the others often spoke together also about the matter; and hjalte said; "i will go to the king if ye like; for i am not a man of norway, and the swedes can have nothing to say to me. i have heard that there are iceland men in the king's house who are my acquaintances, and are well treated; namely, the skalds gissur black and ottar black. from them i shall get out what i can about the swedish king; and if the business will really be so difficult as it now appears, or if there be any other way of promoting it, i can easily devise some errand that may appear suitable for me." this counsel appeared to bjorn and ingebjorg to be the wisest, and they resolved upon it among themselves. ingebjorg put hjalte in a position to travel; gave him two gautland men with him, and ordered them to follow him, and assist him with their service, and also to go wherever he might have occasion to send them. besides, ingebjorg gave him twenty marks of weighed silver money for travelling expenses, and sent word and token by him to the swedish king olaf's daughter, ingegerd, that she should give all her assistance to hjalte's business, whenever he should find himself under the necessity of craving her help. hjalte set off as soon as he was ready. when he came to king olaf he soon found the skalds gissur and ottar, and they were very glad at his coming. without delay they went to the king, and told him that a man was come who was their countryman, and one of the most considerable in their native land, and requested the king to receive him well. the king told them to take hjalte and his fellow-travellers into their company and quarters. now when hjalte had resided there a short time, and got acquainted with people, he was much respected by everybody. the skalds were often in the king's house, for they were well-spoken men; and often in the daytime they sat in front of the king's high-seat, and hjalte, to whom they paid the highest respect in all things, by their side. he became thus known to the king, who willingly entered into conversation with him, and heard from him news about iceland. . of sigvat the skald. it happened that before bjorn set out from home he asked sigvat the skald, who at that time was with king olaf, to accompany him on his journey. it was a journey for which people had no great inclination. there was, however, great friendship between bjorn and sigvat. then sigvat sang:-- "with the king's marshals all have i, in days gone by, lived joyously,-- with all who on the king attend, and knee before him humbly bend, bjorn, thou oft hast ta'en my part-- pleaded with art, and touched the heart. bjorn! brave stainer of the sword, thou art my friend--i trust thy word." while they were riding up to gautland, sigvat made these verses:-- "down the fjord sweep wind and rain, our stout ship's sails and tackle strain; wet to the skin. we're sound within, and gaily o'er the waves are dancing, our sea-steed o'er the waves high prancing! through lister sea flying all free; off from the wind with swelling sail, we merrily scud before the gale, and reach the sound where we were bound. and now our ship, so gay and grand, glides past the green and lovely land, and at the isle moors for a while. our horse-hoofs now leave hasty print; we ride--of ease there's scanty stint-- in heat and haste o'er gautland's waste: though in a hurry to be married, the king can't say that we have tarried." one evening late they were riding through gautland, and sigvat made these verses:-- "the weary horse will at nightfall gallop right well to reach his stall; when night meets day, with hasty hoof he plies the road to reach a roof. far from the danes, we now may ride safely by stream or mountain-side; but, in this twilight, in some ditch the horse and rider both may pitch." they rode through the merchant town of skara, and down the street to the earl's house. he sang:-- "the shy sweet girls, from window high in wonder peep at the sparks that fly from our horses heels, as down the street of the earl's town we ride so fleet. spur on!--that every pretty lass may hear our horse-hoofs as we pass clatter upon the stones so hard, and echo round the paved court-yard." . hjalte skeggjason while he was in svithiod. one day hjalte, and the skalds with him, went before the king, and he began thus:--"it has so happened, king, as is known to you, that i have come here after a long and difficult journey; but when i had once crossed the ocean and heard of your greatness, it appeared to me unwise to go back without having seen you in your splendour and glory. now it is a law between iceland and norway, that iceland men pay landing due when they come into norway, but while i was coming across the sea i took myself all the landing dues from my ship's people; but knowing that thou have the greatest right to all the power in norway, i hastened hither to deliver to you the landing dues." with this he showed the silver to the king, and laid ten marks of silver in gissur black's lap. the king replies, "few have brought us any such dues from norway for some time; and now, hjalte, i will return you my warmest thanks for having given yourself so much trouble to bring us the landing dues, rather than pay them to our enemies. but i will that thou shouldst take this money from me as a gift, and with it my friendship." hjalte thanked the king with many words, and from that day set himself in great favour with the king, and often spoke with him; for the king thought, what was true, that he was a man of much understanding and eloquence. now hjalte told gissur and ottar that he was sent with tokens to the king's daughter ingegerd, to obtain her protection and friendship; and he begged of them to procure him some opportunity to speak with her. they answered, that this was an easy thing to do; and went one day to her house, where she sat at the drinking table with many men. she received the skalds in a friendly manner, for they were known to her. hjalte brought her a salutation from the earl's wife, ingebjorg; and said she had sent him here to obtain friendly help and succour from her, and in proof whereof produced his tokens. the king's daughter received him also kindly, and said he should be welcome to her friendship. they sat there till late in the day drinking. the king's daughter made hjalte tell her much news, and invited him to come often and converse with her. he did so: came there often, and spoke with the king's daughter; and at last entrusted her with the purpose of bjorn's and his comrade's journey, and asked her how she thought the swedish king would receive the proposal that there should be a reconciliation between the kings. the king's daughter replied, that, in her opinion, it would be a useless attempt to propose to the king any reconciliation with olaf the thick; for the king was so enraged against him, that he would not suffer his name to be mentioned before him. it happened one day that hjalte was sitting with the king and talking to him, and the king was very merry and drunk. then hjalte said, "manifold splendour and grandeur have i seen here; and i have now witnessed with my eyes what i have often heard of, that no monarch in the north is so magnificent: but it is very vexatious that we who come so far to visit it have a road so long and troublesome, both on account of the great ocean, but more especially because it is not safe to travel through norway for those who are coming here in a friendly disposition. but why is there no one to bring proposals for a peace between you and king olaf the thick? i heard much in norway, and in west gautland, of the general desire that this peace should have taken place; and it has been told me for truth, as the norway king's words, that he earnestly desires to be reconciled to you; and the reason i know is, that he feels how much less his power is than yours. it is even said that he intends to pay his court to your daughter ingegerd; and that would lead to a useful peace, for i have heard from people of credit that he is a remarkably distinguished man." the king answers. "thou must not speak thus, hjalte; but for this time i will not take it amiss of thee, as thou dost not know what people have to avoid here. that fat fellow shall not be called king in my court, and there is by no means the stuff in him that people talk of: and thou must see thyself that such a connection is not suitable; for i am the tenth king in upsala who, relation after relation, has been sole monarch over the swedish, and many other great lands, and all have been the superior kings over other kings in the northern countries. but norway is little inhabited, and the inhabitants are scattered. there have only been small kings there; and although harald harfager was the greatest king in that country, and strove against the small kings, and subdued them, yet he knew so well his position that he did not covet the swedish dominions, and therefore the swedish kings let him sit in peace, especially as there was relationship between them. thereafter, while hakon athelstan's foster-son was in norway he sat in peace, until he began to maraud in gautland and denmark; on which a war-force came upon him, and took from him both life and land. gunhild's sons also were cut off when they became disobedient to the danish kings; and harald gormson joined norway to his own dominions, and made it subject to scat to him. and we reckon harald gormson to be of less power and consideration than the upsala kings, for our relation styrbjorn subdued him, and harald became his man; and yet eirik the victorious, my father, rose over styrbjorn's head when it came to a trial between them. when olaf trygvason came to norway and proclaimed himself king, we would not permit it, but we went with king svein, and cut him off; and thus we have appropriated norway, as thou hast not heard, and with no less right than if i had gained it in battle, and by conquering the kings who ruled it before. now thou canst well suppose, as a man of sense, that i will not let slip the kingdom of norway for this thick fellow. it is wonderful he does not remember how narrowly he made his escape, when we had penned him in in the malar lake. although he slipped away with life from thence, he ought, methinks, to have something else in his mind than to hold out against us swedes. now, hjalte, thou must never again open thy mouth in my presence on such a subject." hjalte saw sufficiently that there was no hope of the king's listening to any proposal of a peace, and desisted from speaking of it, and turned the conversation to something else. when hjalte, afterwards, came into discourse with the king's daughter ingegerd, he tells her his conversation with the king. she told him she expected such an answer from the king. hjalte begged of her to say a good word to the king about the matter, but she thought the king would listen as little to what she said: "but speak about it i will, if thou requirest it." hjalte assured her he would be thankful for the attempt. one day the king's daughter ingegerd had a conversation with her father olaf; and as she found her father was in a particularly good humour, she said, "what is now thy intention with regard to the strife with olaf the thick? there are many who complain about it, having lost their property by it; others have lost their relations by the northmen, and all their peace and quiet; so that none of your men see any harm that can be done to norway. it would be a bad counsel if thou sought the dominion over norway; for it is a poor country, difficult to come at, and the people dangerous: for the men there will rather have any other for their king than thee. if i might advise, thou wouldst let go all thoughts about norway, and not desire olaf's heritage; and rather turn thyself to the kingdoms in the east country, which thy forefathers the former swedish kings had, and which our relation styrbjorn lately subdued, and let the thick olaf possess the heritage of his forefathers and make peace with him." the king replies in a rage, "it is thy counsel, ingegerd, that i should let slip the kingdom of norway, and give thee in marriage to this thick olaf."--"no," says he, "something else shall first take place. rather than that, i shall, at the upsala thing in winter, issue a proclamation to all swedes, that the whole people shall assemble for an expedition, and go to their ships before the ice is off the waters; and i will proceed to norway, and lay waste the land with fire and sword, and burn everything, to punish them for their want of fidelity." the king was so mad with rage that nobody ventured to say a word, and she went away. hjalte, who was watching for her, immediately went to her and asked how her errand to the king had turned out. she answered, it turned out as she had expected; that none could venture to put in a word with the king; but, on the contrary, he had used threats; and she begged hjalte never to speak of the matter again before the king. as hjalte and ingegerd spoke together often, olaf the thick was often the subject, and he told her about him and his manners; and hjalte praised the king of norway what he could, but said no more than was the truth, and she could well perceive it. once, in a conversation, hjalte said to her, "may i be permitted, daughter of the king, to tell thee what lies in my mind?" "speak freely," says she; "but so that i alone can hear it." "then," said hjalte, "what would be thy answer, if the norway king olaf sent messengers to thee with the errand to propose marriage to thee?" she blushed, and answered slowly but gently, "i have not made up my mind to answer to that; but if olaf be in all respects so perfect as thou tellest me, i could wish for no other husband; unless, indeed, thou hast gilded him over with thy praise more than sufficiently." hjalte replied, that he had in no respect spoken better of the king than was true. they often spoke together on the same subject. ingegerd begged hjalte to be cautious not to mention it to any other person, for the king would be enraged against him if it came to his knowledge. hjalte only spoke of it to the skalds gissur and ottar, who thought it was the most happy plan, if it could but be carried into effect. ottar, who was a man of great power of conversation, and much beloved in the court, soon brought up the subject before the king's daughter, and recounted to her, as hjalte had done, all king olaf's excellent qualities. often spoke hjalte and the others about him; and now that hjalte knew the result of his mission, he sent those gautland men away who had accompanied him, and let them return to the earl with letters ( ) which the king's daughter ingegerd sent to the earl and ingebjorg. hjalte also let them give a hint to the earl about the conversation he had had with ingegerd, and her answer thereto: and the messengers came with it to the earl a little before yule. endnotes: ( ) this seems the first notice we have in the sagas of written letters being sent instead of tokens and verbal messages. --l. . olaf's journey to the uplands. when king olaf had despatched bjorn and his followers to gautland, he sent other people also to the uplands, with the errand that they should have guest-quarters prepared for him, as he intended that winter (a.d. ) to live as guest in the uplands; for it had been the custom of former kings to make a progress in guest-quarters every third year in the uplands. in autumn he began his progress from sarpsborg, and went first to vingulmark. he ordered his progress so that he came first to lodge in the neighbourhood of the forest habitations, and summoned to him all the men of the habitations who dwelt at the greatest distance from the head-habitations of the district; and he inquired particularly how it stood with their christianity, and, where improvement was needful, he taught them the right customs. if any there were who would not renounce heathen ways, he took the matter so zealously that he drove some out of the country, mutilated others of hands or feet, or stung their eyes out; hung up some, cut down some with the sword; but let none go unpunished who would not serve god. he went thus through the whole district, sparing neither great nor small. he gave them teachers, and placed these as thickly in the country as he saw needful. in this manner he went about in that district, and had deadly men-at-arms with him; and then proceeded to raumarike. he soon perceived that christianity was thriving less the farther he proceeded into the interior of the country. he went forward everywhere in the same way, converting all the people to the right faith, and severely punishing all who would not listen to his word. . treachery of the upland kings. now when the king who at that time ruled in raumarike heard of this, he thought it was a very bad affair; for every day came men to him, both great and small, who told him what was doing. therefore this king resolved to go up to hedemark, and consult king hrorek, who was the most eminent for understanding of the kings who at that time were in the country. now when these kings spoke with each other, they agreed to send a message to gudrod, the valley-king north in the gudbrandsdal, and likewise to the king who was in hadaland, and bid them to come to hedemark, to meet hrorek and the other kings there. they did not spare their travelling; for five kings met in hedemark, at a place called ringsaker. ring, king hrorek's brother, was the fifth of these kings. the kings had first a private conference together, in which he who came from raumarike first took up the word, and told of king olaf's proceedings, and of the disturbance he was causing both by killing and mutilating people. some he drove out of the country, some he deprived of their offices or property if they spoke anything against him; and, besides, he was travelling over the country with a great army, not with the number of people fixed by law for a royal progress in guest-quarters. he added, that he had fled hither upon account of this disturbance, and many powerful people with him had fled from their udal properties in raumarike. "but although as yet the evil is nearest to us, it will be but a short time before ye will also be exposed to it; therefore it is best that we all consider together what resolution we shall take." when he had ended his speech, hrorek was desired to speak; and he said, "now is the day come that i foretold when we had had our meeting at hadaland, and ye were all so eager to raise olaf over our heads; namely, that as soon as he was the supreme master of the country we would find it hard to hold him by the horns. we have but two things now to do: the one is, to go all of us to him, and let him do with us as he likes, which i think is the best thing we can do; or the other is, to rise against him before he has gone farther through the country. although he has or men, that is not too great a force for us to meet, if we are only all in movement together: but, in general, there is less success and advantage to be gained when several of equal strength are joined together, than when one alone stands at the head of his own force; therefore it is my advice, that we do not venture to try our luck against olaf haraldson." thereafter each of the kings spoke according to his own mind some dissuading from going out against king olaf, others urging it; and no determination was come to, as each had his own reasons to produce. then gudrod, the valley-king, took up the word, and spoke:--"it appears wonderful to me, that ye make such a long roundabout in coming to a resolution; and probably ye are frightened for him. we are here five kings, and none of less high birth than olaf. we gave him the strength to fight with earl svein, and with our forces he has brought the country under his power. but if he grudges each of us the little kingdom he had before, and threatens us with tortures, or gives us ill words, then, say i for myself, that i will withdraw myself from the king's slavery; and i do not call him a man among you who is afraid to cut him off, if he come into your hands here up in hedemark. and this i can tell you, that we shall never bear our heads in safety while olaf is in life." after this encouragement they all agreed to his determination. then said hrorek, "with regard to this determination, it appears to me necessary to make our agreement so strong that no one shall fail in his promise to the other. therefore, if ye determine upon attacking olaf at a fixed time, when he comes here to hedemark, i will not trust much to you if some are north in the valleys, others up in hedemark; but if our resolution is to come to anything, we must remain here assembled together day and night." this the kings agreed to, and kept themselves there all assembled, ordering a feast to be provided for them at ringsaker, and drank there a cup to success; sending out spies to raumarike, and when one set came in sending out others, so that day and night they had intelligence of olaf's proceedings, and of the numbers of his men. king olaf went about in raumarike in guest-quarters, and altogether in the way before related; but as the provision of the guest-quarter was not always sufficient, upon account of his numerous followers, he laid it upon the bondes to give additional contributions wherever he found it necessary to stay. in some places he stayed longer, in others, shorter than was fixed; and his journey down to the lake miosen was shorter than had been fixed on. the kings, after taking their resolution, sent out message-tokens, and summoned all the lendermen and powerful bondes from all the districts thereabout; and when they had assembled the kings had a private meeting with them, and made their determination known, setting a day for gathering together and carrying it into effect; and it was settled among them that each of the kings should have ( ) men. then they sent away the lendermen to gather the people, and meet all at the appointed place. the most approved of the measure; but it happened here, as it usually does, that every one has some friend even among his enemies. endnotes: ( ) i.e., . . mutilating of the upland kings. ketil of ringanes was at this meeting. now when he came home in the evening he took his supper, put on his clothes, and went down with his house-servants to the lake; took a light vessel which he had, the same that king olaf had made him a present of, and launched it on the water. they found in the boat-house everything ready to their hands; betook themselves to their oars, and rowed out into the lake. ketil had forty well-armed men with him, and came early in the morning to the end of the lake. he set off immediately with twenty men, leaving the other twenty to look after the ship. king olaf was at that time at eid, in the upper end of raumarike. thither ketil arrived just as the king was coming from matins. the king received ketil kindly. he said he must speak with the king in all haste; and they had a private conference together. there ketil tells the king the resolution which the kings had taken, and their agreement, which he had come to the certain knowledge of. when the king learnt this he called his people together, and sent some out to collect riding-horses in the country; others he sent down to the lake to take all the rowing-vessels they could lay hold of, and keep them for his use. thereafter he went to the church, had mass sung before him, and then sat down to table. after his meal he got ready, and hastened down to the lake, where the vessels were coming to meet him. he himself went on board the light vessel, and as many men with him as it could stow, and all the rest of his followers took such boats as they could get hold of; and when it was getting late in the evening they set out from the land, in still and calm weather. he rowed up the water with men, and came with them to ringsaker before day dawned; and the watchmen were not aware of the army before they were come into the very court. ketil knew well in what houses the kings slept, and the king had all these houses surrounded and guarded, so that nobody could get out; and so they stood till daylight. the kings had not people enough to make resistance, but were all taken prisoners, and led before the king. hrorek was an able but obstinate man, whose fidelity the king could not trust to if he made peace with him; therefore he ordered both his eyes to be punched out, and took him in that condition about with him. he ordered gudrod's tongue to be cut out; but ring and two others he banished from norway, under oath never to return. of the lendermen and bondes who had actually taken part in the traitorous design, some he drove out of the country, some he mutilated, and with others he made peace. ottar black tells of this:-- "the giver of rings of gold, the army leader bold, in vengeance springs on the hedemark kings. olaf the bold and great, repays their foul deceit-- in full repays their treacherous ways. he drives with steel-clad hand the small kings from the land,-- greater by far in deed of war. the king who dwelt most north tongueless must wander forth: all fly away in great dismay. king olaf now rules o'er what five kings ruled before. to eid's old bound extends his ground. no kings in days of yore e'er won so much before: that this is so all norsemen know." king olaf took possession of the land these five kings had possessed, and took hostages from the lendermen and bondes in it. he took money instead of guest-quarters from the country north of the valley district, and from hedemark; and then returned to raumarike, and so west to hadaland. this winter (a.d. ) his stepfather sigurd syr died; and king olaf went to ringerike, where his mother asta made a great feast for him. olaf alone bore the title of king now in norway. . king olaf's half-brothers. it is told that when king olaf was on his visit to his mother asta, she brought out her children, and showed them to him. the king took his brother guthorm on the one knee, and his brother halfdan on the other. the king looked at guthorm, made a wry face, and pretended to be angry at them: at which the boys were afraid. then asta brought her youngest son, called harald, who was three years old, to him. the king made a wry face at him also; but he looked the king in the face without regarding it. the king took the boy by the hair, and plucked it; but the boy seized the king's whiskers, and gave them a tug. "then," said the king, "thou wilt be revengeful, my friend, some day." the following day the king was walking with his mother about the farm, and they came to a playground, where asta's sons, guthorm and halfdan, were amusing themselves. they were building great houses and barns in their play, and were supposing them full of cattle and sheep; and close beside them, in a clay pool, harald was busy with chips of wood, sailing them, in his sport along the edge. the king asked him what these were; and he answered, these were his ships of war. the king laughed, and said, "the time may come, friend, when thou wilt command ships." then the king called to him halfdan and guthorm; and first he asked guthorm, "what wouldst thou like best to have?" "corn land," replied he. "and how great wouldst thou like thy corn land to be?" "i would have the whole ness that goes out into the lake sown with corn every summer." on that ness there are ten farms. the king replies, "there would be a great deal of corn there." and, turning to halfdan, he asked, "and what wouldst thou like best to have?" "cows," he replied. "how many wouldst thou like to have?" "when they went to the lake to be watered i would have so many, that they stood as tight round the lake as they could stand." "that would be a great housekeeping," said the king; "and therein ye take after your father." then the king says to harald, "and what wouldst thou like best to have?" "house-servants." "and how many wouldst thou have?" "oh! so many i would like to have as would eat up my brother halfdan's cows at a single meal." the king laughed, and said to asta, "here, mother, thou art bringing up a king." and more is not related of them on this occasion. . the division of the country. in svithjod it was the old custom, as long as heathenism prevailed, that the chief sacrifice took place in goe month at upsala. then sacrifice was offered for peace, and victory to the king; and thither came people from all parts of svithjod. all the things of the swedes, also, were held there, and markets, and meetings for buying, which continued for a week: and after christianity was introduced into svithjod, the things and fairs were held there as before. after christianity had taken root in svithjod, and the kings would no longer dwell in upsala, the market-time was moved to candlemas, and it has since continued so, and it lasts only three days. there is then the swedish thing also, and people from all quarters come there. svithjod is divided into many parts. one part is west gautland, vermaland, and the marks, with what belongs to them; and this part of the kingdom is so large, that the bishop who is set over it has churches under him. the other part is east gautland, where there is also a bishop's seat, to which the islands of gotland and eyland belong; and forming all together a still greater bishopric. in svithjod itself there is a part of the country called sudermanland, where there is also a bishopric. then comes westmanland, or fiathrundaland, which is also a bishopric. the third portion of svithjod proper is called tiundaland; the fourth attandaland; the fifth sialand, and what belongs to it lies eastward along the coast. tiundaland is the best and most inhabited part of svithjod, under which the other kingdoms stand. there upsala is situated, the seat of the king and archbishop; and from it upsala-audr, or the domain of the swedish kings, takes its name. each of these divisions of the country has its lag-thing, and its own laws in many parts. over each is a lagman, who rules principally in affairs of the bondes: for that becomes law which he, by his speech, determines them to make law: and if king, earl, or bishop goes through the country, and holds a thing with the bondes, the lagmen reply on account of the bondes, and they all follow their lagmen; so that even the most powerful men scarcely dare to come to their al-thing without regarding the bondes' and lagmen's law. and in all matters in which the laws differ from each other, upsala-law is the directing law; and the other lagmen are under the lagman who dwells in tiundaland. . of the lagman thorgny. in tiundaland there was a lagman who was called thorgny, whose father was called thorgny thorgnyson. his forefathers had for a long course of years, and during many kings' times, been lagmen of tiundaland. at this time thorgny was old, and had a great court about him. he was considered one of the wisest men in sweden, and was earl ragnvald's relation and foster-father. . meeting of ragnvald and ingegerd. now we must go back in our story to the time when the men whom the king's daughter ingegerd and hjalte had sent from the east came to earl ragnvald. they relate their errand to the earl and his wife ingebjorg, and tell how the king's daughter had oft spoken to the swedish king about a peace between him and king olaf the thick, and that she was a great friend of king olaf; but that the swedish king flew into a passion every time she named olaf, so that she had no hopes of any peace. the earl told bjorn the news he had received from the east; but bjorn gave the same reply, that he would not turn back until he had met the swedish king, and said the earl had promised to go with him. now the winter was passing fast, and immediately after yule the earl made himself ready to travel with sixty men, among whom where the marshal bjorn and his companions. the earl proceeded eastward all the way to svithjod; but when he came a little way into the country he sent his men before him to upsala with a message to ingegerd the king's daughter to come out to meet him at ullaraker, where she had a large farm. when the king's daughter got the earl's message she made herself ready immediately to travel with a large attendance, and hjalte accompanied her. but before he took his departure he went to king olaf, and said, "continue always to be the most fortunate of monarchs! such splendour as i have seen about thee i have in truth never witnessed elsewhere, and wheresoever i come it shall not be concealed. now, king, may i entreat thy favour and friendship in time to come?" the king replies, "why art thou in so great a haste, and where art thou going?" hjalte replies, "i am to ride out to ullaraker with ingegerd thy daughter." the king says, "farewell, then: a man thou art of understanding and politeness, and well suited to live with people of rank." thereupon hjalte withdrew. the king's daughter ingegerd rode to her farm in ullaraker, and ordered a great feast to be prepared for the earl. when the earl arrived he was welcomed with gladness, and he remained there several days. the earl and the king's daughter talked much, and of many things, but most about the swedish and norwegian kings; and she told the earl that in her opinion there was no hope of peace between them. then said the earl, "how wouldst thou like it, my cousin, if olaf king of norway were to pay his addresses to thee? it appears to us that it would contribute most towards a settled peace if there was relationship established between the kings; but i would not support such a matter if it were against thy inclination." she replies, "my father disposes of my hand; but among all my other relations thou art he whose advice i would rather follow in weighty affairs. dost thou think it would be advisable?" the earl recommended it to her strongly, and reckoned up many excellent achievements of king olaf's. he told her, in particular, about what had lately been done; that king olaf in an hours time one morning had taken five kings prisoners, deprived them all of their governments, and laid their kingdoms and properties under his own power. much they talked about the business, and in all their conversations they perfectly agreed with each other. when the earl was ready he took leave, and proceeded on his way, taking hjalte with him. . ragnvald and thorgny. earl ragnvald came towards evening one day to the house of lagman thorgny. it was a great and stately mansion, and many people stood outside, who received the earl kindly, and took care of the horses and baggage. the earl went into the room, where there was a number of people. in the high-seat sat an old man; and never had bjorn or his companions seen a man so stout. his beard was so long that it lay upon his knee, and was spread over his whole breast; and the man, moreover, was handsome and stately in appearance. the earl went forward and saluted him. thorgny received him joyfully and kindly, and bade him go to the seat he was accustomed to take. the earl seated himself on the other side, opposite thorgny. they remained there some days before the earl disclosed his errand, and then he asked thorgny to go with him into the conversing room. bjorn and his followers went there with the earl. then the earl began, and told how olaf king of norway had sent these men hither to conclude a peaceful agreement. he showed at great length what injury it was of to the west gautland people, that there was hostility between their country and norway. he further related that olaf the king of norway had sent ambassadors, who were here present, and to whom he had promised he would attend them to the swedish king; but he added, "the swedish king takes the matter so grievously, that he has uttered menaces against those who entertain it. now so it is, my foster-father, that i do not trust to myself in this matter; but am come on a visit to thee to get good counsel and help from thee in the matter." now when the earl had done speaking thorgny sat silent for a while, and then took up the word. "ye have curious dispositions who are so ambitious of honour and renown, and yet have no prudence or counsel in you when you get into any mischief. why did you not consider, before you gave your promise to this adventure, that you had no power to stand against king olaf? in my opinion it is not a less honourable condition to be in the number of bondes and have one's words free, and be able to say what one will, even if the king be present. but i must go to the upsala thing, and give thee such help that without fear thou canst speak before the king what thou findest good." the earl thanked him for the promise, remained with thorgny, and rode with him to the upsala thing. there was a great assemblage of people at the thing, and king olaf was there with his court. . of the upsala thing. the first day the thing sat, king olaf was seated on a stool, and his court stood in a circle around him. right opposite to him sat earl ragnvald and thorgny in the thing upon one stool, and before them the earl's court and thorgny's house-people. behind their stool stood the bonde community, all in a circle around them. some stood upon hillocks and heights, in order to hear the better. now when the king's messages, which are usually handled in the things, were produced and settled, the marshal bjorn rose beside the earl's stool, and said aloud, "king olaf sends me here with the message that he will offer to the swedish king peace, and the frontiers that in old times were fixed between norway and svithjod." he spoke so loud that the swedish king could distinctly hear him; but at first, when he heard king olaf's name spoken, he thought the speaker had some message or business of his own to execute; but when he heard of peace, and the frontiers between norway and svithjod, he saw from what root it came, and sprang up, and called out that the man should be silent, for that such speeches were useless. thereupon bjorn sat down; and when the noise had ceased earl ragnvald stood up and made a speech. he spoke of olaf the thick's message, and proposal of peace to olaf the swedish king; and that all the west gautland people sent their entreaty to olaf that he would make peace with the king of norway. he recounted all the evils the west gautlanders were suffering under; that they must go without all the things from norway which were necessary in their households; and, on the other hand, were exposed to attack and hostility whenever the king of norway gathered an army and made an inroad on them. the earl added, that olaf the norway king had sent men hither with the intent to obtain ingegerd the king's daughter in marriage. when the earl had done speaking olaf the swedish king stood up and replied, and was altogether against listening to any proposals of peace, and made many and heavy reproaches against the earl for his impudence in entering into a peaceful truce with the thick fellow, and making up a peaceful friendship with him, and which in truth he considered treason against himself. he added, that it would be well deserved if earl ragnvald were driven out of the kingdom. the earl had, in his opinion, the influence of his wife ingebjorg to thank for what might happen; and it was the most imprudent fancy he could have fallen upon to take up with such a wife. the king spoke long and bitterly, turning his speech always against olaf the thick. when he sat down not a sound was to be heard at first. . thorgny's speech. then thorgny stood up; and when he arose all the bondes stood up who had before been sitting, and rushed together from all parts to listen to what lagman thorgny would say. at first there was a great din of people and weapons; but when the noise was settled into silent listening, thorguy made his speech. "the disposition of swedish kings is different now from what it has been formerly. my grandfather thorgny could well remember the upsala king eirik eymundson, and used to say of him that when he was in his best years he went out every summer on expeditions to different countries, and conquered for himself finland, kirjalaland, courland, esthonia, and the eastern countries all around; and at the present day the earth-bulwarks, ramparts, and other great works which he made are to be seen. and, more over, he was not so proud that he would not listen to people who had anything to say to him. my father, again, was a long time with king bjorn, and was well acquainted with his ways and manners. in bjorn's lifetime his kingdom stood in great power, and no kind of want was felt, and he was gay and sociable with his friends. i also remember king eirik the victorious, and was with him on many a war-expedition. he enlarged the swedish dominion, and defended it manfully; and it was also easy and agreeable to communicate our opinions to him. but the king we have now got allows no man to presume to talk with him, unless it be what he desires to hear. on this alone he applies all his power, while he allows his scat-lands in other countries to go from him through laziness and weakness. he wants to have the norway kingdom laid under him, which no swedish king before him ever desired, and therewith brings war and distress on many a man. now it is our will, we bondes, that thou king olaf make peace with the norway king, olaf the thick, and marry thy daughter ingegerd to him. wilt thou, however, reconquer the kingdoms in the east countries which thy relations and forefathers had there, we will all for that purpose follow thee to the war. but if thou wilt not do as we desire, we will now attack thee, and put thee to death; for we will no longer suffer law and peace to be disturbed. so our forefathers went to work when they drowned five kings in a morass at the mula-thing, and they were filled with the same insupportable pride thou hast shown towards us. now tell us, in all haste, what resolution thou wilt take." then the whole public approved, with clash of arms and shouts, the lagman's speech. the king stands up and says he will let things go according to the desire of the bondes. "all swedish kings," he said, "have done so, and have allowed the bondes to rule in all according to their will." the murmur among the bondes then came to an end, and the chiefs, the king, the earl, and thorgny talked together, and concluded a truce and reconciliation, on the part of the swedish king, according to the terms which the king of norway had proposed by his ambassadors; and it was resolved at the thing that ingegerd, the king's daughter, should be married to olaf haraldson. the king left it to the earl to make the contract feast, and gave him full powers to conclude this marriage affair; and after this was settled at the thing, they separated. when the earl returned homewards, he and the king's daughter ingegerd had a meeting, at which they talked between themselves over this matter. she sent olaf a long cloak of fine linen richly embroidered with gold, and with silk points. the earl returned to gautland, and bjorn with him; and after staying with him a short time, bjorn and his company returned to norway. when he came to king olaf he told him the result of his errand, and the king returned him many thanks for his conduct, and said bjorn had had great success in bringing his errand to so favourabie a conclusion against such animosity. . of king hrorek's treachery. on the approach of spring (a.d. ) king olaf went down to the coast, had his ships rigged out, summoned troops to him, and proceeded in spring out from viken to the naze, and so north to hordaland. he then sent messages to all the lendermen, selected the most considerable men in each district, and made the most splendid preparations to meet his bride. the wedding-feast was to be in autumn, at the gaut river, on the frontiers of the two countries. king olaf had with him the blind king hrorek. when his wound was healed, the king gave him two men to serve him, let him sit in the high-seat by his side, and kept him in meat and clothes in no respect norse than he had kept himself before. hrorek was taciturn, and answered short and cross when any one spoke to him. it was his custom to make his footboy, when he went out in the daytime, lead him away from people, and then to beat the lad until he ran away. he would then complain to king olaf that the lad would not serve him. the king changed his servants, but it was as before; no servant would hold it out with king hrorek. then the king appointed a man called svein to wait upon and serve king hrorek. he was hrorek's relation, and had formerly been in his service. hrorek continued with his habits of moroseness, and of solitary walks; but when he and svein were alone together, he was merry and talkative. he used to bring up many things which had happened in former days when he was king. he alluded, too, to the man who had, in his former days, torn him from his kingdom and happiness, and made him live on alms. "it is hardest of all," says he, "that thou and my other relations, who ought to be men of bravery, are so degenerated that thou wilt not avenge the shame and disgrace brought upon our race." such discourse he often brought out. svein said, they had too great a power to deal with, while they themselves had but little means. hrorek said, "why should we live longer as mutilated men with disgrace? i, a blind man, may conquer them as well as they conquered me when i was asleep. come then, let us kill this thick olaf. he is not afraid for himself at present. i will lay the plan, and would not spare my hands if i could use them, but that i cannot by reason of my blindness; therefore thou must use the weapons against him, and as soon as olaf is killed i can see well enough that his power must come into the hands of his enemies, and it may well be that i shall be king, and thou shalt be my earl." so much persuasion he used that svein at last agreed to join in the deed. the plan was so laid that when the king was ready to go to vespers, svein stood on the threshold with a drawn dagger under his cloak. now when the king came out of the room, it so happened that he walked quicker than svein expected; and when he looked the king in the face he grew pale, and then white as a corpse, and his hand sank down. the king observed his terror and said, "what is this, svein? wilt thou betray me?" svein threw down his cloak and dagger, and fell at the king's feet, saying, "all is in gods hands and thine, king!" the king ordered his men to seize svein, and he was put in irons. the king ordered hrorek's seat to be moved to another bench. he gave svein his life, and he left the country. the king appointed a different lodging for hrorek to sleep in from that in which he slept himself, and in which many of his court-people slept. he set two of his court-men, who had been long with him, and whose fidelity he had proof of, to attend hrorek day and night; but it is not said whether they were people of high birth or not. king hrorek's mood was very different at different times. sometimes he would sit silent for days together, so that no man could get a word out of him; and sometimes he was so merry and gay, that people found a joke in every word he said. sometimes his words were very bitter. he was sometimes in a mood that he would drink them all under the benches, and made all his neighbours drunk; but in general he drank but little. king olaf gave him plenty of pocket-money. when he went to his lodgings he would often, before going to bed, have some stoups of mead brought in, which he gave to all the men in the house to drink, so that he was much liked. . of little fin. there was a man from the uplands called fin the little, and some said of him that he was of finnish ( ) race. he was a remarkable little man, but so swift of foot that no horse could overtake him. he was a particularly well-excercised runner with snow-shoes, and shooter with the bow. he had long been in the service of king hrorek, and often employed in errands of trust. he knew the roads in all the upland hills, and was well known to all the great people. now when king hrorek was set under guards on the journey fin would often slip in among the men of the guard, and followed, in general, with the lads and serving-men; but as often as he could he waited upon hrorek, and entered into conversation with him. the king, however, only spoke a word or two with him at a time, to prevent suspicion. in spring, when they came a little way beyond viken, fin disappeared from the army for some days, but came back, and stayed with them a while. this happened often, without anyone observing it particularly; for there were many such hangers-on with the army. endnotes: ( ) the laplanders are called fins in norway and sweden.--l. . murder of olaf's court-men. king olaf came to tunsberg before easter (a.d. ), and remained there late in spring. many merchant vessels came to the town, both from saxon-land and denmark, and from viken, and from the north parts of the country. there was a great assemblage of people; and as the times were good, there was many a drinking meeting. it happened one evening that king hrorek came rather late to his lodging; and as he had drunk a great deal, he was remarkably merry. little fin came to him with a stoup of mead with herbs in it, and very strong. the king made every one in the house drunk, until they fell asleep each in his berth. fin had gone away, and a light was burning in the lodging. hrorek waked the men who usually followed him, and told them he wanted to go out into the yard. they had a lantern with them, for outside it was pitch dark. out in the yard there was a large privy standing upon pillars, and a stair to go up to it. while hrorek and his guards were in the yard they heard a man say, "cut down that devil;" and presently a crash, as if somebody fell. hrorek said, "these fellows must be dead drunk to be fighting with each other so: run and separate them." they rushed out; but when they came out upon the steps both of them were killed: the man who went out the last was the first killed. there were twelve of hrorek's men there, and among them sigurd hit, who had been his banner-man, and also little fin. they drew the dead bodies up between the houses, took the king with them, ran out to a boat they had in readiness, and rowed away. sigvat the skald slept in king olaf's lodgings. he got up in the night, and his footboy with him, and went to the privy. but as they were returning, on going down the stairs sigvat's foot slipped, and he fell on his knee; and when he put out his hands he felt the stairs wet. "i think," said he, laughing, "the king must have given many of us tottering legs tonight." when they came into the house in which light was burning the footboy said, "have you hurt yourself that you are all over so bloody?" he replied, "i am not wounded, but something must have happened here." thereupon he wakened thord folason, who was standard-bearer, and his bedfellow. they went out with a light, and soon found the blood. they traced it, and found the corpses, and knew them. they saw also a great stump of a tree in which clearly a gash had been cut, which, as was afterwards known, had been done as a stratagem to entice those out who had been killed. sigvat and thord spoke together and agreed it was highly necessary to let the king know of this without delay. they immediately sent a lad to the lodging where hrorek had been. all the men in it were asleep; but the king was gone. he wakened the men who were in the house, and told them what had happened. the men arose, and ran out to the yard where the bodies were; but, however needful it appeared to be that the king should know it, nobody dared to waken him. then said sigvat to thord, "what wilt thou rather do, comrade, waken the king, or tell him the tidings?" thord replies, "i do not dare to waken him, and i would rather tell him the news." then said sigvat, "there is minch of the night still to pass, and before morning hrorek may get himself concealed in such a way that it may be difficult to find him; but as yet he cannot be very far off, for the bodies are still warm. we must never let the disgrace rest upon us of concealing this treason from the king. go thou, up to the lodging, and wait for me there." sigvat then went to the church, and told the bell-ringer to toll for the souls of the king's court-men, naming the men who were killed. the-bell-ringer did as he was told. the king awoke at the ringing, sat up in his bed, and asked if it was already the hours of matins. thord replies, "it is worse than that, for there has occurred a very important affair. hrorek is fled, and two of the court-men are killed." the king asked how this had taken place, and thord told him all he knew. the king got up immediately, ordered to sound the call for a meeting of the court, and when the people were assembled he named men to go out to every quarter from the town, by sea and land, to search for hrorek. thorer lange took a boat, and set off with thirty men; and when day dawned they saw two small boats before them in the channel, and when they saw each other both parties rowed as hard as they could. king hrorek was there with thirty men. when they came quite close to each other hrorek and his men turned towards the land, and all sprang on shore except the king, who sat on the aft seat. he bade them farewell, and wished they might meet each other again in better luck. at the same moment thorer with his company rowed to the land. fin the little shot off an arrow, which hit thorer in the middle of the body, and was his death; and sigurd hit, with his men, ran up into the forest. thorer's men took his body, and transported it, together with hrorek, to tunsberg. king olaf undertook himself thereafter to look after king hrorek, made him be carefully guarded, and took good care of his treason, for which reason he had a watch over him night and day. king hrorek thereafter was very gay, and nobody could observe but that he was in every way well satisfied. . of hrorek's assault. it happened on ascension-day that king olaf went to high mass, and the bishop went in procession around the church, and conducted the king; and when they came back to the church the bishop led the king to his seat on the north side of the choir. there hrorek sat next to the king, and concealed his countenance in his upper cloak. when olaf had seated himself hrorek laid his hand on the king's shoulder, and felt it. "thou hast fine clothes on, cousin, today," said he. king olaf replies, "it is a festival today, in remembrance that jesus christ ascended to heaven from earth." king hrorek says, "i understand nothing about it so as to hold in my mind what ye tell me about christ. much of what ye tell me appears to me incredible, although many wonderful things may have come to pass in old times." when the mass was finished olaf stood up, held his hands up over his head, and bowed down before the altar, so that his cloak hung down behind his shoulders. then king hrorek started up hastily and sharply, and struck at the king with a long knife of the kind called ryting; but the blow was received in the upper cloak at the shoulder, because the king was bending himself forwards. the clothes were much cut, but the king was not wounded. when the king perceived the attack he sprang upon the floor; and hrorek struck at him again with the knife, but did not reach him, and said, "art thou flying, olaf, from me, a blind men?" the king ordered his men to seize him and lead him out of the church, which was done. after this attempt many hastened to king olaf, and advised that king hrorek should be killed. "it is," said they, "tempting your luck in the highest degree, king, to keep him with you, and protect him, whatever mischief he may undertake; for night and day he thinks upon taking your life. and if you send him away, we know no one who can watch him so that he will not in all probability escape; and if once he gets loose he will assemble a great multitude, and do much evil." the king replies, "you say truly that many a one has suffered death for less offence than hrorek's; but willingly i would not darken the victory i gained over the upland kings, when in one morning hour i took five kings prisoners, and got all their kingdoms: but yet, as they were my relations, i should not be their murderer but upon need. as yet i can scarcely see whether hrorek puts me in the necessity of killing him or not." it was to feel if king olaf had armour on or not that hrorek had laid his hand on the king's shoulder. . king hrorek's journey to iceland. there was an iceland man, by name thorarin nefiulfson, who had his relations in the north of the country. he was not of high birth, but particularly prudent, eloquent, and agreeable in conversation with people of distinction. he was also a far-travelled man, who had been long in foreign parts. thorarin was a remarkably ugly man, principally because he had very ungainly limbs. he had great ugly hands, and his feet were still uglier. thorarin was in tunsberg when this event happened which has just been related, and he was known to king olaf by their having had conversations together. thorarin was just then done with rigging out a merchant vessel which he owned, and with which he intended to go to iceland in summer. king olaf had thorarin with him as a guest for some days, and conversed much with him; and thorarin even slept in the king's lodgings. one morning early the king awoke while the others were still sleeping. the sun had newly risen in the sky, and there was much light within. the king saw that thorarin had stretched out one of his feet from under the bed-clothes, and he looked at the foot a while. in the meantime the others in the lodging awoke; and the king said to thorarin, "i have been awake for a while, and have seen a sight which was worth seeing; and that is a man's foot so ugly that i do not think an uglier can be found in this merchant town." thereupon he told the others to look at it, and see if it was not so; and all agreed with the king. when thorarin observed what they were talking about, he said, "there are few things for which you cannot find a match, and that may be the case here." the king says, "i would rather say that such another ugly foot cannot be found in the town, and i would lay any wager upon it." then said thorarin, "i am willing to bet that i shall find an uglier foot still in the town." the king--"then he who wins shall have the right to get any demand from the other he chooses to make." "be it so," said thorarin. thereupon he stretches out his other foot from under the bed-clothes, and it was in no way handsomer than the other, and moreover, wanted the little toe. "there," said thorarin, "see now, king, my other foot, which is so much uglier; and, besides, has no little toe. now i have won." the king replies, "that other foot was so much uglier than this one by having five ugly toes upon it, and this has only four; and now i have won the choice of asking something from thee." "the sovereign's decision must be right," says thorarin; "but what does the king require of me?" "to take hrorek," said the king, "to greenland, and deliver him to leif eirikson." thorarin replies, "i have never been in greenland." the king--"thou, who art a far-travelled man, wilt now have an opportunity of seeing greenland, if thou hast never been there before." at first thorarin did not say much about it; but as the king insisted on his wish he did not entirely decline, but said, "i will let you hear, king, what my desire would have been had i gained the wager. it would have been to be received into your body of court-men; and if you will grant me that, i will be the more zealous now in fulfilling your pleasure." the king gave his consent, and thorarin was made one of the court-men. then thorarin rigged out his vessel, and when he was ready he took on board king hrorek. when thorarin took leave of king olaf, he said, "should it now turn out, king, as is not improbable, and often happens, that we cannot effect the voyage to greenland, but must run for iceland or other countries, how shall i get rid of this king in a way that will be satisfactory to you?" the king--"if thou comest to iceland, deliver him into the hands of gudmund eyolfson, or of skapte, the lagman, or of some other chief who will receive my tokens and message of friendship. but if thou comest to other countries nearer to this, do so with him that thou canst know with certainty that king hrorek never again shall appear in norway; but do so only when thou seest no other way of doing whatsoever." when thorarin was ready for sea, and got a wind, he sailed outside of all the rocks and islands, and when he was to the north of the naze set right out into the ocean. he did not immediately get a good wind, but he avoided coming near the land. he sailed until he made land which he knew, in the south part of iceland, and sailed west around the land out into the greenland ocean. there he encountered heavy storms, and drove long about upon the ocean; but when summer was coming to an end he landed again in iceland in breidafjord. thorgils arason ( ) was the first man of any consequence who came to him. thorarin brings him the king's salutation, message, and tokens, with which was the desire about king hrorek's reception. thorgils received these in a friendly way, and invited king hrorek to his house, where he stayed all winter. but he did not like being there, and begged that thorgils would let him go to gudmund; saying he had heard some time or other that there in gudmund's house, was the most sumptuous way of living in iceland, and that it was intended he should be in gudmund's hands. thorgils let him have his desire, and conducted him with some men to gudmund at modruveller. gudmund received hrorek kindly on account of the king's message, and he stayed there the next winter. he did not like being there either; and then gudmund gave him a habitation upon a small farm called kalfskin, where there were but few neighbours. there hrorek passed the third winter, and said that since he had laid down his kingdom he thought himself most comfortably situated here; for here he was most respected by all. the summer after hrorek fell sick, and died; and it is said he is the only king whose bones rest in iceland. thorarin nefiulfson was afterwards for a long time upon voyages; but sometimes he was with king olaf. endnotes: ( ) thorgils was the son of are marson, who visited america (vindland). thorgils, who was still alive in the year , was noted for his kindness toward all persecuted persons. . battle in ulfreks-fjord. the summer that thorarin went with hrorek to iceland, hjalte skeggjason went also to iceland, and king olaf gave him many friendly gifts with him when they parted. the same summer eyvind urarhorn went on an expedition to the west sea, and came in autumn to ireland, to the irish king konofogor ( ). in autumn einar earl of orkney and this irish king met in ulfreks-fjord, and there was a great battle, in which konofogor gained the victory, having many more people. the earl fled with a single ship and came back about autumn to orkney, after losing most of his men and all the booty they had made. the earl was much displeased with his expedition, and threw the blame upon the northmen, who had been in the battle on the side of the irish king, for making him lose the victory. endnotes: ( ) konofogor's irish name was connor. . olaf prepares for his bridal journey. now we begin again our story where we let it slip--at king olaf's travelling to his bridal, to receive his betrothed ingegerd the king's daughter. the king had a great body of men with him, and so chosen a body that all the great people he could lay hold of followed him; and every man of consequence had a chosen band of men with him distinguished by birth or other qualifications. the whole were well appointed, and equipped in ships, weapons, and clothes. they steered the fleet eastwards to konungahella; but when they arrived there they heard nothing of the swedish king and none of his men had come there. king olaf remained a long time in summer (a.d. ) at konungahella, and endeavored carefully to make out what people said of the swedish king's movements, or what were his designs; but no person could tell him anything for certain about it. then he sent men up to gautland to earl ragnvald, to ask him if he knew how it came to pass that the swedish king did not come to the meeting agreed on. the earl replies, that he did not know. "but as soon," said he, "as i hear, i shall send some of my men to king olaf, to let him know if there be any other cause for the delay than the multitude of affairs; as it often happens that the swedish king's movements are delayed by this more than he could have expected." . of the swedish king's children. this swedish king, olaf eirikson, had first a concubine who was called edla, a daughter of an earl of vindland, who had been captured in war, and therefore was called the king's slave-girl. their children were emund, astrid, holmfrid.... they had, besides, a son, who was born the day before st. jacob's-day. when the boy was to be christened the bishop called him jacob, which the swedes did not like, as there never had been a swedish king called jacob. all king olaf's children were handsome in appearance, and clever from childhood. the queen was proud, and did not behave well towards her step-children; therefore the king sent his son emund to vindland, to be fostered by his mother's relations, where he for a long time neglected his christianity. the king's daughter, astrid, was brought up in west gautland, in the house of a worthy man called egil. she was a very lovely girl: her words came well into her conversation; she was merry, but modest, and very generous. when she was grown up she was often in her father's house, and every man thought well of her. king olaf was haughty and harsh in his speech. he took very ill the uproar and clamour the country people had raised against him at the upsala thing, as they had threatened him with violence, for which he laid the chief blame on earl ragnvald. he made no preparation for the bridal, according to the agreement to marry his daughter ingegerd to olaf the king of norway, and to meet him on the borders for that purpose. as the summer advanced many of his men were anxious to know what the kings intentions were; whether to keep to the agreement with king olaf, or break his word, and with it the peace of the country. but no one was so bold as to ask the king, although they complained of it to ingegerd, and besought her to find out what the king intended. she replied "i have no inclination to speak to the king again about the matters between him and king olaf; for he answered me ill enough once before when i brought forward olaf's name." in the meantime ingegerd, the king's daughter, took it to heart, became melancholy and sorrowful and yet very curious to know what the king intended. she had much suspicion that he would not keep his word and promise to king olaf; for he appeared quite enraged whenever olaf the thick's name was in any way mentioned. . of the swedish king olaf's hunting. one morning early the king rode out with his dogs and falcons, and his men around him. when they let slip the falcons the king's falcon killed two black-cocks in one flight, and three in another. the dogs ran and brought the birds when they had fallen to the ground. the king ran after them, took the game from them himself, was delighted with his sport, and said, "it will be long before the most of you have such success." they agreed in this; adding, that in their opinion no king had such luck in hunting as he had. then the king rode home with his followers in high spirits. ingegerd, the king's daughter, was just going out of her lodging when the king came riding into the yard, and she turned round and saluted him. he saluted her in return, laughing; produced the birds, and told her the success of his chase. "dost thou know of any king," said he, "who made so great a capture in so short a time?" "it is indeed," replied she, "a good morning's hunting, to have got five black-cocks; but it was a still better when, in one morning, the king of norway, olaf, took five kings, and subdued all their kingdoms." when the king heard this he sprang from his horse, turned to ingegerd, and said, "thou shalt know, ingegerd, that however great thy love may be for this man, thou shalt never get him, nor he get thee. i will marry thee to some chief with whom i can be in friendship; but never can i be a friend of the man who has robbed me of my kingdom, and done me great mischief by marauding and killing through the land." with that their conversation broke off, and each went away. . olaf the norway king's counsels. ingegerd, the king's daughter, had now full certainty of king olaf's intention, and immediately sent men to west gautland to earl ragnvald, and let him know how it stood with the swedish king, and that the agreement made with the king of norway was broken; and advising the earl and people of west gautland to be upon their guard, as no peace from the people of norway was to be expected. when the earl got this news he sent a message through all his kingdom, and told the people to be cautious, and prepared in case of war or pillage from the side of norway. he also sent men to king olaf the thick, and let him know the message he had received, and likewise that he wished for himself to hold peace and friendship with king olaf; and therefore he begged him not to pillage in his kingdom. when this message came to king olaf it made him both angry and sorry; and for some days nobody got a word from him. he then held a house-thing with his men, and in it bjorn arose, and first took the word. he began his speech by telling that he had proceeded eastward last winter to establish a peace, and he told how kindly earl ragnvald had received him; and, on the other hand, how crossly and heavily the swedish king had accepted the proposal. "and the agreement," said he, "which was made, was made more by means of the strength of the people, the power of thorgny, and the aid of the earl, than by the king's good-will. now, on these grounds, we know for certain that it is the king who has caused the breach of the agreement; therefore we ought by no means to make the earl suffer, for it is proved that he is king olaf's firm friend." the king wished now to hear from the chiefs and other leaders of troops what course he should adopt. "whether shall we go against gautland, and maraud there with such men as we have got; or is there any other course that appears to you more advisable?" he spoke both long and well. thereafter many powerful men spoke, and all were at last agreed in dissuading from hostilities. they argued thus:--"although we are a numerous body of men who are assembled here, yet they are all only people of weight and power; but, for a war expedition, young men who are in quest of property and consideration are more suitable. it is also the custom of people of weight and power, when they go into battle or strife, to have many people with them whom they can send out before them for their defence; for the men do not fight worse who have little property, but even better than those who are brought up in the midst of wealth." after these considerations the king resolved to dismiss this army from any expedition, and to give every man leave to return home; but proclaimed, at the same time, that next summer the people over the whole country would be called out in a general levy, to march immediately against the swedish king, and punish him for his want of faith. all thought well of this plan. then the king returned northwards to viken, and took his abode at sarpsborg in autumn, and ordered all things necessary for winter provision to be collected there; and he remained there all winter (a.d. ) with a great retinue. . sigvat the skald's journey eastwards. people talked variously about earl ragnvald; some said he was king olaf's sincere friend; others did not think this likely, and thought it stood in his power to warn the swedish king to keep his word, and the agreement concluded on between him and king olaf. sigvat the poet often expressed himself in conversation as earl ragnvald's great friend, and often spoke of him to king olaf; and he offered to the king to travel to earl ragnvald's and spy after the swedish kings doings, and to attempt, if possible, to get the settlement of the agreement. the king thought well of this plan; for he oft, and with pleasure, spoke to his confidential friends about ingegerd, the king's daughter. early in winter (a.d. ) sigvat the skald, with two companions, left sarpsborg, and proceeded eastwards over the moors to gautland. before sigvat and king olaf parted he composed these verses:-- "sit happy in thy hall, o king! till i come back, and good news bring: the skald will bid thee now farewell, till he brings news well worth to tell. he wishes to the helmed hero health, and long life, and a tull flow of honour, riches, and success-- and, parting, ends his song with this. the farewell word is spoken now __ the word that to the heart lies nearest; and yet, o king! before i go, one word on what i hold the dearest, i fain would say, "o! may god save to thee the bravest of the brave, the land, which is thy right by birth!" this is my dearest with on earth." then they proceeded eastwards towards eid, and had difficulty in crossing the river in a little cobble; but they escaped, though with danger: and sigvat sang:-- "on shore the crazy boat i drew, wet to the skin, and frightened too; for truly there was danger then; the mocking hill elves laughed again. to see us in this cobble sailing, and all our sea-skill unavailing. but better did it end, you see, than any of us could foresee." then they went through the eid forest, and sigvat sang:-- "a hundred miles through eid's old wood, and devil an alehouse, bad or good,-- a hundred miles, and tree and sky were all that met the weary eye. with many a grumble, many a groan. a hundred miles we trudged right on; and every king's man of us bore on each foot-sole a bleeding sore." they came then through gautland, and in the evening reached a farm-house called hof. the door was bolted so that they could not come in; and the servants told them it was a fast-day, and they could not get admittance. sigvat sang:-- "now up to hof in haste i hie, and round the house and yard i pry. doors are fast locked--but yet within, methinks, i hear some stir and din. i peep, with nose close to the ground. below the door, but small cheer found. my trouble with few words was paid-- "'tis holy time,' the house-folkd said. heathens! to shove me thus away! i' the foul fiend's claws may you all lay." then they came to another farm, where the good-wife was standing at the door, and told them not to come in, for they were busy with a sacrifice to the elves. sigvat sang of it thus:-- "'my poor lad, enter not, i pray!' thus to me did the old wife say; 'for all of us are heathens here, and i for odin's wrath do fear.' the ugly witch drove me away, like scared wolf sneaking from his prey. when she told me that there within was sacrifice to foul odin." another evening, they came to three bondes, all of them of the name of olver, who drove them away. sigvat sang:-- "three of one name, to their great shame, the traveller late drove from their gate! travellers may come from our viking-home, unbidden guests at these olvers' feasts." they went on farther that evening, and came to a fourth bonde, who was considered the most hospitable man in the country; but he drove them away also. then sigvat sang:-- "then on i went to seek night's rest from one who was said to be the best, the kindest host in the land around, and there i hoped to have quarters found. but, faith,'twas little use to try; for not so much as raise an eye would this huge wielder of the spade: if he's the hest, it must be said bad is the best, and the skald's praise cannot be given to churls like these. i almost wished that asta's son in the eid forest had been one when we, his men, were even put lodging to crave in a heathen's hut. i knew not where the earl to find; four times driven off by men unkind, i wandered now the whole night o'er, driven like a dog from door to door." now when they came to earl ragnvald's the earl said they must have had a severe journey. then sigvat sang:-- "the message-bearers of the king from norway came his words to bring; and truly for their master they hard work have done before to-day. we did not loiter on the road, but on we pushed for thy abode: thy folk, in sooth, were not so kind that we cared much to lag hehind. but eid to rest safe we found, from robbers free to the eastern bound: this praise to thee, great earl, is due-- the skald says only what is true." earl ragnvald gave sigvat a gold arm-ring, and a woman said "he had not made the journey with his black eyes for nothing." sigvat sang:-- "my coal-black eyes dost thou despise? they have lighted me across the sea to gain this golden prize: they have lighted me, thy eyes to see, o'er iceland's main, o'er hill and plain: where nanna's lad would fear to be they have lighted me." sigvat was long entertained kindly and well in the house of earl ragnvald. the earl heard by letters, sent by ingegerd the king's daughter, that ambassadors from king jarisleif were come from russia to king olaf of svithjod to ask his daughter ingegerd in marriage, and that king olaf had given them hopes that he would agree to it. about the same time king olaf's daughter astrid came to earl ragnvald's court, and a great feast was made for her. sigvat soon became acquainted by conversation with the king's daughter, and she knew him by name and family, for ottar the skald, sigvat's sister's son, had long intimate acquaintance with king olaf, the swedish king. among other things talked of, earl ragnvald asked sigvat if the king of norway would not marry the king's daughter astrid. "if he would do that," said he, "i think we need not ask the swedish king for his consent." astrid, the kings daughter, said exactly the same. soon after sigvat returns home, and comes to king olaf at sarpsborg a little before yule. when sigvat came home to king olaf he went into the hall, and, looking around on the walls, he sang:-- "when our men their arms are taking the raven's wings with greed are shaking; when they come back to drink in hall brave spoil they bring to deck the wall-- shield, helms, and panzers ( ), all in row, stripped in the field from lifeless fow. in truth no royal nail comes near thy splendid hall in precious gear." afterwards sigvat told of his journey, and sang these verses:-- "the king's court-guards desire to hear about our journey and our cheer, our ships in autumn reach the sound, but long the way to swedish ground. with joyless weather, wind and raind, and pinching cold, and feet in pain-- with sleep, fatigue, and want oppressed, no songs had we--we scarce had rest." and when he came into conversation with the king he sang:-- "when first i met the earl i told how our king loved a friend so bold; how in his heart he loved a man with hand to do, and head to plan. thou generous king! with zeal and care i sought to advance thy great affair; for messengers from russian land had come to ask ingegerd's hand. the earl, thy friend, bids thee, who art so mild and generous of heart, his servants all who here may come to cherish in thy royal home; and thine who may come to the east in ragnvald's hall shall find a feast-- in ragnvald's house shall find a home-- at ragnvald's court be still welcome. when first i came the people's mind incensed by eirik's son i find; and he refused the wish to meet, alleging treachery and deceit. but i explained how it was here, for earl and king, advantage clear with thee to hold the strictest peace, and make all force and foray cease. the earl is wise, and understands the need of peace for both the lands; and he entreats thee not to break the present peace for vengeance's sake!" he immediately tells king olaf the news he had heard; and at first the king was much cast down when he heard of king jarisleif's suit, and he said he expected nothing but evil from king olaf; but wished he might be able to return it in such a way as olaf should remember. a while afterwards the king asks sigvat about various news from gautland. sigvat spoke a great deal about astrid, the kings daughter; how beautiful she was, how agreeable in her conversation; and that all declared she was in no respect behind her sister ingegerd. the king listened with pleasure to this. then sigvat told him the conversation he and astrid had had between themselves, and the king was delighted at the idea. "the swedish king," said he, "will scarcely think that i will dare to marry a daughter of his without his consent." but this speech of his was not known generally. king olaf and sigvat the skald often spoke about it. the king inquired particularly of sigvat what he knew about earl ragnvald, and "if he be truly our friend," said the king. sigvat said that the earl was king olaf's best friend, and sang these verses:-- "the mighty olaf should not cease with him to hold good terms and peace; for this good earl unwearied shows he is thy friend where all are foes. of all who dwell by the east sea so friendly no man is as he: at all their things he takes thy part, and is thy firm friend, hand and heart." endnotes: ( ) the pantzer--a complete suit of plate-armour. . ragnvald and astra's journey. after yule (a.d. ), thord skotakol, a sister's son of sigvat, attended by one of sigvat's footboys, who had been with sigvat the autumn before in gautland, went quite secretly from the court, and proceeded to gautland. when they came to earl ragnvald's court, they produced the tokens which olaf himself had sent to the earl, that he might place confidence in thord. without delay the earl made himself ready for a journey, as did astrid, the king's daughter; and the earl took with him men, who were chosen both from among his courtmen and the sons of great bondes, and who were carefully equipped in all things, clothes, weapons, and horses. then they rode northwards to sarpsborg, and came there at candlemas. . of king olaf's marriage. king olaf had put all things in order in the best style. there were all sorts of liquors of the best that could be got, and all other preparations of the same quality. many people of consequence were summoned in from their residences. when the earl arrived with his retinue the king received him particularly well; and the earl was shown to a large, good, and remarkably well-furnished house for his lodging; and serving-men and others were appointed to wait on him; and nothing was wanting, in any respect, that could grace a feast. now when the entertainment had lasted some days, the king, the earl, and astrid had a conference together; and the result of it was, that earl ragnvald contracted astrid, daughter of the swedish king olaf, to olaf king of norway, with the same dowry which had before been settled that her sister ingegerd should have from home. king olaf, on his part, should give astrid the same bride-gift that had been intended for her sister ingegerd. thereupon an eke was made to the feast, and king olaf and queen astrid's wedding was drunk in great festivity. earl ragnvald then returned to gautland, and the king gave the earl many great and good gifts at parting; and they parted the dearest of friends, which they continued to be while they lived. . the agreement broken by olaf. the spring (a.d. ) thereafter came ambassadors from king jarisleif in novgorod to svithjod, to treat more particularly about the promise given by king olaf the preceding summer to marry his daughter ingegerd to king jarisleif. king olaf tallied about the business with ingegerd, and told her it was his pleasure that she should marry king jarisleif. she replied. "if i marry king jarisleif, i must have as my bride-gift the town and earldom of ladoga." the russian ambassadors agreed to this, on the part of their sovereign. then said ingegerd, "if i go east to russia, i must choose the man in svithjod whom i think most suitable to accompany me; and i must stipulate that he shall not have any less title, or in any respect less dignity, privilege, and consideration there, than he has, here." this the king and the ambassadors agreed to, and gave their hands upon it in confirmation of the condition. "and who," asked the king, "is the man thou wilt take with thee as thy attendant?" "that man," she replied, "is my relation earl ragnvald." the king replies, "i have resolved to reward earl ragnvald in a different manner for his treason against his master in going to norway with my daughter, and giving her as a concubine to that fellow, who he knew was my greatest enemy. i shall hang him up this summer." then ingegerd begged her father to be true to the promise he had made her, and had confirmed by giving his hand upon it. by her entreaties it was at last agreed that the king should promise to let earl ragnvald go in peace from svithjod, but that he should never again appear in the king's presence, or come back to svithjod while olaf reigned. ingegerd then sent messengers to the earl to bring him these tidings, and to appoint a place of meeting. the earl immediately prepared for his journey; rode up to east gautland; procured there a vessel, and, with his retinue, joined ingegerd, and they proceeded together eastward to russia. there ingegerd was married to king jarisleif; and their children were valdemar, vissivald, and holte the bold. queen ingegerd gave earl ragnvald the town of ladoga, and earldom belonging to it. earl ragnvald was there a long time, and was a celebrated man. his sons and ingebjorg's were earl ulf and earl eilif. . history of the lagman emund. there was a man called emund of skara, who was lagman of west gautland, and was a man of great understanding and eloquence, and of high birth, great connection, and very wealthy; but was considered deceitful, and not to be trusted. he was the most powerful man in west gautland after the earl was gone. the same spring (a.d. ) that earl ragnvald left gautland the gautland people held a thing among themselves, and often expressed their anxiety to each other about what the swedish king might do. they heard he was incensed because they had rather held in friendship with the king of norway than striven against him; and he was also enraged against those who had attended his daughter astrid to norway. some proposed to seek help and support from the king of norway, and to offer him their services; others dissuaded from this measure, as west gautland had no strength to oppose to the swedes. "and the king of norway," said they, "is far from us, the chief strength of his country very distant; and therefore let us first send men to the swedish king to attempt to come to some reconciliation with him. if that fail, we can still turn to the king of norway." then the bondes asked emund to undertake this mission, to which he agreed; and he proceeded with thirty men to east gautland, where there were many of his relations and friends, who received him hospitably. he conversed there with the most prudent men about this difficult business; and they were all unanimous on one point,--that the king's treatment of them was against law and reason. from thence emund went into svithjod, and conversed with many men of consequence, who all expressed themselves in the same way. emund continued his journey thus, until one day, towards evening, he arrived at upsala, where he and his retinue took a good lodging, and stayed there all night. the next day emund waited upon the king, who was just then sitting in the thing surrounded by many people. emund went before him, bent his knee, and saluted him. the king looked at him, saluted him, and asked him what news he brought. emund replies, "there is little news among us gautlanders; but it appears to us a piece of remarkable news that the proud, stupid atte, in vermaland, whom we look upon as a great sportsman, went up to the forest in winter with his snow-shoes and his bow. after he had got as many furs in the mountains as filled his hand-sledge so full that he could scarcely drag it, he returned home from the woods. but on the way he saw a squirrel in the trees, and shot at it, but did not hit; at which he was so angry, that he left the sledge to run after the squirrel: but still the squirrel sprang where the wood was thickest, sometimes among the roots of the trees, sometimes in the branches, sometimes among the arms that stretch from tree to tree. when atte shot at it the arrows flew too high or too low, and the squirrel never jumped so that atte could get a fair aim at him. he was so eager upon this chase that he ran the whole day after the squirrel, and yet could not get hold of it. it was now getting dark; so he threw himself down upon the snow, as he was wont, and lay there all night in a heavy snow-storm. next day atte got up to look after his sledge, but never did he find it again; and so he returned home. and this is the only news, king, i have to tell." the king says, "this is news of but little importance, if it be all thou hast to tell." ernund replies, "lately something happened which may well be called news. gaute tofason went with five warships out of the gaut river, and when he was lying at the eikrey isles there came five large danish merchant-ships there. gaute and his men immediately took four of the great vessels, and made a great booty without the loss of a man: but the fifth vessel slipped out to sea, and sailed away. gaute gave chase with one ship, and at first came nearer to them; but as the wind increased, the danes got away. then gaute wanted to turn back; but a storm came on so that he lost his ship at hlesey, with all the goods, and the greater part of his crew. in the meantime his people were waiting for him at the eikrey isles: but the danes came over in fifteen merchant-ships, killed them all, and took all the booty they had made. so but little luck had they with their greed of plunder." the king replied. "that is great news, and worth being told; but what now is thy errand here?" emund replies, "i travel, sire, to obtain your judgment in a difficult case, in which our law and the upsala law do not agree." the king asks, "what is thy appeal case?" emund replies, "there were two noble-born men of equal birth, but unequal in property and disposition. they quarrelled about some land, and did each other much damage; but most was done to him who was the more powerful of the two. this quarrel, however, was settled, and judged of at a general thing; and the judgment was, that the most powerful should pay a compensation. but at the first payment, instead of paying a goose, he paid a gosling; for an old swine he paid a sucking pig; and for a mark of stamped gold only a half-mark, and for the other half-mark nothing but clay and dirt; and, moreover, threatened, in the most violent way, the people whom he forced to receive such goods in payment. now, sire, what is your judgment?" the king replies, "he shall pay the full equivalent whom the judgment ordered to do so, and that faithfully; and further, threefold to his king: and if payment be not made within a year and a day, he shall be cut off from all his property, his goods confiscated, and half go the king's house, and half to the other party." emund took witnesses to this judgment among the most considerable of the men who were present, according to the laws which were held in the upsala thing. he then saluted the king, and went his way; and other men brought their cases before the king, and he sat late in the day upon the cases of the people. now when the king came to table, he asked where lagman emund was. it was answered, he was home at his lodgings. "then," said the king, "go after him, and tell him to be my guest to-day." thereafter the dishes were borne in; then came the musicians with harps, fiddles, and musical instruments; and lastly, the cup-bearers. the king was particularly merry, and had many great people at table with him, so that he thought little of emund. the king drank the whole day, and slept all the night after; but in the morning the king awoke, and recollected what emund had said the day before: and when he had put on his clothes, he let his wise men be summoned to him; for he had always twelve of the wisest men who sat in judgment with him, and treated the more difficult cases; and that was no easy business, for the king was ill-pleased if the judgment was not according to justice, and yet it was of no use to contradict him. in this meeting the king ordered lagman emund to be called before them. the messenger returned, and said, "sire, lagman emund rode away yesterday as soon as he had dined." "then," said the king, "tell me, ye good chiefs, what may have been the meaning of that law-case which emund laid before us yesterday?" they replied, "you must have considered it yourself, if you think there was any other meaning under it than what he said." the king replied, "by the two noble-born men whom he spoke of, who were at variance, and of whom one was more powerful than the other, and who did each other damage, he must have meant us and olaf the thick." they answered, "it is, sire, as you say." the king--"our case was judged at the upsala thing. but what was his meaning when he said that bad payment was made; namely, a gosling for a goose, a pig for a swine, and clay and dirt for half of the money instead of gold?" arnvid the blind replied, "sire, red gold and clay are things very unlike; but the difference is still greater between king and slave. you promised olaf the thick your daughter ingegerd, who, in all branches of her descent, is born of kings, and of the upland swedish race of kings, which is the most noble in the north; for it is traced up to the gods themselves. but now olaf has got astrid; and although she is a king's child, her mother was but a slave-woman, and, besides, of vindish race. great difference, indeed, must there be between these kings, when the one takes thankfully such a match; and now it is evident, as might be expected, that no northman is to be placed by the side of the upsala kings. let us all give thanks that it has so turned out; for the gods have long protected their descendants, although many now neglect this faith." there were three brothers:--arnvid the blind, who had a great understanding, but was so weak-sighted that he was scarcely fit for war; the second was thorvid the stammerer, who could not utter two words together at one time, but was remarkably bold and courageous; the third was freyvid the deaf, who was hard of hearing. all these brothers were rich and powerful men, of noble birth, great wisdom, and all very dear to the king. then said king olaf, "what means that which emund said about atte the dull?" none made any reply, but the one looked at the other. "speak freely," said the king. then said thorvid the stammerer, "atte--quarrel--some--greedy--jealous--deceitful--dull." then said the king, "to whom are these words of reproach and mockery applied?" freyvid the deaf replied, "we will speak more clearly if we have your permission." the king--"speak freely, freyvid, what you will." freyvid took up the word, and spoke. "my brother thorvid, who is considered to be the wisest of us brothers, holds the words 'quarrelsome, greedy, jealous, dull,' to be one and the same thing; for it applies to him who is weary of peace, longs for small things without attaining them, while he lets great and useful things pass away as they came. i am deaf; yet so loud have many spoken out, that i can perceive that all men, both great and small, take it ill that you have not kept your promise to the king of norway; and, worse than that, that you broke the decision of the community as it was delivered at upsala thing. you need not fear either the king of norway, or the king of denmark, or any other, so long as the swedish army will follow you; but if the people of the country unanimously turn against you, we, your friends, see no counsel that can be of advantage to you." the king asks, "who is the chief who dares to betray the country and me?" freyvid replies, "all swedes desire to have the ancient laws, and their full rights. look but here, sire, how many chiefs are sitting in council with you. i think, in truth, we are but six whom you call your councillors: all the others, so far as i know, have ridden forth through the districts to hold things with the people; and we will not conceal it from you, that the message-token has gone forth to assemble a retribution-thing ( ). all of us brothers have been invited to take part in the decisions of this council, but none of us will bear the name of traitor to the sovereign; for that our father never was." then the king said, "what council shall we take in this dangerous affair that is in our hands? good chiefs give me council, that i may keep my kingdom, and the heritage of my forefathers; for i cannot enter into strife against the whole swedish force." arnvid the blind replies, "sire, it is my advice that you ride down to aros with such men as will follow you; take your ship there and go out into the maeler lake; summon all people to meet you; proceed no longer with haughtiness, but promise every man the law and rights of old established in the country; keep back in this way the message-token, for it cannot as yet, in so short a time have travelled far through the land. send, then those of your men in whom you have the most confidence to those who have this business on hand, and try if this uproar can be appeased." the king says that he will adopt this advice. "i will," says he, "that ye brothers undertake this business; for i trust to you the most among my men." thorvid the stammerer said, "i remain behind. let jacob, your son, go with them, for that is necessary." then said freyvid, "let us do as thorvid says: he will not leave you, and i and arnvid must travel." this counsel was followed. olaf went to his ships, and set out into the maelar lake, and many people came to him. the brothers arnvid and freyvid rode out to ullaraker, and had with them the king's son jacob; but they kept it a secret that he was there. the brothers observed that there was a great concourse and war-gathering, for the bondes held the thing night and day. when arnvid and freyvid met their relations and friends, they said they would join with the people; and many agreed to leave the management of the business in the hands of the brothers. but all, as one man, declared they would no longer have king olaf over them, and no longer suffer his unlawful proceedings, and over-weening pride which would not listen to any man's remonstrances, even when the great chiefs spoke the truth to him. when freyvid observed the heat of the people, he saw in what a bad situation the king's cause was. he summoned the chiefs of the land to a meeting with him and addressed them thus:--"it appears to me, that if we are to depose olaf eirikson from his kingdom, we swedes of the uplands should be the leading men in it: for so it has always been, that the counsel which the upland chiefs have resolved among themselves has always been followed by the men of the rest of the country. our forefathers did not need to take advice from the west gautlanders about the government of the swedes. now we will not be so degenerate as to need emund to give us counsel; but let us, friends and relations, unite ourselves for the purpose of coming to a determination." all agreed to this, and thought it was well said. thereafter the people joined this union which the upland chiefs made among themselves, and freyvid and arnvid were chiefs of the whole assemblage. when emund heard this he suspected how the matter would end, and went to both the brothers to have a conversation with them. then freyvid asked emund, "who, in your opinion, should we take for king, in case olaf eirikson's days are at an end?" emund--"he whom we think best suited to it, whether he be of the race of chiefs or not." freyvid answers, "we uplanders will not, in our time, have the kingdom go out of the old race of our ancestors, which has given us kings for a long course of generations, so long as we have so good a choice as now. king olaf has two sons, one of whom we will choose for king, although there is a great difference between them. the one is noble-born, and of swedish race on both sides; the other is a slave-woman's son, and of vindish race on the mother's side." this decision was received with loud applause, and all would have jacob for king. then said emund. "ye upland swedes have the power this time to determinate the matter; but i will tell you what will happen:--some of those who now will listen to nothing but that the kingdom remain in the old race will live to see the day when they will wish the kingdom in another race, as being of more advantage." thereupon the brothers freyvid and arnvid led the king's son jacob into the thing, and saluted him with the title of king; and the swedes gave him the name of onund, which he afterwards retained as long as he lived. he was then ten or twelve years old. thereafter king onund took a court, and chose chiefs to be around him; and they had as many attendants in their suite as were thought necessary, so that he gave the whole assemblage of bondes leave to return home. after that ambassadors went between the two kings; and at last they had a meeting, and came to an agreement. olaf was to remain king over the country as long as he lived; but should hold peace and be reconciled with king olaf of norway, and also with all who had taken part in this business. onund should also be king, and have a part of the land, such as the father and son should agree upon; but should be bound to support the bondes in case king olaf did anything which the bondes would not suffer. endnotes: ( ) refsithing--a thing for punishment by penalty or death for crimes and misdemeanours.--l. . meeting of reconciliation between the kings, and their game at dice. thereafter ambassadors were sent to norway to king olaf, with the errand that he should come with his retinue to a meeting at konungahella with the swedish kings, and that the swedish kings would there confirm their reconciliation. when king olaf heard this message, he was willing, now as formerly, to enter into the agreement, and proceeded to the appointed place. there the swedish kings also came; and the relations, when they met, bound themselves mutually to peace and agreement. olaf the swedish king was then remarkably mild in manner, and agreeable to talk with. thorstein frode relates of this meeting, that there was an inhabited district in hising which had sometimes belonged to norway, and sometimes to gautland. the kings came to the agreement between themselves that they would cast lots by the dice to determine who should have this property, and that he who threw the highest should have the district. the swedish king threw two sixes, and said king olaf need scarcely throw. he replied, while shaking the dice in his hand, "although there be two sixes on the dice, it would be easy, sire, for god almighty to let them turn up in my favour." then he threw, and had sixes also. now the swedish king threw again, and had again two sixes. olaf king of norway then threw, and had six upon one dice, and the other split in two, so as to make seven eyes in all upon it; and the district was adjudged to the king of norway. we have heard nothing else of any interest that took place at this meeting; and the kings separated the dearest of friends with each other. . of olaf of norway, after the meeting. after the events now related olaf returned with his people to viken. he went first to tunsberg, and remained there a short time, and then proceeded to the north of the country. in harvest-time he sailed north to throndhjem, and had winter provision laid in there, and remained there all winter (a.d. ). olaf haraldson was now sole and supreme king of norway, and the whole of that sovereignty, as harald harfager had possessed it, and had the advantage over that monarch of being the only king in the land. by a peaceful agreement he had also recovered that part of the country which olaf the swedish king had before occupied; and that part of the country which the danish king had got he retook by force, and ruled over it as elsewhere in the country. the danish king canute ruled at that time both over denmark and england; but he himself was in england for the most part, and set chiefs over the country in denmark, without at that time making any claim upon norway. . history of the earls of orkney. it is related that in the days of harald harfager, the king of norway, the islands of orkney, which before had been only a resort for vikings, were settled. the first earl in the orkney islands was called sigurd, who was a son of eystein giumra, and brother of ragnvald earl of more. after sigurd his son guthorm was earl for one year. after him torf-einar, a son of ragnvald, took the earldom, and was long earl, and was a man of great power. halfdan haleg, a son of harald harfager, assaulted torf-einar, and drove him from the orkney islands; but einar came back and killed halfdan in the island ronaldsha. thereafter king harald came with an army to the orkney islands. einar fled to scotland, and king harald made the people of the orkney islands give up their udal properties, and hold them under oath from him. thereafter the king and earl were reconciled, so that the earl became the king's man, and took the country as a fief from him; but that it should pay no scat or feu-duty, as it was at that time much plundered by vikings. the earl paid the king sixty marks of gold; and then king harald went to plunder in scotland, as related in the "glym drapa". after torf-einar, his sons arnkel, erlend, and thorfin hausakljufer ( ) ruled over these lands. in their days came eirik blood-axe from norway, and subdued these earls. arnkel and erlend fell in a war expedition; but thorfin ruled the country long, and became an old man. his sons were arnfin, havard, hlodver, liot, and skule. their mother was grelad, a daughter of earl dungad of caithness. her mother was groa, a daughter of thorstein raud. in the latter days of earl thorfin came eirik blood-axe's sons, who had fled from earl hakon out of norway, and committed great excesses in orkney. earl thorfin died on a bed of sickness, and his sons after him ruled over the country, and there are many stories concerning them. hlodver lived the longest of them, and ruled alone over this country. his son was sigurd the thick, who took the earldom after him, and became a powerful man and a great warrior. in his days came olaf trygvason from his viking expedition in the western ocean, with his troops, landed in orkney and took earl sigurd prisoner in south ronaldsha, where he lay with one ship. king olaf allowed the earl to ransom his life by letting himself be baptized, adopting the true faith, becoming his man, and introducing christianity into all the orkney islands. as a hostage, king olaf took his son, who was called hunde or whelp. then olaf went to norway, and became king; and hunde was several years with king olaf in norway, and died there. after his death earl sigurd showed no obedience or fealty to king olaf. he married a daughter of the scottish king malcolm, and their son was called thorfin. earl sigurd had, besides, older sons; namely, sumarlide, bruse, and einar rangmund. four or five years after olaf tryrgvason's fall earl sigurd went to ireland, leaving his eldest sons to rule the country, and sending thorfin to his mother's father, the scottish king. on this expedition earl sigurd fell in brian's battle (l). when the news was received in orkney, the brothers sumarlide, bruse, and einar were chosen earls, and the country was divided into three parts among them. thorfin sigurdson was five years old when earl sigurd fell. when the scottish king heard of the earl's death he gave his relation thorfin caithness and sutherland, with the title of earl, and appointed good men to rule the land for him. earl thorfin was ripe in all ways as soon as he was grown up: he was stout and strong, but ugly; and as soon as he was a grown man it was easy to see that he was a severe and cruel but a very clever man. so says arnor, the earls' skald:-- "under the rim of heaven no other, so young in years as einar's brother, in battle had a braver hand, or stouter, to defend the land." endnotes: ( ) hausakljufer--the splitter of skulls.--l. ( ) brian's battle is supposed to have taken place on the rd april , at clontart, near dublin; and is known in irish history as the battle of clontarf, and was one of the bloodiest of the age. it was fought between a viking called sigtryg and brian king of munster, who gained the victory, but lost his life.--l. . of the earls einar and bruse. the brothers einar and bruse were very unlike in disposition. bruse was a soft-minded, peaceable man,--sociable, eloquent, and of good understanding. einar was obstinate, taciturn, and dull; but ambitious, greedy of money, and withal a great warrior. sumarlide, the eldest of the brothers, was in disposition like bruse, and lived not long, but died in his bed. after his death thorfin claimed his share of the orkney islands. einar replied, that thorfin had the dominions which their father sigurd had possessed, namely, caithness and sutherland, which he insisted were much larger than a third part of orkney; therefore he would not consent to thorfin's having any share. bruse, on the other hand, was willing, he said, to divide with him. "i do not-desire," he said, "more than the third part of the land, and which of right belongs to me." then einar took possession of two parts of the country, by which he became a powerful man, surrounded by many followers. he was often in summer out on marauding expeditions, and called out great numbers of the people to join him; but it went always unpleasantly with the division of the booty made on his viking cruises. then the bondes grew weary of all these burdens; but earl einar held fast by them with severity, calling in all services laid upon the people, and allowing no opposition from any man; for he was excessively proud and overbearing. and now there came dearth and scarcity in his lands, in consequence of the services and money outlay exacted from the bondes; while in the part of the country belonging to bruse there were peace and plenty, and therefore he was the best beloved by the bondes. . of thorkel amundason. there was a rich and powerful man who was called amunde, who dwelt in hrossey at sandvik, in hlaupandanes. his son, called thorkel, was one of the ablest men in the islands. amunde was a man of the best understanding, and most respected in orkney. one spring earl einar proclaimed a levy for an expedition, as usual. the bondes murmured greatly against it, and applied to amunde with the entreaty that he would intercede with the earl for them. he replied, that the earl was not a man who would listen to other people, and insisted that it was of no use to make any entreaty to the earl about it. "as things now stand, there is a good understanding between me and the earl; but, in my opinion, there would be much danger of our quarrelling, on account of our different dispositions and views on both sides; therefore i will have nothing to do with it." they then applied to thorkel, who was also very loath to interfere, but promised at last to do so, in consequence of the great entreaty of the people. amunde thought he had given his promise too hastily. now when the earl held a thing, thorkel spoke on account of the people, and entreated the earl to spare the people from such heavy burdens, recounting their necessitous condition. the earl replies favourably, saying that he would take thorkel's advice. "i had intended to go out from the country with six ships, but now i will only take three with me; but thou must not come again, thorkel, with any such request." the bondes thanked thorkel for his assistance, and the earl set out on a viking cruise, and came back in autumn. the spring after, the earl made the same levy as usual, and held a thing with the bondes. then thorkel again made a speech, in which he entreated the earl to spare the people. the earl now was angry, and said the lot of the bondes should be made worse in consequence of his intercession; and worked himself up into such a rage, that he vowed they should not both come next spring to the thing in a whole skin. then the thing was closed. when amunde heard what the earl and thorkel had said at the thing, he told thorkel to leave the country, and he went over to caithness to earl thorfin. thorkel was afterwards a long time there, and brought up the earl in his youth, and was on that account called thorkel the fosterer; and he became a very celebrated man. . the agreement of the earls. there were many powerful men who fled from their udal properties in orkney on account of earl einar's violence, and the most fled over to caithness to earl thorfin: but some fled from the orkney islands to norway, and some to other countries. when earl thorfin was grown up he sent a message to his brother einar, and demanded the part of the dominion which he thought belonged to him in orkney; namely, a third of the islands. einar was nowise inclined to diminish his possessions. when thorfin found this he collected a warforce in caithness, and proceeded to the islands. as soon as earl einar heard of this he collected people, and resolved to defend his country. earl bruse also collected men, and went out to meet them, and bring about some agreement between them. an agreement was at last concluded, that thorfin should have a third part of the islands, as of right belonging to him, but that bruse and einar should lay their two parts together, and einar alone should rule over them; but if the one died before the other, the longest liver should inherit the whole. this agreement seemed reasonable, as bruse had a son called ragnvald, but einar had no son. earl thorfin set men to rule over his land in orkney, but he himself was generally in caithness. earl einar was generally on viking expeditions to ireland, scotland, and bretland. . eyvind urarhorn's murder. one summer (a.d. ) that earl einar marauded in ireland, he fought in ulfreks-fjord with the irish king konofogor, as has been related before, and suffered there a great defeat. the summer after this (a.d. ) eyvind urarhorn was coming from the west from ireland, intending to go to norway; but the weather was boisterous, and the current against him, so he ran into osmundwall, and lay there wind-bound for some time. when earl einar heard of this, he hastened thither with many people, took eyvind prisoner, and ordered him to be put to death, but spared the lives of most of his people. in autumn they proceeded to norway to king olaf, and told him eyvind was killed. the king said little about it, but one could see that he considered it a great and vexatious loss; for he did not usually say much if anything turned out contrary to his wishes. earl thorfin sent thorkel fosterer to the islands to gather in his scat. now, as einar gave thorkel the greatest blame for the dispute in which thorfin had made claim to the islands, thorkel came suddenly back to caithness from orkney, and told earl thorfin that he had learnt that earl einar would have murdered him if his friends and relations had not given him notice to escape. "now," says he, "it is come so far between the earl and me, that either some thing decisive between us must take place if we meet, or i must remove to such a distance that his power will not reach me." the earl encouraged thorkel much to go east to norway to king olaf. "thou wilt be highly respected," says he, "wherever thou comest among honourable men; and i know so well thy disposition and the earl's, that it will not be long before ye come to extremities." thereupon thorkel made himself ready, and proceeded in autumn to norway, and then to king olaf, with whom he stayed the whole winter (a.d. ), and was in high favour. the king often entered into conversation with him, and he thought, what was true, that thorkel was a high-minded man, of good understanding. in his conversations with thorkel, the king found a great difference in his description of the two earls; for thorkel was a great friend of earl thorfin, but had much to say against einar. early in spring (a.d. ) the king sent a ship west over the sea to earl thorfin, with the invitation to come east and visit him in norway. the earl did not decline the invitation, for it was accompanied by assurances of friendship. . earl einar's murder. earl thorfin went east to norway, and came to king olaf, from whom he received a kind reception, and stayed till late in the summer. when he was preparing to return westwards again, king olaf made him a present of a large and fully-rigged long-ship. thorkel the fosterer joined company with the earl, who gave him the ship which he brought with him from the west. the king and the earl took leave of each other tenderly. in autumn earl thorfin came to orkney, and when earl einar heard of it he went on board his ships with a numerous band of men. earl bruse came up to his two brothers, and endeavoured to mediate between them, and a peace was concluded and confirmed by oath. thorkel fosterer was to be in peace and friendship with earl einar; and it was agreed that each of them should give a feast to the other, and that the earl should first be thorkel's guest at sandwick. when the earl came to the feast he was entertained in the best manner; but the earl was not cheerful. there was a great room, in which there were doors at each end. the day the earl should depart thorkel was to accompany him to the other feast; and thorkel sent men before, who should examine the road they had to travel that day. the spies came back, and said to thorkel they had discovered three ambushes. "and we think," said they, "there is deceit on foot." when thorkel heard this he lengthened out his preparations for the journey, and gathered people about him. the earl told him to get ready, as it was time to be on horseback. thorkel answered, that he had many things to put in order first, and went out and in frequently. there was a fire upon the floor. at last he went in at one door, followed by an iceland man from eastfjord, called halvard, who locked the door after him. thorkel went in between the fire and the place where the earl was sitting. the earl asked, "art thou ready at last, thorkel?" thorkel answers, "now i am ready;" and struck the earl upon the head so that he fell upon the floor. then said the icelander, "i never saw people so foolish as not to drag the earl out of the fire;" and took a stick, which he set under the earl's neck, and put him upright on the bench. thorkel and his two comrades then went in all haste out of the other door opposite to that by which they went in, and thorkel's men were standing without fully armed. the earl's men now went in, and took hold of the earl. he was already dead, so nobody thought of avenging him: and also the whole was done so quickly; for nobody expected such a deed from thorkel, and all supposed that there really was, as before related, a friendship fixed between the earl and thorkel. the most who were within were unarmed, and they were partly thorkel's good friends; and to this may be added, that fate had decreed a longer life to thorkel. when thorkel came out he had not fewer men with him than the earl's troop. thorkel went to his ship, and the earl's men went their way. the same day thorkel sailed out eastwards into the sea. this happened after winter; but he came safely to norway, went as fast as he could to olaf, and was well received by him. the king expressed his satisfaction at this deed, and thorkel was with him all winter (a.d. ). . agreement between king olaf and earl bruse. after earl einar's fall bruse took the part of the country which he had possessed; for it was known to many men on what conditions einar and bruse had entered into a partnership. although thorfin thought it would be more just that each of them had half of the islands, bruse retained the two-thirds of the country that winter (a.d. ). in spring, however, thorfin produced his claim, and demanded the half of the country; but bruse would not consent. they held things and meetings about the business; and although their friends endeavoured to settle it, thorfin would not be content with less than the half of the islands, and insisted that bruse, with his disposition, would have enough even with a third part. bruse replies, "when i took my heritage after my father i was well satisfied with a third part of the country, and there was nobody to dispute it with me; and now i have succeeded to another third in heritage after my brother, according to a lawful agreement between us; and although i am not powerful enough to maintain a feud against thee, my brother, i will seek some other way, rather than willingly renounce my property." with this their meeting ended. but bruse saw that he had no strength to contend against thorfin, because thorfin had both a greater dominion and also could have aid from his mother's brother, the scottish king. he resolved, therefore, to go out of the country; and he went eastward to king olaf, and had with him his son ragnvald, then ten years old. when the earl came to the king he was well received. the earl now declared his errand, and told the king the circumstances of the whole dispute between him and his brother, and asked help to defend his kingdom of orkney; promising, in return, the fullest friendship towards king olaf. in his answer, the king began with showing how harald harfager had appropriated to himself all udal rights in orkney, and that the earls, since that time, have constantly held the country as a fief, not as their udal property. "as a sufficient proof of which," said he, "when eirik blood-axe and his sons were in orkney the earls were subject to them; and also when my relation olaf trygvason came there thy father, earl sigurd, became his man. now i have taken heritage after king olaf, and i will give thee the condition to become my man and then i will give thee the islands as a fief; and we shall try if i cannot give thee aid that will be more to the purpose than thorfin can get from the scottish king. if thou wilt not accept of these terms, then will i win back my udal property there in the west, as our forefathers and relations of old possessed it." the earl carefully considered this speech, laid it before his friends, and demanded their advice if he should agree to it, and enter into such terms with king olaf and become his vassal. "but i do not see what my lot will be at my departure if i say no; for the king has clearly enough declared his claim upon orkney; and from his great power, and our being in his hands, it is easy for him to make our destiny what he pleases." although the earl saw that there was much to be considered for and against it he chose the condition to deliver himself and his dominion into the king's power. thereupon the king took the earl's power, and the government over all the earl's lands, and the earl became his vassal under oath of fealty. . the earl's agreement to the king's terms. thorfin the earl heard that his brother bruse had gone east to king olaf to seek support from him; but as thorfin had been on a visit to king olaf before, and had concluded a friendship with him, he thought his case would stand well with the king, and that many would support it; but he believed that many more would do so if he went there himself. earl thorfin resolved, therefore, to go east himself without delay; and he thought there would be so little difference between the time of his arrival and bruse's, that bruse's errand could not be accomplished before he came to king olaf. but it went otherwise than earl thorfin had expected; for when he came to the king the agreement between the king and bruse was already concluded and settled, and earl thorfin did not know a word about bruse's having surrendered his udal domains until he came to king olaf. as soon as earl thorfin and king olaf met, the king made the same demand upon the kingdom of orkney that he had done to earl bruse, and required that thorfin should voluntarily deliver over to the king that part of the country which he had possessed hitherto. the earl answered in a friendly and respectful way, that the king's friendship lay near to his heart: "and if you think, sire, that my help against other chiefs can be of use, you have already every claim to it; but i cannot be your vessel for service, as i am an earl of the scottish king, and owe fealty to him." as the king found that the earl, by his answer, declined fulfilling the demand he had made, he said, "earl, if thou wilt not become my vassal, there is another condition; namely, that i will place over the orkney islands the man i please, and require thy oath that thou wilt make no claim upon these lands, but allow whoever i place over them to sit in peace. if thou wilt not accept of either of these conditions, he who is to rule over these lands may expect hostility from thee, and thou must not think it strange if like meet like in this business." the earl begged of the king some time to consider the matter. the king did so, and gave the earl time to take the counsel of his friends on the choosing one or other of these conditions. then the earl requested a delay until next summer, that he might go over the sea to the west, for his proper counsellors were all at home, and he himself was but a child in respect of age; but the king required that he should now make his election of one or other of the conditions. thorkel fosterer was then with the king, and he privately sent a person to earl thorfin, and told him, whatever his intentions might be, not to think of leaving olaf without being reconciled with him, as he stood entirely in olaf's power. from such hints the earl saw there was no other way than to let the king have his own will. it was no doubt a hard condition to have no hope of ever regaining his paternal heritage, and moreover to bind himself by oath to allow those to enjoy in peace his domain who had no hereditary right to it; but seeing it was uncertain how he could get away, he resolved to submit to the king and become his vassal, as bruse had done. the king observed that thorfin was more high-minded, and less disposed to suffer subjection than bruse, and therefore he trusted less to thorfin than to bruse; and he considered also that thorfin would trust to the aid of the scottish king, if he broke the agreement. the king also had discernment enough to perceive that bruse, although slow to enter into an agreement, would promise nothing but what he intended to keep; but as to thorfin when he had once made up his mind he went readily into every proposal and made no attempt to obtain any alteration of the king's first conditions: therefore the king had his suspicions that the earl would infringe the agreement. . earl thorfin's departure, and reconciliation with thorkel. when the king had carefully considered the whole matter by himself, he ordered the signal to sound for a general thing, to which he called in the earls. then said the king, "i will now make known to the public our agreement with the orkney earls. they have now acknowledged my right of property to orkney and shetland, and have both become my vassals, all which they have confirmed by oath; and now i will invest them with these lands as a fief: namely, bruse with one third part and thorfin with one third, as they formerly enjoyed them; but the other third which einar rangmund had, i adjudge as fallen to my domain, because he killed eyvind urarhorn, my court-man, partner, and dear friend; and that part of the land i will manage as i think proper. i have also my earls, to tell you it is my pleasure that ye enter into an agreement with thorkel amundason for the murder of your brother einar, for i will take that business, if ye agree thereto, within my own jurisdiction." the earls agreed to this, as to everything else that the king proposed. thorkel came forward, and surrendered to the king's judgment of the case, and the thing concluded. king olaf awarded as great a penalty for earl einar's murder as for three lendermen; but as einar himself was the cause of the act, one third of the mulct fell to the ground. thereafter earl thorfin asked the king's leave to depart, and as soon as he obtained it made ready for sea with all speed. it happened one day, when all was ready for the voyage, the earl sat in his ship drinking; and thorkel amundason came unexpectedly to him, laid his head upon the earl's knee, and bade him do with him what he pleased. the earl asked why he did so. "we are, you know, reconciled men, according to the king's decision; so stand up, thorkel." thorkel replied, "the agreement which the king made as between me and bruse stands good; but what regards the agreement with thee thou alone must determine. although the king made conditions for my property and safe residence in orkney, yet i know so well thy disposition that there is no going to the islands for me, unless i go there in peace with thee, earl thorfin; and therefore i am willing to promise never to return to orkney, whatever the king may desire." the earl remained silent; and first, after a long pause, he said, "if thou wilt rather, thorkel, that i shall judge between us than trust to the king's judgment, then let the beginning of our reconciliation be, that you go with me to the orkney islands, live with me, and never leave me but with my will, and be bound to defend my land, and execute all that i want done, as long as we both are in life." thorkel replies, "this shall be entirely at thy pleasure, earl, as well as everything else in my power." then thorkel went on, and solemnly ratified this agreement. the earl said he would talk afterwards about the mulct of money, but took thorkel's oath upon the conditions. thorkel immediately made ready to accompany the earl on his voyage. the earl set off as soon as all was ready, and never again were king olaf and thorfin together. . earl bruse's departure. earl bruse remained behind, and took his time to get ready. before his departure the king sent for him, and said, "it appears to me, earl, that in thee i have a man on the west side of the sea on whose fidelity i can depend; therefore i intend to give thee the two parts of the country which thou formerly hadst to rule over; for i will not that thou shouldst be a less powerful man after entering into my service than before: but i will secure thy fidelity by keeping thy son ragnvald with me. i see well enough that with two parts of the country and my help, thou wilt be able to defend what is thy own against thy brother thorfin." bruse was thankful for getting two thirds instead of one third of the country, and soon after he set out, and came about autumn to orkney; but ragnvald, bruse's son, remained behind in the east with king olaf. ragnvald was one of the handsomest men that could be seen,--his hair long, and yellow as silk; and he soon grew up, stout and tall, and he was a very able and superb man, both of great understanding and polite manners. he was long with king olaf. otter svarte speaks of these affairs in the poem he composed about king olaf:-- "from shetland, far off in the cold north sea, come chiefs who desire to be subject to thee: no king so well known for his will, and his might, to defend his own people from scaith or unright. these isles of the west midst the ocean's wild roar, scarcely heard the voice of their sovereign before; our bravest of sovereigns before could scarce bring these islesmen so proud to acknowledge their king." . of the earls thorfin and bruse. the brothers thorfin and bruse came west to orkney; and bruse took the two parts of the country under his rule, and thorfin the third part. thorfin was usually in caithness and elsewhere in scotland; but placed men of his own over the islands. it was left to bruse alone to defend the islands, which at that time were severely scourged by vikings; for the northmen and danes went much on viking cruises in the west sea, and frequently touched at orkney on the way to or from the west, and plundered, and took provisions and cattle from the coast. bruse often complained of his brother thorfin, that he made no equipment of war for the defence of orkney and shetland, yet levied his share of the scat and duties. then thorfin offered to him to exchange, and that bruse should have one third and thorfin two thirds of the land, but should undertake the defence of the land, for the whole. although this exchange did not take place immediately, it is related in the saga of the earls that it was agreed upon at last; and that thorfin had two parts and bruse only one, when canute the great subdued norway and king olaf fled the country. earl thorfin sigurdson has been the ablest earl of these islands, and has had the greatest dominion of all the orkney earls; for he had under him orkney, shetland, and the hebudes, besides very great possessions in scotland and ireland. arnor, the earls' skald, tells of his possessions:-- "from thurso-skerry to dublin, all people hold with good thorfin-- all people love his sway, and the generous chief obey." thorfin was a very great warrior. he came to the earldom at five years of age, ruled more than sixty years, and died in his bed about the last days of harald sigurdson. but bruse died in the days of canute the great, a short time after the fall of saint olaf. . of harek of thjotta. having now gone through this second story, we shall return to that which we left,--at king olaf haraldson having concluded peace with king olaf the swedish king, and having the same summer gone north to throndhjem ( ). he had then been king in norway five years (a.d. - ). in harvest time he prepared to take his winter residence at nidaros, and he remained all winter there (a.d. ). thorkel the fosterer, amunde's son, as before related, was all that winter with him. king olaf inquired very carefully how it stood with christianity throughout the land, and learnt that it was not observed at all to the north of halogaland, and was far from being observed as it should be in naumudal, and the interior of throndhjem. there was a man by name harek, a son of eyvind skaldaspiller, who dwelt in an island called thjotta in halogaland. eyvind had not been a rich man, but was of high family and high mind. in thjotta, at first, there dwelt many small bondes; but harek began with buying a farm not very large and lived on it, and in a few years he had got all the bondes that were there before out of the way; so that he had the whole island, and built a large head-mansion. he soon became very rich; for he was a very prudent man, and very successful. he had long been greatly respected by the chiefs; and being related to the kings of norway, had been raised by them to high dignities. harek's father's mother gunhild was a daughter of earl halfdan, and ingebjorg, harald harfager's daughter. at the time the circumstance happened which we are going to relate he was somewhat advanced in years. harek was the most respected man in halogaland, and for a long time had the lapland trade, and did the king's business in lapland; sometimes alone, sometimes with others joined to him. he had not himself been to wait on king olaf, but messages had passed between them, and all was on the most friendly footing. this winter (a.d. ) that olaf was in nidaros, messengers passed between the king and harek of thjotta. then the king made it known that he intended going north to halogaland, and as far north as the land's end; but the people of halogaland expected no good from this expedition. . of the people of halogaland. olaf rigged out five ships in spring (a.d. ), and had with him about men. when he was ready for sea he set northwards along the land; and when he came to naumudal district he summoned the bondes to a thing, and at every thing was accepted as king. he also made the laws to be read there as elsewhere, by which the people are commanded to observe christianity; and he threatened every man with loss of life, and limbs, and property who would not subject himself to christian law. he inflicted severe punishments on many men, great as well as small, and left no district until the people had consented to adopt the holy faith. the most of the men of power and of the great bondes made feasts for the king, and so he proceeded all the way north to halogaland. harek of thjotta also made a feast for the king, at which there was a great multitude of guests, and the feast was very splendid. harek was made lenderman, and got the same privileges he had enjoyed under the former chiefs of the country. . of asmund grankelson. there was a man called grankel, or granketil, who was a rich bonde, and at this time rather advanced in age. in his youth he had been on viking cruises, and had been a powerful fighter; for he possessed great readiness in all sorts of bodily exercises. his son asmund was equal to his father in all these, and in some, indeed, he excelled him. there were many who said that with respect to comeliness, strength, and bodily expertness, he might be considered the third remarkably distinguished for these that norway had ever produced. the first was hakon athelstan's foster-son; the second, olaf trygvason. grankel invited king olaf to a feast, which was very magnificent; and at parting grankel presented the king with many honourable gifts and tokens of friendship. the king invited asmund, with many persuasions, to follow him; and as asmund could not decline the honours offered him, he got ready to travel with the king, became his man, and stood in high favour with him. the king remained in halogaland the greater part of the summer, went to all the things, and baptized all the people. thorer hund dwelt at that time in the island bjarkey. he was the most powerful man in the north, and also became one of olaf's lendermen. many sons of great bondes resolved also to follow king olaf from halogaland. towards the end of summer king olaf left the north, and sailed back to throndhjem, and landed at nidaros, where he passed the winter (a.d. ). it was then that thorkel the fosterer came from the west from orkney, after killing einar rangmumd, as before related. this autumn corn was dear in throndhjem, after a long course of good seasons, and the farther north the dearer was the corn; but there was corn enough in the east country, and in the uplands, and it was of great help to the people of throndhjem that many had old corn remaining beside them. . of the sacrifices of the throndhjem people. in autumn the news was brought to king olaf that the bondes had had a great feast on the first winter-day's eve, at which there was a numerous attendance and much drinking; and it was told the king that all the remembrance-cups to the asas, or old gods, were blessed according to the old heathen forms; and it was added, that cattle and horses had been slain, and the altars sprinkled with their blood, and the sacrifices accompanied with the prayer that was made to obtain good seasons. it was also reported that all men saw clearly that the gods were offended at the halogaland people turning christian. now when the king heard this news he sent men into the throndhjem country, and ordered several bondes, whose names he gave, to appear before him. there was a man called olver of eggja, so called after his farm on which he lived. he was powerful, of great family, and the head-man of those who on account of the bondes appeared before the king. now, when they came to the king, he told them these accusations; to which olver, on behalf of the bondes, replied, that they had had no other feasts that harvest than their usual entertainments, and social meetings, and friendly drinking parties. "but as to what may have been told you of the words which may have fallen from us throndhjem people in our drinking parties, men of understanding would take good care not to use such language; but i cannot hinder drunken or foolish people's talk." olver was a man of clever speech, and bold in what he said, and defended the bondes against such accusations. in the end, the king said the people of the interior of thorndhjem must themselves give the best testimony to their being in the right faith. the bondes got leave to return home, and set off as soon as they were ready. . of the sacrifices by the people of the interior of the throndhjem district. afterwards, when winter was advanced, it was told the king that the people of the interior of throndhjem had assembled in great number at maerin, and that there was a great sacrifice in the middle of winter, at which they sacrificed offerings for peace and a good season. now when the king knew this on good authority to be true, he sent men and messages into the interior, and summoned the bondes whom he thought of most understanding into the town. the bondes held a council among themselves about this message; and all those who had been upon the same occasion in the beginning of winter were now very unwilling to make the journey. olver, however, at the desire of all the bondes, allowed himself to be persuaded. when he came to the town he went immediately before the king, and they talked together. the king made the same accusation against the bondes, that they had held a mid-winter sacrifice. olver replies, that this accusation against the bondes was false. "we had," said he, "yule feasts and drinking feasts wide around in the districts; and the bondes do not prepare their feasts so sparingly, sire, that there is not much left over, which people consume long afterwards. at maerin there is a great farm, with a large house on it, and a great neighbourhood all around it, and it is the great delight of the people to drink many together in company." the king said little in reply, but looked angry, as he thought he knew the truth of the matter better than it was now represented. he ordered the bondes to return home. "i shall some time or other," said he, "come to the truth of what you are now concealing, and in such a way that ye shall not be able to contradict it. but, however, that may be, do not try such things again." the bondes returned home, and told the result of their journey, and that the king was altogether enraged. . murder of olver of eggja. at easter (a.d. ) the king held a feast, to which he had invited many of the townspeople as well as bondes. after easter he ordered his ships to be launched into the water, oars and tackle to be put on board, decks to be laid in the ships, and tilts ( ) and rigging to be set up, and to be laid ready for sea at the piers. immediately after easter he sent men into veradal. there was a man called thoralde, who was the king's bailiff, and who managed the king's farm there at haug; and to him the king sent a message to come to him as quickly as possible. thoralde did not decline the journey, but went immediately to the town with the messenger. the king called him in and in a private conversation asked him what truth there was in what had been told him of the principles and living of the people of the interior of throndhjem, and if it really was so that they practised sacrifices to heathen gods. "i will," says the king, "that thou declare to me the things as they are, and as thou knowest to be true; for it is thy duty to tell me the truth, as thou art my man." thoralde replies, "sire, i will first tell you that i have brought here to the town my two children, my wife, and all my loose property that i could take with me, and if thou desirest to know the truth it shall be told according to thy command; but if i declare it, thou must take care of me and mine." the king replies, "say only what is true on what i ask thee, and i will take care that no evil befall thee." then said thoralde, "if i must say the truth, king, as it is, i must declare that in the interior of the throndhjem land almost all the people are heathen in faith, although some of them are baptized. it is their custom to offer sacrifice in autumn for a good winter, a second at mid-winter, and a third in summer. in this the people of eyna, sparby, veradal, and skaun partake. there are twelve men who preside over these sacrifice-feasts; and in spring it is olver who has to get the feast in order, and he is now busy transporting to maerin everything needful for it." now when the king had got to the truth with a certainty, he ordered the signal to be sounded for his men to assemble, and for the men-at-arms to go on board ship. he appointed men to steer the ships, and leaders for the people, and ordered how the people should be divided among the vessels. all was got ready in haste, and with five ships and men he steered up the fjord. the wind was favourable, the ships sailed briskly before it, and nobody could have thought that the king would be so soon there. the king came in the night time to maerin, and immediately surrounded the house with a ring of armed men. olver was taken, and the king ordered him to be put to death, and many other men besides. then the king took all the provision for the feast, and had it brought to his ships; and also all the goods, both furniture, clothes, and valuables, which the people had brought there, and divided the booty among his men. the king also let all the bondes he thought had the greatest part in the business be plundered by his men-at-arms. some were taken prisoners and laid in irons, some ran away, and many were robbed of their goods. thereafter the bondes were summoned to a thing; but because he had taken many powerful men prisoners, and held them in his power, their friends and relations resolved to promise obedience to the king, so that there was no insurrection against the king on this occasion. he thus brought the whole people back to the right faith, gave them teachers, and built and consecrated churches. the king let olver lie without fine paid for his bloodshed, and all that he possessed was adjudged to the king; and of the men he judged the most guilty, some he ordered to be executed, some he maimed, some he drove out of the country, and took fines from others. the king then returned to nidaros. endnotes: ( ) the ships appear to have been decked fore and aft only; and in the middle, where the rowers sat, to have had tilts or tents set up at night to sleep under.--l. . of the sons of arne. there was a man called arne arnmodson, who was married to thora, thorstein galge's daughter. their children were kalf, fin, thorberg, amunde, kolbjorn, arnbjorn, and arne. their daughter, who was called ragnhild, was married to harek of thjotta. arne was a lenderman, powerful, and of ability, and a great friend of king olaf. at that time his sons kalf and fin were with the king, and in great favour. the wife whom olver of eggja had left was young and handsome, of great family, and rich, so that he who got her might be considered to have made an excellent marriage; and her land was in the gift of the king. she and olver had two sons, who were still in infancy. kalf arneson begged of the king that he would give him to wife the widow of olver; and out of friendship the king agreed to it, and with her he got all the property olver had possessed. the king at the same time made him his lenderman, and gave him an office in the interior of the throndhjem country. kalf became a great chief, and was a man of very great understanding. . king olaf's journey to the uplands. when king olaf had been seven years (a.d. - ) in norway the earls thorfin and bruse came to him, as before related, in the summer, from orkney, and he became master of their land. the same summer olaf went to north and south more, and in autumn to raumsdal. he left his ships there, and came to the uplands, and to lesjar. here he laid hold of all the best men, and forced them, both at lesjar and dovre, either to receive christianity or suffer death, if they were not so lucky as to escape. after they received christianity, the king took their sons in his hands as hostages for their fidelity. the king stayed several nights at a farm in lesjar called boar, where he placed priests. then he proceeded over orkadal and lorodal, and came down from the uplands at a place called stafabrekka. there a river runs along the valley, called the otta, and a beautiful hamlet, by name loar, lies on both sides of the river, and the king could see far down over the whole neighbourhood. "a pity it is," said the king, "so beautiful a hamlet should be burnt." and he proceeded down the valley with his people, and was all night on a farm called nes. the king took his lodging in a loft, where he slept himself; and it stands to the present day, without anything in it having been altered since. the king was five days there, and summoned by message-token the people to a thing, both for the districts of vagar, lear, and hedal; and gave out the message along with the token, that they must either receive christianity and give their sons as hostages, or see their habitations burnt. they came before the king, and submitted to his pleasure; but some fled south down the valley. . the story of dale-gudbrand. there was a man called dale-gudbrand, who was like a king in the valley (gudbrandsdal), but was only herse in title. sigvat the skald compared him for wealth and landed property to erling skjalgson. sigvat sang thus concerning erling:-- "i know but one who can compare with erling for broad lands and gear-- gudbrand is he, whose wide domains are most like where some small king reigns. these two great bondes, i would say, equal each other every way. he lies who says that he can find one by the other left behind." gudbrand had a son, who is here spoken of. now when gudbrand received the tidings that king olaf was come to lear, and obliged people to accept christianity, he sent out a message-token, and summoned all the men in the valley to meet him at a farm called hundthorp. all came, so that the number could not be told; for there is a lake in the neighbourhood called laugen, so that people could come to the place both by land and by water. there gudbrand held a thing with them, and said, "a man is come to loar who is called olaf, and will force upon us another faith than what we had before, and will break in pieces all our gods. he says that he has a much greater and more powerful god; and it is wonderful that the earth does not burst asunder under him, or that our god lets him go about unpunished when he dares to talk such things. i know this for certain, that if we carry thor, who has always stood by us, out of our temple that is standing upon this farm, olaf's god will melt away, and he and his men be made nothing so soon as thor looks upon them." then the bondes all shouted as one person that olaf should never get away with life if he came to them; and they thought he would never dare to come farther south through the valley. they chose out men to go northwards to breida, to watch his movements. the leader of this band was gudbrand's son, eighteen years of age, and with him were many other men of importance. when they came to a farm called hof they heard of the king; and they remained three nights there. people streamed to them from all parts, from lesjar, loar, and vagar, who did not wish to receive christianity. the king and bishop sigurd fixed teachers in loaf and in vagar. from thence they went round vagarost, and came down into the valley at sil, where they stayed all night, and heard the news that a great force of men were assembled against them. the bondes who were in breida heard also of the king's arrival, and prepared for battle. as soon as the king arose in the morning he put on his armour, and went southwards over the sil plains, and did not halt until he came to breida, where he saw a great army ready for battle. then the king drew up his troops, rode himself at the head of them, and began a speech to the bondes, in which he invited them to adopt christianity. they replied, "we shall give thee something else to do to-day than to be mocking us;" and raised a general shout, striking also upon their shields with their weapons. then the king's men ran forward and threw their spears; but the bondes turned round instantly and fled, so that only few men remained behind. gudbrand's son was taken prisoner; but the king gave him his life, and took him with him. the king was four days here. then the king said to gudbrand's son, "go home now to thy father, and tell him i expect to be with him soon." he went accordingly, and told his father the news, that they had fallen in with the king, and fought with him; but that their whole army, in the very beginning, took flight. "i was taken prisoner," said he, "but the king gave me my life and liberty, and told me to say to thee that he will soon be here. and now we have not men of the force we raised against him; therefore i advise thee, father, not to give battle to that man." says gudbrand, "it is easy to see that all courage has left thee, and it was an unlucky hour ye went out to the field. thy proceeding will live long in the remembrance of people, and i see that thy fastening thy faith on the folly that man is going about with has brought upon thee and thy men so great a disgrace." but the night after, gudbrand dreamt that there came to him a man surrounded by light, who brought great terror with him, and said to him, "thy son made no glorious expedition against king olaf; but still less honour wilt thou gather for thyself by holding a battle with him. thou with all thy people wilt fall; wolves will drag thee, and all thine, away; ravens wilt tear thee in stripes." at this dreadful vision he was much afraid, and tells it to thord istermage, who was chief over the valley. he replies, "the very same vision came to me." in the morning they ordered the signal to sound for a thing, and said that it appeared to them advisable to hold a thing with the man who had come from the north with this new teaching, to know if there was any truth in it. gudbrand then said to his son, "go thou, and twelve men with thee, to the king who gave thee thy life." he went straightway, and found the king, and laid before him their errand; namely, that the bondes would hold a thing with him, and make a truce between them and him. the king was content; and they bound themselves by faith and law mutually to hold the peace so long as the thing lasted. after this was settled the men returned to gudbrand and thord, and told them there was made a firm agreement for a truce. the king, after the battle with the son of gudbrand, had proceeded to lidstad, and remained there for five days: afterwards he went out to meet the bondes, and hold a thing with them. on that day there fell a heavy rain. when the thing was seated, the king stood up and said that the people in lesjar, loaf, and vagar had received christianity, broken down their houses of sacrifice, and believed now in the true god who had made heaven and earth and knows all things. thereupon the king sat down, and gudbrand replies, "we know nothing of him whom thou speakest about. dost thou call him god, whom neither thou nor any one else can see? but we have a god who call be seen every day, although he is not out to-day, because the weather is wet, and he will appear to thee terrible and very grand; and i expect that fear will mix with your very blood when he comes into the thing. but since thou sayest thy god is so great, let him make it so that to-morrow we have a cloudy day but without rain, and then let us meet again." the king accordingly returned home to his lodging, taking gudbrand's son as a hostage; but he gave them a man as hostage in exchange. in the evening the king asked gudbrand's son what like their god was. he replied, that he bore the likeness of thor; had a hammer in his hand; was of great size, but hollow within; and had a high stand, upon which he stood when he was out. "neither gold nor silver are wanting about him, and every day he receives four cakes of bread, besides meat." they then went to bed, but the king watched all night in prayer. when day dawned the king went to mass, then to table, and from thence to the thing. the weather was such as gudbrand desired. now the bishop stood up in his choir-robes, with bishop's coif upon his head, and bishop's staff in his hands. he spoke to the bondes of the true faith, told the many wonderful acts of god, and concluded his speech well. thord istermage replies, "many things we are told of by this horned man with the staff in his hand crooked at the top like a ram's horn; but since ye say, comrades, that your god is so powerful, and can do so many wonders, tell him to make it clear sunshine to-morrow forenoon, and then we shall meet here again, and do one of two things,--either agree with you about this business, or fight you." and they separated for the day. . dale-gudbrand is baptized. there was a man with king olaf called kolbein sterke (the strong), who came from a family in the fjord district. usually he was so equipped that he was girt with a sword, and besides carried a great stake, otherwise called a club, in his hands. the king told kolbein to stand nearest to him in the morning; and gave orders to his people to go down in the night to where the ships of the bondes lay and bore holes in them, and to set loose their horses on the farms where they were; all which was done. now the king was in prayer all the night, beseeching god of his goodness and mercy to release him from evil. when mass was ended, and morning was grey, the king went to the thing. when he came there some bondes had already arrived, and they saw a great crowd coming along, and bearing among them a huge man's image glancing with gold and silver. when the bondes who were at the thing saw it they started up, and bowed themselves down before the ugly idol. thereupon it was set down upon the thing-field; and on the one side of it sat the bondes, and on the other the king and his people. then dale-gudbrand stood up, and said, "where now, king, is thy god? i think he will now carry his head lower; and neither thou, nor the man with the horn whom ye call bishop, and sits there beside thee, are so bold to-day as on the former days; for now our god, who rules over all, is come, and looks on you with an angry eye; and now i see well enough that ye are terrified, and scarcely dare to raise your eyes. throw away now all your opposition, and believe in the god who has all your fate in his hands." the king now whispers to kolbein sterke, without the bondes perceiving it, "if it come so in the course of my speech that the bondes look another way than towards their idol, strike him as hard as thou canst with thy club." the king then stood up and spoke. "much hast thou talked to us this morning, and greatly hast thou wondered that thou canst not see our god; but we expect that he will soon come to us. thou wouldst frighten us with thy god, who is both blind and deaf, and can neither save himself nor others, and cannot even move about without being carried; but now i expect it will be but a short time before he meets his fate: for turn your eyes towards the east,--behold our god advancing in great light." the sun was rising, and all turned to look. at that moment kolbein gave their god a stroke, so that the idol burst asunder; and there ran out of it mice as big almost as cats, and reptiles, and adders. the bondes were so terrified that some fled to their ships; but when they sprang out upon them they filled with water, and could not get away. others ran to their horses, but could not find them. the king then ordered the bondes to be called together, saying he wanted to speak with them; on which the bondes came back, and the thing was again seated. the king rose up and said, "i do not understand what your noise and running mean. ye see yourselves what your god can do,--the idol ye adorned with gold and silver, and brought meat and provisions to. ye see now that the protecting powers who used it were the mice and adders, reptiles and paddocks; and they do ill who trust to such, and will not abandon this folly. take now your gold and ornaments that are lying strewed about on the grass, and give them to your wives and daughters; but never hang them hereafter upon stock or stone. here are now two conditions between us to choose upon,--either accept christianity, or fight this very day; and the victory be to them to whom the god we worship gives it." then dale-gudbrand stood up and said, "we have sustained great damage upon our god; but since he will not help us, we will believe in the god thou believest in." then all received christianity. the bishop baptized gudbrand and his son. king olaf and bishop sigurd left behind them teachers, and they who met as enemies parted as friends; and gudbrand built a church in the valley. . hedemark baptized. king olaf proceeded from thence to hedemark, and baptized there; but as he had formerly carried away their kings as prisoners, he did not venture himself, after such a deed, to go far into the country with few people at that time, but a small part of hedemark was baptized; but the king did not desist from his expedition before he had introduced christianity over all hedemark, consecrated churches, and placed teachers. he then went to hadaland and thoten, improving the customs of the people, and persisting until all the country was baptized. he then went to ringerike, where also all people went over to christianity. the people of raumarike then heard that olaf intended coming to them, and they gathered a great force. they said among themselves that the journey olaf had made among them the last time was not to be forgotten, and he should never proceed so again. the king, notwithstanding, prepared for the journey. now when the king went up into raumarike with his forces, the multitude of bondes came against him at a river called nitja; and the bondes had a strong army, and began the battle as soon as they met; but they soon fell short, and took to flight. they were forced by this battle into a better disposition, and immediately received christianity; and the king scoured the whole district, and did not leave it until all the people were made christians. he then went east to soleys, and baptized that neighbourhood. the skald ottar black came to him there, and begged to be received among his men. olaf the swedish king had died the winter before (a.d. ), and onund, the son of olaf, was now the sole king over all sweden. king olaf returned, when the winter (a.d. ) was far advanced, to raumarike. there he assembled a numerous thing, at a place where the eidsvold things have since been held. he made a law, that the upland people should resort to this thing, and that eidsvold laws should be good through all the districts of the uplands, and wide around in other quarters, which also has taken place. as spring was advancing, he rigged his ships, and went by sea to tunsberg. he remained there during the spring, and the time the town was most frequented, and goods from other countries were brought to the town for sale. there had been a good year in viken, and tolerable as far north as stad; but it was a very dear time in all the country north of there. . reconciliation of the king and einar. in spring (a.d. ) king olaf sent a message west to agder, and north all the way to hordaland and rogaland, prohibiting the exporting or selling of corn, malt, or meal; adding, that he, as usual, would come there with his people in guest-quarters. the message went round all the districts; but the king remained in viken all summer, and went east to the boundary of the country. einar tambaskelfer had been with the swedish king olaf since the death of his relation earl svein, and had, as the khag's man, received great fiefs from him. now that the king was dead, einar had a great desire to come into friendship agreement with olaf; and the same spring messages passed between them about it. while the king was lying in the gaut river, einar tambaskelfer came there with some men; and after treating about an agreement, it was settled that einar should go north to throndhjem, and there take possession of all the lands and property which bergliot had received in dower. thereupon einar took his way north; but the king remained behind in viken, and remained long in sarpsborg in autumn (a.d. ), and during the first part of winter. . reconciliation of the king and erling. erling skjalgson held his dominion so, that all north from sogn lake, and east to the naze, the bondes stood under him; and although he had much smaller royal fiefs than formerly, still so great a dread of him prevailed that nobody dared to do anything against his will, so that the king thought his power too great. there was a man called aslak fitiaskalle, who was powerful and of high birth. erling's father skjalg, and aslak's father askel, were brother's sons. aslak was a great friend of king olaf, and the king settled him in south hordaland, where he gave him a great fief, and great income, and ordered him in no respect to give way to erling. but this came to nothing when the king was not in the neighbourhood; for then erling would reign as he used to do, and was not more humble because aslak would thrust himself forward as his equal. at last the strife went so far that aslak could not keep his place, but hastened to king olaf, and told him the circumstances between him and erling. the king told aslak to remain with him until he should meet erling; and sent a message to erling that he should come to him in spring at tunsberg. when they all arrived there they held a meeting at which the king said to him, "it is told me concerning thy government, erling, that no man from sogn lake to the naze can enjoy his freedom for thee; although there are many men there who consider themselves born to udal rights, and have their privileges like others born as they are. now, here is your relation aslak, who appears to have suffered great inconvenience from your conduct; and i do not know whether he himself is in fault, or whether he suffers because i have placed him to defend what is mine; and although i name him, there are many others who have brought the same complaint before us, both among those who are placed in office in our districts, and among the bailiffs who have our farms to manage, and are obliged to entertain me and my people." erling replies to this, "i will answer at once. i deny altogether that i have ever injured aslak, or any one else, for being in your service; but this i will not deny, that it is now, as it has long been, that each of us relations will willingly be greater than the other: and, moreover, i freely acknowledge that i am ready to bow my neck to thee, king olaf; but it is more difficult for me to stoop before one who is of slave descent in all his generation, although he is now your bailiff, or before others who are but equal to him in descent, although you bestow honours on them." now the friends of both interfered, and entreated that they would be reconciled; saying, that the king never could have such powerful aid as from erling, "if he was your friend entirely." on the other hand, they represent to erling that he should give up to the king; for if he was in friendship with the king, it would be easy to do with all the others what he pleased. the meeting accordingly ended so that erling should retain the fiefs he formerly had, and every complaint the king had against erling should be dropped; but skjalg, erling's son, should come to the king, and remain in his power. then aslak returned to his dominions, and the two were in some sort reconciled. erling returned home also to his domains, and followed his own way of ruling them. . here begins the story of asbjorn selsbane. there was a man named sigurd thoreson, a brother of thorer hund of bjarkey island. sigurd was married to sigrid skjalg's daughter, a sister of erling. their son, called asbjorn, became as he grew up a very able man. sigurd dwelt at omd in thrandarnes, and was a very rich and respected man. he had not gone into the king's service; and thorer in so far had attained higher dignity than his brother, that he was the king's lenderman. but at home, on his farm, sigurd stood in no respect behind his brother in splendour and magnificence. as long as heathenism prevailed, sigurd usually had three sacrifices every year: one on winter-night's eve, one on mid-winter's eve, and the third in summer. although he had adopted christianity, he continued the same custom with his feasts: he had, namely, a great friendly entertainment at harvest time; a yule feast in winter, to which he invited many; the third feast he had about easter, to which also he invited many guests. he continued this fashion as long as he lived. sigurd died on a bed of sickness when asbjorn was eighteen years old. he was the only heir of his father, and he followed his father's custom of holding three festivals every year. soon after asbjorn came to his heritage the course of seasons began to grow worse, and the corn harvests of the people to fail; but asbjorn held his usual feasts, and helped himself by having old corn, and an old provision laid up of all that was useful. but when one year had passed and another came, and the crops were no better than the year before, sigrid wished that some if not all of the feasts should be given up. that asbjorn would not consent to, but went round in harvest among his friends, buying corn where he could get it, and some he received in presents. he thus kept his feasts this winter also; but the spring after people got but little seed into the ground, for they had to buy the seed-corn. then sigurd spoke of diminishing the number of their house-servants. that asbjorn would not consent to, but held by the old fashion of the house in all things. in summer (a.d. ) it appeared again that there would be a bad year for corn; and to this came the report from the south that king olaf prohibited all export of corn, malt, or meal from the southern to the northern parts of the country. then asbjorn perceived that it would be difficult to procure what was necessary for a house-keeping, and resolved to put into the water a vessel for carrying goods which he had, and which was large enough to go to sea with. the ship was good, all that belonged to her was of the best, and in the sails were stripes of cloth of various colours. asbjorn made himself ready for a voyage, and put to sea with twenty men. they sailed from the north in summer; and nothing is told of their voyage until one day, about the time the days begin to shorten, they came to karmtsund, and landed at augvaldsnes. up in the island karmt there is a large farm, not far from the sea, and a large house upon it called augvaldsnes, which was a king's house, with an excellent farm, which thorer sel, who was the king's bailiff, had under his management. thorer was a man of low birth, but had swung himself up in the world as an active man; and he was polite in speech, showy in clothes, and fond of distinction, and not apt to give way to others, in which he was supported by the favour of the king. he was besides quick in speech, straightforward, and free in conversation. asbjorn, with his company, brought up there for the night; and in the morning, when it was light, thorer went down to the vessel with some men, and inquired who commanded the splendid ship. asbjorn named his own and his father's name. thorer asks where the voyage was intended for, and what was the errand. asbjorn replies, that he wanted to buy corn and malt; saying, as was true, that it was a very dear time north in the country. "but we are told that here the seasons are good; and wilt thou, farmer, sell us corn? i see that here are great corn stacks, and it would be very convenient if we had not to travel farther." thorer replies, "i will give thee the information that thou needst not go farther to buy corn, or travel about here in rogaland; for i can tell thee that thou must turn about, and not travel farther, for the king forbids carrying corn out of this to the north of the country. sail back again, halogalander, for that will be thy safest course." asbjorn replies, "if it be so, bonde, as thou sayest, that we can get no corn here to buy, i will, notwithstanding, go forward upon my errand, and visit my family in sole, and see my relation erling's habitation." thorer: "how near is thy relationship to erling?" asbjorn: "my mother is his sister." thorer: "it may be that i have spoken heedlessly, if so be that thou art sister's son of erling." thereupon asbjorn and his crew struck their tents, and turned the ship to sea. thorer called after them. "a good voyage, and come here again on your way back." asbjorn promised to do so, sailed away, and came in the evening to jadar. asbjorn went on shore with ten men; the other ten men watched the ship. when asbjorn came to the house he was very well received, and erling was very glad to see him, placed him beside himself, and asked him all the news in the north of the country. asbjorn concealed nothing of his business from him; and erling said it happened unfortunately that the king had just forbid the sale of corn. "and i know no man here." says he, "who has courage to break the king's order, and i find it difficult to keep well with the king, so many are trying to break our friendship." asbjorn replies, "it is late before we learn the truth. in my childhood i was taught that my mother was freeborn throughout her whole descent, and that erling of sole was her boldest relation; and now i hear thee say that thou hast not the freedom, for the king's slaves here in jadar, to do with thy own corn what thou pleasest." erling looked at him, smiled through his teeth, and said, "ye halogalanders know less of the king's power than we do here; but a bold man thou mayst be at home in thy conversation. let us now drink, my friend, and we shall see tomorrow what can be done in thy business." they did so, and were very merry all the evening. the following day erling and asbjorn talked over the matter again, and erling said. "i have found out a way for you to purchase corn, asbjorn. it is the same thing to you whoever is the seller." he answered that he did not care of whom he bought the corn, if he got a good right to his purchase. erling said. "it appears to me probable that my slaves have quite as much corn as you require to buy; and they are not subject to law, or land regulation, like other men." asbjorn agreed to the proposal. the slaves were now spoken to about the purchase, and they brought forward corn and malt, which they sold to asbjorn, so that he loaded his vessel with what he wanted. when he was ready for sea erling followed him on the road, made him presents of friendship, and they took a kind farewell of each other. asbjorn got a good breeze, landed in the evening at karmtsund, near to augvaldsnes, and remained there for the night. thorer sel had heard of asbjorn's voyage, and also that his vessel was deeply laden. thorer summoned people to him in the night, so that before daylight he had sixty men; and with these he went against asbjorn as soon as it was light, and went out to the ship just as asbjorn and his men were putting on their clothes. asbjorn saluted thorer, and thorer asked what kind of goods asbjorn had in the vessel. he replied, "corn and malt." thorer said, "then erling is doing as he usually does, and despising the king's orders, and is unwearied in opposing him in all things, insomuch that it is wonderful the king suffers it." thorer went on scolding in this way, and when he was silent asbjorn said that erling's slaves had owned the corn. thorer replied hastily, that he did not regard erling's tricks. "and now, asbjorn, there is no help for it; ye must either go on shore, or we will throw you overboard; for we will not be troubled with you while we are discharging the cargo." asbjorn saw that he had not men enough to resist thorer; therefore he and his people landed, and thorer took the whole cargo out of the vessel. when the vessel was discharged thorer went through the ship, and observed. "ye halogalanders have good sails: take the old sail of our vessel and give it them; it is good enough for those who are sailing in a light vessel." thus the sails were exchanged. when this was done asbjorn and his comrades sailed away north along the coast, and did not stop until they reached home early in whiter. this expedition was talked of far and wide, and asbjorn had no trouble that winter in making feasts at home. thorer hund invited asbjorn and his mother, and also all whom they pleased to take along with him, to a yule feast; but asbjorn sat at home, and would not travel, and it was to be seen that thorer thought asbjorn despised his invitation, since he would not come. thorer scoffed much at asbjorn's voyage. "now," said he, "it is evident that asbjorn makes a great difference in his respect towards his relations; for in summer he took the greatest trouble to visit his relation erling in jadar, and now will not take the trouble to come to me in the next house. i don't know if he thinks there may be a thorer sel in his way upon every holm." such words, and the like sarcasms, asbjorn heard of; and very ill satisfied he was with his voyage, which had thus made him a laughing-stock to the country, and he remained at home all winter, and went to no feasts. . murder of thorer sel. asbjorn had a long-ship standing in the noust (shipshed), and it was a snekke (cutter) of twenty benches; and after candlemas (february , ), he had the vessel put in the water, brought out all his furniture, and rigged her out. he then summoned to him his friends and people, so that he had nearly ninety men all well armed. when he was ready for sea, and got a wind, he sailed south along the coast, but as the wind did not suit, they advanced but slowly. when they came farther south they steered outside the rocks, without the usual ships' channel, keeping to sea as much as it was possible to do so. nothing is related of his voyage before the fifth day of easter (april , ), when, about evening, they came on the outside of karmt island. this island is so shaped that it is very long, but not broad at its widest part; and without it lies the usual ships' channel. it is thickly inhabited; but where the island is exposed to the ocean great tracts of it are uncultivated. asbjorn and his men landed at a place in the island that was uninhabited. after they had set up their ship-tents asbjorn said, "now ye must remain here and wait for me. i will go on land in the isle, and spy what news there may be which we know nothing of." asbjorn had on mean clothes, a broadbrimmed hat, a fork in his hand, but had girt on his sword under his clothes. he went up to the land, and in through the island; and when he came upon a hillock, from which he could see the house on augvaldsnes, and on as far as karmtsund, he saw people in all quarters flocking together by land and by sea, and all going up to the house of augvaldsnes. this seemed to him extraordinary; and therefore he went up quietly to a house close by, in which servants were cooking meat. from their conversation he discovered immediately that the king olaf had come there to a feast, and that he had just sat down to table. asbjorn turned then to the feasting-room, and when he came into the ante-room one was going in and another coming out; but nobody took notice of him. the hall-door was open, and he saw that thorer sel stood before the table of the high-seat. it was getting late in the evening, and asbjorn heard people ask thorer what had taken place between him and asbjorn; and thorer had a long story about it, in which he evidently departed from the truth. among other things he heard a man say, "how did asbjorn behave when you discharged his vessel?" thorer replied, "when we were taking out the cargo he bore it tolerably, but not well; and when we took the sail from him he wept." when asbjorn heard this he suddenly drew his sword, rushed into the hall, and cut at thorer. the stroke took him in the neck, so that the head fell upon the table before the king, and the body at his feet, and the table-cloth was soiled with blood from top to bottom. the king ordered him to be seized and taken out. this was done. they laid hands on asbjorn, and took him from the hall. the table-furniture and table-cloths were removed, and also thorer's corpse, and all the blood wiped up. the king was enraged to the highest; but remained quiet in speech, as he always was when in anger. . of skjalg, the son of erling skjalgson. skjalg erlingson stood up, went before the king, and said, "now may it go, as it often does, that every case will admit of alleviation. i will pay thee the mulct for the bloodshed on account of this man, so that he may retain life and limbs. all the rest determine and do, king, according to thy pleasure." the king replies, "is it not a matter of death, skjalg, that a man break the easter peace; and in the next place that he kills a man in the king's lodging; and in the third that he makes my feet his execution-block, although that may appear a small matter to thee and thy father?" skjalg replies, "it is ill done, king, in as far as it displeases thee; but the deed is, otherwise, done excellently well. but if the deed appear to thee so important, and be so contrary to thy will, yet may i expect something for my services from thee; and certainly there are many who will say that thou didst well." the king replies, "although thou hast made me greatly indebted to thee, skjalg, for thy services, yet i will not for thy sake break the law, or cast away my own dignity." then skjalg turned round, and went out of the hall. twelve men who had come with skjalg all followed him, and many others went out with him. skjalg said to thorarin nefiulfson, "if thou wilt have me for a friend, take care that this man be not killed before sunday." thereupon skjalg and his men set off, took a rowing boat which he had, and rowed south as fast as they could, and came to jadar with the first glimpse of morning. they went up instantly to the house, and to the loft in which erling slept. skjalg rushed so hard against the door that it burst asunder at the nails. erling and the others who were within started up. he was in one spring upon his legs, grasped his shield and sword, and rushed to the door, demanding who was there. skjalg named himself, and begs him to open the door. erling replies, "it was most likely to be thee who hast behaved so foolishly; or is there any one who is pursuing thee?" thereupon the door was unlocked. then said skjalg, "although it appears to thee that i am so hasty, i suppose our relation asbjorn will not think my proceedings too quick; for he sits in chains there in the north at augvaldsnes, and it would be but manly to hasten back and stand by him." the father and son then had a conversation together, and skjalg related the whole circumstances of thorer sel's murder. . of thorarin nefiulfson. king olaf took his seat again when everything in the hall was put in order, and was enraged beyond measure. he asked how it was with the murderer. he was answered, that he was sitting out upon the doorstep under guard. the king says, "why is he not put to death?" thorarin nefiulfson replies, "sire, would you not call it murder to kill a man in the night-time?" the king answers, "put him in irons then, and kill him in the morning." then asbjorn was laid in chains, and locked up in a house for the night. the day after the king heard the morning mass, and then went to the thing, where he sat till high mass. as he was going to mass he said to thorarin, "is not the sun high enough now in the heavens that your friend asbjorn may be hanged?" thorarin bowed before the king, and said, "sire, it was said by bishop sigurd on friday last, that the king who has all things in his power had to endure great temptation of spirit; and blessed is he who rather imitates him, than those who condemned the man to death, or those who caused his slaughter. it is not long till tomorrow, and that is a working day." the king looked at him, and said, "thou must take care then that he is not put to death to-day; but take him under thy charge, and know for certain that thy own life shall answer for it if he escape in any way." then the king went away. thorarin went also to where asbjorn lay in irons, took off his chains, and brought him to a small room, where he had meat and drink set before him, and told him what the king had determined in case asbjorn ran away. asbjorn replies, that thorarin need not be afraid of him. thorarin sat a long while with him during the day, and slept there all night. on saturday the king arose and went to the early mass, and from thence he went to the thing, where a great many bondes were assembled, who had many complaints to be determined. the king sat there long in the day, and it was late before the people went to high mass. thereafter the king went to table. when he had got meat he sat drinking for a while, so that the tables were not removed. thorarin went out to the priest who had the church under his care, and gave him two marks of silver to ring in the sabbath as soon as the king's table was taken away. when the king had drunk as much as he wished the tables were removed. then said the king, that it was now time for the slaves to go to the murderer and put him to death. in the same moment the bell rang in the sabbath. then thorarin went before the king, and said, "the sabbath-peace this man must have, although he has done evil." the king said, "do thou take care, thorarin, that he do not escape." the king then went to the church, and attended the vesper service, and thorarin sat the whole day with asbjorn. on sunday the bishop visited asbjorn, confessed him, and gave him orders to hear high mass. thorarin then went to the king, and asked him to appoint men to guard the murderer. "i will now," he said, "be free of this charge." the king thanked him for his care, and ordered men to watch over asbjorn, who was again laid in chains. when the people went to high mass asbjorn was led to the church, and he stood outside of the church with his guard; but the king and all the people stood in the church at mass. . erling's reconciliation with king olaf. now we must again take up our story where we left it,--that erling and his son skjalg held a council on this affair, and according to the resolution of erling, and of skjalg and his other sons, it was determined to assemble a force and send out message-tokens. a great multitude of people accordingly came together. they got ready with all speed, rigged their ships, and when they reckoned upon their force they found they had nearly men. with this war-force they set off, and came on sunday to augvaldsnes on karmt island. they went straight up to the house with all the men, and arrived just as the scripture lesson was read. they went directly to the church, took asbjorn, and broke off his chains. at the tumult and clash of arms all who were outside of the church ran into it; but they who were in the church looked all towards them, except the king, who stood still, without looking around him. erling and his sons drew up their men on each side of the path which led from the church to the hall, and erling with his sons stood next to the hall. when high mass was finished the king went immediately out of the church, and first went through the open space between the ranks drawn up, and then his retinue, man by man; and as he came to the door erling placed himself before the door, bowed to the king, and saluted him. the king saluted him in return, and prayed god to help him. erling took up the word first, and said, "my relation, asbjorn, it is reported to me, has been guilty of misdemeanor, king; and it is a great one, if he has done anything that incurs your displeasure. now i am come to entreat for him peace, and such penalties as you yourself may determine; but that thereby he redeem life and limb, and his remaining here in his native land." the king replies, "it appears to me, erling, that thou thinkest the case of asbjorn is now in thy own power, and i do not therefore know why thou speakest now as if thou wouldst offer terms for him. i think thou hast drawn together these forces because thou are determined to settle what is between us." erling replies, "thou only, king, shalt determine, and determine so that we shall be reconciled." the king: "thinkest thou, erling, to make me afraid? and art thou come here in such force with that expectation? no, that shall not be; and if that be thy thought, i must in no way turn and fly." erling replies, "thou hast no occasion to remind me how often i have come to meet thee with fewer men than thou hadst. but now i shall not conceal what lies in my mind, namely, that it is my will that we now enter into a reconciliation; for otherwise i expect we shall never meet again." erling was then as red as blood in the face. now bishop sigurd came forward to the king and said, "sire, i entreat you on god almighty's account to be reconciled with erling according to his offer,--that the man shall retain life and limb, but that thou shalt determine according to thy pleasure all the other conditions." the king replies, "you will determine." then said the bishop, "erling, do thou give security for asbjorn, such as the king thinks sufficient, and then leave the conditions to the mercy of the king, and leave all in his power." erling gave a surety to the king on his part, which he accepted. thereupon asbjorn received his life and safety, and delivered himself into the king's power, and kissed his hand. erling then withdrew with his forces, without exchanging salutation with the king; and the king went into the hall, followed by asbjorn. the king thereafter made known the terms of reconciliation to be these:--"in the first place, asbjorn, thou must submit to the law of the land, which commands that the man who kills a servant of the king must undertake his service, if the king will. now i will that thou shalt undertake the office of bailiff which thorer sel had, and manage my estate here in augvaldsnes." asbjorn replies, that it should be according to the king's will; "but i must first go home to my farm, and put things in order there." the king was satisfied with this, and proceeded to another guest-quarter. asbjorn made himself ready with his comrades, who all kept themselves concealed in a quiet creek during the time asbjorn was away from them. they had had their spies out to learn how it went with him, and would not depart without having some certain news of him. . of thorer hund and asbjorn selsbane. asbjorn then set out on his voyage, and about spring (a.d. ) got home to his farm. after this exploit he was always called asbjorn selsbane. asbjorn had not been long at home before he and his relation thorer met and conversed together, and thorer asked asbjorn particularly all about his journey, and about all the circumstances which had happened on the course of it. asbjorn told everything as it had taken place. then said thorer, "thou thinkest that thou hast well rubbed out the disgrace of having been plundered in last harvest." "i think so," replies asbjorn; "and what is thy opinion, cousin?" "that i will soon tell thee," said thorer. "thy first expedition to the south of the country was indeed very disgraceful, and that disgrace has been redeemed; but this expedition is both a disgrace to thee and to thy family, if it end in thy becoming the king's slave, and being put on a footing with that worst of men, thorer sel. show that thou art manly enough to sit here on thy own property, and we thy relations shall so support thee that thou wilt never more come into such trouble." asbjorn found this advice much to his mind; and before they parted it was firmly, determined that asbjorn should remain on his farm, and not go back to the king or enter into his service. and he did so, and sat quietly at home on his farm. . king olaf baptizes in vors and valders. after king olaf and erling skjalgson had this meeting at augvaldsnes, new differences arose between them, and increased so much that they ended in perfect enmity. in spring (a.d. ) the king proceeded to guest-quarters in hordaland, and went up also to vors, because he heard there was but little of the true faith among the people there. he held a thing with the bondes at a place called vang, and a number of bondes came to it fully armed. the king ordered them to adopt christianity; but they challenged him to battle, and it proceeded so far that the men were drawn up on both sides. but when it came to the point such a fear entered into the blood of the bondes that none would advance or command, and they chose the part which was most to their advantage; namely, to obey the king and receive christianity; and before the king left them they were all baptized. one day it happened that the king was riding on his way a singing of psalms, and when he came right opposite some hills he halted and said, "man after man shall relate these my words, that i think it not advisable for any king of norway to travel hereafter between these hills." and it is a saying among the people that the most kings since that time have avoided it. the king proceeded to ostrarfjord, and came to his ships, with which he went north to sogn, and had his living in guest-quarters there in summer (a.d. ); when autumn approached he turned in towards the fjord district, and went from thence to valders, where the people were still heathen. the king hastened up to the lake in valders, came unexpectedly on the bondes, seized their vessels, and went on board of them with all his men. he then sent out message-tokens, and appointed a thing so near the lake that he could use the vessels if he found he required them. the bondes resorted to the thing in a great and well-armed host; and when he commanded them to accept christianity the bondes shouted against him, told him to be silent, and made a great uproar and clashing of weapons. but when the king saw that they would not listen to what he would teach them, and also that they had too great a force to contend with, he turned his discourse, and asked if there were people at the thing who had disputes with each other which they wished him to settle. it was soon found by the conversation of the bondes that they had many quarrels among themselves, although they had all joined in speaking against christianity. when the bondes began to set forth their own cases, each endeavored to get some upon his side to support him; and this lasted the whole day long until evening, when the thing was concluded. when the bondes had heard that the king had travelled to valders, and was come into their neighborhood, they had sent out message-tokens summoning the free and the unfree to meet in arms, and with this force they had advanced against the king; so that the neighbourhood all around was left without people. when the thing was concluded the bondes still remained assembled; and when the king observed this he went on board his ships, rowed in the night right across the water, landed in the country there, and began to plunder and burn. the day after the king's men rowed from one point of land to another, and over all the king ordered the habitations to be set on fire. now when the bondes who were assembled saw what the king was doing, namely, plundering and burning, and saw the smoke and flame of their houses, they dispersed, and each hastened to his own home to see if he could find those he had left. as soon as there came a dispersion among the crowd, the one slipped away after the other, until the whole multitude was dissolved. then the king rowed across the lake again, burning also on that side of the country. now came the bondes to him begging for mercy, and offering to submit to him. he gave every man who came to him peace if he desired it, and restored to him his goods; and nobody refused to adopt christianity. the king then had the people christened, and took hostages from the bondes. he ordered churches to be built and consecrated, and placed teachers in them. he remained a long time here in autumn, and had his ships drawn across the neck of land between the two lakes. the king did not go far from the sides of the lakes into the country, for he did not much trust the bondes. when the king thought that frost might be expected, he went further up the country, and came to thoten. arnor, the earl's skald, tells how king olaf burnt in the uplands, in the poem he composed concerning the king's brother king harald:-- "against the upland people wroth, olaf, to most so mild, went forth: the houses burning, all people mourning; who could not fly hung on gallows high. it was, i think, in olaf's race the upland people to oppress." afterwards king olaf went north through the valleys to dovrefield, and did not halt until he reached the throndhjem district and arrived at nidaros, where he had ordered winter provision to be collected, and remained all winter (a.d. ). this was the tenth year of his reign. . of einar tambaskelfer. the summer before einar tambaskelfer left the country, and went westward to england (a.d. ). there he met his relative earl hakon, and stayed some time with him. he then visited king canute, from whom he received great presents. einar then went south all the way to rome, and came back the following summer (a.d. ), and returned to his house and land. king olaf and einar did not meet this time. . the birth of king magnus. there was a girl whose name was alfhild, and who was usually called the king's slave-woman, although she was of good descent. she was a remarkably handsome girl, and lived in king olaf's court. it was reported this spring that alfhild was with child, and the king's confidential friends knew that he was father of the child. it happened one night that alfhild was taken ill, and only few people were at hand; namely, some women, priests, sigvat the skald, and a few others. alfhild was so ill that she was nearly dead; and when she was delivered of a man-child, it was some time before they could discover whether the child was in life. but when the infant drew breath, although very weak, the priest told sigvat to hasten to the king, and tell him of the event. he replies, "i dare not on any account waken the king; for he has forbid that any man should break his sleep until he awakens of himself." the priest replies, "it is of necessity that this child be immediately baptized, for it appears to me there is but little life in it." sigvat said, "i would rather venture to take upon me to let thee baptize the child, than to awaken the king; and i will take it upon myself if anything be amiss, and will give the child a name." they did so; and the child was baptized, and got the name of magnus. the next morning, when the king awoke and had dressed himself, the circumstance was told him. he ordered sigvat to be called, and said. "how camest thou to be so bold as to have my child baptized before i knew anything about it?" sigvat replies, "because i would rather give two men to god than one to the devil." the king--"what meanest thou?" sigvat--"the child was near death, and must have been the devil's if it had died as a heathen, and now it is god's. and i knew besides that if thou shouldst be so angry on this account that it affected my life, i would be god's also." the king asked, "but why didst thou call him magnus, which is not a name of our race?" sigvat--"i called him after king carl magnus, who, i knew, had been the best man in the world." then said the king, "thou art a very lucky man, sigvat; but it is not wonderful that luck should accompany understanding. it is only wonderful how it sometimes happens that luck attends ignorant men, and that foolish counsel turns out lucky." the king was overjoyed at the circumstance. the boy grew up, and gave good promise as he advanced in age. . the murder of asbjorn selsbane. the same spring (a.d. ) the king gave into the hands of asmund grankelson the half of the sheriffdom of the district of halogaland, which harek of thjotta had formerly held, partly in fief, partly for defraying the king's entertainment in guest-quarters. asmund had a ship manned with nearly thirty well-armed men. when asmund came north he met harek, and told him what the king had determined with regard to the district, and produced to him the tokens of the king's full powers. harek said, "the king had the right to give the sheriffdom to whom he pleased; but the former sovereigns had not been in use to diminish our rights who are entitled by birth to hold powers from the king, and to give them into the hands of the peasants who never before held such offices." but although it was evident that it was against harek's inclination, he allowed asmund to take the sheriffdom according to the king's order. then asmund proceeded home to his father, stayed there a short time, and then went north to halogaland to his sheriffdom; and he came north to langey island, where there dwelt two brothers called gunstein and karle, both very rich and respectable men. gunstein, the eldest of the brothers, was a good husbandman. karle was a handsome man in appearance, and splendid in his dress; and both were, in many respects, expert in all feats. asmund was well received by them, remained with them a while, and collected such revenues of his sheriffdom as he could get. karle spoke with asmund of his wish to go south with him and take service in the court of king olaf, to which asmund encouraged him much, promising his influence with the king for obtaining for karle such a situation as he desired; and karle accordingly accompanied asmund. asmund heard that asbjorn, who had killed thorer sel, had gone to the market-meeting of vagar with a large ship of burden manned with nearly twenty men, and that he was now expected from the south. asmund and his retinue proceeded on their way southwards along the coast with a contrary wind, but there was little of it. they saw some of the fleet for vagar sailing towards them; and they privately inquired of them about asbjorn, and were told he was upon the way coming from the south. asmund and karle were bedfellows, and excellent friends. one day, as asmund and his people were rowing through a sound, a ship of burden came sailing towards them. the ship was easily known, having high bulwarks, was painted with white and red colours, and coloured cloth was woven in the sail. karle said to asmund, "thou hast often said thou wast curious to see asbjorn who killed thorer sel; and if i know one ship from another, that is his which is coming sailing along." asmund replies, "be so good, comrade, and tell me which is he when thou seest him." when the ships came alongside of each other, "that is asbjorn," said karle; "the man sitting at the helm in a blue cloak." asmund replies, "i shall make his blue cloak red;" threw a spear at asbjorn, and hit him in the middle of the body, so that it flew through and through him, and stuck fast in the upper part of the stern-post; and asbjorn fell down dead from the helm. then each vessel sailed on its course, and asbjorn's body was carried north to thrandarnes. then sigrid sent a message to bjarkey isle to thorer hund, who came to her while they were, in the usual way, dressing the corpse of asbjorn. when he returned sigrid gave presents to all her friends, and followed thorer to his ship; but before they parted she said, "it has so fallen out, thorer, that my son has suffered by thy friendly counsel, but he did not retain life to reward thee for it; but although i have not his ability yet will i show my good will. here is a gift i give thee, which i expect thou wilt use. here is the spear which went through asbjorn my son, and there is still blood upon it, to remind thee that it fits the wound thou hast seen on the corpse of thy brother's son asbjorn. it would be a manly deed, if thou shouldst throw this spear from thy hand so that it stood in olaf's breast; and this i can tell thee, that thou wilt be named coward in every man's mouth, if thou dost not avenge asbjorn." thereupon she turned about, and went her way. thorer was so enraged at her words that he could not speak. he neither thought of casting the spear from him, nor took notice of the gangway; so that he would have fallen into the sea, if his men had not laid hold of him as he was going on board his ship. it was a feathered spear; not large, but the handle was gold-mounted. now thorer rowed away with his people, and went home to bjarkey isle. asmund and his companions also proceeded on their way until they came south to throndhjem, where they waited on king olaf; and asmund related to the king all that had happened on the voyage. karle became one of the king's court-men, and the friendship continued between him and asmund. they did not keep secret the words that had passed between asmund and karle before asbjorn was killed; for they even told them to the king. but then it happened, according to the proverb, that every one has a friend in the midst of his enemies. there were some present who took notice of the words, and they reached thorer hund's ears. . of king olaf. when spring (a.d. ) was advanced king olaf rigged out his ships, and sailed southwards in summer along the land. he held things with the bondes on the way, settled the law business of the people, put to rights the faith of the country, and collected the king's taxes wherever he came. in autumn he proceeded south to the frontier of the country; and king olaf had now made the people christians in all the great districts, and everywhere, by laws, had introduced order into the country. he had also, as before related, brought the orkney islands under his power, and by messages had made many friends in iceland, greenland, and the farey islands. king olaf had sent timber for building a church to iceland, of which a church was built upon the thing-field where the general thing is held, and had sent a bell for it, which is still there. this was after the iceland people had altered their laws, and introduced christianity, according to the word king olaf had sent them. after that time, many considerable persons came from iceland, and entered into king olaf's service; as thorkel eyjolfson, and thorleif bollason, thord kolbeinson, thord barkarson, thorgeir havarson, thormod kalbrunar-skald. king olaf had sent many friendly presents to chief people in iceland; and they in return sent him such things as they had which they thought most acceptable. under this show of friendship which the king gave iceland were concealed many things which afterwards appeared. . king olaf's message to iceland, and the counsels of the icelanders. king olaf this summer (a.d. ) sent thorarin nefiulfson to iceland on his errands; and thorarin went out of throndhjem fjord along with the king, and followed him south to more. from thence thorarin went out to sea, and got such a favourable breeze that after four days sail he landed at the westman isles, in iceland. he proceeded immediately to the althing, and came just as the people were upon the lawhillock, to which he repaired. when the cases of the people before the thing had been determined according to law, thorarin nefiulfson took up the word as follows:--"we parted four days ago from king olaf haraldson, who sends god almighty's and his own salutation to all the chiefs and principal men of the land; as also to all the people in general, men and women, young and old, rich and poor. he also lets you know that he will be your sovereign if ye will become his subjects, so that he and you will be friends, assisting each other in all that is good." the people replied in a friendly way, that they would gladly be the king's friends, if he would be a friend of the people of their country. then thorarin again took up the word:--"this follows in addition to the king's message, that he will in friendship desire of the people of the north district that they give him the island, or out-rock, which lies at the mouth of eyfjord, and is called grimsey, for which he will give you from his country whatever good the people of the district may desire. he sends this message particularly to gudmund of modruvellir to support this matter, because he understands that gudmund has most influence in that quarter." gudmund replies, "my inclination is greatly for king olaf's friendship, and that i consider much more useful than the out-rock he desires. but the king has not heard rightly if he think i have more power in this matter than any other, for the island is a common. we, however, who have the most use of the isle, will hold a meeting among ourselves about it." then the people went to their tent-houses; and the northland people had a meeting among themselves, and talked over the business, and every one spoke according to his judgment. gudmund supported the matter, and many others formed their opinions by his. then some asked why his brother einar did not speak on the subject. "we think he has the clearest insight into most things." einar answers, "i have said so little about the matter because nobody has asked me about it; but if i may give my opinion, our countrymen might just as well make themselves at once liable to land-scat to king olaf, and submit to all his exactions as he has them among his people in norway; and this heavy burden we will lay not only upon ourselves, but on our sons, and their sons, and all our race, and on all the community dwelling and living in this land, which never after will be free from this slavery. now although this king is a good man, as i well believe him to be, yet it must be hereafter, when kings succeed each other, that some will be good, and some bad. therefore if the people of this country will preserve the freedom they have enjoyed since the land was first inhabited, it is not advisable to give the king the smallest spot to fasten himself upon the country by, and not to give him any kind of scat or service that can have the appearance of a duty. on the other hand, i think it very proper that the people send the king such friendly presents of hawks or horses, tents or sails, or such things which are suitable gifts; and these are well applied if they are repaid with friendship. but as to grimsey isle, i have to say, that although nothing is drawn from it that can serve for food, yet it could support a great war-force cruising from thence in long-ships; and then, i doubt not, there would be distress enough at every poor peasant's door." when einar had thus explained the proper connection of the matter, the whole community were of one mind that such a thing should not be permitted; and thorarin saw sufficiently well what the result of his errand was to be. . the answer of the icelanders. the day following, thorarin went again to the lawhill, and brought forward his errand in the following words:--"king olaf sends his message to his friends here in the country, among whom he reckons gudmund eyjolfson, snorre gode, thorkel eyjolfson, skapte the lagman, and thorstein halson, and desires them by me to come to him on a friendly visit; and adds, that ye must not excuse yourselves, if you regard his friendship as worth anything." in their answer they thanked the king for his message and added, that they would afterwards give a reply to it by thorarin when they had more closely considered the matter with their friends. the chiefs now weighed the matter among themselves, and each gave his own opinion about the journey. snorre and skapte dissuaded from such a dangerous proceeding with the people of norway; namely, that all the men who had the most to say in the country should at once leave iceland. they added, that from this message, and from what einar had said, they had the suspicion that the king intended to use force and strong measures against the icelanders if he ruled in the country. gudmund and thorkel eyjolfson insisted much that they should follow king olaf's invitation, and called it a journey of honour. but when they had considered the matter on all sides, it was at last resolved that they should not travel themselves, but that each of them should send in his place a man whom they thought best suited for it. after this determination the thing was closed, and there was no journey that summer. thorarin made two voyages that summer, and about harvest was back again at king olaf's, and reported the result of his mission, and that some of the chiefs, or their sons, would come from iceland according to his message. . of the people of the farey islands. the same summer (a.d. ) there came from the farey islands to norway, on the king's invitation, gille the lagman, leif ossurson, thoralf of dimun, and many other bondes' sons. thord of gata made himself ready for the voyage; but just as he was setting out he got a stroke of palsy, and could not come, so he remained behind. now when the people from the farey isles arrived at king olaf's, he called them to him to a conference, and explained the purpose of the journey he had made them take, namely, that he would have scat from the farey islands, and also that the people there should be subject to the laws which the king should give them. in that meeting it appeared from the king's words that he would make the farey people who had come answerable, and would bind them by oath to conclude this union. he also offered to the men whom he thought the ablest to take them into his service, and bestow honour and friendship on them. these farey men understood the king's words so, that they must dread the turn the matter might take if they did not submit to all that the king desired. although they held several meetings about the business before it ended, the king's desire at last prevailed. leif, gille, and thoralf went into the king's service, and became his courtmen; and they, with all their travelling companions, swore the oath to king olaf, that the law and land privilege which he set them should be observed in the farey islands, and also the scat be levied that he laid upon them. thereafter the farey people prepared for their return home, and at their departure the king gave those who had entered into his service presents in testimony of his friendship, and they went their way. now the king ordered a ship to be rigged, manned it, and sent men to the farey islands to receive the scat from the inhabitants which they should pay him. it was late before they were ready; but they set off at last: and of their journey all that is to be told is, that they did not come back, and no scat either, the following summer; for nobody had come to the farey isles, and no man had demanded scat there. . of the marriage of ketil and of thord to the king's sisters. king olaf proceeded about harvest time to viken, and sent a message before him to the uplands that they should prepare guest-quarters for him, as he intended to be there in winter. afterwards he made ready for his journey, and went to the uplands, and remained the winter there; going about in guest-quarters, and putting things to rights where he saw it needful, advancing also the cause of christianity wheresoever it was requisite. it happened while king olaf was in hedemark that ketil kalf of ringanes courted gunhild, a daughter of sigurd syr and of king olaf's mother asta. gunhild was a sister of king olaf, and therefore it belonged to the king to give consent and determination to the business. he took it in a friendly way; for he know ketil, that he was of high birth, wealthy, and of good understanding, and a great chief; and also he had long been a great friend of king olaf, as before related. all these circumstances induced the king to approve of the match, and so it was that ketil got gunhild. king olaf was present at the wedding. from thence the king went north to gudbrandsdal, where he was entertained in guest-quarters. there dwelt a man, by name thord guthormson, on a farm called steig; and he was the most powerful man in the north end of the valley. when thord and the king met, thord made proposals for isrid, the daughter of gudbrand, and the sister of king olaf's mother, as it belonged to the king to give consent. after the matter was considered, it was determined that the marriage should proceed, and thord got isrid. afterwards thord was the king's faithful friend, and also many of thord's relations and friends, who followed his footsteps. from thence king olaf returned south through thoten and hadaland, from thence to ringerike, and so to viken. in spring (a.d. ) he went to tunsberg, and stayed there while there was the market-meeting, and a great resort of people. he then had his vessels rigged out, and had many people about him. . of the icelanders. the same summer (a.d. ) came stein, a son of the lagman skapte, from iceland, in compliance with king olaf's message; and with him thorod, a son of snorre the gode, and geller, a son of thorkel eyjolfson, and egil, a son of hal of sida, brother of thorstein hal. gudmund eyjolfson had died the winter before. these iceland men repaired to king olaf as soon as they had opportunity; and when they met the king they were well received, and all were in his house. the same summer king olaf heard that the ship was missing which he had sent the summer before to the farey islands after the scat, and nobody knew what had become of it. the king fitted out another ship, manned it, and sent it to the farey islands for the scat. they got under weigh, and proceeded to sea; but as little was ever heard of this vessel as of the former one, and many conjectures were made about what had become of them. . here begins the story of canute the great. during this time canute the great, called by some canute the old, was king of england and denmark. canute the great was a son of svein haraldson forkedbeard, whose forefathers, for a long course of generations, had ruled over denmark. harald gormson, canute's grandfather, had conquered norway after the fall of harald grafeld, gunhild's son, had taken scat from it, and had placed earl hakon the great to defend the country. the danish king, svein haraldson, ruled also over norway, and placed his son-in-law earl eirik, the son of earl hakon, to defend the country. the brothers eirik and svein, earl hakon's sons, ruled the land until earl eirik went west to england, on the invitation of his brother-in-law canute the great, when he left behind his son earl hakon, sister's son of canute the great, to govern norway. but when olaf the thick came first to norway, as before related, he took prisoner earl hakon the son of eirik, and deposed him from the kingdom. then hakon proceeded to his mother's brother, canute the great, and had been with him constantly until the time to which here in our saga we have now come. canute the great had conquered england by blows and weapons, and had a long struggle before the people of the land were subdued. but when he had set himself perfectly firm in the government of the country, he remembered that he also had right to a kingdom which he had not brought under his authority; and that was norway. he thought he had hereditary right to all norway; and his sister's son hakon, who had held a part of it, appeared to him to have lost it with disgrace. the reason why canute and hakon had remained quiet with respect to their claims upon norway was, that when king olaf haraldson landed in norway the people and commonalty ran together in crowds, and would hear of nothing but that olaf should be king over all the country, although some afterwards, who thought that the people upon account of his power had no self-government left to them, went out of the country. many powerful men, or rich bondes sons, had therefore gone to canute the great, and pretended various errands; and every one who came to canute and desired his friendship was loaded with presents. with canute, too, could be seen greater splendour and pomp than elsewhere, both with regard to the multitude of people who were daily in attendance, and also to the other magnificent things about the houses he owned and dwelt in himself. canute the great drew scat and revenue from the people who were the richest of all in northern lands; and in the same proportion as he had greater revenues than other kings, he also made greater presents than other kings. in his whole kingdom peace was so well established, that no man dared break it. the people of the country kept the peace towards each other, and had their old country law: and for this he was greatly celebrated in all countries. and many of those who came from norway represented their hardships to earl hakon, and some even to king canute himself; and that the norway people were ready to turn back to the government of king canute, or earl hakon, and receive deliverance from them. this conversation suited well the earl's inclination, and he carried it to the king, and begged of him to try if king olaf would not surrender the kingdom, or at least come to an agreement to divide it; and many supported the earl's views. . canute's message to king olaf. canute the great sent men from the west, from england, to norway, and equipped them magnificently for the journey. they were bearers of the english king canute's letter and seal. they came about spring (a.d. ) to the king of norway, olaf haraldson, in tunsberg. now when it was told the king that ambassadors had arrived from canute the great he was ill at ease, and said that canute had not sent messengers hither with any messages that could be of advantage to him or his people; and it was some days before the ambassadors could come before the king. but when they got permission to speak to him they appeared before the king, and made known king canute's letter, and their errand which accompanied it; namely, "that king canute considers all norway as his property, and insists that his forefathers before him have possessed that kingdom; but as king canute offers peace to all countries, he will also offer peace to all here, if it can be so settled, and will not invade norway with his army if it can be avoided. now if king olaf haraldson wishes to remain king of norway, he will come to king canute, and receive his kingdom as a fief from him, become his vassal, and pay the scat which the earls before him formerly paid." thereupon they presented their letters, which contained precisely the same conditions. then king olaf replies, "i have heard say, by old stories, that the danish king gorm was considered but a small king of a few people, for he ruled over denmark alone; but the kings who succeeded him thought that was too little. it has since come so far that king canute rules over denmark and england, and has conquered for himself a great part of scotland. now he claims also my paternal heritage, and will then show some moderation in his covetousness. does he wish to rule over all the countries of the north? will he eat up all the kail in england? he shall do so, and reduce that country to a desert, before i lay my head in his hands, or show him any other kind of vassalage. now ye shall tell him these my words,--i will defend norway with battle-axe and sword as long as life is given me, and will pay scat to no man for my kingdom." after this answer king canute's ambassadors made themselves ready for their journey home, and were by no means rejoiced at the success of their errand. sigvat the skald had been with king canute, who had given him a gold ring that weighed half a mark. the skald berse skaldtorfason was also there, and to him king canute gave two gold rings, each weighing two marks, and besides a sword inlaid with gold. sigvat made this song about it:-- "when we came o'er the wave, you cub, when we came o'er the wave, to me one ring, to thee two rings, the mighty canute gave: one mark to me, four marks to thee,-- a sword too, fine and brave. now god knows well, and skalds can tell, what justice here would crave." sigvat the skald was very intimate with king canute's messengers, and asked them many questions. they answered all his inquiries about their conversation with king olaf, and the result of their message. they said the king listened unwillingly to their proposals. "and we do not know," say they, "to what he is trusting when he refuses becoming king canute's vassal, and going to him, which would be the best thing he could do; for king canute is so mild that however much a chief may have done against him, he is pardoned if he only show himself obedient. it is but lately that two kings came to him from the north, from fife in scotland, and he gave up his wrath against them, and allowed them to retain all the lands they had possessed before, and gave them besides very valuable gifts." then sigvat sang:-- "from the north land, the midst of fife, two kings came begging peace and life; craving from canute life and peace,-- may olaf's good luck never cease! may he, our gallant norse king, never be brought, like these, his head to offer as ransom to a living man for the broad lands his sword has won." king canute's ambassadors proceeded on their way back, and had a favourable breeze across the sea. they came to king canute, and told him the result of their errand, and king olaf's last words. king canute replies, "king olaf guesses wrong, if he thinks i shall eat up all the kail in england; for i will let him see that there is something else than kail under my ribs, and cold kail it shall be for him." the same summer (a.d. ) aslak and skjalg, the sons of erling of jadar, came from norway to king canute, and were well received; for aslak was married to sigrid, a daughter of earl svein hakonson, and she and earl hakon eirikson were brothers' children. king canute gave these brothers great fiefs over there, and they stood in great favour. . king olaf's alliance with onund the king of svithjod. king olaf summoned to him all the lendermen, and had a great many people about him this summer (a.d. ), for a report was abroad that king canute would come from england. people had heard from merchant vessels that canute was assembling a great army in england. when summer was advanced, some affirmed and others denied that the army would come. king olaf was all summer in viken, and had spies out to learn if canute was come to denmark. in autumn (a.d. ) he sent messengers eastward to svithjod to his brother-in-law king onund, and let him know king canute's demand upon norway; adding, that, in his opinion, if canute subdued norway, king onund would not long enjoy the swedish dominions in peace. he thought it advisable, therefore, that they should unite for their defence. "and then," said he, "we will have strength enough to hold out against canute." king onund received king olaf's message favourably, and replied to it, that he for his part would make common cause with king olaf, so that each of them should stand by the one who first required help with all the strength of his kingdom. in these messages between them it was also determined that they should have a meeting, and consult with each other. the following winter (a.d. ) king onund intended to travel across west gautland, and king olaf made preparations for taking his winter abode at sarpsborg. . king canute's ambassadors to onund of svithjod. in autumn king canute the great came to denmark, and remained there all winter (a.d. ) with a numerous army. it was told him that ambassadors with messages had been passing between the swedish and norwegian kings, and that some great plans must be concerting between them. in winter king canute sent messengers to svithjod, to king onund, with great gifts and messages of friendship. he also told onund that he might sit altogether quiet in this strife between him and olaf the thick; "for thou, onund," says he, "and thy kingdom, shall be in peace as far as i am concerned." when the ambassadors came to king onund they presented the gifts which king canute sent him, together with the friendly message. king onund did not hear their speech very willingly, and the ambassadors could observe that king onund was most inclined to a friendship with king olaf. they returned accordingly, and told king canute the result of their errand, and told him not to depend much upon the friendship of king onund. . the expedition to bjarmaland. this winter (a.d. ) king olaf sat in sarpsborg, and was surrounded by a very great army of people. he sent the halogalander karle to the north country upon his business. karle went first to the uplands, then across the dovrefield, and came down to nidaros, where he received as much money as he had the king's order for, together with a good ship, such as he thought suitable for the voyage which the king had ordered him upon; and that was to proceed north to bjarmaland. it was settled that the king should be in partnership with karle, and each of them have the half of the profit. early in spring karle directed his course to halogaland, where his brother gunstein prepared to accompany him, having his own merchant goods with him. there were about twenty-five men in the ship; and in spring they sailed north to finmark. when thorer hund heard this, he sent a man to the brothers with the verbal message that he intended in summer to go to bjarmaland, and that he would sail with them, and that they should divide what booty they made equally between them. karle sent him back the message that thorer must have twenty-five men as they had, and they were willing to divide the booty that might be taken equally, but not the merchant goods which each had for himself. when thorer's messenger came back he had put a stout long-ship he owned into the water, and rigged it, and he had put eighty men on board of his house-servants. thorer alone had the command over this crew, and he alone had all the goods they might acquire on the cruise. when thorer was ready for sea he set out northwards along the coast, and found karle a little north of sandver. they then proceeded with good wind. gunstein said to his brother, as soon as they met thorer, that in his opinion thorer was strongly manned. "i think," said he, "we had better turn back than sail so entirely in thorer's power, for i do not trust him." karle replies, "i will not turn back, although if i had known when we were at home on langey isle that thorer hund would join us on this voyage with so large a crew as he has, i would have taken more hands with us." the brothers spoke about it to thorer, and asked what was the meaning of his taking more people with him than was agreed upon between them. he replies, "we have a large ship which requires many hands, and methinks there cannot be too many brave lads for so dangerous a cruise." they went in summer as fast in general as the vessels could go. when the wind was light the ship of the brothers sailed fastest, and they separated; but when the wind freshened thorer overtook them. they were seldom together, but always in sight of each other. when they came to bjarmaland they went straight to the merchant town, and the market began. all who had money to pay with got filled up with goods. thorer also got a number of furs, and of beaver and sable skins. karle had a considerable sum of money with him, with which he purchased skins and furs. when the fair was at an end they went out of the vina river, and then the truce of the country people was also at an end. when they came out of the river they held a seaman's council, and thorer asked the crews if they would like to go on the land and get booty. they replied, that they would like it well enough, if they saw the booty before their eyes. thorer replies, that there was booty to be got, if the voyage proved fortunate; but that in all probability there would be danger in the attempt. all said they would try, if there was any chance of booty. thorer explained, that it was so established in this land, that when a rich man died all his movable goods were divided between the dead man and his heirs. he got the half part, or the third part, or sometimes less, and that part was carried out into the forest and buried,--sometimes under a mound, sometimes in the earth, and sometimes even a house was built over it. he tells them at the same time to get ready for this expedition at the fall of day. it was resolved that one should not desert the other, and none should hold back when the commander ordered them to come on board again. they now left people behind to take care of the ships, and went on land, where they found flat fields at first, and then great forests. thorer went first, and the brothers karle and gunstein in rear. thorer commanded the people to observe the utmost silence. "and let us peel the bark off the trees," says he, "so that one tree-mark can be seen from the other." they came to a large cleared opening, where there was a high fence upon which there was a gate that was locked. six men of the country people held watch every night at this fence, two at a time keeping guard, each two for a third part of the night, when thorer and his men came to the fence the guard had gone home, and those who should relieve them had not yet come upon guard. thorer went to the fence, stuck his axe up in it above his head, hauled himself up by it, and so came over the fence, and inside the gate. karle had also come over the fence, and to the inside of the gate; so that both came at once to the port, took the bar away, and opened the port; and then the people got in within the fence. then said thorer, "within this fence there is a mound in which gold, and silver, and earth are all mixed together: seize that. but within here stands the bjarmaland people's god jomala: let no one be so presumptuous as to rob him." thereupon they went to the mound and took as much of the money as they could carry away in their clothes, with which, as might be expected, much earth was mixed. thereafter thorer said that the people now should retreat. "and ye brothers, karle and gunstein," says he, "do ye lead the way, and i will go last." they all went accordingly out of the gate: but thorer went back to jomala, and took a silver bowl that stood upon his knee full of silver money. he put the silver in his purse, and put his arm within the handle of the bowl, and so went out of the gate. the whole troop had come without the fence; but when they perceived that thorer had stayed behind, karle returned to trace him, and when they met upon the path thorer had the silver bowl with him. thereupon karle immediately ran to jomala; and observing he had a thick gold ornament hanging around his neck, he lifted his axe, cut the string with which the ornament was tied behind his neck, and the stroke was so strong that the head of jomala rang with such a great sound that they were all astonished. karle seized the ornament, and they all hastened away. but the moment the sound was made the watchmen came forward upon the cleared space, and blew their horns. immediately the sound of the loor ( ) was heard all around from every quarter, calling the people together. they hastened to the forest, and rushed into it; and heard the shouts and cries on the other side of the bjarmaland people in pursuit. thorer hund went the last of the whole troop; and before him went two men carrying a great sack between them, in which was something that was like ashes. thorer took this in his hand, and strewed it upon the footpath, and sometimes over the people. they came thus out of the woods, and upon the fields, but heard incessantly the bjarmaland people pursuing with shouts and dreadful yells. the army of the bjarmaland people rushed out after them upon the field, and on both sides of them; but neither the people nor their weapons came so near as to do them any harm: from which they perceived that the bjarmaland people did not see them. now when they reached their ships karle and his brother went on board; for they were the foremost, and thorer was far behind on the land. as soon as karle and his men were on board they struck their tents, cast loose their land ropes, hoisted their sails, and their ship in all haste went to sea. thorer and his people, on the other hand, did not get on so quickly, as their vessel was heavier to manage; so that when they got under sail, karle and his people were far off from land. both vessels sailed across the white sea (gandvik). the nights were clear, so that both ships sailed night and day; until one day, towards the time the day turns to shorten, karle and his people took up the land near an island, let down the sail, cast anchor, and waited until the slack-tide set in, for there was a strong rost before them. now thorer came up, and lay at anchor there also. thorer and his people then put out a boat, went into it, and rowed to karle's ship. thorer came on board, and the brothers saluted him. thorer told karle to give him the ornament. "i think," said he, "that i have best earned the ornaments that have been taken, for methinks ye have to thank me for getting away without any loss of men; and also i think thou, karle, set us in the greatest fright." karle replies, "king olaf has the half part of all the goods i gather on this voyage, and i intend the ornament for him. go to him, if you like, and it is possible he will give thee the ornament, although i took it from jomala." then thorer insisted that they should go upon the island, and divide the booty. gunstein says, "it is now the turn of the tide, and it is time to sail." whereupon they began to raise their anchor. when thorer saw that, he returned to his boat and rowed to his own ship. karle and his men had hoisted sail, and were come a long way before thorer got under way. they now sailed so that the brothers were always in advance, and both vessels made all the haste they could. they sailed thus until they came to geirsver, which is the first roadstead of the traders to the north. they both came there towards evening, and lay in the harbour near the landing-place. thorer's ship lay inside, and the brothers' the outside vessel in the port. when thorer had set up his tents he went on shore, and many of his men with him. they went to karle's ship, which was well provided. thorer hailed the ship, and told the commanders to come on shore; on which the brothers, and some men with them, went on the land. now thorer began the same discourse, and told them to bring the goods they got in booty to the land to have them divided. the brothers thought that was not necessary, until they had arrived at their own neighbourhood. thorer said it was unusual not to divide booty but at their own home, and thus to be left to the honour of other people. they spoke some words about it, but could not agree. then thorer turned away; but had not gone far before he came back, and tells his comrades to wait there. thereupon he calls to karle, and says he wants to speak with him alone. karle went to meet him; and when he came near, thorer struck at him with a spear, so that it went through him. "there," said thorer, "now thou hast learnt to know a bjarkey island man. i thought thou shouldst feel asbjorn's spear." karle died instantly, and thorer with his people went immediately on board their ship. when gunstein and his men saw karle fall they ran instantly to him, took his body and carried it on board their ship, struck their tents, and cast off from the pier, and left the land. when thorer and his men saw this, they took down their tents and made preparations to follow. but as they were hoisting the sail the fastenings to the mast broke in two, and the sail fell down across the ship, which caused a great delay before they could hoist the sail again. gunstein had already got a long way ahead before thorer's ship fetched way, and now they used both sails and oars. gunstein did the same. on both sides they made great way day and night; but so that they did not gain much on each other, although when they came to the small sounds among the islands gunstein's vessel was lighter in turning. but thorer's ship made way upon them, so that when they came up to lengjuvik, gunstein turned towards the land, and with all his men ran up into the country, and left his ship. a little after thorer came there with his ship, sprang upon the land after them, and pursued them. there was a woman who helped gunstein to conceal himself, and it is told that she was much acquainted with witchcraft. thorer and his men returned to the vessels, and took all the goods out of gunstein's vessel, and put on board stones in place of the cargo, and then hauled the ship out into the fjord, cut a hole in its bottom, and sank it to the bottom. thereafter thorer, with his people, returned home to bjarkey isle. gunstein and his people proceeded in small boats at first, and lay concealed by day, until they had passed bjarkey, and had got beyond thorer's district. gunstein went home first to langey isle for a short time, and then proceeded south without any halt, until he came south to throndhjem, and there found king olaf, to whom he told all that had happened on this bjarmaland expedition. the king was ill-pleased with the voyage, but told gunstein to remain with him, promising to assist him when opportunity offered. gunstein took the invitation with thanks, and stayed with king olaf. endnotes: ( ) ludr--the loor--is a long tube or roll of birch-bark used as a horn by the herdboys in the mountains in norway. --l. . meeting of king olaf and king onund. king olaf was, as before related, in sarpsborg the winter (a.d. ) that king canute was in denmark. the swedish king onund rode across west gautland the same winter, and had thirty hundred ( ) men with him. men and messages passed between them; and they agreed to meet in spring at konungahella. the meeting had been postponed, because they wished to know before they met what king canute intended doing. as it was now approaching towards winter, king canute made ready to go over to england with his forces, and left his son hardaknut to rule in denmark, and with him earl ulf, a son of thorgils sprakaleg. ulf was married to astrid, king svein's daughter, and sister of canute the great. their son svein was afterwards king of denmark. earl ulf was a very distinguished man. when the kings olaf and onund heard that canute the great had gone west to england, they hastened to hold their conference, and met at konungahella, on the gaut river. they had a joyful meeting, and had many friendly conversations, of which something might become known to the public; but they also spake often a great deal between themselves, with none but themselves two present, of which only some things afterwards were carried into effect, and thus became known to every one. at parting the kings presented each other with gifts, and parted the best of friends. king onund went up into gautland, and olaf northwards to viken, and afterwards to agder, and thence northwards along the coast, but lay a long time at egersund waiting a wind. here he heard that erling skjalgson, and the inhabitants of jadar with him, had assembled a large force. one day the king's people were talking among themselves whether the wind was south or south-west, and whether with that wind they could sail past jadar or not. the most said it was impossible to fetch round. then answers haldor brynjolfson, "i am of opinion that we would go round jadar with this wind fast enough if erling skjalgson had prepared a feast for us at sole." then king olaf ordered the tents to be struck, and the vessels to be hauled out, which was done. they sailed the same day past jadar with the best wind, and in the evening reached hirtingsey, from whence the king proceeded to hordaland, and was entertained there in guest-quarters. . thoralf's murder. the same summer (a.d. ) a ship sailed from norway to the farey islands, with messengers carrying a verbal message from king olaf, that one of his court-men, leif ossurson, or lagman gille, or thoralf of dimun, should come over to him from the farey islands. now when this message came to the farey islands, and was delivered to those whom it concerned, they held a meeting among themselves, to consider what might lie under this message, and they were all of opinion that the king wanted to inquire into the real state of the event which some said had taken place upon the islands; namely, the failure and disappearance of the former messengers of the king, and the loss of the two ships, of which not a man had been saved. it was resolved that thoralf should undertake the journey. he got himself ready, and rigged out a merchant-vessel belonging to himself, manned with ten or twelve men. when it was ready, waiting a wind, it happened, at austrey, in the house of thrand of gata, that he went one fine day into the room where his brother's two sons, sigurd and thord, sons of thorlak, were lying upon the benches in the room. gaut the red was also there, who was one of their relations and a man of distinction. sigurd was the oldest, and their leader in all things. thord had a distinguished name, and was called thord the low, although in reality he was uncommonly tall, and yet in proportion more strong than large. then thrand said, "how many things are changed in the course of a man's life! when we were young, it was rare for young people who were able to do anything to sit or lie still upon a fine day, and our forefathers would scarcely have believed that thoralf of dimun would be bolder and more active than ye are. i believe the vessel i have standing here in the boat-house will be so old that it will rot under its coat of tar. here are all the houses full of wool, which is neither used nor sold. it should not be so if i were a few winters younger." sigurd sprang up, called upon gaut and thord, and said he would not endure thrand's scoffs. they went out to the houseservants, and launched the vessel upon the water, brought down a cargo, and loaded the ship. they had no want of a cargo at home, and the vessel's rigging was in good order, so that in a few days they were ready for sea. there were ten or twelve men in the vessel. thoralf's ship and theirs had the same wind, and they were generally in sight of each other. they came to the land at herna in the evening, and sigurd with his vessel lay outside on the strand, but so that there was not much distance between the two ships. it happened towards evening, when it was dark, that just as thoralf and his people were preparing to go to bed, thoralf and another went on shore for a certain purpose. when they were ready, they prepared to return on board. the man who had accompanied thoralf related afterwards this story,--that a cloth was thrown over his head, and that he was lifted up from the ground, and he heard a great bustle. he was taken away, and thrown head foremost down; but there was sea under him, and he sank under the water. when he got to land, he went to the place where he and thoralf had been parted, and there he found thoralf with his head cloven down to his shoulders, and dead. when the ship's people heard of it they carried the body out to the ship, and let it remain there all night. king olaf was at that time in guest-quarters at lygra, and thither they sent a message. now a thing was called by message-token, and the king came to the thing. he had also ordered the farey people of both vessels to be summoned, and they appeared at the thing. now when the thing was seated, the king stood up and said, "here an event has happened which (and it is well that it is so) is very seldom heard of. here has a good man been put to death, without any cause. is there any man upon the thing who can say who has done it?" nobody could answer. "then," said the king, "i cannot conceal my suspicion that this deed has been done by the farey people themselves. it appears to me that it has been done in this way,--that sigurd thorlakson has killed the man, and thord the low has cast his comrade into the sea. i think, too, that the motives to this must have been to hinder thoralf from telling about the misdeed of which he had information; namely, the murder which i suspect was committed upon my messengers." when he had ended his speech, sigurd thorlakson stood up, and desired to be heard. "i have never before," said he, "spoken at a thing, and i do not expect to be looked upon as a man of ready words. but i think there is sufficient necessity before me to reply something to this. i will venture to make a guess that the speech the king has made comes from some man's tongue who is of far less understanding and goodness than he is, and has evidently proceeded from those who are our enemies. it is speaking improbabilities to say that i could be thoralf's murderer; for he was my foster-brother and good friend. had the case been otherwise, and had there been anything outstanding between me and thoralf, yet i am surely born with sufficient understanding to have done this deed in the farey islands, rather than here between your hands, sire. but i am ready to clear myself, and my whole ship's crew, of this act, and to make oath according to what stands in your laws. or, if ye find it more satisfactory, i offer to clear myself by the ordeal of hot iron; and i wish, sire, that you may be present yourself at the proof." when sigurd had ceased to speak there were many who supported his case, and begged the king that sigurd might be allowed to clear himself of this accusation. they thought that sigurd had spoken well, and that the accusation against him might be untrue. the king replies, "it may be with regard to this man very differently, and if he is belied in any respect he must be a good man; and if not, he is the boldest i have ever met with: and i believe this is the case, and that he will bear witness to it himself." at the desire of the people, the king took sigurd's obligation to take the iron ordeal; he should come the following day to lygra, where the bishop should preside at the ordeal; and so the thing closed. the king went back to lygra, and sigurd and his comrades to their ship. as soon as it began to be dark at night sigurd said to his ship's people. "to say the truth, we have come into a great misfortune; for a great lie is got up against us, and this king is a deceitful, crafty man. our fate is easy to be foreseen where he rules; for first he made thoralf be slain, and then made us the misdoers, without benefit of redemption by fine. for him it is an easy matter to manage the iron ordeal, so that i fear he will come ill off who tries it against him. now there is coming a brisk mountain breeze, blowing right out of the sound and off the land; and it is my advice that we hoist our sail, and set out to sea. let thrand himself come with his wool to market another summer; but if i get away, it is my opinion i shall never think of coming to norway again." his comrades thought the advice good, hoisted their sail, and in the night-time took to the open sea with all speed. they did not stop until they came to farey, and home to gata. thrand was ill-pleased with their voyage, and they did not answer him in a very friendly way; but they remained at home, however, with thrand. the morning after, king olaf heard of sigurd's departure, and heavy reports went round about this case; and there were many who believed that the accusation against sigurd was true, although they had denied and opposed it before the king. king olaf spoke but little about the matter, but seemed to know of a certainty that the suspicion he had taken up was founded in truth. the king afterwards proceeded in his progress, taking up his abode where it was provided for him. . of the icelanders. king olaf called before him the men who had come from iceland, thorod snorrason, geller thorkelson, stein skaptason, and egil halson, and spoke to them thus:--"ye have spoken to me much in summer about making yourselves ready to return to iceland, and i have never given you a distinct answer. now i will tell you what my intention is. thee, geller, i propose to allow to return, if thou wilt carry my message there; but none of the other icelanders who are now here may go to iceland before i have heard how the message which thou, geller, shalt bring thither has been received." when the king had made this resolution known, it appeared to those who had a great desire to return, and were thus forbidden, that they were unreasonably and hardly dealt with, and that they were placed in the condition of unfree men. in the meantime geller got ready for his journey, and sailed in summer (a.d. ) to iceland, taking with him the message he was to bring before the thing the following summer (a.d. ). the king's message was, that he required the icelanders to adopt the laws which he had set in norway, also to pay him thane-tax and nose-tax ( ); namely, a penny for every nose, and the penny at the rate of ten pennies to the yard of wadmal ( ). at the same time he promised them his friendship if they accepted, and threatened them with all his vengeance if they refused his proposals. the people sat long in deliberation on this business; but at last they were unanimous in refusing all the taxes and burdens which were demanded of them. that summer geller returned back from iceland to norway to king olaf, and found him in autumn in the east in viken, just as he had come from gautland; of which i shall speak hereafter in this story of king olaf. towards the end of autumn king olaf repaired north to throndhjem, and went with his people to nidaros, where he ordered a winter residence to be prepared for him. the winter (a.d. ) that he passed here in the merchant-town of nidaros was the thirteenth year of his reign. endnotes: ( ) nefgildi (nef=nose), a nose-tax or poll-tax payable to the king. this ancient "nose-tax" was also imposed by the norsemen on conquered countries, the penalty for defaulters being the loss of their nose. ( ) wadmal was the coarse woollen cloth made in iceland, and so generally used for clothing that it was a measure of value in the north, like money, for other commodities.--l. . of the jamtaland people. there was once a man called ketil jamte, a son of earl onund of sparby, in the throndhjem district. he fled over the ridge of mountains from eystein illrade, cleared the forest, and settled the country now called the province of jamtaland. a great many people joined him from the throndhjem land, on account of the disturbances there; for this king eystein had laid taxes on the throndhjem people, and set his dog, called saur, to be king over them. thorer helsing was ketil's grandson, and he colonised the province called helsingjaland, which is named after him. when harald harfager subdued the kingdom by force, many people fled out of the country from him, both throndhjem people and naumudal people, and thus new settlements were added to jamtaland; and some settlers went even eastwards to helsingjaland and down to the baltic coast, and all became subjects of the swedish king. while hakon athelstan's foster-son was over norway there was peace, and merchant traffic from throndhjem to jamtaland; and, as he was an excellent king, the jamtalanders came from the east to him, paid him scat, and he gave them laws and administered justice. they would rather submit to his government than to the swedish king's, because they were of norwegian race; and all the helsingjaland people, who had their descent from the north side of the mountain ridge, did the same. this continued long after those times, until olaf the thick and the swedish king olaf quarrelled about the boundaries. then the jamtaland and helsingjaland people went back to the swedish king; and then the forest of eid was the eastern boundary of the land, and the mountain ridge, or keel of the country, the northern: and the swedish king took scat of helsingjaland, and also of jamtaland. now, thought the king of norway, olaf, in consequence of the agreement between him and the swedish king, the scat of jamtaland should be paid differently than before; although it had long been established that the jamtaland people paid their scat to the swedish king, and that he appointed officers over the country. the swedes would listen to nothing, but that all the land to the east of the keel of the country belonged to the swedish king. now this went so, as it often happens, that although the kings were brothers-in-law and relations, each would hold fast the dominions which he thought he had a right to. king olaf had sent a message round in jamtaland, declaring it to be his will that the jamtaland people should be subject to him, threatening them with violence if they refused; but the jamtaland people preferred being subjects of the swedish king. . stein's story. the icelanders, thorod snorrason and stein skaptason, were ill-pleased at not being allowed to do as they liked. stein was a remarkably handsome man, dexterous at all feats, a great poet, splendid in his apparel, and very ambitious of distinction. his father, skapte, had composed a poem on king olaf, which he had taught stein, with the intention that he should bring it to king olaf. stein could not now restrain himself from making the king reproaches in word and speech, both in verse and prose. both he and thorod were imprudent in their conversation, and said the king would be looked upon as a worse man than those who, under faith and law, had sent their sons to him, as he now treated them as men without liberty. the king was angry at this. one day stein stood before the king, and asked if he would listen to the poem which his father skapte had composed about him. the king replies, "thou must first repeat that, stein, which thou hast composed about me." stein replies, that it was not the case that he had composed any. "i am no skald, sire," said he; "and if i even could compose anything, it, and all that concerns me, would appear to thee of little value." stein then went out, but thought he perceived what the king alluded to. thorgeir, one of the king's land-bailiffs, who managed one of his farms in orkadal, happened to be present, and heard the conversation of the king and stein, and soon afterwards thorgeir returned home. one night stein left the city, and his footboy with him. they went up gaularas and into orkadal. one evening they came to one of the king's farms which thorgeir had the management of, and thorgeir invited stein to pass the night there, and asked where he was travelling to. stein begged the loan of a horse and sledge, for he saw they were just driving home corn. thorgeir replies, "i do not exactly see how it stands with thy journey, and if thou art travelling with the king's leave. the other day, methinks, the words were not very sweet that passed between the king and thee." stein said, "if it be so that i am not my own master for the king, yet i will not submit to such treatment from his slaves;" and, drawing his sword, he killed the landbailiff. then he took the horse, put the boy upon him, and sat himself in the sledge, and so drove the whole night. they travelled until they came to surnadal in more. there they had themselves ferried across the fjord, and proceeded onwards as fast as they could. they told nobody about the murder, but wherever they came called themselves king's men, and met good entertainment everywhere. one day at last they came towards evening to giske isle, to thorberg arnason's house. he was not at home himself, but his wife ragnhild, a daughter of erling skjalgson, was. there stein was well received, because formerly there had been great friendship between them. it had once happened, namely, that stein, on his voyage from iceland with his own vessel, had come to giske from sea, and had anchored at the island. at that time ragnhild was in the pains of childbirth, and very ill, and there was no priest on the island, or in the neighbourhood of it. there came a message to the merchant-vessel to inquire if, by chance, there was a priest on board. there happened to be a priest in the vessel, who was called bard; but he was a young man from westfjord, who had little learning. the messengers begged the priest to go with them, but he thought it was a difficult matter: for he knew his own ignorance, and would not go. stein added his word to persuade the priest. the priest replies, "i will go if thou wilt go with me; for then i will have confidence, if i should require advice." stein said he was willing; and they went forthwith to the house, and to where ragnhild was in labour. soon after she brought forth a female child, which appeared to be rather weak. then the priest baptized the infant, and stein held it at the baptism, at which it got the name of thora; and stein gave it a gold ring. ragnhild promised stein her perfect friendship, and bade him come to her whenever he thought he required her help. stein replied that he would hold no other female child at baptism, and then they parted. now it was come to the time when stein required this kind promise of ragnhild to be fulfilled, and he told her what had happened, and that the king's wrath had fallen upon him. she answered, that all the aid she could give should stand at his service; but bade him wait for thorberg's arrival. she then showed him to a seat beside her son eystein orre, who was then twelve years old. stein presented gifts to ragnhild and eystein. thorberg had already heard how stein had conducted himself before he got home, and was rather vexed at it. ragnhild went to him, and told him how matters stood with stein, and begged thorberg to receive him, and take care of him. thorberg replies, "i have heard that the king, after sending out a message-token, held a thing concerning the murder of thorgeir, and has condemned stein as having fled the country, and likewise that the king is highly incensed: and i have too much sense to take the cause of a foreigner in hand, and draw upon myself the king's wrath. let stein, therefore, withdraw from hence as quickly as thou canst." ragnhild replied, that they should either both go or both stay. thorberg told her to go where she pleased. "for i expect," said he, "that wherever thou goest thou wilt soon come back, for here is thy importance greatest." her son eystein orre then stood forward, and said he would not stay behind if ragnhild goes. thorberg said that they showed themselves very stiff and obstinate in this matter. "and it appears that ye must have your way in it, since ye take it so near to heart; but thou art reckoning too much, ragnhild, upon thy descent, in paying so little regard to king olaf's word." ragnhild replied, "if thou art so much afraid to keep stein with thee here, go with him to my father erling, or give him attendants, so that he may get there in safety." thorberg said he would not send stein there; "for there are enough of things besides to enrage the king against erling." stein thus remained there all winter (a.d. ). after yule a king's messenger came to thorberg, with the order that thorberg should come to him before midsummer; and the order was serious and severe. thorberg laid it before his friends, and asked their advice if he should venture to go to the king after what had taken place. the greater number dissuaded him, and thought it more advisable to let stein slip out of his hands than to venture within the king's power: but thorberg himself had rather more inclination not to decline the journey. soon after thorberg went to his brother fin, told him the circumstances, and asked him to accompany him. fin replied, that he thought it foolish to be so completely under woman's influence that he dared not, on account of his wife, keep the fealty and law of his sovereign. "thou art free," replied thorberg, "to go with me or not; but i believe it is more fear of the king than love to him that keeps thee back." and so they parted in anger. then thorberg went to his brother arne arnason, and asked him to go with him to the king. arne says, "it appears to me wonderful that such a sensible, prudent man, should fall into such a misfortune, without necessity, as to incur the king's indignation. it might be excused if it were thy relation or foster-brother whom thou hadst thus sheltered; but not at all that thou shouldst take up an iceland man, and harbour the king's outlaw, to the injury of thyself and all thy relations." thorberg replies, "it stands good, according to the proverb,--a rotten branch will be found in every tree. my father's greatest misfortune evidently was that he had such ill luck in producing sons that at last he produced one incapable of acting, and without any resemblance to our race, and whom in truth i never would have called brother, if it were not that it would have been to my mother's shame to have refused." thorberg turned away in a gloomy temper, and went home. thereafter he sent a message to his brother kalf in the throndhjem district, and begged him to meet him at agdanes; and when the messengers found kalf he promised, without more ado, to make the journey. ragnhild sent men east to jadar to her father erling, and begged him to send people. erling's sons, sigurd and thord, came out, each with a ship of twenty benches of rowers and ninety men. when they came north thorberg received them joyfully, entertained them well, and prepared for the voyage with them. thorberg had also a vessel with twenty benches, and they steered their course northwards. when they came to the mouth of the throndhjem fjord thorberg's two brothers, fin and arne, were there already, with two ships each of twenty benches. thorberg met his brothers with joy, and observed that his whetstone had taken effect; and fin replied he seldom needed sharpening for such work. then they proceeded north with all their forces to throndhjem, and stein was along with them. when they came to agdanes, kaff arnason was there before them; and he also had a wellmanned ship of twenty benches. with this war-force they sailed up to nidaros, where they lay all night. the morning after they had a consultation with each other. kalf and erling's sons were for attacking the town with all their forces, and leaving the event to fate; but thorberg wished that they should first proceed with moderation, and make an offer; in which opinion fin and arne also concurred. it was accordingly resolved that fin and arne, with a few men, should first wait upon the king. the king had previously heard that they had come so strong in men, and was therefore very sharp in his speech. fin offered to pay mulct for thorberg, and also for stein, and bade the king to fix what the penalties should be, however large; stipulating only for thorberg safety and his fiefs, and for stein life and limb. the king replies, "it appears to me that ye come from home so equipped that ye can determine half as much as i can myself, or more; but this i expected least of all from you brothers, that ye should come against me with an army; and this counsel, i can observe, has its origin from the people of jadar; but ye have no occasion to offer me money in mulct." fin replies, "we brothers have collected men, not to offer hostility to you, sire, but to offer rather our services; but if you will bear down thorberg altogether, we must all go to king canute the great with such forces as we have." then the king looked at him, and said, "if ye brothers will give your oaths that ye will follow me in the country and out of the country, and not part from me without my leave and permission, and shall not conceal from me any treasonable design that may come to your knowledge against me, then will i agree to a peace with you brothers." then fin returned to his forces, and told the conditions which the king had proposed to them. now they held a council upon it, and thorberg, for his part, said he would accept the terms offered. "i have no wish," says he, "to fly from my property, and seek foreign masters; but, on the contrary, will always consider it an honour to follow king olaf, and be where he is." then says kalf, "i will make no oath to king olaf, but will be with him always, so long as i retain my fiefs and dignities, and so long as the king will be my friend; and my opinion is that we should all do the same." fin says, "we will venture to let king olaf himself determine in this matter." arne arnason says, "i was resolved to follow thee, brother thorberg, even if thou hadst given battle to king olaf, and i shall certainly not leave thee for listening to better counsel; so i intend to follow thee and fin, and accept the conditions ye have taken." thereupon the brothers thorberg, fin, and arne, went on board a vessel, rowed into the fjord, and waited upon the king. the agreement went accordingly into fulfillment, so that the brothers gave their oaths to the king. then thorberg endeavored to make peace for stein with the king; but the king replied that stein might for him depart in safety, and go where he pleased, but "in my house he can never be again." then thorberg and his brothers went back to their men. kalf went to eggja, and fin to the king; and thorberg, with the other men, went south to their homes. stein went with erling's sons; but early in the spring (a.d. ) he went west to england into the service of canute the great, and was long with him, and was treated with great distinction. . fin arnason's expedition to halogaland. now when fin arnason had been a short time with king olaf, the king called him to a conference, along with some other persons he usually held consultation with; and in this conference the king spoke to this effect:--"the decision remains fixed in my mind that in spring i should raise the whole country to a levy both of men and ships, and then proceed, with all the force i can muster, against king canute the great: for i know for certain that he does not intend to treat as a jest the claim he has awakened upon my kingdom. now i let thee know my will, fin arnason, that thou proceed on my errand to halogaland, and raise the people there to an expedition, men and ships, and summon that force to meet me at agdanes." then the king named other men whom he sent to throndhjem, and some southwards in the country, and he commanded that this order should be circulated through the whole land. of fin's voyage we have to relate that he had with him a ship with about thirty men, and when he was ready for sea he prosecuted his journey until he came to halogaland. there he summoned the bondes to a thing, laid before them his errand, and craved a levy. the bondes in that district had large vessels, suited to a levy expedition, and they obeyed the king's message, and rigged their ships. now when fin came farther north in halogaland he held a thing again, and sent some of his men from him to crave a levy where he thought it necessary. he sent also men to bjarkey island to thorer hund, and there, as elsewhere, craved the quota to the levy. when the message came to thorer he made himself ready, and manned with his house-servants the same vessel he had sailed with on his cruise to bjarmaland, and which he equipped at his own expense. fin summoned all the people of halogaland who were to the north to meet at vagar. there came a great fleet together in spring, and they waited there until fin returned from the north. thorer hund had also come there. when fin arrived he ordered the signal to sound for all the people of the levy to attend a house-thing; and at it all the men produced their weapons, and also the fighting men from each ship-district were mustered. when that was all finished fin said, "i have also to bring thee a salutation, thorer hund, from king olaf, and to ask thee what thou wilt offer him for the murder of his court-man karle, or for the robbery in taking the king's goods north in lengjuvik. i have the king's orders to settle that business, and i wait thy answer to it." thorer looked about him, and saw standing on both sides many fully armed men, among whom were gunstein and others of karle's kindred. then said thorer, "my proposal is soon made. i will refer altogether to the king's pleasure the matter he thinks he has against me." fin replies, "thou must put up with a less honour; for thou must refer the matter altogether to my decision, if any agreement is to take place." thorer replies, "and even then i think it will stand well with my case, and therefore i will not decline referring it to thee." thereupon thorer came forward, and confirmed what he said by giving his hand upon it; and fin repeated first all the words he should say. fin now pronounced his decision upon the agreement,--that thorer should pay to the king ten marks of gold, and to gunstein and the other kindred ten marks, and for the robbery and loss of goods ten marks more; and all which should be paid immediately. thorer says, "this is a heavy money mulct." "without it," replies fin, "there will be no agreement." thorer says, there must time be allowed to gather so much in loan from his followers; but fin told him to pay immediately on the spot; and besides, thorer should lay down the great ornament which he took from karle when he was dead. thorer asserted that he had not got the ornament. then gunstein pressed forward, and said that karle had the ornament around his neck when they parted, but it was gone when they took up his corpse. thorer said he had not observed any ornament; but if there was any such thing, it must be lying at home in bjarkey. then fin put the point of his spear to thorer's breast, and said that he must instantly produce the ornament; on which thorer took the ornament from his neck and gave it to fin. thereafter thorer turned away, and went on board his ship. fin, with many other men, followed him, went through the whole vessel, and took up the hatches. at the mast they saw two very large casks; and fin asked, "what are these puncheons?" thorer replies, "it is my liquor." fin says, "why don't you give us something to drink then, comrade, since you have so much liquor?" thorer ordered his men to run off a bowlfull from the puncheons, from which fin and his people got liquor of the best quality. now fin ordered thorer to pay the mulcts. thorer went backwards and forwards through the ship, speaking now to the one, now to the other, and fin calling out to produce the pence. thorer begged him to go to the shore, and said he would bring the money there, and fin with his men went on shore. then thorer came and paid silver; of which, from one purse, there were weighed ten marks. thereafter thorer brought many knotted nightcaps; and in some was one mark, in others half a mark, and in others some small money. "this is money my friends and other good people have lent me," said he; "for i think all my travelling money is gone." then thorer went back again to his ship, and returned, and paid the silver by little and little; and this lasted so long that the day was drawing towards evening. when the thing had closed the people had gone to their vessels, and made ready to depart; and as fast as they were ready they hoisted sail and set out, so that most of them were under sail. when fin saw that they were most of them under sail, he ordered his men to get ready too; but as yet little more than a third part of the mulct had been paid. then fin said, "this goes on very slowly, thorer, with the payment. i see it costs thee a great deal to pay money. i shall now let it stand for the present, and what remains thou shalt pay to the king himself." fin then got up and went away. thorer replies, "i am well enough pleased, fin, to part now; but the good will is not wanting to pay this debt, so that both thou and the king shall say it is not unpaid." then fin went on board his ship, and followed the rest of his fleet. thorer was late before he was ready to come out of the harbour. when the sails were hoisted he steered out over westfjord, and went to sea, keeping south along the land so far off that the hill-tops were half sunk, and soon the land altogether was sunk from view by the sea. thorer held this course until he got into the english sea, and landed in england. he betook himself to king canute forthwith, and was well received by him. it then came out that thorer had with him a great deal of property; and, with other things, all the money he and karle had taken in bjarmaland. in the great liquor-casks there were sides within the outer sides, and the liquor was between them. the rest of the casks were filled with furs, and beaver and sable skins. thorer was then with king canute. fin came with his forces to king olaf, and related to him how all had gone upon his voyage, and told at the same time his suspicion that thorer had left the country, and gone west to england to king canute. "and there i fear he will cause as much trouble." the king replies, "i believe that thorer must be our enemy, and it appears to me always better to have him at a distance than near." . dispute between harek and asmund. asmund grankelson had been this winter (a.d. ) in halogaland in his sheriffdom, and was at home with his father grankel. there lies a rock out in the sea, on which there is both seal and bird catching, and a fishing ground, and egg-gathering; and from old times it had been an appendage to the farm which grankel owned, but now harek of thjotta laid claim to it. it had gone so far, that some years he had taken by force all the gain of this rock; but asmund and his father thought that they might expect the king's help in all cases in which the right was upon their side. both father and son went therefore in spring to harek, and brought him a message and tokens from king olaf that he should drop his claim. harek answered asmund crossly, because he had gone to the king with such insinuations--"for the just right is upon my side. thou shouldst learn moderation, asmund, although thou hast so much confidence in the king's favour. it has succeeded with thee to kill some chiefs, and leave their slaughter unpaid for by any mulct; and also to plunder us, although we thought ourselves at least equal to all of equal birth, and thou art far from being my equal in family." asmund replies, "many have experienced from thee, harek, that thou art of great connections, and too great power; and many in consequence have suffered loss in their property through thee. but it is likely that now thou must turn thyself elsewhere, and not against us with thy violence, and not go altogether against law, as thou art now doing." then they separated. harek sent ten or twelve of his house-servants with a large rowing boat, with which they rowed to the rock, took all that was to be got upon it, and loaded their boat. but when they were ready to return home, asmund grankelson came with thirty men, and ordered them to give up all they had taken. harek's house-servants were not quick in complying, so that asmund attacked them. some of harek's men were cudgelled, some wounded, some thrown into the sea, and all they had caught was taken from on board of their boat, and asmund and his people took it along with them. then harek's servants came home, and told him the event. harek replies, "that is called news indeed that seldom happens; never before has it happened that my people have been beaten." the matter dropped. harek never spoke about it, but was very cheerful. in spring, however, harek rigged out a cutter of twenty seats of rowers, and manned it with his house-servants, and the ship was remarkably well fitted out both with people and all necessary equipment; and harek went to the levy; but when he came to king olaf, asmund was there before him. the king summoned harek and asmund to him, and reconciled them so that they left the matter entirely to him. asmund then produced witnesses to prove that grankel had owned the rock, and the king gave judgment accordingly. the case had a one-sided result. no mulct was paid for harek's house-servants, and the rock was declared to be grankel's. harek observed it was no disgrace to obey the king's decision, whatever way the case itself was decided. . thorod's story. thorod snorrason had remained in norway, according to king olaf's commands, when geller thorkelson got leave to go to iceland, as before related. he remained there (a.d. ) with king olaf, but was ill pleased that he was not free to travel where he pleased. early in winter, king olaf, when he was in nidaros, made it known that he would send people to jamtaland to collect the scat; but nobody had any great desire to go on this business, after the fate of those whom king olaf had sent before, namely, thrand white and others, twelve in number, who lost their lives, as before related; and the jamtalanders had ever since been subject to the swedish king. thorod snorrason now offered to undertake this journey, for he cared little what became of him if he could but become his own master again. the king consented, and thorod set out with eleven men in company. they came east to jamtaland, and went to a man called thorar, who was lagman, and a person in high estimation. they met with a hospitable reception; and when they had been there a while, they explained their business to thorar. he replied, that other men and chiefs of the country had in all respects as much power and right to give an answer as he had, and for that purpose he would call together a thing. it was so done; the message-token was sent out, and a numerous thing assembled. thorar went to the thing, but the messengers in the meantime remained at home. at the thing, thorar laid the business before the people, but all were unanimous that no scat should be paid to the king of norway; and some were for hanging the messengers, others for sacrificing them to the gods. at last it was resolved to hold them fast until the king of sweden's sheriffs arrived, and they could treat them as they pleased with consent of the people; and that, in the meantime, this decision should be concealed, and the messengers treated well, and detained under pretext that they must wait until the scat is collected; and that they should be separated, and placed two and two, as if for the convenience of boarding them. thorod and another remained in thorar's house. there was a great yule feast and ale-drinking, to which each brought his own liquor; for there were many peasants in the village, who all drank in company together at yule. there was another village not far distant, where thorar's brother-in-law dwelt, who was a rich and powerful man, and had a grown-up son. the brothers-in-law intended to pass the yule in drinking feasts, half of it at the house of the one and half with the other; and the feast began at thorar's house. the brothers-in-law drank together, and thorod and the sons of the peasants by themselves; and it was a drinking match. in the evening words arose, and comparisons between the men of sweden and of norway, and then between their kings both of former times and at the present, and of the manslaughters and robberies that had taken place between the countries. then said the peasants sons, "if our king has lost most people, his sheriffs will make it even with the lives of twelve men when they come from the south after yule; and ye little know, ye silly fools, why ye are kept here." thorod took notice of these words, and many made jest about it, and scoffed at them and their king. when the ale began to talk out of the hearts of the jamtalanders, what thorod had before long suspected became evident. the day after thorod and his comrade took all their clothes and weapons, and laid them ready; and at night, when the people were all asleep, they fled to the forest. the next morning, when the jamtalanders were aware of their flight, men set out after them with dogs to trace them, and found them in a wood in which they had concealed themselves. they brought them home to a room in which there was a deep cellar, into which they were thrown, and the door locked upon them. they had little meat, and only the clothes they had on them. in the middle of yule, thorar, with all his freeborn men, went to his brother's-in-law, where he was to be a guest until the last of yule. thorar's slaves were to keep guard upon the cellar, and they were provided with plenty of liquor; but as they observed no moderation in drinking, they became towards evening confused in the head with the ale. as they were quite drunk, those who had to bring meat to the prisoners in the cellar said among themselves that they should want for nothing. thorod amused the slaves by singing to them. they said he was a clever man, and gave him a large candle that was lighted; and the slaves who were in went to call the others to come in; but they were all so confused with the ale, that in going out they neither locked the cellar nor the room after them. now thorod and his comrades tore up their skin clothes in strips, knotted them together, made a noose at one end, and threw up the rope on the floor of the room. it fastened itself around a chest, by which they tried to haul themselves up. thorod lifted up his comrade until he stood on his shoulders, and from thence scrambled up through the hatchhole. there was no want of ropes in the chamber, and he threw a rope down to thorod; but when he tried to draw him up, he could not move him from the spot. then thorod told him to cast the rope over a cross-beam that was in the house, make a loop in it, and place as much wood and stones in the loop as would outweigh him; and the heavy weight went down into the cellar, and thorod was drawn up by it. now they took as much clothes as they required in the room; and among other things they took some reindeer hides, out of which they cut sandals, and bound them under their feet, with the hoofs of the reindeer feet trailing behind. but before they set off they set fire to a large corn barn which was close by, and then ran out into the pitch-dark night. the barn blazed, and set fire to many other houses in the village. thorod and his comrade travelled the whole night until they came to a lonely wood, where they concealed themselves when it was daylight. in the morning they were missed. there was chase made with dogs to trace the footsteps all round the house; but the hounds always came back to the house, for they had the smell of the reindeer hoofs, and followed the scent back on the road that the hoofs had left, and therefore could not find the right direction. thorod and his comrade wandered long about in the desert forest, and came one evening to a small house, and went in. a man and a woman were sitting by the fire. the man called himself thorer, and said it was his wife who was sitting there, and the hut belonged to them. the peasant asked them to stop there, at which they were well pleased. he told them that he had come to this place, because he had fled from the inhabited district on account of a murder. thorod and his comrade were well received, and they all got their supper at the fireside; and then the benches were cleared for them, and they lay down to sleep, but the fire was still burning with a clear light. thorod saw a man come in from another house, and never had he seen so stout a man. he was dressed in a scarlet cloak beset with gold clasps, and was of very handsome appearance. thorod heard him scold them for taking guests, when they had scarcely food for themselves. the housewife said, "be not angry, brother; seldom such a thing happens; and rather do them some good too, for thou hast better opportunity to do so than we." thorod heard also the stout man named by the name of arnliot gelline, and observed that the woman of the house was his sister. thorod had heard speak of arnliot as the greatest-of robbers and malefactors. thorod and his companion slept the first part of the night, for they were wearied with walking; but when a third of the night was still to come, arnliot awoke them, told them to get up, and make ready to depart. they arose immediately, put on their clothes, and some breakfast was given them; and arnliot gave each of them also a pair of skees. arnliot made himself ready to accompany them, and got upon his skees, which were both broad and long; but scarcely had he swung his skee-staff before he was a long way past them. he waited for them, and said they would make no progress in this way, and told them to stand upon the edge of his skees beside him. they did so. thorod stood nearest to him, and held by arnliot's belt, and his comrade held by him. arnliot strode on as quickly with them both, as if he was alone and without any weight. the following day they came, towards night, to a lodge for travellers, struck fire, and prepared some food; but arnliot told them to throw away nothing of their food, neither bones nor crumbs. arnliot took a silver plate out of the pocket of his cloak, and ate from it. when they were done eating, arnliot gathered up the remains of their meal, and they prepared to go to sleep. in the other end of the house there was a loft upon cross-beams, and arnliot and the others went up, and laid themselves down to sleep. arnliot had a large halberd, of which the upper part was mounted with gold, and the shaft was so long that with his arm stretched out he could scarcely touch the top of it; and he was girt with a sword. they had both their weapons and their clothes up in the loft beside them. arnliot, who lay outermost in the loft, told them to be perfectly quiet. soon after twelve men came to the house, who were merchants going with their wares to jamtaland; and when they came into the house they made a great disturbance, were merry, and made a great fire before them; and when they took their supper they cast away all the bones around them. they then prepared to go to sleep, and laid themselves down upon the benches around the fire. when they, had been asleep a short time, a huge witch came into the house; and when she came in, she carefully swept together all the bones and whatever was of food kind into a heap, and threw it into her mouth. then she gripped the man who was nearest to her, riving and tearing him asunder, and threw him upon the fire. the others awoke in dreadful fright, and sprang up, but she took them, and put them one by one to death, so that only one remained in life. he ran under the loft calling for help, and if there was any one on the loft to help him. arnliot reached down his hand, seized him by the shoulder, and drew him up into the loft. the witch-wife had turned towards the fire, and began to eat the men who were roasting. now arnliot stood up, took his halberd, and struck her between the shoulders, so that the point came out at her breast. she writhed with it, gave a dreadful shriek, and sprang up. the halberd slipped from arnliot's hands, and she ran out with it. arnliot then went in; cleared away the dead corpses out of the house; set the door and the door-posts up, for she had torn them down in going out; and they slept the rest of the night. when the day broke they got up; and first they took their breakfast. when they had got food, arnliot said, "now we must part here. ye can proceed upon the new-traced path the merchants have made in coming here yesterday. in the meantime i will seek after my halberd, and in reward for my labour i will take so much of the goods these men had with them as i find useful to me. thou, thorod, must take my salutation to king olaf; and say to him that he is the man i am most desirous to see, although my salutation may appear to him of little worth." then he took his silver plate, wiped it dry with a cloth, and said, "give king olaf this plate; salute him, and say it is from me." then they made themselves ready for their journey, and parted. thorod went on with his comrade and the man of the merchants company who had escaped. he proceeded until he came to king olaf in the town (nidaros); told the king all that had happened, and presented to him the silver plate. the king said it was wrong that arnliot himself had not come to him; "for it is a pity so brave a hero, and so distinguished a man, should have given himself up to misdeeds." thorod remained the rest of the winter with the king, and in summer got leave to return to iceland; and he and king olaf parted the best of friends. . king olaf's levy of men. king olaf made ready in spring (a.d. ) to leave nidaros, and many people were assembled about him, both from throndhjem and the northern country; and when he was ready he proceeded first with his men to more, where he gathered the men of the levy, and did the same at raumsdal. he went from thence to south more. he lay a long time at the herey isles waiting for his forces; and he often held house-things, as many reports came to his ears about which he thought it necessary to hold councils. in one of these things he made a speech, in which he spoke of the loss he suffered from the farey islanders. "the scat which they promised me," he said, "is not forthcoming; and i now intend to send men thither after it." then he proposed to different men to undertake this expedition; but the answer was, that all declined the adventure. then there stood up a stout and very remarkable looking man in the thing. he was clad in a red kirtle, had a helmet on his head, a sword in his belt, and a large halberd in his hands. he took up the word and said, "in truth here is a great want of men. ye have a good king; but ye are bad servants who say no to this expedition he offers you, although ye have received many gifts of friendship and tokens of honour from him. i have hitherto been no friend of the king, and he has been my enemy, and says, besides, that he has good grounds for being so. now, i offer, sire, to go upon this expedition, if no better will undertake it." the king answers, "who is this brave man who replies to my offer? thou showest thyself different from the other men here present, in offering thyself for this expedition from which they excuse themselves, although i expected they would willingly have undertaken it; but i do not know thee in the least, and do not know thy name." he replies, "my name, sire, is not difficult to know, and i think thou hast heard my name before. i am karl morske." the king--"so this is karl! i have indeed heard thy name before; and, to say the truth, there was a time when our meeting must have been such, if i had had my will; that thou shouldst not have had to tell it now. but i will not show myself worse than thou, but will join my thanks and my favour to the side of the help thou hast offered me. now thou shalt come to me, karl, and be my guest to-day; and then we shall consult together about this business." karl said it should be so. . karl morske's story. karl morske had been a viking, and a celebrated robber. often had the king sent out men against him, and wished to make an end of him; but karl, who was a man of high connection, was quick in all his doing's, and besides a man of great dexterity, and expert in all feats. now when karl had undertaken this business the king was reconciled to him, gave him his friendship, and let him be fitted out in the best manner for this expedition. there were about twenty men in the ship; and the king sent messages to his friends in the farey islands, and recommended him also to leif ossurson and lagman gille, for aid and defence; and for this purpose furnished karl with tokens of the full powers given him. karl set out as soon as he was ready; and as he got a favourable breeze soon came to the farey islands, and landed at thorshavn, in the island straumey. a thing was called, to which there came a great number of people. thrand of gata came with a great retinue, and leif and gille came there also, with many in their following. after they had set up their tents, and put themselves in order, they went to karl morske, and saluted each other on both sides in a friendly way. then karl produced king olaf's words, tokens, and friendly message to leif and gille, who received them in a friendly manner, invited karl to come to them, and promised him to support his errand, and give him all the aid in their power, for which he thanked them. soon after came thrand of gata, who also received karl in the most friendly manner, and said he was glad to see so able a man coming to their country on the king's business, which they were all bound to promote. "i will insist, karl," says he, "on thy taking-up thy winter abode with me, together with all those of thy people who may appear to thee necessary for thy dignity." karl replies, that he had already settled to lodge with leif; "otherwise i would with great pleasure have accepted thy invitation." "then fate has given great honour to leif," says thrand; "but is there any other way in which i can be of service?" karl replies, that he would do him a great service by collecting the scat of the eastern island, and of all the northern islands. thrand said it was both his duty and interest to assist in the king's business, and thereupon thrand returned to his tent; and at that thing nothing else worth speaking of occurred. karl took up his abode with leif ossurson, and was there all winter (a.d. ). leif collected the scat of straumey island, and all the islands south of it. the spring after thrand of gata fell ill, and had sore eyes and other complaints; but he prepared to attend the thing, as was his custom. when he came to the thing he had his tent put up, and within it another black tent, that the light might not penetrate. after some days of the thing had passed, leif and karl came to thrand's tent, with a great many people, and found some persons standing outside. they asked if thrand was in the tent, and were told he was. leif told them to bid thrand come out, as he and karl had some business with him. they came back, and said that thrand had sore eyes, and could not come out; "but he begs thee, leif, to come to him within." leif told his comrades to come carefully into the tent, and not to press forward, and that he who came last in should go out first. leif went in first, followed by karl, and then his comrades; and all fully armed as if they were going into battle. leif went into the black tent and asked if thrand was there. thrand answered and saluted leif. leif returned his salutation, and asked if he had brought the scat from the northern islands, and if he would pay the scat that had been collected. thrand replies, that he had not forgotten what had been spoken of between him and karl, and that he would now pay over the scat. "here is a purse, leif, full of silver, which thou canst receive." leif looked around, and saw but few people in the tent, of whom some were lying upon the benches, and a few were sitting up. then leif went to thrand, and took the purse, and carried it into the outer tent, where it was light, turned out the money on his shield, groped about in it with his hand, and told karl to look at the silver. when they had looked at it a while, karl asked leif what he thought of the silver. he replied, "i am thinking where the bad money that is in the north isles can have come from." thrand heard this, and said, "do you not think, leif, the silver is good?" "no," says he. thrand replies, "our relations, then, are rascals not to be trusted. i sent them in spring to collect the scat in the north isles, as i could not myself go anywhere, and they have allowed themselves to be bribed by the bondes to take false money, which nobody looks upon as current and good; it is better, therefore, leif, to look at this silver which has been paid me as land-rent." leif thereupon carried back this silver, and received another bag, which he carried to karl, and they looked over the money together. karl asked leif what he thought of this money. he answered, that it appeared to him so bad that it would not be taken in payment, however little hope there might be of getting a debt paid in any other way: "therefore i will not take this money upon the king's account." a man who had been lying on the bench now cast the skin coverlet off which he had drawn over his head, and said, "true is the old word,--he grows worse who grows older: so it is with thee, thrand, who allowest karl morske to handle thy money all the day." this was gaut the red. thrand sprang up at gaut's words, and reprimanded his relation with many angry words. at last he said that leif should leave this silver, and take a bag which his own peasants had brought him in spring. "and although i am weak-sighted, yet my own hand is the truest test." another man who was lying on the bench raised himself now upon his elbow; and this was thord the low. he said, "these are no ordinary reproaches we suffer from karl morske, and therefore he well deserves a reward for them." leif in the meantime took the bag, and carried it to karl; and when they cast their eyes on the money, leif said, "we need not look long at this silver, for here the one piece of money is better than the other; and this is the money we will have. let a man come to be present at the counting it out." thrand says that he thought leif was the fittest man to do it upon his account. leif and karl thereupon went a short way from the tent, sat down, and counted and weighed the silver. karl took the helmet off his head, and received in it the weighed silver. they saw a man coming to them who had a stick with an axe-head on it in his hand, a hat low upon his head, and a short green cloak. he was bare-legged, and had linen breeches on tied at the knee. he laid his stick down in the field, and went to karl and said, "take care, karl morske, that thou does not hurt thyself against my axe-stick." immediately a man came running and calls with great haste to leif ossurson, telling him to come as quickly as possible to lagman gille's tent; "for," says he, "sirurd thorlakson ran in just now into the mouth of the tent, and gave one of gille's men a desperate wound." leif rose up instantly, and went off to gille's tent along with his men. karl remained sitting, and the norway people stood around in all corners. gaut immediately sprang up, and struck with a hand-axe over the heads of the people, and the stroke came on karl's head; but the wound was slight. thord the low seized the stick-axe, which lay in the field at his side, and struck the axe-blade right into karl's skull. many people now streamed out of thrand's tent. karl was carried away dead. thrand was much grieved at this event, and offered money-mulcts for his relations; but leif and gille, who had to prosecute the business, would accept no mulct. sigurd was banished the country for having wounded gille's tent comrade, and gaut and thord for the murder of karl. the norway people rigged out the vessel which karl had with him, and sailed eastward to olaf, and gave him these tidings. he was in no pleasant humour at it, and threatened a speedy vengeance; but it was not allotted by fate to king olaf to revenge himself on thrand and his relations, because of the hostilities which had begun in norway, and which are now to be related. and there is nothing more to be told of what happened after king olaf sent men to the farey islands to take scat of them. but great strife arose after karl's death in the farey islands between the family of thrand of gata and leif ossurson, and of which there are great sagas. . king olaf's expedition with his levy. now we must proceed with the relation we began before,--that king olaf set out with his men, and raised a levy over the whole country (a.d. ). all lendermen in the north followed him excepting einar tambaskelfer, who sat quietly at home upon his farm since his return to the country, and did not serve the king. einar had great estates and wealth, although he held no fiefs from the king, and he lived splendidly. king olaf sailed with his fleet south around stad, and many people from the districts around joined him. king olaf himself had a ship which he had got built the winter before (a.d. ), and which was called the visund ( ). it was a very large ship, with a bison's head gilded all over upon the bow. sigvat the skald speaks thus of it:-- "trygvason's long serpent bore, grim gaping o'er the waves before, a dragon's head with open throat, when last the hero was afloat: his cruise was closed, as god disposed. olaf has raised a bison's head, which proudly seems the waves to tread. while o'er its golden forehead dashing the waves its glittering horns are washing: may god dispose a luckier close." the king went on to hordaland; there he heard the news that erling skjalgson had left the country with a great force, and four or five ships. he himself had a large war-ship, and his sons had three of twenty rowing-banks each; and they had sailed westward to england to canute the great. then king olaf sailed eastward along the land with a mighty war-force, and he inquired everywhere if anything was known of canute's proceedings; and all agreed in saying he was in england but added that he was fitting out a levy, and intended coming to norway. as olaf had a large fleet, and could not discover with certainty where he should go to meet king canute, and as his people were dissatisfied with lying quiet in one place with so large an armament, he resolved to sail with his fleet south to denmark, and took with him all the men who were best appointed and most warlike; and he gave leave to the others to return home. now the people whom he thought of little use having gone home, king olaf had many excellent and stout men-at-arms besides those who, as before related, had fled the country, or sat quietly at home; and most of the chief men and lendermen of norway were along with him. endnotes: ( ) visundr is the buffalo; although the modern bison, or american animal of that name, might have been known through the greenland colonists, who in this reign had visited some parts of america.--l. . of king olaf and king onund. when king olaf sailed to denmark, he set his course for seeland; and when he came there he made incursions on the land, and began to plunder. the country people were severely treated; some were killed, some bound and dragged to the ships. all who could do so took to flight, and made no opposition. king olaf committed there the greatest ravages. while olaf was in seeland, the news came that king onund olafson of sweden had raised a levy, and fallen upon scania, and was ravaging there; and then it became known what the resolution had been that the two kings had taken at the gaut river, where they had concluded a union and friendship, and had bound themselves to oppose king canute. king onund continued his march until he met his brother-in-law king olaf. when they met they made proclamation both to their own people and to the people of the country, that they intended to conquer denmark; and asked the support of the people of the country for this purpose. and it happened, as we find examples of everywhere, that if hostilities are brought upon the people of a country not strong enough to withstand, the greatest number will submit to the conditions by which peace can be purchased at any rate. so it happened here that many men went into the service of the kings, and agreed to submit to them. wheresoever they went they laid the country all round subjection to them, and otherwise laid waste all with fire and sword. of this foray sigvat the skald speaks, in a ballad he composed concerning king canute the great:-- "'canute is on the sea!' the news is told, and the norsemen bold repeat it with great glee. and it runs from mouth to mouth-- 'on a lucky day we came away from throndhjem to the south.' across the cold east sea, the swedish king his host did bring, to gain great victory. king onund came to fight, in seeland's plains, against the danes, with his steel-clad men so bright. canute is on the land; side to side his long-ships ride along the yellow strand. where waves wash the green banks, mast to mast, all bound fast, his great fleet lies in ranks." . of king canute the great. king canute had heard in england that king olaf of norway had called out a levy, and had gone with his forces to denmark, and was making great ravages in his dominions there. canute began to gather people, and he had speedily collected a great army and a numerous fleet. earl hakon was second in command over the whole. sigvat the skald came this summer (a.d. ) from the west, from ruda (rouen) in valland, and with him was a man called berg. they had made a merchant voyage there the summer before. sigvat had made a little poem about this journey, called "the western traveller's song," which begins thus:-- "berg! many a merry morn was pass'd, when our vessel was made fast, and we lay on the glittering tide or rouen river's western side." when sigvat came to england he went directly to king canute, and asked his leave to proceed to norway; for king canute had forbidden all merchant vessels to sail until he himself was ready with his fleet. when sigvat arrived he went to the house in which the king was lodged; but the doors were locked, and he had to stand a long time outside, but when he got admittance he obtained the permission he desired. he then sang:-- "the way to jutland's king i sought; a little patience i was taught. the doors were shut--all full within; the udaller could not get in. but gorm's great son did condescend to his own chamber me to send, and grant my prayer--although i'm one whose arms the fetters' weight have known." when sigvat became aware that king canute was equipping an armament against king olaf, and knew what a mighty force king canute had, he made these lines:-- "the mighty canute, and earl hakon, have leagued themselves, and counsel taken against king olaf's life, and are ready for the strife. in spite of king and earl, i say, 'i love him well--may he get away:' on the fields, wild and dreary, with him i'd live, and ne'er be weary." sigvat made many other songs concerning this expedition of canute and hakon. he made this among others:-- "'twas not the earl's intention then 'twixt olaf and the udalmen peace to establish, and the land upright to hold with northman's hand; but ever with deceit and lies eirik's descendant, hakon, tries to make ill-will and discontent, till all the udalmen are bent against king olaf's rule to rise." . of king canute's ship the dragon. canute the great was at last ready with his fleet, and left the land; and a vast number of men he had, and ships frightfully large. he himself had a dragon-ship, so large that it had sixty banks of rowers, and the head was gilt all over. earl hakon had another dragon of forty banks, and it also had a gilt figure-head. the sails of both were in stripes of blue, red, and green, and the vessels were painted all above the water-stroke; and all that belonged to their equipment was most splendid. they had also many other huge ships remarkably well fitted out, and grand. sigvat the skald talks of this in his song on canute:-- "canute is out beneath the sky-- canute of the clear blue eye! the king is out on the ocean's breast, leading his grand fleet from the west. on to the east the ship-masts glide, glancing and bright each long-ship's side. the conqueror of great ethelred, canute, is there, his foemen's dread: his dragon with her sails of blue, all bright and brilliant to the view, high hoisted on the yard arms wide, carries great canute o'er the tide. brave is the royal progress--fast the proud ship's keel obeys the mast, dashes through foam, and gains the land, raising a surge on limfjord's strand." it is related that king canute sailed with this vast force from england, and came with all his force safely to denmark, where he went into limfjord, and there he found gathered besides a large army of the men of the country. . hardaknut taken to be king in denmark. earl ulf sprakalegson had been set as protector over denmark when king canute went to england, and the king had intrusted his son hardaknut in the earl's hands. this took place the summer before (a.d. ), as we related. but the earl immediately gave it out that king canute had, at parting, made known to him his will and desire that the danes should take his son hardaknut as king over the danish dominions. "on that account," says the earl, "he gave the matter into our hands; as i, and many other chiefs and leading men here in the country, have often complained to king canute of the evil consequences to the country of being without a king, and that former kings thought it honour and power enough to rule over the danish kingdom alone; and in the times that are past many kings have ruled over this kingdom. but now there are greater difficulties than have ever been before; for we have been so fortunate hitherto as to live without disturbance from foreign kings, but now we hear the king of norway is going to attack us, to which is added the fear of the people that the swedish king will join him; and now king canute is in england." the earl then produced king canute's letter and seal, confirming all that the earl asserted. many other chiefs supported this business; and in consequence of all these persuasions the people resolved to take hardaknut as king, which was done at the same thing. the queen emma had been principal promoter of this determination; for she had got the letter to be written, and provided with the seal, having cunningly got hold of the king's signet; but from him it was all concealed. now when hardaknut and earl ulf heard for certain that king olaf was come from norway with a large army, they went to jutland, where the greatest strength of the danish kingdom lies, sent out message-tokens, and summoned to them a great force; but when they heard the swedish king was also come with his army, they thought they would not have strength enough to give battle to both, and therefore kept their army together in jutland, and resolved to defend that country against the kings. the whole of their ships they assembled in limfjord, and waited thus for king canute. now when they heard that king canute had come from the west to limfjord they sent men to him, and to queen emma, and begged her to find out if the king was angry at them or not, and to let them know. the queen talked over the matter with him, and said, "your son hardaknut will pay the full mulct the king may demand, if he has done anything which is thought to be against the king." he replies, that hardaknut has not done this of his own judgement. "and therefore," says he, "it has turned out as might have been expected, that when he, a child, and without understanding, wanted to be called king, the country, when any evil came and an enemy appeared, must be conquered by foreign princes, if our might had not come to his aid. if he will have any reconciliation with me let him come to me, and lay down the mock title of king he has given himself." the queen sent these very words to hardaknut, and at the same time she begged him not to decline coming; for, as she truly observed, he had no force to stand against his father. when this message came to hardaknut he asked the advice of the earl and other chief people who were with him; but it was soon found that when the people heard king canute the old was arrived they all streamed to him, and seemed to have no confidence but in him alone. then earl ulf and his fellows saw they had but two roads to take; either to go to the king and leave all to his mercy, or to fly the country. all pressed hardaknut to go to his father, which advice he followed. when they met he fell at his father's feet, and laid his seal, which accompanied the kingly title, on his knee. king canute took hardaknut by the hand, and placed him in as high a seat as he used to sit in before. earl ulf sent his son svein, who was a sister's son of king canute, and the same age as hardaknut, to the king. he prayed for grace and reconciliation for his father, and offered himself as hostage for the earl. king canute ordered him to tell the earl to assemble his men and ships, and come to him, and then they would talk of reconciliation. the earl did so. . foray in scania. when king olaf and king onund heard that king canute was come from the west, and also that he had a vast force, they sailed east to scania, and allowed themselves to ravage and burn in the districts there, and then proceeded eastward along the land to the frontier of sweden. as soon as the country people heard that king canute was come from the west, no one thought of going into the service of the two kings. now the kings sailed eastward along the coast, and brought up in a river called helga, and remained there some time. when they heard that king canute was coming eastward with his forces against them, they held a council; and the result was, that king olaf with his people went up the country to the forest, and to the lake out of which the river helga flows. there at the riverhead they made a dam of timber and turf, and dammed in the lake. they also dug a deep ditch, through which they led several waters, so that the lake waxed very high. in the river-bed they laid large logs of timber. they were many days about this work, and king olaf had the management of this piece of artifice; but king onund had only to command the fleet and army. when king canute heard of the proceedings of the two kings, and of the damage they had done to his dominions, he sailed right against them to where they lay in helga river. he had a war-force which was one half greater than that of both the kings together. sigvat speaks of these things:-- "the king, who shields his jutland fields from scaith or harm by foeman's arm, will not allow wild plundering now: 'the greatest he, on land or sea.'" . battle in helga river. one day, towards evening, king onund's spies saw king canute coming sailing along, and he was not far off. then king onund ordered the war-horns to sound; on which his people struck their tents, put on their weapons, rowed out of the harbour and east round the land, bound their ships together, and prepared for battle. king onund made his spies run up the country to look for king olaf, and tell him the news. then king olaf broke up the dam, and let the river take its course. king olaf travelled down in the night to his ships. when king canute came outside the harbour, he saw the forces of the kings ready for battle. he thought that it would be too late in the day to begin the fight by the time his forces could be ready; for his fleet required a great deal of room at sea, and there was a long distance between the foremost of his ships and the hindmost, and between those outside and those nearest the land, and there was but little wind. now, as canute saw that the swedes and norwegians had quitted the harbour, he went into it with as many ships as it could hold; but the main strength of the fleet lay without the harbour. in the morning, when it was light, a great part of the men went on shore; some for amusement, some to converse with the people of other ships. they observed nothing until the water came rushing over them like a waterfall, carrying huge trees, which drove in among their ships, damaging all they struck; and the water covered all the fields. the men on shore perished, and many who were in the ships. all who could do it cut their cables; so that the ships were loose, and drove before the stream, and were scattered here and there. the great dragon, which king canute himself was in, drove before the stream; and as it could not so easily be turned with oars, drove out among olaf's and onund's ships. as they knew the ship, they laid her on board on all quarters. but the ship was so high in the hull, as if it were a castle, and had besides such a numerous and chosen crew on board, well armed and exercised, that it was not easy to attack her. after a short time also earl ulf came up with his fleet; and then the battle began, and king canute's fleet gathered together from all quarters. but the kings olaf and onund, seeing they had for this time got all the victory that fate permitted them to gain, let their ships retreat, cast themselves loose from king canute's ship, and the fleets separated. but as the attack had not been made as king canute had determined, he made no further attempt; and the kings on each side arranged their fleets and put their ships in order. when the fleets were parted, and each sailing its course, olaf and onund looked over their forces, and found they had suffered no loss of men. in the meantime they saw that if they waited until king canute got his large fleet in order to attack them, the difference of force was so great that for them there was little chance of victory. it was also evident that if the battle was renewed, they must suffer a great loss of men. they took the resolution, therefore, to row with the whole fleet eastward along the coast. observing that king canute did not pursue them, they raised up their masts and set sail. ottar svarte tells thus of it in the poem he composed upon king canute the great:-- "the king, in battle fray, drove the swedish host away: the wolf did not miss prey, nor the raven on that day. great canute might deride two kings if he had pride, for at helga river's side they would not his sword abide." thord sjarekson also sang these lines in his death song of king olaf:-- "king olaf, agder's lord, ne'er shunned the jutland king, but with his blue-edged sword broke many a panzer ring. king canute was not slow: king onund filled the plain with dead, killed by his bow: the wolf howled o'er the slain." . king olaf and king onund's plans. king olaf and king onund sailed eastward to the swedish king's dominions; and one day, towards evening, landed at a place called barvik, where they lay all night. but then it was observed of the swedes that they were home-sick; for the greater part of their forces sailed eastward along the land in the night, and did not stop their course until they came home to their houses. now when king onund observed this he ordered, as soon as the day dawned, to sound the signal for a house-thing; and the whole people went on shore, and the thing sat down. then king onund took up the word, and spake thus: "so it is, king olaf, that, as you know, we have been assembled in summer, and have forayed wide around in denmark, and have gained much booty, but no land. i had vessels, and now have not above remaining with me. now it appears to me we can make no greater progress than we have made, although you have still the vessels which have followed you the whole summer. it therefore appears to me best that we come back to my kingdom; for it is always good to drive home with the wagon safe. in this expedition we have won something, and lost nothing. now i will offer you, king olaf, to come with me, and we shall remain assembled during the winter. take as much of my kingdom as you will, so that you and the men who follow you may support yourselves well; and when spring comes let us take such measures as we find serviceable. if you, however, will prefer to travel across our country, and go overland to norway, it shall be free for you to do so." king olaf thanked king onund for his friendly offer. "but if i may advise," says he, "then we should take another resolution, and keep together the forces we have still remaining. i had in the first of summer, before i left norway, ships; but when i left the country i chose from among the whole war-levy those i thought to be the best, and with them i manned ships; and these i still have. now it appears to me that the part of your war-force which has now run away is the most worthless, and of least resistance; but now i see here all your chiefs and leaders, and i know well that the people who belong to the court-troops ( ) are by far the best suited to carry arms. we have here chosen men and superb ships, and we can very well lie all winter in our ships, as viking's custom is. but canute cannot lie long in helga river; for the harbour will not hold so many vessels as he has. if he steers eastward after us, we can escape from him, and then people will soon gather to us; but if he return to the harbours where his fleet can lie, i know for certain that the desire to return home will not be less in his army than in ours. i think, also, we have ravaged so widely in summer, that the villagers, both in scania and in halland, know well whose favour they have to seek. canute's army will thus be dispersed so widely, that it is uncertain to whom fate may at the last give the victory; but let us first find out what resolution he takes." thus king olaf ended his speech, and it found much applause, and his advice was followed. spies were sent into king canute's army, and both the kings olaf and onund remained lying where they were. endnotes: ( ) the thingmen, or hired body-guard attending the court.--l. . of king canute and earl ulf. when king canute saw that the kings of norway and sweden steered eastward with their forces along the coast, he sent men to ride night and day on the land to follow their movements. some spies went forward, others returned; so that king canute had news every day of their progress. he had also spies always in their army. now when he heard that a great part of the fleet had sailed away from the kings, he turned back with his forces to seeland, and lay with his whole fleet in the sound; so that a part lay on the scania side, and a part on the seeland side. king canute himself, the day before michaelmas, rode with a great retinue to roeskilde. there his brother-in-law, earl ulf, had prepared a great feast for him. the earl was the most agreeable host, but the king was silent and sullen. the earl talked to him in every way to make him cheerful, and brought forward everything which he thought would amuse him; but the king remained stern, and speaking little. at last the earl proposed to him a game at chess, which he agreed to; and a chess-board was produced, and they played together. earl ulf was hasty in temper, stiff, and in nothing yielding; but everything he managed went on well in his hands; and he was a great warrior, about whom there are many stories. he was the most powerful man in denmark next to the king. earl ulf's sister gyda was married to earl gudin (godwin) ulfnadson; and their sons were harald king of england, and earl toste, earl valthiof, earl morukare, and earl svein. gyda was the name of their daughter, who was married to the english king edward the good. . of the earl's murder. when they had played a while the king made a false move, at which the earl took a knight from the king; but the king set the piece again upon the board, and told the earl to make another move; but the earl grew angry, threw over the chess-board, stood up, and went away. the king said, "runnest thou away, ulf the coward?" the earl turned round at the door and said, "thou wouldst have run farther at helga river, if thou hadst come to battle there. thou didst not call me ulf the coward, when i hastened to thy help while the swedes were beating thee like a dog." the earl then went out, and went to bed. a little later the king also went to bed. the following morning while the king was putting on his clothes he said to his footboy, "go thou to earl ulf, and kill him." the lad went, was away a while, and then came back. the king said, "hast thou killed the earl?" "i did not kill him, for he was gone to saint lucius' church." there was a man called ivar white, a norwegian by birth, who was the king's courtman and chamberlain. the king said to him, "go thou and kill the earl." ivar went to the church, and in at the choir, and thrust his sword through the earl, who died on the spot. then ivar went to the king, with the bloody sword in his hand. the king said, "hast thou killed the earl?" "i have killed him," says he. "thou didst well." after the earl was killed the monks closed the church, and locked the doors. when that was told the king he sent a message to the monks, ordering them to open the church and sing high mass. they did as the king ordered; and when the king came to the church he bestowed on it great property, so that it had a large domain, by which that place was raised very high; and these lands have since always belonged to it. king canute rode down to his ships, and lay there till late in harvest with a very large army. . of king olaf and the swedes. when king olaf and king onund heard that king canute had sailed to the sound, and lay there with a great force, the kings held a house-thing, and spoke much about what resolution they should adopt. king olaf wished they should remain there with all the fleet, and see what king canute would at last resolve to do. but the swedes held it to be unadvisable to remain until the frost set in, and so it was determined; and king onund went home with all his army, and king olaf remained lying after them. . of egil and tofe. while king olaf lay there, he had frequently conferences and consultations with his people. one night egil halson and tofe valgautson had the watch upon the king's ship. tofe came from west gautland, and was a man of high birth. while they sat on watch they heard much lamentation and crying among the people who had been taken in the war, and who lay bound on the shore at night. tofe said it made him ill to hear such distress, and asked egil to go with him, and let loose these people. this work they set about, cut the cords, and let the people escape, and they looked upon it as a piece of great friendship; but the king was so enraged at it, that they themselves were in the greatest danger. when egil afterwards fell sick the king for a long time would not visit him, until many people entreated it of him. it vexed egil much to have done anything the king was angry at, and he begged his forgiveness. the king now dismissed his wrath against egil, laid his hands upon the side on which egil's pain was, and sang a prayer; upon which the pain ceased instantly, and egil grew better. tofe came, after entreaty, into reconciliation with the king, on condition that he should exhort his father valgaut to come to the king. he was a heathen; but after conversation with the king he went over to christianity, and died instantly when he was baptized. . treachery towards king olaf. king olaf had now frequent conferences with his people, and asked advice from them, and from his chiefs, as to what he should determine upon. but there was no unanimity among them--some considering that unadvisable which others considered highly serviceable; and there was much indecision in their councils. king canute had always spies in king olaf's army, who entered into conversation with many of his men, offering them presents and favour on account of king canute. many allowed themselves to be seduced, and gave promises of fidelity, and to be king canute's men, and bring the country into his hands if he came to norway. this was apparent, afterwards, of many who at first kept it concealed. some took at once money bribes, and others were promised money afterwards; and a great many there were who had got great presents of money from him before: for it may be said with truth of king canute, that every man who came to him, and who he thought had the spirit of a man and would like his favour, got his hands full of gifts and money. on this account he was very popular, although his generosity was principally shown to foreigners, and was greatest the greater distance they came from. . king olaf's consultations. king olaf had often conferences and meetings with his people, and asked their counsel; but as he observed they gave different opinions, he had a suspicion that there must be some who spoke differently from what they really thought advisable for him, and he was thus uncertain if all gave him due fidelity in council. some pressed that with the first fair wind they should sail to the sound, and so to norway. they said the danes would not dare to attack them, although they lay with so great a force right in the way. but the king was a man of too much understanding not to see that this was impracticable. he knew also that olaf trygvason had found it quite otherwise, as to the danes not daring to fight, when he with a few people went into battle against a great body of them. the king also knew that in king canute's army there were a great many norwegians; therefore he entertained the suspicion that those who gave this advice were more favourable to king canute than to him. king olaf came at last to the determination, from all these considerations, that the people who would follow him should make themselves ready to proceed by land across gautland, and so to norway. "but our ships," said he, "and all things that we cannot take with us, i will send eastward to the swedish king's dominions, and let them be taken care of for us there." . harek of thjotta's voyage. harek of thjotta replied thus to the king's speech: "it is evident that i cannot travel on foot to norway. i am old and heavy, and little accustomed to walking. besides, i am unwilling to part with my ship; for on that ship and its apparel i have bestowed so much labour, that it would go much against my inclination to put her into the hands of my enemies." the king said, "come along with us, harek, and we shall carry thee when thou art tired of walking." then harek sang these lines:-- "i' mount my ocean steed, and o'er the sea i'll speed; forests and hills are not for me,-- i love the moving sea, though canute block the sound, rather than walk the ground, and leave my ship, i'll see what my ship will do for me." then king olaf let everything be put in order for the journey. the people had their walking clothing and weapons, but their other clothes and effects they packed upon such horses as they could get. then he sent off people to take his ships east to calmar. there he had the vessels laid up, and the ships' apparel and other goods taken care of. harek did as he had said, and waited for a wind, and then sailed west to scania, until, about the decline of the day, he came with a fresh and fair wind to the eastward of holar. there he let the sail and the vane, and flag and mast be taken down, and let the upper works of the ship be covered over with some grey tilt-canvas, and let a few men sit at the oars in the fore part and aft, but the most were sitting low down in the vessel. when canute's watchmen saw the ship, they talked with each other about what ship it might be, and made the guess that it must be one loaded with herrings or salt, as they only saw a few men at the oars; and the ship, besides, appeared to them grey, and wanting tar, as if burnt up by the sun, and they saw also that it was deeply loaded. now when harek came farther through the sound, and past the fleet, he raised the mast, hoisted sail, and set up his gilded vane. the sail was white as snow, and in it were red and blue stripes of cloth interwoven. when the king's men saw the ship sailing in this state, they told the king that probably king olaf had sailed through them. but king canute replies, that king olaf was too prudent a man to sail with a single ship through king canute's fleet, and thought it more likely to be harek of thjotta, or the like of him. many believed the truth to be that king canute knew of this expedition of harek, and that it would not have succeeded so if they had not concluded a friendship beforehand with each other; which seemed likely, after king canute's and harek's friendly understanding became generally known. harek made this song as he sailed northward round the isle of vedrey:-- "the widows of lund may smile through their tears, the danish girls may have their jeers; they may laugh or smile, but outside their isle old harek still on to his north land steers." harek went on his way, and never stopped till he came north to halogaland, to his own house in thjotta. . king olaf's course from svithjod. when king olaf began his journey, he came first into smaland, and then into west gautland. he marched quietly and peaceably, and the country people gave him all assistance on his journey. thus he proceeded until he came into viken, and north through viken to sarpsborg, where he remained, and ordered a winter abode to be prepared (a.d. ). then he gave most of the chiefs leave to return home, but kept the lendermen by him whom he thought the most serviceable. there were with him also all the sons of arne arnmodson, and they stood in great favour with the king. geller thorkelson, who the summer before had come from iceland, also came there to the king, as before related. . of sigvat the skald. sigvat the skald had long been in king olaf's household, as before related, and the king made him his marshal. sigvat had no talent for speaking in prose; but in skaldcraft he was so practised, that the verses came as readily from his tongue as if he were speaking in usual language. he had made a mercantile journey to normandy, and in the course of it had come to england, where he met king canute, and obtained permission from him to sail to norway, as before related. when he came to norway he proceeded straight to king olaf, and found him at sarpsborg. he presented himself before the king just as he was sitting down to table. sigvat saluted him. the king looked at sigvat and was silent. then sigvat sang:-- "great king! thy marshal is come home, no more by land or sea to roam, but by thy side still to abide. great king! what seat here shall he take for the king's honour--not his sake? for all seats here to me are dear." then was verified the old saying, that "many are the ears of a king;" for king olaf had heard all about sigvat's journey, and that he had spoken with canute. he says to sigvat, "i do not know if thou art my marshal, or hast become one of canute's men." sigvat said:-- "canute, whose golden gifts display a generous heart, would have me stay, service in his great court to take, and my own norway king forsake. two masters at a time, i said, were one too many for men bred where truth and virtue, shown to all, make all men true in olaf's hall." then king olaf told sigvat to take his seat where he before used to sit; and in a short time sigvat was in as high favour with the king as ever. . of erling skjalgson and his sons. erling skjalgson and all his sons had been all summer in king canute's army, in the retinue of earl hakon. thorer hund was also there, and was in high esteem. now when king canute heard that king olaf had gone overland to norway, he discharged his army, and gave all men leave to go to their winter abodes. there was then in denmark a great army of foreigners, both english, norwegians, and men of other countries, who had joined the expedition in summer. in autumn (a.d. ) erling skjalgson went to norway with his men, and received great presents from king canute at parting; but thorer hund remained behind in king canute's court. with erling went messengers from king canute well provided with money; and in winter they travelled through all the country, paying the money which king canute had promised to many in autumn for their assistance. they gave presents in money, besides, to many whose friendship could be purchased for king canute. they received much assistance in their travels from erling. in this way it came to pass that many turned their support to king canute, promised him their services, and agreed to oppose king olaf. some did this openly, but many more concealed it from the public. king olaf heard this news, for many had something to tell him about it; and the conversation in the court often turned upon it. sigvat the skald made a song upon it:-- "the base traitors ply with purses of gold, wanting to buy what is not to be sold,-- the king's life and throne wanting to buy: but our souls are our own, and to hell we'll not hie. no pleasure in heaven, as we know full well, to the traitor is given,-- his soul is his hell." often also the conversation turned upon how ill it beseemed earl hakon to raise his hand in arms against king olaf, who had given him his life when he fell into the king's power; but sigvat was a particular friend of earl hakon, and when he heard the earl spoken against he sang:-- "our own court people we may blame, if they take gold to their own shame, their king and country to betray. with those who give it's not the same, from them we have no faith to claim: 'tis we are wrong, if we give way." . of king olaf's presents at yule. king olaf gave a great feast at yule, and many great people had come to him. it was the seventh day of yule, that the king, with a few persons, among whom was sigvat, who attended him day and night, went to a house in which the king's most precious valuables were kept. he had, according to his custom, collected there with great care the valuable presents he was to make on new year's eve. there was in the house no small number of gold-mounted swords; and sigvat sang:-- "the swords stand there, all bright and fair,-- those oars that dip in blood: if i in favour stood, i too might have a share. a sword the skald would gladly take, and use it for his master's sake: in favour once he stood, and a sword has stained in blood." the king took a sword of which the handle was twisted round with gold, and the guard was gold-mounted, and gave it to him. it was a valuable article; but the gift was not seen without envy, as will appear hereafter. immediately after yule ( ) the king began his journey to the uplands; for he had a great many people about him, but had received no income that autumn from the north country, for there had been an armament in summer, and the king had laid out all the revenues he could command; and also he had no vessels with which he and his people could go to the north. at the same time he had news from the north, from which he could see that there would be no safety for him in that quarter, unless he went with a great force. for these reasons he determined to proceed through the uplands, although it was not so long a time since he had been there in guest-quarters as the law prescribes, and as the kings usually had the custom of observing in their visits. when he came to the uplands the lendermen and the richest bondes invited him to be their guest, and thus lightened his expenses. . of bjorn the bailiff. there was a man called bjorn who was of gautland family, and a friend and acquaintance of queen astrid, and in some way related to her. she had given him farm-management and other offices in the upper part of hedemark. he had also the management of osterdal district. bjorn was not in esteem with the king, nor liked by the bondes. it happened in a hamlet which bjorn ruled over, that many swine and cattle were missing: therefore bjorn ordered a thing to be called to examine the matter. such pillage he attributed chiefly to the people settled in forest-farms far from other men; by which he referred particularly to those who dwelt in osterdal, for that district was very thinly inhabited, and full of lakes and forest-cleanings, and but in few places was any great neighbourhood together. . of raud's sons. there was a man called raud who dwelt in osterdal. his wife was called ragnhild; and his sons, dag and sigurd, were men of great talent. they were present at the thing, made a reply in defence of the osterdal people, and removed the accusation from them. bjorn thought they were too pert in their answer, and too fine in their clothes and weapons; and therefore turned his speech against these brothers, and said it was not unlikely they may have committed these thefts. they denied it, and the thing closed. soon after king olaf, with his retinue, came to guest-quarters in the house of bailiff bjorn. the matter which had been before the thing was then complained of to the king; and bjorn said that raud's sons appeared to him to have committed these thefts. a messenger was sent for raud's sons; and when they appeared before the king he said they had not at all the appearance of thieves, and acquitted them. thereupon they invited the king, with all his retinue, to a three days' entertainment at their father's; and although bjorn dissuaded him from it, the king went. at raud's there was a very excellent feast. the king asked raud what people he and his wife were. raud answered that he was originally a swedish man, rich and of high birth; "but i ran away with the wife i have ever since had, and she is a sister of king hring dagson." the king then remembered both their families. he found that father and sons were men of understanding, and asked them what they could do. sigurd said he could interpret dreams, and determine the time of the day although no heavenly bodies could be seen. the king made trial of his art, and found it was as sigurd had said. dag stated, as his accomplishment, that he could see the misdeeds and vices of every man who came under his eye, when he chose to observe him closely. the king told him to declare what faults of disposition he saw in the king himself. dag mentioned a fault which the king was sensible he really had. then the king asked what fault the bailiff bjorn had. dag said bjorn was a thief; and told also where bjorn had concealed on his farm the bones, horns, and hides of the cattle he had stolen in autumn; "for he committed," said dag, "all the thefts in autumn which he accuses other people of." dag also told the king the places where the king should go after leaving them. when the king departed from raud's house he was accompanied on the way, and presented with friendly gifts; and raud's sons remained with the king. the king went first to bjorn's, and found there that all dag had told him was true. upon which he drove bjorn out of the country; and he had to thank the queen that he preserved life and limbs. . thorer's death. thorer, a son of olver of eggja, a stepson of kalf arnason, and a sister's son of thorer hund, was a remarkably handsome man, stout and strong. he was at this time eighteen years old; had made a good marriage in hedemark, by which he got great wealth; and was besides one of the most popular of men, and formed to be a chief. he invited the king and his retinue home to him to a feast. the king accepted the invitation, went to thorer's, and was well received. the entertainment was very splendid; they were excellently treated, and all that was set before the guests was of the best that could be got. the king and his people talked among themselves of the excellence of everything, and knew not what they should admire the most,--whether thorer's house outside, or the inside furniture, the table service, or the liquors, or the host who gave them such a feast. but dag said little about it. the king used often to speak to dag, and ask him about various things; and he had proved the truth of all that dag had said, both of things that had happened or were to happen, and therefore the king had much confidence in what he said. the king called dag to him to have a private conversation together, and spoke to him about many things. afterwards the king turned the conversation on thorer,--what an excellent man thorer was, and what a superb feast he had made for them. dag answered but little to this, but agreed it was true what the king said. the king then asked dag what disposition or faith he found in thorer. dag replied that he must certainly consider thorer of a good disposition, if he be really what most people believe him to be. the king told him to answer direct what he was asked, and said that it was his duty to do so. dag replies, "then thou must allow me to determine the punishment if i disclose his faith." the king replied that he would not submit his decision to another man, but again ordered dag to reply to what he asked. dag replies, "the sovereign's order goes before all. i find this disposition in thorer, as in so many others, that he is too greedy of money." the king: "is he then a thief, or a robber?" "he is neither." "what is he then?" "to win money he is a traitor to his sovereign. he has taken money from king canute the great for thy head." the king asks, "what proof hast thou of the truth of this?" dag: "he has upon his right arm, above the elbow, a thick gold ring, which king canute gave him, and which he lets no man see." this ended their conference, and the king was very wroth. now as the king sat at table, and the guests had drunk a while with great mirth, and thorer went round to see the guests well served, the king ordered thorer to be called to him. he went up before the table, and laid his hands upon it. the king asked, "how old a man art thou, thorer?" he answered, "i am eighteen years old." "a stout man thou art for those years, and thou hast been fortunate also." then the king took his right hand, and felt it towards the elbow. thorer said, "take care, for i have a boil upon my arm." the king held his hand there, and felt there was something hard under it. "hast thou not heard," said he, "that i am a physician? let me see the boil." as thorer saw it was of no use to conceal it longer, he took off the ring and laid it on the table. the king asked if that was the gift of king canute. thorer replied that he could not deny it was. the king ordered him to be seized and laid in irons. kalf came up and entreated for mercy, and offered money for him, which also was seconded by many; but the king was so wroth that nobody could get in a word. he said thorer should suffer the doom he had prepared for himself. thereupon he ordered thorer to be killed. this deed was much detested in the uplands, and not less in the throndhjem country, where many of thorer's connections were. kalf took the death of this man much to heart, for he had been his foster-son in childhood. . the fall of grjotgard. grjotgard olverson, thorer's brother, and the eldest of the brothers, was a very wealthy man, and had a great troop of people about him. he lived also at this time in hedemark. when he heard that thorer had been killed, he made an attack upon the places where the king's goods and men were; but, between whiles, he kept himself in the forest and other secret places. when the king heard of this disturbance, he had inquiry made about grjotgard's haunts, and found out that he had taken up night-quarters not far from where the king was. king olaf set out in the night-time, came there about day-dawn, and placed a circle of men round the house in which grjotgard was sleeping. grjotgard and his men, roused by the stir of people and clash of arms, ran to their weapons, and grjotgard himself sprang to the front room. he asked who commanded the troop; and it was answered him, "king olaf was come there." grjotgard asked if the king would hear his words. the king, who stood at the door, said that grjotgard might speak what he pleased, and he would hear his words. grjotgard said, "i do not beg for mercy;" and at the same moment he rushed out, having his shield over his head, and his drawn sword in his hand. it was not so much light that he could see clearly. he struck his sword at the king; but arnbjorn ran in, and the thrust pierced him under his armour into his stomach, and arnbjorn got his deathwound. grjotgard was killed immediately, and most of his people with him. after this event the king turned back to the south to viken. . king olaf sends for his ships and goods. now when the king came to tunsberg he sent men out to all the districts, and ordered the people out upon a levy. he had but a small provision of shipping, and there were only bondes' vessels to be got. from the districts in the near neighbourhood many people came to him, but few from any distance; and it was soon found that the people had turned away from the king. king olaf sent people to gautland for his ships, and other goods and wares which had been left there in autumn; but the progress of these men was very slow, for it was no better now than in autumn to sail through the sound, as king canute had in spring fitted out an army throughout the whole of the danish dominions, and had no fewer than vessels. . king olaf's counsels. the news came to norway that king canute had assembled an immense armament through all denmark, with which he intended to conquer norway. when this became known the people were less willing to join king olaf, and he got but little aid from the bondes. the king's men often spoke about this among themselves. sigvat tells of it thus:-- "our men are few, our ships are small, while england's king is strong in all; but yet our king is not afraid-- o! never be such king betrayed! 'tis evil counsel to deprive our king of countrymen to strive to save their country, sword in hand: tis money that betrays our land." the king held meetings with the men of the court, and sometimes house-things with all his people, and consulted with them what they should, in their opinion, undertake. "we must not conceal from ourselves," said he, "that canute will come here this summer; and that he has, as ye all know, a large force, and we have at present but few men to oppose to him; and, as matters now stand, we cannot depend much on the fidelity of the country people." the king's men replied to his speech in various ways; but it is said that sigvat the skald replied thus, advising flight, as treachery, not cowardice, was the cause of it:-- "we may well fly, when even our foe offers us money if we go. i may be blamed, accused of fear; but treachery, not faith, rules here. men may retire who long have shown their faith and love, and now alone retire because they cannot save-- this is no treachery in the brave." . harek of thjotta burns grankel and his men. the same spring (a.d. ) it happened in halogaland that harek of thjotta remembered how asmund grankelson had plundered and beaten his house-servants. a cutter with twenty rowing-benches, which belonged to harek, was afloat in front of the house, with tent and deck, and he spread the report that he intended to go south to throndhjem. one evening harek went on board with his house-servants, about eighty men, who rowed the whole night; and he came towards morning to grankel's house, and surrounded it with his men. they then made an attack on the house, and set fire to it; and grankel with his people were burnt, and some were killed outside; and in all about thirty men lost their lives. after this deed harek returned home, and sat quietly in his farm. asmund was with king olaf when he heard of it; therefore there was nobody in halogaland to sue harek for mulct for this deed, nor did he offer any satisfaction. . king canute's expedition to norway. canute the great collected his forces, and went to limfjord. when he was ready with his equipment he sailed from thence with his whole fleet to norway; made all possible speed, and did not land to the eastward of the fjords, but crossed folden, and landed in agder, where he summoned a thing. the bondes came down from the upper country to hold a thing with canute, who was everywhere in that country accepted as king. then he placed men over the districts, and took hostages from the bondes, and no man opposed him. king olaf was in tunsberg when canute's fleet sailed across the mouth of the fjord. canute sailed northwards along the coast, and people came to him from all the districts, and promised him fealty. he lay a while in egersund, where erling skjalgson came to him with many people, and king canute and erling renewed their league of friendship. among other things, canute promised erling the whole country between stad and rygiarbit to rule over. then king canute proceeded; and, to be short in our tale, did not stop until he came to throndhjem, and landed at nidaros. in throndhjem he called together a thing for the eight districts, at which king canute was chosen king of all norway. thorer hund, who had come with king canute from denmark, was there, and also harek of thjotta; and both were made sheriffs of the king, and took the oath of fealty to him. king canute gave them great fiefs, and also right to the lapland trade, and presented them besides with great gifts. he enriched all men who were inclined to enter into friendly accord with him both with fiefs and money, and gave them greater power than they had before. . of king canute. when king canute had laid the whole of norway trader his authority, he called together a numerous thing, both of his own people and of the people of the country; and at it he made proclamation, that he made his relation earl hakon the governor-in-chief of all the land in norway that he had conquered in this expedition. in like manner he led his son hardaknut to the high-seat at his side, gave him the title of king, and therewith the whole danish dominion. king canute took as hostages from all lendermen and great bondes in norway either their sons, brothers, or other near connections, or the men who were dearest to them and appeared to him most suitable; by which he, as before observed, secured their fidelity to him. as soon as earl hakon had attained this power in norway his brother-in-law, einar tambaskelfer, made an agreement with him, and received back all the fiefs he formerly had possessed while the earls ruled the country. king canute gave einar great gifts, and bound him by great kindness to his interests; and promised that einar should be the greatest and most important man in norway, among those who did not hold the highest dignity, as long as he had power over the country. he added to this, that einar appeared to him the most suitable man to hold the highest title of honour in norway if no earls remained, and his son eindride also, on account of his high birth. einar placed a great value on these promises, and, in return, promised the greatest fidelity. einar's chiefship began anew with this. . of thorarin loftunga. there was a man by name thorarin loftunga, an icelander by birth, and a great skald, who had been much with the kings and other great chiefs. he was now with king canute the great, and had composed a flock, or short poem, in his praise. when the king heard of this he was very angry, and ordered him to bring the next day a drapa, or long poem, by the time he went to table; and if he failed to do so, said the king, "he shall be hanged for his impudence in composing such a small poem about king canute." thorarin then composed a stave as a refrain, which he inserted in the poem, and also augmented it with several other strophes or verses. this was the refrain:-- "canute protects his realm, as jove, guardian of greece, his realm above." king canute rewarded him for the poem with fifty marks of silver. the poem was called the "headransom" ("hofudlausn"). thorarin composed another poem about king canute, which was called the "campaign poem" ("togdrapa"); and therein he tells king canute's expedition when he sailed from denmark to norway; and the following are strophes from one of the parts of this poem:-- "canute with all his men is out, under the heavens in war-ships stout,-- 'out on the sea, from limfjord's green, my good, my brave friend's fleet is seen. the men of adger on the coast tremble to see this mighty host: the guilty tremble as they spy the victor's fleet beneath the sky. "the sight surpasses far the tale, as glacing in the sun they sail; the king's ship glittering all with gold, and splendour there not to be told. round lister many a coal-black mast of canute's fleet is gliding past. and now through eger sound they ride, upon the gently heaving tide. "and all the sound is covered o'er with ships and sails, from shore to shore, a mighty king, a mighty host, hiding the sea on eger coast. and peaceful men in haste now hie up hiornagla-hill the fleet to spy, as round the ness where stad now lies each high-stemmed ship in splendour flies. "nor seemed the voyage long, i trow, to warrior on the high-built bow, as o'er the ocean-mountains riding the land and hill seem past him gliding. with whistling breeze and flashing spray past stein the gay ships dashed away; in open sea, the southern gale filled every wide out-bellying sail. "still on they fly, still northward go, till he who conquers every foe, the mighty canute, came to land, far in the north on throndhjem's strand. there this great king of jutland race, whose deeds and gifts surpass in grace all other kings, bestowed the throne of norway on his sister's son. "to his own son he gave the crown (this i must add to his renown) of denmark--land of shadowy vales, in which the white swan trims her sails." here it is told that king canute's expedition was grander than saga can tell; but thorarin sang thus because he would pride himself upon being one of king canute's retinue when he came to norway. . of the messengers sent by king olaf for his ships. the men whom king olaf had sent eastwards to gautland after his ships took with them the vessels they thought the best, and burnt the rest. the ship-apparel and other goods belonging to the king and his men they also took with them; and when they heard that king canute had gone to norway they sailed west through the sound, and then north to viken to king olaf, to whom they delivered his ships. he was then at tunsberg. when king olaf learnt that king canute was sailing north along the coast, king olaf steered with his fleet into oslo fjord, and into a branch of it called drafn, where he lay quiet until king canute's fleet had sailed southwards again. on this expedition which king canute made from the north along the coast, he held a thing in each district, and in every thing the country was bound by oath in fealty to him, and hostages were given him. he went eastward across the mouths of the fjords to sarpsborg, and held a thing there, and, as elsewhere, the country was surrendered to him under oath of fidelity. king canute then returned south to denmark, after having conquered norway without stroke of sword, and he ruled now over three kingdoms. so says halvard hareksblese when he sang of king canute:-- "the warrior-king, whose blood-stain'd shield has shone on many a hard-fought field, england and denmark now has won, and o'er three kingdoms rules alone. peace now he gives us fast and sure, since norway too is made secure by him who oft, in days of yore, glutted the hawk and wolf with gore." . of king olaf in his proceedings. king olaf sailed with his ships out to tunsberg, as soon as he heard that king canute had turned back, and was gone south to denmark. he then made himself ready with the men who liked to follow him, and had then thirteen ships. afterwards he sailed out along viken; but got little money, and few men, as those only followed him who dwelt in islands, or on outlying points of land. the king landed in such places, but got only the money and men that fell in his way; and he soon perceived that the country had abandoned him. he proceeded on according to the winds. this was in the beginning of winter (a.d. ). the wind turned very late in the season in their favour, so that they lay long in the seley islands, where they heard the news from the north, through merchants, who told the king that erling skjalgson had collected a great force in jadar, and that his ship lay fully rigged outside of the land, together with many other vessels belonging to the bondes; namely, skiffs, fisher-yachts, and great row-boats. then the king sailed with his fleet from the east, and lay a while in egersund. both parties heard of each other now, and erling assembled all the men he could. . of king olaf's voyage. on thomasmas, before yule (dec. ), the king left the harbour as soon as day appeared. with a good but rather strong gale he sailed northwards past jadar. the weather was rainy, with dark flying clouds in the sky. the spies went immediately in through the jadar country when the king sailed past it; and as soon as erling heard that the king was sailing past from the east, he let the war-horn call all the people on board, and the whole force hastened to the ships, and prepared for battle. the king's ship passed by jadar at a great rate; but thereafter turned in towards the land, intending to run up the fjords to gather men and money. erling skjalgson perceived this, and sailed after him with a great force and many ships. swiftly their vessels flew, for they had nothing on board but men and arms: but erling's ship went much faster than the others; therefore he took in a reef in the sails, and waited for the other vessels. then the king saw that erling with his fleet gained upon him fast; for the king's ships were heavily laden, and were besides water-soaked, having been in the sea the whole summer, autumn, and winter, up to this time. he saw also that there would be a great want of men, if he should go against the whole of erling's fleet when it was assembled. he hailed from ship to ship the orders to let the sails gently sink, and to unship the booms and outriggers, which was done. when erling saw this he calls out to his people, and orders them to get on more sail. "ye see," says he, "that their sails are diminishing, and they are getting fast away from our sight." he took the reef out of the sails of his ship, and outsailed all the others immediately; for erling was very eager in his pursuit of king olaf. . of erling skjalgson's fall. king olaf then steered in towards the bokn fjord, by which the ships came out of sight of each other. thereafter the king ordered his men to strike the sails, and row forwards through a narrow sound that was there, and all the ships lay collected within a rocky point. then all the king's men put on their weapons. erling sailed in through the sound, and observed nothing until the whole fleet was before him, and he saw the king's men rowing towards him with all their ships at once. erling and his crew let fall the sails, and seized their weapons; but the king's fleet surrounded his ship on all sides. then the fight began, and it was of the sharpest; but soon the greatest loss was among erling's men. erling stood on the quarter-deck of his ship. he had a helmet on his head, a shield before him, and a sword in his hand. sigvat the skald had remained behind in viken, and heard the tidings. he was a great friend of erling, had received presents from him, and had been at his house. sigvat composed a poem upon erling's fall, in which there is the following verse:-- "erling has set his ship on sea-- against the king away is he: he who oft lets the eagle stain her yellow feet in blood of slain. his little war-ship side by side with the king's fleet, the fray will bide. now sword to sword the fight is raging, which erling with the king is waging." then erling's men began to fall, and at the same moment his ship was carried by boarding, and every man of his died in his place. the king himself was amongst the foremost in the fray. so says sigvat:-- "the king's men hewed with hasty sword,-- the king urged on the ship to board,-- all o'er the decks the wounded lay: right fierce and bloody was that fray. in tungur sound, on jadar shore, the decks were slippery with red gore; warm blood was dropping in the sound, where the king's sword was gleaming round." so entirely had erling's men fallen, that not a man remained standing in his ship but himself alone; for there was none who asked for quarter, or none who got it if he did ask. there was no opening for flight, for there lay ships all around erling's ship on every side, and it is told for certain that no man attempted to fly; and sigvat says:-- "all erling's men fell in the fray, off bokn fjord, this hard-fought day. the brave king boarded, onward cheered, and north of tungur the deck was cleared. erling alone, the brave, the stout, cut off from all, yet still held out; high on the stern--a sight to see-- in his lone ship alone stood he." then erling was attacked both from the forecastle and from the other ships. there was a large space upon the poop which stood high above the other ships, and which nobody could reach but by arrow-shot, or partly with the thrust of spear, but which he always struck from him by parrying. erling defended himself so manfully, that no example is known of one man having sustained the attack of so many men so long. yet he never tried to get away, nor asked for quarter. so says sigvat:-- "skjalg's brave son no mercy craves,-- the battle's fury still he braves; the spear-storm, through the air sharp singing, against his shield was ever ringing. so erling stood; but fate had willed his life off bokn should be spilled. no braver man has, since his day, past bokn fjord ta'en his way." when olaf went back a little upon the fore-deck he saw erling's behaviour; and the king accosted him thus:--"thou hast turned against me to-day, erling." he replies, "the eagle turns his claws in defence when torn asunder." sigvat the skald tells thus of these words of erling:-- "erling, our best defence of old,-- erling the brave, the brisk, the bold,-- stood to his arms, gaily crying, 'eagles should show their claws, though dying:' the very words which once before to olaf he had said on shore, at utstein when they both prepared to meet the foe, and danger shared." then said the king, "wilt thou enter into my service, erling?" "that i will," said he; took the helmet off his head, laid down his sword and shield, and went forward to the forecastle deck. the king struck him in the chin with the sharp point of his battle-axe, and said, "i shall mark thee as a traitor to thy sovereign." then aslak fitiaskalle rose up, and struck erling in the head with an axe, so that it stood fast in his brain, and was instantly his death-wound. thus erling lost his life. the king said to aslak, "may all ill luck attend thee for that stroke; for thou hast struck norway out of my hands." aslak replied, "it is bad enough if that stroke displease thee, for i thought it was striking norway into thy hands; and if i have given thee offence, sire, by this stroke, and have thy ill-will for it, it will go badly with me, for i will get so many men's ill-will and enmity for this deed that i would need all your protection and favour." the king replied that he should have it. thereafter the king ordered every man to return to his ship, and to get ready to depart as fast as he could. "we will not plunder the slain," says he, "and each man may keep what he has taken." the men returned to the ships and prepared themselves for the departure as quickly as possible; and scarcely was this done before the vessels of the bondes ran in from the south into the sound. it went with the bonde-army as is often seen, that the men, although many in numbers, know not what to do when they have experienced a check, have lost their chief, and are without leaders. none of erling's sons were there, and the bondes therefore made no attack, and the king sailed on his way northwards. but the bondes took erling's corpse, adorned it, and carried it with them home to sole, and also the bodies of all who had fallen. there was great lamentation over erling; and it has been a common observation among people, that erling skjalgson was the greatest and worthiest man in norway of those who had no high title. sigvat made these verses upon the occasion:-- "thus erling fell--and such a gain to buy with such a loss was vain; for better man than he ne'er died, and the king's gain was small beside. in truth no man i ever knew was, in all ways, so firm and true; free from servility and pride, honoured by all, yet thus he died." sigvat also says that aslak had very unthinkingly committed this murder of his own kinsman:-- "norway's brave defender's dead! aslak has heaped on his own head the guilt of murdering his own kin: may few be guilty of such sin! his kinsman's murder on him lies-- our forefathers, in sayings wise, have said, what is unknown to few, 'kinsmen to kinsmen should be true.'" . of the insurrection of agder district. of erling's sons some at that time were north in throndhjem, some in hordaland, and some in the fjord district, for the purpose of collecting men. when erling's death was reported, the news came also that there was a levy raising in agder, hordaland, and rogaland. forces were raised and a great army assembled, under erling's sons, to pursue king olaf. when king olaf retired from the battle with erling he went northward through the sounds, and it was late in the day. it is related that the king then made the following verses:-- "this night, with battle sounds wild ringing, small joy to the fair youth is bringing who sits in jadar, little dreaming o'er what this night the raven's screaming. the far-descended erling's life too soon has fallen; but, in the strife he met the luck they well deserve who from their faith and fealty swerve." afterwards the king sailed with his fleet along the land northwards, and got certain tidings of the bondes assembling an army. there were many chiefs and lendermen at this time with king olaf, and all the sons of arne. of this bjarne gullbrarskald speaks in the poem he composed about kalf arnason:-- "kalf! thou hast fought at bokn well; of thy brave doings all men tell: when harald's son his men urged on to the hard strife, thy courage shone. thou soon hadst made a good yule feast for greedy wolf there in the east: where stone and spear were flying round, there thou wast still the foremost found. the people suffered in the strife when noble erling lost his life, and north of utstein many a speck of blood lay black upon the deck. the king, 'tis clear, has been deceived, by treason of his land bereaved; and agder now, whose force is great. will rule o'er all parts of the state." king olaf continued his voyage until he came north of stad, and brought up at the herey isles. here he heard the news that earl hakon had a great war-force in throndhjem, and thereupon the king held a council with his people. kalf arnason urged much to advance to throndhjem, and fight earl hakon, notwithstanding the difference of numbers. many others supported this advice, but others dissuaded from it, and the matter was left to the king's judgment. . death of aslak fitiaskalle. afterwards the king went into steinavag, and remained there all night; but aslak fitiaskalle ran into borgund, where he remained the night, and where vigleik arnason was before him. in the morning, when aslak was about returning on board, vigleik assaulted him, and sought to avenge erling's murder. aslak fell there. some of the king's court-men, who had been home all summer, joined the king here. they came from frekeysund, and brought the king tidings that earl hakon, and many lendermen with him, had come in the morning to frekeysund with a large force; "and they will end thy days, sire, if they have strength enough." now the king sent his men up to a hill that was near; and when they came to the top, and looked northwards to bjarney island, they perceived that a great armament of many ships was coming from the north, and they hastened back to the king with this intelligence. the king, who was lying there with only twelve ships, ordered the war-horn to sound, the tents to be taken down on his ships, and they took to their oars. when they were quite ready, and were leaving the harbour, the bonde army sailed north around thiotande with twenty-five ships. the king then steered inside of nyrfe island, and inside of hundsver. now when king olaf came right abreast of borgund, the ship which aslak had steered came out to meet him, and when they found the king they told him the tidings,--that vigleik arnason had killed aslak fitiaskalle, because he had killed erling skjalgson. the king took this news very angrily, but could not delay his voyage on account of the enemy and he sailed in by vegsund and skor. there some of his people left him; among others, kalf arnason, with many other lendermen and ship commanders, who all went to meet earl hakon. king olaf, however, proceeded on his way without stopping until he came to todar fjord, where he brought up at valdal, and landed from his ship. he had then five ships with him, which he drew up upon the shore, and took care of their sails and materials. then he set up his land-tent upon a point of land called sult, where there are pretty flat fields, and set up a cross near to the point of land. a bonde, by name bruse, who dwelt there in more, and was chief over the valley, came down to king olaf, together with many other bondes, and received him well, and according to his dignity; and he was friendly, and pleased with their reception of him. then the king asked if there was a passable road up in the country from the valley to lesjar; and bruse replied, that there was an urd in the valley called skerfsurd not passable for man or beast. king olaf answers, "that we must try, bonde, and it will go as god pleases. come here in the morning with your yoke, and come yourself with it, and let us then see. when we come to the sloping precipice, what chance there may be, and if we cannot devise some means of coming over it with horses and people." . clearing of the urd. now when day broke the bondes drove down with their yokes, as the king had told them. the clothes and weapons were packed upon horses, but the king and all the people went on foot. he went thus until he came to a place called krosbrekka, and when he came up upon the hill he rested himself, sat down there a while, looked down over the fjord, and said, "a difficult expedition ye have thrown upon my hands, ye lendermen, who have now changed your fealty, although but a little while ago ye were my friends and faithful to me." there are now two crosses erected upon the bank on which the king sat. then the king mounted a horse, and rode without stopping up the valley, until he came to the precipice. then the king asked bruse if there was no summer hut of cattle-herds in the neighbourhood, where they could remain. he said there was. the king ordered his land-tent to be set up, and remained there all night. in the morning the king ordered them to drive to the urd, and try if they could get across it with the waggons. they drove there, and the king remained in the meantime in his tent. towards evening the king's court-men and the bondes came back, and told how they had had a very fatiguing labour, without making any progress, and that there never could be a road made that they could get across: so they continued there the second night, during which, for the whole night, the king was occupied in prayer. as soon as he observed day dawning he ordered his men to drive again to the urd, and try once more if they could get across it with the waggons; but they went very unwillingly, saying nothing could be gained by it. when they were gone the man who had charge of the king's kitchen came, and said there were only two carcasses of young cattle remaining of provision: "although you, sire, have men, and there are bondes besides." then the king ordered that he should set all the kettles on the fire, and put a little bit of meat in each kettle, which was done. then the king went there, and made the sign of the cross over each kettle, and told them to make ready the meat. the king then went to the urd called skerfsurd, where a road should be cleared. when the king came all his people were sitting down, quite worn out with the hard labour. bruse said, "i told you, sire, but you would not believe me, that we could make nothing of this urd." the king laid aside his cloak, and told them to go to work once more at the urd. they did so, and now twenty men could handle stones which before men could not move from the place; and thus before midday the road was cleared so well that it was as passable for men, and for horses with packs, as a road in the plain fields. the king, after this, went down again to where the meat was, which place is called olaf's rock. near the rock is a spring, at which olaf washed himself; and therefore at the present day, when the cattle in the valley are sick, their illness is made better by their drinking at this well. thereafter the king sat down to table with all the others; and when he was satisfied he asked if there was any other sheeling on the other side of the urd, and near the mountains, where they could pass the night. bruse said there was such a sheeling, called groningar; but that nobody could pass the night there on account of witchcraft, and evil beings who were in the sheeling. then the king said they must get ready for their journey, as he wanted to be at the sheeling for the night. then came the kitchen-master to the king, and tells that there was come an extraordinary supply of provisions, and he did not know where it had come from, or how. the king thanked god for this blessing, and gave the bondes who drove down again to their valley some rations of food, but remained himself all night in the sheeling. in the middle of the night, while the people were asleep, there was heard in the cattle-fold a dreadful cry, and these words: "now olaf's prayers are burning me," says the spirit, "so that i can no longer be in my habitation; now must i fly, and never more come to this fold." when the king's people awoke in the morning the king proceeded to the mountains, and said to bruse, "here shall now a farm be settled, and the bonde who dwells here shall never want what is needful for the support of life; and never shall his crop be destroyed by frost, although the crops be frozen on the farms both above it and below it." then the king proceeded over the mountains, and came to a farm called einby, where he remained for the night. king olaf had then been fifteen years king of norway (a.d. - ), including the year both he and svein were in the country, and this year we have now been telling about. it was, namely, a little past yule when the king left his ships and took to the land, as before related. of this portion of his reign the priest are thorgilson the wise was the first who wrote; and he was both faithful in his story, of a good memory, and so old a man that he could remember the men, and had heard their accounts, who were so old that through their age they could remember these circumstances as he himself wrote them in his books, and he named the men from whom he received his information. otherwise it is generally said that king olaf had been fifteen years king of norway when he fell; but they who say so reckon to earl svein's government, the last year he was in the country, for king olaf lived fifteen years afterwards as king. . olaf's prophecies. when the king had been one night at lesjar he proceeded on his journey with his men, day by day; first into gudbrandsdal, and from thence out to redemark. now it was seen who had been his friends, for they followed him; but those who had served him with less fidelity separated from him, and some showed him even indifference, or even full hostility, which afterwards was apparent; and also it could be seen clearly in many upland people that they took very ill his putting thorer to death, as before related. king olaf gave leave to return home to many of his men who had farms and children to take care of; for it seemed to them uncertain what safety there might be for the families and property of those who left the country with him. then the king explained to his friends his intention of leaving the country, and going first east into svithjod, and there taking his determination as to where he should go; but he let his friends know his intention to return to the country, and regain his kingdoms, if god should grant him longer life; and he did not conceal his expectation that the people of norway would again return to their fealty to him. "i think," says he, "that earl hakon will have norway but a short time under his power, which many will not think an extraordinary expectation, as earl hakon has had but little luck against me; but probably few people will trust to my prophecy, that canute the great will in the course of a few years die, and his kingdoms vanish; and there will he no risings in favour of his race." when the king had ended his speech, his men prepared themselves for their departure. the king, with the troop that followed him, turned east to eid forest. and there were along with him the queen astrid; their daughter ulfhild; magnus, king olaf's son; ragnvald brusason; the three sons of arne, thorberg, fin, and arne, with many lendermen; and the king's attendants consisted of many chosen men. bjorn the marshal got leave to go home, and he went to his farm, and many others of the king's friends returned home with his permission to their farms. the king begged them to let him know the events which might happen in the country, and which it might be important for him to know; and now the king proceeded on his way. . king olaf proceeds to russia. it is to be related of king olaf's journey, that he went first from norway eastward through eid forest to vermaland, then to vatnsby, and through the forests in which there are roads, until he came out in nerike district. there dwelt a rich and powerful man in that part called sigtryg, who had a son, ivar, who afterwards became a distinguished person. olaf stayed with sigtryg all spring (a.d. ); and when summer came he made ready for a journey, procured a ship for himself, and without stopping went on to russia to king jarisleif and his queen ingegerd; but his own queen astrid, and their daughter ulfhild, remained behind in svithjod, and the king took his son magnus eastward with him. king jarisleif received king olaf in the kindest manner, and made him the offer to remain with him, and to have so much land as was necessary for defraying the expense of the entertainment of his followers. king olaf accepted this offer thankfully, and remained there. it is related that king olaf was distinguished all his life for pious habits, and zeal in his prayers to god. but afterwards, when he saw his own power diminished, and that of his adversaries augmented, he turned all his mind to god's service; for he was not distracted by other thoughts, or by the labour he formerly had upon his hands, for during all the time he sat upon the throne he was endeavouring to promote what was most useful: and first to free and protect the country from foreign chiefs' oppressions, then to convert the people to the right faith; and also to establish law and the rights of the country, which he did by letting justice have its way, and punishing evil-doers. . causes of the revolt against king olaf. it had been an old custom in norway that the sons of lendermen, or other great men, went out in war-ships to gather property, and they marauded both in the country and out of the country. but after king olaf came to the sovereignty he protected the country, so that he abolished all plundering there; and even if they were the sons of powerful men who committed any depredation, or did what the king considered against law, he did not spare them at all, but they must suffer in life or limbs; and no man's entreaties, and no offer of money-penalties, could help them. so says sigvat:-- "they who on viking cruises drove with gifts of red gold often strove to buy their safety--but our chief had no compassion for the thief. he made the bravest lose his head who robbed at sea, and pirates led; and his just sword gave peace to all, sparing no robber, great or small." and he also says:-- "great king! whose sword on many a field food to the wandering wolf did yield, and then the thief and pirate band swept wholly off by sea and land-- good king! who for the people's sake set hands and feet upon a stake, when plunderers of great name and bold harried the country as of old. the country's guardian showed his might when oft he made his just sword bite through many a viking's neck and hair, and never would the guilty spare. king magnus' father, i must say, did many a good deed in his day. olaf the thick was stern and stout, much good his victories brought out." he punished great and small with equal severity, which appeared to the chief people of the country too severe; and animosity rose to the highest when they lost relatives by the king's just sentence, although they were in reality guilty. this was the origin of the hostility of the great men of the country to king olaf, that they could not bear his just judgments. he again would rather renounce his dignity than omit righteous judgment. the accusation against him, of being stingy with his money, was not just, for he was a most generous man towards his friends; but that alone was the cause of the discontent raised against him, that he appeared hard and severe in his retributions. besides, king canute offered great sums of money, and the great chiefs were corrupted by this, and by his offering them greater dignities than they had possessed before. the inclinations of the people, also, were all in favour of earl hakon, who was much beloved by the country folks when he ruled the country before. . of jokul bardson. earl hakon had sailed with his fleet from throndhjem, and gone south to more against king olaf, as before related. now when the king bore away, and ran into the fjord, the earl followed him thither; and then kalf arnason came to meet him, with many of the men who had deserted king olaf. kalf was well received. the earl steered in through todar fjord to valdal, where the king had laid up his ships on the strand. he took the ships which belonged to the king, had them put upon the water and rigged, and cast lots, and put commanders in charge of them according to the lots. there was a man called jokul, who was an icelander, a son of bard jokulson of vatnsdal; the lot fell upon jokul to command the bison, which king olaf himself had commanded. jokul made these verses upon it:-- "mine is the lot to take the helm which olaf owned, who owned the realm; from sult king olaf's ship to steer (ill luck i dread on his reindeer). my girl will never hear the tidings, till o'er the wild wave i come riding in olaf's ship, who loved his gold, and lost his ships with wealth untold." we may here shortly tell what happened a long time after.--that this jokul fell in with king olaf's men in the island of gotland, and the king ordered him to be taken out to be beheaded. a willow twig accordingly was plaited in with his hair, and a man held him fast by it. jokul sat down upon a bank, and a man swung the axe to execute him; but jokul hearing the sound, raised his head, and the blow struck him in the head, and made a dreadful wound. as the king saw it would be his death-wound, he ordered them to let him lie with it. jokul raised himself up, and he sang:-- "my hard fate i mourn,-- alas! my wounds burn, my red wounds are gaping, my life-blood escaping. my wounds burn sore; but i suffer still more from the king's angry word, than his sharp-biting sword." . of kalf arnason. kalf arnason went with earl hakon north to throndhjem, and the earl invited him to enter into his service. kalf said he would first go home to his farm at eggja, and afterwards make his determination; and kalf did so. when he came home he found his wife sigrid much irritated; and she reckoned up all the sorrow inflicted on her, as she insisted, by king olaf. first, he had ordered her first husband olver to be killed. "and now since," says she, "my two sons; and thou thyself, kalf, wert present when they were cut off, and which i little expected from thee." kalf says, it was much against his will that thorer was killed. "i offered money-penalty for him," says he; "and when grjotgard was killed i lost my brother arnbjorn at the same time." she replies, "it is well thou hast suffered this from the king; for thou mayest perhaps avenge him, although thou wilt not avenge my injuries. thou sawest how thy foster-son thorer was killed, with all the regard of the king for thee." she frequently brought out such vexatious speeches to kalf, to which he often answered angrily; but yet he allowed himself to be persuaded by her to enter into the earl's service, on condition of renewing his fiefs to him. sigrid sent word to the earl how far she had brought the matter with kalf. as soon as the earl heard of it, he sent a message to kalf that he should come to the town to him. kalf did not decline the invitation, but came directly to nidaros, and waited on the earl, who received him kindly. in their conversation it was fully agreed upon that kalf should go into the earl's service, and should receive great fiefs. after this kalf returned home, and had the greater part of the interior of the throndhjem country under him. as soon as it was spring kalf rigged out a ship that belonged to him, and when she was ready he put to sea, and sailed west to england; for he had heard that in spring king canute was to sail from denmark to england, and that king canute had given harald, a son of thorkel the high, an earldom in denmark. kalf arnason went to king canute as soon as he arrived in england. bjarne gullbrarskald tells of this:-- "king olaf eastward o'er the sea to russia's monarch had to flee; our harald's brother ploughed the main, and furrowed white its dark-blue plain. whilst thou--the truth i still will say, nor fear nor favour can me sway-- thou to king canute hastened fast, as soon as olaf's luck was past." now when kalf came to king canute the king received him particularly well, and had many conversations with him. among other things, king canute, in a conference, asked kalf to bind himself to raise a warfare against king olaf, if ever he should return to the country. "and for which," says the king, "i will give thee the earldom, and place thee to rule over norway; and my relation hakon shall come to me, which will suit him better, for he is so honourable and trustworthy that i believe he would not even throw a spear against the person of king olaf if he came back to the country." kalf lent his ear to what the king proposed, for he had a great desire to attain this high dignity; and this conclusion was settled upon between king canute and kalf. kalf then prepared to return home, and on his departure he received splendid presents from king canute. bjarne the skald tells of these circumstances:-- "sprung from old earls!--to england's lord thou owest many a thankful word for many a gift: if all be true, thy interest has been kept in view; for when thy course was bent for home, (although that luck is not yet come,) 'that norway should be thine,' 'tis said, the london king a promise made." kalf thereafter returned to norway, and came to his farm. . of the death of earl hakon. earl hakon left the country this summer (a.d. ), and went to england, and when he came there was well received by the king. the earl had a bride in england, and he travelled to conclude this marriage, and as he intended holding his wedding in norway, he came to procure those things for it in england which it was difficult to get in norway. in autumn he made ready for his return, but it was somewhat late before he was clear for sea; but at last he set out. of his voyage all that can be told is, that the vessel was lost, and not a man escaped. some relate that the vessel was seen north of caithness in the evening in a heavy storm, and the wind blowing out of pentland firth. they who believe this report say the vessel drove out among the breakers of the ocean; but with certainty people knew only that earl hakon was missing in the ocean, and nothing belonging to the ship ever came to land. the same autumn some merchants came to norway, who told the tidings that were going through the country of earl hakon being missing; and all men knew that he neither came to norway nor to england that autumn, so that norway that winter was without a head. . of bjorn the marshal. bjorn the marshal sat at home on his farm after his parting from king olaf. bjorn was a celebrated man; therefore it was soon reported far and wide that he had set himself down in quietness. earl hakon and the other chiefs of the country heard this also, and sent persons with a verbal message to bjorn. when the messengers arrived bjorn received them well; and afterwards bjorn called them to him to a conference, and asked their business. he who was their foreman presented to bjorn the salutations of king canute, earl hakon, and of several chiefs. "king canute," says he, "has heard much of thee, and that thou hast been long a follower of king olaf the thick, and hast been a great enemy of king canute; and this he thinks not right, for he will be thy friend, and the friend of all worthy men, if thou wilt turn from thy friendship to king olaf and become his enemy. and the only thing now thou canst do is to seek friendship and protection there where it is most readily to be found, and which all men in this northern world think it most honourable to be favoured with. ye who have followed olaf the thick should consider how he is now separated from you; and that now ye have no aid against king canute and his men, whose lands ye plundered last summer, and whose friends ye murdered. therefore ye ought to accept, with thanks, the friendship which the king offers you; and it would become you better if you offered money even in mulct to obtain it." when he had ended his speech bjorn replies, "i wish now to sit quietly at home, and not to enter into the service of any chief." the messenger answers, "such men as thou art are just the right men to serve the king; and now i can tell thee there are just two things for thee to choose,--either to depart in peace from thy property, and wander about as thy comrade olaf is doing; or, which is evidently better, to accept king canute's and earl hakon's friendship, become their man, and take the oaths of fealty to them. receive now thy reward." and he displayed to him a large bag full of english money. bjorn was a man fond of money, and self-interested; and when he saw the silver he was silent, and reflected with himself what resolution he should take. it seemed to him much to abandon his property, as he did not think it probable that king olaf would ever have a rising in his favour in norway. now when the messenger saw that bjorn's inclinations were turned towards the money, he threw down two thick gold rings, and said, "take the money at once, bjorn, and swear the oaths to king canute; for i can promise thee that this money is but a trifle, compared to what thou wilt receive if thou followest king canute." by the heap of money, the fine promises, and the great presents, he was led by covetousness, took the money, went into king canute's service, and gave the oaths of fealty to king canute and earl hakon, and then the messengers departed. . bjorn the marshal's journey. when bjorn heard the tidings that earl hakon was missing he soon altered his mind, and was much vexed with himself for having been a traitor in his fidelity to king olaf. he thought, now, that he was freed from the oath by which he had bound himself to earl hakon. it seemed to bjorn that now there was some hope that king olaf might again come to the throne of norway if he came back, as the country was without a head. bjorn therefore immediately made himself ready to travel, and took some men with him. he then set out on his journey, travelling night and day, on horseback when he could, and by ship when he found occasion; and never halted until he came, after yule, east to russia to king olaf, who was very glad to see bjorn. then the king inquired much about the news from norway. bjorn tells him that earl hakon was missing, and the kingdom left without a head. at this news the men who had followed king olaf were very glad,--all who had left property, connections, and friends in norway; and the longing for home was awakened in them. bjorn told king olaf much news from norway, and very anxious the king was to know, and asked much how his friends had kept their fidelity towards him. bjorn answered, it had gone differently with different people. then bjorn stood up, fell at the king's feet, held his foot, and said, "all is in your power, sire, and in god's! i have taken money from king canute's men, and sworn them the oaths of fealty; but now will i follow thee, and not part from thee so long as we both live." the king replies, "stand up, bjorn' thou shalt be reconciled with me; but reconcile thy perjury with god. i can see that but few men in norway have held fast by their fealty, when such men as thou art could be false to me. but true it is also that people sit in great danger when i am distant, and they are exposed to the wrath of my enemies." bjorn then reckoned up those who had principally bound themselves to rise in hostility against the king and his men; and named, among others, erling's son in jadar and their connections, einar tambaskelfer, kalf arnason, thorer hund, and harek of thjotta. . of king olaf. after king olaf came to russia he was very thoughtful, and weighed what counsel he now should follow. king jarisleif and queen ingegerd offered him to remain with them, and receive a kingdom called vulgaria, which is a part of russia, and in which land the people were still heathen. king olaf thought over this offer; but when he proposed it to his men they dissuaded him from settling himself there, and urged the king to betake himself to norway to his own kingdom: but the king himself had resolved almost in his own mind to lay down his royal dignity, to go out into the world to jerusalem, or other holy places, and to enter into some order of monks. but yet the thought lay deep in his soul to recover again, if there should be any opportunity for him, his kingdom in norway. when he thought over this, it recurred to his mind how all things had gone prosperously with him during the first ten years of his reign, and how afterwards every thing he undertook became heavy, difficult, and hard; and that he had been unlucky, on all occasions in which he had tried his luck. on this account he doubted if it would be prudent to depend so much upon his luck, as to go with so little strength into the hands of his enemies, seeing that all the people of the country had taken part with them to oppose king olaf. such cares he had often on his mind, and he left his cause to god, praying that he would do what to him seemed best. these thoughts he turned over in his mind, and knew not what to resolve upon; for he saw how evidently dangerous that was which his inclination was most bent upon. . of king olaf's dream. one night the king lay awake in his bed, thinking with great anxiety about his determination, and at last, being tired of thinking, sleep came over him towards morning; but his sleep was so light that he thought he was awake, and could see all that was doing in the house. then he saw a great and superb man, in splendid clothes, standing by his bed; and it came into the king's mind that this was king olaf trygvason who had come to him. this man said to him, "thou are very sick of thinking about thy future resolutions; and it appears to me wonderful that these thoughts should be so tumultuous in thy soul that thou shouldst even think of laying down the kingly dignity which god hath given thee, and of remaining here and accepting of a kingdom from foreign and unknown kings. go back rather to that kingdom which thou hast received in heritage, and rule over it with the strength which god hath given thee, and let not thy inferiors take it from thee. it is the glory of a king to be victorious over his enemies, and it is a glorious death to die in battle. or art thou doubtful if thou hast right on thy side in the strife with thine enemies? thou must have no doubts, and must not conceal the truth from thyself. thou must go back to thy country, and god will give open testimony that the kingdom is thine by property." when the king awoke he thought he saw the man's shoulders going out. from this time the king's courage rose, and he fixed firmly his resolution to return to norway; to which his inclination also tended most, and which he also found was the desire of all his men. he bethought himself also that the country being without a chief could be easily attacked, from what he had heard, and that after he came himself many would turn back towards him. when the king told his determination to his people they all gave it their approbation joyfully. . of king olaf's healing powers. it is related that once upon a time, while king olaf was in russia, it happened that the son of an honest widow had a sore boil upon his neck, of which the lad lay very ill; and as he could not swallow any food, there was little hope of his life. the boy's mother went to queen ingegerd, with whom she was acquainted, and showed her the lad. the queen said she knew no remedy for it. "go," said she, "to king olaf, he is the best physician here; and beg him to lay his hands on thy lad, and bring him my words if he will not otherwise do it." she did as the queen told her; and when she found the king she says to him that her son is dangerously ill of a boil in his neck, and begs him to lay his hand on the boil. the king tells her he is not a physician, and bids her go to where there were physicians. she replies, that the queen had told her to come to him; "and told me to add the request from her, that you would would use the remedy you understood, and she said that thou art the best physician here in the town." then the king took the lad, laid his hands upon his neck, and felt the boil for a long time, until the boy made a very wry face. then the king took a piece of bread, laid it in the figure of the cross upon the palm of his hand, and put it into the boy's mouth. he swallowed it down, and from that time all the soreness left his neck, and in a few days he was quite well, to the great joy of his mother and all his relations. then first came olaf into the repute of having as much healing power in his hands as is ascribed to men who have been gifted by nature with healing by the touch; and afterwards when his miracles were universally acknowledged, this also was considered one of his miracles. . king olaf burns the wood shavings on his hand for his sabbath breach. it happened one sunday that the king sat in his highseat at the dinner table, and had fallen into such deep thought that he did not observe how time went. in one hand he had a knife, and in the other a piece of fir-wood from which he cut splinters from time to time. the table-servant stood before him with a bowl in his hands; and seeing what the king was about, and that he was involved in thought, he said, "it is monday, sire, to-morrow." the king looked at him when he heard this, and then it came into his mind what he was doing on the sunday. then the king ordered a lighted candle to be brought him, swept together all the shavings he had made, set them on fire, and let them burn upon his naked hand; showing thereby that he would hold fast by god's law and commandment, and not trespass without punishment on what he knew to be right. . of king olaf. when king olaf had resolved on his return home, he made known his intention to king jarisleif and queen ingegerd. they dissuaded him from this expedition, and said he should receive as much power in their dominions as he thought desirable; but begged him not to put himself within the reach of his enemies with so few men as he had. then king olaf told them of his dream; adding, that he believed it to be god's will and providence that it should be so. now when they found he was determined on travelling to norway, they offered him all the assistance to his journey that he would accept from them. the king thanked them in many fine words for their good will; and said that he accepted from them, with no ordinary pleasure, what might be necessary for his undertaking. . of king olaf's journey from russia. immediately after yule (a.d. ), king olaf made himself ready; and had about of his men with him. king jarisleif gave him all the horses, and whatever else he required; and when he was ready he set off. king jarisleif and queen ingegerd parted from him with all honour; and he left his son magnus behind with the king. the first part of his journey, down to the sea-coast, king olaf and his men made on the ice; but as spring approached, and the ice broke up, they rigged their vessels, and when they were ready and got a wind they set out to sea, and had a good voyage. when olaf came to the island of gotland with his ships he heard the news--which was told as truth, both in svithjod, denmark, and over all norway--that earl hakon was missing, and norway without a head. this gave the king and his men good hope of the issue of their journey. from thence they sailed, when the wind suited, to svithjod, and went into the maelar lake, to aros, and sent men to the swedish king onund appointing a meeting. king onund received his brother-in-law's message in the kindest manner, and went to him according to his invitation. astrid also came to king olaf, with the men who had attended her; and great was the joy on all sides at this meeting. the swedish king also received his brother-in-law king olaf with great joy when they met. . of the lendermen in norway. now we must relate what, in the meantime, was going on in norway. thorer hund, in these two winters (a.d. - ), had made a lapland journey, and each winter had been a long time on the mountains, and had gathered to himself great wealth by trading in various wares with the laplanders. he had twelve large coats of reindeer-skin made for him, with so much lapland witchcraft that no weapon could cut or pierce them any more than if they were armour of ring-mail, nor so much. the spring thereafter thorer rigged a long-ship which belonged to him, and manned it with his house-servants. he summoned the bondes, demanded a levy from the most northern thing district, collected in this way a great many people, and proceeded with this force southwards. harek of thjotta had also collected a great number of people; and in this expedition many people of consequence took a part, although these two were the most distinguished. they made it known publicly that with this war-force they were going against king olaf, to defend the country against him, in case he should come from the eastward. . of einar tambaskelfer. einar tambaskelfer had most influence in the outer part of the throndhjem country after earl hakon's death was no longer doubtful; for he and his son eindride appeared to be the nearest heirs to the movable property the earl had possessed. then einar remembered the promises and offers of friendship which king canute had made him at parting; and he ordered a good vessel which belonged to him to be got ready, and embarked with a great retinue, and when he was ready sailed southwards along the coast, then set out to sea westwards, and sailed without stopping until he came to england. he immediately waited on king canute, who received him well and joyfully. then einar opened his business to the king, and said he was come there to see the fulfillment of the promises the king had made him; namely, that he, einar, should have the highest title of honour in norway if earl hakon were no more. king canute replies, that now the circumstances were altered. "i have now," said he, "sent men and tokens to my son svein in denmark, and promised him the kingdom of norway; but thou shalt retain my friendship, and get the dignity and title which thou art entitled by birth to hold. thou shalt be lenderman with great fiefs, and be so much more raised above other lendermen as thou art more able than they." einar saw sufficiently how matters stood with regard to his business, and got ready to return home; but as he now knew the king's intentions, and thought it probable if king olaf came from the east the country would not be very peaceable, it came into his mind that it would be better to proceed slowly, and not to be hastening his voyage, in order to fight against king olaf, without his being advanced by it to any higher dignity than he had before. einar accordingly went to sea when he was ready; but only came to norway after the events were ended which took place there during that summer. . of the chief people in norway. the chiefs in norway had their spies east in svithjod, and south in denmark, to find out if king olaf had come from russia. as soon as these men could get across the country, they heard the news that king olaf was arrived in svithjod; and as soon as full certainty of this was obtained, the war message-token went round the land. the whole people were called out to a levy, and a great army was collected. the lendermen who were from agder, rogaland, and hordaland, divided themselves, so that some went towards the north, and some towards the east; for they thought they required people on both sides. erling's sons from jadar went eastward, with all the men who lived east of them, and over whom they were chiefs; aslak of finey, and erlend of gerde, with the lendermen north of them, went towards the north. all those now named had sworn an oath to king canute to deprive olaf of life, if opportunity should offer. . of harald sigurdson's proceedings. now when it was reported in norway that king olaf was come from the east to svithjod, his friends gathered together to give him aid. the most distinguished man in this flock was harald sigurdson, a brother of king olaf, who then was fifteen years of age, very stout, and manly of growth as if he were full-grown. many other brave men were there also; and there were in all men when they proceeded from the uplands, and went eastward with their force through eid forest to vermaland. from thence they went eastward through the forests to svithjod and made inquiry about king olaf's proceedings. . of king olaf's proceedings in svithjod. king olaf was in svithjod in spring (a.d. ), and had sent spies from thence to norway. all accounts from that quarter agreed that there was no safety for him if he went there, and the people who came from the north dissuaded him much from penetrating into the country. but he had firmly resolved within himself, as before stated, to go into norway; and he asked king onund what strength king onund would give him to conquer his kingdom. king onund replied, that the swedes were little inclined to make an expedition against norway. "we know," says he, "that the northmen are rough and warlike, and it is dangerous to carry hostility to their doors, but i will not be slow in telling thee what aid i can give. i will give thee chosen men from my court-men, active and warlike, and well equipt for battle; and moreover will give thee leave to go through my country, and gather to thyself as many men as thou canst get to follow thee." king olaf accepted this offer, and got ready for his march. queen astrid, and ulfhild the king's daughter, remained behind in svithjod. . king olaf advances to jarnberaland. just as king olaf began his journey the men came to him whom the swedish king had given, in all men, and the king took the road the swedes showed him. he advanced upwards in the country to the forests, and came to a district called jarnberaland. here the people joined him who had come out of norway to meet him, as before related; and he met here his brother harald, and many other of his relations, and it was a joyful meeting. they made out together men. . of dag hringson. there was a man called dag, who is said to have been a son of king hring, who fled the country from king olaf. this hring, it is said further, had been a son of dag, and grandson of hring, harald harfager's son. thus was dag king olaf's relative. both hring the father, and dag the son, had settled themselves in svithjod, and got land to rule over. in spring, when olaf came from the east to svithjod, he sent a message to his relation dag, that he should join him in this expedition with all the force he could collect; and if they gained the country of norway again, dag should have no smaller part of the kingdom under him than his forefathers had enjoyed. when this message came to dag it suited his inclination well, for he had a great desire to go to norway and get the dominion his family had ruled over. he was not slow, therefore, to reply, and promised to come. dag was a quick-speaking, quick-resolving man, mixing himself up in everything; eager, but of little understanding. he collected a force of almost men, with which he joined king olaf. . of king olaf's journey. king olaf sent a message before him to all the inhabited places he passed through, that the men who wished to get goods and money, and share of booty, and the lands besides which now were in the hands of his enemies, should come to him, and follow him. thereafter king olaf led his army through forests, often over desert moors, and often over large lakes; and they dragged, or carried the boats, from lake to lake. on the way a great many followers joined the king, partly forest settlers, partly vagabonds. the places at which he halted for the night are since called olaf's booths. he proceeded without any break upon his journey until he came to jamtaland, from which he marched north over the keel or ridge of the land. the men spread themselves over the hamlets, and proceeded, much scattered, so long as no enemy was expected; but always, when so dispersed, the northmen accompanied the king. dag proceeded with his men on another line of march, and the swedes on a third with their troop. . of vagabond-men. there were two men, the one called gauka-thorer, the other afrafaste, who were vagabonds and great robbers, and had a company of thirty men such as themselves. these two men were larger and stronger than other men, and they wanted neither courage nor impudence. these men heard speak of the army that was crossing the country, and said among themselves it would be a clever counsel to go to the king, follow him to his country, and go with him into a regular battle, and try themselves in this work; for they had never been in any battle in which people were regularly drawn up in line, and they were curious to see the king's order of battle. this counsel was approved of by their comrades, and accordingly they went to the road on which king olaf was to pass. when they came there they presented themselves to the king, with their followers, fully armed. they saluted him, and he asked what people they were. they told their names, and said they were natives of the place; and told their errand, and that they wished to go with the king. the king said, it appeared to him there was good help in such folks. "and i have a great inclination," said he, "to take such; but are ye christian men?" gauka-thorer replies, that he is neither christian nor heathen. "i and my comrades have no faith but on ourselves, our strength, and the luck of victory; and with this faith we slip through sufficiently well." the king replies, "a great pity it is that such brave slaughtering fellows did not believe in christ their creator." thorer replies, "is there any christian man, king, in thy following, who stands so high in the air as we two brothers?" the king told them to let themselves be baptized, and to accept the true faith. "follow me then, and i will advance you to great dignities; but if ye will not do so, return to your former vocation." afrafaste said he would not take on christianity, and he turned away. then said gauka-thorer, "it is a great shame that the king drives us thus away from his army, and i never before came where i was not received into the company of other people, and i shall never return back on this account." they joined accordingly the rear with other forest-men, and followed the troops. thereafter the king proceeded west up to the keel-ridge of the country. . of king olaf's vision. now when king olaf, coming from the east, went over the keel-ridge and descended on the west side of the mountain, where it declines towards the sea, he could see from thence far over the country. many people rode before the king and many after, and he himself rode so that there was a free space around him. he was silent, and nobody spoke to him, and thus he rode a great part of the day without looking much about him. then the bishop rode up to him, asked him why he was so silent, and what he was thinking of; for, in general, he was very cheerful, and very talkative on a journey to his men, so that all who were near him were merry. the king replied, full of thought, "wonderful things have come into my mind a while ago. as i just now looked over norway, out to the west from the mountains, it came into my mind how many happy days i have had in that land. it appeared to me at first as if i saw over all the throndhjem country, and then over all norway; and the longer this vision was before my eyes the farther, methought, i saw, until i looked over the whole wide world, both land and sea. well i know the places at which i have been in former days; some even which i have only heard speak of, and some i saw of which i had never heard, both inhabited and uninhabited, in this wide world." the bishop replied that this was a holy vision, and very remarkable. . of the miracle on the corn land. when the king had come lower down on the mountain, there lay a farm before him called sula, on the highest part of veradal district; and as they came nearer to the house the corn-land appeared on both sides of the path. the king told his people to proceed carefully, and not destroy the corn to the bondes. the people observed this when the king was near; but the crowd behind paid no attention to it, and the people ran over the corn, so that it was trodden flat to the earth. there dwelt a bonde there called thorgeir flek, who had two sons nearly grown up. thorgeir received the king and his people well, and offered all the assistance in his power. the king was pleased with his offer, and asked thorgeir what was the news of the country, and if any forces were assembled against him. thorgeir says that a great army was drawn together in the throndhjem country, and that there were some lendermen both from the south of the country, and from halogaland in the north; "but i do not know," says he. "if they are intended against you, or going elsewhere." then he complained to the king of the damage and waste done him by the people breaking and treading down all his corn fields. the king said it was ill done to bring upon him any loss. then the king rode to where the corn had stood, and saw it was laid flat on the earth; and he rode round the field, and said, "i expect, bonde, that god will repair thy loss, so that the field, within a week, will be better;" and it proved the best of the corn, as the king had said. the king remained all night there, and in the morning he made himself ready, and told thorgeir the bonde to accompany him and thorgear offered his two sons also for the journey; and although the king said that he did not want them with him, the lads would go. as they would not stay behind, the king's court-men were about binding them; but the king seeing it said, "let them come with us; the lads will come safe back again." and it was with the lads as the king foretold. . of the baptism of the vagabond forest-men. thereafter the army advanced to staf, and when the king reached staf's moor he halted. there he got the certain information that the bondes were advancing with an army against him, and that he might soon expect to have a battle with them. he mustered his force here, and, after reckoning them up, found there were in the army heathen men, and when he came to know it he ordered them to allow themselves to be baptized, saying that he would have no heathens with him in battle. "we must not," says he, "put our confidence in numbers, but in god alone must we trust; for through his power and favour we must be victorious, and i will not mix heathen people with my own." when the heathens heard this, they held a council among themselves, and at last men agreed to be baptized; but men refused to adopt christianity, and that body returned home to their land. then the brothers gauka-thorer and afrafaste presented themselves to the king, and offered again to follow him. the king asked if they had now taken baptism. gauka-thorer replied that they had not. then the king ordered them to accept baptism and the true faith, or otherwise to go away. they stepped aside to talk with each other on what resolution they should take. afrafaste said, "to give my opinion, i will not turn back, but go into the battle, and take a part on the one side or the other; and i don't care much in which army i am." gauka-thorer replies, "if i go into battle i will give my help to the king, for he has most need of help. and if i must believe in a god, why not in the white christ as well as in any other? now it is my advice, therefore, that we let ourselves be baptized, since the king insists so much upon it, and then go into the battle with him." they all agreed to this, and went to the king, and said they would receive baptism. then they were baptized by a priest, and the baptism was confirmed by the bishop. the king then took them into the troop of his court-men, and said they should fight under his banner in the battle. . king olaf's speech. king olaf got certain intelligence now that it would be but a short time until he had a battle with the bondes; and after he had mustered his men, and reckoned up the force, he had more than men, which appears to be a great army in one field. then the king made the following speech to the people: "we have a great army, and excellent troops; and now i will tell you, my men, how i will have our force drawn up. i will let my banner go forward in the middle of the army, and my-court-men, and pursuivants shall follow it, together with the war forces that joined us from the uplands, and also those who may come to us here in the throndhjem land. on the right hand of my banner shall be dag hringson, with all the men he brought to our aid; and he shall have the second banner. and on the left hand of our line shall the men be whom the swedish king gave us, together with all the people who came to us in sweden; and they shall have the third banner. i will also have the people divide themselves into distinct flocks or parcels, so that relations and acquaintances should be together; for thus they defend each other best, and know each other. we will have all our men distinguished by a mark, so as to be a field-token upon their helmets and shields, by painting the holy cross thereupon with white colour. when we come into battle we shall all have one countersign and field-cry,--'forward, forward, christian men! cross men! king's men!' we must draw up our meal in thinner ranks, because we have fewer people, and i do not wish to let them surround us with their men. now let the men divide themselves into separate flocks, and then each flock into ranks; then let each man observe well his proper place, and take notice what banner he is drawn up under. and now we shall remain drawn up in array; and our men shall be fully armed, night and day, until we know where the meeting shall be between us and the bondes." when the king had finished speaking, the army arrayed, and arranged itself according to the king's orders. . king olaf's counsel. thereafter the king had a meeting with the chiefs of the different divisions, and then the men had returned whom the king had sent out into the neighbouring districts to demand men from the bondes. they brought the tidings from the inhabited places they had gone through, that all around the country was stripped of all men able to carry arms, as all the people had joined the bondes' army; and where they did find any they got but few to follow them, for the most of them answered that they stayed at home because they would not follow either party: they would not go out against the king, nor yet against their own relations. thus they had got but few people. now the king asked his men their counsel, and what they now should do. fin arnason answered thus to the king's question: "i will say what should be done, if i may advise. we should go with armed hand over all the inhabited places, plunder all the goods, and burn all the habitations, and leave not a hut standing, and thus punish the bondes for their treason against their sovereign. i think many a man will then cast himself loose from the bondes' army, when he sees smoke and flame at home on his farm, and does not know how it is going with children, wives, or old men, fathers, mothers, and other connections. i expect also," he added, "that if we succeed in breaking the assembled host, their ranks will soon be thinned; for so it is with the bondes, that the counsel which is the newest is always the dearest to them all, and most followed." when fin had ended his speech it met with general applause; for many thought well of such a good occasion to make booty, and all thought the bondes well deserved to suffer damage; and they also thought it probable, what fin said, that many would in this way be brought to forsake the assembled army of the bondes. now when the king heard the warm expressions of his people he told them to listen to him, and said, "the bondes have well deserved that it should be done to them as ye desire. they also know that i have formerly done so, burning their habitations, and punishing them severely in many ways; but then i proceeded against them with fire and sword because they rejected the true faith, betook themselves to sacrifices, and would not obey my commands. we had then god's honour to defend. but this treason against their sovereign is a much less grievous crime, although it does not become men who have any manhood in them to break the faith and vows they have sworn to me. now, however, it is more in my power to spare those who have dealt ill with me, than those whom god hated. i will, therefore, that my people proceed gently, and commit no ravage. first, i will proceed to meet the bondes; if we can then come to a reconciliation, it is well; but if they will fight with us, then there are two things before us; either we fail in the battle, and then it will be well advised not to have to retire encumbered with spoil and cattle; or we gain the victory, and then ye will be the heirs of all who fight now against us; for some will fall, and others will fly, but both will have forfeited their goods and properties, and then it will be good to enter into full houses and well-stocked farms; but what is burnt is of use to no man, and with pillage and force more is wasted than what turns to use. now we will spread out far through the inhabited places, and take with us all the men we can find able to carry arms. then men will also capture cattle for slaughter, or whatever else of provision that can serve for food; but not do any other ravage. but i will see willingly that ye kill any spies of the bonde army ye may fall in with. dag and his people shall go by the north side down along the valley, and i will go on along the country road, and so we shall meet in the evening, and all have one night quarter." . of king olaf's skalds. it is related that when king olaf drew up his men in battle order, he made a shield rampart with his troop that should defend him in battle, for which he selected the strongest and boldest. thereafter he called his skalds, and ordered them to go in within the shield defence. "ye shall." says the king, "remain here, and see the circumstances which may take place, and then ye will not have to follow the reports of others in what ye afterwards tell or sing concerning it." there were thormod kolbrunarskald, gissur gulbraskald, a foster-son of hofgardaref, and thorfin mun. then said thormod to gissur, "let us not stand so close together, brother, that sigvat the skald should not find room when he comes. he must stand before the king, and the king will not have it otherwise." the king heard this, and said, "ye need not sneer at sigvat, because he is not here. often has he followed me well, and now he is praying for us, and that we greatly need." thormod replies, "it may be, sire, that ye now require prayers most; but it would be thin around the banner-staff if all thy court-men were now on the way to rome. true it was what we spoke about, that no man who would speak with you could find room for sigvat." thereafter the skalds talked among themselves that it would be well to compose a few songs of remembrance about the events which would soon be taking place. then gissur sang:-- "from me shall bende girl never hear a thought of sorrow, care, or fear: i wish my girl knew how gay we arm us for our viking fray. many and brave they are, we know, who come against us there below; but, life or death, we, one and all, by norway's king will stand or fall." and thorfin mun made another song, viz.:-- "dark is the cloud of men and shields, slow moving up through verdal's fields: these verdal folks presume to bring their armed force against their king. on! let us feed the carrion crow,-- give her a feast in every blow; and, above all, let throndhjem's hordes feel the sharp edge of true men's swords." and thorrood sang:-- "the whistling arrows pipe to battle, sword and shield their war-call rattle. up! brave men, up! the faint heart here finds courage when the danger's near. up! brave men, up! with olaf on! with heart and hand a field is won. one viking cheer!--then, stead of words, we'll speak with our death-dealing swords." these songs were immediately got by heart by the army. . of king olaf's gifts for the souls of those who should be slain. thereafter the king made himself ready, and marched down through the valley. his whole forces took up their night-quarter in one place, and lay down all night under their shields; but as soon as day broke the king again put his army in order, and that being done they proceeded down through the valley. many bondes then came to the king, of whom the most joined his army; and all, as one man, told the same tale,--that the lendermen had collected an enormous army, with which they intended to give battle to the king. the king took many marks of silver, and delivered them into the hands of a bonde, and said, "this money thou shalt conceal, and afterwards lay out, some to churches, some to priests, some to alms-men,--as gifts for the life and souls of those who fight against us, and may fall in battle." the bonde replies, "should you not rather give this money for the soul-mulct of your own men?" the king says, "this money shall be given for the souls of those who stand against us in the ranks of the bondes' army, and fall by the weapons of our own men. the men who follow us to battle, and fall therein, will all be saved together with ourself." . of thormod kolbrunarskald. this night the king lay with his army around him on the field, as before related, and lay long awake in prayer to god, and slept but little. towards morning a slumber fell on him, and when he awoke daylight was shooting up. the king thought it too early to awaken the army, and asked where thormod the skald was. thormod was at hand, and asked what was the king's pleasure. "sing us a song," said the king. thormod raised himself up, and sang so loud that the whole army could hear him. he began to sing the old "bjarkamal", of which these are the first verses:-- "the day is breaking,-- the house cock, shaking his rustling wings, while priest-bell rings, crows up the morn, and touting horn wakes thralls to work and weep; ye sons of adil, cast off sleep, wake up! wake up! nor wassail cup, nor maiden's jeer, awaits you here. hrolf of the bow! har of the blow! up in your might! the day is breaking; 'tis hild's game ( ) that bides your waking." then the troops awoke, and when the song was ended the people thanked him for it; and it pleased many, as it was suitable to the time and occasion, and they called it the house-carle's whet. the king thanked him for the pleasure, and took a gold ring that weighed half a mark and gave it him. thormod thanked the king for the gift, and said, "we have a good king; but it is not easy to say how long the king's life may be. it is my prayer, sire, that thou shouldst never part from me either in life or death." the king replies, "we shall all go together so long as i rule, and as ye will follow me." thormod says, "i hope, sire, that whether in safety or danger i may stand near you as long as i can stand, whatever we may hear of sigvat travelling with his gold-hilted sword." then thormod made these lines:-- "to thee, my king, i'll still be true, until another skald i view, here in the field with golden sword, as in thy hall, with flattering word. thy skald shall never be a craven, though he may feast the croaking raven, the warrior's fate unmoved i view,-- to thee, my king, i'll still be true." endnotes: ( ) hild's game is the battle, from the name of the war-goddess hild.--l. . king olaf comes to stiklestad. king olaf led his army farther down through the valley, and dag and his men went another way, and the king did not halt until he came to stiklestad. there he saw the bonde army spread out all around; and there were so great numbers that people were going on every footpath, and great crowds were collected far and near. they also saw there a troop which came down from veradal, and had been out to spy. they came so close to the king's people that they knew each other. it was hrut of viggia, with thirty men. the king ordered his pursuivants to go out against hrut, and make an end of him, to which his men were instantly ready. the king said to the icelanders, "it is told me that in iceland it is the custom that the bondes give their house-servants a sheep to slaughter; now i give you a ram to slaughter." ( ) the icelanders were easily invited to this, and went out immediately with a few men against hrut, and killed him and the troop that followed him. when the king came to stiklestad he made a halt, and made the army stop, and told his people to alight from their horses and get ready for battle; and the people did as the king ordered. then he placed his army in battle array, and raised his banner. dag was not yet arrived with his men, so that his wing of the battle array was wanting. then the king said the upland men should go forward in their place, and raise their banner there. "it appears to me advisable," says the king, "that harald my brother should not be in the battle, for he is still in the years of childhood only." harald replies, "certainly i shall be in the battle, for i am not so weak that i cannot handle the sword; and as to that, i have a notion of tying the sword-handle to my hand. none is more willing than i am to give the bondes a blow; so i shall go with my comrades." it is said that harald made these lines:-- "our army's wing, where i shall stand, i will hold good with heart and hand; my mother's eye shall joy to see a battered, blood-stained shield from me. the brisk young skald should gaily go into the fray, give blow for blow, cheer on his men, gain inch by inch, and from the spear-point never flinch." harald got his will, and was allowed to be in the battle. endnotes: ( ) hrut means a young ram.--l. . of thorgils halmason. a bonde, by name thorgils halmason, father to grim the good, dwelt in stiklestad farm. thorgils offered the king his assistance, and was ready to go into battle with him. the king thanked him for the offer. "i would rather," says the king, "thou shouldst not be in the fight. do us rather the service to take care of the people who are wounded, and to bury those who may fall, when the battle is over. should it happen, bonde, that i fall in this battle, bestow the care on my body that may be necessary, if that be not forbidden thee." thorgils promised the king what he desired. . olaf's speech. now when king olaf had drawn up his army in battle array he made a speech, in which he told the people to raise their spirit, and go boldly forward, if it came to a battle. "we have," says he, "many men, and good; and although the bondes may have a somewhat larger force than we, it is fate that rules over victory. this i will make known to you solemnly, that i shall not fly from this battle, but shall either be victorious over the bondes, or fall in the fight. i will pray to god that the lot of the two may befall me which will be most to my advantage. with this we may encourage ourselves, that we have a more just cause than the bondes; and likewise that god must either protect us and our cause in this battle, or give us a far higher recompense for what we may lose here in the world than what we ourselves could ask. should it be my lot to have anything to say after the battle, then shall i reward each of you according to his service, and to the bravery he displays in the battle; and if we gain the victory, there must be land and movables enough to divide among you, and which are now in the hands of your enemies. let us at the first make the hardest onset, for then the consequences are soon seen. there being a great difference in the numbers, we have to expect victory from a sharp assault only; and, on the other hand, it will be heavy work for us to fight until we are tired, and unable to fight longer; for we have fewer people to relieve with than they, who can come forward at one time and retreat and rest at another. but if we advance so hard at the first attack that those who are foremost in their ranks must turn round, then the one will fall over the other, and their destruction will be the greater the greater numbers there are together." when the king had ended his speech it was received with loud applause, and the one encouraged the other. . of thord folason. thord folason carried king olaf's banner. so says sigvat the skald, in the death-song which he composed about king olaf, and put together according to resurrection saga:-- "thord. i have heard, by olaf's side, where raged the battle's wildest tide, moved on, and, as by one accord moved with them every heart and sword. the banner of the king on high, floating all splendid in the sky from golden shaft, aloft he bore,-- the norsemen's rallying-point of yore." . of king olaf's armour. king olaf was armed thus:--he had a gold-mounted helmet on his head; and had in one hand a white shield, on which the holy cross was inlaid in gold. in his other hand he had a lance, which to the present day stands beside the altar in christ church. in his belt he had a sword, which was called hneiter, which was remarkably sharp, and of which the handle was worked with gold. he had also a strong coat of ring-mail. sigvat the skald, speaks of this:-- "a greater victory to gain, olaf the stout strode o'er the plain in strong chain armour, aid to bring to his brave men on either wing. high rose the fight and battle-heat,-- the clear blood ran beneath the feet of swedes, who from the east came there, in olaf's gain or loss to share." . king olaf's dream. now when king olaf had drawn up his men the army of the bondes had not yet come near upon any quarter, so the king said the people should sit down and rest themselves. he sat down himself, and the people sat around him in a widespread crowd. he leaned down, and laid his head upon fin arnason's knee. there a slumber came upon him, and he slept a little while; but at the same time the bondes' army was seen advancing with raised banners, and the multitude of these was very great. then fin awakened the king, and said that the bonde-army advanced against them. the king awoke, and said, "why did you waken me, fin, and did not allow me to enjoy my dream?" fin: "thou must not be dreaming; but rather thou shouldst be awake, and preparing thyself against the host which is coming down upon us; or, dost thou not see that the whole bonde-crowd is coming?" the king replies, "they are not yet so near to us, and it would have been better to have let me sleep." then said fin, "what was the dream, sire, of which the loss appears to thee so great that thou wouldst rather have been left to waken of thyself?" now the king told his dream,--that he seemed to see a high ladder, upon which he went so high in the air that heaven was open: for so high reached the ladder. "and when you awoke me, i was come to the highest step towards heaven." fin replies, "this dream does not appear to me so good as it does to thee. i think it means that thou art fey ( ); unless it be the mere want of sleep that has worked upon thee." endnotes: ( ) fey means doomed to die. . of arnljot gelline's baptism. when king olaf was arrived at stiklestad, it happened, among other circumstances, that a man came to him; and although it was nowise wonderful that there came many men from the districts, yet this must be regarded as unusual, that this man did not appear like the other men who came to him. he was so tall that none stood higher than up to his shoulders: very handsome he was in countenance, and had beautiful fair hair. he was well armed; had a fine helmet, and ring armour; a red shield; a superb sword in his belt; and in his hand a gold-mounted spear, the shaft of it so thick that it was a handful to grasp. the man went before the king, saluted him, and asked if the king would accept his services. the king asked his name and family, also what countryman he was. he replies, "my family is in jamtaland and helsingjaland, and my name is arnljot gelline; but this i must not forget to tell you, that i came to the assistance of those men you sent to jamtaland to collect scat, and i gave into their hands a silver dish, which i sent you as a token that i would be your friend." then the king asked arnljot if he was a christian or not. he replied, "my faith has been this, to rely upon my power and strength, and which faith hath hitherto given me satisfaction; but now i intend rather to put my faith, sire, in thee." the king replies, "if thou wilt put faith in me thou must also put faith in what i will teach thee. thou must believe that jesus christ has made heaven and earth, and all mankind, and to him shall all those who are good and rightly believing go after death." arnljot answers, "i have indeed heard of the white christ, but neither know what he proposes, nor what he rules over; but now i will believe all that thou sayest to me, and lay down my lot in your hands." thereupon arnljot was baptized. the king taught him so much of the holy faith as appeared to him needful, and placed him in the front rank of the order of battle, in advance of his banner, where also gauka-thorer and afrafaste, with their men, were. . concerning the army collected in norway. now shall we relate what we have left behind in our tale,--that the lendermen and bondes had collected a vast host as soon as it was reported that king olaf was come from russia, and had arrived in svithjod; but when they heard that he had come to jamtaland, and intended to proceed westwards over the keel-ridge to veradal, they brought their forces into the throndhjem country, where they gathered together the whole people, free and unfree, and proceeded towards veradal with so great a body of men that there was nobody in norway at that time who had seen so large a force assembled. but the force, as it usually happens in so great a multitude, consisted of many different sorts of people. there were many lendermen, and a great many powerful bondes; but the great mass consisted of labourers and cottars. the chief strength of this army lay in the throndhjem land, and it was the most warm in enmity and opposition to the king. . of bishop sigurd. when king canute had, as before related, laid all norway under his power, he set earl hakon to manage it, and gave the earl a court-bishop, by name sigurd, who was of danish descent, and had been long with king canute. this bishop was of a very hot temper, and particularly obstinate, and haughty in his speech; but supported king canute all he could in conversation, and was a great enemy of king olaf. he was now also in the bondes' army, spoke often before the people, and urged them much to insurrection against king olaf. . bishop sigurd's speech. at a house-thing, at which a great many people were assembled, the bishop desired to be heard, and made the following speech: "here are now assembled a great many men, so that probably there will never be opportunity in this poor country of seeing so great a native army; but it would be desirable if this strength and multitude could be a protection; for it will all be needed, if this olaf does not give over bringing war and strife upon you. from his very earliest youth he has been accustomed to plunder and kill: for which purposes he drove widely around through all countries, until he turned at last against this, where he began to show hostilities against the men who were the best and most powerful; and even against king canute, whom all are bound to serve according to their ability, and in whose scat-lands he set himself down. he did the same to olaf the swedish king. he drove the earls svein and hakon away from their heritages; and was even most tyrannical towards his own connections, as he drove all the kings out of the uplands: although, indeed, it was but just reward for having been false to their oaths of fealty to king canute, and having followed this king olaf in all the folly he could invent; so their friendship ended according to their deserts, by this king mutilating some of them, taking their kingdoms himself, and ruining every man in the country who had an honourable name. ye know yourselves how he has treated the lendermen, of whom many of the worthlest have been murdered, and many obliged to fly from their country; and how he has roamed far and wide through the land with robber-bands, burning and plundering houses, and killing people. who is the man among us here of any consideration who has not some great injury from him to avenge? now he has come hither with a foreign troop, consisting mostly of forest-men, vagabonds, and such marauders. do ye think he will now be more merciful to you, when he is roaming about with such a bad crew, after committing devastations which all who followed him dissuaded him from? therefore it is now my advice, that ye remember king canute's words when he told you, if king olaf attempted to return to the country ye should defend the liberty king canute had promised you, and should oppose and drive away such a vile pack. now the only thing to be done is to advance against them, and cast forth these malefactors to the wolves and eagles, leaving their corpses on the spot they cover, unless ye drag them aside to out-of-the-way corners in the woods or rocks. no man would be so imprudent as to remove them to churches, for they are all robbers and evil-doers." when he had ended his speech it was hailed with the loudest applause, and all unanimously agreed to act according to his recommendation. . of the lendermen. the lendermen who had come together appointed meetings with each other, and consulted together how they should draw up their troops, and who should be their leader. kalf arnason said that harek of thjotta was best fitted to be the chief of this army, for he was descended from harald harfager's race. "the king also is particularly enraged against him on account of the murder of grankel, and therefore he would be exposed to the severest fate if olaf recovered the kingdom; and harek withal is a man experienced in battles, and a man who does much for honour alone." harek replies, that the men are best suited for this who are in the flower of their age. "i am now," says he, "an old and decaying man, not able to do much in battle: besides, there is near relationship between me and king olaf; and although he seems not to put great value upon that tie, it would not beseem me to go as leader of the hostilities against him, before any other in this meeting. on the other hand, thou, thorer, art well suited to be our chief in this battle against king olaf; and thou hast distinct grounds for being so, both because thou hast to avenge the death of thy relation, and also hast been driven by him as an outlaw from thy property. thou hast also promised king canute, as well as thy connections, to avenge the murder of thy relative asbjorn; and dost thou suppose there ever will be a better opportunity than this of taking vengeance on olaf for all these insults and injuries?" thorer replies thus to his speech: "i do not confide in myself so much as to raise the banner against king olaf, or, as chief, to lead on this army; for the people of throndhjem have the greatest part in this armament, and i know well their haughty spirit, and that they would not obey me, or any other halogaland man, although i need not be reminded of my injuries to be roused to vengeance on king olaf. i remember well my heavy loss when king olaf slew four men, all distinguished both by birth and personal qualities; namely, my brother's son asbjorn, my sister's sons thorer and grjotgard, and their father olver; and it is my duty to take vengeance for each man of them. i will not conceal that i have selected eleven of my house-servants for that purpose, and of those who are the most daring; and i do not think we shall be behind others in exchanging blows with king olaf, should opportunity be given." . kalf arnason's speech. then kalf arnason desired to speak. "it is highly necessary," says he, "that this business we have on hand do not turn out a mockery and child-work, now that an army is collected. something else is needful, if we are to stand battle with king olaf, than that each should shove the danger from himself; for we must recollect that although king olaf has not many people compared to this army of ours, the leader of them is intrepid, and the whole body of them will be true to him, and obedient in the battle. but if we who should be the leaders of this army show any fear, and will not encourage the army and go at the head of it, it must happen that with the great body of our people the spirit will leave their hearts, and the next thing will be that each will seek his own safety. although we have now a great force assembled, we shall find our destruction certain, when we meet king olaf and his troops, if we, the chiefs of the people, are not confident in our cause, and have not the whole army confidently and bravely going along with us. if it cannot be so, we had better not risk a battle; and then it is easy to see that nothing would be left us but to shelter ourselves under king olaf's mercy, however hard it might be, as then we would be less guilty than we now may appear to him to be. yet i know there are men in his ranks who would secure my life and peace if i would seek it. will ye now adopt my proposal--then shalt thou, friend thorer, and thou, harek, go under the banner which we will all of us raise up, and then follow. let us all be speedy and determined in the resolution we have taken, and put ourselves so at the head of the bondes' army that they see no distrust in us; for then will the common man advance with spirit when we go merrily to work in placing the army in battle-order, and in encouraging the people to the strife." when kalf had ended they all concurred in what he proposed, and all would do what kalf thought of advantage. all desired kalf to be the leader of the army, and to give each what place in it he chose. . how the lendermen set up their banners. kalf arnason then raised his banner, and drew up his house-servants along with harek of thjotta and his men. thorer hund, with his troop, was at the head of the order of battle in front of the banner; and on both sides of thorer was a chosen body of bondes, all of them the most active and best armed in the forces. this part of the array was long and thick, and in it were drawn up the throndhjem people and the halogalanders. on the right wing was another array; and on the left of the main array were drawn up the men from rogaland, hordaland, the fjord districts, and scgn, and they had the third banner. . of thorstein knarrarsmid. there was a man called thorstein knarrarsmid, who was a merchant and master ship-carpenter, stout and strong, very passionate, and a great manslayer. he had been in enmity against king olaf, who had taken from him a new and large merchant-vessel he had built, on account of some manslaughter-mulct, incurred in the course of his misdeeds, which he owed to the king. thorstein, who was with the bondes' army, went forward in front of the line in which thorer hund stood, and said, "here i will be, thorer, in your ranks; for i think, if i and king olaf meet, to be the first to strive a weapon at him, if i can get so near, to repay him for the robbery of the ship he took from me, which was the best that ever went on merchant voyage." thorer and his men received thorstein, and he went into their ranks. . of the preparations of the bondes. when the bondes' men and array were drawn up the lendermen addressed the men, and ordered them to take notice of the place to which each man belonged, under which banner each should be, who there were in front of the banner, who were his side-men, and that they should be brisk and quick in taking up their places in the array; for the army had still to go a long way, and the array might be broken in the course of march. then they encouraged the people; and kalf invited all the men who had any injury to avenge on king olaf to place themselves under the banner which was advancing against king olaf's own banner. they should remember the distress he had brought upon them; and, he said, never was there a better opportunity to avenge their grievances, and to free themselves from the yoke and slavery he had imposed on them. "let him," says he, "be held a useless coward who does not fight this day boldly; and they are not innocents who are opposed to you, but people who will not spare you if ye spare them." kalf's speech was received with loud applause, and shouts of encouragement were heard through the whole army. . of the king's and the bondes' armies. thereafter the bondes' army advanced to stiklestad, where king olaf was already with his people. kalf and harek went in front, at the head of the army under their banners. but the battle did not begin immediately on their meeting; for the bondes delayed the assault, because all their men were not come upon the plain, and they waited for those who came after them. thorer hund had come up with his troop the last, for he had to take care that the men did not go off behind when the battlecry was raised, or the armies were closing with each other; and therefore kalf and harek waited for thorer. for the encouragement of their men in the battle the bondes had the field-cry--"forward, forward, bondemen!" king olaf also made no attack, for he waited for dag and the people who followed him. at last the king saw dag and his men approaching. it is said that the army of the bondes was not less on this day than a hundred times a hundred men. sigvat the skald speaks thus of the numbers:-- "i grieve to think the king had brought too small a force for what he sought: he held his gold too fast to bring the numbers that could make him king. the foemen, more than two to one, the victory by numbers won; and this alone, as i've heard say, against king olaf turned the day." . meeting of the king and the bondes. as the armies on both sides stood so near that people knew each other, the king said, "why art thou here, kalf, for we parted good friends south in more? it beseems thee ill to fight against us, or to throw a spear into our army; for here are four of thy brothers." kalf replied, "many things come to pass differently from what may appear seemly. you parted from us so that it was necessary to seek peace with those who were behind in the country. now each must remain where he stands; but if i might advise, we should be reconciled." then fin, his brother, answered, "this is to be observed of kalf, that when he speaks fairly he has it in his mind to do ill." the king answered, "it may be, kalf, that thou art inclined to reconciliation; but, methinks, the bondes do not appear so peaceful." then thorgeir of kviststad said, "you shall now have such peace as many formerly have received at your hands, and which you shall now pay for." the king replies, "thou hast no occasion to hasten so much to meet us; for fate has not decreed to thee to-day a victory over me, who raised thee to power and dignity from a mean station." . beginning of the battle of stiklestad. now came thorer hund, went forward in front of the banner with his troop, and called out, "forward, forward, bondemen!" thereupon the bondemen raised the war-cry, and shot their arrows and spears. the king's men raised also a war-shout; and that done, encouraged each other to advance, crying out, "forward, forward, christ-men! cross-men! king's men!" when the bondes who stood outermost on the wings heard it, they repeated the same cry; but when the other bondes heard them they thought these were king's men, turned their arms against them, and they fought together, and many were slain before they knew each other. the weather was beautiful, and the sun shone clear; but when the battle began the heaven and the sun became red, and before the battle ended it became as dark as at night. king olaf had drawn up his army upon a rising ground, and it rushed down from thence upon the bonde-army with such a fierce assault, that the bondes' array went before it; so that the breast of the king's array came to stand upon the ground on which the rear of the bondes' array had stood, and many of the bondes' army were on the way to fly, but the lendermen and their house-men stood fast, and the battle became very severe. so says sigvat:-- "thundered the ground beneath their tread, as, iron-clad, thick-tramping, sped the men-at-arms, in row and rank, past stiklestad's sweet grassy bank. the clank of steel, the bowstrings' twang, the sounds of battle, loudly rang; and bowman hurried on advancing, their bright helms in the sunshine glancing." the lendermen urged their men, and forced them to advance. sigvat speaks of this:-- "midst in their line their banner flies, thither the stoutest bonde hies: but many a bonde thinks of home, and many wish they ne'er had come." then the bonde-army pushed on from all quarters. they who stood in front hewed down with their swords; they who stood next thrust with their spears; and they who stood hindmost shot arrows, cast spears, or threw stones, hand-axes, or sharp stakes. soon there was a great fall of men in the battle. many were down on both sides. in the first onset fell arnljot gelline, gauka-thorer, and afrafaste, with all their men, after each had killed a man or two, and some indeed more. now the ranks in front of the king's banner began to be thinned, and the king ordered thord to carry the banner forward, and the king himself followed it with the troop he had chosen to stand nearest to him in battle; and these were the best armed men in the field, and the most expert in the use of their weapons. sigvat the skald tells of this:-- "loud was the battle-storm there, where the king's banner flamed in air. the king beneath his banner stands, and there the battle he commands." olaf came forth from behind the shield-bulwark, and put himself at the head of the army; and when the bondes looked him in the face they were frightened, and let their hands drop. so says sigvat:-- "i think i saw them shrink with fear who would not shrink from foeman's spear, when olaf's lion-eye was cast on them, and called up all the past. clear as the serpent's eye--his look no throndhjem man could stand, but shook beneath its glance, and skulked away, knowing his king, and cursed the day." the combat became fierce, and the king went forward in the fray. so says sigvat:-- "when on they came in fierce array, and round the king arose the fray, with shield on arm brave olaf stood, dyeing his sword in their best blood. for vengeance on his throndhjem foes, on their best men he dealt his blows; he who knew well death's iron play, to his deep vengeance gave full sway." . thorgeir of kviststad's fall. king olaf fought most desperately. he struck the lenderman before mentioned (thorgeir of kviststad) across the face, cut off the nose-piece of his helmet, and clove his head down below the eyes so that they almost fell out. when he fell the king said, "was it not true, thorgeir, what i told thee, that thou shouldst not be victor in our meeting?" at the same instant thord stuck the banner-pole so fast in the earth that it remained standing. thord had got his death-wound, and fell beneath the banner. there also fell thorfin mun, and also gissur gullbrarskald, who was attacked by two men, of whom he killed one, but only wounded the other before he fell. so says hofgardaref:-- "bold in the iron-storm was he, firm and stout as forest tree, the hero who, 'gainst two at once, made odin's fire from sword-edge glance; dealing a death-blow to the one, known as a brave and generous man, wounding the other, ere he fell,-- his bloody sword his deeds showed well." it happened then, as before related, that the sun, although the air was clear, withdrew from the sight, and it became dark. of this sigvat the skald speaks:-- "no common wonder in the sky fell out that day--the sun on high, and not a cloud to see around, shone not, nor warmed norway's ground. the day on which fell out this fight was marked by dismal dusky light, this from the east i heard--the end of our great king it did portend." at the same time dag hringson came up with his people, and began to put his men in array, and to set up his banner; but on account of the darkness the onset could not go on so briskly, for they could not see exactly whom they had before them. they turned, however, to that quarter where the men of hordaland and rogaland stood. many of these circumstances took place at the same time, and some happened a little earlier, and some a little later. . king olaf's fall. on the one side of kalf arnason stood his two relations, olaf and kalf, with many other brave and stout men. kalf was a son of arnfin arnmodson, and a brother's son of arne arnmodson. on the other side of kalf arnason stood thorer hund. king olaf hewed at thorer hund, and struck him across the shoulders; but the sword would not cut, and it was as if dust flew from his reindeer-skin coat. so says sigvat:-- "the king himself now proved the power of fin-folk's craft in magic hour, with magic song; for stroke of steel thor's reindeer coat would never feel, bewitched by them it turned the stroke of the king's sword,--a dust-like smoke rose from thor's shoulders from the blow which the king though would end his foe." thorer struck at the king, and they exchanged some blows; but the king's sword would not cut where it met the reindeer skin, although thorer was wounded in the hands. sigvat sang thus of it:-- "some say that thorer's not right bold; why never yet have i been told of one who did a bolder thing than to change blows with his true king. against his king his sword to wield, leaping across the shield on shield which fenced the king round in the fight, shows the dog's ( ) courage--brave, not bright." the king said to bjorn the marshal, "do thou kill the dog on whom steel will not bite." bjorn turned round the axe in his hands, and gave thorer a blow with the hammer of it on the shoulder so hard that he tottered. the king at the same moment turned against kalf and his relations, and gave olaf his death-wound. thorer hund struck his spear right through the body of marshal bjorn, and killed him outright; and thorer said, "it is thus we hunt the bear." ( ) thorstein knarrarsmid struck at king olaf with his axe, and the blow hit his left leg above the knee. fin arnason instantly killed thorstein. the king after the wound staggered towards a stone, threw down his sword, and prayed god to help him. then thorer hund struck at him with his spear, and the stroke went in under his mail-coat and into his belly. then kalf struck at him on the left side of the neck. but all are not agreed upon kalf having been the man who gave him the wound in the neck. these three wounds were king olaf's death; and after the king's death the greater part of the forces which had advanced with him fell with the king. bjarne gullbrarskald sang these verses about kalf arnason:-- "warrior! who olaf dared withstand, who against olaf held the land, thou hast withstood the bravest, best, who e'er has gone to his long rest. at stiklestad thou wast the head; with flying banners onwards led thy bonde troops, and still fought on, until he fell--the much-mourned one." sigvat also made these verses on bjorn:-- "the marshal bjorn, too, i find, a great example leaves behind, how steady courage should stand proof, though other servants stand aloof. to russia first his steps he bent, to serve his master still intent; and now besides his king he fell,-- a noble death for skalds to tell." endnotes: ( ) thorer's name was hund--the dog; and a play upon thorer hund's name was intended by the skald.--l. ( ) bjorn, the marshal's name, signifies a bear.--l. . beginning of dag hringson's attack. dag hringson still kept up the battle, and made in the beginning so fierce an assault that the bondes gave way, and some betook themselves to flight. there a great number of the bondes fell, and these lendermen, erlend of gerde and aslak of finey; and the banner also which they had stood under was cut down. this onset was particularly hot, and was called dag's storm. but now kalf arnason, harek of thjotta, and thorer hund turned against dag, with the array which had followed them, and then dag was overwhelmed with numbers; so he betook himself to flight with the men still left him. there was a valley through which the main body of the fugitives fled, and men lay scattered in heaps on both sides; and many were severely wounded, and many so fatigued that they were fit for nothing. the bondes pursued only a short way; for their leaders soon returned back to the field of battle, where they had their friends and relations to look after. . king olaf's miracle shown to thorer hund. thorer hund went to where king olaf's body lay, took care of it, laid it straight out on the ground, and spread a cloak over it. he told since that when he wiped the blood from the face it was very beautiful; and there was red in the cheeks, as if he only slept, and even much clearer than when he was in life. the king's blood came on thorer's hand, and ran up between his fingers to where he had been wounded, and the wound grew up so speedily that it did not require to be bound up. this circumstance was testified by thorer himself when king olaf's holiness came to be generally known among the people; and thorer hund was among the first of the king's powerful opponents who endeavoured to spread abroad the king's sanctity. . of kalf arnason's brothers. kalf arnason searched for his brothers who had fallen, and found thorberg and fin. it is related that fin threw his dagger at him, and wanted to kill him, giving him hard words, and calling him a faithless villain, and a traitor to his king. kalf did not regard it, but ordered fin and thorberg to be carried away from the field. when their wounds were examined they were found not to be deadly, and they had fallen from fatigue, and under the weight of their weapons. thereafter kalf tried to bring his brothers down to a ship, and went himself with them. as soon as he was gone the whole bonde-army, having their homes in the neighbourhood, went off also, excepting those who had friends or relations to look after, or the bodies of the slain to take care of. the wounded were taken home to the farms, so that every house was full of them; and tents were erected over some. but wonderful as was the number collected in the bonde-army, no less wonderful was the haste with which this vast body was dispersed when it was once free; and the cause of this was, that the most of the people gathered together from the country places were longing for their homes. . of the bondes of veradal. the bondes who had their homes in veradal went to the chiefs harek and thorer, and complained of their distress, saying, "the fugitives who have escaped from the battle have proceeded up over the valley of veradal, and are destroying our habitations, and there is no safety for us to travel home so long as they are in the valley. go after them with war-force, and let no mother's son of them escape with life; for that is what they intended for us if they had got the upper hand in the battle, and the same they would do now if they met us hereafter, and had better luck than we. it may also be that they will linger in the valley if they have nothing to be frightened for, and then they would not proceed very gently in the inhabited country." the bondes made many words about this, urging the chiefs to advance directly, and kill those who had escaped. now when the chiefs talked over this matter among themselves, they thought there was much truth in what the bondes said. they resolved, therefore, that thorer hund should undertake this expedition through veradal, with men of his own troops. then, towards evening, he set out with his men; and thorer continued his march without halt until he came in the night to sula, where he heard the news that dag hringson had come there in the evening, with many other flocks of the king's men, and had halted there until they took supper, but were afterwards gone up to the mountains. then thorer said he did not care to pursue them up through the mountains, and he returned down the valley again, and they did not kill many of them this time. the bondes then returned to their homes, and the following day thorer, with his people, went to their ships. the part of the king's men who were still on their legs concealed themselves in the forests, and some got help from the people. . of the king's brother, harald sigurdson. harald sigurdson was severely wounded; but ragnvald brusason brought him to a bonde's the night after the battle, and the bonde took in harald, and healed his wound in secret, and afterwards gave him his son to attend him. they went secretly over the mountains, and through the waste forests, and came out in jamtaland. harald sigurdson was fifteen years old when king olaf fell. in jamtaland harald found ragnvald brusason; and they went both east to king jarisleif in russia, as is related in the saga of harald sigurdson. . of thormod kolbrunarskald. thormod kolbrunarskald was under king olaf's banner in the battle; but when the king had fallen, the battle was raging so that of the king's men the one fell by the side of the other, and the most of those who stood on their legs were wounded. thormod was also severely wounded, and retired, as all the others did, back from where there was most danger of life, and some even fled. now when the onset began which is called dag's storm, all of the king's men who were able to combat went there; but thormod did not come into that combat, being unable to fight, both from his wound and from weariness, but he stood by the side of his comrade in the ranks, although he could do nothing. there he was struck by an arrow in the left side; but he broke off the shaft of the arrow, went out of the battle, and up towards the houses, where he came to a barn which was a large building. thormod had his drawn sword in his hand; and as he went in a man met him, coming out, and said, "it is very bad there with howling and screaming; and a great shame it is that brisk young fellows cannot bear their wounds: it may be that the king's men have done bravely to-day, but they certainly bear their wounds very ill." thormod asks. "what is thy name?" he called himself kimbe. thormod: "wast thou in the battle, too?" "i was with the bondes, which was the best side," says he. "and art thou wounded any way?" says thormod. "a little," said kimbe. "and hast thou been in the battle too?" thormod replied, "i was with them who had the best." "art thou wounded?" says kimbe. "not much to signify," replies thormod. as kimbe saw that thormod had a gold ring on his arm, he said, "thou art certainly a king's man. give me thy gold ring, and i will hide thee. the bondes will kill thee if thou fallest in their way." thormod says, "take the ring if thou canst get it: i have lost that which is more worth." kimbe stretched out his hand, and wanted to take the ring; but thormod, swinging his sword, cut off his hand; and it is related that kimbe behaved himself no better under his wound than those he had been blaming just before. kimbe went off, and thormod sat down in the barn, and listened to what people were saying. the conversation was mostly about what each had seen in the battle, and about the valour of the combatants. some praised most king olaf's courage, and some named others who stood nowise behind him in bravery. then thormod sang these verses:-- "olaf was brave beyond all doubt,-- at stiklestad was none so stout; spattered with blood, the king, unsparing, cheered on his men with deed and daring. but i have heard that some were there who in the fight themselves would spare; though, in the arrow-storm, the most had perils quite enough to boast." . thormod's death. thormod went out, and entered into a chamber apart, in which there were many wounded men, and with them a woman binding their wounds. there was fire upon the floor, at which she warmed water to wash and clean their wounds. thormod sat himself down beside the door, and one came in, and another went out, of those who were busy about the wounded men. one of them turned to thormod, looked at him, and said, "why art thou so dead-pale? art thou wounded? why dost thou not call for the help of the wound-healers?" thormod then sang these verses:-- "i am not blooming, and the fair and slender girl loves to care for blooming youths--few care for me; with fenja's meal i cannot fee. this is the reason why i feel the slash and thrust of danish steel; and pale and faint, and bent with pain, return from yonder battle-plain." then thormod stood up and went in towards the fire, and stood there awhile. the young woman said to him, "go out, man, and bring in some of the split firewood which lies close beside the door." he went out and brought in an armful of wood, which he threw down upon the floor. then the nurse-girl looked him in the face, and said, "dreadfully pale is this man--why art thou so?" then thormod sang:-- "thou wonderest, sweet sprig, at me, a man so hideous to see: deep wounds but rarely mend the face, the crippling blow gives little grace. the arrow-drift o'ertook me, girl,-- a fine-ground arrow in the whirl went through me, and i feel the dart sits, lovely girl, too near my heart." the girl said, "let me see thy wound, and i will bind it." thereupon thormod sat down, cast off his clothes, and the girl saw his wounds, and examined that which was in his side, and felt that a piece of iron was in it, but could not find where the iron had gone in. in a stone pot she had stirred together leeks and other herbs, and boiled them, and gave the wounded men of it to eat, by which she discovered if the wounds had penetrated into the belly; for if the wound had gone so deep, it would smell of leek. she brought some of this now to thormod, and told him to eat of it. he replied, "take it away, i have no appetite for my broth." then she took a large pair of tongs, and tried to pull out the iron; but it sat too fast, and would in no way come, and as the wound was swelled, little of it stood out to lay hold of. now said thormod, "cut so deep in that thou canst get at the iron with the tongs, and give me the tongs and let me pull." she did as he said. then thormod took a gold ring from his hand, gave it to the nurse-woman, and told her to do with it what she liked. "it is a good man's gift," said he: "king olaf gave me the ring this morning." then thormod took the tongs, and pulled the iron out; but on the iron there was a hook, at which there hung some morsels of flesh from the heart,--some white, some red. when he saw that, he said, "the king has fed us well. i am fat, even at the heart-roots;" and so saying he leant back, and was dead. and with this ends what we have to say about thormod. . of some circumstances of the battle. king olaf fell on wednesday, the th of july (a.d. ). it was near mid-day when the two armies met, and the battle began before half-past one, and before three the king fell. the darkness continued from about half-past one to three also. sigvat the skald speaks thus of the result of the battle:-- "the loss was great to england's foes, when their chief fell beneath the blows by his own thoughtless people given,-- when the king's shield in two was riven. the people's sovereign took the field, the people clove the sovereign's shield. of all the chiefs that bloody day, dag only came out of the fray." and he composed these:-- "such mighty bonde-power, i ween, with chiefs or rulers ne'er was seen. it was the people's mighty power that struck the king that fatal hour. when such a king, in such a strife, by his own people lost his life, full many a gallant man must feel the death-wound from the people's steel." the bondes did not spoil the slain upon the field of battle, for immediately after the battle there came upon many of them who had been against the king a kind of dread as it were; yet they held by their evil inclination, for they resolved among themselves that all who had fallen with the king should not receive the interment which belongs to good men, but reckoned them all robbers and outlaws. but the men who had power, and had relations on the field, cared little for this, but removed their remains to the churches, and took care of their burial. . a miracle on a blind man. thorgils halmason and his son grim went to the field of battle towards evening when it was dusk, took king olaf's corpse up, and bore it to a little empty houseman's hut which stood on the other side of their farm. they had light and water with them. then they took the clothes off the body, swathed it in a linen cloth, laid it down in the house, and concealed it under some firewood so that nobody could see it, even if people came into the hut. thereafter they went home again to the farmhouse. a great many beggars and poor people had followed both armies, who begged for meat; and the evening after the battle many remained there, and sought lodging round about in all the houses, great or small. it is told of a blind man who was poor, that a boy attended him and led him. they went out around the farm to seek a lodging, and came to the same empty house, of which the door was so low that they had almost to creep in. now when the blind man had come in, he fumbled about the floor seeking a place where he could lay himself down. he had a hat on his head, which fell down over his face when he stooped down. he felt with his hands that there was moisture on the floor, and he put up his wet hand to raise his hat, and in doing so put his fingers on his eyes. there came immediately such an itching in his eyelids, that he wiped the water with his fingers from his eyes, and went out of the hut, saying nobody could lie there, it was so wet. when he came out of the hut he could distinguish his hands, and all that was near him, as far as things can be distinguished by sight in the darkness of light; and he went immediately to the farm-house into the room, and told all the people he had got his sight again, and could see everything, although many knew he had been blind for a long time, for he had been there, before, going about among the houses of the neighbourhood. he said he first got his sight when he was coming out of a little ruinous hut which was all wet inside. "i groped in the water," said he, "and rubbed my eyes with my wet hands." he told where the hut stood. the people who heard him wondered much at this event, and spoke among themselves of what it could be that produced it: but thorgils the peasant and his son grim thought they knew how this came to pass; and as they were much afraid the king's enemies might go there and search the hut, they went and took the body out of it, and removed it to a garden, where they concealed it, and then returned to the farm, and slept there all night. . of thorer hund. the fifth day (thursday), thorer hund came down the valley of veradal to stiklestad; and many people, both chiefs and bondes, accompanied him. the field of battle was still being cleared, and people were carrying away the bodies of their friends and relations, and were giving the necessary help to such of the wounded as they wished to save; but many had died since the battle. thorer hund went to where the king had fallen, and searched for his body; but not finding it, he inquired if any one could tell him what had become of the corpse, but nobody could tell him where it was. then he asked the bonde thorgils, who said, "i was not in the battle, and knew little of what took place there; but many reports are abroad, and among others that king olaf has been seen in the night up at staf, and a troop of people with him: but if he fell in the battle, your men must have concealed him in some hole, or under some stone-heap." now although thorer hund knew for certain that the king had fallen, many allowed themselves to believe, and to spread abroad the report, that the king had escaped from the battle, and would in a short time come again upon them with an army. then thorer went to his ships, and sailed down the fjord, and the bonde-army dispersed, carrying with them all the wounded men who could bear to be removed. . of king olaf's body. thorgils halmason and his son grim had king olaf's body, and were anxious about preserving it from falling into the hands of the king's enemies, and being ill-treated; for they heard the bondes speaking about burning it, or sinking it in the sea. the father and son had seen a clear light burning at night over the spot on the battlefield where king olaf's body lay, and since, while they concealed it, they had always seen at night a light burning over the corpse; therefore they were afraid the king's enemies might seek the body where this signal was visible. they hastened, therefore, to take the body to a place where it would be safe. thorgils and his son accordingly made a coffin, which they adorned as well as they could, and laid the king's body in it; and afterwards made another coffin in which they laid stones and straw, about as much as the weight of a man, and carefully closed the coffins. as soon as the whole bonde-army had left stiklestad, thorgils and his son made themselves ready, got a large rowing-boat, and took with them seven or eight men, who were all thorgil's relations or friends, and privately took the coffin with the king's body down to the boat, and set it under the foot-boards. they had also with them the coffin containing the stones, and placed it in the boat where all could see it; and then went down the fjord with a good opportunity of wind and weather, and arrived in the dusk of the evening at nidaros, where they brought up at the king's pier. then thorgils sent some of his men up to the town to bishop sigurd, to say that they were come with the king's body. as soon as the bishop heard this news, he sent his men down to the pier, and they took a small rowing-boat, came alongside of thorgil's ship, and demanded the king's body. thorgils and his people then took the coffin which stood in view, and bore it into the boat; and the bishop's men rowed out into the fjord, and sank the coffin in the sea. it was now quite dark. thorgils and his people now rowed up into the river past the town, and landed at a place called saurhlid, above the town. then they carried the king's body to an empty house standing at a distance from other houses, and watched over it for the night, while thorgils went down to the town, where he spoke with some of the best friends of king olaf, and asked them if they would take charge of the king's body; but none of them dared to do so. then thorgils and his men went with the body higher up the river, buried it in a sand-hill on the banks, and levelled all around it so that no one could observe that people had been at work there. they were ready with all this before break of day, when they returned to their vessel, went immediately out of the river, and proceeded on their way home to stiklestad. . of the beginning of king svein alfifason's government. svein, a son of king canute, and of alfifa, a daughter of earl alfrin, had been appointed to govern jomsborg in vindland. there came a message to him from his father king canute, that he should come to denmark; and likewise that afterwards he should proceed to norway, and take that kingdom under his charge, and assume, at the same time, the title of king of norway. svein repaired to denmark, and took many people with him from thence, and also earl harald and many other people of consequence attended him. thorarin loftunga speaks of this in the song he composed about king svein, called the "glelogn song":-- "'tis told by fame, how grandly came the danes to tend their young king svein. grandest was he, that all could see; then, one by one, each following man more splendour wore than him before." then svein proceeded to norway, and his mother alfifa was with him; and he was taken to be king at every law-thing in the country. he had already come as far as viken at the time the battle was fought at stiklestad, and king olaf fell. svein continued his journey until he came north, in autumn, to the throndhjem country; and there, as elsewhere, he was received as king. . of king svein's laws. king svein introduced new laws in many respects into the country, partly after those which were in denmark, and in part much more severe. no man must leave the country without the king's permission; or if he did, his property fell to the king. whoever killed a man outright, should forfeit all his land and movables. if any one was banished the country, and all heritage fell to him, the king took his inheritance. at yule every man should pay the king a meal of malt from every harvest steading, and a leg of a three-year old ox, which was called a friendly gift, together with a spand of butter; and every house-wife a rock full of unspun lint, as thick as one could span with the longest fingers of the hand. the bondes were bound to build all the houses the king required upon his farms. of every seven males one should be taken for the service of war, and reckoning from the fifth year of age; and the outfit of ships should be reckoned in the same proportion. every man who rowed upon the sea to fish should pay the king five fish as a tax, for the land defence, wherever he might come from. every ship that went out of the country should have stowage reserved open for the king in the middle of the ship. every man, foreigner or native, who went to iceland, should pay a tax to the king. and to all this was added, that danes should enjoy so much consideration in norway, that one witness of them should invalidate ten of northmen ( ). when these laws were promulgated the minds of the people were instantly raised against them, and murmurs were heard among them. they who had not taken part against king olaf said, "now take your reward and friendship from the canute race, ye men of the interior throndhjem who fought against king olaf, and deprived him of his kingdom. ye were promised peace and justice, and now ye have got oppression and slavery for your great treachery and crime." nor was it very easy to contradict them, as all men saw how miserable the change had been. but people had not the boldness to make an insurrection against king svein, principally because many had given king canute their sons or other near relations as hostages; and also because no one appeared as leader of an insurrection. they very soon, however, complained of king svein; and his mother alfifa got much of the blame of all that was against their desire. then the truth, with regard to olaf, became evident to many. endnotes: ( ) this may probably have referred not to witnesses of an act, but to the class of witnesses in the jurisprudence of the middle ages called compurgators, who testified not the fact, but their confidence in the statements of the accused; and from which, possibly, our english bail for offenders arose. --l. . of king olaf's sanctity. this winter (a.d. ) many in the throndhjem land began to declare that olaf was in reality a holy man, and his sanctity was confirmed by many miracles. many began to make promises and prayers to king olaf in the matters in which they thought they required help, and many found great benefit from these invocations. some in respect of health, others of a journey, or other circumstances in which such help seemed needful. . of einar tambaskelfer. einar tambaskelfer was come home from england to his farm, and had the fiefs which king canute had given him when they met in throndhjem, and which were almost an earldom. einar had not been in the strife against king olaf, and congratulated himself upon it. he remembered that king canute had promised him the earldom over norway, and at the same time remembered that king canute had not kept his promise. he was accordingly the first great person who looked upon king olaf as a saint. . of the sons of arne. fin arnason remained but a short time at eggja with his brother kalf; for he was in the highest degree ill-pleased that kalf had been in the battle against king olaf, and always made his brother the bitterest reproaches on this account. thorberg arnason was much more temperate in his discourse than fin; but yet he hastened away, and went home to his farm. kalf gave the two brothers a good long-ship, with full rigging and other necessaries, and a good retinue. therefore they went home to their farms, and sat quietly at home. arne arnason lay long ill of his wounds, but got well at last without injury of any limb, and in winter he proceeded south to his farm. all the brothers made their peace with king svein, and sat themselves quietly down in their homes. . bishop sigurd's flight. the summer after (a.d. ) there was much talk about king olaf's sanctity, and there was a great alteration in the expressions of all people concerning him. there were many who now believed that king olaf must be a saint, even among those who had persecuted him with the greatest animosity, and would never in their conversation allow truth or justice in his favour. people began then to turn their reproaches against the men who had principally excited opposition to the king; and on this account bishop sigurd in particular was accused. he got so many enemies, that he found it most advisable to go over to england to king canute. then the throndhjem people sent men with a verbal message to the uplands, to bishop grimkel, desiring him to come north to throndhjem. king olaf had sent bishop grimkel back to norway when he went east into russia, and since that time grimkel had been in the uplands. when the message came to the bishop he made ready to go, and it contributed much to this journey that the bishop considered it as true what was told of king olaf's miracles and sanctity. . king olaf the saint's remains disinterred. bishop grimkel went to einar tambaskelfer, who received him joyfully. they talked over many things, and, among others, of the important events which had taken place in the country; and concerning these they were perfectly agreed. then the bishop proceeded to the town (nidaros), and was well received by all the community. he inquired particularly concerning the miracles of king olaf that were reported, and received satisfactory accounts of them. thereupon the bishop sent a verbal message to stiklestad to thorgils and his son grim, inviting them to come to the town to him. they did not decline the invitation, but set out on the road immediately, and came to the town and to the bishop. they related to him all the signs that had presented themselves to them, and also where they had deposited the king's body. the bishop sent a message to einar tambaskelfer, who came to the town. then the bishop and einar had an audience of the king and alfifa, in which they asked the king's leave to have king olaf's body taken up out of the earth. the king gave his permission, and told the bishop to do as he pleased in the matter. at that time there were a great many people in the town. the bishop, einar, and some men with them, went to the place where the king's body was buried, and had the place dug; but the coffin had already raised itself almost to the surface of the earth. it was then the opinion of many that the bishop should proceed to have the king buried in the earth at clement's church; and it was so done. twelve months and five days (aug. , a.d. ), after king olaf's death his holy remains were dug up, and the coffin had raised itself almost entirely to the surface of the earth; and the coffin appeared quite new, as if it had but lately been made. when bishop grimkel came to king olaf's opened coffin, there was a delightful and fresh smell. thereupon the bishop uncovered the king's face, and his appearance was in no respect altered, and his cheeks were as red as if he had but just fallen asleep. the men who had seen king olaf when he fell remarked, also, that his hair and nails had grown as much as if he had lived on the earth all the time that had passed since his fall. thereupon king svein, and all the chiefs who were at the place, went out to see king olaf's body. then said alfifa, "people buried in sand rot very slowly, and it would not have been so if he had been buried in earth." afterwards the bishop took scissors, clipped the king's hair, and arranged his beard; for he had had a long beard, according to the fashion of that time. then said the bishop to the king and alfifa, "now the king's hair and beard are such as when he gave up the ghost, and it has grown as much as ye see has been cut off." alfifa answers, "i will believe in the sanctity of his hair, if it will not burn in the fire; but i have often seen men's hair whole and undamaged after lying longer in the earth than this man's." then the bishop had live coals put into a pan, blessed it, cast incense upon it, and then laid king olaf's hair on the fire. when all the incense was burnt the bishop took the hair out of the fire, and showed the king and the other chiefs that it was not consumed. now alfifa asked that the hair should be laid upon unconsecrated fire; but einar tambaskelfer told her to be silent, and gave her many severe reproaches for her unbelief. after the bishop's recognition, with the king's approbation and the decision of the thing, it was determined that king olaf should be considered a man truly holy; whereupon his body was transported into clement's church, and a place was prepared for it near the high altar. the coffin was covered with costly cloth, and stood under a gold embroidered tent. many kinds of miracles were soon wrought by king olaf's holy remains. . of king olaf's miracles. in the sand-hill where king olaf's body had lain on the ground a beautiful spring of water came up and many human ailments and infirmities were cured by its waters. things were put in order around it, and the water ever since has been carefully preserved. there was first a chapel built, and an altar consecrated, where the king's body had lain; but now christ's church stands upon the spot. archbishop eystein had a high altar raised upon the spot where the king's grave had been, when he erected the great temple which now stands there; and it is the same spot on which the altar of the old christ church had stood. it is said that olaf's church stands on the spot on which the empty house had stood in which king olaf's body had been laid for the night. the place over which the holy remains of king olaf were carried up from the vessel is now called olaf's road, and is now in the middle of the town. the bishop adorned king olaf's holy remains, and cut his nails and hair; for both grew as if he had still been alive. so says sigvat the skald:-- "i lie not, when i say the king seemed as alive in every thing: his nails, his yellow hair still growing, and round his ruddy cheek still flowing, as when, to please the russian queen, his yellow locks adorned were seen; or to the blind he cured he gave a tress, their precious sight to save." thorarin loftunga also composed a song upon svein alfifason, called the "glelogn song", in which are these verses:-- "svein, king of all, in olaf's hall now sits on high; and olaf's eye looks down from heaven, where it is given to him to dwell: or here in cell, as heavenly saint, to heal men's plaint, may our gold-giver live here for ever! "king olaf there to hold a share on earth prepared, nor labour spared a seat to win from heaven's great king; which he has won next god's own son. "his holy form, untouched by worm, lies at this day where good men pray, and nails and hair grow fresh and fair; his cheek is red, his flesh not dead. "around his bier, good people hear the small bells ring over the king, or great bell toll; and living soul not one can tell who tolls the bell. "tapers up there, (which christ holds dear,) by day and night the altar light: olaf did so, and all men know in heaven he from sin sits free. "and crowds do come, the deaf and dumb, cripple and blind, sick of all kind, cured to be on bended knee; and off the ground rise whole and sound. "to olaf pray to eke thy day, to save thy land from spoiler's hand. god's man is he to deal to thee good crops and peace; let not prayer cease. "book-prayers prevail, if, nail for nail ( ), thou tellest on, forgetting none." thorarin loftunga was himself with king svein, and heard these great testimonials of king olaf's holiness, that people, by the heavenly power, could hear a sound over his holy remains as if bells were ringing, and that candles were lighted of themselves upon the altar as by a heavenly fire. but when thorarin says that a multitude of lame, and blind, and other sick, who came to the holy olaf, went back cured, he means nothing more than that there were a vast number of persons who at the beginning of king olaf's miraculous working regained their health. king olaf's greatest miracles are clearly written down, although they occurred somewhat later. endnotes: ( ) before the entrance of the temples or churches were posts called ondveigis-sulor, with nails called rigin-naglar-- the gods' nails--either for ornament, or, as schoning suggests, to assist the people in reckoning weeks, months, festivals, and in reckoning or keeping tale of prayers repeated, and to recall them to memory, in the same way as beads are used still by the common people in catholic countries for the same purpose.--l. . of king olaf's age and reign. it is reckoned by those who have kept an exact account, that olaf the saint was king of norway for fifteen years from the time earl svein left the country; but he had received the title of king from the people of the uplands the winter before. sigvat the skald tells this:-- "for fifteen winters o'er the land king olaf held the chief command, before he fell up in the north: his fall made known to us his worth. no worthier prince before his day in our north land e'er held the sway, too short he held it for our good; all men wish now that he had stood." saint olaf was thirty-five years old when he fell, according to what are frode the priest says, and he had been in twenty pitched battles. so says sigvat the skald:-- "some leaders trust in god--some not; even so their men; but well i wot god-fearing olaf fought and won twenty pitched battles, one by one, and always placed upon his right his christian men in a hard fight. may god be merciful, i pray, to him--for he ne'er shunned his fray." we have now related a part of king olaf's story, namely, the events which took place while he ruled over norway; also his death, and how his holiness was manifested. now shall we not neglect to mention what it was that most advanced his honour. this was his miracles; but these will come to be treated of afterwards in this book. . of the throndhjem people. king svein, the son of canute the great, ruled over norway for some years; but was a child both in age and understanding. his mother alfifa had most sway in the country; and the people of the country were her great enemies, both then and ever since. danish people had a great superiority given them within the country, to the great dissatisfaction of the people; and when conversation turned that way, the people of the rest of norway accused the throndhjem people of having principally occasioned king olaf the holy's fall, and also that the men of norway were subject, through them, to the ill government by which oppression and slavery had come upon all the people, both great and small; indeed upon the whole community. they insisted that it was the duty of the throndhjem people to attempt opposition and insurrection, and thus relieve the country from such tyranny; and, in the opinion of the common people, throndhjem was also the chief seat of the strength of norway at that time, both on account of the chiefs and of the population of that quarter. when the throndhjem people heard these remarks of their countrymen, they could not deny that there was much truth in them, and that in depriving king olaf of life and land they had committed a great crime, and at the same time the misdeed had been ill paid. the chiefs began to hold consultations and conferences with each other, and the leader of these was einar tambaskelfer. it was likewise the case with kalf arnason, who began to find into what errors he had been drawn by king canute's persuasion. all the promises which king canute had made to kalf had been broken; for he had promised him the earldom and the highest authority in norway: and although kalf had been the leader in the battle against king olaf, and had deprived him of his life and kingdom, kalf had not got any higher dignity than he had before. he felt that he had been deceived, and therefore messages passed between the brothers kalf, fin, thorberg, and arne, and they renewed their family friendship. . of king svein's levy. when king svein had been three years in norway (a.d. - ), the news was received that a force was assembled in the western countries, under a chief who called himself trygve, and gave out that he was a son of olaf trygvason and queen gyda of england. now when king svein heard that foreign troops had come to the country, he ordered out the people on a levy in the north, and the most of the lendermen hastened to him; but einar tambaskelfer remained at home, and would not go out with king svein. when king svein's order came to kalf arnason at eggja, that he should go out on a levy with king svein, he took a twenty-benched ship which he owned, went on board with his house-servants, and in all haste proceeded out of the fjord, without waiting for king svein, sailed southwards to more, and continued his voyage south until he came to giske to his brother thorberg. then all the brothers, the sons of arne, held a meeting, and consulted with each other. after this kalf returned to the north again; but when he came to frekeysund, king svein was lying in the sound before him. when kalf came rowing from the south into the sound they hailed each other, and the king's men ordered kalf to bring up with his vessel, and follow the king for the defence of the country. kalf replies, "i have done enough, if not too much, when i fought against my own countrymen to increase the power of the canute family." thereupon kalf rowed away to the north until he came home to eggja. none of these arnasons appeared at this levy to accompany the king. he steered with his fleet southwards along the land; but as he could not hear the least news of any fleet having come from the west, he steered south to rogaland, and all the way to agder; for many guessed that trygve would first make his attempt on viken, because his forefathers had been there, and had most of their strength from that quarter, and he had himself great strength by family connection there. . king trygve olafson's fall. when trygve came from the west he landed first on the coast of hordaland, and when he heard king svein had gone south he went the same way to rogaland. as soon as svein got the intelligence that trygve had come from the west he returned, and steered north with his fleet; and both fleets met within bokn in soknarsund, not far from the place where erling skjalgson fell. the battle, which took place on a sunday, was great and severe. people tell that trygve threw spears with both hands at once. "so my father," said he, "taught me to celebrate mass." his enemies had said that he was the son of a priest; but the praise must be allowed him that he showed himself more like a son of king olaf trygvason, for this trygve was a slaughtering man. in this battle king trygve fell, and many of his men with him; but some fled, and some received quarter and their lives. it is thus related in the ballad of trygve:-- "trygve comes from the northern coast, king svein turns round with all his host; to meet and fight, they both prepare, and where they met grim death was there. from the sharp strife i was not far,-- i heard the din and the clang of war; and the hordaland men at last gave way, and their leader fell, and they lost the day." this battle is also told of in the ballad about king svein, thus:-- "my girl! it was a sunday morn, and many a man ne'er saw its eve, though ale and leeks by old wives borne the bruised and wounded did relieve. 'twas sunday morn, when svein calls out, 'stem to stem your vessels bind;' the raven a mid-day feast smells out, and he comes croaking up the wind." after this battle king svein ruled the country for some time, and there was peace in the land. the winter after it (a.d. ) he passed in the south parts of the country. . of the counsels of einar tambaskelfer and kalf arnason. einar tambaskelfer and kalf arnason had this winter meetings and consultations between themselves in the merchant town ( ). then there came a messenger from king canute to kalf arnason, with a message to send him three dozen axes, which must be chosen and good. kalf replies, "i will send no axes to king canute. tell him i will bring his son svein so many, that he shall not think he is in want of any." endnotes: ( ) nidaros, or throndhjem, is usually called merely the merchant town.--l. . of einar tambaskelfer and kalf arnason's journey. early in spring (a.d. ) einar tambaskelfer and kalf arnason made themselves ready for a journey, with a great retinue of the best and most select men that could be found in the throndhjem country. they went in spring eastward over the ridge of the country to jamtaland, from thence to helsingjaland, and came to svithjod, where they procured ships, with which in summer they proceeded east to russia, and came in autumn to ladoga. they sent men up to novgorod to king jarisleif, with the errand that they offered magnus, the son of king olaf the saint, to take him with them, follow him to norway, and give him assistance to attain his father's heritage and be made king over the country. when this message came to king jarisleif he held a consultation with the queen and some chiefs, and they all resolved unanimously to send a message to the northmen, and ask them to come to king jarisleif and magnus; for which journey safe conduct was given them. when they came to novgorod it was settled among them that the northmen who had come there should become magnus's men, and be his subjects; and to this kalf and the other men who had been against king olaf at stiklestad were solemnly bound by oath. on the other hand, king magnus promised them, under oath, secure peace and full reconciliation; and that he would be true and faithful to them all when he got the dominions and kingdom of norway. he was to become kalf arnason's foster-son; and kalf should be bound to do all that magnus might think necessary for extending his dominion, and making it more independent than formerly. saga of magnus the good. preliminary remarks. magnus reigned from a.d. to , when he died. during the last year of his reign his half-brother harald sigurdson was his co-regent. the history of magnus is treated in "agrip.", ch. - ; in "fagrskinna", ch. - ; in "fornmannasogur", part vi., and in "knytlinga saga". the skalds quoted in this saga are: arnor the earls' skald (arnor jarlaskald), sigvat, thjodulf, bjarne gullbrarskald, thorgeir flek, od kikinaskald. . magnus olafson's journey from the west. after yule magnus olafson began his journey from the east from novgorod to ladoga, where he rigged out his ships as soon as the ice was loosened in spring (a.d. ). arnor, the earls' skald, tells of this in the poem on magnus:-- "it is no loose report that he, who will command on land and sea, in blood will make his foeman feel olaf's sword hneiter's sharp blue steel. this generous youth, who scatters gold, norway's brave son, but ten years old, is rigging ships in russia's lake, his crown, with friend's support, to take." in spring magnus sailed from the east to svithjod. so says arnor:-- "the young sword-stainer called a thing, where all his men should meet their king: heroes who find the eagle food before their lord in arms stood. and now the curved plank of the bow cleaves the blue sea; the ocean-plough by grey winds driven across the main, reaches sigtuna's grassy plain." here it is related that when king magnus and his fellow-travellers sailed from the east to svithjod, they brought up at sigtuna. emund olafson was then king in svithjod. queen astrid, who had been married to king olaf the saint, was also there. she received very gladly and well her stepson king magnus, and summoned immediately a numerous thing of swedes at a place called hangtar. at the thing queen astrid spoke these words: "here is come to us a son of olaf the saint, called magnus, who intends to make an expedition to norway to seek his father's heritage. it is my great duty to give him aid towards this expedition; for he is my stepson, as is well known to all, both swedes and norwegians. neither shall he want men or money, in so far as i can procure them or have influence, in order that his strength may be as great as possible; and all the men who will support this cause of his shall have my fullest friendship; and i would have it known that i intend myself to go with him on this attempt, that all may see i will spare nothing that is in my power to help him." she spoke long and cleverly in this strain; but when she had ended many replied thus: "the swedes made no honourable progress in norway when they followed king olaf his father, and now no better success is to be expected, as this man is but in years of boyhood; and therefore we have little inclination for this expedition." astrid replies, "all men who wish to be thought of true courage must not be deterred by such considerations. if any have lost connections at the side of king olaf, or been themselves wounded, now is the time to show a man's heart and courage, and go to norway to take vengeance." astrid succeeded so far with words and encouragement that many men determined to go with her, and follow king magnus to norway. sigvat the skald speaks of this:-- "now astrtd, olaf's widowed queen,-- she who so many a change had seen,-- took all the gifts of happier days, jewels and rings, all she could raise, and at a thing at hangrar, where the swedes were numerous, did declare what olaf's son proposed to do, and brought her gifts--their pay--in view. "and with the swedes no wiser plan, to bring out every brave bold man, could have been found, had magnus been the son himself of the good queen. with help of christ, she hoped to bring magnus to be the land's sole king, as harald was, who in his day obtained o'er all the upper sway. "and glad are we so well she sped,-- the people's friend is now their head; and good king magnus always shows how much be to queen astrid owes. such stepmothers as this good queen in truth are very rarely seen; and to this noble woman's praise the skald with joy his song will raise." thiodolf the skald also says in his song of magnus:-- "when thy brave ship left the land, the bending yard could scarce withstand the fury of the whistling gale, that split thy many-coloured sail; and many a stout ship, tempest-tost, was in that howling storm lost that brought them safe to sigtuna's shore, far from the sound of ocean's roar." . magnus's expedition from svithjod. king magnus set out on his journey from sigtuna with a great force, which he had gathered in svithjod. they proceeded through svithjod on foot to helsingjaland. so says arnor, the earl's skald:-- "and many a dark-red swedish shield marched with thee from the swedish field. the country people crowded in, to help saint olaf's son to win; and chosen men by thee were led, men who have stained the wolf's tongue red. each milk-white shield and polished spear came to a splendid gathering there." magnus olafson went from the east through jamtaland over the keel-ridge of the country and came down upon the throndhjem district, where all men welcomed the king with joy. but no sooner did the men of king svein, the son of alfifa, hear that king magnus olafson was come to the country, than they fled on all sides and concealed themselves, so that no opposition was made to king magnus; for king svein was in the south part of the country. so says arnor, the earls' skald:-- "he who the eagle's talons stains rushed from the east on throndhjem's plains; the terror of his plumed helm drove his pale foemen from the realm. the lightning of thy eye so near, great king! thy foemen could not bear, scattered they fled--their only care if thou their wretched lives wilt spare." . magnus made king. magnus olafson advanced to the town (nidaros), where he was joyfully received. he then summoned the people to the eyra-thing ( ); and when the bondes met at the thing, magnus was taken to be king over the whole land, as far as his father olaf had possessed it. then the king selected a court, and named lendermen, and placed bailiffs and officers in all domains and offices. immediately after harvest king magnus ordered a levy through all throndhjem land, and he collected men readily; and thereafter he proceeded southwards along the coast. endnotes: ( ) eyra thing, held on the ayr of the river nid, that is, on the spit of sand, still called an ayr in the north of scotland, dividing a lake, pond, or river-mouth from the sea. at the thing held here the kings of norway were chosen and proclaimed. it was held to be the proper thing for settling disputes between kings in norway.--l. . king svein's flight. king svein alfifason was staying in south hordaland when he heard this news of war. he immediately sent out war-tokens to four different quarters, summoned the bondes to him, and made it known to all that they should join him with men and ships to defend the country. all the men who were in the neighbourhood of the king presented themselves; and the king formed a thing, at which in a speech he set forth his business, and said he would advance against magnus olafson and have a battle with him, if the bondes would aid his cause. the king's speech was not very long, and was not received with much approbation by the bondes. afterwards the danish chiefs who were about the king made long and clever speeches; but the bondes then took up the word, and answered them; and although many said they would follow svein, and fight on his side, some refused to do so bluntly, some were altogether silent, and some declared they would join king magnus as soon as they had an opportunity. then king svein says, "methinks very few of the bondes to whom we sent a message have appeared here; and of those who have come, and tell us to our face that they will join king magnus as soon as they can, we shall have as little benefit as of those who say they will sit at home quietly. it is the same with those who say nothing at all. but as to those who promise to help us, there are not more than every other man; and that force will avail us little against king magnus. it is my counsel, therefore, that we do not trust to these bondes; but let us rather go to the land where all the people are sure and true to us, and where we will obtain forces to conquer this country again." as soon as the king had made known this resolution all his men followed it, turned their ship's bows, and hoisted sail. king svein sailed eastward along the land, and then set right over to denmark without delay, and hardaknut received his brother svein very kindly. at their first meeting hardaknut offered king svein to divide the kingdom of denmark with him, which offer king svein accepted. . king magnus's journey to norway. in autumn (a.d. ) king magnus proceeded eastward to the end of the country, and was received as king throughout the whole land, and the country people were rejoiced at his arrival. . death of king canute the great and his son svein. king svein, canute's son, went to denmark, as before related, and took part in the government with his brother hardaknut. in the same autumn king canute the great died in england, the th november, forty years old, and was buried at winchester. he had been king of denmark for twenty-seven years, and over denmark and england together twenty-four years, and also over norway for seven years. king canute's son harald was then made king in england. the same winter (a.d. ) king svein, alfifa's son, died in denmark. thiodolf the skald made these lines concerning king magnus:-- "through sweden's dirty roads the throng followed the king in spearmen strong. svein doth fly, in truth afraid, and partly by his men betrayed; flying to denmark o'er the sea, he leaves the land quite clear to thee." bjarne gullbrarskald composed the following lines concerning kalf arnason:-- "by thee the kings got each his own,-- magnus by thee got norway's throne; and svein in denmark got a seat, when out of norway he was beat. kalf! it was you who showed the way to our young king, the battle-lover,-- from russia to his father's sway you showed the way, and brought him over." king magnus ruled over norway this winter (a.d. ), and hardaknut over denmark. . reconciliation between hardaknut and king magnus. the following spring (a.d. ) the kings on both sides ordered out a levy, and the news was that they would have a battle at the gaut river; but when the two armies approached each other, the lendermen in the one army sent messengers to their connections and friends in the other; and it came to a proposal for a reconciliation between the two kings, especially as, from both kings being but young and childish, some powerful men, who had been chosen in each of the countries for that purpose, had the rule of the country on their account. it thus was brought about that there was a friendly meeting between the kings, and in this meeting a peace was proposed; and the peace was to be a brotherly union under oath to keep the peace towards each other to the end of their lives; and if one of them should die without leaving a son, the longest liver should succeed to the whole land and people. twelve of the principal men in each kingdom swore to the kings that this treaty should be observed, so long as any one of them was in life. then the kings separated, and each returned home to his kingdom; and the treaty was kept as long as both lived. . of queen astrid. queen astrid, who had been married to king olaf the saint, came to norway with king magnus her stepson, as before related, and was held by him deservedly in great honour and esteem. then came also alfhild, king magnus's mother, to the court, and the king received her with the greatest affection, and showed her great respect. but it went with alfhild, as it does with many who come to power and honour, that pride keeps pace with promotion. she was ill pleased that queen astrid was treated with more respect, had a higher seat, and more attention. alfhild wanted to have a seat next to the king, but astrid called alfhild her slave-woman, as indeed she had formerly been when astrid was queen of norway and king olaf ruled the land, and therefore would on no account let her have a seat beside her, and they could not lodge in the same house. . of sigvat the skald. sigvat the skald had gone to rome, where he was at the time of the battle of stiklestad. he was on his way back from the south when he heard tidings of king olaf's fall, which gave him great grief. he then sang these lines:-- "one morning early on a hill, the misty town asleep and still, wandering i thought upon the fields. strewed o'er with broken mail and shields, where our king fell,--our kind good king, where now his happy youthful spring? my father too!--for thord was then one of the good king's chosen men." one day sigvat went through a village, and heard a husband lamenting grievously over the loss of his wife, striking his breast, tearing his clothes, weeping bitterly, and saying he wanted to die; and sigvat sang these lines:-- "this poor man mourns a much-loved wife, gladly would he be quit of life. must love be paid for by our grief? the price seems great for joy so brief. but the brave man who knows no fear drops for his king a silent tear, and feels, perhaps, his loss as deep as those who clamour when they weep." sigvat came home to norway to the throndhjem country, where he had a farm and children. he came from the south along the coast in a merchant vessel, and as they lay in hillarsund they saw a great many ravens flying about. then sigvat said:-- "i see here many a croaking raven flying about the well-known haven: when olaf's ship was floating here, they knew that food for them was near; when olaf's ship lay here wind-bound, oft screamed the erne o'er hillar sound, impatient for the expected prey, and wont to follow to the fray." when sigvat came north to the town of throndhjem king svein was there before him. he invited sigvat to stay with him, as sigvat had formerly been with his father king canute the great; but sigvat said he would first go home to his farm. one day, as sigvat was walking in the street, he saw the king's men at play, and he sang:-- "one day before i passed this way, when the king's guards were at their play, something there was--i need not tell-- that made me pale, and feel unwell. perhaps it was i thought, just then, how noble olaf with his men, in former days, i oft have seen in manly games upon this green." sigvat then went to his farm; and as he heard that many men upbraided him with having deserted king olaf, he made these verses:-- "may christ condemn me still to burn in quenchless fire, if i did turn, and leave king olaf in his need,-- my soul is free from such base deed. i was at rome, as men know well who saw me there, and who can tell that there in danger i was then: the truth i need not hide from men." sigvat was ill at ease in his home. one day he went out and sang:-- "while olaf lived, how smiled the land! mountain and cliff, and pebbly strand. all norway then, so fresh, so gay, on land or sea, where oft i lay. but now to me all seems so dready, all black and dull--of life i'm weary; cheerless to-day, cheerless to-morrow-- here in the north we have great sorrow." early in winter sigvat went westward over the ridge of the country to jamtaland, and onwards to helsingjaland, and came to svithjod. he went immediately to queen astrid, and was with her a long time, and was a welcome guest. he was also with her brother king emund, and received from him ten marks of proved silver, as is related in the song of canute. sigvat always inquired of the merchants who traded to novgorod if they could tell him any news of magnus olafson. sigvat composed these lines at that time:-- "i ask the merchant oft who drives his trade to russia, 'how he thrives, our noble prince? how lives he there? and still good news--his praise--i hear. to little birds, which wing their way between the lands, i fain would say, how much we long our prince to see, they seem to hear a wish from me." . of king magnus's first arrival in svithjod. immediately after magnus olafson came to svithjod from russia, sigvat met him at queen astrid's house, and glad they all were at meeting. sigvat then sang:-- "thou art come here, prince, young and bold! thou art come home! with joy behold thy land and people. from this hour i join myself to thy young power. i could not o'er to russie hie,-- thy mother's guardian here was i. it was my punishment for giving magnus his name, while scarcely living." afterwards sigvat travelled with queen astrid, and followed magnus to norway. sigvat sang thus:-- "to the crowds streaming to the thing, to see and hear magnus their king, loudly, young king, i'll speak my mind-- 'god to his people has been kind.' if he, to whom be all the praise, give us a son in all his ways like to his sire, no folk on earth will bless so much a royal birth." now when magnus became king of norway sigvat attended him, and was his dearest friend. once it happened that queen astrid and alfhild the king's mother had exchanged some sharp words with each other, and sigvat said:-- "alfhild! though it was god's will to raise thee--yet remember still the queen-born astrid should not be kept out of due respect by thee." . king olaf's shrine. king magnus had a shrine made and mounted with gold and silver, and studded with jewels. this shrine was made so that in shape and size it was like a coffin. under it was an arched way, and above was a raised roof, with a head and a roof-ridge. behind were plaited hangings; and before were gratings with padlocks, which could be locked with a key. in this shrine king magnus had the holy remains of king olaf deposited, and many were the miracles there wrought. of this sigvat speaks:-- "for him a golden shrine is made, for him whose heart was ne'er afraid of mortal man--the holy king, whom the lord god to heaven did bring. here many a man shall feel his way, stone-blind, unconscious of the day, and at the shrine where olaf lies give songs of praise for opened eyes." it was also appointed by law that king olaf's holy day should be held sacred over all norway, and that day has been kept ever afterwards as the greatest of church days. sigvat speaks of it:-- "to olaf, magnus' father, raise, within my house, the song of praise! with joy, yet grief, we'll keep the day olaf to heaven was called away. well may i keep within my breast a day for him in holy rest,-- my upraised hands a golden ring on every branch ( ) bear from that king." endnotes: ( ) the fingers, the branches of the hand, bore golden fruits from the generosity of the king.--l. . of thorer hund. thorer hund left the country immediately after king olaf's fall. he went all the way to jerusalem, and many people say he never came back. thorer hund had a son called sigurd, father of ranveig who was married to joan, a son of arne arnason. their children were vidkun of bjarkey, sigurd hund, erling, and jardthrud. . of the murder of harek of thjotta. harek of thjotta sat at home on his farm, till king magnus olafson came to the country and was made king. then harek went south to throndhjem to king magnus. at that time asmund grankelson was in the king's house. when harek came to nidaros, and landed out of the ship, asmund was standing with the king in the gallery outside the loft, and both the king and asmund knew harek when they saw him. "now," says asmund to the king, "i will pay harek for my father's murder." he had in his hand a little thin hatchet. the king looked at him, and said, "rather take this axe of mine." it was thick, and made like a club. "thou must know, asmund," added he, "that there are hard bones in the old fellow." asmund took the axe, went down, and through the house, and when he came down to the cross-road harek and his men coming up met him. asmund struck harek on the head, so that the axe penetrated to the brains; and that was harek's death-wound. asmund turned back directly to the king's house, and the whole edge of the axe was turned with the blow. then said the king, "what would thy axe have done, for even this one, i think, is spoilt?" king magnus afterwards gave him a fief and office in halogaland, and many are the tales about the strife between asmund and harek's sons. . of thorgeir flek. kalf arnason had at first, for some time, the greatest share of the government of the country under king magnus; but afterwards there were people who reminded the king of the part kalf had taken at stiklestad, and then it became difficult for kalf to give the king satisfaction in anything. once it happened there were many men with the king bringing their affairs before him; and thorgeir flek from sula in veradal, of whom mention is made before in the history of king olaf the saint, came to him about some needful business. the king paid no attention to his words, but was listening to people who stood near him. then thorgeir said to the king, so loud that all who were around him could hear:-- "listen, my lord, to my plain word. i too was there, and had to bear a bloody head from stiklestad: for i was then with olaf's men. listen to me: well did i see the men you're trusting the dead corpse thrusting out of their way, as dead it lay; and striking o'er your father's gore." there was instantly a great uproar, and some told thorgeir to go out; but the king called him, and not only despatched his business to his satisfaction, but promised him favour and friendship. . kalf arnason flies the country soon after this the king was at a feast at the farm of haug in veradel, and at the dinner-table kalf arnason sat upon one side of him, and einar tambaskelfer on the other. it was already come so far that the king took little notice of kalf, but paid most attention to einar. the king said to einar, "let us ride to-day to stiklestad. i should like to see the memorials of the things which took place there." einar replies, "i can tell thee nothing about it; but take thy foster-father kalf with thee; he can give thee information about all that took place." when the tables were removed, the king made himself ready, and said to kalf, "thou must go with me to stiklestad." kalf replied, "that is really not my duty." then the king stood up in a passion, and said, "go thou shalt, kalf!" and thereupon he went out. kalf put on his riding clothes in all haste, and said to his foot-boy, "thou must ride directly to eggja, and order my house-servants to ship all my property on board my ship before sunset." king magnus now rides to stiklestad, and kalf with him. they alighted from horseback, and went to the place where the battle had been. then said the king to kalf, "where is the spot at which the king fell?" kalf stretched out his spear-shaft, and said, "there he lay when he fell." the king: "and where wast thou, kalf?" kalf: "here where i am now standing." the king turned red as blood in the face, and said, "then thy axe could well have reached him." kalf replied, "my axe did not come near him;" and immediately went to his horse, sprang on horseback, and rode away with all his men; and the king rode back to haug. kalf did not stop until he got home in the evening to eggja. there his ship lay ready at the shore side, and all his effects were on board, and the vessel manned with his house-servants. they set off immediately by night down the fjord, and afterwards proceeded day and night, when the wind suited. he sailed out into the west sea, and was there a long time plundering in ireland, scotland, and the hebudes. bjarne gullbrarskald tells of this in the song about kalf:-- "brother of thorberg, who still stood well with the king! in angry mood he is the first to break with thee, who well deserves esteemed to be; he is the first who friendship broke, for envious men the falsehood spoke; and he will he the first to rue the breach of friendship 'twixt you two." . of the threats of the bondes. king magnus added to his property veggia, which hrut had been owner of, and kviststad, which had belonged to thorgeir, and also eggja, with all the goods which kalf had left behind him; and thus he confiscated to the king's estate many great farms, which had belonged to those of the bonde-army who had fallen at stiklestad. in like manner, he laid heavy fined upon many of those who made the greatest opposition to king olaf. he drove some out of the country, took large sums of money from others, and had the cattle of others slaughtered for his use. then the bondes began to murmur, and to say among themselves, "will he go on in the same way as his father and other chiefs, whom we made an end of when their pride and lawless proceedings became insupportable?" this discontent spread widely through the country. the people of sogn gathered men, and, it was said, were determined to give battle to king magnus, if he came into the fjord district. king magnus was then in hordaland, where he had remained a long time with a numerous retinue, and was now come to the resolution to proceed north to sogn. when the king's friends observed this, twelve men had a meeting, and resolved to determine by casting lots which of them should inform the king of the discontent of the people; and it so happened that the lot fell upon sigvat. . of the free-speaking song ("bersoglisvisur"). sigvat accordingly composed a poem, which he called the "free-speaking song", which begins with saying the king had delayed too long to pacify the people, who were threatening to rise in tumult against him. he said:-- "here in the south, from sogn is spread the news that strife draws to a head: the bondes will the king oppose-- kings and their folk should ne'er be foes. let us take arms, and briskly go to battle, if it must be so; defend our king--but still deplore his land plunged in such strife once more." in this song are also these verses:-- "hakon, who at fitiar died,-- hakon the good, could not abide the viking rule, or robber train, and all men's love he thus did gain. the people since have still in mind the laws of hakon, just and kind; and men will never see the day when hakon's laws have passed away. "the bondes ask but what is fair; the olafs and the earls, when there where magnus sits, confirmed to all their lands and gear--to great and small, bold trygve's son, and harald's heir, the olafs, while on earth they were, observed the laws themselves had made, and none was for his own afraid. "let not thy counsellors stir thy wrath against the man who speaks the truth; thy honour lies in thy good sword, but still more in thy royal word; and, if the people do not lie, the new laws turn out not nigh so just and mild, as the laws given at ulfasund in face of heaven. "dread king! who urges thee to break thy pledged word, and back to take thy promise given? thou warrior bold; with thy own people word to hold, thy promise fully to maintain, is to thyself the greatest gain: the battle-storm raiser he must by his own men trusted be. "who urges thee, who seek'st renown, the bondes' cattle to cut down? no king before e'er took in hand such viking-work in his own land. such rapine men will not long bear, and the king's counsellors will but share in their ill-will: when once inflamed, the king himself for all is blamed. "do cautious, with this news of treason flying about--give them no reason. we hange the thief, but then we use consideration of the excuse. i think, great king (who wilt rejoice eagle and wolf with battle voice), it would be wise not to oppose thy bondes, and make them thy foes. "a dangerous sign it is, i fear, that old grey-bearded men appear in corners whispering at the thing, as if they had bad news to bring. the young sit still,--no laugh, or shout,-- more looks than words passing shout; and groups of whispering heads are seen, on buttoned breasts, with lowering mien. "among the udalmen, they say the king, if he could have his way, would seize the bondes' udal land, and free-born men must this withstand. in truth the man whose udal field, by any doom that law can yield from him adjudged the king would take, could the king's throne and power shake." this verse is the last:-- "a holy bond between us still makes me wish speedy end to ill: the sluggard waits till afternoon,-- at once great magnus! grant our boon. then we will serve with heart and hand, with thee we'll fight by sea or land: with olaf's sword take olaf's mind, and to thy bondes be more kind." in this song the king was exhorted to observe the laws which his father had established. this exhortation had a good effect on the king, for many others held the same language to him. so at last the king consulted the most prudent men, who ordered all affairs according to law. thereafter king magnus had the law-book composed in writing which is still in use in throndhjem district, and is called "the grey goose" ( ). king magnus afterwards became very popular, and was beloved by all the country people, and therefore he was called magnus the good. endnotes: ( ) "the grey goose", so called probably from the colour of the parchment on which it is written, is one of the most curious relics of the middle ages, and give us an unexpected view of the social condition of the northmen in the eleventh century. law appears to have been so far advanced among them that the forms were not merely established, but the slightest breach of the legal forms of proceeding involved the loss of the case. the "grey goose" embraces subjects not dealt with probably by any other code in europe at that period. the provision for the poor, the equality of weights and measures, police of markets and of sea havens, provision for illegitimate children of the poor, inns for travellers, wages of servants and support of them in sickness, protection of pregnant women and even of domestic animals from injury, roads, bridges, vagrants, beggars, are subjects treated of in this code.--"schlegel."--l. . of the english kings. the king of the english, king harald, died (a.d. ) five years after his father king canute, and was buried beside his father at winchester. after his death his brother hardaknut, the second son of the old king canute, was king of england, and was thus king both of denmark and england. he ruled these kingdoms two years, and then died of sickness in england, leaving no children. he was buried at winchester beside his father. after his death edward the good, a son of the english king ethelred (and emma, a daughter of richard earl of rouen), was chosen king in england. king edward the good was, on his mother's side, a brother of harald and hardaknut, the sons of canute the great; and the daughter of canute and queen emma was gunhild, who was married to the emperor henry of germany, who was called henry the mild. gunhild had been three years in germamy when she fell sick, and she died five years after the death of her father king canute the great. . of king magnus olafson. when king magnus olafson heard of hardaknut's death, he immediately sent people south to denmark, with a message to the men who had bound themselves by oath to the peace and agreement which was made between king magnus and hardaknut, and reminded them of their pledge. he added, as a conclusion, that in summer (a.d. .) he would come with his army to denmark to take possession of his danish dominions, in terms of the agreement, or to fall in the field with his army. so says arnor, the earls' skald:-- "wise were the words, exceeding wise, of him who stills the hungriest cries of beasts of prey--the earl's lord; and soon fulfilled will be his word: 'with his good sword he'll denmark gain, or fall upon a bloody plain; and rather than give up his cause, will leave his corpse to raven's claws.'" . king magnus's armament. thereafter king magnus gathered together a great army, and summoned to him all lendermen and powerful bondes, and collected war-ships. when the army was assembled it was very handsome, and well fitted out. he had seventy large vessels when he sailed from norway. so says thiodolf the skald:-- "brave king! the terror of the foe, with thee will many a long-ship go. full seventy sail are gathered here, eastward with their great king to steer. and southward now the bright keel glides; o'er the white waves the bison rides. sails swell, yards crack, the highest mast o'er the wide sea scarce seen at last." here it related that king magnus had the great bison, which his father king olaf had built. it had more than thirty banks of rowers; and forward on the bow was a great buffalo head, and aft on the stern-post was its tail. both the head and the tail, and both sides of the ship, were gilded over. of this speaks arnor, the earls' skald:-- "the white foam lashing o'er the deck oft made the glided head to shake; the helm down, the vessel's heel oft showed her stem's bright-glacing steel. around stavanger-point careering, through the wild sea's white flames steering, tackle loud singing to the strain, the storm-horse flies to denmark's plain." king magnus set out to sea from agder, and sailed over to jutland. so says arnor:-- "i can relate how through the gale the gallant bison carried sail. with her lee gunwale in the wave, the king on board, magnus the brave! the iron-clad thingmen's chief to see on jutland's coast right glad were we,-- right glad our men to see a king who in the fight his sword could swing." . king magnus comes to denmark. when king magnus came to denmark he was joyfully received. he appointed a thing without delay, to which he summoned the people of the country, and desired they would take him as king, according to the agreement which had been entered into. as the highest of the chiefs of the country were bound by oath to king magnus, and were desirous of keeping their word and oath, they endeavoured zealously to promote the cause with the people. it contributed also that king canute the great, and all his descendants, were dead; and a third assistance was, that his father king olaf's sanctity and miracles were become celebrated in all countries. . king magnus chosen king of denmark. king magnus afterwards ordered the people to be summoned to viborg to a thing. both in older and later times, the danes elected their kings at the viborg thing. at this thing the danes chose magnus olafson to be king of all the danish dorninions. king magnus remained long in denmark during the summer (a.d. ); and wherever he came the people received him joyfully, and obeyed him willingly. he divided the country into baronies and districts, and gave fiefs to men of power in the land. late in autumn he returned with his fleet to norway, but lay for some time at the gaut river. . of svein ulfson. there was a man, by name svein, a son of earl ulf, and grandson of thorgils sprakaleg. svein's mother was astrid, a daughter of king svein forkbeard. she was a sister of canute the great by the father's side, and of the swedish king olaf eirikson by the mother's side; for her mother was queen sigrid the haughty, a daughter of skoglar toste. svein ulfson had been a long time living with his relation the swedish king, ever since king canute had ordered his father ulf to be killed, as is related in the saga of old king canute, that he had his brother-in-law, earl ulf, murdered in roskilde; and on which account svein had not since been in denmark. svein ulfson was one of the handsomest men that could be seen; he was very stout and strong, and very expert in all exercises, and a well-spoken man withal. every one who knew him said he had every quality which became a good chief. svein ulfson waited upon king magnus while he lay in the gaut river, as before mentioned, and the king received him kindly, as he was by many advised to do; for svein was a particularly popular man. he could also speak for himself to the king well and cleverly; so that it came at lasf to svein's entering into king magnus's service, and becoming his man. they often talked together afterwards in private concerning many affairs. . svein ulfson created an earl. one day, as king magnus sat in his high-seat and many people were around him, svein ulfson sat upon a footstool before the king. the king then made a speech: "be it known to you, chiefs, and the people in general, that i have taken the following resolution. here is a distinguished man, both for family and for his own merits, svein ulfson, who has entered into my service, and given me promise of fidelity. now, as ye know, the danes have this summer become my men, so that when i am absent from the country it is without a head; and it is not unknown to you how it is ravaged by the people of vindland, kurland, and others from the baltic, as well as by saxons. therefore i promised them a chief who could defend and rule their land; and i know no man better fitted, in all respects, for this than svein ulfson, who is of birth to be chief of the country. i will therefore make him my earl, and give him the government of my danish dominions while i am in norway; just as king canute the great set his father, earl ulf, over denmark while he was in england." then einar tambaskelfer said, "too great an earl--too great an earl, my foster-son!" the king replied in a passion, "ye have a poor opinion of my judgment, i think. some consider that ye are too great earls, and others that ye are fit for nothing." then the king stood up, took a sword, and girt it on the earl's loins, and took a shield and fastened it on his shoulders, put a helmet upon his head, and gave him the title of earl, with the same fiefs in denmark which his father earl ulf had formerly held. afterwards a shrine was brought forth containing holy relics, and svein laid his hand hereon, and swore the oath of fidelity to king magnus; upon which the king led the earl to the highseat by his side. so says thiodolf:-- "twas at the gaut river's shore, with hand on shrine svein ulfson swore. king magnus first said o'er the oath, with which svein ulfson pledged his troth. the vows by svein solemnly given, on holy bones of saints in heaven, to magnus seemed both fair and fast; he found they were too fair to last." earl svein went thereafter to denmark, and the whole nation received him well. he established a court about him, and soon became a great man. in winter (a.d. ), he went much about the country, and made friends among the powerful chiefs; and, indeed, he was beloved by all the people of the land. . king magnus's foray. king magnus proceeded northward to norway with his fleet, and wintered there; but when the spring set in (a.d. ) he gathered a large force, with which he sailed south to demnark, having heard the news from vindland that the vindland people in jomsborg had withdrawn from their submission to him. the danish kings had formerly had a very large earldom there, and they first founded jomsborg; and now the place was become a very strong fortress. when king magnus heard of this, he ordered a large fleet and army to be levied in denmark, and sailed in summer to vindland with all his forces, which made a very large army altogether. arnor, the earls' skald, tells of it thus:-- "now in this strophe, royal youth! i tell no more than the plain truth. thy armed outfit from the strand left many a keel-trace on the sand, and never did a king before so many ships to any shore lead on, as thou to vindland's isle: the vindland men in fright recoil." now when king magnus came to vindland he attacked jomsborg, and soon took the fortress, killing' many people, burning and destroying both in the town and in the courttry all around, and making the greatest havoc. so says arnor, the earl's skald:-- "the robbers, hemmed 'twixt death and fire, knew not how to escape thy ire; o'er jomsborg castle's highest towers thy wrath the whirlwind-fire pours. the heathen on his false gods calls, and trembles even in their halls; and by the light from its own flame the king this viking-hold o'ercame." many people in vindland submitted to king magnus, but many more got out of the way and fled. king magnus returned to denmark, and prepared to take his winter abode there, and sent away the danish, and also a great many of the norwegian people he had brought with him. . svein receives the title of king. the same winter (a.d. ), in which svein ulfson was raised to the government of the whole danish dominions, and had made friends of a great number of the principal chiefs in denmark, and obtained the affections of the people, he assumed by the advice of many of the chiefs the title of king. but when in the spring thereafter he heard that king magnus had come from the north with a great army, svein went over to scania, from thence up to gautland, and so on to svithjod to his relation, king emund, where he remained all summer, and sent spies out to denmark, to inquire about the king's proceedings and the number of his men. now when svein heard that king magnus had let a great part of his army go away, and also that he was south in jutland, he rode from svithjod with a great body of peopie which the swedish king had given him. when svein came to scania the people of that country received him well, treated him as their king, and men joined him in crowds. he then went on to seeland, where he was also well received, and the whole country joined him. he then went to fyen, and laid all the islands under his power; and as the people also joined him, he collected a great army and many ships of war. . of king magnus's military force. king magnus heard this news, and at the same time that the people of vindland had a large force on foot. he summoned people therefore to come to him, and drew together a great army in jutland. otto, also, the duke of brunsvik, who had married ulfhild, king olaf the saint's daughter, and the sister of king magnus, came to him with a great troop. the danish chiefs pressed king magnus to advance against the vindland army, and not allow pagans to march over and lay waste the country; so it was resolved that the king with his army should proceed south to heidaby. while king magnus lay at skotborg river, on hlyrskog heath, he got intelligence concerning the vindland army, and that it was so numerous it could not be counted; whereas king magnus had so few, that there seemed no chance for him but to fly. the king, however, determined on fighting, if there was any possibility of gaining the victory; but the most dissuaded him from venturing on an engagement, and all, as one man, said that the vindland people had undoubtedly a prodigious force. duke otto, however, pressed much to go to battle. then the king ordered the whole army to be gathered by the war trumpets into battle array, and ordered all the men to arm, and to lie down for the night under their shields; for he was told the enemy's army had come to the neighbourhood. the king was very thoughtful; for he was vexed that he should be obliged to fly, which fate he had never experienced before. he slept but little all night, and chanted his prayers. . of king olaf's miracle. the following day was michaelmas eve. towards dawn the king slumbered, and dreamt that his father, king olaf the saint, appeared to him, and said, "art thou so melancholy and afraid, because the vindland people come against thee with a great army? be not afraid of heathens, although they be many; for i shall be with thee in the battle. prepare, therefore, to give battle to the vindlanders, when thou hearest my trumpet." when the king awoke he told his dream to his men, and the day was then dawning. at that moment all the people heard a ringing of bells in the air; and those among king magnus's men who had been in nidaros thought that it was the ringing of the bell called glod, which king olaf had presented to the church of saint clement in the town of nidaros. . battle of hlyrskog heath. then king magnus stood up, and ordered the war trumpets to sound, and at that moment the vindland army advanced from the south across the river against him; on which the whole of the king's army stood up, and advanced against the heathens. king magnus threw off from him his coat of ring-mail, and had a red silk shirt outside over his clothes, and had in his hands the battle-axe called hel ( ), which had belonged to king olaf. king magnus ran on before all his men to the enemy's army, and instantly hewed down with both hands every man who came against him. so says arnor, the earls' skald:-- "his armour on the ground he flung his broad axe round his head he swung; and norway's king strode on in might, through ringing swords, to the wild fight. his broad axe hel with both hands wielding, shields, helms, and skulls before it yielding, he seemed with fate the world to share, and life or death to deal out there." this battle was not very long; for the king's men were very fiery, and where they came the vindland men fell as thick as tangles heaped up by the waves on the strand. they who stood behind betook themselves to flight, and were hewed down like cattle at a slaughter. the king himself drove the fugitives eastward over the heath, and people fell all over the moor. so says thiodolf:-- "and foremost he pursued, and the flying foe down hewed; an eagle's feast each stroke, as the vindland helms he broke. he drove them o'er the hearth, and they fly from bloody death; but the moor, a mile or more, with the dead was studded o'er." it is a common saying, that there never was so great a slaughter of men in the northern lands, since the time of christianity, as took place among the vindland people on hlyrskog's heath. on the other side, not many of king magnus's people were killed, although many were wounded. after the battle the king ordered the wounds of his men to be bound; but there were not so many doctors in the army as were necessary, so the king himself went round, and felt the hands of those he thought best suited for the business; and when he had thus stroked their palms, he named twelve men, who, he thought, had the softest hands, and told them to bind the wounds of the people; and although none of them had ever tried it before, they all became afterwards the best of doctors. there were two iceland men among them; the one was thorkil, a son of geire, from lyngar; the other was atle, father of bard svarte of selardal, from whom many good doctors are descended. after this battle, the report of the miracle which king olaf the saint had worked was spread widely through the country; and it was the common saying of the people, that no man could venture to fight against king magnus olafson, for his father saint olaf stood so near to him that his enemies, on that account, never could do him harm. endnotes: ( ) hel--death: the goddess of death.--l. . battle at re. king magnus immediately turned round with his army against svein, whom he called his earl, although the danes called him their king; and he collected ships, and a great force, and on both sides a great strength was assembled. in svein's army were many chiefs from scania, halland, seeland, and fyen; while king magnus, on the other hand, had mostly norway and jutland men, and with that war-force he hastened to meet svein. they met at re, near vestland; and there was a great battle, which ended in king magnus gaining the victory, and svein taking flight. after losing many people, svein fled back to scania, and from thence to gautland, which was a safe refuge if he needed it, and stood open to him. king magnus returned to jutland, where he remained all winter (a.d. ) with many people, and had a guard to watch his ships. arnor, the earls' skald, speaks of this:-- "at re our battle-loving lord in bloody meeting stained his sword,-- at re upon the western shore, in vestland warrior's blood once more." . battle at aros. svein ulfson went directly to his ships as soon as he heard that king magnus had left his fleet. he drew to him all the men he could, and went round in winter among the islands, seeland, fyen, and others. towards yule he sailed to jutland, and went into limfjord, where many people submitted to him. he imposed scat upon some, but some joined king magnus. now when king magnus heard what svein was doing, he betook himself to his ships with all the northmen then in denmark, and a part of the danish troops, and steered south along the land. svein was then in aros with a great force; and when he heard of king magnus he laid his vessels without the town, and prepared for battle. when king magnus heard for certain where svein was, and that the distance between them was but short, he held a house-thing, and addressed his people thus: "it is reported to me that the earl and his fleet are lying not far from us, and that he has many people. now i would let you know that i intend to go out against the earl and fight for it, although, we have fewer people. we will, as formerly, put our trust in god, and saint olaf, my father, who has given us victory sometimes when we fought, even though we had fewer men than the enemy. now i would have you get ready to seek out the enemy, and give battle the moment we find him by rowing all to attack, and being all ready for battle." thereupon the men put on their weapons, each man making himself and his place ready; and then they stretched themselves to their oars. when they saw the earl's ships they rowed towards them, and made ready to attack. when svein's men saw the forces they armed themselves, bound their ships together, and then began one of the sharpest of battles. so says thiodolf, the skald:-- "shield against shield, the earl and king made shields and swords together ring. the gold-decked heroes made a play which hild's iron-shirt men say they never saw before or since on battle-deck; the brave might wince, as spear and arrow whistling flew, point blank, death-bringing, quick and true." they fought at the bows, so that the men only on the bows could strike; the men on the forecastle thrust with spears: and all who were farther off shot with light spears or javelins, or war-arrows. some fought with stones or short stakes; and those who were aft of the mast shot with the bow. so says thiodolf:-- "steel-pointed spear, and sharpened stake, made the broad shield on arm shake: the eagle, hovering in the air, screamed o'er the prey preparing there. and stones and arrows quickly flew, and many a warrior bold they slew. the bowman never twanged his bow and drew his shaft so oft as now; and throndhjem's bowmen on that day were not the first tired of this play: arrows and darts so quickly fly, you could not follow with the eye." here it appears how hot the battle was with casting weapons. king magnus stood in the beginning of the battle within a shield-rampart; but as it appeared to him that matters were going on too slowly, he leaped over the shields, and rushed forward in the ship, encouraging his men with a loud cheer, and springing to the bows, where the battle was going on hand to hand. when his men saw this they urged each other on with mutual cheering, and there was one great hurrah through all the ships. so says thiodolf:-- "'on with our ships! on to the foe!' cry magnus' men--on, on they go. spears against shields in fury rattle,-- was never seen so fierce a battle." and now the battle was exceedingly sharp; and in the assault svein's ship was cleared of all her forecastle men, upon and on both sides of the forecastle. then magnus boarded svein's ship, followed by his men; and one after the other came up, and made so stout an assault that svein's men gave way, and king magnus first cleared that ship, and then the rest, one after the other. svein fled, with a great part of his people; but many fell, and many got life and peace. thiodolf tells of this:-- "brave magnus, from the stern springing on to the stem, where swords were ringing from his sea-raven's beak of gold deals death around--the brave! the bold! the earl's housemen now begin to shrink and fall: their ranks grow thin-- the king's luck thrives--their decks are cleared, of fighting men no more appeared. the earl's ships are driven to flight, before the king would stop the fight: the gold-distributor first then gave quarters to the vanquished men." this battle was fought on the last sunday before yule. so says thiodolf:-- "'twas on a sunday morning bright, fell out this great and bloody fight, when men were arming, fighting, dying, or on the red decks wounded lying. and many a man, foredoomed to die, to save his life o'erboard did fly, but sank; for swimming could not save, and dead men rolled in every wave." magnus took seven ships from svein's people. so says thiodolf:-- "thick olaf's son seven vessels cleared, and with his fleet the prizes steered. the norway girls will not be sad to hear such news--each from her lad." he also sings:-- "the captured men will grieve the most svein and their comrades to have lost; for it went ill with those who fled, their wounded had no easy bed. a heavy storm that very night o'ertook them flying from the fight; and skulls and bones are tumbling round, under the sea, on sandy ground." svein fled immediately by night to seeland, with the men who had escaped and were inclined to follow him; but king magnus brought his ships to the shore, and sent his men up the country in the night-time, and early in the morning they came flown to the strand with a great booty in cattle. thiodolf tells about it:-- "but yesterday with heavy stones we crushed their skulls, and broke their bones, and thinned their ranks; and now to-day up through their land we've ta'en our way, and driven their cattle to the shore, and filled out ships with food in store. to save his land from our quick swords, svein will need something more than words." . svein's flight. king magnus sailed with his fleet from the south after svein to seeland; but as soon as the king came there svein fled up the country with his men, and magnus followed them, and pursued the fugitives, killing all that were laid hold of. so says thiodolf:-- "the seeland girl asks with fear, 'whose blood-bespattered shield and spear-- the earl's or king's--up from the shore moved on with many a warrior more?' we scoured through all their muddy lanes, woodlands, and fields, and miry plains. their hasty footmarks in the clay showed that to ringsted led their way. "spattered with mud from heel to head, our gallant lord his true men led. will lund's earl halt his hasty flight, and try on land another fight? his banner yesterday was seen, the sand-bills and green trees between, through moss and mire to the strand, in arrow flight, leaving the land." then svein fled over to fyen island, and king magnus carried fire and sword through seeland, and burnt all round, because their men had joined svein's troop in harvest. so says thiodolf:-- "as svein in winter had destroyed the royal house, the king employed no little force to guard the land, and the earl's forays to withstand. an armed band one morn he found, and so beset them round and round, that canute's nephew quickly fled, or he would have been captive led. "our throndhjem king in his just ire laid waste the land with sword and fire, burst every house, and over all struck terror into great and small. to the earl's friends he well repaid their deadly hate--such wild work made on them and theirs, that from his fury, flying for life, away they hurry." . burning in fyen. as soon as king magnus heard that svein with his troops had gone across to fyen, he sailed after them; and when svein heard this news he went on board ship and sailed to scania, and from thence to gautland, and at last to the swedish king. king magnus landed in fyen, and plundered and burned over all; and all of svein's men who came there fled far enough. thiodolf speaks of it thus:-- "fiona isle, once green and fair, lies black and reeking through the air: the red fog rises, thick and hot, from burning farm and smouldering cot. the gaping thralls in terror gaze on the broad upward-spiring blaze, from thatched roofs and oak-built walls, their murdered masters' stately halls. "svein's men, my girl, will not forget that thrice they have the norsemen met, by sea, by land, with steel, with fire, thrice have they felt the norse king's ire. fiona's maids are slim and fair, the lovely prizes, lads, we'll share: some stand to arms in rank and row, some seize, bring off, and fend with blow." after this the people of denmark submitted to king magnus, and during the rest of the winter, there was peace. king magnus then appointed some of his men to govern denmark; and when spring was advanced he sailed northwards with his fleet to norway, where he remained a great part of the summer. . battle at helganes now, when svein heard that king magnus had gone to norway he rode straight down, and had many people out of svithjod with him. the people of scania received him well, and he again collected an army, with which he first crossed over into seeland and seized upon it and fyen, and all the other isles. when king magnus heard of this he gathered together men and ships, and sailed to denmark; and as soon as he knew where svein was lying with his ships king magnus sailed to meet him. they met at a place called helganes, and the battle began about the fall of day. king magnus had fewer men, but larger and better equipt vessels. so says arnor, the earls' skald:-- "at helganes--so goes the tale-- the brave wolf-feeder, under sail, made many an ocean-elk ( ) his prey, seized many a ship ere break of day. when twilight fell he urged the fight, close combat--man to man all night; through a long harvest night's dark hours, down poured the battle's iron showers." the battle was very hot, and as night advanced the fall of men was great. king magnus, during the whole night, threw hand-spears. thiodolf speaks of this:-- "and there at helganes sunk down, sore wounded, men of great renown; and svein's retainers lost all heart, ducking before the flying dart. the norsemen's king let fly his spears, his death-wounds adding to their fears; for each spear-blade was wet all o'er, up to the shaft in their life-gore." to make a short tale, king magnus won the victory in this battle, and svein fled. his ship was cleared of men from stem to stern; and it went so on board many others of his ships. so says thiodolf:-- "earl svein fled from the empty deck, his lonely ship an unmann'd wreck; magnus the good, the people's friend, pressed to the death on the false svein. hneiter ( ), the sword his father bore, was edge and point, stained red with gore; swords sprinkle blood o'er armour bright, when kings for land and power fight." and arnor says:-- "the cutters of bjorn's own brother soon changed their owner for another; the king took them and all their gear; the crews, however, got off clear." a great number of svein's men fell, and king magnus and his men had a vast booty to divide. so says thiodolf:-- "where the norsemen the danish slew, a gautland shield and breast-plate true fell to my share of spoil by lot; and something more i' the south i got: (there all the summer swords were ringing) a helm, gay arms, and gear worth bringing, home to my quiet lovely one i sent--with news how we had won." svein fled up to scania with all the men who escaped with him; and king magnus and his people drove the fugitives up through the country without meeting any opposition either from svein's men or the bondes. so says thiodolf:-- "olaf's brave son then gave command, all his ships' crews should quickly land: king magnus, marching at their head, a noble band of warriors led. a foray through the land he makes; denmark in every quarter shakes. up hill and down the horses scour, carrying the danes from norsemen's power." king magnus drove with fire and sword through the land. so says thiodolf:-- "and now the norsemen storm along, following their banner in a throng: king magnus' banner flames on high, a star to guide our roaming by. to lund, o'er scania's peaceful field, my shoulder bore my useless shield; a fairer land, a better road, as friend or foe, i never trod." they began to burn the habitations all around, and the people fled on every side. so says thiodolf:-- "our ice-cold iron in great store, our arms, beside the king we bore: the scanian rogues fly at the view of men and steel all sharp and true. their timbered houses flame on high, red flashing over half the sky; the blazing town flings forth its light, lighting the cowards on their flight." and he also sang:-- "the king o'er all the danish land roams, with his fire-bringing band: the house, the hut, the farm, the town, all where men dwelt is burned down. o'er denmark's plains and corn-fields, meadows and moors, are seen our shields: victorious over all, we chase svein's wounded men from place to place. "across fiona's moor again, the paths late trodden by our men we tread once more, until quite near, through morning mist, the foes appear. then up our numerous banners flare in the cold early morning air; and they from magnus' power who fly cannot this quick war-work deny." then svein fled eastwards along scania, and king magnus returned to his ships, and steered eastwards also along the scanian coast, having got ready with the greatest haste to sail. thiodolf sings thus about it:-- "no drink but the salt sea on board our ships had we, when, following our king, on board our ships we spring. hard work on the salt sea, off scania's coast, had we; but we laboured for the king, to his foemen death to bring." svein fled to gautland, and then sought refuge with the swedish king, with whom he remained all winter (a.d. ), and was treated with great respect. endnotes: ( ) ship.--l. ( ) this was the name of saint olaf's sword, which magnus had recovered.--l. . of king magnus's campaign. when king magnus had subdued scania he turned about, and first went to falster, where he landed, plundered, and killed many people who had before submitted to svein. arnor speaks of this:-- "a bloody vengeance for their guile king magnus takes on falster isle; the treacherous danes his fury feel, and fall before his purpled steel. the battle-field is covered o'er, with eagle's prey from shore to shore; and the king's courtmen were the first to quench with blood the raven's thirst." thereafter magnus with his fleet proceeded to the isle of fyen, went on land, plundered, and made great devastation. so says arnor, the earls' skald:-- "to fair fiona's grassy shore his banner now again he bore: he who the mail-shirt's linked chains severs, and all its lustre stains,-- he will be long remembered there, the warrior in his twentieth year, whom their black ravens from afar saluted as he went to war." . of king magnus's battles. king magnus remained in denmark all that winter (a.d. ), and sat in peace. he had held many battles, and had gained the victory in all. so says od kikinaskald:-- "'fore michaelmas was struck the blow, that laid the vindland vikings low; and people learned with joy to hear the clang of arms, and leaders' cheer. short before yule fell out the day, southward of aros, where the fray, though not enough the foe to quell, was of the bloodiest men can tell." and arnor says:-- "olaf's avenger who can sing? the skald cannot o'ertake the king, who makes the war-bird daily drain the corpse-blood of his foemen slain. four battles won within a year,-- breaker of shields! with swords and spear, and hand to hand, exalt thy fame above the kings of greatest name." king magnus had three battles with svein ulfson. so says thiodolf:-- "to our brave throndhjem sovereign's praise the skald may all his skaldcraft raise; for fortune, and for daring deed, his song will not the truth exceed. after three battles to regain what was his own, unjustly ta'en, unjustly kept, and dues denied, he levied dues in red-blood dyed." . of king magnus, and thorfin and ragnvald, earls of orkney. while king magnus the good, a son of king olaf the saint, ruled over norway, as before related, the earl ragnvald brusason lived with him. earl thorfin sigurdson, the uncle of ragnvald, ruled then over orkney. king magnus sent ragnvald west to orkney, and ordered that thorfin should let him have his father's heritage. thorfin let ragnvald have a third part of the land along with him; for so had erase, the father of ragnvald, had it at his dying day. earl thorfin was married to ingebjorg, the earl-mother, who was a daughter of fin arnason. earl ragnvald thought he should have two-thirds of the land, as olaf the saint had promised to his father bruse, and as bruse had enjoyed as long as olaf lived. this was the origin of a great strife between these relations, concerning which we have a long saga. they had a great battle in pentland firth, in which kalf arnason was with earl thorfin. so says bjarne gullbrarskald:-- "thy cutters, dashing through the tide, brought aid to earl thorfin's side, fin's son-in-law, and people say thy aid made bruse's son give way. kalf, thou art fond of warlike toil, gay in the strife and bloody broil; but here 'twas hate made thee contend against earl ragnvald, the king's friend." . of king magnus's letter to england. king magnus ruled then both over denmark and norway; and when he had got possession of the danish dominions he sent ambassadors over to england to king edward, who brought to him king magnus's letter and seal. and in this letter there stood, along with a salutation from king magnus, these words:--"ye must have heard of the agreement which i and hardaknut made,--that he of us two who survived the other should have all the land and people which the deceased had possessed. now it has so turned out, as ye have no doubt heard, that i have taken the danish dominions as my heritage after hardaknut. but before he departed this life he had england as well as denmark; therefore i consider myself now, in consequence of my rights by this agreement, to own england also. now i will therefore that thou deliver to me the kingdom; otherwise i will seek to take it by arms, both from denmark and norway; and let him rule the land to whom fate gives the victory." . king edward's answer to king magnus's letter. now when king edward had read this letter, he replied thus: "it is known to all men in this country that king ethelred, my father, was udal-born to this kingdom, both after the old and new law of inheritance. we were four sons after him; and when he by death left the throne my brother edmund took the government and kingdom; for he was the oldest of us brothers, and i was well satisfied that it was so. and after him my stepfather, canute the great, took the kingdom, and as long as he lived there was no access to it. after him my brother harald was king as long as he lived; and after him my brother hardaknut took the kingdoms both of denmark and england; for he thought that a just brotherly division that he should have both england and denmark, and that i should have no kingdom at all. now he died, and then it was the resolution of all the people of the country to take me for king here in england. so long as i had no kingly title i served only superiors in all respects, like those who had no claims by birth to land or kingdom. now, however, i have received the kingly title, and am consecrated king. i have established my royal dignity and authority, as my father before me; and while i live i will not renounce my title. if king magnus come here with an army, i will gather no army against him; but he shall only get the opportunity of taking england when he has taken my life. tell him these words of mine." the ambassadors went back to king magnus, and told him the answer to their message. king magnus reflected a while, and answered thus: "i think it wisest, and will succeed best, to let king edward have his kingdom in peace for me, and that i keep the kingdoms god has put into my hands." saga of harald hardrade. preliminary remarks. harald, son of sigurd syr, was born in the year a.d. , and left norway a.d. . he was called hardrade, that is, the severe counsellor, the tyrant, though the icelanders never applied this epithet to him. harald helped the icelanders in the famine of a.d. , and sent them timber for a church at thingvol. it was the norwegians who gave him the name tyrant in contrast to the "debonairete" of magnus. he came to norway in a.d. , and became sole king in a.d. . he died in a.d. , and his son and successor magnus died in a.d. . his saga is to be compared with "agrip", "fagrskinna", and "morkinskinna". the skalds quoted are: thiodolf, bolverk, illuge bryndalaskald, stuf the skald, thorarin skeggjason, valgard o' val, od kikinaskald, grane skald, thorleik the fair, stein herdison, ulf the marshal, arnor the earls' skald, thorkel skallason, and king harald hardrade himself. . harald escapes from the battle of stiklestad. harald, son of sigurd syr, brother of olaf the saint, by the same mother, was at the battle of stiklestad, and was fifteen years old when king olaf the saint fell, as was before related. harald was wounded, and escaped with other fugitives. so says thiodolf:-- "at haug the fire-sparks from his shield flew round the king's head on the field, as blow for blow, for olaf's sake, his sword and shield would give and take. bulgaria's conqueror, i ween, had scarcely fifteen winters seen, when from his murdered brother's side his unhelmed head he had to hide." ragnvald brusason led harald from the battle, and the night after the fray took him to a bonde who dwelt in a forest far from other people. the peasant received harald, and kept him concealed; and harald was waited upon until he was quite cured of his wounds. then the bonde's son attended him on the way east over the ridge of the land, and they went by all the forest paths they could, avoiding the common road. the bonde's son did not know who it was he was attending; and as they were riding together between two uninhabited forests, harald made these verses: "my wounds were bleeding as i rode; and down below the bondes strode, killing the wounded with the sword, the followers of their rightful lord. from wood to wood i crept along, unnoticed by the bonde-throng; 'who knows,' i thought, 'a day may come my name will yet be great at home.'" he went eastward over the ridge through jamtaland and helsingjaland, and came to svithjod, where he found ragnvald brusason, and many others of king olaf's men who had fled from the battle at stiklestad, and they remained there till winter was over. . harald's journey to constantinople. the spring after (a.d. ) harald and ragnvald got ships, and went east in summer to russia to king jarisleif, and were with him all the following winter. so says the skald bolverk:-- "the king's sharp sword lies clean and bright, prepared in foreign lands to fight: our ravens croak to have their fill, the wolf howls from the distant hill. our brave king is to russia gone,-- braver than he on earth there's none; his sharp sword will carve many feast to wolf and raven in the east." king jarisleif gave harald and ragnvald a kind reception, and made harald and ellif, the son of earl ragnvald, chiefs over the land-defence men of the king. so says thiodolf:-- "where ellif was, one heart and hand the two chiefs had in their command; in wedge or line their battle order was ranged by both without disorder. the eastern vindland men they drove into a corner; and they move the lesians, although ill at ease, to take the laws their conquerors please." harald remained several years in russia, and travelled far and wide in the eastern land. then he began his expedition out to greece, and had a great suite of men with him; and on he went to constantinople. so says bolverk:-- "before the cold sea-curling blast the cutter from the land flew past, her black yards swinging to and fro, her shield-hung gunwale dipping low. the king saw glancing o'er the bow constantinople's metal glow from tower and roof, and painted sails gliding past towns and wooded vales." . of harald. at that time the greek empire was ruled by the empress zoe the great, and with her michael catalactus. now when harald came to constantinople he presented himself to the empress, and went into her pay; and immediately, in autumn, went on board the galleys manned with troops which went out to the greek sea. harald had his own men along with him. now harald had been but a short time in the army before all the varings flocked to him, and they all joined together when there was a battle. it thus came to pass that harald was made chief of the varings. there was a chief over all the troops who was called gyrger, and who was a relation of the empress. gyrger and harald went round among all the greek islands, and fought much against the corsairs. . of harald and gyrger casting lots. it happened once that gyrger and the varings were going through the country, and they resolved to take their night quarters in a wood; and as the varings came first to the ground, they chose the place which was best for pitching their tents upon, which was the highest ground; for it is the nature of the land there to be soft when rain falls, and therefore it is bad to choose a low situation for your tents. now when gyrger, the chief of the army, came up, and saw where the varings had set up their tents, he told them to remove, and pitch their tents elsewhere, saying he would himself pitch his tents on their ground. harald replies, "if ye come first to the night quarter, ye take up your ground, and we must go pitch our tents at some other place where we best can. now do ye so, in the same way, and find a place where ye will. it is, i think, the privilege of us varings here in the dominions of the greek emperor to be free, and independent of all but their own commanders, and bound only to serve the emperor and empress." they disputed long and hotly about this, and both sides armed themselves, and were on the way to fight for it; but men of understanding came between and separated them. they said it would be better to come to an agreement about such questions, so that in future no dispute could arise. it came thus to an arbitration between them, at which the best and most sagacious men should give their judgment in the case. at this arbitration it was determined, with the consent of all parties, that lots should be thrown into a box, and the greeks and varings should draw which was first to ride, or to row, or to take place in a harbour, or to choose tent ground; and each side should be satisfied with what the drawing of the lots gave them. accordingly the lots were made and marked. harald said to gyrger, "let me see what mark thou hast put upon thy lot, that we may not both mark our lots in the same way." he did so. then harald marked his lot, and put it into the box along with the other. the man who was to draw out the lots then took up one of the lots between his fingers, held it up in the air, and said, "this lot shall be the first to ride, and to row, and to take place in harbour and on the tent field." harald seized his band, snatched the die, and threw it into the sea, and called out, "that was our lot!" gyrger said, "why did you not let other people see it?" harald replies, "look at the one remaining in the box,--there you see your own mark upon it." accordingly the lot which was left behind was examined, and all men saw that gyrger's mark was upon it, and accordingly the judgment was given that the varings had gained the first choice in all they had been quarrelling about. there were many things they quarrelled about, but the end always was that harald got his own way. . harald's expedition in the land of the saracens (serkland). they went out all on a campaign in summer. when the whole army was thus assembled harald kept his men out of the battle, or wherever he saw the least danger, under pretext of saving his men; but where he was alone with his own men only, he fought so desperately that they must either come off victorious or die. it thus happened often that when he commanded the army he gained victories, while gyrger could do nothing. the troops observed this, and insisted they would be more successful if harald alone was chief of the whole army, and upbraided the general with never effecting anything, neither himself, nor his people. gyrger again said that the varings would give him no assistance, and ordered harald to go with his men somewhere else, and he, with the rest of his army, would win what they could. harald accordingly left the army with the varings and the latin men, and gyrger on his side went off with the greek troops. then it was seen what each could do. harald always gained victories and booty; but the greeks went home to constantinople with their army, all except a few brave men, who, to gain booty and money, joined themselves to harald, and took him for their leader. he then went with his troops westward to africa, which the varings call serkland, where he was strengthened with many men. in serkland he took eighty castles, some of which surrendered, and others were stormed. he then went to sicily. so says thiodolf:-- "the serpent's bed of glowing gold he hates--the generous king, the bold! he who four score towers laid low, ta'en from the saracenic foe. before upon sicilian plains, shield joined to shield, the fight he gains, the victory at hild's war game; and now the heathens dread his name." so says also illuge bryndala-skald:-- "for michael's empire harald fought, and southern lands to michael brought; so budle's son his friendship showed when he brought friends to his abode." here it is said that michael was king of the greeks at that time. harald remained many years in africa, where he gathered great wealth in gold, jewels, and all sorts of precious things; and all the wealth he gathered there which he did not need for his expenses, he sent with trusty men of his own north to novgorod to king jarisleif's care and keeping. he gathered together there extraordinary treasure, as is reasonable to suppose; for he had the plundering of the part of the world richest in gold and valuable things, and he had done such great deeds as with truth are related, such as taking eighty strongholds by his valour. . battle in sicily. now when harald came to sicily he plundered there also, and sat down with his army before a strong and populous castle. he surrounded the castle; but the walls were so thick there was no possibility of breaking into it, and the people of the castle had enough of provisions, and all that was necessary for defence. then harald hit upon an expedient. he made his bird-catchers catch the small birds which had their nests within the castle, but flew into the woods by day to get food for their young. he had small splinters of tarred wood bound upon the backs of the birds, smeared these over with wax and sulphur, and set fire to them. as soon as the birds were let loose they all flew at once to the castle to their young, and to their nests, which they had under the house roofs that were covered with reeds or straw. the fire from the birds seized upon the house roofs; and although each bird could only carry a small burden of fire, yet all at once there was a mighty flame, caused by so many birds carrying fire with them and spreading it widely among the house roofs. thus one house after the other was set on fire, until the castle itself was in flames. then the people came out of the castle and begged for mercy; the same men who for many days had set at defiance the greek army and its leader. harald granted life and safety to all who asked quarter, and made himself master of the place. . battle at another castle. there was another castle before which harald had come with his army. this castle was both full of people and so strong, that there was no hope of breaking into it. the castle stood upon a flat hard plain. then harald undertook to dig a passage from a place where a stream ran in a bed so deep that it could not be seen from the castle. they threw out all the earth into the stream, to be carried away by the water. at this work they laboured day and night, and relieved each other in gangs; while the rest of the army went the whole day against the castle, where the castle people shot through their loop-holes. they shot at each other all day in this way, and at night they slept on both sides. now when harald perceived that his underground passage was so long that it must be within the castle walls, he ordered his people to arm themselves. it was towards daybreak that they went into the passage. when they got to the end of it they dug over their heads until they came upon stones laid in lime which was the floor of a stone hall. they broke open the floor and rose into the hall. there sat many of the castle-men eating and drinking, and not in the least expecting such uninvited wolves; for the varings instantly attacked them sword in hand, and killed some, and those who could get away fled. the varings pursued them; and some seized the castle gate, and opened it, so that the whole body of the army got in. the people of the castle fled; but many asked quarter from the troops, which was granted to all who surrendered. in this way harald got possession of the place, and found an immense booty in it. . battle at a third castle. they came to a third castle, the greatest and strongest of them all, and also the richest in property and the fullest of people. around this castle there were great ditches, so that it evidently could not be taken by the same device as the former; and they lay a long time before it without doing anything. when the castle-men saw this they became bolder, drew up their array on the castle walls, threw open the castle gates, and shouted to the varings, urging them, and jeering at them, and telling them to come into the castle, and that they were no more fit for battle than so many poultry. harald told his men to make as if they did not know what to do, or did not understand what was said. "for," says he, "if we do make an assault we can effect nothing, as they can throw their weapons under their feet among us; and if we get in the castle with a party of our people, they have it in their power to shut them in. and shut out the others; for they have all the castle gates beset with men. we shall therefore show them the same scorn they show us, and let them see we do not fear them. our men shall go out upon the plain nearest to the castle; taking care, however, to keep out of bow-shot. all our men shall go unarmed, and be playing with each other, so that the castle-men may see we do not regard them or their array." thus it went on for some days, without anything being done. . of ulf and haldor. two iceland men were then with harald; the one was haldor ( ), a son of the gode snorre, who brought this account to iceland; the other was ulf uspakson, a grandson of usvifer spake. both were very strong men, bold under arms, and harald's best friends; and both were in this play. now when some days were passed the castle people showed more courage, and would go without weapons upon the castle wall, while the castle gates were standing open. the varings observing this, went one day to their sports with the sword under their cloaks, and the helmet under their hats. after playing awhile they observed that the castle people were off their guard; and instantly seizing their weapons, they made at the castle gate. when the men of the castle saw this they went against them armed completely, and a battle began in the castle gate. the varings had no shields, but wrapped their cloaks round their left arms. some of them were wounded, some killed, and all stood in great danger. now came harald with the men who had remained in the camp, to the assistance of his people; and the castle-men had now got out upon the walls, from which they shot and threw stones down upon them; so that there was a severe battle, and those who were in the castle gates thought that help was brought them slower than they could have wished. when harald came to the castle gate his standard-bearer fell, and harald said to haldor, "do thou take up the banner now." haldor took up the banner, and said foolishly, "who will carry the banner before thee, if thou followest it so timidly as thou hast done for a while?" but these were words more of anger than of truth; for harald was one of the boldest of men under arms. then they pressed in, and had a hard battle in the castle; and the end was that harald gained the victory and took the castle. haldor was much wounded in the face, and it gave him great pain as long as he lived. endnotes: ( ) one of the descendants of this haldor was snorre sturlason, the author of "heimskringla". . battle at a fourth castle. the fourth castle which harald came to was the greatest of all we have been speaking about. it was so strong that there was no possibility of breaking into it. they surrounded the castle, so that no supplies could get into it. when they had remained here a short time harald fell sick, and he betook himself to his bed. he had his tent put up a little from the camp, for he found quietness and rest out of the clamour and clang of armed men. his men went usually in companies to or from him to hear his orders; and the castle people observing there was something new among the varings, sent out spies to discover what this might mean. when the spies came back to the castle they had to tell of the illness of the commander of the varings, and that no assault on that account had been made on the castle. a while after harald's strength began to fail, at which his men were very melancholy and cast down; all which was news to the castle-men. at last harald's sickness increased so rapidly that his death was expected through all the army. thereafter the varings went to the castle-men; told them, in a parley, of the death of their commander; and begged of the priests to grant him burial in the castle. when the castle people heard this news, there were many among them who ruled over cloisters or other great establishments within the place, and who were very eager to get the corpse for their church, knowing that upon that there would follow very rich presents. a great many priests, therefore, clothed themselves in all their robes, and went out of the castle with cross and shrine and relics and formed a beautiful procession. the varings also made a great burial. the coffin was borne high in the air, and over it was a tent of costly linen and before it were carried many banners. now when the corpse was brought within the castle gate the varings set down the coffin right across the entry, fixed a bar to keep the gates open, and sounded to battle with all their trumpets, and drew their swords. the whole army of the varings, fully armed, rushed from the camp to the assault of the castle with shout and cry; and the monks and other priests who had gone to meet the corpse and had striven with each other who should be the first to come out and take the offering at the burial, were now striving much more who should first get away from the varings; for they killed before their feet every one who was nearest, whether clerk or unconsecrated. the varings rummaged so well this castle that they killed all the men, pillaged everything and made an enormous booty. . of harald. harald was many years in these campaigns, both in serkland and in sicily. then he came back to constantinople with his troops and stayed there but a little time before he began his expedition to jerusalem. there he left the pay he had received from the greek emperor and all the varings who accompanied him did the same. it is said that on all these expeditions harald had fought eighteen regular battles. so says thiodolf:-- "harald the stern ne'er allowed peace to his foemen, false and proud; in eighteen battles, fought and won, the valour of the norseman shone. the king, before his home return, oft dyed the bald head of the erne with bloody specks, and o'er the waste the sharp-claw'd wolf his footsteps traced." . harald's expedition to palestine. harald went with his men to the land of jerusalem and then up to the city of jerusalem, and wheresoever he came in the land all the towns and strongholds were given up to him. so says the skald stuf, who had heard the king himself relate these tidings:-- "he went, the warrior bold and brave, jerusalem, the holy grave, and the interior of the land, to bring under the greeks' command; and by the terror of his name under his power the country came, nor needed wasting fire and sword to yield obediance to his word." here it is told that this land came without fire and sword under harald's command. he then went out to jordan and bathed therein, according to the custom of other pilgrims. harald gave great gifts to our lord's grave, to the holy cross, and other holy relics in the land of jerusalem. he also cleared the whole road all the way out to jordan, by killing the robbers and other disturbers of the peace. so says the skald stuf:-- "the agder king cleared far and wide jordan's fair banks on either side; the robber-bands before him fled, and his great name was widely spread. the wicked people of the land were punished here by his dread hand, and they hereafter will not miss much worse from jesus christ than this." . harald put in prison. thereafter he went back to constantinople. when harald returned to constantinople from jerusalem he longed to return to the north to his native land; and when he heard that magnus olafson, his brother's son, had become king both of norway and denmark, he gave up his command in the greek service. and when the empress zoe heard of this she became angry and raised an accusation against harald that he had misapplied the property of the greek emperor which he had received in the campaigns in which he was commander of the army. there was a young and beautiful girl called maria, a brother's daughter of the empress zoe, and harald had paid his addresses to her; but the empress had given him a refusal. the varings, who were then in pay in constantinople, have told here in the north that there went a report among well-informed people that the empress zoe herself wanted harald for her husband, and that she chiefly blamed harald for his determination to leave constantinople, although another reason was given out to the public. constantinus monomachus was at that time emperor of the greeks and ruled along with zoe. on this account the greek emperor had harald made prisoner and carried to prison. . king olaf's miracle and blinding the greek emperor. when harald drew near to the prison king olaf the saint stood before him and said he would assist him. on that spot of the street a chapel has since been built and consecrated to saint olaf and which chapel has stood there ever since. the prison was so constructed that there was a high tower open above, but a door below to go into it from the street. through it harald was thrust in, along with haldor and ulf. next night a lady of distinction with two servants came, by the help of ladders, to the top of the tower, let down a rope into the prison and hauled them up. saint olaf had formerly cured this lady of a sickness and he had appeared to her in a vision and told her to deliver his brother. harald went immediately to the varings, who all rose from their seats when he came in and received him with joy. the men armed themselves forthwith and went to where the emperor slept. they took the emperor prisoner and put out both the eyes of him. so says thorarin skeggjason in his poem:-- "of glowing gold that decks the hand the king got plenty in this land; but it's great emperor in the strife was made stone-blind for all his life." so says thiodolf, the skald, also:-- "he who the hungry wolf's wild yell quiets with prey, the stern, the fell, midst the uproar of shriek and shout stung tho greek emperor's eyes both out: the norse king's mark will not adorn, the norse king's mark gives cause to mourn; his mark the eastern king must bear, groping his sightless way in fear." in these two songs, and many others, it is told that harald himself blinded the greek emperor; and they would surely have named some duke, count, or other great man, if they had not known this to be the true account; and king harald himself and other men who were with him spread the account. . harald's journey from constantinople. the same night king harald and his men went to the house where maria slept and carried her away by force. then they went down to where the galleys of the varings lay, took two of them and rowed out into sjavid sound. when they came to the place where the iron chain is drawn across the sound, harald told his men to stretch out at their oars in both galleys; but the men who were not rowing to run all to the stern of the galley, each with his luggage in his hand. the galleys thus ran up and lay on the iron chain. as soon as they stood fast on it, and would advance no farther, harald ordered all the men to run forward into the bow. then the galley, in which harald was, balanced forwards and swung down over the chain; but the other, which remained fast athwart the chain, split in two, by which many men were lost; but some were taken up out of the sound. thus harald escaped out of constantinople and sailed thence into the black sea; but before he left the land he put the lady ashore and sent her back with a good escort to constantinople and bade her tell her relation, the empress zoe, how little power she had over harald, and how little the empress could have hindered him from taking the lady. harald then sailed northwards in the ellipalta and then all round the eastern empire. on this voyage harald composed sixteen songs for amusement and all ending with the same words. this is one of them:-- "past sicily's wide plains we flew, a dauntless, never-wearied crew; our viking steed rushed through the sea, as viking-like fast, fast sailed we. never, i think, along this shore did norsemen ever sail before; yet to the russian queen, i fear, my gold-adorned, i am not dear." with this he meant ellisif, daughter of king jarisleif in novgorod. . of king harald. when harald came to novgorod king jarisleif received him in the most friendly way and he remained there all winter (a.d. ). then he took into his own keeping all the gold and the many kinds of precious things which he had sent there from constantinople and which together made up so vast a treasure that no man in the northern lands ever saw the like of it in one man's possession. harald had been three times in the poluta-svarf while he was in constantinople. it is the custom, namely, there, that every time one of the greek emperors dies, the varings are allowed poluta-svarf; that is, they may go through all the emperor's palaces where his treasures are and each may take and keep what he can lay hold of while he is going through them. . king harald's marriage. this winter king jarisleif gave harald his daughter elisabeth in marriage. she is called by the northmen ellisif. this is related by stuf the blind, thus:-- "agder's chief now got the queen who long his secret love had been. of gold, no doubt, a mighty store the princess to her husband bore." in spring he began his journey from novgorod and came to aldeigjuborg, where he took shipping and sailed from the east in summer. he turned first to svithjod and came to sigtuna. so says valgard o' val:-- "the fairest cargo ship e'er bore, from russia's distant eastern shore the gallant harald homeward brings-- gold, and a fame that skald still sings. the ship through dashing foam he steers, through the sea-rain to svithjod veers, and at sigtuna's grassy shores his gallant vessel safely moors." . the league between king harald and svein ulfson. harald found there before him svein ulfson, who the autumn before (a.d. ) had fled from king magnus at helganes; and when they met they were very friendly on both sides. the swedish king, olaf the swede, was brother of the mother of ellisif, harald's wife; and astrid, the mother of svein, was king olaf's sister. harald and svein entered into friendship with each other and confirmed it by oath. all the swedes were friendly to svein, because he belonged to the greatest family in the country; and thus all the swedes were harald's friends and helpers also, for many great men were connected with him by relationship. so says thiodolf: "cross the east sea the vessel flew,-- her oak-keel a white furrow drew from russia's coast to swedish land. where harald can great help command. the heavy vessel's leeward side was hid beneath the rushing tide; while the broad sail and gold-tipped mast swung to and fro in the hard blast." . king harald's foray. then harald and svein fitted out ships and gathered together a great force; and when the troops were ready they sailed from the east towards denmark. so says valgard:-- "brave yngve! to the land decreed to thee by fate, with tempest speed the winds fly with thee o'er the sea-- to thy own udal land with thee. as past the scanlan plains they fly, the gay ships glances 'twixt sea and sky, and scanian brides look out, and fear some ill to those they hold most dear." they landed first in seeland with their men and herried and burned in the land far and wide. then they went to fyen, where they also landed and wasted. so says valgard:-- "harald! thou hast the isle laid waste, the seeland men away hast chased, and the wild wolf by daylight roams through their deserted silent homes. fiona too could not withstand the fury of thy wasting hand. helms burst, shields broke,--fiona's bounds. were filled with death's terrific sounds. "red flashing in the southern sky, the clear flame sweeping broad and high, from fair roeskilde's lofty towers, on lowly huts its fire-rain pours; and shows the housemates' silent train in terror scouring o'er the plain, seeking the forest's deepest glen, to house with wolves, and 'scape from men. "few were they of escape to tell, for, sorrow-worn, the people fell: the only captives form the fray were lovely maidens led away. and in wild terror to the strand, down to the ships, the linked band of fair-haired girls is roughly driven, their soft skins by the irons riven." . king magnus's levy. king magnus olafson sailed north to norway in the autumn after the battle at helganes (a.d. ). there he hears the news that harald sigurdson, his relation, was come to svithjod; and moreover that svein ulfson and harald had entered into a friendly bond with each other and gathered together a great force, intending first to subdue denmark and then norway. king magnus then ordered a general levy over all norway and he soon collected a great army. he hears then that harald and svein were come to denmark and were burning and laying waste the land and that the country people were everywhere submitting to them. it was also told that king harald was stronger and stouter than other men, and so wise withal that nothing was impossible to him, and he had always the victory when he fought a battle; and he was also so rich in gold that no man could compare with him in wealth. thiodolf speaks thus of it: "norsemen, who stand the sword of foe like forest-stems unmoved by blow! my hopes are fled, no peace is near,-- people fly here and there in fear. on either side of seeland's coast a fleet appears--a white winged host; magnus form norway takes his course, harald from sweden leads his force. . treaty between harald and magnus. those of harald's men who were in his counsel said that it would be a great misfortune if relations like harald and magnus should fight and throw a death-spear against each other; and therefore many offered to attempt bringing about some agreement between them, and the kings, by their persuasion, agreed to it. thereupon some men were sent off in a light boat, in which they sailed south in all haste to denmark, and got some danish men, who were proven friends of king magnus, to propose this matter to harald. this affair was conducted very secretly. now when harald heard that his relation, king magnus, would offer him a league and partition, so that harald should have half of norway with king magnus, and that they should divide all their movable property into two equal parts, he accepted the proposal, and the people went back to king magnus with this answer. . treaty between harald and svein broken. a little after this it happened that harald and svein one evening were sitting at table drinking and talking together, and svein asked harald what valuable piece of all his property he esteemed the most. he answered, it was his banner land-waster. svein asked what was there remarkable about it, that he valued it so highly. harald replied, it was a common saying that he must gain the victory before whom that banner is borne, and it had turned out so ever since he had owned it. svein replies, "i will begin to believe there is such virtue in the banner when thou hast held three battles with thy relation magnus, and hast gained them all." then answered harald with an angry voice, "i know my relationship to king magnus, without thy reminding me of it; and although we are now going in arms against him, our meeting may be of a better sort." svein changed colour, and said, "there are people, harald, who say that thou hast done as much before as only to hold that part of an agreement which appears to suit thy own interest best." harald answers, "it becomes thee ill to say that i have not stood by an agreement, when i know what king magnus could tell of thy proceedings with him." thereupon each went his own way. at night, when harald went to sleep within the bulwarks of his vessel, he said to his footboy, "i will not sleep in my bed to-night, for i suspect there may be treachery abroad. i observed this evening that my friend svein was very angry at my free discourse. thou shalt keep watch, therefore, in case anything happen in the night." harald then went away to sleep somewhere else, and laid a billet of wood in his place. at midnight a boat rowed alongside to the ship's bulwark; a man went on board, lifted up the cloth of the tent of the bulwarks, went up, and struck in harald's bed with a great ax, so that it stood fast in the lump of wood. the man instantly ran back to his boat again, and rowed away in the dark night, for the moon was set; but the axe remained sticking in the piece of wood as an evidence. thereupon harald waked his men and let them know the treachery intended. "we can now see sufficiently," said he, "that we could never match svein if he practises such deliberate treachery against us; so it will be best for us to get away from this place while we can. let us cast loose our vessel and row away as quietly as possible." they did so, and rowed during the night northwards along the land; and then proceeded night and day until they came to king magnus, where he lay with his army. harald went to his relation magnus, and there was a joyful meeting betwixt them. so says thiodolf:-- "the far-known king the order gave, in silence o'er the swelling wave, with noiseless oars, his vessels gay from denmark west to row away; and olaf's son, with justice rare, offers with him the realm to share. people, no doubt, rejoiced to find the kings had met in peaceful mind." afterwards the two relatives conversed with each other and all was settled by peaceful agreement. . king magnus gives harald half of norway. king magnus lay at the shore and had set up tents upon the land. there he invited his relation, king harald, to be his guest at table; and harald went to the entertainment with sixty of his men and was feasted excellently. towards the end of the day king magnus went into the tent where harald sat and with him went men carrying parcels consisting of clothes and arms. then the king went to the man who sat lowest and gave him a good sword, to the next a shield, to the next a kirtle, and so on,--clothes, or weapons, or gold; to all he gave one or the other valuable gift, and the more costly to the more distinguished men among them. then he placed himself before his relation harald, holding two sticks in his hand, and said, "which of these two sticks wilt thou have, my friend?" harald replies, "the one nearest me." "then," said king magnus, "with this stick i give thee half of the norwegian power, with all the scat and duties, and all the domains thereunto belonging, with the condition that everywhere thou shalt be as lawful king in norway as i am myself; but when we are both together in one place, i shall be the first man in seat, service and salutation; and if there be three of us together of equal dignity, that i shall sit in the middle, and shall have the royal tent-ground and the royal landing-place. thou shalt strengthen and advance our kingdom, in return for making thee that man in norway whom we never expected any man should be so long as our head was above ground." then harald stood up, and thanked him for the high title and dignity. thereupon they both sat down, and were very merry together. the same evening harald and his men returned to their ships. . harald gives magnus the half of his treasures. the following morning king magnus ordered the trumpets to sound to a general thing of the people; and when it was seated, he made known to the whole army the gift he had given to his relation harald. thorer of steig gave harald the title of king there at the thing; and the same day king harald invited king magnus to table with him, and he went with sixty men to king harald's land-tent, where he had prepared a feast. the two kings sat together on a high-seat, and the feast was splendid; everything went on with magnificence, and the kings' were merry and glad. towards the close of the day king harald ordered many caskets to be brought into the tent, and in like manner people bore in weapons, clothes and other sorts of valuables; and all these king harald divided among king magnus's men who were at the feast. then he had the caskets opened and said to king magnus, "yesterday you gave us a large kingdom, which your hand won from your and our enemies, and took us in partnership with you, which was well done; and this has cost you much. now we on our side have been in foreign parts, and oft in peril of life, to gather together the gold which you here see. now, king magnus, i will divide this with you. we shall both own this movable property, and each have his equal share of it, as each has his equal half share of norway. i know that our dispositions are different, as thou art more liberal than i am; therefore let us divide this property equally between us, so that each may have his share free to do with as he will." then harald had a large ox-hide spread out, and turned the gold out of the caskets upon it. then scales and weights were taken and the gold separated and divided by weight into equal parts; and all people wondered exceedingly that so much gold should have come together in one place in the northern countries. but it was understood that it was the greek emperor's property and wealth; for, as all people say, there are whole houses there full of red gold. the kings were now very merry. then there appeared an ingot among the rest as big as a man's hand. harald took it in his hands and said, "where is the gold, friend magnus, that thou canst show against this piece?" king magnus replied, "so many disturbances and levies have been in the country that almost all the gold and silver i could lay up is gone. i have no more gold in my possession than this ring." and he took the ring off his hand and gave it to harald. harald looked at it, and said, "that is but little gold, friend, for the king who owns two kingdoms; and yet some may doubt whether thou art rightful owner of even this ring." then king magnus replied, after a little reflection, "if i be not rightful owner of this ring, then i know not what i have got right to; for my father, king olaf the saint, gave me this ring at our last parting." then said king harald, laughing, "it is true, king magnus, what thou sayest. thy father gave thee this ring, but he took the ring from my father for some trifling cause; and in truth it was not a good time for small kings in norway when thy father was in full power." king harald gave thorer of steig at that feast a bowl of mountain birch, that was encircled with a silver ring and had a silver handle, both which parts were gilt; and the bowl was filled with money of pure silver. with that came also two gold rings, which together stood for a mark. he gave him also his cloak of dark purple lined with white skins within, and promised him besides his friendship and great dignity. thorgils snorrason, an intelligent man, says he has seen an altar-cloth that was made of this cloak; and gudrid, a daughter of guthorm, the son of thorer of steig, said, according to thorgil's account, that she had seen this bowl in her father guthorm's possession. bolverk also tells of these matters:-- "thou, generous king, i have been told, for the green land hast given gold; and magnus got a mighty treasure, that thou one half might'st rule at pleasure. the people gained a blessed peace, which 'twixt the kings did never cease; while svein, disturbed with war's alarms, had his folk always under arms." . of king magnus. the kings magnus and harald both ruled in norway the winter after their agreement (a.d. ), and each had his court. in winter they went around the upland country in guest-quarters; and sometimes they were both together, sometimes each was for himself. they went all the way north to throndhjem, to the town of nidaros. king magnus had taken special care of the holy remains of king olaf after he came to the country; had the hair and nails clipped every twelve month, and kept himself the keys that opened the shrine. many miracles were worked by king olaf's holy remains. it was not long before there was a breach in the good understanding between the two kings, as many were so mischievous as to promote discord between them. . of svein ulfson. svein ulfson remained behind in the harbour after harald had gone away, and inquired about his proceedings. when he heard at last of magnus and harald having agreed and joined their forces, he steered with his forces eastward along scania, and remained there until towards winter, when he heard that king magnus and king harald had gone northwards to norway. then svein, with his troops, came south to denmark and took all the royal income that winter (a.d. ). . of the levy of the two kings. towards spring (a.d. ) king magnus and his relation, king harald, ordered a levy in norway. it happened once that the kings lay all night in the same harbour and next day, king harald, being first ready, made sail. towards evening he brought up in the harbour in which magnus and his retinue had intended to pass the night. harald laid his vessel in the royal ground, and there set up his tents. king magnus got under sail later in the day and came into the harbour just as king harald had done pitching his tents. they saw then that king harald had taken up the king's ground and intended to lie there. after king magnus had ordered the sails to be taken in, he said, "the men will now get ready along both sides of the vessel to lay out their oars, and some will open the hatches and bring up the arms and arm themselves; for, if they will not make way for us, we will fight them." now when king harald sees that king magnus will give him battle, he says to his men, "cut our land-fastenings and back the ship out of the ground, for friend magnus is in a passion." they did so and laid the vessel out of the ground and king magnus laid his vessel in it. when they were now ready on both sides with their business, king harald went with a few men on board of king magnus's ship. king magnus received him in a friendly way, and bade him welcome. king harald answered, "i thought we were come among friends; but just now i was in doubt if ye would have it so. but it is a truth that childhood is hasty, and i will only consider it as a childish freak." then said king magnus, "it is no childish whim, but a trait of my family, that i never forget what i have given, or what i have not given. if this trifle had been settled against my will, there would soon have followed' some other discord like it. in all particulars i will hold the agreement between us; but in the same way we will have all that belongs to us by that right." king harald coolly replied, that it is an old custom for the wisest to give way; and returned to his ship. from such circumstances it was found difficult to preserve good understanding between the kings. king magnus's men said he was in the right; but others, less wise, thought there was some slight put upon harald in the business. king harald's men, besides, insisted that the agreement was only that king magnus should have the preference of the harbour-ground when they arrived together, but that king harald was not bound to draw out of his place when he came first. they observed, also, that king harald had conducted himself well and wisely in the matter. those who viewed the business in the worst light insisted that king magnus wanted to break the agreement, and that he had done king harald injustice, and put an affront on him. such disputes were talked over so long among foolish people, that the spirit of disagreeing affected the kings themselves. many other things also occurred, in which the kings appeared determined to have each his own way; but of these little will be set down here. . king magnus the good's death. the kings, magnus and harald, sailed with their fleet south to denmark; and when svein heard of their approach, he fled away east to scania. magnus and harald remained in denmark late in summer, and subdued the whole country. in autumn they were in jutland. one night, as king magnus lay in his bed, it appeared to him in a dream that he was in the same place as his father, saint olaf, and that he spoke to him thus: "wilt thou choose, my son, to follow me, or to become a mighty king, and have long life; but to commit a crime which thou wilt never be able to expiate?" he thought he made the answer, "do thou, father, choose for me." then the king thought the answer was, "thou shalt follow me." king magnus told his men this dream. soon after he fell sick and lay at a place called sudathorp. when he was near his death he sent his brother, thorer, with tokens to svein ulfson, with the request to give thorer the aid he might require. in this message king magnus also gave the danish dominions to svein after his death; and said it was just that harald should rule over norway and svein over denmark. then king magnus the good died (a.d. ), and great was the sorrow of all the people at his death. so says od kikinaskald:-- "the tears o'er good king magnus' bier, the people's tears, were all sincere: even they to whom he riches gave carried him heavily to the grave. all hearts were struck at the king's end; his house-thralls wept as for a friend; his court-men oft alone would muse, as pondering o'er unthought of news." . king magnus's funeral. after this event king harald held a thing of his men-at-arms, and told them his intention to go with the army to viborg thing, and make himself be proclaimed king over the whole danish dominions, to which, he said, he had hereditary right after his relation magnus, as well as to norway. he therefore asked his men for their aid, and said he thought the norway man should show himself always superior to the dane. then einar tambaskelfer replies that he considered it a greater duty to bring his foster-son king magnus's corpse to the grave, and lay it beside his father, king olaf's, north in throndhjem town, than to be fighting abroad and taking another king's dominions and property. he ended his speech with saying that he would rather follow king magnus dead than any other king alive. thereupon he had the body adorned in the most careful way, so that most magnificent preparations were made in the king's ship. then all the throndhjem people and all the northmen made themselves ready to return home with the king's body, and so the army was broken up. king harald saw then that it was better for him to return to norway to secure that kingdom first, and to assemble men anew; and so king harald returned to norway with all his army. as soon as he came to norway he held a thing with the people of the country, and had himself proclaimed king everywhere. he proceeded thus from the east through viken, and in every district in norway he was named king. einar tambaskelfer, and with him all the throndhjem troops, went with king magnus's body and transported it to the town of nidaros, where it was buried in st. clement's church, where also was the shrine of king olaf the saint. king magnus was of middle size, of long and clear-complexioned countenance, and light hair, spoke well and hastily, was brisk in his actions, and extremely generous. he was a great warrior, and remarkably bold in arms. he was the most popular of kings, prized even by enemies as well as friends. . of svein ulfson. svein ulfson remained that autumn in scania (a.d. ), and was making ready to travel eastward to sweden, with the intention of renouncing the title of king he had assumed in denmark; but just as he was mounting his horse some men came riding to him with the first news that king magnus was dead, and all the northmen had left denmark. svein answered in haste, "i call god to witness that i shall never again fly from the danish dominions as long as i live." then he got on his horse and rode south into scania, where immediately many people crowded to him. that winter he brought under his power all the danish dominions, and all the danes took him for their king. thorer, king magnus's brother, came to svein in autumn with the message of king magnus, as before related, and was well received; and thorer remained long with svein and was well taken care of. . of king harald sigurdson. king harald sigurdson took the royal power over all norway after the death of king magnus olafson; and when he had reigned over norway one winter and spring was come (a.d. ), he ordered a levy through all the land of one-half of all men and ships and went south to jutland. he herried and burned all summer wide around in the land and came into godnarfjord, where king harald made these verses:-- "while wives of husbands fondly dream, here let us anchor in the stream, in godnarfjord; we'll safely moor our sea-homes, and sleep quite secure." then he spoke to thiodolf, the skald, and asked him to add to it what it wanted, and he sang:-- "in the next summer, i foresee, our anchorage in the south will be; to hold our sea-homes on the ground, more cold-tongued anchors will be found." to this bolverk alludes in his song also, that harald went to denmark the summer after king magnus's death. bolverk sings thus:-- "next summer thou the levy raised, and seawards all the people gazed, where thy sea-steeds in sunshine glancing over the waves were gaily prancing; while the deep ships that plunder bore seemed black specks from the distant shore. the danes, from banks or hillocks green, looked with dismay upon the scene." . of thorkel geysa's daughters. then they burned the house of thorkel geysa, who was a great lord, and his daughters they carried off bound to their ships. they had made a great mockery the winter before of king harald's coming with war-ships against denmark; and they cut their cheese into the shape of anchors, and said such anchors might hold all the ships of the norway king. then this was composed:-- "the island-girls, we were told, made anchors all our fleet to hold: their danish jest cut out in cheese did not our stern king's fancy please. now many a maiden fair, may be, sees iron anchors splash the sea, who will not wake a maid next morn to laugh at norway's ships in scorn." it is said that a spy who had seen the fleet of king harald said to thorkel geysa's daughters, "ye said, geysa's daughters, that king harald dared not come to denmark." dotta, thorkel's daughter, replied, "that was yesterday." thorkel had to ransom his daughters with a great sum. so says grane:-- "the gold-adorned girl's eye through hornskeg wood was never dry, as down towards the sandy shore the men their lovely prizes bore. the norway leader kept at bay the foe who would contest the way, and dotta's father had to bring treasure to satisfy the king." king harald plundered in denmark all that summer, and made immense booty; but he had not any footing in the land that summer in denmark. he went to norway again in autumn and remained there all winter (a.d. ). . marriages and children of harald hardrade. the winter after king magnus the good died, king harald took thora, daughter of thorberg arnason, and they had two sons; the oldest called magnus, and the other olaf. king harald and queen ellisif had two daughters; the one maria, the other ingegerd. the spring after the foray which has just been related king harald ordered the people out and went with them to denmark (a.d. ), and herried there, and did so summer after summer thereafter. so says stuf, the skald:-- "falster lay waste, as people tell,-- the raven in other isles fared well. the danes were everywhere in fear, for the dread foray every year." . of the armaments of svein ulfson and harald. king svein ruled over all the danish dominions after king magnus's death. he sat quiet all the winter; but in summer he lay out in his ships with all his people and it was said he would go north to norway with the danish army and make not less havoc there than king harald had made in denmark. king svein proposed to king harald in winter (a.d. ) to meet him the following summer at the gaut river and fight until in the battle-field their differences were ended, or they were settled peacefully. they made ready on both sides all winter with their ships, and called out in summer one-half of all the fighting men. the same summer came thorleik the fair out of iceland, and composed a poem about king svein ulfson. he heard, when he arrived in norway, that king harald had sailed south to the gaut river against king svein. then thorleik sang this:-- "the wily svein, i think, will meet these inland norsemen fleet to fleet; the arrow-storm, and heaving sea, his vantage-fight and field will be. god only knows the end of strife, or which shall have his land and life; this strife must come to such an end, for terms will never bind king svein." he also sang these verses:-- "harald, whose red shield oft has shone o'er herried coasts, and fields hard won, rides in hot wrath, and eager speeds o'er the blue waves his ocean-steeds. svein, who in blood his arrows stains, brings o'er the ocean's heaving plains his gold-beaked ships, which come in view out from the sound with many a hue." king harald came with his forces to the appointed meeting-place; but there he heard that king svein was lying with his fleet at the south side of seeland. then king harald divided his forces; let the greater part of the bonde-troops return home; and took with him his court-men, his lendermen, the best men-at-arms, and all the bonde-troops who lived nearest to the danish land. they sailed over to jutland to the south of vendilskage, and so south to thioda; and over all they carried fire and sword. so says stuf, the skald:-- "in haste the men of thyland fly from the great monarch's threat'ning eye; at the stern harald's angry look the boldest hearts in denmark shook." they went forward all the way south to heidaby, took the merchant town and burnt it. then one of harald's men made the following verses:-- "all heidaby is burned down! strangers will ask where stood the town. in our wild humour up it blazed, and svein looks round him all amazed. all heidaby is burned down! from a far corner of the town i saw, before the peep of morning, roofs, walls, and all in flame high burning." to this also thorleik alludes in his verses, when he heard there had been no battle at the gaut river:-- "the stranger-warrior may inquire of harald's men, why in his ire on heidaby his wrath he turns, and the fair town to ashes burns? would that the day had never come when harald's ships returned home from the east sea, since now the town, without his gain, is burned down!" . harald's escape into the jutland sea. then king harald sailed north and had sixty ships and the most of them large and heavily laden with the booty taken in summer; and as they sailed north past thioda king svein came down from the land with a great force and he challenged king harald to land and fight. king harald had little more than half the force of king svein and therefore he challenged svein to fight at sea. so says thorleik the fair:-- "svein, who of all men under heaven has had the luckiest birth-hour given, invites his foemen to the field, there to contest with blood-stained shield. the king, impatient of delay, harald, will with his sea-hawks stay; on board will fight, and fate decide if svein shall by his land abide." after that king harald sailed north along vendilskage; and the wind then came against them, and they brought up under hlesey, where they lay all night. a thick fog lay upon the sea; and when the morning came and the sun rose they saw upon the other side of the sea as if many lights were burning. this was told to king harald; and he looked at it, and said immediately, "strike the tilts down on the ships and take to the oars. the danish forces are coming upon us, and the fog there where they are must have cleared off, and the sun shines upon the dragon-heads of their ships, which are gilded, and that is what we see." it was so as he had said. svein had come there with a prodigious armed force. they rowed now on both sides all they could. the danish ships flew lighter before the oars; for the northmen's ships were both soaked with water and heavily laden, so that the danes approached nearer and nearer. then harald, whose own dragon-ship was the last of the fleet, saw that he could not get away; so he ordered his men to throw overboard some wood, and lay upon it clothes and other good and valuable articles; and it was so perfectly calm that these drove about with the tide. now when the danes saw their own goods driving about on the sea, they who were in advance turned about to save them; for they thought it was easier to take what was floating freely about, than to go on board the northmen to take it. they dropped rowing and lost ground. now when king svein came up to them with his ship, he urged them on, saying it would be a great shame if they, with so great a force, could not overtake and master so small a number. the danes then began again to stretch out lustily at their oars. when king harald saw that the danish ships went faster he ordered his men to lighten their ships, and cast overboard malt, wheat, bacon, and to let their liquor run out, which helped a little. then harald ordered the bulwarkscreens, the empty casks and puncheons and the prisoners to be thrown overboard; and when all these were driving about on the sea, svein ordered help to be given to save the men. this was done; but so much time was lost that they separated from each other. the danes turned back and the northmen proceeded on their way. so says thorleik the fair:-- "svein drove his foes from jutland's coast,-- the norsemen's ships would have been lost, but harald all his vessels saves, throwing his booty on the waves. the jutlanders saw, as he threw, their own goods floating in their view; his lighten'd ships fly o'er the main while they pick up their own again." king svein returned southwards with his ships to hlesey, where he found seven ships of the northmen, with bondes and men of the levy. when king svein came to them they begged for mercy, and offered ransom for themselves. so says thorleik the fair:-- "the stern king's men good offers make, if svein will ransom for them take; too few to fight, they boldly say unequal force makes them give way. the hasty bondes for a word would have betaken them to the sword, and have prolonged a bloody strife-- such men can give no price for life." . of harald. king harald was a great man, who ruled his kingdom well in home-concerns. very prudent was he, of good understanding; and it is the universal opinion that no chief ever was in northern lands of such deep judgment and ready counsel as harald. he was a great warrior; bold in arms; strong and expert in the use of his weapons beyond any others, as has been before related, although many of the feats of his manhood are not here written down. this is owing partly to our uncertainty about them, partly to our wish not to put stories into this book for which there is no testimony. although we have heard, many things talked about, and even circumstantially related, yet we think it better that something may be added to, than that it should be necessary to take something away from our narrative. a great part of his history is put in verse by iceland men, which poems they presented to him or his sons, and for which reason he was their great friend. he was, indeed, a great friend to all the people of that country; and once, when a very dear time set in, he allowed four ships to transport meal to iceland, and fixed that the shippund should not be dearer than ells of wadmal. he permitted also all poor people, who could find provisions to keep them on the voyage across the sea, to emigrate from iceland to norway; and from that time there was better subsistence in the country, and the seasons also turned out better. king harold also sent from norway a bell for the church of which olaf the saint had sent the timbers to iceland, and which was erected on the thing-plain. such remembrances of king harald are found here in the country, besides many great gifts which he presented to those who visited him. . of haldor snorrason. haldor snorrason and ulf uspakson, as before related, came to norway with king harald. they were, in many respects, of different dispositions. haldor was very stout and strong, and remarkably handsome in appearance. king harald gave him this testimony, that he, among all his men, cared least about doubtful circumstances, whether they betokened danger or pleasure; for, whatever turned up, he was never in higher nor in lower spirits, never slept less nor more on account of them, nor ate or drank but according to his custom. haldor was not a man of many words, but short in conversation, told his opinion bluntly and was obstinate and hard; and this could not please the king, who had many clever people about him zealous in his service. haldor remained a short time with the king; and then came to iceland, where he took up his abode in hjardarholt, and dwelt in that farm to a very advanced age. . of ulf uspakson. ulf uspakson stood in great esteem with king harald; for he was a man of great understanding, clever in conversation, active and brave, and withal true and sincere. king harald made ulf his marshal, and married him to jorun, thorberg's daughter, a sister of harald's wife, thora. ulf and jorun's children were joan the strong of rasvol, and brigida, mother of sauda-ulf, who was father of peter byrdar-svein, father of ulf fly and sigrid. joan the strong's son was erlend himalde, father of archbishop eystein and his brothers. king harald gave ulf the marshal the rights of a lenderman and a fief of twelve marks income, besides a half-district in the throndhjem land. of this stein herdison speaks in his song about ulf. . of the building of churches and houses. king magnus olafson built olaf's church in the town (nidaros), on the spot where olaf's body was set down for the night, and which, at that time, was above the town. he also had the king's house built there. the church was not quite finished when the king died; but king harald had what was wanting completed. there, beside the house, he began to construct a stone hall, but it was not finished when he died. king harald had the church called mary church built from the foundations up, at the sandhill close to the spot where the king's holy remains were concealed in the earth the first winter after his fall. it was a large temple, and so strongly built with lime that it was difficult to break it when the archbishop eystein had it pulled down. olaf's holy remains were kept in olaf's church while mary church was building. king harald had the king's house erected below mary kirk, at the side of the river, where it now is; and he had the house in which he had made the great hall consecrated and called gregorius church. . beginning of hakon ivarson's story. there was a man called ivar the white, who was a brave lenderman dwelling in the uplands, and was a daughter's son of earl hakon the great. ivar was the handsomest man that could be seen. ivar's son was called hakon; and of him it was said that he was distinguished above all men then in norway for beauty, strength and perfection of figure. in his very youth he had been sent out on war expeditions, where he acquired great honour and consideration, and became afterwards one of the most celebrated men. . of einar tambaskelfer. einar tambaskelfer was the most powerful lenderman in the throndhjem land. there was but little friendship between him and king harald, although einar retained all the fiefs he had held while magnus the good lived. einar had many large estates, and was married to bergliot, a daughter of earl hakon, as related above. their son eindride was grown up, and married to sigrid, a daughter of ketil kalf and gunhild, king harald's sister's daughter. eindride had inherited the beauty of his mother's father, earl hakon, and his sons; and in size and strength he took after his father, einar, and also in all bodily perfections by which einar had been distinguished above other men. he was, also, as well as his father, the most popular of men, which the sagas, indeed, show sufficiently. . of earl orm. orm was at that time earl in the uplands. his mother was ragnhild, a daughter of earl hakon the great, and orm was a remarkably clever man. aslak erlingson was then in jadar at sole, and was married to sigrid, a daughter of earl svein hakonson. gunhild, earl svein's other daughter, was married to the danish king, svein ulfson. these were the descendants of earl hakon at that time in norway, besides many other distinguished people; and the whole race was remarkable for their very beautiful appearance, and the most of them were gifted with great bodily perfection, and were all distinguished and important men. . harald's pride. king harald was very proud, and his pride increased after he was established in the country; and it came so far that at last it was not good to speak against him, or to propose anything different from what he desired. so says thiodolf, the skald:-- "in arms 'tis right the common man should follow orders, one by one,-- should stoop or rise, or run or stand, as his war-leader may command; but now to the king who feeds the ravens the people bend like heartless cravens-- nothing is left them, but consent to what the king calls his intent." . of the quarrel of king harald and einar tambaskelfer. einar tambaskelfer was the principal man among the bondes all about throndhjem, and answered for them at the things even against the king's men. einar knew well the law, and did not want boldness to bring forward his opinion at things, even if the king was present; and all the bondes stood by him. the king was very angry at this, and it came so far that they disputed eagerly against each other. einar said that the bondes would not put up with any unlawful proceedings from him if he broke through the law of the land; and this occurred several times between them. einar then began to keep people about him at home, and he had many more when he came into the town if the king was there. it once happened that einar came to the town with a great many men and ships; he had with him eight or nine great war-ships and nearly men. when he came to the town he went up from the strand with his attendants. king harald was then in his house, standing out in the gallery of the loft; and when he saw einar's people going on shore, it is said harald composed these verses:-- "i see great tambaskelfer go, with mighty pomp, and pride, and show, across the ebb-shore up the land,-- before, behind, an armed band. this bonde-leader thinks to rule, and fill himself the royal stool. a goodly earl i have known with fewer followers of his own. he who strikes fire from the shield, einar, may some day make us yield, unless our axe-edge quickly ends, with sudden kiss, what he intends." einar remained several days in the town. . the fall of einar and eindride. one day there was a meeting held in the town, at which the king himself was present. a thief had been taken in the town, and he was brought before the thing. the man had before been in the service of einar, who had been very well satisfied with him. this was told to einar, and he well knew the king would not let the man off, and more because he took an interest in the matter. einar, therefore, let his men get under arms, went to the thing, and took the man by force. the friends on both sides then came between and endeavoured to effect a reconciliation; and they succeeded so far that a meeting-place was appointed, to which both should come. there was a thing-room in the king's house at the river nid, and the king went into it with a few men, while the most of his people were out in the yard. the king ordered the shutters of the loft-opening to be turned, so that there was but a little space left clear. when einar came into the yard with his people, he told his son eindride to remain outside with the men, "for there is no danger here for me." eindride remained standing outside at the room-door. when einar came into the thing-room, he said, "it is dark in the king's thing-room." at that moment some men ran against him and assaulted him, some with spears, some with swords. when eindride heard this he drew his sword and rushed into the room; but he was instantly killed along with his father. the king's men then ran up and placed themselves before the door, and the bondes lost courage, having no leader. they urged each other on, indeed, and said it was a shame they should not avenge their chief; but it came to nothing with their attack. the king went out to his men, arrayed them in battle order, and set up his standard: but the bondes did not venture to assault. then the king went with all his men on board of his ships, rowed down the river, and then took his way out of the fjord. when einar's wife bergliot, who was in the house which einar had possessed in the town, heard of einar's fall, she went immediately to the king's house where the bondes army was and urged them to the attack; but at the same moment the king was rowing out of the river. then said bergliot, "now we want here my relation, hakon ivarson: einar's murderer would not be rowing out of the river if ivar stood here on the riverbank." then bergliot adorned einar's and eindride's corpses and buried them in olaf's church, beside king magnus olafson's burial-place. after einar's murder the king was so much disliked for that deed that there was nothing that prevented the lendermen and bondes from attacking the king, and giving him battle, but the want of some leader to raise the banner in the bonde army. . of king harald and fin arnason. fin arnason dwelt at austrat in yrjar, and was king harald's lenderman there. fin was married to bergliot, a daughter of halfdan, who was a son of sigurd syr, and brother of olaf the saint and of king harald. thora, king harald's wife, was fin arnason's brother's daughter: and fin and all his brothers were the king's dearest friends. fin arnason had been for some summers on a viking cruise in the west sea; and fin, guthorm gunhildson and hakon ivarson had all been together on that cruise. king harald now proceeded out of throndhjem fjord to austrat, where he was well received. afterwards the king and fin conversed with each other about this new event of einar's and his son's death, and of the murmuring and threatening which the bondes made against the king. fin took up the conversation briskly, and said, "thou art managing ill in two ways: first, in doing all manner of mischief; and next, in being so afraid that thou knowest not what to do." the king replied, laughing, "i will send thee, friend, into the town to bring about a reconciliation with the bondes; and if that will not do, thou must go to the uplands and bring matters to such an understanding with hakon ivarson that he shall not be my opponent." fin replies, "and how wilt thou reward me if i undertake this dangerous errand; for both the people of throndhjem and the people of upland are so great enemies to thee that it would not be safe for any of thy messengers to come among them, unless he were one who would be spared for his own sake?" the king replies, "go thou on this embassy, for i know thou wilt succeed in it if any man can, and bring about a reconciliation; and then choose whatever favour from us thou wilt." fin says, "hold thou thy word, king, and i will choose my petition. i will desire to have peace and safe residence in the country for my brother kalf, and all his estates restored; and also that he receive all the dignity and power he had when he left the country." the king assented to all that fin laid down, and it was confirmed by witnesses and shake of hand. then said fin, "what shall i offer hakon, who rules most among his relations in the land, to induce him to agree to a treaty and reconciliation with thee?" the king replies, "thou shalt first hear what hakon on his part requires for making an agreement; then promote my interest as thou art best able; and deny him nothing in the end short of the kingdom." then king harald proceeded southwards to more, and drew together men in considerable numbers. . of fin arnason's journey. fin arnason proceeded to the town and had with him his house-servants, nearly eighty men. when he came into the town he held a thing with the town's people. fin spoke long and ably at the thing; and told the town's people, and bondes, above all things not to have a hatred against their king, or to drive him away. he reminded them of how much evil they had suffered by acting thus against king olaf the saint; and added, that the king was willing to pay penalty for this murder, according to the judgment of understanding and good men. the effect of fin's speech was that the bondes promised to wait quietly until the messengers came back whom bergliot had sent to the uplands to her relative, hakon ivarson. fin then went out to orkadal with the men who had accompanied him to the town. from thence he went up to dovrefield, and eastwards over the mountains. he went first to his son-in-law, earl orm, who was married to sigrid, fin's daughter, and told him his business. . of fin and hakon ivarson. then fin and earl orm appointed a meeting with hakon ivarson; and when they met fin explained his errand to hakon, and the offer which king harald made him. it was soon seen, from hakon's speech, that he considered it to be his great duty to avenge the death of his relative, eindride; and added, that word was come to him from throndhjem, from which he might expect help in making head against the king. then fin represented to hakon how much better it would be for him to accept of as high a dignity from the king as he himself could desire, rather than to attempt raising a strife against the king to whom he was owing service and duty. he said if he came out of the conflict without victory, he forfeited life and property: "and even if thou hast the victory, thou wilt still be called a traitor to thy sovereign." earl orm also supported fin's speech. after hakon had reflected upon this he disclosed what lay on his mind, and said, "i will be reconciled with king harald if he will give me in marriage his relation ragnhild, king magnus olafson's daughter, with such dower as is suitable to her and she will be content with." fin said he would agree to this on the king's part; and thus it was settled among them. fin then returned to throndhjem, and the disturbance and enmity was quashed, so that the king could retain his kingdom in peace at home; and the league was broken which eindride's relations had made among themselves for opposing king harald. . of the courtship of hakon ivarson. when the day arrived for the meeting at which this agreement with harald should be finally concluded, hakon went to king harald; and in their conference the king said that he, for his part, would adhere to all that was settled in their agreement. "thou hakon," says he, "must thyself settle that which concerns ragnhild, as to her accepting thee in marriage; for it would not be advisable for thee, or for any one, to marry ragnhild without her consent." then hakon went to ragnhild, and paid his addresses to her. she answered him thus: "i have often to feel that my father, king magnus, is dead and gone from me, since i must marry a bonde; although i acknowledge thou art a handsome man, expert in all exercises. but if king magnus had lived he would not have married me to any man less than a king; so it is not to be expected that i will take a man who has no dignity or title." then hakon went to king harald and told him his conversation with ragnhild, and also repeated the agreement which was made between him and fin, who was with him, together with many others of the persons who had been present at the conversation between him and fin. hakon takes them all to witness that such was the agreement that the king should give ragnhild the dower she might desire. "and now since she will have no man who has not a high dignity, thou must give me such a title of honour; and, according to the opinion of the people, i am of birth, family and other qualifications to be called earl." the king replies, "when my brother, king olaf, and his son, king magnus, ruled the kingdom, they allowed only one earl at a time to be in the country, and i have done the same since i came to the kingly title; and i will not take away from orm the title of honour i had before given him." hakon saw now that his business had not advanced, and was very ill pleased; and fin was outrageously angry. they said the king had broken his word; and thus they all separated. . hakon's journey to denmark. hakon then went out of the country with a well-manned ship. when he came to denmark he went immediately to his relative, king svein, who received him honourably and gave him great fiefs. hakon became king svein's commander of the coast defence against the vikings,--the vindland people, kurland people, and others from the east countries,--who infested the danish dominions; and he lay out with his ships of war both winter and summer. . murder of asmund. there was a man called asmund, who is said to have been king svein's sister's son, and his foster-son. this asmund was distinguished among all by his boldness and was much disliked by the king. when asmund came to years, and to age of discretion, he became an ungovernable person given to murder and manslaughter. the king was ill pleased at this, and sent him away, giving him a good fief, which might keep him and his followers well. as soon as asmund had got this property from the king he drew together a large troop of people; and as the estate he had got from the king was not sufficient for his expenses he took as his own much more which belonged to the king. when the king heard this he summoned asmund to him, and when they met the king said that asmund should remain with the court without keeping any retinue of his own; and this took place as the king desired. but when asmund had been a little time in the king's court he grew weary of being there, and escaped in the night, returned to his former companions and did more mischief than ever. now when the king was riding through the country he came to the neighbourhood where asmund was, and he sent out men-at-arms to seize him. the king then had him laid in irons, and kept him so for some time in hope he would reform; but no sooner did asmund get rid of his chains than he absconded again, gathered together people and men-at-arms and betook himself to plunder, both abroad and at home. thus he made great forays, killing and plundering all around. when the people who suffered under these disturbances came to the king and complained to him of their losses, he replied, "why do ye tell me of this? why don't you go to hakon ivarson, who is my officer for the land-defence, placed on purpose to keep the peace for you peasants, and to hold the vikings in check? i was told that hakon was a gallant and brave man, but i think he is rather shy when any danger of life is in the way." these words of the king were brought to hakon, with many additions. then hakon went with his men in search of asmund, and when their ships met hakon gave battle immediately--and the conflict was sharp, and many men were killed. hakon boarded asmund's ship and cut down the men before his feet. at last he and asmund met and exchanged blows until asmund fell. hakon cut off his head, went in all haste to king svein and found him just sitting down to the dinner-table. hakon presented himself before the table, laid asmund's head upon the table before the king, and asked if he knew it. the king made no reply, but became as red as blood in the face. soon after the king sent him a message, ordering him to leave his service immediately. "tell him i will do him no harm; but i cannot keep watch over all our relations." ( ) endnotes: ( ) this incident shows how strong, in those ages, was the tie of relationship, and the point of honour of avenging its injuries--the clanship spirit.--l. . hakon ivarson's marriage. hakon then left denmark, and came north to his estates in norway. his relation earl orm was dead. hakon's relations and friends were glad to see hakon, and many gallant men gave themselves much trouble to bring about a reconciliation between king harald and hakon. it was at last settled in this way, that hakon got ragnhild, the king's daughter, and that king harald gave hakon the earldom, with the same power earl orm had possessed. hakon swore to king harald an oath of fidelity to all the services he was liable to fulfill. . reconciliation of king harald and kalf. kalf arnason had been on a viking cruise to the western countries ever since he had left norway; but in winter he was often in the orkney islands with his relative, earl thorfin. fin arnason sent a message to his brother kalf, and told him the agreement which he had made with king harald, that kalf should enjoy safety in norway, and his estates, and all the fiefs he had held from king magnus. when this message came to kalf he immediately got ready for his voyage, and went east to norway to his brother fin. then fin obtained the king's peace for kalf, and when kalf and the king met they went into the agreement which fin and the king had settled upon before. kalf bound himself to the king in the same way as he had bound himself to serve king magnus, according to which kalf should do all that the king desired and considered of advantage to his realm. thereupon kalf received all the estates and fiefs he had before. . fall of kalf arnason. the summer following (a.d. ) king harald ordered out a levy, and went to denmark, where he plundered during the summer; but when he came south to fyen he found a great force assembled against him. then the king prepared to land his men from the ships and to engage in a land-fight. he drew up his men on board in order of battle; set kalf arnason at the head of one division; ordered him to make the first attack, and told him where they should direct their assault, promising that he would soon make a landing with the others, and come to their assistance. when kalf came to the land with his men a force came down immediately to oppose them, and kalf without delay engaged in battle, which, however, did not last long; for kalf was immediately overpowered by numbers, and betook himself to flight with his men. the danes pursued them vigorously, and many of the northmen fell, and among them kalf arnason. now king harald landed with his array; and they soon came on their way to the field of battle, where they found kalf's body, and bore it down to the ships. but the king penetrated into the country, killing many people and destroying much. so says arnor:-- "his shining sword with blood he stains, upon fyona's grassy plains; and in the midst of fire and smoke, the king fyona's forces broke." . fin arnason's expedition out of the country. after this fin arnason thought he had cause to be an enemy of the king upon account of his brother kalf's death; and said the king had betrayed kalf to his fall, and had also deceived him by making him entice his brother kalf to come over from the west and trust to king harald's faith. when these speeches came out among people, many said that it was very foolish in fin to have ever supposed that kalf could obtain the king's sincere friendship and favour; for they thought the king was the man to seek revenge for smaller offences than kalf had committed against the king. the king let every one say what he chose, and he himself neither said yes or no about the affair; but people perceived that the king was very well pleased with what had happened. king harald once made these verses:-- "i have, in all, the death-stroke given to foes of mine at least eleven; two more, perhaps, if i remember, may yet be added to this number, i prize myself upon these deeds, my people such examples needs. bright gold itself they would despise, or healing leek-herb underprize, if not still brought before their eyes." fin arnason took the business so much to heart that he left the country and went to denmark to king svein, where he met a friendly reception. they spoke together in private for a long time; and the end of the business was that fin went into king svein's service, and became his man. king svein then gave fin an earldom, and placed him in halland, where he was long earl and defended the country against the northmen. . of guthorm gunhildson. ketil kalf and gunhild of ringanes had a son called guthorm, and he was a sister's son to king olaf and harald sigurdson. guthorm was a gallant man, early advanced to manhood. he was often with king harald, who loved him much, and asked his advice; for he was of good understanding, and very popular. guthorm had also been engaged early in forays, and had marauded much in the western countries with a large force. ireland was for him a land of peace; and he had his winter quarters often in dublin, and was in great friendship with king margad. . guthorm's junction with the irish king margad. the summer after king margad, and guthorm with him, went out on an expedition against bretland, where they made immense booty. but when the king saw the quantity of silver which was gathered he wanted to have the whole booty, and regarded little his friendship for guthorm. guthorm was ill pleased that he and his men should be robbed of their share; but the king said, "thou must choose one of two things,--either to be content with what we determine, or to fight; and they shall have the booty who gain the victory; and likewise thou must give up thy ships, for them i will have." guthorm thought there were great difficulties on both sides; for it was disgraceful to give up ships and goods without a stroke, and yet it was highly dangerous to fight the king and his force, the king having sixteen ships and guthorm only five. then guthorm desired three days' time to consider the matter with his people, thinking in that time to pacify the king, and come to a better understanding with him through the mediation of others; but he could not obtain from the king what he desired. this was the day before st. olaf's day. guthorm chose the condition that they would rather die or conquer like men, than suffer disgrace, contempt and scorn, by submitting to so great a loss. he called upon god, and his uncle saint olaf, and entreated their help and aid; promising to give to the holy man's house the tenth of all the booty that fell to their share, if they gained the victory. then he arranged his men, placed them in battle order against the great force, prepared for battle, and gave the assault. by the help of god, and the holy saint olaf, guthorm won the battle. king margad fell, and every man, old and young, who followed him; and after that great victor, guthorm and all his people returned home joyfully with all the booty they had gained by the battle. every tenth penny of the booty they had made was taken, according to the vow, to king olaf the saint's shrine; and there was so much silver that guthorm had an image made of it, with rays round the head, which was the size of his own, or of his forecastle-man's head; and the image was seven feet high. the image thus produced was given by guthorm to king olaf of the saint's temple, where it has since remained as a memorial of guthorm's victory and king olaf the saint's miracle. . miracle of king olaf in denmark. there was a wicked, evil-minded count in denmark who had a norwegian servant-girl whose family belonged to throndhjem district. she worshipped king olaf the saint, and believed firmly in his sanctity. but the above mentioned count doubted all that was told of the holy man's miracles, insisted that it was nothing but nonsense and idle talk, and made a joke and scorn of the esteem and honour which all the country people showed the good king. now when his holyday came, on which the mild monarch ended his life, and which all northmen kept sacred, this unreasonable count would not observe it, but ordered his servant-girl to bake and put fire in the oven that day. she knew well the count's mad passion, and that he would revenge himself severely on her if she refused doing as he ordered. she went, therefore, of necessity, and baked in the oven, but wept much at her work; and she threatened king olaf that she never would believe in him, if he did not avenge this misdeed by some mischance or other. and now shall ye come to hear a well-deserved vengeance, and a true miracle. it happened, namely, in the same hour that the count became blind of both eyes, and the bread which she had shoved into the oven was turned into stone! of these stones some are now in st. olaf's temple, and in other places; and since that time olafsmas has been always held holy in denmark. . king olaf's miracle on a cripple. west in valland, a man had such bad health that he became a cripple, and went on his knees and elbows. one day he was upon the road, and had fallen asleep. he dreamt that a gallant man came up to him and asked him where he was going. when he named the neighbouring town, the man said to him, "go to saint olaf's church that stands in london, and there thou shalt be cured." there-upon he awoke, and went straightway to inquire the road to olaf's church in london. at last he came to london bridge, and asked the men of the castle if they could tell him where olaf's church was; but they replied, there were so many churches that they could not tell to whom each of them was consecrated. soon after a man came up and asked him where he wanted to go, and he answered to olaf's church. then said the man, "we shall both go together to olaf's church, for i know the way to it." thereupon they went over the bridge to the shrine where olaf's church was; and when they came to the gates of the churchyard the man mounted over the half-door that was in the gate, but the cripple rolled himself in, and rose up immediately sound and strong: when he looked about him his conductor had vanished. . king harald's foray in denmark. king harald had built a merchant town in the east at oslo, where he often resided; for there was good supply from the extensive cultivated district wide around. there also he had a convenient station to defend the country against the danes, or to make an attack upon denmark, which he was in the custom of doing often, although he kept no great force on foot. one summer king harald went from thence with a few light ships and a few men. he steered southwards out from viken, and, when the wind served, stood over to jutland, and marauded; but the country people collected and defended the country. then king harald steered to limfjord, and went into the fjord. limfjord is so formed that its entrance is like a narrow river; but when one gets farther into the fjord it spreads out into a wide sea. king harald marauded on both sides of the land; and when the danes gathered together on every side to oppose him, he lay at a small island which was uncultivated. they wanted drink on board his ships, and went up into the island to seek water; but finding none, they reported it to the king. he ordered them to look for some long earthworms on the island, and when they found one they brought it to the king. he ordered the people to bring the worm to a fire, and bake it before it, so that it should be thirsty. then he ordered a thread to be tied round the tail of the worm, and to let it loose. the worm crept away immediately, while thread wound off from the clew as the worm took it away; and the people followed the worm until it sought downwards in the earth. there the king ordered them to dig for water, which they did, and found so much water that they had no want of it. king harald now heard from his spies that king svein was come with a large armament to the mouth of the fjord; but that it was too late for him to come into it, as only one ship at a time can come in. king harald then steered with his fleet in through the fjord to where it was broadest to a place called lusbreid. in the inmost bight, there is but a narrow neck of land dividing the fjord from the west sea. thither king harald rowed with his men towards evening; and at night when it was dark he unloaded his ships, drew them over the neck of land into the west sea, loaded them again, and was ready with all this before day. he then steered northwards along the jutland coast. people then said that harald had escaped from the hands of the danes. harald said that he would come to denmark next time with more people and larger vessels. king harald then proceeded north to throndhjem. . king harald had a ship built. king harald remained all winter at nidaros (a.d. ) and had a vessel built out upon the strand, and it was a buss. the ship was built of the same size as the long serpent, and every part of her was finished with the greatest care. on the stem was a dragon-head, and on the stern a dragon-tail, and the sides of the bows of the ship were gilt. the vessel was of thirty-five rowers benches, and was large for that size, and was remarkably handsome; for the king had everything belonging to the ship's equipment of the best, both sails and rigging, anchors and cables. king harald sent a message in winter south to denmark to king svein, that he should come northwards in spring; that they should meet at the gaut river and fight, and so settle the division of the countries that the one who gained the victory should have both kingdoms. . king harald's challenge. king harald during this winter called out a general levy of all the people of norway, and assembled a great force towards spring. then harald had his great ship drawn down and put into the river nid, and set up the dragon's head on her. thiodolf, the skald, sang about it thus:-- "my lovely girl! the sight was grand when the great war-ships down the strand into the river gently slid, and all below her sides was hid. come, lovely girl, and see the show!-- her sides that on the water glow, her serpent-head with golden mane, all shining back from the nid again." then king harald rigged out his ship, got ready for sea, and when he had all in order went out of the river. his men rowed very skilfully and beautifully. so says thiodolf:-- "it was upon a saturday, ship-tilts were struck and stowed away, and past the town our dragon glides, that girls might see our glancing sides. out from the nid brave harald steers; westward at first the dragon veers; our lads together down with oars, the splash is echoed round the shores. "their oars our king's men handle well, one stroke is all the eye can tell: all level o'er the water rise; the girls look on in sweet surprise. such things, they think, can ne'er give way; the little know the battle day. the danish girls, who dread our shout, might wish our ship-gear not so stout. "'tis in the fight, not on the wave, that oars may break and fail the brave. at sea, beneath the ice-cold sky, safely our oars o'er ocean ply; and when at throndhjem's holy stream our seventy cars in distance gleam, we seem, while rowing from the sea, an erne with iron wings to be." king harald sailed south along the land, and called out the levy everywhere of men and ships. when they came east to viken they got a strong wind against them and the forces lay dispersed about in the harbour; some in the isles outside, and some in the fjords. so says thiodolf:-- "the cutters' sea-bleached bows scarce find a shelter from the furious wind under the inland forests' side, where the fjord runs its farthest tide. in all the isles and creeks around the bondes' ships lie on the ground, and ships with gunwales hung with shields seek the lee-side of the green fields." in the heavy storm that raged for some time the great ship had need of good ground tackle. so says thiodolf:-- "with lofty bow above the seas, which curl and fly before the breeze, the gallant vessel rides and reels, and every plunge her cable feels. the storm that tries the spar and mast tries the main-anchor at the last: the storm above, below the rock, chafe the thick cable with each shock." when the weather became favourable king harald sailed eastwards to the gaut river with his fleet and arrived there in the evening. so says thiodolf:-- "the gallant harald now has come to gaut, full half way from his home, and on the river frontier stands, to fight with svein for life and lands. the night passed o'er, the gallant king next day at thumia calls a thing, where svein is challenged to appear-- a day which ravens wish were near." . of king harald's fleet. when the danes heard that the northmen's army was come to the gaut river they all fled who had opportunity to get away. the northmen heard that the danish king had also called out his forces and lay in the south, partly at fyen and partly about seeland. when king harald found that king svein would not hold a meeting with him, or a fight, according to what had been agreed upon between them, he took the same course as before--letting the bonde troops return home, but manning ships, with which he sailed southwards along halland, where he herried all round, and then brought up with his fleet in lofufjord, and laid waste the country. a little afterwards king svein came upon them with all the danish fleet, consisting of ships. when the northmen saw them king harald ordered a general meeting of the fleet to be called by sound of trumpet; and many there said it was better to fly, as it was not now advisable to fight. the king replied, "sooner shall all lie dead one upon another than fly." so says stein herdison:-- "with falcon eye, and courage bright, our king saw glory in the fight; to fly, he saw, would ruin bring on them and him--the folk and king. 'hands up the arms to one and all!' cries out the king; 'we'll win or fall! sooner than fly, heaped on each other each man shall fall across his brother!'" then king harald drew up his ships to attack, and brought forward his great dragon in the middle of his fleet. so says thiodolf:-- "the brave king through his vessels' throng his dragon war-ship moves along; he runs her gaily to the front, to meet the coming battle's brunt." the ship was remarkably well equipt, and fully manned. so says thiodolf:-- "the king had got a chosen crew-- he told his brave lads to stand true. the ring of shields seemed to enclose the ship's deck from the boarding foes. the dragon, on the nis-river flood, beset with men, who thickly stood, shield touching shield, was something rare, that seemed all force of man to dare." ulf, the marshal, laid his ship by the side of the king's and ordered his men to bring her well forward. stein herdison, who was himself in ulf's ship, sings of it thus:-- "our oars were stowed, our lances high, as the ship moved swung in the sky. the marshal ulf went through our ranks, drawn up beside the rowers' banks: the brave friend of our gallant king told us our ship well on to bring, and fight like norsemen in the cause-- our norsemen answered with huzzas." hakon ivarson lay outside on the other wing, and had many ships with him, all well equipt. at the extremity of the other side lay the throndhjem chiefs, who had also a great and strong force. . of king svein's armament. svein, the danish king, also drew up his fleet, and laid his ship forward in the center against king harald's ship, and fin arnason laid his ship next; and then the danes laid their ships, according as they were bold or well-equipt. then, on both sides, they bound the ships together all through the middle of the fleets; but as the fleets were so large, very many ships remained loose, and each laid his ship forward according to his courage, and that was very unequal. although the difference among the men was great, altogether there was a very great force on both sides. king svein had six earls among the people following him. so says stein herdison:-- "danger our chief would never shun, with eight score ships he would not run: the danish fleet he would abide, and give close battle side by side. from leire's coast the danish king three hundred ocean steeds could bring, and o'er the sea-weed plain in haste thought harald's vessels would be chased." . beginning of the battle of nis-river. as soon as king harald was ready with his fleet, he orders the war-blast to sound, and the men to row forward to the attack. so says stein herdison:-- "harald and svein first met as foes, where the nis in the ocean flows; for svein would not for peace entreat, but, strong in ships, would harald meet. the norsemen prove, with sword in hand, that numbers cannot skill withstand. off halland's coast the blood of danes the blue sea's calm smooth surface stains." soon the battle began, and became very sharp; both kings urging on their men. so says stein herdison:-- "our king, his broad shield disregarding, more keen for striking than for warding, now tells his lads their spears to throw,-- now shows them where to strike a blow. from fleet to fleet so short the way, that stones and arrows have full play; and from the keen sword dropped the blood of short-lived seamen in the flood." it was late in the day when the battle began, and it continued the whole night. king harald shot for a long time with his bow. so says thiodolf:-- "the upland king was all the night speeding the arrows' deadly flight. all in the dark his bow-string's twang was answered; for some white shield rang, or yelling shriek gave certain note the shaft had pierced some ring-mail coat, the foemen's shields and bulwarks bore a lapland arrow-scat( ) or more." earl hakon, and the people who followed him, did not make fast their ships in the fleet, but rowed against the danish ships that were loose, and slew the men of all the ships they came up with. when the danes observed this each drew his ship out of the way of the earl; but he set upon those who were trying to escape, and they were nearly driven to flight. then a boat came rowing to the earl's ship and hailed him and said that the other wing of king harald's fleet was giving way and many of their people had fallen. then the earl rowed thither and gave so severe an assault that the danes had to retreat before him. the earl went on in this way all the night, coming forward where he was most wanted, and wheresoever he came none could stand against him. hakon rowed outside around the battle. towards the end of the night the greatest part of the danish fleet broke into flight, for then king harald with his men boarded the vessel of king svein; and it was so completely cleared that all the crew fell in the ship, except those who sprang overboard. so says arnor, the earls' skald:-- "brave svein did not his vessel leave without good cause, as i believe: oft on his casque the sword-blade rang, before into the sea he sprang. upon the wave his vessel drives; all his brave crew had lost their lives. o'er dead courtmen into the sea the jutland king had now to flee." and when king svein's banner was cut down, and his ship cleared of its crew, all his forces took to flight, and some were killed. the ships which were bound together could not be cast loose, so the people who were in them sprang overboard, and some got to the other ships that were loose; and all king svein's men who could get off rowed away, but a great many of them were slain. where the king himself fought the ships were mostly bound together, and there were more than seventy left behind of king svein's vessels. so says thiodolf:-- "svein's ships rode proudly o'er the deep, when, by a single sudden sweep, full seventy sail, as we are told, were seized by norway's monarch bold." king harald rowed after the danes and pursued them; but that was not easy, for the ships lay so thick together that they scarcely could move. earl fin arnason would not flee; and being also shortsighted, was taken prisoner. so says thiodolf:-- "to the six danish earls who came to aid his force, and raise his name, no mighty thanks king svein is owing for mighty actions of their doing. fin arnason, in battle known, with a stout norse heart of his own, would not take flight his life to gain, and in the foremost ranks was ta'en." endnotes: ( ) the laplanders paid their seat, or yearly tax, in bows and arrows; and the meaning of the skald appears to be, that as many as were paid in a year were shot at the foe.--l. . king svein's flight. earl hakon lay behind with his ships, while the king and the rest of the forces were pursuing the fugitives; for the earls' ships could not get forward on account of the ships which lay in the way before him. then a man came rowing in a boat to the earl's ship and lay at the bulwarks. the man was stout and had on a white hat. he hailed the ship, "where is the earl?" said he. the earl was in the fore-hold, stopping a man's blood. the earl cast a look at the man in the hat and asked what his name was. he answered, "here is vandrad: speak to me, earl." the earl leant over the ship's side to him. then the man in the boat said, "earl, i will accept of my life from thee, if thou wilt give it." then the earl raised himself up, called two men who were friends dear to him, and said to them, "go into the boat; bring vandrad to the land; attend him to my friend's karl the bonde; and tell karl, as a token that these words come from me, that he let vandrad have the horse which i gave to him yesterday, and also his saddle, and his son to attend him." thereupon they went into the boat and took the oars in hand, while vandrad steered. this took place just about daybreak, while the vessels were in movement, some rowing towards the land, some towards the sea, both small and great. vandrad steered where he thought there was most room between the vessels; and when they came near to norway's ships the earl's men gave their names and then they all allowed them to go where they pleased. vandrad steered along the shore, and only set in towards the land when they had come past the crowd of ships. they then went up to karl the bonde's farm, and it was then beginning to be light. they went into the room where karl had just put on his clothes. the earl's men told him their message and karl said they must first take some food; and he set a table before them and gave them water to wash with. then came the housewife into the room and said, "i wonder why we could get no peace or rest all night with the shouting and screaming." karl replies, "dost thou not know that the kings were fighting all night?" she asked which had the better of it. karl answered, "the northmen gained." "then," said she, "our king will have taken flight." "nobody knows," says karl, "whether he has fled or is fallen." she says, "what a useless sort of king we have! he is both slow and frightened." then said vandrad, "frightened he is not; but he is not lucky." then vandrad washed his hands; but he took the towel and dried them right in the middle of the cloth. the housewife snatched the towel from him, and said, "thou hast been taught little good; it is wasteful to wet the whole cloth at one time." vandrad replies, "i may yet come so far forward in the world as to be able to dry myself with the middle of the towel." thereupon karl set a table before them and vandrad sat down between them. they ate for a while and then went out. the horse was saddled and karl's son ready to follow him with another horse. they rode away to the forest; and the earl's men returned to the boat, rowed to the earl's ship and told the success of their expedition. . of king harald. king harald and his men followed the fugitives only a short way, and rowed back to the place where the deserted ships lay. then the battle-place was ransacked, and in king svein's ship was found a heap of dead men; but the king's body was not found, although people believed for certain that he had fallen. then king harald had the greatest attention paid to the dead of his men, and had the wounds of the living bound up. the dead bodies of svein's men were brought to the land, and he sent a message to the peasants to come and bury them. then he let the booty be divided, and this took up some time. the news came now that king svein had come to seeland, and that all who had escaped from the battle had joined him, along with many more, and that he had a great force. . fin arnason gets quarter. earl fin arnason was taken prisoner in the battle, as before related; and when he was led before king harald the king was very merry, and said, "fin, we meet here now, and we met last in norway. the danish court has not stood very firmly by thee; and it will be a troublesome business for northmen to drag thee, a blind old man, with them, and preserve thy life." the earl replies, "the northmen find it very difficult now to conquer, and it is all the worse that thou hast the command of them." then said king harald, "wilt thou accept of life and safety, although thou hast not deserved it?" the earl replies, "not from thee, thou dog." the king: "wilt thou, then, if thy relation magnus gives thee quarter?" magnus, king harald's son, was then steering the ship. the earl replies, "can the whelp rule over life and quarter?" the king laughed, as if he found amusement in vexing him.--"wilt thou accept thy life, then, from thy she-relation thorer?" the earl: "is she here?" "she is here," said the king. then earl fin broke out with the ugly expressions which since have been preserved, as a proof that he was so mad with rage that he could not govern his tongue:-- "no wonder thou hast bit so strongly, if the mare was with thee." earl fin got life and quarter and the king kept him a while about him. but fin was rather melancholy and obstinate in conversation; and king harald said, "i see, fin, that thou dost not live willingly in company with me and thy relations; now i will give thee leave to go to thy friend king svein." the earl said, "i accept of the offer willingly, and the more gratefully the sooner i get away from hence." the king afterwards let earl fin be landed and the traders going to halland received him well. king harald sailed from thence to norway with his fleet; and went first to oslo, where he gave all his people leave to go home who wished to do so. . of king svein. king svein, it is told, sat in denmark all that winter, and had his kingdom as formerly. in winter he sent men north to halland for karl the bonde and his wife. when karl came the king called him to him and asked him if he knew him, or thought he had ever seen him before. karl replies, "i know thee, sire, and knew thee before, the moment i saw thee; and god be praised if the small help i could give was of any use to thee." the king replies, "i have to reward thee for all the days i have to live. and now, in the first place, i will give thee any farm in seeland thou wouldst desire to have; and, in the next place, will make thee a great man, if thou knowest how to conduct thyself." karl thanked the king for his promise, and said he had now but one thing to ask. the king asked what that was. karl said that he would ask to take his wife with him. the king said, "i will not let thee do that; but i will provide thee a far better and more sensible wife. but thy wife can keep the bonde-farm ye had before and she will have her living from it." the king gave karl a great and valuable farm, and provided him a good marriage; and he became a considerable man. this was reported far and wide and much praised; and thus it came to be told in norway. . of the talk of the court-men. king harald stayed in oslo the winter after the battle at nis-river (a.d. ). in autumn, when the men came from the south, there was much talk and many stories about the battle which they had fought at nis-river, and every one who had been there thought he could tell something about it. once some of them sat in a cellar and drank, and were very merry and talkative. they talked about the nis-river battle, and who had earne'd the greatest praise and renown. they all agreed that no man there had been at all equal to earl hakon. he was the boldest in arms, the quickest, and the most lucky; what he did was of the greatest help, and he won the battle. king harald, in the meantime, was out in the yard, and spoke with some people. he went then to the room-door, and said, "every one here would willingly be called hakon;" and then went his way. . of the attempt to take earl hakon. earl hakon went in winter to the uplands, and was all winter in his domains. he was much beloved by all the uplanders. it happened, towards spring, that some men were sitting drinking in the town, and the conversation turned, as usual, on the nis-river battle; and some praised earl hakon, and some thought others as deserving of praise as he. when they had thus disputed a while, one of them said, "it is possible that others fought as bravely as the earl at nis-river; but none, i think, has had such luck with him as he." the others replied, that his best luck was his driving so many danes to flight along with other men. the same man replied, "it was greater luck that he gave king svein quarter." one of the company said to him, "thou dost not know what thou art saying." he replied, "i know it for certain, for the man told me himself who brought the king to the land." it went, according to the old proverb, that the king has many ears. this was told the king, and he immediately ordered horses to be gathered, and rode away directly with men. he rode all that night and the following day. then some men met them who were riding to the town with mead and malt. in the king's retinue was a man called gamal, who rode to one of these bondes who was an acquaintance of his, and spoke to him privately. "i will pay thee," said he, "to ride with the greatest speed, by the shortest private paths that thou knowest, to earl hakon, and tell him the king will kill him; for the king has got to the knowledge that earl hakon set king svein on shore at nis-river." they agreed on the payment. the bonde rode, and came to the earl just as he was sitting drinking, and had not yet gone to bed. when the bonde told his errand, the earl immediately stood up with all his men, had all his loose property removed from the farm to the forest, and all the people left the house in the night. when the king came he halted there all night; but hakon rode away, and came east to svithjod to king steinkel and stayed with him all summer. king harald returned to the town, travelled northwards to throndhjem district, and remained there all summer; but in autumn he returned eastwards to viken. . of earl hakon. as soon as earl hakon heard the king had gone north he returned immediately in summer to the uplands (a.d. ), and remained there until the king had returned from the north. then the earl went east into vermaland, where he remained during the winter, and where the king, steinkel, gave him fiefs. for a short time in winter he went west to raumarike with a great troop of men from gautland and vermaland, and received the scat and duties from the upland people which belonged to him, and then returned to glutland, and remained there till spring. king harald had his seat in oslo all winter (a.d. ), and sent his men to the uplands to demand the scat, together with the king's land dues, and the mulcts of court; but the uplanders said they would pay all the scat and dues which they had to pay, to earl hakon as long as he was in life, and had forfeited his life or his fief; and the king got no dues that winter. . agreement between king harald and king svein. this winter messengers and ambassadors went between norway and denmark, whose errand was that both northmen and danes should make peace, and a league with each other, and to ask the kings to agree to it. these messages gave favourable hopes of a peace; and the matter proceeded so far that a meeting for peace was appointed at the gaut river between king harald and king svein. when spring approached, both kings assembled many ships and people for this meeting. so says a skald in a poem on this expedition of the kings, which begins thus:-- "the king, who from the northern sound his land with war-ships girds around, the raven-feeder, filled the coast with his proud ships, a gallant host! the gold-tipped stems dash through the foam that shakes the seamen's planked home; the high wave breaks up to the mast, as west of halland on they passed, "harald whose word is fixed and sure, whose ships his land from foes secure, and svein, whose isles maintain is fleet, hasten as friends again to meet; and every creek with vessels teems,-- all denmark men and shipping seems; and all rejoice that strife will cease, and men meet now but to make peace." here it is told that the two kings held the meeting that was agreed upon between them, and both came to the frontiers of their kingdoms. so says the skald:-- "to meet (since peace the dane now craves) on to the south upon the waves sailed forth our gallant northern king, peace to the danes with him to bring. svein northward to his frontier hies to get the peace his people prize, and meet king harald, whom he finds on land hard used by stormy winds." when the kings found each other, people began at once to talk of their being reconciled. but as soon as peace was proposed, many began to complain of the damage they had sustained by harrying, robbing and killing men; and for a long time it did not look very like peace. it is here related:-- "before this meeting of the kings each bende his own losses brings, and loudly claims some recompense from his king's foes, at their expense. it is not easy to make peace, where noise and talking never cease: the bondes' warmth may quickly spread, and kings be by the people led. "when kings are moved, no peace is sure; for that peace only is secure which they who make it fairly make,-- to each side give, from each side take. the kings will often rule but ill who listen to the people's will: the people often have no view but their own interests to pursue." at last the best men, and those who were the wisest, came between the kings, and settled the peace thus:--that harald should have norway, and svein denmark, according to the boundaries of old established between denmark and norway; neither of them should pay to the other for any damage sustained; the war should cease as it now stood, each retaining what he had got; and this peace should endure as long as they were kings. this peace was confirmed by oath. then the kings parted, having given each other hostages, as is here related:-- "and i have heard that to set fast the peace god brought about at last, svein and stern harald pledges sent, who witnessed to their sworn intent; and much i wish that they and all in no such perjury may fall that this peace ever should be broken, and oaths should fail before god spoken." king harald with his people sailed northwards to norway, and king svein southwards to denmark. . king harald's battle with earl hakon. king harald was in viken in the summer (a.d. ), and he sent his men to the uplands after the scat and duty which belonged to him; but the bondes paid no attention to the demand, but said they would hold all for earl hakon until he came for it. earl hakon was then up in gautland with a large armed force. when summer was past king harald went south to konungahella. then he took all the light-sailing vessels he could get hold of and steered up the river. he had the vessels drawn past all the waterfalls and brought them thus into the wener lake. then he rowed eastward across the lake to where he heard earl hakon was; but when the earl got news of the king's expedition he retreated down the country, and would not let the king plunder the land. earl hakon had a large armed force which the gautland people had raised for him. king harald lay with his ships up in a river, and made a foray on land, but left some of his men behind to protect the ships. the king himself rode up with a part of the men, but the greater part were on foot. they had to cross a forest, where they found a mire or lake, and close to it a wood; and when they reached the wood they saw the earl's men, but the mire was between them. they drew up their people now on both sides. then king harald ordered his men to sit down on the hillside. "we will first see if they will attack us. earl hakon does not usually wait to talk." it was frosty weather, with some snow-drift, and harald's men sat down under their shields; but it was cold for the gautlanders, who had but little clothing with them. the earl told them to wait until king harald came nearer, so that all would stand equally high on the ground. earl hakon had the same banner which had belonged to king magnus olafson. the lagman of the gautland people, thorvid, sat upon a horse, and the bridle was fastened to a stake that stood in the mire. he broke out with these words: "god knows we have many brave and handsome fellows here, and we shall let king steinkel hear that we stood by the good earl bravely. i am sure of one thing: we shall behave gallantly against these northmen, if they attack us; but if our young people give way, and should not stand to it, let us not run farther than to that stream; but if they should give way farther, which i am sure they will not do, let it not be farther than to that hill." at that instant the northmen sprang up, raised the war-cry, and struck on their shields; and the gautland army began also to shout. the lagman's horse got shy with the war-cry, and backed so hard that the stake flew up and struck the lagman on the head. he said, "ill luck to thee, northman, for that arrow!" and away fled the lagman. king harald had told his people, "if we do make a clash with the weapons, we shall not however, go down from the hill until they come nearer to us;" and they did so. when the war-cry was raised the earl let his banner advance; but when they came under the hill the king's army rushed down upon them, and killed some of the earl's people, and the rest fled. the northmen did not pursue the fugitives long, for it was the fall of day; but they took earl hakon's banner and all the arms and clothes they could get hold of. king harald had both the banners carried before him as they marched away. they spoke among themselves that the earl had probably fallen. as they were riding through the forest they could only ride singly, one following the other. suddenly a man came full gallop across the path, struck his spear through him who was carrying the earl's banner, seized the banner-staff, and rode into the forest on the other side with the banner. when this was told the king he said, "bring me my armour, for the earl is alive." then the king rode to his ships in the night; and many said that the earl had now taken his revenge. but thiodolf sang thus:-- "steinkel's troops, who were so bold, who the earl hakon would uphold, were driven by our horsemen's power to hel, death goddess, in an hour; and the great earl, so men say who won't admit he ran away, because his men fled from the ground, retired, and cannot now be found." . death of hal, the murderer of kodran. the rest of the night harald passed in his ships; but in the morning, when it was daylight, it was found that so thick ice had gathered about the vessels that one could walk around them. the king ordered his men to cut the ice from the ships all the way out to the clear water; on which they all went to break the ice. king harald's son, magnus, steered the vessel that lay lowest down the river and nearest the water. when the people had cleared the ice away almost entirely, a man ran out to the ice, and began hewing away at it like a madman. then said one of the men, "it is going now as usual, that none can do so much as hal who killed kodran, when once he lays himself to the work. see how he is hewing away at the ice." there was a man in the crew of magnus, the king's son, who was called thormod eindridason; and when he heard the name of kodran's murderer he ran up to hal, and gave him a death-wound. kodran was a son of gudmund eyjolfson; and valgerd, who was a sister of gudmund, was the mother of jorun, and the grandmother by the mother's side of this thormod. thormod was a year old when kodran was killed, and had never seen hal utrygson until now. when the ice was broken all the way out to the water, magnus drew his ship out, set sail directly, and sailed westward across the lake; but the king's ship, which lay farthest up the river, came out the last. hal had been in the king's retinue, and was very dear to him; so that the king was enraged at his death. the king came the last into the harbour, and magnus had let the murderer escape into the forest, and offered to pay the mulct for him; and the king had very nearly attacked magnus and his crew, but their friends came up and reconciled them. . of king harald. that winter (a.d. ) king harald went up to raumarike, and had many people with him; and he accused the bondes there of having kept from him his scat and duties, and of having aided his enemies to raise disturbance against him. he seized on the bondes and maimed some, killed others, and robbed many of all their property. they who could do it fled from him. he burned everything in the districts and laid them altogether waste. so says thiodolf:-- "he who the island-people drove, when they against his power strove, now bridle's raumarike's men, marching his forces through their glen. to punish them the fire he lights that shines afar off in dark nights from house and yard, and, as he says, will warn the man who disobeys." thereafter the king went up to hedemark, burnt the dwellings, and made no less waste and havoc there than in raumarike. from thence he went to hadeland and ringerike, burning and ravaging all the land. so says thiodolf:-- "the bonde's household goods are seen before his door upon the green, smoking and singed: and sparks red hot glow in the thatched roof of his cot. in hedemark the bondes pray the king his crushing hand to stay; in ringerike and hadeland, none 'gainst his fiery wrath can stand." then the bondes left all to the king's mercy. after the death of king magnus fifteen years had passed when the battle at nis-river took place, and afterwards two years elapsed before harald and svein made peace. so says thiodolf:-- "the hordland king under the land at anchor lay close to the strand, at last, prepared with shield and spear the peace was settled the third year." after this peace the disturbances with the people of the upland districts lasted a year and a half. so says thiodolf:-- "no easy task it is to say how the king brought beneath his sway the upland bondes, and would give nought but their ploughs from which to live. the king in eighteen months brought down their bonde power, and raised his own, and the great honour he has gained will still in memory be retained." . of the kings of england. edward, ethelred's son, was king of england after his brother hardacanute. he was called edward the good; and so he was. king edward's mother was queen emma, daughter of richard, earl of rouen. her brother was earl robert, whose son was william the bastard, who at that time was earl at rouen in normandy. king edward's queen was gyda, a daughter of earl godwin, the son of ulfnad. gyda's brothers were, earl toste, the eldest; earl morukare the next; earl walter the third; earl svein the fourth; and the fifth was harald, who was the youngest, and he was brought up at king edward's court, and was his foster-son. the king loved him very much, and kept him as his own son; for he had no children. . of harald godwinson. one summer it happened that harald, the son of godwin, made an expedition to bretland with his ships, but when they got to sea they met a contrary wind, and were driven off into the ocean. they landed west in normandy, after suffering from a dangerous storm. they brought up at rouen, where they met earl william, who received harald and his company gladly. harald remained there late in harvest, and was hospitably entertained; for the stormy weather continued, and there was no getting to sea, and this continued until winter set in; so the earl and harald agreed that he should remain there all winter. harald sat on the high-seat on one side of the earl; and on the other side sat the earl's wife, one of the most beautiful women that could be seen. they often talked together for amusement at the drinking-table; and the earl went generally to bed, but harald and the earl's wife sat long in the evenings talking together, and so it went on for a great part of the winter. in one of their conversations she said to harald, "the earl has asked me what it is we have to talk about so much, for he is angry at it." harald replies, "we shall then at once let him know all our conversation." the following day, harald asked the earl to a conference, and they went together into the conference-chamber; where also the queen was, and some of the councillors. then harald began thus:--"i have to inform you, earl, that there lies more in my visit here than i have let you know. i would ask your daughter in marriage, and have often spoke over this matter with her mother, and she has promised to support my suit with you." as soon as harald had made known this proposal of his, it was well received by all who were present. they explained the case to the earl; and at last it came so far that the earl was contracted to harald, but as she was very young, it was resolved that the wedding should be deferred for some years. . king edward's death. when spring came harald rigged his ships and set off; and he and the earl parted with great friendship. harald sailed over to england to king edward, but did not return to valland to fulfill the marriage agreement. edward was king over england for twenty-three years and died on a bed of sickness in london on the th of january, and was buried in paul's church. englishmen call him a saint. . harald godwinson made king of england. the sons of earl godwin were the most powerful men in england. toste was made chief of the english king's army, and was his land-defence man when the king began to grow old; and he was also placed above all the other earls. his brother harald was always with the court itself, and nearest to the king in all service, and had the charge of the king's treasure-chamber. it is said that when the king was approaching his last hour, harald and a few others were with him. harald first leans down over the king, and then said, "i take you all to witness that the king has now given me the kingdom, and all the realm of england:" and then the king was taken dead out of the bed. the same day there was a meeting of the chiefs, at which there was some talk of choosing a king; and then harald brought forward his witnesses that king edward had given him the kingdom on his dying day. the meeting ended by choosing harald as king, and he was consecrated and crowned the th day of yule, in paul's church. then all the chiefs and all the people submitted to him. now when his brother, earl toste, heard of this he took it very ill, as he thought himself quite as well entitled to be king. "i want," said he, "that the principal men of the country choose him whom they think best fitted for it." and sharp words passed between the brothers. king harald says he will not give up his kingly dignity, for he is seated on the throne which kings sat upon, and is anointed and consecrated a king. on his side also was the strength of the people, for he had the king's whole treasure. . earl toste's expedition to denmark. now when king harald perceived that his brother toste wanted to have him deprived of the kingdom he did not trust him; for toste was a clever man, and a great warrior, and was in friendship with the principal men of the country. he therefore took the command of the army from toste, and also all the power he had beyond that of the other earls of the country. earl toste, again, would not submit to be his own brother's serving man; therefore he went with his people over the sea to flanders, and stayed there awhile, then went to friesland, and from thence to denmark to his relation king svein. earl ulf, king svein's father, and gyda, earl toste's mother, were brother's and sister's children. the earl now asked king svein for support and help of men; and king svein invited him to stay with him, with the promise that he should get so large an earldom in denmark that he would be an important chief. the earl replies, "my inclination is to go back to my estate in england; but if i cannot get help from you for that purpose, i will agree to help you with all the power i can command in england, if you will go there with the danish army, and win the country, as canute, your mother's brother, did." the king replied, "so much smaller a man am i than canute the great, that i can with difficulty defend my own danish dominions against the northmen. king canute, on the other hand, got the danish kingdom in heritage, took england by slash and blow, and sometimes was near losing his life in the contest; and norway he took without slash or blow. now it suits me much better to be guided by my own slender ability than to imitate my relation, king canute's, lucky hits." then earl toste said, "the result of my errand here is less fortunate than i expected of thee who art so gallant a man, seeing that thy relative is in so great need. it may be that i will seek friendly help where it could less be expected; and that i may find a chief who is less afraid, king, than thou art of a great enterprise." then the king and the earl parted, not just the best friends. . earl toste's expedition to norway. earl toste turned away then and went to norway, where he presented himself to king harald, who was at that time in viken. when they met the earl explained his errand to the king. he told him all his proceedings since he left england, and asked his aid to recover his dominions in england. the king replied that the northmen had no great desire for a campaign in england, and to have english chiefs over them there. "people say," added he, "that the english are not to be trusted." the earl replied, "is it true what i have heard people tell in england, that thy relative, king magnus, sent men to king edward with the message that king magnus had right to england as well as to denmark, and had got that heritage after hardacanute, in consequence of a regular agreement?" the king replied, "how came it that he did not get it, if he had a right to it?" "why," replied the earl, "hast thou not denmark, as king magnus, thy predecessor, had it?" the king replies, "the danes have nothing to brag of over us northmen; for many a place have we laid in ashes to thy relations." then said the earl, "if thou wilt not tell me, i will tell thee. magnus subdued denmark, because all the chiefs of the country helped him; and thou hast not done it, because all the people of the country were against thee. therefore, also, king magnus did not strive for england, because all the nation would have edward for king. wilt thou take england now? i will bring the matter so far that most of the principal men in england shall be thy friends, and assist thee; for nothing is wanting to place me at the side of my brother harald but the king's name. all men allow that there never was such a warrior in the northern lands as thou art; and it appears to me extraordinary that thou hast been fighting for fifteen years for denmark, and wilt not take england that lies open to thee." king harald weighed carefully the earl's words, and perceived at once that there was truth in much of what he said; and he himself had also a great desire to acquire dominions. then king harald and the earl talked long and frequently together; and at last he took the resolution to proceed in summer to england, and conquer the country. king harald sent a message-token through all norway and ordered out a levy of one-half of all the men in norway able to carry arms. when this became generally known, there were many guesses about what might be the end of this expedition. some reckoned up king harald's great achievements, and thought he was also the man who could accomplish this. others, again, said that england was difficult to attack; that it was very full of people; and the men-at-arms, who were called thingmen, were so brave, that one of them was better than two of harald's best men. then said ulf the marshal:-- "i am still ready gold to gain; but truly it would be in vain, and the king's marshal in the hall might leave his good post once for all, if two of us in any strife must for one thingman fly for life, my lovely norse maid, in my youth we thought the opposite the truth." ulf the marshal died that spring (a.d. ). king harald stood over his grave, and said, as he was leaving it, "there lies now the truest of men, and the most devoted to his king." earl toste sailed in spring west to flanders, to meet the people who had left england with him, and others besides who had gathered to him both out of england and flanders. . gyrd's dreams. king harald's fleet assembled at the solunds. when king harald was ready to leave nidaros he went to king olaf's shrine, unlocked it, clipped his hair and nails, and locked the shrine again, and threw the keys into the nid. some say he threw them overboard outside of agdanes; and since then the shrine of saint olaf, the king, has never been opened. thirty-five years had passed since he was slain; and he lived thirty-five years here on earth (a.d. - ). king harald sailed with his ships he had about him to the south to meet his people, and a great fleet was collected; so that, according to the people's reckoning, king harald had nearly ships beside provision-ships and small craft. while they lay at the solunds a man called gyrd, on board the king's ship, had a dream. he thought he was standing in the king's ship and saw a great witch-wife standing on the island, with a fork in one hand and a trough in the other. he thought also that he saw over all the fleet, and that a fowl was sitting upon every ship's stern, and that these fowls were all ravens or ernes; and the witch-wife sang this song:-- "from the east i'll 'tice the king, to the west the king i'll bring; many a noble bone will be ravens o'er giuke's ship are fitting, eyeing the prey they think most fitting. upon the stem i'll sail with them! upon the stem i'll sail with them!" . thord's dream. there was also a man called thord, in a ship which lay not far from the king's. he dreamt one night that he saw king harald's fleet coming to land, and he knew the land to be england. he saw a great battle-array on the land; and he thought both sides began to fight, and had many banners flapping in the air. and before the army of the people of the country was riding a huge witch-wife upon a wolf; and the wolf had a man's carcass in his mouth, and the blood was dropping from his jaws; and when he had eaten up one body she threw another into his mouth, and so one after another, and he swallowed them all. and she sang thus:-- "skade's eagle eyes the king's ill luck espies: though glancing shields hide the green fields, the king's ill luck she spies. to bode the doom of this great king, the flesh of bleeding men i fling to hairy jaw and hungry maw! to hairy jaw and hungry maw!" . king harald's dream. king harald also dreamt one night that he was in nidaros, and met his brother, king olaf, who sang to him these verses:-- "in many a fight my name was bright; men weep, and tell how olaf fell. thy death is near; thy corpse, i fear, the crow will feed, the witch-wife's steed." many other dreams and forebodings were then told of, and most of them gloomy. before king harald left throndhjem, he let his son magnus be proclaimed king and set him as king over norway while he was absent. thora, the daughter of thorberg, also remained behind; but he took with him queen ellisif and her two daughters, maria and ingegerd. olaf, king harald's son, also accompanied his father abroad. . battle at scarborough. when king harald was clear for sea, and the wind became favourable, he sailed out into the ocean; and he himself landed in shetland, but a part of his fleet in the orkney islands. king harald stopped but a short time in shetland before sailing to orkney, from whence he took with him a great armed force, and the earls paul and erlend, the sons of earl thorfin; but he left behind him here the queen ellisif, and her daughters maria and ingegerd. then he sailed, leaving scotland and england westward of him, and landed at a place called klifland. there he went on shore and plundered, and brought the country in subjection to him without opposition. then he brought up at skardaburg, and fought with the people of the place. he went up a hill which is there, and made a great pile upon it, which he set on fire; and when the pile was in clear flame, his men took large forks and pitched the burning wood down into the town, so that one house caught fire after the other, and the town surrendered. the northmen killed many people there and took all the booty they could lay hold of. there was nothing left for the englishmen now, if they would preserve their lives, but to submit to king harald; and thus he subdued the country wherever he came. then the king proceeded south along the land, and brought up at hellornes, where there came a force that had been assembled to oppose him, with which he had a battle, and gained the victory. . of harald's order of battle. thereafter the king sailed to the humber, and up along the river, and then he landed. up in jorvik were two earls, earl morukare, and his brother, earl valthiof, and they had an immense army. while the army of the earls was coming down from the upper part of the country, king harald lay in the usa. king harald now went on the land, and drew up his men. the one arm of this line stood at the outer edge of the river, the other turned up towards the land along a ditch; and there was also a morass, deep, broad, and full of water. the earls let their army proceed slowly down along the river, with all their troops in line. the king's banner was next the river, where the line was thickest. it was thinnest at the ditch, where also the weakest of the men were. when the earls advanced downwards along the ditch, the arm of the northmen's line which was at the ditch gave way; and the englishmen followed, thinking the northmen would fly. the banner of earl morukare advanced then bravely. . the battle at the humber. when king harald saw that the english array had come to the ditch against him, he ordered the charge to be sounded, and urged on his men. he ordered the banner which was called the land-ravager to be carried before him, and made so severe an assault that all had to give way before it; and there was a great loss among the men of the earls, and they soon broke into flight, some running up the river, some down, and the most leaping into the ditch, which was so filled with dead that the norsemen could go dry-foot over the fen. there earl morukare fell. so says stein herdison:-- "the gallant harald drove along, flying but fighting, the whole throng. at last, confused, they could not fight, and the whole body took to flight. up from the river's silent stream at once rose desperate splash and scream; but they who stood like men this fray round morukare's body lay." this song was composed by stein herdison about olaf, son of king harald; and he speaks of olaf being in this battle with king harald, his father. these things are also spoken of in the song called "harald's stave":-- "earl valthiof's men lay in the fen, by sword down hewed, so thickly strewed, that norsemen say they paved a way across the fen for the brave norsemen." earl valthiof, and the people who escaped, fled up to the castle of york; and there the greatest loss of men had been. this battle took place upon the wednesday next mathias' day (a.d. ). . of earl toste. earl toste had come from flanders to king harald as soon as he arrived in england, and the earl was present at all these battles. it happened, as he had foretold the king at their first meeting, that in england many people would flock to them, as being friends and relations of earl toste, and thus the king's forces were much strengthened. after the battle now told of, all people in the nearest districts submitted to harald, but some fled. then the king advanced to take the castle, and laid his army at stanforda-bryggiur (stamford bridge); and as king harald had gained so great a victory against so great chiefs and so great an army, the people were dismayed, and doubted if they could make any opposition. the men of the castle therefore determined, in a council, to send a message to king harald, and deliver up the castle into his power. all this was soon settled; so that on sunday the king proceeded with the whole army to the castle, and appointed a thing of the people without the castle, at which the people of the castle were to be present. at this thing all the people accepted the condition of submitting to harald, and gave him, as hostages, the children of the most considerable persons; for earl toste was well acquainted with all the people of that town. in the evening the king returned down to his ships, after this victory achieved with his own force, and was very merry. a thing was appointed within the castle early on monday morning, and then king harald was to name officers to rule over the town, to give out laws, and bestow fiefs. the same evening, after sunset, king harald godwinson came from the south to the castle with a numerous army, and rode into the city with the good-will and consent of the people of the castle. all the gates and walls were beset so that the northmen could receive no intelligence, and the army remained all night in the town. . of king harald's landing. on monday, when king harald sigurdson had taken breakfast, he ordered the trumpets to sound for going on shore. the army accordingly got ready, and he divided the men into the parties who should go, and who should stay behind. in every division he allowed two men to land, and one to remain behind. earl toste and his retinue prepared to land with king harald; and, for watching the ships, remained behind the king's son olaf; the earls of orkney, paul and erlend; and also eystein orre, a son of thorberg arnason, who was the most able and best beloved by the king of all the lendermen, and to whom the king had promised his daughter maria. the weather was uncommonly fine, and it was hot sunshine. the men therefore laid aside their armour, and went on the land only with their shields, helmets and spears, and girt with swords; and many had also arrows and bows, and all were very merry. now as they came near the castle a great army seemed coming against them, and they saw a cloud of dust as from horses' feet, and under it shining shields and bright armour. the king halted his people, and called to him earl toste, and asked him what army this could be. the earl replied that he thought it most likely to be a hostle army, but possibly it might be some of his relations who were seeking for mercy and friendship, in order to obtain certain peace and safety from the king. then the king said, "we must all halt, to discover what kind of a force this is." they did so; and the nearer this force came the greater it appeared, and their shining arms were to the sight like glancing ice. . of earl toste's counsel. then said king harald, "let us now fall upon some good sensible counsel; for it is not to be concealed that this is an hostile army and the king himself without doubt is here." then said the earl, "the first counsel is to turn about as fast as we can to our ships to get our men and our weapons, and then we will make a defence according to our ability; or otherwise let our ships defend us, for there these horsemen have no power over us." then king harald said, "i have another counsel. put three of our best horses under three of our briskest lads and let them ride with all speed to tell our people to come quickly to our relief. the englishmen shall have a hard fray of it before we give ourselves up for lost." the earl said the king must order in this, as in all things, as he thought best; adding, at the same time, it was by no means his wish to fly. then king harald ordered his banner land-ravager to be set up; and frirek was the name of him who bore the banner. . of king harald's army. then king harald arranged his army, and made the line of battle long, but not deep. he bent both wings of it back, so that they met together; and formed a wide ring equally thick all round, shield to shield, both in the front and rear ranks. the king himself and his retinue were within the circle; and there was the banner, and a body of chosen men. earl toste, with his retinue, was at another place, and had a different banner. the army was arranged in this way, because the king knew that horsemen were accustomed to ride forwards with great vigour, but to turn back immediately. now the king ordered that his own and the earl's attendants should ride forwards where it was most required. "and our bowmen," said he, "shall be near to us; and they who stand in the first rank shall set the spear-shaft on the ground, and the spear-point against the horseman's breast, if he rides at them; and those who stand in the second rank shall set the spear-point against the horse's breast." . of king harald godwinson. king harald godwinson had come with an immense army, both of cavalry and infantry. now king harald sigurdson rode around his array, to see how every part was drawn up. he was upon a black horse, and the horse stumbled under him, so that the king fell off. he got up in haste and said, "a fall is lucky for a traveller." the english king harald said to the northmen who were with him, "do ye know the stout man who fell from his horse, with the blue kirtle and the beautiful helmet?" "that is the king himself." said they. the english king said, "a great man, and of stately appearance is he; but i think his luck has left him." . of the troop of the nobility. twenty horsemen rode forward from the thing-men's troops against the northmen's array; and all of them, and likewise their horses, were clothed in armour. one of the horsemen said, "is earl toste in this army?" the earl answered, "it is not to be denied that ye will find him here." the horseman says, "thy brother, king harald, sends thee salutation, with the message that thou shalt have the whole of northumberland; and rather than thou shouldst not submit to him, he will give thee the third part of his kingdom to rule over along with himself." the earl replies, "this is something different from the enmity and scorn he offered last winter; and if this had been offered then it would have saved many a man's life who now is dead, and it would have been better for the kingdom of england. but if i accept of this offer, what will he give king harald sigurdson for his trouble?" the horseman replied, "he has also spoken of this; and will give him seven feet of english ground, or as much more as he may be taller than other men." "then," said the earl, "go now and tell king harald to get ready for battle; for never shall the northmen say with truth that earl toste left king harald sigurdson to join his enemy's troops, when he came to fight west here in england. we shall rather all take the resolution to die with honour, or to gain england by a victory." then the horseman rode back. king harald sigurdson said to the earl, "who was the man who spoke so well?" the earl replied, "that was king harald godwinson." then, said king harald sigurdson, "that was by far too long concealed from me; for they had come so near to our army, that this harald should never have carried back the tidings of our men's slaughter." then said the earl, "it was certainly imprudent for such chiefs, and it may be as you say; but i saw he was going to offer me peace and a great dominion, and that, on the other hand, i would be his murderer if i betrayed him; and i would rather he should be my murderer than i his, if one of two be to die." king harald sigurdson observed to his men, "that was but a little man, yet he sat firmly in his stirrups." it is said that harald made these verses at this time:-- "advance! advance! no helmets glance, but blue swords play in our array. advance! advance! no mail-coats glance, but hearts are here that ne'er knew fear." his coat of mail was called emma; and it was so long that it reached almost to the middle of his leg, and so strong that no weapon ever pierced it. then said king harald sigurdson, "these verses are but ill composed; i must try to make better;" and he composed the following:-- "in battle storm we seek no lee, with skulking head, and bending knee, behind the hollow shield. with eye and hand we fend the head; courage and skill stand in the stead of panzer, helm, and shield, in hild's bloody field." thereupon thiodolf sang:-- "and should our king in battle fall,-- a fate that god may give to all,-- his sons will vengeance take; and never shone the sun upon two nobler eaglet; in his run, and them we'll never forsake." . of the beginning of the battle. now the battle began. the englishmen made a hot assault upon the northmen, who sustained it bravely. it was no easy matter for the english to ride against the northmen on account of their spears; therefore they rode in a circle around them. and the fight at first was but loose and light, as long as the northmen kept their order of battle; for although the english rode hard against the northmen, they gave way again immediately, as they could do nothing against them. now when the northmen thought they perceived that the enemy were making but weak assaults, they set after them, and would drive them into flight; but when they had broken their shield-rampart the englishmen rode up from all sides, and threw arrows and spears on them. now when king harald sigurdson saw this, he went into the fray where the greatest crash of weapons was, and there was a sharp conflict, in which many people fell on both sides. king harald then was in a rage, and ran out in front of the array, and hewed down with both hands; so that neither helmet nor armour could withstand him, and all who were nearest gave way before him. it was then very near with the english that they had taken to flight. so says arnor, the earls' skald:-- "where battle-storm was ringing, where arrow-cloud was singing, harald stood there, of armour bare, his deadly sword still swinging. the foeman feel its bite; his norsemen rush to fight, danger to share, with harald there, where steel on steel was ringing." . fall of king harald. king harald sigurdson was hit by an arrow in the windpipe, and that was his death-wound. he fell, and all who had advanced with him, except those who retired with the banner. there was afterwards the warmest conflict, and earl toste had taken charge of the king's banner. they began on both sides to form their array again, and for a long time there was a pause in fighting. then thiodolf sang these verses:-- "the army stands in hushed dismay; stilled is the clamour of the fray. harald is dead, and with him goes the spirit to withstand our foes. a bloody scat the folk must pay for their king's folly on this day. he fell; and now, without disguise, we say this business was not wise." but before the battle began again harald godwinson offered his brother, earl toste, peace, and also quarter to the northmen who were still alive; but the northmen called out, all of them together, that they would rather fall, one across the other, than accept of quarter from the englishmen. then each side set up a war-shout, and the battle began again. so says arnor, the earls' skald:-- "the king, whose name would ill-doers scare, the gold-tipped arrow would not spare. unhelmed, unpanzered, without shield, he fell among us in the field. the gallant men who saw him fall would take no quarter; one and all resolved to die with their loved king, around his corpse in a corpse-ring." . skirmish of orre. eystein orre came up at this moment from the ships with the men who followed him, and all were clad in armour. then eystein got king harald's banner land-ravager; and now was, for the third time, one of the sharpest of conflicts, in which many englishmen fell, and they were near to taking flight. this conflict is called orre's storm. eystein and his men had hastened so fast from the ships that they were quite exhausted, and scarcely fit to fight before they came into the battle; but afterwards they became so furious, that they did not guard themselves with their shields as long as they could stand upright. at last they threw off their coats of ringmail, and then the englishmen could easily lay their blows at them; and many fell from weariness, and died without a wound. thus almost all the chief men fell among the norway people. this happened towards evening; and then it went, as one might expect, that all had not the same fate, for many fled, and were lucky enough to escape in various ways; and darkness fell before the slaughter was altogether ended. . of styrkar the marshal. styrkar, king harald sigurdson's marshal, a gallant man, escaped upon a horse, on which he rode away in the evening. it was blowing a cold wind, and styrkar had not much other clothing upon him but his shirt, and had a helmet on his head, and a drawn sword in his hand. as soon as his weariness was over, he began to feel cold. a waggoner met him in a lined skin-coat. styrkar asks him, "wilt thou sell thy coat, friend?" "not to thee," says the peasant: "thou art a northman; that i can hear by thy tongue." styrkar replies, "if i were a northman, what wouldst thou do?" "i would kill thee," replied the peasant; "but as ill luck would have it, i have no weapon just now by me that would do it." then styrkar says, "as you can't kill me, friend, i shall try if i can't kill you." and with that he swung his sword, and struck him on the neck, so that his head came off. he then took the skin-coat, sprang on his horse, and rode down to the strand. olaf haraldson had not gone on land with the others, and when he heard of his father's fall he made ready to sail away with the men who remained. . of william the bastard. when the earl of rouen, william the bastard, heard of his relation, king edward's, death, and also that harald godwinson was chosen, crowned, and consecrated king of england, it appeared to him that he had a better right to the kingdom of england than harald, by reason of the relationship between him and king edward. he thought, also, that he had grounds for avenging the affront that harald had put upon him with respect to his daughter. from all these grounds william gathered together a great army in normandy, and had many men, and sufficient transport-shipping. the day that he rode out of the castle to his ships, and had mounted his horse, his wife came to him, and wanted to speak with him; but when he saw her he struck at her with his heel, and set his spurs so deep into her breast that she fell down dead; and the earl rode on to his ships, and went with his ships over to england. his brother, archbishop otto, was with him; and when the earl came to england he began to plunder, and take possession of the land as he came along. earl william was stouter and stronger than other men; a great horseman and warrior, but somewhat stern; and a very sensible man, but not considered a man to be relied on. . fall of king harald godwinson. king harald godwinson gave king harald sigurdson's son olaf leave to go away, with the men who had followed him and had not fallen in battle; but he himself turned round with his army to go south, for he had heard that william the bastard was overwhelming the south of england with a vast army, and was subduing the country for himself. with king harald went his brothers svein and gyrd, and earl valthiof. king harald and earl william met each other south in england at helsingja-port (hastings). there was a great battle in which king harald and his brother earl gyrd and a great part of his men fell. this was the nineteenth day after the fall of king harald sigurdson. harald's brother, earl valthiof, escaped by flight, and towards evening fell in with a division of william's people, consisting of men; and when they saw earl valthiof's troop they fled to a wood. earl valthiof set fire to the wood, and they were all burnt. so says thorkel skallason in valthiof's ballad:-- "earl valthiof the brave his foes a warming gave: within the blazing grove a hundred men he drove. the wolf will soon return, and the witch's horse will burn her sharp claws in the ash, to taste the frenchman's flesh." . earl valthiof's death. william was proclaimed king of england. he sent a message to earl valthiof that they should be reconciled, and gave him assurance of safety to come to the place of meeting. the earl set out with a few men; but when he came to a heath north of kastala-bryggia, there met him two officers of king william, with many followers, who took him prisoner, put him in fetters, and afterwards he was beheaded; and the english call him a saint. thorkel tells of this:-- "william came o'er the sea, with bloody sword came he: cold heart and bloody hand now rule the english land. earl valthiof he slew,-- valthiof the brave and true. cold heart and bloody hand now rule the english land." william was after this king of england for twenty-one years, and his descendants have been so ever since. . of olaf haraldson's expedition to norway. olaf, the son of king harald sigurdson, sailed with his fleet from england from hrafnseyr, and came in autumn to the orkney isles, where the event had happened that maria, a daughter of harald sigurdson, died a sudden death the very day and hour her father, king harald, fell. olaf remained there all winter; but the summer after he proceeded east to norway, where he was proclaimed king along with his brother magnus. queen ellisif came from the west, along with her stepson olaf and her daughter ingegerd. there came also with olaf over the west sea skule, a son of earl toste, and who since has been called the king's foster-son, and his brother ketil krok. both were gallant men, of high family in england, and both were very intelligent; and the brothers were much beloved by king olaf. ketil krok went north to halogaland, where king olaf procured him a good marriage, and from him are descended many great people. skule, the king's foster-son, was a very clever man, and the handsomest man that could be seen. he was the commander of king olaf's court-men, spoke at the things ( ) and took part in all the country affairs with the king. the king offered to give skule whatever district in norway he liked, with all the income and duties that belonged to the king in it. skule thanked him very much for the offer, but said he would rather have something else from him. "for if there came a shift of kings," said he, "the gift might come to nothing. i would rather take some properties lying near to the merchant towns, where you, sire, usually take up your abode, and then i would enjoy your yule-feasts." the king agreed to this, and conferred on him lands eastward at konungahella, oslo, tunsberg, sarpsborg, bergen, and north at nidaros. these were nearly the best properties at each place, and have since descended to the family branches which came from skule. king olaf gave skule his female relative, gudrun, the daughter of nefstein, in marriage. her mother was ingerid, a daughter of sigurd syr and asta, king olaf the saint's mother. ingerid was a sister of king olaf the saint and of king harald. skule and gudrun's son was asolf of reine, who married thora, a daughter of skopte ogmundson; asolf's and thora's son was guthorm of reine, father of bard, and grandfather of king inge and of duke skule. endnotes: ( ) another instance of the old norse or icelandic tongue having been generally known in a part of england. . of king harald sigurdson. one year after king harald's fall his body was transported from england north to nidaros, and was buried in mary church, which he had built. it was a common observation that king harald distinguished himself above all other men by wisdom and resources of mind; whether he had to take a resolution suddenly for himself and others, or after long deliberation. he was, also, above all other men, bold, brave, and lucky, until his dying day, as above related; and bravery is half victory. so says thiodolf:-- "harald, who till his dying day came off the best in many a fray, had one good rule in battle-plain, in seeland and elsewhere, to gain-- that, be his foes' strength more or less, courage is always half success." king herald was a handsome man, of noble appearance; his hair and beard yellow. he had a short beard, and long mustaches. the one eyebrow was somewhat higher than the other. he had large hands ( ) and feet; but these were well made. his height was five ells. he was stern and severe to his enemies, and avenged cruelly all opposition or misdeed. so says thiodolf:-- "severe alike to friends or foes, who dared his royal will oppose; severe in discipline to hold his men-at-arms wild and bold; severe the bondes to repress; severe to punish all excess; severe was harald--but we call that just which was alike to all." king harald was most greedy of power, and of all distinction and honour. he was bountiful to the friends who suited him. so says thiodolf:-- "i got from him, in sea-fight strong, a mark of gold for my ship-song. merit in any way he generously would pay." king harald was fifty years old when he fell. we have no particular account of his youth before he was fifteen years old, when he was with his brother, king olaf, at the battle of stiklestad. he lived thirty-five years after that, and in all that time was never free from care and war. king harald never fled from battle, but often tried cunning ways to escape when he had to do with great superiority of forces. all the men who followed king harald in battle or skirmish said that when he stood in great danger, or anything came suddenly upon him, he always took that course which all afterwards saw gave the best hope of a fortunate issue. endnotes: ( ) it is a singular physical circumstance, that in almost all the swords of those ages to be found in the collection of weapons in the antiquarian museum at copenhagen, the handles indicate a size of hand very much smaller than the hands of modern people of any class or rank. no modern dandy, with the most delicate hands, would find room for his hand to grasp or wield with case some of the swords of these northmen.--l. . king harald and king olaf compared. when haldor, a son of brynjolf ulfalde the old, who was a sensible man and a great chief, heard people talk of how unlike the brothers saint olaf and king harald were in disposition, he used to say, "i was in great friendship with both the brothers, and i knew intimately the dispositions of both, and never did i know two men more like in disposition. both were of the highest understanding, and bold in arms, and greedy of power and property; of great courage, but not acquainted with the way of winning the favour of the people; zealous in governing, and severe in their revenge. king olaf forced the people into christianity and good customs, and punished cruelly those who disobeyed. this just and rightful severity the chiefs of the country could not bear, but raised an army against him, and killed him in his own kingdom; and therefore he is held to be a saint. king harald, again, marauded to obtain glory and power, forced all the people he could under his power, and died in another king's dominions. both brothers, in daily life, were of a worthy and considerate manner of living; they were of great experience, and very laborious, and were known and celebrated far and wide for these qualities." . king magnus's death. king magnus haraldson ruled over norway the first winter after king harald's death (a.d. ), and afterwards two years (a.d. - ) along with his brother, king olaf. thus there were two kings of norway at that time; and magnus had the northern and olaf the eastern part of the country. king magnus had a son called hakon, who was fostered by thorer of steig in gudbrandsdal, who was a brother of king magnus by the mother's side; and hakon was a most agreeable man. after king harald sigurdson's death the danish king svein let it be known that the peace between the northmen and the danes was at an end, and insisted that the league between harald and svein was not for longer time than their lives. there was a levy in both kingdoms. harald's sons called out the whole people in norway for procuring men and ships, and svein set out from the south with the danish army. messengers then went between with proposals for a peace; and the northmen said they would either have the same league as was concluded between king harald and svein, or otherwise give battle instantly on the spot. verses were made on this occasion, viz.:-- "ready for war or peace, king olaf will not cease from foeman's hand to guard his land." so says also stein herdison in his song of olaf:-- "from throndhjem town, where in repose the holy king defies his foes, another olaf will defend his kingdom from the greedy svein. king olaf had both power and right, and the saint's favour in the fight. the saint will ne'er his kin forsake, and let svein ulfson norway take." in this manner friendship was concluded between the kings and peace between the countries. king magnus fell ill and died of the ringworm disease, after being ill for some time. he died and was buried at nidaros. he was an amiable king and bewailed by the people. saga of olaf kyrre. preliminary remarks. snorri's account of olaf kyrre corresponds with the statements found in "agrip", "fagrskinna", and "morkinskinna". there are but few events in olaf's long reign, and hence he is very appropriately called the quiet (kyrre). as hildebrand says, this saga seems to be written simply to fill out the empty space between harald hardrade and magnus barefoot. skalds quoted in this saga are: stein herdison and stuf. . olaf's personal appearance. olaf remained sole king of norway after the death (a.d. ) of his brother king magnus. olaf was a stout man, well grown in limbs; and every one said a handsomer man could not be seen, nor of a nobler appearance. his hair was yellow as silk, and became him well; his skin was white and fine over all his body; his eyes beautiful, and his limbs well proportioned. he was rather silent in general, and did not speak much even at things; but he was merry in drinking parties. he loved drinking much, and was talkative enough then; but quite peaceful. he was cheerful in conversation, peacefully inclined during all his reign, and loving gentleness and moderation in all things. stein herdison speaks thus of him:-- "our throndhjem king is brave and wise, his love of peace our bondes prize; by friendly word and ready hand he holds good peace through every land. he is for all a lucky star; england he frightens from a war; the stiff-necked danes he drives to peace; troubles by his good influence cease." . of king olaf's manner of living. it was the fashion in norway in old times for the king's high-seat to be on the middle of a long bench, and the ale was handed across the fire ( ); but king olaf had his high-seat made on a high bench across the room; he also first had chimney-places in the rooms, and the floors strewed both summer and winter. in king olaf's time many merchant towns arose in norway, and many new ones were founded. thus king olaf founded a merchant town at bergen, where very soon many wealthy people settled themselves, and it was regularly frequented by merchants from foreign lands. he had the foundations laid for the large christ church, which was to be a stone church; but in his time there was little done to it. besides, he completed the old christ church, which was of wood. king olaf also had a great feasting-house built in nidaros, and in many other merchant towns, where before there were only private feasts; and in his time no one could drink in norway but in these houses, adorned for the purpose with branches and leaves, and which stood under the king's protection. the great guild-bell in throndhjem, which was called the pride of the town, tolled to call together to these guilds. the guild-brethren built margaret's church in nidaros of stone. in king olaf's time there were general entertainments and hand-in-hand feasts. at this time also much unusual splendour and foreign customs and fashions in the cut of clothes were introduced; as, for instance, costly hose plaited about the legs. some had gold rings about the legs, and also used coats which had lists down the sides, and arms five ells long, and so narrow that they must be drawn up with ties, and lay in folds all the way up to the shoulders. the shoes were high, and all edged with silk, or even with gold. many other kinds of wonderful ornaments were used at that time. endnotes: ( ) we may understand the arrangement by supposing the fire in the middle of the room, the smoke escaping by a hole in the roof, and a long bench on each side of the fire; one bench occupied by the high-seat of the king and great guests, the other by the rest of the guests; and the cup handed across the fire, which appears to have had a religious meaning previous to the introduction of christianity.--l. . fashion of king olaf's court. king olaf used the fashion, which was introduced from the courts of foreign kings, of letting his grand-butler stand at the end of the table, and fill the table-cups for himself and the other distinguished guests who sat at the table. he had also torch-bearers, who held as many candles at the table as there were guests of distinction present. there was also a marshal's bench outside of the table-circle, where the marshal and other persons of distinction sat with their faces towards the high-seat. king harald, and the kings before him, used to drink out of deer-horn; and the ale was handed from the high-seat to the otherside over the fire, and he drank to the memory of any one he thought of. so says stuf the skald:-- "he who in battle is the first, and now in peace is best to trust, a welcome, hearty and sincere, gave to me on my coming here. he whom the ravens watch with care, he who the gold rings does not spare, a golden horn full to the brink gave me himself at haug to drink." . arrangement of king olaf's court. king olaf had courtmen-at-arms, and pursuivants, besides house-servants, who provided what was wanted for the king's house wherever it might be, or did other work required for the king. when the bondes asked why he kept a greater retinue than the law allowed, or former kings kept when they went in guest-quarters or feasts which the bondes had to provide for them, the king answered, "it does not happen that i rule the kingdom better, or produce greater respect for me than ye had for my father, although i have one-half more people than he had. i do not by any means do it merely to plague you, or to make your condition harder than formerly." . king svein ulfson's death. king svein ulfson died ten years after the fall of both the haralds (a.d. ). after him his son, harald hein, was king for three years (a.d. - ); then canute the holy for seven years (a.d. - ); afterwards olaf, king svein's third son, for eight years (a.d. - ). then eirik the good, svein's fourth son, for eight winters (a.d. - ). olaf, the king of norway, was married to ingerid, a daughter of svein, the danish king; and olaf, the danish king svein's son, married ingegerd, a daughter of king harald, and sister of king olaf of norway. king olaf haraldson, who was called by some olaf kyrre, but by many olaf the bonde, had a son by thora, joan's daughter, who was called magnus, and was one of the handsomest lads that could be seen, and was promising in every respect. he was brought up in the king's court. . miracles of king olaf the saint. king olaf had a church of stone built in nidaros, on the spot where king olaf's body had first been buried, and the altar was placed directly over the spot where the king's grave had been. this church was consecrated and called christ church; and king olaf's shrine was removed to it, and was placed before the altar, and many miracles took place there. the following summer, on the same day of the year as the church was consecrated, which was the day before olafsmas, there was a great assemblage of people, and then a blind man was restored to sight. and on the mass-day itself, when the shrine and the holy relics were taken out and carried, and the shrine itself, according to custom, was taken and set down in the churchyard, a man who had long been dumb recovered his speech again, and sang with flowing tongue praise-hymns to god, and to the honour of king olaf the saint. the third miracle was of a woman who had come from svithjod, and had suffered much distress on this pilgrimage from her blindness; but trusting in god's mercy, had come travelling to this solemnity. she was led blind into the church to hear mass this day; but before the service was ended she saw with both eyes, and got her sight fully and clearly, although she had been blind fourteen years. she returned with great joy, praising god and king olaf the saint. . of the shrine of king olaf the saint. there happened a circumstance in nidaros, when king olaf's coffin was being carried about through the streets, that it became so heavy that people could not lift it from the spot. now when the coffin was set down, the street was broken up to see what was under it at that spot, and the body of a child was found which had been murdered and concealed there. the body was carried away, the street put in order again as it had been before, and the shrine carried on according to custom. . king olaf was blessed with peace. in the days of king olaf there were bountiful harvests in norway and many good things. in no man's life had times been so good in norway since the days of harald harfager. king olaf modified for the better many a matter that his father had inaugurated and maintained with severity. he was generous, but a strict ruler, for he was a wise man, and well understood what was of advantage to the kingdom. there are many stories of his good works. how much he loved and how kind he was to the people may be seen from the following words, which he once spoke at a large banquet. he was happy and in the best of spirits, when one of his men said, "it pleases us, sire, to see you so happy." he answered: "i have reason to be glad when i see my subjects sitting happy and free in a guild consecrated to my uncle, the sainted king olaf. in the days of my father these people were subjected to much terror and fear; the most of them concealed their gold and their precious things, but now i see glittering on his person what each one owns, and your freedom is my gladness." in his reign there was no strife, and he protected himself and his realm against enemies abroad; and his nearest neighbours stood in great awe of him, although he was a most gentle man, as is confirmed by the skald. . meeting of olaf kyrre and canute the saint. king olaf kyrre was a great friend of his brother-in-law, the danish king, canute the holy. they appointed a meeting and met at the gaut river at konungahella, where the kings used to have their meetings. there king canute made the proposal that they should send an army westward to england on account of the revenge they had to take there; first and foremost king olaf himself, and also the danish king. "do one of two things," said king canute,--"either take sixty ships, which i will furnish thee with, and be thou the leader; or give me sixty ships, and i shall be the leader." then said king olaf, "this speech of thine, king canute, is altogether according to my mind; but there is this great difference between us; your family has had more luck in conquering england with great glory, and, among others, king canute the great; and it is likely that this good fortune follows your race. on the other hand, when king harald, my father, went westward to england, he got his death there; and at that time the best men in norway followed him. but norway was so emptied then of chosen men, that such men have not since been to find in the country; for that expedition there was the most excellent outfit, and you know what was the end of it. now i know my own capacity, and how little i am suited to be the leader; so i would rather you should go, with my help and assistance." so king olaf gave canute sixty large ships, with excellent equipment and faithful men, and set his lendermen as chiefs over them; and all must allow that this armament was admirably equipt. it is also told in the saga about canute, that the northmen alone did not break the levy when the army was assembled, but the danes would not obey their king's orders. this king canute acknowledged, and gave them leave to trade in merchandise where they pleased through his country, and at the same time sent the king of norway costly presents for his assistance. on the other hand he was enraged against the danes, and laid heavy fines upon them. . a bonde who understood the language of birds. one summer, when king olaf's men had gone round the country collecting his income and land dues, it happened that the king, on their return home asked them where on their expedition they had been best entertained. they said it was in the house of a bonde in one of the king's districts. "there is an old bonde there who knows many things before they happen. we asked him about many things, which he explained to us; nay, we even believe that he understands perfectly the language of birds." the king replies, "how can ye believe such nonsense?" and insisted that it was wrong to put confidence in such things. it happened soon after that the king was sailing along the coast; and as they sailed through a sound the king said, "what is that township up in the country?" they replied, "that is the district, sire, where we told you we were best entertained." then said the king, "what house is that which stands up there, not far from the sound?" they replied, "that house belongs to the wise old bonde we told you of, sire." they saw now a horse standing close to the house. then said the king, "go there, and take that horse, and kill him." they replied, "we would not like to do him such harm." the king: "i will command. cut off the horse's head; but take care of yourselves that ye let no blood come to the ground, and bear the horse out to my ship. go then and bring to me the old man; but tell him nothing of what has happened, as ye shall answer for it with your lives." they did as they were ordered, and then came to the old man, and told him the king's message. when he came before the king, the king asked him, "who owns the house thou art dwelling in?" he replies, "sire, you own it, and take rent for it." the king: "show us the way round the ness, for here thou must be a good pilot." the old man went into his boat and rowed before the king's ship; and when he had rowed a little way a crow came flying over the ship, and croaking hideously. the peasant listens to the crow. the king said, "do you think, bonde, that betokens anything?" "sire, that is certain," said he. then another crow flies over the ship, and screeches dreadfully. the bonde was so ill hearing this that he could not row, and the oars hung loose in his hands. then said the king, "thy mind is turned much to these crows, bonde, and to what they say." the bonde replies, "now i suspect it is true what they say." the third time the crow came flying screeching at its very worst, and almost settling on the ship. now the bonde threw down his oars, regarded them no more, and stood up before the king. then the king said, "thou art taking this much to heart, bonde; what is it they say?" the peasant--"it is likely that either they or i have misunderstood--" "say on," replied the king. the bonde replied in a song:-- "the 'one-year old' mere nonsense told; the 'two-years' chatter seemed senseless matter; the three-years' croak of wonders spoke. the foul bird said my old mare's head i row along; and, in her song, she said the thief was the land's chief." the king said, "what is this, bonde! wilt thou call me a thief?" then the king gave him good presents, and remitted all the land-rent of the place he lived on. so says stein:-- "the pillar of our royal race stands forth adorned with every grace. what king before e'er took such pride to scatter bounty far and wide? hung round with shields that gleam afar; the merchant ship on one bestows, with painted streaks in glowing rows. "the man-at-arms a golden ring boasts as the present of his king; at the king's table sits the guest, by the king's bounty richly drest. king olaf, norway's royal son, who from the english glory won, pours out with ready-giving hand his wealth on children of the land. "brave clothes to servants he awards, helms and ring-mail coats grace his guards; or axe and sword har's warriors gain, and heavy armour for the plain. gold, too, for service duly paid, red gold all pure, and duly weighed, king olaf gives--he loves to pay all service in a royal way." . of king olaf kyrre's death. king olaf lived principally in his domains on his large farms. once when he was east in ranrike, on his estate of haukby, he took the disease which ended in his death. he had then been king of norway for twenty-six years (a.d. - ); for he was made king of norway the year after king harald's death. king olaf's body was taken north to nidaros, and buried in christ church, which he himself had built there. he was the most amiable king of his time, and norway was much improved in riches and cultivation during his reign. magnus barefoot's saga. preliminary remarks. the greater part of the contents of this saga is also found in "agrip", "fagrskinna", and "morkinskinna". magnus and his cousin hakon became kings in , but hakon ruled only two years and died in . king magnus fell in the year . skalds quoted are: bjorn krephende, thorkel hamarskald, and eldjarn. . beginning of the reign of king magnus and his cousin hakon. magnus, king olaf's son, was, immediately after king olaf's death, proclaimed at viken king of all norway; but the upland people, on hearing of king olaf's death, chose hakon, thorer's foster-son, a cousin of king magnus, as king. thereupon hakon and thorer went north to the throndhjem country, and when they came to nidaros they summoned the eyrathing; and at that thing hakon desired the bondes to give him the kingly title, which was agreed to, and the throndhjem people proclaimed him king of half of norway, as his father, king magnus, had been before. hakon relieved the throndhjem people of all harbour duties, and gave them many other privileges. he did away with yule-gifts, and gained by this the good-will of all the throndhjem people. thereafter hakon formed a court, and then proceeded to the uplands, where he gave the upland people the same privileges as the throndhjem people; so that they also were perfectly well affected to him, and were his friends. the people in throndhjem sang this ballad about him:-- "young hakon was the norseman's pride, and steig-thorer was on his side. young hakon from the upland came, with royal birth, and blood, and name. young hakon from the king demands his royal birthright, half the lands; magnus will not the kingdom break,-- the whole or nothing he will take." . hakon's death. king magnus proceeded north to the merchant town (nidaros), and on his arrival went straight to the king's house, and there took up his abode. he remained here the first part of the winter (a.d. ), and kept seven longships in the open water of the river nid, abreast of the king's house. now when king hakon heard that king magnus was come to throndhjem, he came from the east over the dovrefield, and thence down from throndhjem to the merchant town, where he took up his abode in the house of skule, opposite to clement's church, which had formerly been the king's house. king magnus was ill pleased with the great gifts which hakon had given to the bondes to gain their favour, and thought it was so much given out of his own property. this irritated his mind; and he thought he had suffered injustice from his relative in this respect, that he must now put up with less income than his father and his predecessors before him had enjoyed; and he gave thorer the blame. when king hakon and thorer observed this, they were alarmed for what magnus might do; and they thought it suspicious that magnus kept long-ships afloat rigged out, and with tents. the following spring, after candlemas, king magnus left the town in the night with his ships; the tents up, and lights burning in the tents. they brought up at hefring, remained there all night, and kindled a fire on the land. then hakon and the men in the town thought some treachery was on foot, and he let the trumpets call all the men together out on the eyrar, where the whole people of the town came to him, and the people were gathering together the whole night. when it was light in the morning, king magnus saw the people from all districts gathered together on the eyrar; and he sailed out of the fjord, and proceeded south to where the gulathing is held. hakon thanked the people for their support which they had given him, and got ready to travel east to viken. but he first held a meeting in the town, where, in a speech, he asked the people for their friendship, promising them his; and added, that he had some suspicions of his relation, king magnus's intentions. then king hakon mounted his horse, and was ready to travel. all men promised him their good-will and support whenever he required them, and the people followed him out to the foot of steinbjorg. from thence king hakon proceeded up the dovrefield; but as he was going over the mountains he rode all day after a ptarmigan, which flew up beside him, and in this chase a sickness overfell him, which ended in his death; and he died on the mountains. his body was carried north, and came to the merchant town just half a month after he left it. the whole townspeople went to meet the body, sorrowing, and the most of them weeping; for all people loved him with sincere affection. king hakon's body was interred in christ church, and hakon and magnus had ruled the country for two years. hakon was a man full twenty-five years old, and was one of the chiefs the most beloved by all the people. he had made a journey to bjarmaland, where he had given battle and gained a victory. . of a foray in halland. king magnus sailed in winter (a.d. ) eastward to viken; but when spring approached he went southwards to halland, and plundered far and wide. he laid waste viskardal and many other districts, and returned with a great booty back to his own kingdom. so says bjorn krephende in his song on magnus:-- "through halland wide around the clang and shriek resound; the houses burn, the people mourn, through halland wide around. the norse king strides in flame, through viskardal he came; the fire sweeps, the widow weeps, the norse king strides in flame." here it is told that king magnus made the greatest devastation through halland. . of thorer of steig. "there was a man called svein, a son of harald fietter. he was a danish man by family, a great viking and champion, and a very clever man, and of high birth in his own country. he had been some time with king hakon magnuson, and was very dear to him; but after king hakon's decease thorer of steig, his foster-father, had no great confidence in any treaty or friendship with king magnus, if the whole country came into his power, on account of the position in which thorer had stood to king magnus, and the opposition he had made to him. thereupon thorer and svein took counsel with each other, which they afterwards carried into effect,--to raise, with thorer's assistance, and his men, a troop against magnus. but as thorer was old and heavy, svein took the command, and name of leader of the troop. in this design several chiefs took part, among whom the principal was egil aslakson of aurland. egil was a lenderman, and married to ingebjorg, a daughter of ogmund thorbergson, a sister of skopte of giske. the rich and powerful man, skjalg erlingson, also joined their party. thorkel hamarskald speaks of this in his ballad of magnus: "thorer and egil were not wise, they aimed too high to win a prize: there was no reason in their plan, and it hurt many a udalman. the stone, too great for them to throw, fell back, and hurt them with the blow, and now the udalmen must rue that to their friends they were so true." thorer and svein collected a troop in the uplands, and went down through raumsdal into sunmore, and there collected vessels, with which they afterwards sailed north to throndhjem. . of thorer's adventures. the lenderman sigurd ulstreng, a son of lodin viggiarskalle, collected men by sending round the war-token, as soon as he heard of thorer and the troop which followed him, and had a rendezvous with all the men he could raise at viggia. svein and thorer also met there with their people, fought with sigurd, and gained the victory after giving him a great defeat; and sigurd fled, and joined king magnus. thorer and his followers proceeded to the town (nidaros), and remained there some time in the fjord, where many people joined them. king magnus hearing this news immediately collected an army, and proceeded north to throndhjem. and when he came into the fjord thorer and his party heard of it while they lay at herring, and they were ready to leave the fjord; and they rowed their ships to the strand at vagnvik, and left them, and came into theksdal in seliuhverfe, and thorer was carried in a litter over the mountains. then they got hold of ships and sailed north to halogaland. as soon as king magnus was ready for sea, he sailed from throndhjem in pursuit of them. thorer and his party went north all the way to bjarkey; and jon, with his son vidkun, fled from thence. thorer and his men robbed all the movable goods, and burnt the house, and a good long-ship that belonged to vidkun. while the hull was burning the vessel keeled to one side, and thorer called out, "hard to starboard, vidkun!" some verses were made about this burning in bjarkey:-- "the sweetest farm that i have seen stood on bjarkey's island green; and now, where once this farmhouse stood, fire crackles through a pile of wood; and the clear red flame, burning high, flashes across the dark-night sky. jon and vidkun, this dark night, will not be wandering without light." . death of thorer and egil. jon and vidkun travelled day and night till they met king magnus. svein and thorer proceeded northwards with their men, and plundered far and wide in halogaland. but while they lay in a fjord called harm, thorer and his party saw king magnus coming under sail towards them; and thinking they had not men enough to fight him, they rowed away and fled. thorer and egil brought up at hesjutun; but svein rowed out to sea, and some of their people rowed into the fjords. king magnus pursued thorer, and the vessels struck together while they were landing. thorer stood in the forecastle of his ship, and sigurd ulstreng called out to him, and asked, "art thou well, thorer?" thorer replied, "i am well in hands, but ill on my feet." then all thorer's men fled up the country, and thorer was taken prisoner. egil was also taken prisoner, for he would not leave his wife. king magnus then ordered both of them to be taken out to vambarholm; and when they were leading thorer from the ship he tottered on his legs. then vidkun called out, "more to the larboard, thorer!" when he was being led to the gallows he sang:-- "we were four comrades gay,-- let one by the helm stay." when he came to the gallows he said, "bad counsel comes to a bad end." then thorer was hanged; but when he was hoisted up the gallows tree he was so heavy that his neck gave way, and the body fell down to the ground; for thorer was a man exceedingly stout, both high of stature and thick. egil was also led to the gallows, and when the king's thralls were about hanging him he said, "ye should not hang me, for in truth each of you deserves much more to be hanged." people sang these verses about it:-- "i hear, my girl, that egil said, when to the gallows he was led, that the king's thralls far more than he deserved to hang on gallows-tree. it might be so; but, death in view, a man should to himself be true,-- end a stout life by death as stout, showing no fear; or care, or doubt." king magnus sat near while they were being hanged, and was in such a rage that none of his men was so bold as to ask mercy for them. the king said, when egil was spinning at the gallows, "thy great friends help thee but poorly in time of need." from this people supposed that the king only wanted to have been entreated to have spared egil's life. bjorn krephende speaks of these things:-- "king magnus in the robbers' gore dyed red his sword; and round the shore the wolves howled out their wild delight, at corpses swinging in their sight. have ye not heard how the king's sword punished the traitors to their lord? how the king's thralls hung on the gallows old thorer and his traitor-fellows?" . of the punishment of the throndhjem people. after this king magnus sailed south to throndhjem, and brought up in the fjord, and punished severely all who had been guilty of treason towards him; killing some, and burning the houses of others. so says bjorn krephende:-- "he who despises fence of shields drove terror through the throndhjem fields, when all the land through which he came was swimming in a flood of flame. the raven-feeder, will i know, cut off two chieftans at a blow; the wolf could scarcely ravenous be, the ernes flew round the gallows-tree." svein harald fletter's son, fled out to sea first, and sailed then to denmark, and remained there; and at last came into great favour with king eystein, the son of king magnus, who took so great a liking to svein that he made him his dish-bearer, and held him in great respect. king magnus had now alone the whole kingdom, and he kept good peace in the land, and rooted out all vikings and lawless men. he was a man quick, warlike, and able, and more like in all things to his grandfather, king harald, in disposition and talents than to his father. . of the bonde sveinke, and sigurd ulstreng. there was a man called sveinke steinarson, who was very wealthy, and dwelt in viken at the gaut river. he had brought up hakon magnuson before thorer of steig took him. sveinke had not yet submitted to king magnus. king magnus ordered sigurd ulstreng to be called, and told him he would send him to sveinke with the command that he should quit the king's land and domain. "he has not yet submitted to us, or shown us due honour." he added, that there were some lendermen east in viken, namely svein bryggjufot, dag eilifson, and kolbjorn klakke, who could bring this matter into right bearing. then sigurd said, "i did not know there was the man in norway against whom three lendermen besides myself were needful." the king replied, "thou needst not take this help, unless it be necessary." now sigurd made himself ready for the journey with a ship, sailed east to viken, and there summoned the lendermen to him. then a thing was appointed to viken, to which the people were called who dwelt on the gaut river, besides others; so that it was a numerous assembly. when the thing was formed they had to wait for sveinke. they soon after saw a troop of men coming along, so well furnished with weapons that they looked like pieces of shining ice; and now came sveinke and his people to the thing, and set themselves down in a circle. all were clad in iron, with glowing arms, and in number. then sigurd stood up, and spoke. "my master, king magnus, sends god's salutation and his own to all friends, lendermen and others, his subjects in the kingdom; also to the powerful bondes, and the people in general, with kind words and offers of friendship; and to all who will obey him he offers his friendship and good will. now the king will, with all cheerfulness and peace, show himself a gracious master to all who will submit to him, and to all in his dominions. he will be the leader and defender of all the men of norway; and it will be good for you to accept his gracious speech, and this offer." then stood up a man in the troop of the elfgrims, who was of great stature and grim countenance, clad in a leather cloak, with a halberd on his shoulder, and a great steel hat upon his head. he looked sternly, and said, "here is no need of wheels, says the fox, when he draws the trap over the ice." he said nothing more, but sat down again. soon after sigurd ulstreng stood up again, and spoke thus: "but little concern or help have we for the king's affairs from you, elfgrims, and but little friendship; yet by such means every man shows how much he respects himself. but now i shall produce more clearly the king's errand." thereupon he demanded land-dues and levy-dues, together with all other rights of the king, from the great bondes. he bade each of them to consider with himself how they had conducted themselves in these matters; and that they should now promote their own honour, and do the king justice, if they had come short hitherto in doing so. and then he sat down. then the same man got up in the troop of elfgrims who had spoken before, lifted his hat a little up, and said, "the lads run well, say the laplanders, who have skates for nothing." then he sat himself down again. soon after sigurd arose, after speaking with the lendermen, and said that so weighty a message as the king's ought not to be treated lightly as a jest. he was now somewhat angry; and added, that they ought not to receive the king's message and errand so scornfully, for it was not decent. he was dressed in a red or scarlet coat, and had a blue coat over it. he cast off his upper coat and said, "now it is come so far that every one must look to himself, and not loiter and jest with others; for by so doing every man will show what he is. we do not require now to be taught by others; for now we can see ourselves how much we are regarded. but this may be borne with; but not that ye treat so scornfully the king's message. thereby every one shows how highly he considers himself. there is one man called sveinke steinarson, who lives east at the gaut river; and from him the king will have his just land-dues, together with his own land, or will banish him from the country. it is of no use here to seek excuses, or to answer with sharp words; for people are to be found who are his equals in power, although he now receives our speech so unworthily; and it is better now than afterwards to return to the right way, and do himself honour, rather than await disgrace for his obstinancy." he then sat down. sveinke then got up, threw back his steel-hat, and gave sigurd many scornful words, and said, "tut! tut! 'tis a shame for the dogs, says the proverb, when the fox is allowed to cast their excrements in the peasant's well. here will be a miracle! thou useless fellow! with a coat without arms, and a kirtle with skirts, wilt thou drive me out of the country? thy relation, sigurd woolsack, was sent before on this errand, and one called gille the backthief, and one who had still a worse name. they were a night in every house, and stole wherever they came. wilt thou drive me out of the country? formerly thou wast not so mighty, and thy pride was less when king hakon, my foster-son, was in life. then thou wert as frightened for him when he met thee on the road as a mouse in a mouse-trap, and hid thyself under a heap of clothes, like a dog on board a ship. thou wast thrust into a leather-bag like corn in a sack, and driven from house and farm like a year-old colt from the mares; and dost thou dare to drive me from the land? thou shouldst rather think thyself lucky to escape from hence with life. let us stand up and attack him." then all his men stood up, and made a great clash with their weapons. then svein bryggjufot and the other lendermen saw there was no other chance for sigurd but to get him on horseback, which was done, and he rode off into the forest. the end was that sveinke returned home to his farm, and sigurd ulstreng came, with great difficulty, by land north to throndhjem to king magnus, and told the result of his errand. "did i not say," said the king, "that the help of my lendermen would be needed?" sigurd was ill pleased with his journey; insisted that he would be revenged, cost what it will; and urged the king much. the king ordered five ships to be fitted out; and as soon as they were ready for sea he sailed south along the land, and then east to viken, where he was entertained in excellent guest-quarters by his lendermen. the king told them he would seek out sveinke. "for i will not conceal my suspicion that he thinks to make himself king of norway." they said that sveinke was both a powerful and an ungovernable man. now the king went from viken until he came to sveinke's farm. then the lendermen desired that they might be put on shore to see how matters stood; and when they came to the land they saw that sveinke had already come down from the farm, and was on the road with a number of well-armed men. the lendermen held up a white shield in the air, as a peace-token; and when sveinke saw it he halted his men, and they approached each other. then said kolbjorn klakke, "king magnus sends thee god's salutation and his own, and bids thee consider what becomes thee, and do him obedience, and not prepare thyself to give him battle." kolbjorn offered to mediate peace between them, if he could, and told him to halt his troops. sveinke said he would wait for them where he was. "we came out to meet you," he said, "that ye might not tread down our corn-fields." the lendermen returned to the king, and told him all was now at his pleasure. the king said, "my doom is soon delivered. he shall fly the country, and never come back to norway as long as the kingdom is mine; and he shall leave all his goods behind." "but will it not be more for thy honour," said kolbjorn, "and give thee a higher reputation among other kings, if, in banishing him from the country, thou shouldst allow him to keep his property, and show himself among other people? and we shall take care that he never comes back while we live. consider of this, sire, by yourself, and have respect for our assurance." the king replied, "let him then go forth immediately." they went back, therefore, to sveinke, and told him the king's words; and also that the king had ordered him out of the country, and he should show his obedience, since he had forgotten himself towards the king. "it is for the honour of both that thou shouldst show obedience to the king." then sveinke said, "there must be some great change if the king speaks agreeably to me; but why should i fly the country and my properties? listen now to what i say. it appears to me better to die upon my property than to fly from my udal estates. tell the king that i will not stir from them even an arrow-flight." kolbjorn replied, "this is scarcely prudent, or right; for it is better for one's own honour to give way to the best chief, than to make opposition to one's own loss. a gallant man succeeds wheresoever he goes; and thou wilt be the more respected wheresoever thou art, with men of power, just because thou hast made head so boldly against so powerful a chief. hear our promises, and pay some attention to our errand. we offer thee to manage thy estates, and take them faithfully under our protection; and also never, against thy will, to pay scat for thy land until thou comest back. we will pledge our lives and properties upon this. do not throw away good counsel from thee, and avoid thus the ill fortune of other good men." then sveinke was silent for a short time, and said at last, "your endeavours are wise; but i have my suspicions that ye are changing a little the king's message. in consideration, however, of the great good-will that ye show me, i will hold your advice in such respect that i will go out of the country for the whole winter, if, according to your promises, i can then retain my estates in peace. tell the king, also, these my words, that i do this on your account, not on his." thereupon they returned to the king, and said, that sveinke left all in the king's hands. "but entreats you to have respect to his honour. he will be away for three years, and then come back, if it be the king's pleasure. do this; let all things be done according to what is suitable for the royal dignity and according to our entreaty, now that the matter is entirely in thy power, and we shall do all we can to prevent his returning against thy will." the king replied, "ye treat this matter like men, and, for your sakes, shall all things be as ye desire. tell him so." they thanked the king, and then went to sveinke, and told him the king's gracious intentions. "we will be glad," said they, "if ye can be reconciled. the king requires, indeed that thy absence shall be for three years; but, if we know the truth rightly, we expect that before that time he will find he cannot do without thee in this part of the country. it will be to thy own future honour, therefore, to agree to this." sveinke replies, "what condition is better than this? tell the king that i shall not vex him longer with my presence here, and accept of my goods and estates on this condition." thereupon he went home with his men, and set off directly; for he had prepared everything beforehand. kolbjorn remains behind, and makes ready a feast for king magnus, which also was thought of and prepared. sveinke, on the other hand, rides up to gautland with all the men he thought proper to take with him. the king let himself be entertained in guest-quarters at his house, returned to viken, and sveinke's estates were nominally the king's, but kolbjorn had them under his charge. the king received guest-quarters in viken, proceeded from thence northwards, and there was peace for a while; but now that the elfgrims were without a chief, marauding gangs infested them, and the king saw this eastern part of the kingdom would be laid waste. it appeared to him, therefore, most suitable and advisable to make sveinke himself oppose the stream, and twice he sent messages to him. but he did not stir until king magnus himself was south in denmark, when sveinke and the king met, and made a full reconciliation; on which sveinke returned home to his house and estates, and was afterwards king magnus's best and trustiest friend, who strengthened his kingdom on the eastern border; and their friendship continued as long as they lived. . king magnus makes war on the southern hebudes. king magnus undertook an expedition out of the country, with many fine men and a good assortment of shipping. with this armament he sailed out into the west sea, and first came to the orkney islands. there he took the two earls, paul and erlend, prisoners, and sent them east to norway, and placed his son sigurd as chief over the islands, leaving some counsellors to assist him. from thence king magnus, with his followers, proceeded to the southern hebudes, and when he came there began to burn and lay waste the inhabited places, killing the people and plundering wherever he came with his men; and the country people fled in all directions, some into scotland-fjord, others south to cantire, or out to ireland; some obtained life and safety by entering into his service. so says bjorn krephende:-- "in lewis isle with fearful blaze the house-destroying fire plays; to hills and rocks the people fly, fearing all shelter but the sky. in uist the king deep crimson made the lightning of his glancing blade; the peasant lost his land and life who dared to bide the norseman's strife. the hunger battle-birds were filled in skye with blood of foemen killed, and wolves on tyree's lonely shore dyed red their hairy jaws in gore. the men of mull were tired of flight; the scottish foemen would not fight, and many an island-girl's wail was heard as through the isles we strife sail." . of lagman, king gudrod's son. king magnus came with his forces to the holy island (iona), and gave peace and safety to all men there. it is told that the king opened the door of the little columb's kirk there, but did not go in, but instantly locked the door again, and said that no man should be so bold as to go into that church hereafter; which has been the case ever since. from thence king magnus sailed to islay, where he plundered and burnt; and when he had taken that country he proceeded south around cantire, marauding on both sides in scotland and ireland, and advanced with his foray to man, where he plundered. so says bjorn krephende:-- "on sandey's plain our shield they spy: from isla smoke rose heaven-high, whirling up from the flashing blaze the king's men o'er the island raise. south of cantire the people fled, scared by our swords in blood dyed red, and our brave champion onward goes to meet in man the norseman's foes." lagman (lawman) was the name of the son of gudrod, king of the hebudes. lawman was sent to defend the most northerly islands; but when king magnus and his army came to the hebudes, lawman fled here and there about the isles, and at last king magnus's men took him and his ship's crew as he was flying over to ireland. the king put him in irons to secure him. so says bjorn krephende:-- "to gudrod's son no rock or cave, shore-side or hill, a refuge gave; hunted around from isle to isle, this lawman found no safe asyle. from isle to isle, o'er firth and sound, close on his track his foe he found. at ness the agder chief at length seized him, and iron-chained his strength." . of the fall of earl huge the brave. afterwards king magnus sailed to wales; and when he came to the sound of anglesey there came against him an army from wales, which was led by two earls--hugo the brave, and hugo the stout. they began immediately to give battle, and there was a severe conflict. king magnus shot with the bow; but huge the brave was all over in armour, so that nothing was bare about him excepting one eye. king magnus let fly an arrow at him, as also did a halogaland man who was beside the king. they both shot at once. the one shaft hit the nose-screen of the helmet, which was bent by it to one side, and the other arrow hit the earl's eye, and went through his head; and that was found to be the king's. earl huge fell, and the britons fled with the loss of many people. so says bjorn krephende:-- "the swinger of the sword stood by anglesey's ford; his quick shaft flew, and huge slew. his sword gleamed a while o'er anglesey isle, and his norsemen's band scoured the anglesey land." there was also sung the following verse about it:-- "on the panzers arrows rattle, where our norse king stands in battle; from the helmets blood-streams flow, where our norse king draws his bow: his bowstring twangs,--its biting hail rattles against the ring-linked mail. up in the land in deadly strife our norse king took earl huge's life." king magnus gained the victory in this battle, and then took anglesey isle, which was the farthest south the norway kings of former days had ever extended their rule. anglesey is a third part of wales. after this battle king magnus turned back with his fleet, and came first to scotland. then men went between the scottish king, melkolm and king magnus, and a peace was made between them; so that all the islands lying west of scotland, between which and the mainland he could pass in a vessel with her rudder shipped, should be held to belong to the king of norway. now when king magnus came north to cantire, he had a skiff drawn over the strand at cantire, and shipped the rudder of it. the king himself sat in the stern-sheets, and held the tiller; and thus he appropriated to himself the land that lay on the farboard side. cantire is a great district, better than the best of the southern isles of the hebudes, excepting man; and there is a small neck of land between it and the mainland of scotland, over which longships are often drawn. . death of the earls of orkney. king magnus was all the winter in the southern isles, and his men went over all the fjords of scotland, rowing within all the inhabited and uninhabited isles, and took possession for the king of norway of all the islands west of scotland. king magnus contracted in marriage his son sigurd to biadmynia, king myrkjartan's daughter. myrkjartan was a son of the irish king thialfe, and ruled over connaught. the summer after, king magnus, with his fleet, returned east to norway. earl erland died of sickness at nidaros, and is buried there; and earl paul died in bergen. skopte ogmundson, a grandson of thorberg, was a gallant lenderman, who dwelt at giske in sunmore, and was married to gudrun, a daughter of thord folason. their children were ogmund, fin, thord, and thora, who was married to asolf skulason. skopte's and gudrun's sons were the most promising and popular men in their youth. . quarrels of king magnus and king inge. steinkel, the swedish king, died about the same time (a.d. ) as the two haralds fell, and the king who came after him in svithjod was called hakon. afterwards inge, a son of steinkel, was king, and was a good and powerful king, strong and stout beyond most men; and he was king of svithjod when king magnus was king of norway. king magnus insisted that the boundaries of the countries in old times had been so, that the gaut river divided the kingdoms of the swedish and norwegian kings, but afterwards the vener lake up to vermaland. thus king magnus insisted that he was owner of all the places lying west of the vener lake up to vermaland, which are the districts of sundal, nordal, vear, and vardyniar, with all the woods belonging thereto. but these had for a long time been under the swedish dominion, and with respect to scat were joined to west gautland; and, besides, the forest-settlers preferred being under the swedish king. king magnus rode from viken up to gautland with a great and fine army, and when he came to the forest-settlements he plundered and burnt all round; on which the people submitted, and took the oath of fidelity to him. when he came to the vener lake, autumn was advanced and he went out to the island kvaldinsey, and made a stronghold of turf and wood, and dug a ditch around it. when the work was finished, provisions and other necessaries that might be required were brought to it. the king left in it men, who were the chosen of his forces, and fin skoptason and sigurd ulstreng as their commanders. the king himself returned to viken. . of the northmen. when the swedish king heard this he drew together people, and the report came that he would ride against these northmen; but there was delay about his riding, and the northmen made these lines:-- "the fat-hipped king, with heavy sides, finds he must mount before he rides." but when the ice set in upon the vener lake king inge rode down, and had near men with him. he sent a message to the northmen who sat in the burgh that they might retire with all the booty they had taken, and go to norway. when the messengers brought this message, sigurd ulstreng replied to it; saying that king inge must take the trouble to come, if he wished to drive them away like cattle out of a grass field, and said he must come nearer if he wished them to remove. the messengers returned with this answer to the king, who then rode out with all his army to the island, and again sent a message to the northmen that they might go away, taking with them their weapons, clothes, and horses; but must leave behind all their booty. this they refused. the king made an assault upon them, and they shot at each other. then the king ordered timber and stones to be collected, and he filled up the ditch; and then he fastened anchors to long spars which were brought up to the timber-walls, and, by the strength of many hands, the walls were broken down. thereafter a large pile of wood was set on fire, and the lighted brands were flung in among them. then the northmen asked for quarter. the king ordered them to go out without weapons or cloaks. as they went out each of them received a stroke with a whip, and then they set off for norway, and all the forest-men submitted again to king inge. sigurd and his people went to king magnus, and told him their misfortune. . king magnus and giparde. when king magnus was east in viken, there came to him a foreigner called giparde. he gave himself out for a good knight, and offered his services to king magnus; for he understood that in the king's dominions there was something to be done. the king received him well. at that time the king was preparing to go to gautland, on which country the king had pretensions; and besides he would repay the gautland people the disgrace they had occasioned him in spring, when he was obliged to fly from them. he had then a great force in arms, and the west gautlanders in the northern districts submitted to him. he set up his camp on the borders, intending to make a foray from thence. when king inge heard of this he collected troops, and hastened to oppose king magnus; and when king magnus heard of this expedition, many of the chiefs of the people urged him to turn back; but this the king would not listen to, but in the night time went unsuspectedly against the swedish king. they met at foxerne; and when he was drawing up his men in battle order he asked, "where is giparde?" but he was not to be found. then the king made these verses:-- "cannot the foreign knight abide our rough array?--where does he hide?" then a skald who followed the king replied:-- "the king asks where the foreign knight in our array rides to the fight: giparde the knight rode quite away when our men joined in bloody fray. when swords were wet the knight was slow with his bay horse in front to go; the foreign knight could not abide our rough array, and went to hide." there was a great slaughter, and after the battle the field was covered with the swedes slain, and king inge escaped by flight. king magnus gained a great victory. then came giparde riding down from the country, and people did not speak well of him for not being in the fight. he went away, and proceeded westward to england; and the voyage was stormy, and giparde lay in bed. there was an iceland man called eldjarn, who went to bale out the water in the ship's hold, and when he saw where giparde was lying he made this verse:-- "does it beseem a courtman bold here to be dozing in the hold? the bearded knight should danger face: the leak gains on our ship apace. here, ply this bucket! bale who can; we need the work of every man. our sea-horse stands full to the breast,-- sluggards and cowards must not rest." when they came west to england, giparde said the northmen had slandered him. a meeting was appointed, and a count came to it, and the case was brought before him for trial. he said he was not much acquainted with law cases, as he was but young, and had only been a short time in office; and also, of all things, he said what he least understood to judge about was poetry. "but let us hear what it was." then eldjarn sang:-- "i heard that in the bloody fight giparde drove all our foes to flight: brave giparde would the foe abide, while all our men ran off to hide. at foxerne the fight was won by giparde's valour all alone; where giparde fought, alone was he; not one survived to fight or flee." then said the count, "although i know but little about skald-craft, i can hear that this is no slander, but rather the highest praise and honour." giparde could say nothing against it, yet he felt it was a mockery. . battle of foxerne. the spring after, as soon as the ice broke up, king magnus, with a great army, sailed eastwards to the gaut river, and went up the eastern arm of it, laying waste all that belonged to the swedish dominions. when they came to foxerne they landed from their vessels; but as they came over a river on their way an army of gautland people came against them, and there was immediately a great battle, in which the northmen were overwhelmed by numbers, driven to flight, and many of them killed near to a waterfall. king magnus fled, and the gautlanders pursued, and killed those they could get near. king magnus was easily known. he was a very stout man, and had a red short cloak over him, and bright yellow hair like silk that fell over his shoulders. ogmund skoptason, who was a tall and handsome man, rode on one side of the king. he said, "sire, give me that cloak." the king said, "what would you do with it?" "i would like to have it," said ogmund; "and you have given me greater gifts, sire." the road was such that there were great and wide plains, so that the gautlanders and northmen were always in sight of each other, unless where clumps of wood and bushes concealed them from each other now and then. the king gave ogmund the cloak and he put it on. when they came out again upon the plain ground, ogmund and his people rode off right across the road. the gautlanders, supposing this must be the king, rode all after him, and the king proceeded to the ships. ogmund escaped with great difficulty; however, he reached the ships at last in safety. king magnus then sailed down the river, and proceeded north to viken. . meeting of the kings at the gaut river. the following summer a meeting of the kings was agreed upon at konghelle on the gaut river; and king magnus, the swedish king, inge, and the danish king, eirik sveinson, all met there, after giving each other safe conduct to the meeting. now when the thing had sat down the kings went forward upon the plain, apart from the rest of the people, and they talked with each other a little while. then they returned to their people, and a treaty was brought about, by which each should possess the dominions his forefathers had held before him; but each should make good to his own men the waste and manslaughter suffered by them, and then they should agree between themselves about settling this with each other. king magnus should marry king inge's daughter margaret, who afterwards was called peace-offering. this was proclaimed to the people; and thus, within a little hour, the greatest enemies were made the best of friends. it was observed by the people that none had ever seen men with more of the air of chiefs than these had. king inge was the largest and stoutest, and, from his age, of the most dignified appearance. king magnus appeared the most gallant and brisk, and king eirik the most handsome. but they were all handsome men; stout, gallant, and ready in speech. after this was settled they parted. . king magnus's marriage. king magnus got margaret, king inge's daughter, as above related; and she was sent from svithjod to norway with an honourable retinue. king magnus had some children before, whose names shall here be given. the one of his sons who was of a mean mother was called eystein; the other, who was a year younger, was called sigurd, and his mother's name was thora. olaf was the name of a third son, who was much younger than the two first mentioned, and whose mother was sigrid, a daughter of saxe of vik, who was a respectable man in the throndhjem country; she was the king's concubine. people say that when king magnus came home from his viking cruise to the western countries, he and many of his people brought with them a great deal of the habits and fashion of clothing of those western parts. they went about on the streets with bare legs, and had short kirtles and over-cloaks; and therefore his men called him magnus barefoot or bareleg. some called him magnus the tall, others magnus the strife-lover. he was distinguished among other men by his tall stature. the mark of his height is put down in mary church, in the merchant town of nidaros, which king harald built. in the northern door there were cut into the wall three crosses, one for harald's stature, one for olaf's, and one for magnus's; and which crosses each of them could with the greatest ease kiss. the upper was harald's cross; the lowest was magnus's; and olaf's was in the middle, about equally distant from both. it is said that magnus composed the following verses about the emperor's daughter:-- "the ring of arms where blue swords gleam, the battle-shout, the eagle's scream, the joy of war, no more can please: matilda is far o'er the seas. my sword may break, my shield be cleft, of land or life i may be reft; yet i could sleep, but for one care,-- one, o'er the seas, with light-brown hair." he also composed the following:-- "the time that breeds delay feels long, the skald feels weary of his song; what sweetens, brightens, eases life? 'tis a sweet-smiling lovely wife. my time feels long in thing affairs, in things my loved one ne'er appears. the folk full-dressed, while i am sad, talk and oppose--can i be glad?" when king magnus heard the friendly words the emperor's daughter had spoken about him--that she had said such a man as king magnus was appeared to her an excellent man, he composed the following:-- "the lover hears,--across the sea, a favouring word was breathed to me. the lovely one with light-brown hair may trust her thoughts to senseless air; her thoughts will find like thoughts in me; and though my love i cannot see, affection's thoughts fly in the wind, and meet each other, true and kind." . of the quarrel of king magnus and skopte. skopte ogmundson came into variance with king magnus, and they quarrelled about the inheritance of a deceased person which skopte retained; but the king demanded it with so much earnestness, that it had a dangerous appearance. many meetings were held about the affair, and skopte took the resolution that he and his son should never put themselves into the king's power at the same time; and besides there was no necessity to do so. when skopte was with the king he represented to him that there was relationship between the king and him; and also that he, skopte, had always been the king's friend, and his father's likewise, and that their friendship had never been shaken. he added, "people might know that i have sense enough not to hold a strife, sire, with you, if i was wrong in what i asked; but it is inherited from my ancestors to defend my rights against any man, without distinction of persons." the king was just the same on this point, and his resolution was by no means softened by such a speech. then skopte went home. . fin skoptason's proceedings. then fin skoptason went to the king, spoke with him, and entreated him to render justice to the father and son in this business. the king answers angrily and sharply. then said fin, "i expected something else, sire, from you, than that you would use the law's vexations against me when i took my seat in kvaldinsey island, which few of your other friends would do; as they said, what was true, that those who were left there were deserted and doomed to death, if king inge had not shown greater generosity to us than you did; although many consider that we brought shame and disgrace only from thence." the king was not to be moved by this speech, and fin returned home. . ogmund skoptason's proceedings. then came ogmund skoptason to the king; and when he came before him he produced his errand, and begged the king to do what was right and proper towards him and his father. the king insisted that the right was on his side, and said they were "particularly impudent." then said ogmund, "it is a very easy thing for thee, having the power, to do me and my father injustice; and i must say the old proverb is true, that one whose life you save gives none, or a very bad return. this i shall add, that never again shall i come into thy service; nor my father, if i can help it." then ogmund went home, and they never saw each other again. . skopte ogmundson's voyage abroad. the spring after, skopte ogmundson made ready to travel out of the country. they had five long-ships all well equipped. his sons, ogmund, fin, and thord, accompanied him on this journey. it was very late before they were ready, and in autumn they went over to flanders, and wintered there. early in spring they sailed westward to valland, and stayed there all summer. then they sailed further, and through norvasund; and came in autumn to rome, where skopte died. all, both father and sons, died on this journey. thord, who died in sicily, lived the longest. it is a common saying among the people that skopte was the first northman who sailed through norvasund; and this voyage was much celebrated. . miracle of king olaf the saint at a fire. it happened once in the merchant town (nidaros) where king olaf reposes, that there broke out a fire in the town which spread around. then olaf's shrine was taken out of the church, and set up opposite the fire. thereupon came a crazy foolish man, struck the shrine, threatened the holy saint, and said all must be consumed by the flames, both churches and other houses, if he did not save them by his prayers. now the burning of the church did cease, by the help of almighty god; but the insane man got sore eyes on the following night, and he lay there until king olaf entreated god almighty to be merciful to him; after which he recovered in the same church. . miracle of king olaf on a lame woman. it happened once in the merchant town that a woman was brought to the place where the holy king olaf reposes. she was so miserably shaped, that she was altogether crumpled up; so that both her feet lay in a circle against her loins. but as she was diligent in her prayers, often weeping and making vows to king olaf, he cured her great infirmities; so that feet, legs, and other limbs straightened, and every limb and part came to the right use for which they were made. before she could not creep there, and now she went away active and brisk to her family and home. . war in ireland. when king magnus had been nine years king of norway (a.d. - ), he equipped himself to go out of the country with a great force. he sailed out into the west sea with the finest men who could be got in norway. all the powerful men of the country followed him; such as sigurd hranason, vidkun jonson, dag eilifson, serk of sogn, eyvind olboge, the king's marshal ulf hranason, brother of sigurd, and many other great men. with all this armament the king sailed west to the orkney islands, from whence he took with him earl erlend's sons, magnus and erling, and then sailed to the southern hebudes. but as he lay under the scotch land, magnus erlendson ran away in the night from the king's ship, swam to the shore, escaped into the woods, and came at last to the scotch king's court. king magnus sailed to ireland with his fleet, and plundered there. king myrkjartan came to his assistance, and they conquered a great part of the country, both dublin and dyflinnarskire (dublin shire). king magnus was in winter (a.d. ) up in connaught with king myrkjartan, but set men to defend the country he had taken. towards spring both kings went westward with their army all the way to ulster, where they had many battles, subdued the country, and had conquered the greatest part of ulster when myrkjartan returned home to connaught. . king magnus's foray on the land. king magnus rigged his ships, and intended returning to norway, but set his men to defend the country of dublin. he lay at ulster ready for sea with his whole fleet. as they thought they needed cattle for ship-provision, king magnus sent a message to king myrkjartan, telling him to send some cattle for slaughter; and appointed the day before bartholomew's day as the day they should arrive, if the messengers reached him in safety; but the cattle had not made their appearance the evening before bartholomew's mass. on the mass-day itself, when the sun rose in the sky, king magnus went on shore himself with the greater part of his men, to look after his people, and to carry off cattle from the coast. the weather was calm, the sun shone, and the road lay through mires and mosses, and there were paths cut through; but there was brushwood on each side of the road. when they came somewhat farther, they reached a height from which they had a wide view. they saw from it a great dust rising up the country, as of horsemen, and they said to each other, "that must be the irish army;" but others said, "it was their own men returning with the cattle." they halted there; and eyvind olboge said, "how, sire, do you intend to direct the march? the men think we are advancing imprudently. you know the irish are treacherous; think, therefore, of a good counsel for your men." then the king said, "let us draw up our men, and be ready, if there be treachery." this was done, and the king and eyvind went before the line. king magnus had a helmet on his head; a red shield, in which was inlaid a gilded lion; and was girt with the sword of legbit, of which the hilt was of tooth (ivory), and handgrip wound about with gold thread; and the sword was extremely sharp. in his hand he had a short spear, and a red silk short cloak, over his coat, on which, both before and behind, was embroidered a lion in yellow silk; and all men acknowledged that they never had seen a brisker, statelier man. eyvind had also a red silk cloak like the king's; and he also was a stout, handsome, warlike man. . fall of king magnus. when the dust-cloud approached nearer they knew their own men, who were driving the cattle. the irish king had been faithful to the promises he had given the king, and had sent them. thereupon they all turned towards the ships, and it was mid-day. when they came to the mires they went but slowly over the boggy places; and then the irish started up on every side against them from every bushy point of land, and the battle began instantly. the northmen were going divided in various heaps, so that many of them fell. then said eyvind to the king, "unfortunate is this march to our people, and we must instantly hit upon some good plan." the king answered, "call all the men together with the war-horns under the banner, and the men who are here shall make a rampart with their shields, and thus we will retreat backwards out of the mires; and we will clear ourselves fast enough when we get upon firm ground." the irish shot boldly; and although they fell in crowds, there came always two in the place of one. now when the king had come to the nearest ditch there was a very difficult crossing, and few places were passable; so that many northmen fell there. then the king called to his lenderman thorgrim skinhufa, who was an upland man, and ordered him to go over the ditch with his division. "we shall defend you," said he, "in the meantime, so that no harm shall come to you. go out then to those holms, and shoot at them from thence; for ye are good bowmen." when thorgrim and his men came over the ditch they cast their shields behind their backs, and set off to the ships. when the king saw this, he said, "thou art deserting thy king in an unmanly way. i was foolish in making thee a lenderman, and driving sigurd hund out of the country; for never would he have behaved so." king magnus received a wound, being pierced by a spear through both thighs above the knees. the king laid hold of the shaft between his legs, broke the spear in two, and said, "thus we break spear-shafts, my lads; let us go briskly on. nothing hurts me." a little after king magnus was struck in the neck with an irish axe, and this was his death-wound. then those who were behind fled. vidkun jonson instantly killed the man who had given the king his death-wound, and fled, after having received three wounds; but brought the king's banner and the sword legbit to the ships. vidkun was the last man who fled; the other next to him was sigurd hranason, and the third before him, dag eilifson. there fell with king magnus, eyvind olboge, ulf hranason, and many other great people. many of the northmen fell, but many more of the irish. the northmen who escaped sailed away immediately in autumn. erling, earl erlend's'son, fell with king magnus in ireland; but the men who fled from ireland came to the orkney islands. now when king sigurd heard that his father had fallen, he set off immediately, leaving the irish king's daughter behind, and proceeded in autumn with the whole fleet directly to norway. . of king magnus and vidkun jonson. king magnus was ten years king of norway (a.d. - ), and in his days there was good peace kept within the country; but the people were sorely oppressed with levies. king magnus was beloved by his men, but the bondes thought him harsh. the words have been transmitted from him that he said when his friends observed that he proceeded incautiously when he was on his expeditions abroad,--"the kings are made for honour, not for long life." king magnus was nearly thirty years of age when he fell. vidkun did not fly until he had killed the man who gave the king his mortal wound, and for this cause king magnus's sons had him in the most affectionate regard. saga of sigurd the crusader and his brothers eystein and olaf. preliminary remarks. "agrip", "fagrskinna", and "morkinskinna" more or less complete the story of the sons of magnus. they contain some things omitted by snorre, while, on the other hand, some facts related by snorre are not found in the above sources. thjodrek the monk tells of sigurd that he made a journey to jerusalem, conquered many heathen cities, and among them sidon; that he captured a cave defended by robbers, received presents from baldwin, returned to norway in eystein's lifetime, and became insane, as a result, as some say, of a poisonous drink. the three brothers became kings in the year a.d. . olaf died , eystein or , sigurd . skalds quoted in this saga are: thorarin stutfeld, einar skulason, haldor skvaldre, and arne fjoruskeif. . beginning of the reign of king magnus's sons. after king magnus barefoot's fall, his sons, eystein, sigurd, and olaf, took the kingdom of norway. eystein got the northern, and sigurd the southern part of the country. king olaf was then four or five years old, and the third part of the country which he had was under the management of his two brothers. king sigurd was chosen king when he was thirteen or fourteen years old, and eystein was a year older. king sigurd left west of the sea the irish king's daughter. when king magnus's sons were chosen kings, the men who had followed skopte ogmundson returned home. some had been to jerusalem, some to constantinople; and there they had made themselves renowned, and they had many kinds of novelties to talk about. by these extraordinary tidings many men in norway were incited to the same expedition; and it was also told that the northmen who liked to go into the military service at constantinople found many opportunities of getting property. then these northmen desired much that one of the two kings, either eystein or sigurd, should go as commander of the troop which was preparing for this expedition. the kings agreed to this, and carried on the equipment at their common expense. many great men, both of the lendermen and bondes, took part in this enterprise; and when all was ready for the journey it was determined that sigurd should go, and eystein in the meantime, should rule the kingdom upon their joint account. . of the earls of orkney. a year or two after king magnus barefoot's fall, hakon, a son of earl paul, came from orkney. the kings gave him the earldom and government of the orkney islands, as the earls before him, his father paul or his uncle erland, had possessed it; and earl hakon then sailed back immediately to orkney. . king sigurd's journey out of the country. four years after the fall of king magnus (a.d. ), king sigurd sailed with his people from norway. he had then sixty ships. so says thorarin stutfeld:-- "a young king just and kind, people of loyal mind: such brave men soon agree,-- to distant lands they sail with glee. to the distant holy land a brave and pious band, magnificent and gay, in sixty long-ships glide away." king sigurd sailed in autumn to england, where henry, son of william the bastard, was then king, and sigurd remained with him all winter. so says einar skulason:-- "the king is on the waves! the storm he boldly braves. his ocean-steed, with winged speed, o'er the white-flashing surges, to england's coast he urges; and there he stays the winter o'er: more gallant king ne'er trod that shore." . of king sigurd's journey. in spring king sigurd and his fleet sailed westward to valland (a.d. ), and in autumn came to galicia, where he stayed the second winter (a.d. ). so says einar skulason:-- "our king, whose land so wide no kingdom stands beside, in jacob's land next winter spent, on holy things intent; and i have heard the royal youth cut off an earl who swerved from truth. our brave king will endure no ill,-- the hawks with him will get their fill." it went thus:--the earl who ruled over the land made an agreement with king sigurd, that he should provide king sigurd and his men a market at which they could purchase victuals all the winter; but this he did not fulfil longer than to about yule. it began then to be difficult to get food and necessaries, for it is a poor barren land. then king sigurd with a great body of men went against a castle which belonged to the earl; and the earl fled from it, having but few people. king sigurd took there a great deal of victuals and of other booty, which he put on board of his ships, and then made ready and proceeded westward to spain. it so fell out, as the king was sailing past spain, that some vikings who were cruising for plunder met him with a fleet of galleys, and king sigurd attacked them. this was his first battle with heathen men; and he won it, and took eight galleys from them. so says haldor skvaldre:-- "bold vikings, not slow to the death-fray to go, meet our norse king by chance, and their galleys advance. the bold vikings lost many a man of their host, and eight galleys too, with cargo and crew." thereafter king sigurd sailed against a castle called sintre and fought another battle. this castle is in spain, and was occupied by many heathens, who from thence plundered christian people. king sigurd took the castle, and killed every man in it, because they refused to be baptized; and he got there an immense booty. so says haldor skvaldre:-- "from spain i have much news to tell of what our generous king befell. and first he routs the viking crew, at cintra next the heathens slew; the men he treated as god's foes, who dared the true faith to oppose. no man he spared who would not take the christian faith for jesus' sake." . lisbon taken. after this king sigurd sailed with his fleet to lisbon, which is a great city in spain, half christian and half heathen; for there lies the division between christian spain and heathen spain, and all the districts which lie west of the city are occupied by heathens. there king sigurd had his third battle with the heathens, and gained the victory, and with it a great booty. so says haldor skvaldre:-- "the son of kings on lisbon's plains a third and bloody battle gains. he and his norsemen boldly land, running their stout ships on the strand." then king sigurd sailed westwards along heathen spain, and brought up at a town called alkasse; and here he had his fourth battle with the heathens, and took the town, and killed so many people that the town was left empty. they got there also immense booty. so says haldor skvaldre:-- "a fourth great battle, i am told, our norse king and his people hold at alkasse; and here again the victory fell to our norsemen." and also this verse:-- "i heard that through the town he went, and heathen widows' wild lament resounded in the empty halls; for every townsman flies or falls." . battle in the island forminterra. king sigurd then proceeded on his voyage, and came to norfasund; and in the sound he was met by a large viking force, and the king gave them battle; and this was his fifth engagement with heathens since the time he left norway. he gained the victory here also. so says haldor skvaldre:-- "ye moistened your dry swords with blood, as through norfasund ye stood; the screaming raven got a feast, as ye sailed onward to the east." king sigurd then sailed eastward along the coast of serkland, and came to an island there called forminterra. there a great many heathen moors had taken up their dwelling in a cave, and had built a strong stone wall before its mouth. they harried the country all round, and carried all their booty to their cave. king sigurd landed on this island, and went to the cave; but it lay in a precipice, and there was a high winding path to the stone wall, and the precipice above projected over it. the heathens defended the stone wall, and were not afraid of the northmen's arms; for they could throw stones, or shoot down upon the northmen under their feet; neither did the northmen, under such circumstances, dare to mount up. the heathens took their clothes and other valuable things, carried them out upon the wall, spread them out before the northmen, shouted, and defied them, and upbraided them as cowards. then sigurd fell upon this plan. he had two ship's boats, such as we call barks, drawn up the precipice right above the mouth of the cave; and had thick ropes fastened around the stem, stern, and hull of each. in these boats as many men went as could find room, and then the boats were lowered by the ropes down in front of the mouth of the cave; and the men in the boats shot with stones and missiles into the cave, and the heathens were thus driven from the stone wall. then sigurd with his troops climbed up the precipice to the foot of the stone wall, which they succeeded in breaking down, so that they came into the cave. now the heathens fled within the stone wall that was built across the cave; on which the king ordered large trees to be brought to the cave, made a great pile in the mouth of it, and set fire to the wood. when the fire and smoke got the upper hand, some of the heathens lost their lives in it; some fled; some fell by the hands of the northmen; and part were killed, part burned; and the northmen made the greatest booty they had got on all their expeditions. so says halder skvaldre:-- "forminterra lay in the victor's way; his ships' stems fly to victory. the bluemen there must fire bear, and norsemen's steel at their hearts feel." and also thus:-- "'twas a feat of renown,-- the boat lowered down, with a boat's crew brave, in front of the cave; while up the rock scaling, and comrades up trailing, the norsemen gain, and the bluemen are slain." and also thorarin stutfeld says:-- "the king's men up the mountain's side drag two boats from the ocean's tide; the two boats lay, like hill-wolves grey. now o'er the rock in ropes they're swinging well manned, and death to bluemen bringing; they hang before the robber's door." . of the battles of iviza and minorca. thereafter king sigurd proceeded on his expedition, and came to an island called iviza (ivica), and had there his seventh battle, and gained a victory. so says haldor skvaldre:-- "his ships at ivica now ride, the king's, whose fame spreads far and wide; and hear the bearers of the shield their arms again in battle wield." thereafter king sigurd came to an island called manork (minorca), and held there his eighth battle with heathen men, and gained the victory. so says haldor skvaldre:-- "on green minorca's plains the eighth battle now he gains: again the heathen foe falls at the norse king's blow." . duke roger made a king. in spring king sigurd came to sicily (a.d. ), and remained a long time there. there was then a duke roger in sicily, who received the king kindly, and invited him to a feast. king sigurd came to it with a great retinue, and was splendidly entertained. every day duke roger stood at the company's table, doing service to the king; but the seventh day of the feast, when the people had come to table, and had wiped their hands, king sigurd took the duke by the hand, led him up to the high-seat, and saluted him with the title of king; and gave the right that there should be always a king over the dominion of sicily, although before there had only been earls or dukes over that country. . of king roger. king roger of sicily was a very great king. he won and subdued all apulia, and many large islands besides in the greek sea; and therefore he was called roger the great. his son was william, king of sicily, who for a long time had great hostility with the emperor of constantinople. king william had three daughters, but no son. one of his daughters he married to the emperor henry, a son of the emperor frederik; and their son was frederik, who for a short time after was emperor of rome. his second daughter was married to the duke of kipr. the third daughter, margaret, was married to the chief of the corsairs; but the emperor henry killed both these brothers-in-law. the daughter of roger the great, king of sicily, was married to the emperor manuel of constantinople; and their son was the emperor kirjalax. . king sigurd's expedition to palestine. in the summer (a.d. ) king sigurd sailed across the greek sea to palestine, and thereupon went up to jerusalem, where he met baldwin, king of palestine. king baldwin received him particularly well, and rode with him all the way to the river jordan, and then back to the city of jerusalem. einar skulason speaks thus of it:-- "good reason has the skald to sing the generous temper of the king, whose sea-cold keel from northern waves ploughs the blue sea that green isles laves. at acre scarce were we made fast, in holy ground our anchors cast, when the king made a joyful morn to all who toil with him had borne." and again he made these lines:-- "to jerusalem he came, he who loves war's noble game, (the skald no greater monarch finds beneath the heaven's wide hall of winds) all sin and evil from him flings in jordan's wave: for all his sins (which all must praise) he pardon wins." king sigurd stayed a long time in the land of jerusalem (jorsalaland) in autumn, and in the beginning of winter. . sidon taken. king baldwin made a magnificent feast for king sigurd and many of his people, and gave him many holy relics. by the orders of king baldwin and the patriarch, there was taken a splinter off the holy cross; and on this holy relic both made oath, that this wood was of the holy cross upon which god himself had been tortured. then this holy relic was given to king sigurd; with the condition that he, and twelve other men with him, should swear to promote christianity with all his power, and erect an archbishop's seat in norway if he could; and also that the cross should be kept where the holy king olaf reposed, and that he should introduce tithes, and also pay them himself. after this king sigurd returned to his ships at acre; and then king baldwin prepared to go to syria, to a heathen town called saet. on this expedition king sigurd accompanied him, and after the kings had besieged the town some time it surrendered, and they took possession of it, and of a great treasure of money; and their men found other booty. king sigurd made a present of his share to king baldwin. so say haldor skvaldre:-- "he who for wolves provides the feast seized on the city in the east, the heathen nest; and honour drew, and gold to give, from those he slew." einar skulason also tells of it:-- "the norsemen's king, the skalds relate, has ta'en the heathen town of saet: the slinging engine with dread noise gables and roofs with stones destroys. the town wall totters too,--it falls; the norsemen mount the blackened walls. he who stains red the raven's bill has won,--the town lies at his will." thereafter king sigurd went to his ships and made ready to leave palestine. they sailed north to the island cyprus; and king sigurd stayed there a while, and then went to the greek country, and came to the land with all his fleet at engilsnes. here he lay still for a fortnight, although every day it blew a breeze for going before the wind to the north; but sigurd would wait a side wind, so that the sails might stretch fore and aft in the ship; for in all his sails there was silk joined in, before and behind in the sail, and neither those before nor those behind the ships could see the slightest appearance of this, if the vessel was before the wind; so they would rather wait a side wind. . sigurd's expedition to constantinople. when king sigurd sailed into constantinople, he steered near the land. over all the land there are burghs, castles, country towns, the one upon the other without interval. there from the land one could see into the bights of the sails; and the sails stood so close beside each other, that they seemed to form one enclosure. all the people turned out to see king sigurd sailing past. the emperor kirjalax had also heard of king sigurd's expedition, and ordered the city port of constantinople to be opened, which is called the gold tower, through which the emperor rides when he has been long absent from constantinople, or has made a campaign in which he has been victorious. the emperor had precious cloths spread out from the gold tower to laktjarna, which is the name of the emperor's most splendid hall. king sigurd ordered his men to ride in great state into the city, and not to regard all the new things they might see; and this they did. king sigurd and his followers rode with this great splendour into constantinople, and then came to the magnificent hall, where everything was in the grandest style. king sigurd remained here some time. the emperor kirjalax sent his men to him to ask if he would rather accept from the emperor six lispund of gold, or would have the emperor give the games in his honour which the emperor was used to have played at the padreim. king sigurd preferred the games, and the messengers said the spectacle would not cost the emperor less than the money offered. then the emperor prepared for the games, which were held in the usual way; but this day everything went on better for the king than for the queen; for the queen has always the half part in the games, and their men, therefore, always strive against each other in all games. the greeks accordingly think that when the king's men win more games at the padreim than the queen's, the king will gain the victory when he goes into battle. people who have been in constantinople tell that the padreim is thus constructed:--a high wall surrounds a flat plain, which may be compared to a round bare thing-place, with earthen banks all around at the stone wall, on which banks the spectators sit; but the games themselves are in the flat plain. there are many sorts of old events represented concerning the asas, volsungs, and giukungs, in these games; and all the figures are cast in copper, or metal, with so great art that they appear to be living things; and to the people it appears as if they were really present in the games. the games themselves are so artfully and cleverly managed, that people appear to be riding in the air; and at them also are used shot-fire ( ), and all kinds of harp-playing, singing, and music instruments. endnotes: ( ) fireworks, or the greek fire, probably were used.--l. . sigurd and the emperor of constantinople. it is related that king sigurd one day was to give the emperor a feast, and he ordered his men to provide sumptuously all that was necessary for the entertainment; and when all things were provided which are suitable for an entertainment given by a great personage to persons of high dignity, king sigurd ordered his men to go to the street in the city where firewood was sold, as they would require a great quantity to prepare the feast. they said the king need not be afraid of wanting firewood, for every day many loads were brought into the town. when it was necessary, however, to have firewood, it was found that it was all sold, which they told the king. he replied, "go and try if you can get walnuts. they will answer as well as wood for fuel." they went and got as many as they needed. now came the emperor, and his grandees and court, and sat down to table. all was very splendid; and king sigurd received the emperor with great state, and entertained him magnificently. when the queen and the emperor found that nothing was wanting, she sent some persons to inquire what they had used for firewood; and they came to a house filled with walnuts, and they came back and told the queen. "truly," said she, "this is a magnificent king, who spares no expense where his honour is concerned." she had contrived this to try what they would do when they could get no firewood to dress their feast with. . king sigurd the crusader's return home. king sigurd soon after prepared for his return home. he gave the emperor all his ships; and the valuable figureheads which were on the king's ships were set up in peter's church, where they have since been to be seen. the emperor gave the king many horses and guides to conduct him through all his dominions. then king sigurd left constantinople; but a great many northmen remained, and went into the emperor's pay. then king sigurd traveled from bulgaria, and through hungary, pannonia. suabia, and bavaria, where he met the roman emperor, lotharius, who received him in the most friendly way, gave him guides through his dominions, and had markets established for him at which he could purchase all he required. when king sigurd came to slesvik in denmark, earl eilif made a sumptuous feast for him; and it was then midsummer. in heidaby he met the danish king, nikolas, who received him in the most friendly way, made a great entertainment for him, accompanied him north to jutland, and gave him a ship provided with everything needful. from thence the king returned to norway, and was joyfully welcomed on his return to his kingdom (a.d. ). it was the common talk among the people, that none had ever made so honourable a journey from norway as this of king sigurd. he was twenty years of age, and had been three years on these travels. his brother olaf was then twelve years old. . eystein's doings in the meantime. king eystein had also effected much in the country that was useful while king sigurd was on his journey. he established a monastery at nordnes in bergen, and endowed it with much property. he also built michael's church, which is a very splendid stone temple. in the king's house there he also built the church of the apostles, and the great hall, which is the most magnificent wooden structure that was ever built in norway. he also built a church at agdanes with a parapet; and a harbour, where formerly there had been a barren spot only. in nidaros he built in the king's street the church of saint nikolas, which was particularly ornamented with carved work, and all in wood. he also built a church north in vagar in halogaland, and endowed it with property and revenues. . of king eystein. king eystein sent a verbal message to the most intelligent and powerful of the men of jamtaland, and invited them to him; received them all as they came with great kindness; accompanied them part of the way home, and gave them presents, and thus enticed them into a friendship with him. now as many of them became accustomed to visit him and receive gifts from him, and he also sent gifts to some who did not come themselves, he soon gained the favour of all the people who had most influence in the country. then he spoke to the jamtaland people, and told them they had done ill in turning away from the kings of norway, and withdrawing from them their taxes and allegiance. he began by saying how the jamtaland people had submitted to the reign of hakon, the foster-son of athelstane, and had long afterwards been subjected to the kings of norway, and he represented to them how many useful things they could get from norway, and how inconvenient it was for them to apply to the swedish king for what they needed. by these speeches he brought matters so far that the jamtaland people of their own accord offered to be subject to him, which they said was useful and necessary for them; and thus, on both sides, it was agreed that the jamtalanders should put their whole country under king eystein. the first beginning was with the men of consequence, who persuaded the people to take an oath of fidelity to king eystein; and then they went to king eystein and confirmed the country to him by oath; and this arrangement has since continued for a long time. king eystein thus conquered jamtaland by his wisdom, and not by hostile inroads, as some of his forefathers had done. . of king eystein's perfections. king eystein was the handsomest man that could be seen. he had blue open eyes; his hair yellow and curling; his stature not tall, but of the middle size. he was wise, intelligent, and acquainted with the laws and history. he had much knowledge of mankind, was quick in counsel, prudent in words, and very eloquent and very generous. he was very merry, yet modest; and was liked and beloved, indeed, by all the people. he was married to ingebjorg, a daughter of guthorm, son of thorer of steig; and their daughter was maria, who afterwards married gudbrand skafhogson. . of ivar ingimundson. king eystein had in many ways improved the laws and priveleges of the country people, and kept strictly to the laws; and he made himself acquainted with all the laws of norway, and showed in everything great prudence and understanding. what a valuable man king eystein was, how full of friendship, and how much he turned his mind to examining and avoiding everything that could be of disadvantage to his friends, may be seen from his friendship to an iceland man called ivar ingimundson. the man was witty, of great family, and also a poet. the king saw that ivar was out of spirits, and asked him why he was so melancholy. "before, when thou wast with us, we had much amusement with thy conversation. i know thou art a man of too good an understanding to believe that i would do anything against thee. tell me then what it is." he replied, "i cannot tell thee what it is." then said the king, "i will try to guess what it is. are there any men who displease thee?" to this he replied, "no." "dost thou think thou art held in less esteem by me than thou wouldst like to be?" to this he also replied, "no." "hast thou observed anything whatever that has made an impression on thee at which thou art ill pleased?" he replied, it was not this either. the king: "would you like to go to other chiefs or to other men?" to this he answered, "no." the king: "it is difficult now to guess. is there any girl here, or in any other country, to whom thy affections are engaged?" he said it was so. the king said, "do not be melancholy on that account. go to iceland when spring sets in, and i shall give thee money, and presents, and with these my letters and seal to the men who have the principal sway there; and i know no man there who will not obey my persuasions or threats." ivar replied, "my fate is heavier, sire; for my own brother has the girl." then said the king, "throw it out of thy mind; and i know a counsel against this. after yule i will travel in guest-quarters. thou shalt come along with me, and thou will have an opportunity of seeing many beautiful girls; and, provided they are not of the royal stock, i will get thee one of them in marriage." ivar replies, "sire, my fate is still the heavier; for as oft as i see beautiful and excellent girls i only remember the more that girl, and they increase my misery." the king: "then i will give thee property to manage, and estates for thy amusement." he replied, "for that i have no desire." the king: "then i will give thee money, that thou mayest travel in other countries." he said he did not wish this. then said the king, "it is difficult for me to seek farther, for i have proposed everything that occurs to me. there is but one thing else; and that is but little compared to what i have offered thee. come to me every day after the tables are removed, and, if i am not sitting upon important business, i shall talk with thee about the girl in every way that i can think of; and i shall do so at leisure. it sometimes happens that sorrow is lightened by being brought out openly; and thou shalt never go away without some gift." he replied, "this i will do, sire, and return thanks for this inquiry." and now they did so constantly; and when the king was not occupied with weightier affairs he talked with him, and his sorrow by degrees wore away, and he was again in good spirits. . of king sigurd. king sigurd was a stout and strong man, with brown hair; of a manly appearance, but not handsome; well grown; of little speech, and often not friendly, but good to his friends, and faithful; not very eloquent, but moral and polite. king sigurd was self-willed, and severe in his revenge; strict in observing the law; was generous; and withal an able, powerful king. his brother olaf was a tall, thin man; handsome in countenance; lively, modest, and popular. when all these brothers, eystein, sigurd and olaf were kings of norway, they did away with many burthens which the danes had laid upon the people in the time that svein alfifason ruled norway; and on this account they were much beloved, both by the people and the great men of the country. . of king sigurd's dream. once king sigurd fell into low spirits, so that few could get him to converse, and he sat but a short time at the drinking table. this was heavy on his counsellors, friends, and court; and they begged king eystein to consider how they could discover the cause why the people who came to the king could get no reply to what they laid before him. king eystein answered them, that it was difficult to speak with the king about this; but at last, on the entreaty of many, he promised to do it. once, when they were both together, king eystein brought the matter before his brother, and asked the cause of his melancholy. "it is a great grief, sire, to many to see thee so melancholy; and we would like to know what has occasioned it, or if perchance thou hast heard any news of great weight?" king sigurd replies, that it was not so. "is it then, brother," says king eystein, "that you would like to travel out of the country, and augment your dominions as our father did?" he answered, that it was not that either. "is it, then, that any man here in the country has offended?" to this also the king said "no." "then i would like to know if you have dreamt anything that has occasioned this depression of mind?" the king answered that it was so. "tell me, then, brother, thy dream." king sigurd said, "i will not tell it, unless thou interpret it as it may turn out; and i shall be quick at perceiving if thy interpretation be right or not." king eystein replies, "this is a very difficult matter, sire, on both sides; as i am exposed to thy anger if i cannot interpret it, and to the blame of the public if i can do nothing in the matter; but i will rather fall under your displeasure, even if my interpretation should not be agreeable." king sigurd replies, "it appeared to me, in a dream, as if we brothers were all sitting on a bench in front of christ church in throndhjem; and it appeared to me as if our relative, king olaf the saint, came out of the church adorned with the royal raiment glancing and splendid, and with the most delightful and joyful countenance. he went to our brother king olaf, took him by the hand, and said cheerfully, to him, 'come with me, friend.' on which he appeared to stand up and go into the church. soon after king olaf the saint came out of the church, but not so gay and brilliant as before. now he went to thee, brother, and said to thee that thou shouldst go with him; on which he led thee with him, and ye went into the church. then i thought, and waited for it, that he would come to me, and meet me; but it was not so. then i was seized with great sorrow, and great dread and anxiety fell upon me, so that i was altogether without strength; and then i awoke." king eystein replies, "thus i interpret your dream, sire,--that the bench betokens the kingdom we brothers have; and as you thought king olaf came with so glad a countenance to our brother, king olaf, he will likely live the shortest time of us brothers, and have all good to expect hereafter; for he is amiable, young in years, and has gone but little into excess, and king olaf the saint must help him. but as you thought he came towards me, but not with so much joy, i may possibly live a few years longer, but not become old, and i trust his providence will stand over me; but that he did not come to me with the same splendour and glory as to our brother olaf, that will be because, in many ways, i have sinned and transgressed his command. if he delayed coming to thee, i think that in no way betokens thy death, but rather a long life; but it may be that some heavy accident may occur to thee, as there was an unaccountable dread overpowering thee; but i foretell that thou will be the oldest of us, and wilt rule the kingdom longest." then said sigurd, "this is well and intelligently interpreted, and it is likely it will be so." and now the king began to be cheerful again. . of king sigurd's marriage. king sigurd married malmfrid, a daughter of king harald valdemarson, eastward in novgorod. king harald valdemarson's mother was queen gyda the old, a daughter of the swedish king, inge steinkelson. harald valdemarson's other daughter, sister to malmfrid, was ingebjorg, who was married to canute lavard, a son of the danish king, eirik the good, and grandson of king svein ulfson. canute's and ingebjorg's children were, the danish king, valdemar, who came to the danish kingdom after svein eirikson; and daughters margaret, christina, and catherine. margaret was married to stig hvitaled; and their daughter was christina, married to the swedish king, karl sorkvison, and their son was king sorkver. . of the cases before the thing. the king's relative, sigurd hranason, came into strife with king sigurd. he had had the lapland collectorship on the king's account, because of their relationship and long friendship, and also of the many services sigurd hranason had done to the kings; for he was a very distinguished, popular man. but it happened to him, as it often does to others, that persons more wicked and jealous than upright slandered him to king sigurd, and whispered in the king's ear that he took more of the laplander's tribute to himself than was proper. they spoke so long about this, that king sigurd conceived a dislike and anger to him, and sent a message to him. when he appeared before the king, the king carried these feelings with him, and said, "i did not expect that thou shouldst have repaid me for thy great fiefs and other dignities by taking the king's property, and abstracting a greater portion of it than is allowable." sigurd hranason replies, "it is not true that has been told you; for i have only taken such portion as i had your permission to take." king sigurd replies, "thou shalt not slip away with this; but the matter shall be seriously treated before it comes to an end." with that they parted. soon after, by the advice of his friends, the king laid an action against sigurd hranason at the thing-meeting in bergen, and would have him made an outlaw. now when the business took this turn, and appeared so dangerous, sigurd hranason went to king eystein, and told him what mischief king sigurd intended to do him, and entreated his assistance. king eystein replied, "this is a difficult matter that you propose to me, to speak against my brother; and there is a great difference between defending a cause and pursuing it in law;" and added, that this was a matter which concerned him and sigurd equally. "but for thy distress, and our relationship, i shall bring in a word for thee." soon after eystein visited king sigurd, and entreated him to spare the man, reminding him of the relationship between them and sigurd hranason, who was married to their aunt, skialdvor; and said he would pay the penalty for the crime committed against the king, although he could not with truth impute any blame to him in the matter. besides, he reminded the king of the long friendship with sigurd hranason. king sigurd replied, that it was better government to punish such acts. then king eystein replied, "if thou, brother, wilt follow the law, and punish such acts according to the country's privileges, then it would be most correct that sigurd hranason produce his witnesses, and that the case be judged at the thing, but not at a meeting; for the case comes under the law of the land, not under bjarkey law." then said sigurd, "it may possibly be so that the case belongs to it, as thou sayest, king eystein; and if it be against law what has hitherto been done in this case, then we shall bring it before the thing." then the kings parted, and each seemed determined to take his own way. king sigurd summoned the parties in the case before the arnarnes thing, and intended to pursue it there. king eystein came also to the thing-place; and when the case was brought forward for judgment, king eystein went to the thing before judgment was given upon sigurd hranason. now king sigurd told the lagmen to pronounce the judgment; but king eystein replied thus: "i trust there are here men acquainted sufficiently with the laws of norway, to know that they cannot condemn a lendermen to be outlawed at this thing." and he then explained how the law was, so that every man clearly understood it. then said king sigurd, "thou art taking up this matter very warmly, king eystein, and it is likely the case will cost more trouble before it comes to an end than we intended; but nevertheless we shall follow it out. i will have him condemned to be outlawed in his native place." then said king eystein, "there are certainly not many things which do not succeed with thee, and especially when there are but few and small folks to oppose one who has carried through such great things." and thus they parted, without anything being concluded in the case. thereafter king sigurd called together a gula thing, went himself there, and summoned to him many high chiefs. king eystein came there also with his suite; and many meetings and conferences were held among people of understanding concerning this case, and it was tried and examined before the lagmen. now king eystein objected that all the parties summoned in any cases tried here belonged to the thing-district; but in this case the deed and the parties belonged to halogaland. the thing accordingly ended in doing nothing, as king eystein had thus made it incompetent. the kings parted in great wrath; and king eystein went north to throndhjem. king sigurd, on the other hand, summoned to him all lendermen, and also the house-servants of the lendermen, and named out of every district a number of the bondes from the south parts of the country, so that he had collected a large army about him; and proceeded with all this crowd northwards along the coast to halogaland, and intended to use all his power to make sigurd hranason an outlaw among his own relations. for this purpose he summoned to him the halogaland and naumudal people, and appointed a thing at hrafnista. king eystein prepared himself also, and proceeded with many people from the town of nidaros to the thing, where he made sigurd hranason, by hand-shake before witnesses, deliver over to him the following and defending this case. at this thing both the kings spoke, each for his own side. then king eystein asks the lagmen where that law was made in norway which gave the bondes the right to judge between the kings of the country, when they had pleas with each other. "i shall bring witnesses to prove that sigurd has given the case into my hands; and it is with me, not with sigurd hranason, that king sigurd has to do in this case." the lagmen said that disputes between kings must be judged only at the eyra thing in nidaros. king eystein said, "so i thought that it should be there, and the cases must be removed there." then king sigurd said, "the more difficulties and inconvenience thou bringest upon me in this matter, the more i will persevere in it." and with that they parted. both kings then went south to nidaros town, where they summoned a thing from eight districts. king eystein was in the town with a great many people, but sigurd was on board his ships. when the thing was opened, peace and safe conduct was given to all; and when the people were all collected, and the case should be gone into, bergthor, a son of svein bryggjufot, stood up, and gave his evidence that sigurd hranason had concealed a part of the laplanders' taxes. then king eystein stood up and said, "if thy accusation were true, although we do not know what truth there may be in thy testimony, yet this case has already been dismissed from three things, and a fourth time from a town meeting; and therefore i require that the lagmen acquit sigurd in this case according to law." and they did so. then said king sigurd, "i see sufficiently, king eystein, that thou hast carried this case by law-quirks ( ), which i do not understand. but now there remains, king eystein, a way of determining the case which i am more used to, and which i shall now apply." he then retired to his ships, had the tents taken down, laid his whole fleet out at the holm, and held a thing of his people; and told them that early in the morning they should land at iluvellir, and give battle to king eystein. but in the evening, as king sigurd sat at his table in his ship taking his repast, before he was aware of it a man cast himself on the floor of the forehold, and at the king's feet. this was sigurd hranason, who begged the king to take what course with regard to him the king himself thought proper. then came bishop magne and queen malmfrid, and many other great personages, and entreated forgiveness for sigurd hranason; and at their entreaty the king raised him up, took him by the hand, and placed him among his men, and took him along with himself to the south part of the country. in autumn the king gave sigurd hranason leave to go north to his farm, gave him an employment, and was always afterward his friend. after this day, however, the brothers were never much together, and there was no cordiality or cheerfulness among them. endnotes: ( ) these law-quirks show a singularly advanced state of law. and deference to the law things, amidst such social disorder and misdeeds.--l. . of king olaf's death. king olaf magnuson fell into a sickness which ended in his death. he was buried in christ church in nidaros, and many were in great grief at his death. after olaf's death, eystein and sigurd ruled the country, the three brothers together having been kings of norway for twelve years (a.d. - ); namely, five years after king sigurd returned home, and seven years before. king olaf was seventeen years old when he died, and it happened on the th of december. . magnus the blind; his birth. king eystein had been about a year in the east part of the country at that time, and king sigurd was then in the north. king eystein remained a long time that winter in sarpsborg. there was once a powerful and rich bonde called olaf of dal, who dwelt in great dal in aumord, and had two children,--a son called hakon fauk, and a daughter called borghild, who was a very beautiful girl, and prudent, and well skilled in many things. olaf and his children were a long time in winter in sarpsborg, and borghild conversed very often with king eystein; so that many reports were spread about their friendship. the following summer king eystein went north, and king sigurd came eastward, where he remained all winter, and was long in konungahella, which town he greatly enlarged and improved. he built there a great castle of turf and stone, dug a great ditch around it, and built a church and several houses within the castle. the holy cross he allowed to remain at konungahella, and therein did not fulfill the oath he had taken in palestine; but, on the other hand, he established tithe, and most of the other things to which he had bound himself by oath. the reason of his keeping the cross east at the frontier of the country was, that he thought it would be a protection to all the land; but it proved the greatest misfortune to place this relic within the power of the heathens, as it afterwards turned out. when borghild, olaf's daughter, heard it whispered that people talked ill of her conversations and intimacy with king eystein, she went to sarpsborg; and after suitable fasts she carried the iron as proof of her innocence, and cleared herself thereby fully from all offence. when king sigurd heard this, he rode one day as far as usually was two days' travelling, and came to dal to olaf, where he remained all night, made borghild his concubine, and took her away with him. they had a son, who was called magnus, and he was sent immediately to halogaland, to be fostered at bjarkey by vidkun jonson; and he was brought up there. magnus grew up to be the handsomest man that could be seen, and was very soon stout and strong. . comparison between the two kings. king eystein and king sigurd went both in spring to guest-quarters in the uplands; and each was entertained in a separate house, and the houses were not very distant from each other. the bondes, however, thought it more convenient that both should be entertained together by turns in each house; and thus they were both at first in the house of king eystein. but in the evening, when the people began to drink, the ale was not good; so that the guests were very quiet and still. then said king eystein, "why are the people so silent? it is more usual in drinking parties that people are merry, so let us fall upon some jest over our ale that will amuse people; for surely, brother sigurd, all people are well pleased when we talk cheerfully." sigurd replies, bluntly, "do you talk as much as you please, but give me leave to be silent." eystein says, "it is a common custom over the ale-table to compare one person with another, and now let us do so." then sigurd was silent. "i see," says king eystein, "that i must begin this amusement. now i will take thee, brother, to compare myself with, and will make it appear so as if we had both equal reputation and property, and that there is no difference in our birth and education." then king sigurd replies, "do you remember that i was always able to throw you when we wrestled, although you are a year older?" then king eystein replied, "but i remember that you was not so good at the games which require agility." sigurd: "do you remember that i could drag you under water, when we swam together, as often as i pleased?" eystein: "but i could swim as far as you, and could dive as well as you; and i could run upon snow-skates so well that nobody could beat me, and you could no more do it than an ox." sigurd: "methinks it is a more useful and suitable accomplishment for a chief to be expert at his bow; and i think you could scarcely draw my bow, even if you took your foot to help." eystein: "i am not strong at the bow as you are, but there is less difference between our shooting near; and i can use the skees much better than you, and in former times that was held a great accomplishment." sigurd: "it appears to me much better for a chief who is to be the superior of other men, that he is conspicuous in a crowd, and strong and powerful in weapons above other men; easily seen, and easily known, where there are many together." eystein: "it is not less a distinction and an ornament that a man is of a handsome appearance, so as to be easily known from others on that account; and this appears to me to suit a chief best, because the best ornament is allied to beauty. i am moreover more knowing in the law than you, and on every subject my words flow more easily than yours." sigurd: "it may be that you know more law-quirks, for i have had something else to do; neither will any deny you a smooth tongue. but there are many who say that your words are not to be trusted; that what you promise is little to be regarded; and that you talk just according to what those who are about you say, which is not kingly." eystein: "this is because, when people bring their cases before me, i wish first to give every man that satisfaction in his affairs which he desires; but afterwards comes the opposite party, and then there is something to be given or taken away very often, in order to mediate between them, so that both may be satisfied. it often happens, too, that i promise whatever is desired of me, that all may be joyful about me. it would be an easy matter for me to do as you do,--to promise evil to all; and i never hear any complain of your not keeping this promise to them." sigurd: "it is the conversation of all that the expedition that i made out of the country was a princely expedition, while you in the meantime sat at home like your father's daughter." eystein: "now you touched the tender spot. i would not have brought up this conversation if i had not known what to reply on this point. i can truly say that i equipt you from home like a sister, before you went upon this expedition." sigurd: "you must have heard that on this expedition i was in many a battle in the saracen's land, and gained the victory in all; and you must have heard of the many valuable articles i acquired, the like of which were never seen before in this country, and i was the most respected wherever the most gallant men were; and, on the other hand, you cannot conceal that you have only a home-bred reputation." eystein: "i have heard that you had several battles abroad, but it was more useful for the country what i was doing in the meantime here at home. i built five churches from the foundations, and a harbour out at agdanes, where it before was impossible to land, and where vessels ply north and south along the coast. i set a warping post and iron ring in the sound of sinholm, and in bergen i built a royal hall, while you were killing bluemen for the devil in serkland. this, i think, was of but little advantage to our kingdom." king sigurd said: "on this expedition i went all the way to jordan and swam across the river. on the edge of the river there is a bush of willows, and there i twisted a knot of willows, and said this knot thou shouldst untie, brother, or take the curse thereto attached." king eystein said: "i shall not go and untie the knot which you tied for me; but if i had been inclined to tie a knot for thee, thou wouldst not have been king of norway at thy return to this country, when with a single ship you came sailing into my fleet." thereupon both were silent, and there was anger on both sides. more things passed between the brothers, from which it appeared that each of them would be greater than the other; however, peace was preserved between them as long as they lived. . of king sigurd's sickness. king sigurd was at a feast in the upland, and a bath was made ready for him. when the king came to the bath and the tent was raised over the bathing-tub, the king thought there was a fish in the tub beside him; and a great laughter came upon him, so that he was beside himself, and was out of his mind, and often afterwards these fits returned. magnus barefoot's daughter, ragnhild, was married by her brothers to harald kesia, a son of the danish king, eirik the good; and their sons were magnus, olaf, knut and harald. . of king eystein's death. king eystein built a large ship at nidaros, which, in size and shape, was like the long serpent which king olaf trygvason had built. at the stem there was a dragon's head, and at the stern a crooked tail, and both were gilded over. the ship was high-sided; but the fore and aft parts appeared less than they should be. he also made in nidaros many and large dry-docks of the best material, and well timbered. six years after king olaf's death, it happened that king eystein, at a feast at hustadir in stim, was seized with an illness which soon carried him off. he died the th of august, , and his body was carried north to nidaros, and buried in christ church; and it is generally said that so many mourners never stood over any man's grave in norway as over king eystein's, at least since the time magnus the good, saint olaf's son, died. eystein had been twenty years (a.d. - ) king of norway; and after his decease his brother, king sigurd, was the sole king of norway as long as he lived. . baptizing the people of smaland. the danish king, nikolas, a son of svein ulfson, married afterwards the queen margaret, a daughter of king inge, who had before been married to king magnus barefoot; and their sons were nikolas and magnus the strong. king nikolas sent a message to king sigurd the crusader, and asked him if he would go with him with all his might and help him to the east of the swedish dominion, smaland, to baptize the inhabitants; for the people who dwelt there had no regard for christianity, although some of them had allowed themselves to be baptized. at that time there were many people all around in the swedish dominions who were heathens, and many were bad christians; for there were some of the kings who renounced christianity, and continued heathen sacrifices, as blotsvein, and afterwards eirik arsale, had done. king sigurd promised to undertake this journey, and the kings appointed their meeting at eyrarsund. king sigurd then summoned all people in norway to a levy, both of men and ships; and when the fleet was assembled he had about ships. king nikolas came very early to the meeting-place, and stayed there a long time; and the bondes murmured much, and said the northmen did not intend to come. thereupon the danish army dispersed, and the king went away with all his fleet. king sigurd came there soon afterwards, and was ill pleased; but sailed east to svimraros, and held a house-thing, at which sigurd spoke about king nikolas's breach of faith, and the northmen, on this account, determined to go marauding in his country. they first plundered a village called tumathorp, which is not far from lund; and then sailed east to the merchant-town of calmar, where they plundered, as well as in smaland, and imposed on the country a tribute of cattle for ship provision; and the people of smaland received christianity. after this king sigurd turned about with his fleet, and came back to his kingdom with many valuable articles and great booty, which he had gathered on this expedition; and this levy was called the calmar levy. this was the summer before the eclipse. this was the only levy king sigurd carried out as long as he was king. . of thorarin stutfeld. it happened once when king sigurd was going from the drinking-table to vespers, that his men were very drunk and merry; and many of them sat outside the church singing the evening song, but their singing was very irregular. then the king said, "who is that fellow i see standing at the church with a skin jacket on?" they answered, that they did not know. then the king said:-- "this skin-clad man, in sorry plight, puts all our wisdom here to flight." then the fellow came forward and said:-- "i thought that here i might be known, although my dress is scanty grown. 'tis poor, but i must be content: unless, great king, it's thy intent to give me better; for i have seen when i and rags had strangers been." the king answered, "come to me to-morrow when i am at the drink-table." the night passed away; and the morning after the icelander, who was afterwards called thorarin stutfetd, went into the drinking-room. a man stood outside of the door of the room with a horn in his hand, and said, "icelander! the king says that if thou wilt deserve any gift from him thou shalt compose a song before going in, and make it about a man whose name is hakon serkson, and who is called morstrut ( ); and speak about that surname in thy song." the man who spoke to him was called arne fioruskeif. then they went into the room; and when thorarin came before the king's seat he recited these verses:-- "throndhjem's warrior-king has said the skald should be by gifts repaid, if he before this meeting gave the king's friend serk a passing stave. the generous king has let me know my stave, to please, must be framed so that my poor verse extol the fame of one called hakon lump by name." then said the king, "i never said so, and somebody has been making a mock of thee. hakon himself shall determine what punishment thou shalt have. go into his suite." hakon said, "he shall be welcome among us, for i can see where the joke came from;" and he placed the icelander at his side next to himself, and they were very merry. the day was drawing to a close, and the liquor began to get into their heads, when hakon said, "dost thou not think, icelander, that thou owest me some penalty? and dost thou not see that some trick has been played upon thee?" thorarin replies, "it is true, indeed, that i owe thee some compensation." hakon says, "then we shall be quits, if thou wilt make me another stave about arne." he said he was ready to do so; and they crossed over to the side of the room where arne was sitting, and thorarin gave these verses:-- "fioruskeif has often spread, with evil heart and idle head, the eagle's voidings round the land, lampoons and lies, with ready hand. yet this landlouper we all know, in africa scarce fed a crow, of all his arms used in the field, those in most use were helm and shield." arne sprang up instantly, drew his sword, and was going to fall upon him; but hakon told him to let it alone and be quiet, and bade him remember that if it came to a quarrel he would come off the worst himself. thorarin afterwards went up to the king, and said he had composed a poem which he wished the king to hear. the king consented, and the song is known by the name of the stutfeld poem. the king asked thorarin what he intended to do. he replied, it was his intention to go to rome. then the king gave him much money for his pilgrimage, and told him to visit him on his return, and promised to provide for him. endnotes: ( ) morstrut is a short, fat, punchy fellow.--l. . of sigurd and ottar birting. it is told that king sigurd, one whitsunday, sat at table with many people, among whom were many of his friends; and when he came to his high-seat, people saw that his countenance was very wild, and as if he had been weeping, so that people were afraid of what might follow. the king rolled his eyes, and looked at those who were seated on the benches. then he seized the holy book which he had brought with him from abroad, and which was written all over with gilded letters; so that never had such a costly book come to norway. his queen sat by his side. then said king sigurd, "many are the changes which may take place during a man's lifetime. i had two things which were dear to me above all when i came from abroad, and these were this book and the queen; and now i think the one is only worse and more loathsome than the other, and nothing i have belonging to me that i more detest. the queen does not know herself how hideous she is; for a goat's horn is standing out on her head, and the better i liked her before the worse i like her now." thereupon he cast the book on the fire which was burning on the hall-floor, and gave the queen a blow with his fist between the eyes. the queen wept; but more at the king's' illness than at the blow, or the affront she had suffered. then a man stood up before the king; his name was ottar birting; and he was one of the torch-bearers, although a bonde's son, and was on service that day. he was of small stature, but of agreeable appearance; lively, bold, and full of fun; black haired, and of a dark skin. he ran and snatched the book which the king had cast into the fire, held it out, and said, "different were the days, sire, when you came with great state and splendour to norway, and with great fame and honour; for then all your friends came to meet you with joy, and were glad at your coming. all as one man would have you for king, and have you in the highest regard and honour. but now days of sorrow are come over us; for on this holy festival many of your friends have come to you, and cannot be cheerful on account of your melancholy and ill health. it is much to be desired that you would be merry with them; and do, good king, take this saving advice, make peace first with the queen, and make her joyful whom you have so highly affronted, with a friendly word; and then all your chiefs, friends, and servants; that is my advice." then said king sigurd, "dost thou dare to give me advice, thou great lump of a houseman's lad!" and he sprang up, drew his sword, and swung it with both hands as if going to cut him down. but ottar stood quiet and upright; did not stir from the spot, nor show the slightest sign of fear; and the king turned round the sword-blade which he had waved over ottar's head, and gently touched him on the shoulder with it. then he sat down in silence on his high-seat. all were silent who were in the hall, for nobody dared to say a word. now the king looked around him, milder than before, and said, "it is difficult to know what there is in people. here sat my friends, and lendermen, marshals and shield-bearers, and all the best men in the land; but none did so well against me as this man, who appears to you of little worth compared to any of you, although now he loves me most. i came here like a madman, and would have destroyed my precious property; but he turned aside my deed, and was not afraid of death for it. then he made an able speech, ordering his words so that they were honourable to me, and not saying a single word about things which could increase my vexation; but even avoiding what might, with truth, have been said. so excellent was his speech, that no man here, however great his understanding, could have spoken better. then i sprang up in a pretended rage, and made as if i would have cut him down; but he was courageous as if he had nothing to fear; and seeing that, i let go my purpose; for he was altogether innocent. now ye shall know, my friends, how i intend to reward him; he was before my torchbearer, and shall now be my lenderman; and there shall follow what is still more, that he shall be the most distinguished of my lendermen. go thou and sit among the lendermen, and be a servant no longer." ottar became one of the most celebrated men in norway for various good and praiseworthy deeds. . of king sigurd's dream. in king sigurd's latter days he was once at an entertainment at one of his farms; and in the morning when he was dressed he was silent and still, so that his friends were afraid he was not able to govern himself. now the farm bailiff, who was a man of good sense and courage, brought him into conversation, and asked if he had heard any news of such importance that it disturbed his mirth; or if the entertainment had not satisfied him; or if there was anything else that people could remedy. king sigurd said, that none of the things he had mentioned was the cause. "but it is that i think upon the dream i had in the night." "sire," replied he, "may it prove a lucky dream! i would gladly hear it." the king: "i thought that i was in jadar, and looked out towards the sea; and that i saw something very black moving itself; and when it came near it appeared to be a large tree, of which the branches stretched far above the water, and the roots were down in the sea. now when the tree came to the shore it broke into pieces, and drove all about the land, both the mainland and the out-islands, rocks and strands; and it appeared to me as if i saw over all norway along the sea-coast, and saw pieces of that tree, some small and some large, driven into every bight." then said the bailiff, "it is likely that you an best interpret this dream yourself; and i would willingly hear your interpretation of it." then said the king, "this dream appears to me to denote the arrival in this country of some man who will fix his seat here, and whose posterity will spread itself over the land; but with unequal power, as the dream shows." . of aslak hane. it so happened once, that king sigurd sat in a gloomy mood among many worthy men. it was friday evening, and the kitchen-master asked what meat should be made ready. the king replies, "what else but flesh-meat?" and so harsh were his words that nobody dared to contradict him, and all were ill at ease. now when people prepared to go to table, dishes of warm flesh-meat were carried in; but all were silent, and grieved at the king's illness. before the blessing was pronounced over the meat, a man called aslak hane spoke. he had been a long time with king sigurd on his journey abroad, and was not a man of any great family; and was small of stature, but fiery. when he perceived how it was, and that none dared to accost the king, he asked, "what is it, sire, that is smoking on the dish before you?" the king replies, "what do you mean, aslak? what do you think it is?" aslak: "i think it is flesh-meat; and i would it were not so." the king: "but if it be so, aslak?" he replied, "it would be vexatious to know that a gallant king, who has gained so much honour in the world, should so forget himself. when you rose up out of jordan, after bathing in the same waters as god himself, with palm-leaves in your hands, and the cross upon your breast, it was something else you promised, sire, than to eat flesh-meat on a friday. if a meaner man were to do so, he would merit a heavy punishment. this royal hall is not so beset as it should be, when it falls upon me, a mean man, to challenge such an act." the king sat silent, and did not partake of the meat; and when the time for eating was drawing to an end, the king ordered the flesh dishes to be removed and other food was brought in, such as it is permitted to use. when the meal-time was almost past, the king began to be cheerful, and to drink. people advised aslak to fly, but he said he would not do so. "i do not see how it could help me; and to tell the truth, it is as good to die now that i have got my will, and have prevented the king from committing a sin. it is for him to kill me if he likes." towards evening the king called him, and said, "who set thee on, aslak hane, to speak such free words to me in the hearing of so many people?" "no one, sire, but myself." the king: "thou wouldst like, no doubt, to know what thou art to have for such boldness; what thinkest thou it deserves." he replies, "if it be well rewarded, sire, i shall be glad; but should it be otherwise, then it is your concern." then the king said, "smaller is thy reward than thou hast deserved. i give thee three farms. it has turned out, what could not have been expected, that thou hast prevented me from a great crime,--thou, and not the lendermen, who are indebted to me for so much good." and so it ended. . of a woman brought to the king. one yule eve the king sat in the hall, and the tables were laid out, and the king said, "get me flesh-meat." they answered, "sire, it is not the custom to eat flesh-meat on yule eve." the king said, "if it be not the custom i will make it the custom." they went out, and brought him a dolphin. the king stuck his knife into it, but did not eat of it. then the king said, "bring me a girl here into the hall." they brought him a woman whose head-dress went far down her brows. the king took her hand in his hands, looked at her, and said, "an ill looking girl!" ((lacuna--the rest of this story is missing)) . harald gille comes to norway. halkel huk, a son of jon smiorbalte, who was lenderman in more, made a voyage in the west sea, all the way to the south hebudes. a man came to him out of ireland called gillikrist, and gave himself out for a son of king magnus barefoot. his mother came with him, and said his other name was harald. halkel received the man, brought him to norway with him, and went immediately to king sigurd with harald and his mother. when they had told their story to the king, he talked over the matter with his principal men, and bade them give their opinions upon it. they were of different opinions, and all left it to the king himself, although there were several who opposed this; and the king followed his own counsel. king sigurd ordered harald to be called before him, and told him that he would not deny him the proof, by ordeal, of who his father was; but on condition that if he should prove his descent according to his claim, he should not desire the kingdom in the lifetime of king sigurd, or of king magnus: and to this he bound himself by oath. king sigurd said he must tread over hot iron to prove his birth; but this ordeal was thought by many too severe, as he was to undergo it merely to prove his father, and without getting the kingdom; but harald agreed to it, and fixed on the trial by iron: and this ordeal was the greatest ever made in norway; for nine glowing plowshares were laid down, and harald went over them with bare feet, attended by two bishops. three days after the iron trial the ordeal was taken to proof, and the feet were found unburnt. thereafter king sigurd acknowledged harald's relationship; but his son magnus conceived a great hatred of him, and in this many chiefs followed magnus. king sigurd trusted so much to his favour with the whole people of the country, that he desired all men, under oath, to promise to accept magnus after him as their king; and all the people took this oath. . race between magnus and harald gille. harald gille was a tall, slender-grown man, of a long neck and face, black eyes, and dark hair, brisk and quick, and wore generally the irish dress of short light clothes. the norse language was difficult for harald, and he brought out words which many laughed at. harald sat late drinking one evening. he spoke with another man about different things in the west in ireland; and among other things, said that there were men in ireland so swift of foot that no horse could overtake them in running. magnus, the king's son, heard this, and said, "now he is lying, as he usually does." harald replies, "it is true that there are men in ireland whom no horse in norway could overtake." they exchanged some words about this, and both were drunk. then said magnus, "thou shalt make a wager with me, and stake thy head if thou canst not run so fast as i ride upon my horse, and i shall stake my gold ring." harald replies, "i did not say that i could run so swiftly; but i said that men are to be found in ireland who will run as fast; and on that i would wager." the king's son magnus replies, "i will not go to ireland about it; we are wagering here, and not there." harald on this went to bed, and would not speak to him more about it. this was in oslo. the following morning, when the early mass was over, magnus rode up the street, and sent a message to harald to come to him. when harald came he was dressed thus. he had on a shirt and trousers which were bound with ribands under his foot-soles, a short cloak, an irish hat on his head, and a spear-shaft in his hand. magnus set up a mark for the race. harald said, "thou hast made the course too long;" but magnus made it at once even much longer, and said it was still too short. there were many spectators. they began the race, and harald followed always the horse's pace; and when they came to the end of the race course, magnus said, "thou hadst hold of the saddle-girth, and the horse dragged thee along." magnus had his swift runner, the gautland horse. they began the race again, and harald ran the whole race-course before the horse. when came to the end harald asked, "had i hold of the saddle-girths now?" magnus replied, "thou hadst the start at first." then magnus let his horse breathe a while, and when he was ready he put the spurs to him, and set off in full gallop. harald stood still, and magnus looked back, and called, "set off now." then harald ran quickly past the horse, and came to the end of the course so long before him that he lay down, and got up and saluted magnus as he came in. then they went home to the town. in the meantime king sigurd had been at high mass, and knew nothing of this until after he had dined that day. then he said to magnus angrily, "thou callest harald useless; but i think thou art a great fool, and knowest nothing of the customs of foreign people. dost thou not know that men in other countries exercise themselves in other feats than in filling themselves with ale, and making themselves mad, and so unfit for everything that they scarcely know each other? give harald his ring, and do not try to make a fool of him again, as long as i am above ground." . of sigurd's swimming. it happened once that sigurd was out in his ship, which lay in the harbour; and there lay a merchant ship, which was an iceland trader, at the side of it. harald gille was in the forecastle of the king's ship, and svein rimhildson, a son of knut sveinson of jadar, had his berth the next before him. there was also sigurd sigurdson, a gallant lenderman, who himself commanded a ship. it was a day of beautiful weather and warm sunshine, and many went out to swim, both from the long-ship and the merchant vessel. an iceland man, who was among the swimmers, amused himself by drawing those under water who could not swim so well as himself; and at that the spectators laughed. when king sigurd saw and heard this, he cast off his clothes, sprang into the water, and swam to the icelander, seized him, and pressed him under the water, and held him there; and as soon as the icelander came up the king pressed him down again, and thus the one time after the other. then said sigurd sigurdson, "shall we let the king kill this man?" somebody said, "no one has any wish to interfere." sigurd replies, that "if dag eilifson were here, we should not be without one who dared." then sigurd sprang overboard, swam to the king, took hold of him, and said, "sire, do not kill the man. everybody sees that you are a much better swimmer." the king replies, "let me loose, sigurd: i shall be his death, for he will destroy our people under water." sigurd says, "let us first amuse ourselves; and, icelander, do thou set off to the land," which he did. the king now got loose from sigurd, and swam to his ship, and sigurd went his way: but the king ordered that sigurd should not presume to come into his presence; this was reported to sigurd, and so he went up into the country. . of harald and svein rimhildson. in the evening, when people were going to bed, some of the ship's men were still at their games up in the country. harald was with those who played on the land, and told his footboy to go out to the ship, make his bed, and wait for him there. the lad did as he was ordered. the king had gone to sleep; and as the boy thought harald late, he laid himself in harald's berth. svein rimhildson said, "it is a shame for brave men to be brought from their farms at home, and to have here serving boys to sleep beside them." the lad said that harald had ordered him to come there. svein rimhildson said, "we do not so much care for harald himself lying here, if he do not bring here his slaves and beggars;" and seized a riding-whip, and struck the boy on the head until the blood flowed from him. the boy ran immediately up the country, and told harald what had happened, who went immediately out to the ship, to the aft part of the forecastle, and with a pole-axe struck svein so that he received a severe wound on his hands; and then harald went on shore. svein ran to the land after him, and, gathering his friends, took harald prisoner, and they were about hanging him. but while they were busy about this, sigurd sigurdson went out to the king's ship and awoke him. when the king opened his eyes and recognised sigurd, he said. "for this reason thou shalt die, that thou hast intruded into my presence; for thou knowest that i forbade thee:" and with these words the king sprang up. sigurd replied, "that is in your power as soon as you please; but other business is more urgent. go to the land as quickly as possible to help thy brother; for the rogaland people are going to hang him." then said the king, "god give us luck, sigurd! call my trumpeter, and let him call the people all to land, and to meet me." the king sprang on the land, and all who knew him followed him to where the gallows was being erected. the king instantly took harald to him; and all the people gathered to the king in full armour, as they heard the trumpet. then the king ordered that svein and all his comrades should depart from the country as outlaws; but by the intercession of good men the king was prevailed on to let them remain and hold their properties, but no mulct should be paid for svein's wound. then sigurd sigurdson asked if the king wished that he should go forth out of the country. "that will i not," said the king; "for i can never be without thee." . of king olaf's miracle. there was a young and poor man called kolbein; and thora, king sigurd the crusader's mother, had ordered his tongue to be cut out of his mouth, and for no other cause than that this young man had taken a piece of meat out of the king-mother's tub which he said the cook had given him, and which the cook had not ventured to serve up to her. the man had long gone about speechless. so says einar skulason in olaf's ballad:-- "the proud rich dame, for little cause, had the lad's tongue cut from his jaws: the helpless man, of speech deprived, his dreadful sore wound scarce survived. a few weeks since at hild was seen, as well as ever he had been, the same poor lad--to speech restored by olaf's power, whom he adored." afterwards the young man came to nidaros, and watched in the christ church; but at the second mass for olaf before matins he fell asleep, and thought he saw king olaf the saint coming to him; and that olaf talked to him, and took hold with his hands of the stump of his tongue and pulled it. now when he awoke he found himself restored, and joyfully did he thank our lord and the holy saint olaf, who had pitied and helped him; for he had come there speechless, and had gone to the holy shrine, and went away cured, and with his speech clear and distinct. . king olaf's miracle with a prisoner. the heathens took prisoner a young man of danish family and carried him to vindland, where he was in fetters along with other prisoners. in the day-time he was alone in irons, without a guard; but at night a peasant's son was beside him in the chain, that he might not escape from them. this poor man never got sleep or rest from vexation and sorrow, and considered in many ways what could help him; for he had a great dread of slavery, and was pining with hunger and torture. he could not again expect to be ransomed by his friends, as they had already restored him twice from heathen lands with their own money; and he well knew that it would be difficult and expensive for them to submit a third time to this burden. it is well with the man who does not undergo so much in the world as this man knew he had suffered. he saw but one way; and that was to get off and escape if he could. he resolved upon this in the night-time, killed the peasant, and cut his foot off after killing him, and set off to the forest with the chain upon his leg. now when the people knew this, soon after daylight in the morning, they pursued him with two dogs accustomed to trace any one who escaped, and to find him in the forest however carefully he might be concealed. they got him into their hands and beat him, and did him all kinds of mischief; and dragging him home, left barely alive, and showed him no mercy. they tortured him severely; put him in a dark room, in which there lay already sixteen christian men; and bound him both with iron and other tyings, as fast as they could. then he began to think that the misery and pain he had endured before were but shadows to his present sufferings. he saw no man before his eyes in this prison who would beg for mercy for him; no one had compassion on his wretchedness, except the christian men who lay bound with him, who sorrowed with him, and bemoaned his fate together with their own misfortunes and helplessness. one day they advised him to make a vow to the holy king olaf, to devote himself to some office in his sacred house, if he, by god's compassion and saint olaf's prayers could get away from this prison. he gladly agreed to this, and made a vow and prepared himself for the situation they mentioned to him. the night after he thought in his sleep that he saw a man, not tall, standing at his side, who spoke to him thus, "here, thou wretched man, why dost thou not get up?" he replied, "sir, who are you?" "i am king olaf, on whom thou hast called." "oh, my good lord! gladly would i raise myself; but i lie bound with iron and with chains on my legs, and also the other men who lie here." thereupon the king accosts him with the words, "stand up at once and be not afraid; for thou art loose." he awoke immediately, and told his comrades what, had appeared to him in his dream. they told him to stand up, and try if it was true. he stood up, and observed that he was loose. now said his fellow-prisoners, this would help him but little, for the door was locked both on the inside and on the outside. then an old man who sat there in a deplorable condition put in his word, and told him not to doubt the mercy of the man who had loosened his chains; "for he has wrought this miracle on thee that thou shouldst enjoy his mercy, and hereafter be free, without suffering more misery and torture. make haste, then, and seek the door; and if thou are able to slip out, thou art saved." he did so, found the door open, slipped out, and away to the forest. as soon as the vindland people were aware of this they set loose the dogs, and pursued him in great haste; and the poor man lay hid, and saw well where they were following him. but now the hounds lost the trace when they came nearer, and all the eyes that sought him were struck with a blindness, so that nobody could find him, although he lay before their feet; and they all returned home, vexed that they could not find him. king olaf did not permit this man's destruction after he had reached the forest, and restored him also to his health and hearing; for they had so long tortured and beaten him that he had become deaf. at last he came on board of a ship, with two other christian men who had been long afflicted in that country. all of them worked zealously in this vessel, and so had a successful flight. then he repaired to the holy man's house, strong and fit to bear arms. now he was vexed at his vow, went from his promise to the holy king, ran away one day, and came in the evening to a bonde who gave him lodging for god's sake. then in the night he saw three girls coming to him; and handsome and nobly dressed were they. they spoke to him directly, and sharply reprimanded him for having been so bold as to run from the good king who had shown so much compassion to him, first in freeing him from his irons, and then from the prison; and yet he had deserted the mild master into whose service he had entered. then he awoke full of terror, got up early, and told the house-father his dream. the good man had nothing so earnest in life as to send him-back to the holy place. this miracle was first written down by a man who himself saw the man, and the marks of the chains upon his body. . king sigurd marries cecilia. in the last period of king sigurd's life, his new and extraordinary resolution was whispered about, that he would be divorced from his queen, and would take cecilia, who was a great man's daughter, to wife. he ordered accordingly a great feast to be prepared, and intended to hold his wedding with her in bergen. now when bishop magne heard this, he was very sorry; and one day the bishop goes to the king's hall, and with him a priest called sigurd, who was afterwards bishop of bergen. when they came to the king's hall, the bishop sent the king a message that he would like to meet him; and asked the king to come out to him. he did so, and came out with a drawn sword in his hand. he received the bishop kindly and asked him to go in and sit down to table with him. the bishop replies, "i have other business now. is it true, sire, what is told me, that thou hast the intention of marrying, and of driving away thy queen, and taking another wife?" the king said it was true. then the bishop changed countenance, and angrily replied, "how can it come into your mind, sire, to do such an act in our bishopric as to betray god's word and law, and the holy church? it surprises me that you treat with such contempt our episcopal office, and your own royal office. i will now do what is my duty; and in the name of god, of the holy king olaf, of peter the apostle, and of the other saints, forbid thee this wickedness." while he thus spoke he stood straight up, as if stretching out his neck to the blow, as if ready if the king chose to let the sword fall; and the priest sigurd, who afterwards was bishop, has declared that the sky appeared to him no bigger than a calf's skin, so frightful did the appearance of the king present itself to him. the king returned to the hall, however, without saying a word; and the bishop went to his house and home so cheerful and gay that he laughed, and saluted every child on his way, and was playing with his fingers. then the priest sigurd asked him the reason, saying, "why are you so cheerful, sir? do you not consider that the king may be exasperated against you? and would it not be better to get out of the way?" then said the bishop, "it appears to me more likely that he will not act so; and besides, what death could be better, or more desirable, than to leave life for the honour of god? or to die for the holy cause of christianity and our own office, by preventing that which is not right? i am so cheerful because i have done what i ought to do." there was much noise in the town about this. the king got ready for a journey, and took with him corn, malt and honey. he went south to stavanger, and prepared a feast there for his marriage with cecilia. when a bishop who ruled there heard of this he went to the king, and asked if it were true that he intended to marry in the lifetime of the queen. the king said it was so. the bishop answers, "if it be so, sire, you must know how much such a thing is forbidden to inferior persons. now it appears as if you thought it was allowable for you, because you have great power, and that it is proper for you, although it is against right and propriety; but i do not know how you will do it in our bishopric, dishonouring thereby god's command, the holy church, and our episcopal authority. but you must bestow a great amount of gifts and estates on this foundation, and thereby pay the mulct due to god and to us for such transgression." then said the king, "take what thou wilt of our possessions. thou art far more reasonable than bishop magne." then the king went away, as well pleased with this bishop as ill pleased with him who had laid a prohibition on him. thereafter the king married the girl, and loved her tenderly. . improvement of konungahella. king sigurd improved the town of konungahella so much, that there was not a greater town in norway at the time, and he remained there long for the defence of the frontiers. he built a king's house in the castle, and imposed a duty on all the districts in the neighbourhood of the town, as well as on the townspeople, that every person of nine years of age and upwards should bring to the castle five missile stones for weapons, or as many large stakes sharp at one end and five ells long. in the castle the king built a cross-church of timber, and carefully put together, as far as regards the wood and other materials. the cross-church was consecrated in the th year of king sigurd's reign (a.d. ). here the king deposited the piece of the holy cross, and many other holy relics. it was called the castle church; and before the high altar he placed the tables he had got made in the greek country, which were of copper and silver, all gilt, and beautifully adorned with jewels. here was also the shrine which the danish king eirik eimune had sent to king sigurd; and the altar book, written with gold letters, which the patriarch had presented to king sigurd. . king sigurd's death. three years after the consecration of the cross-church, when king sigurd was stopping at viken, he fell sick (a.d. ). he died the night before mary's-mass (august ), and was buried in halvard's church, where he was laid in the stone wall without the choir on the south side. his son magnus was in the town at the time and took possession of the whole of the king's treasury when king sigurd died. sigurd had been king of norway twenty-seven years (a.d. - ), and was forty years of age when he died. the time of his reign was good for the country; for there was peace, and crops were good. saga of magnus the blind and of harald gille. preliminary remarks an age of conflict now begins in norway. on his death, in , sigurd left his son magnus and his brother harald. they soon divided the government, and then entered upon a five-years' conflict, until magnus, in , with eyes picked out, went into a convent. the next year, , a new pretender appeared in the person of sigurd slembe, who took king harald's life in . magnus died in . other literature in regard to this epoch is "fagrskinna" and "morkinskinna". the corresponding part of "agrip" is lost. skalds quoted are: haldor skvaldre, einar skulason, and ivar ingemundson. . magnus and harald proclaimed kings. king sigurd's son magnus was proclaimed in oslo king of all the country immediately after his father's death, according to the oath which the whole nation had sworn to king sigurd; and many went into his service, and many became his lendermen. magnus was the handsomest man then in norway; of a passionate temper, and cruel, but distinguished in bodily exercises. the favour of the people he owed most to the respect for his father. he was a great drinker, greedy of money, hard, and obstinate. harald gille, on the other hand, was very pleasing in intercourse, gay, and full of mirth; and so generous that he spared in nothing for the sake of his friends. he willingly listened to good advice, so that he allowed others to consult with him and give counsel. with all this he obtained favour and a good repute, and many men attached themselves as much to him as to king magnus. harald was in tunsberg when he heard of his brother king sigurd's death. he called together his friends to a meeting, and it was resolved to hold the hauga thing ( ) there in the town. at this thing, harald was chosen king of half the country, and it was called a forced oath which had been taken from him to renounce his paternal heritage. then harald formed a court, and appointed lendermen; and very soon he had as many people about him as king magnus. then men went between them, and matters stood in this way for seven days; but king magnus, finding he had fewer people, was obliged to give way, and to divide the kingdom with harald into two parts. the kingdom accordingly was so divided (october , ) that each of them should have the half part of the kingdom which king sigurd had possessed; but that king magnus alone should inherit the fleet of ships, the table service, the valuable articles and the movable effects which had belonged to his father, king sigurd. he was notwithstanding the least satisfied with his share. although they were of such different dispositions, they ruled the country for some time in peace. king harald had a son called sigurd, by thora, a daughter of guthorm grabarde. king harald afterwards married ingerid, a daughter of ragnvald, who was a son of the swedish king inge steinkelson. king magnus was married to a daughter of knut lavard, and she was a sister of the danish king valdernar; but king magnus having no affection for her, sent her back to denmark; and from that day everything went ill with him, and he brought upon himself the enmity of her family. endnotes: ( ) hauga-thing means a thing held at the tumuli or burial mounds.--l. . of the forces of harald and magnus. when the two relations, harald and magnus, had been about three years kings of norway (a.d. - ), they both passed the fourth winter (a.d. ) in the town of nidaros, and invited each other as guests; but their people were always ready for a fight. in spring king magnus sailed southwards along the land with his fleet, and drew all the men he could obtain out of each district, and sounded his friends if they would strengthen him with their power to take the kingly dignity from harald, and give him such a portion of the kingdom, as might be suitable; representing to them that king harald had already renounced the kingdom by oath. king magnus obtained the consent of many powerful men. the same spring harald went to the uplands, and by the upper roads eastwards to viken; and when he heard what king magnus was doing, he also drew together men on his side. wheresoever the two parties went they killed the cattle, or even the people, upon the farms of the adverse party. king magnus had by far the most people, for the main strength of the country lay open to him for collecting men from it. king harald was in viken on the east side of the fjord, and collected men, while they were doing each other damage in property and life. king harald had with him kristrod, his brother by his mother's side, and many other lendermen; but king magnus had many more. king harald was with his forces at a place called fors in ranrike, and went from thence towards the sea. the evening before saint lawrence day (august ), they had their supper at a place called fyrileif, while the guard kept a watch on horseback all around the house. the watchmen observed king magnus's army hastening towards the house, and consisting of full men, while king harald had but . now come the watchmen who had to bring the news to king harald of what was going on and say that king magnus's army was now very near the town. the king says, "what will my relation king magnus sigurdson have? he wants not surely to fight us." thjostolf alason replies, "you must certainly, sire, make preparation for that, both for yourself and your men. king magnus has been drawing together an army all the summer for the purpose of giving you battle when he meets you." then king harald stood up, and ordered his men to take their arms. "we shall fight, if our relative king magnus wants to fight us." then the war-horns sounded, and all harald's men went out from the house to an enclosed field, and set up their banners. king harald had on two shirts of ring-mail, but his brother kristrod had no armour on; and a gallant man he was. when king magnus and his men saw king harald's troop they drew up and made their array, and made their line so long that they could surround the whole of king harald's troop. so says haldor skvaldre:-- "king magnus on the battle-plain from his long troop-line had great gain; the plain was drenched with warm blood, which lay a red and reeking flood." . battle at fyrileif. king magnus had the holy cross carried before him in this battle, and the battle was great and severe. the king's brother, kristrod, had penetrated with his troop into the middle of king magnus's array, and cut down on each side of him, so that people gave way before him everywhere. but a powerful bonde who was in king harald's array raised his spear with both hands, and drove it through between kristrod's shoulders, so that it came out at his breast; and thus fell kristrod. many who were near asked the bonde why he had done so foul a deed. the bonde replies, "he knows the consequences now of slaughtering my cattle in summer, and taking all that was in my house, and forcing me to follow him here. i determined to give him some return when the opportunity came." after this king harald's army took to flight, and he fled himself, with all his men. many fell; and ingemar sveinson of ask, a great chief and lenderman, got there his death-wound, and nearly sixty of king harald's court-men also fell. harald himself fled eastward to viken to his ships, and went out of the country to king eirik eimune in denmark, and found him in seeland and sought aid from him. king eirik received him well, and principally because they had sworn to each other to be as brothers ( ); and gave him halland as a fief to rule over, and gave him seven long-ships, but without equipment. thereafter king harald went northwards through halland, and many northmen came to meet him. after this battle king magnus subdued the whole country, giving life and safety to all who were wounded, and had them taken care of equally with his own men. he then called the whole country his own, and had a choice of the best men who were in the country. when they held a council among themselves afterwards, sigurd sigurdson, thorer ingeridson, and all the men of most understanding, advised that they should keep their forces together in viken, and remain there, in case harald should return from the south; but king magnus would take his own way, and went north to bergen. there he sat all winter (a.d. ), and allowed his men to leave him; on which the lendermen returned home to their own houses. endnotes: ( ) these brotherhoods, by which one man was bound by oath to aid or avenge another, were common in the middle ages among all ranks. "sworn brothers" is still a common expression with us.--l. . death of asbjorn and of nereid. king harald came to konungahella with the men who had followed him from denmark. the lendermen and town's burgesses collected a force against him, which they drew up in a thick array above the town. king harald landed from his ships, and sent a message to the bondes, desiring that they would not deny him his land, as he wanted no more than what of right belonged to him. then mediators went between them; and it came to this, that the bondes dismissed their troops, and submitted to him. thereupon he bestowed fiefs and property on the lendermen, that they might stand by him, and paid the bondes who joined him the lawful mulcts for what they had lost. a great body of men attached themselves, therefore, to king harald; and he proceeded westwards to viken, where he gave peace to all men, except to king magnus's people, whom he plundered and killed wherever he found them. and when he came west to sarpsborg he took prisoners two of king magnus s lendermen, asbjorn and his brother nereid; and gave them the choice that one should be hanged, and the other thrown into the sarpsborg waterfall, and they might choose as they pleased. asbjorn chose to be thrown into the cataract, for he was the elder of the two, and this death appeared the most dreadful; and so it was done. halder skvaldre tells of this:-- "asbjorn, who opposed the king, o'er the wild cataract they fling: nereid, who opposed the king, must on hagbard's high tree swing. the king given food in many a way to foul-mouthed beasts and birds of prey: the generous men who dare oppose are treated as the worst of foes." thereafter king harald proceeded north to tunsberg, where he was well received, and a large force gathered to him. . of the counsels proposed. when king magnus, who was in bergen, heard these tidings, he called together all the chiefs who were in the town, and asked them their counsel, and what they should now do. then sigurd sigurdson said, "here i can give a good advice. let a ship be manned with good men, and put me, or any other lenderman, to command it; send it to thy relation, king harald, and offer him peace according to the conditions upright men may determine upon, and offer him the half of the kingdom. it appears to me probable that king harald, by the words and counsel of good men, may accept this offer, and thus there may be a peace established between you." then king magnus replied, "this proposal i will not accept of; for of what advantage would it be, after we have gained the whole kingdom in summer to give away the half of it now? give us some other counsel." then sigurd sigurdson answered, "it appears to me, sire, that your lendermen who in autumn asked your leave to return home will now sit at home and will not come to you. at that time it was much against my advice that you dispersed so entirely the people we had collected; for i could well suppose that harald would come back to viken as soon as he heard that it was without a chief. now there is still another counsel, and it is but a poor one; but it may turn out useful to us. send out your pursuivants, and send other people with them, and let them go against the lendermen who will not join you in your necessity, and kill them; and bestow their property on others who will give you help although they may have been of small importance before. let them drive together the people, the bad as well as the good; and go with the men you can thus assemble against king harald, and give him battle." the king replies, "it would be unpopular to put to death people of distinction, and raise up inferior people who often break faith and law, and the country would be still worse off. i would like to hear some other counsel still." sigurd replies, "it is difficult for me now to give advice, as you will neither make peace nor give battle. let us go north to throndhjem, where the main strength of the country is most inclined to our side; and on the way let us gather all the men we can. it may be that these elfgrims will be tired of such a long stride after us." the king replies, "we must not fly from those whom we beat in summer. give some better counsel still." then sigurd stood up and said, while he was preparing to go out, "i will now give you the counsel which i see you will take, and which must have its course. sit here in bergen until harald comes with his troops, and then you will either suffer death or disgrace." and sigurd remained no longer at that meeting. . of harald's force. king harald came from the east along the coast with a great army, and this winter (a.d. ) is called on that account the crowd-winter. king harald came to bergen on christmas eve, and landed with his fleet at floruvagar; but would not fight on account of the sacred time. but king magnus prepared for defence in the town. he erected a stone-slinging machine out on the holm, and had iron chains and wooden booms laid across over the passage from the king's house to nordnes, and to the monks bridge. he had foot-traps made, and thrown into saint john's field, and did not suspend these works except during the three sacred days of christmas. the last holyday of yule, king harald ordered his war-horns to sound the gathering of his men for going to the town; and, during the yule holydays, his army had been increased by about men. . king magnus taken prisoner. king harald made a promise to king olaf the saint for victory, that he would build an olaf's church in the town at his own expense. king magnus drew up his men in the christ church yard; but king harald laid his vessels first at nordnes. now when king magnus and his people saw that, they turned round towards the town, and to the end of the shore; but as they passed through the streets many of the burgesses ran into their houses and homes, and those who went across the fields fell into the foot-traps. then king magnus and his men perceived that king harald had rowed with all his men across to hegravik, and landed there, and had gone from thence the upper road up the hill opposite the town. now magnus returned back again through the streets, and then his men fled from him in all directions; some up to the mountains, some up to the neighbourhood of the convent of nuns, some to churches, or hid themselves as they best could. king magnus fled to his ship; but there was no possibility of getting away, for the iron chains outside prevented the passage of vessels. he had also but few men with him, and therefore could do nothing. einar skulason tells of this in the song of harald:-- "for a whole week an iron chain cut off all sailing to the main: bergen's blue stable was locked fast,-- her floating wains could not get past." soon after harald's people came out to the ships, and then king magnus was made prisoner. he was sitting behind in the forecastle upon the chests of the high-seat, and at his side hakon fauk, his mother's brother, who was very popular but was not considered very wise, and ivar assurson. they, and many others of king magnus's friends, were taken, and some of them killed on the spot. . king magnus mutilated. thereafter king harald had a meeting of his counsellors, and desired their counsel; and in this meeting the judgment was given that magnus should be deposed from his dominions, and should no longer be called king. then he was delivered to the king's slaves, who mutilated him, picked out both his eyes, cut off one foot, and at last castrated him. ivar assurson was blinded, and hakon fauk killed. the whole country then was reduced to obedience under king harald. afterwards it was diligently examined who were king magnus's best friends, or who knew most of his concealments of treasure or valuables. the holy cross king magnus had kept beside him since the battle of fyrileif, but would not tell where it was deposited for preservation. bishop reinald of stavanger, who was an englishman, was considered very greedy of money. he was a great friend of king magnus, and it was thought likely that great treasure and valuables had been given into his keeping. men were sent for him accordingly, and he came to bergen, where it was insisted against him that he had some knowledge of such treasure; but he denied it altogether, would not admit it, and offered to clear himself by ordeal. king harald would not have this, but laid on the bishop a money fine of fifteen marks of gold, which he should pay to the king. the bishop declared he would not thus impoverish his bishop's see, but would rather offer his life. on this they hanged the bishop out on the holm, beside the sling machine. as he was going to the gallows he threw the sock from his foot, and said with an oath, "i know no more about king magnus's treasure than what is in this sock;" and in it there was a gold ring. bishop reinald was buried at nordnes in michael's church, and this deed was much blamed. after this harald gille was sole king of norway as long as he lived. . wonderful omens in konungahella. five years after king sigurd's death remarkable occurrences took place in konungahella (a.d. ). guthorm, a son of harald fletter, and saemund husfreyja, were at that time the king's officers there. saemund was married to ingebjorg, a daughter of the priest andres brunson. their sons were paul flip and gunne fis. saemund's natural son was called asmund. andres brunson was a very remarkable man, who carried on divine service in the cross church. his wife ( ) was called solveig. jon loptson, who was then eleven years old, was in their house to be fostered and educated. the priest lopt saemundson, jon's father, was also in the town at that time. the priest andres and solveig had a daughter by name helga, who was einar's wife. it happened now in konungahella, the next sunday night after easter week, that there was a great noise in the streets through the whole town as if the king was going through with all his court-men. the dogs were so affected that nobody could hold them, but they slipped loose; and when they came out they ran mad, biting all that came in their way, people and cattle. all who were bitten by them till the blood came turned raging mad; and pregnant women were taken in labour prematurely, and became mad. from easter to ascension-day, these portentous circumstances took place almost every night. people were dreadfully alarmed at these wonders; and many made themselves ready to remove, sold their houses, and went out to the country districts, or to other towns. the most intelligent men looked upon it as something extremely remarkable; were in dread of it; and said, as it proved to be, that it was an omen of important events which had not yet taken place. and the priest andres, on whit sunday, made a long and excellent speech, and turned the conclusion of it to the distressing situation of the townspeople; telling them to muster courage, and not lay waste their excellent town by deserting it, but rather to take the utmost care in all things, and use the greatest foresight against all dangers, as of fire or the enemy, and to pray to god to have mercy on them. endnotes: ( ) the catholic priests appear to have had wives at that time in norway, and celibacy to have been confined to the monks. --l. . the rise of war in konungahella. thirteen loaded merchant ships made ready to leave the town, intending to proceed to bergen; but eleven of them were lost, men and goods, and all that was in them; the twelfth was lost also, but the people were saved, although the cargo went to the bottom. at that time the priest lopt went north to bergen, with all that belonged to him, and arrived safely. the merchant vessels were lost on saint lawrence eve (august ). the danish king eirik and the archbishop assur, both sent notice to konungahella to keep watch on their town; and said the vindland people had a great force on foot with which they made war far around on christian people, and usually gained the victory. but the townspeople attended very little to this warning, were indifferent, and forgot more and more the dreadful omens the longer it was since they happened. on the holy saint lawrence day, while the words of high mass were spoken, came to the vindland king rettibur to konungahella with vindland cutters, and in each cutter were forty-four men and two horses. the king's sister's son dunimiz, and unibur, a chief who ruled over many people, were with him. these two chiefs rowed at once, with a part of their troops, up the east arm of the gaut river past hising isle, and thus came down to the town; but a part of the fleet lay in the western arm, and came so to the town. they made fast their ships at the piles, and landed their horses, and rode over the height of bratsas, and from thence up around the town. einar, a relation of priest andres, brought these tidings up to the castle church; for there the whole inhabitants of the town were gathered to hear high mass. einar came just as the priest andres was holding his discourse; and he told the people that an army was sailing up against the town with a great number of ships of war, and that some people were riding over bratsas. many said it must be the danish king eirik, and from him they might expect peace. the people ran down into the town to their properties, armed themselves, and went down upon the piers, whence they immediately saw there was an enemy and an immense army. nine east-country trading vessels belonging to the merchants were afloat in the river at the piers. the vindland people first directed their course toward these and fought with the merchants, who armed themselves, and defended themselves long, well, and manfully. there was a hard battle, and resistance, before the merchant vessels were cleared of their men; and in this conflict the vindland people lost of their ships, with all the men on board. when the battle was sharpest the townsmen stood upon the piers, and shot at the heathens. but when the fight slackened the burgesses fled up to the town, and from thence into the castle; and the men took with them all their valuable articles, and such goods as they could carry. solveig and her daughters, with two other women, went on shore when the vindlanders took possession of the merchant vessels. now the vindlanders landed, and mustered their men, and discovered their loss. some of them went up into the town, some on board the merchant ships, and took all the goods they pleased; and then they set fire to the town, and burnt it and the ships. they hastened then with all their army to assault the castle. . the second battle. king rettibur made an offer to those who were in the castle that they should go out, and he would give them their lives, weapons, clothes, silver, and gold; but all exclaimed against it, and went out on the fortification; some shot, some threw stones, some sharp stakes. it was a great battle, in which many fell on both sides, but by far the most of the vindlanders. solveig came up to a large farm called solbjorg, and brought the news. a message war-token was there split, and sent out to skurbagar, where there happened to be a joint ale-drinking feast, and many men were assembled. a bonde called olver miklimun (mickle mouth) was there, who immediately sprang up, took helmet and shield, and a great axe in his hand, and said, "stand up, brave lads, and take your weapons. let us go help the townspeople; for it would appear shameful to every man who heard of it, if we sit here sipping our ale, while good men in the town are losing their lives by our neglect." many made an objection, and said they would only be losing their own lives, without being of any assistance to the townspeople. then said olver, "although all of you should hold back, i will go alone; and one or two heathens, at any rate, shall fall before i fall." he ran down to the town, and a few men after him to see what he would do, and also whether they could assist him in any way. when he came near the castle, and the heathens saw him, they sent out eight men fully armed against him; and when they met, the heathen men ran and surrounded him on all sides. olver lifted his axe, and struck behind him with the extreme point of it, hitting the neck of the man who was coming up behind him, so that his throat and jawbone were cut through, and he fell dead backwards. then he heaved his axe forwards, and struck the next man in the head, and clove him down to the shoulders. he then fought with the others, and killed two of them; but was much wounded himself. the four who remained took to flight, but olver ran after them. there was a ditch before them, and two of the heathens jumped into it, and olver killed them both; but he stuck fast himself in the ditch, so that two of the eight heathens escaped. the men who had followed olver took him up, and brought him back to skurbagar, where his wounds were bound and healed; and it was the talk of the people, that no single man had ever made such a bloody onset. two lendermen, sigurd gyrdson, a brother of philip, and sigard, came with men to skurbagar; on which sigurd turned back with men. he was but little respected afterwards, and soon died. sigard, on the other hand, proceeded with men towards the town; and they gave battle to the heathens, and were all slain. while the vindlanders were storming the castle, their king and his chiefs were out of the battle. at one place there was a man among the vindlanders shooting with a bow, and killing a man for every arrow; and two men stood before him, and covered him with their shields. then saemund husfreyja said to his son asmund, that they should both shoot together at this bowman. "but i will shoot at the man who holds the shield before him." he did so, and he knocked the shield down a little before the man; and in the same instant asmund shot between the shields, and the arrow hit the bowman in the forehead, so that it came out at his neck, and he fell down dead. when the vindlanders saw it they howled like dogs, or like wolves. then king rettibur called to them that he would give them safety and life, but they refused terms. the heathens again made a hard assault. one of the heathens in particular fought so bravely, and ventured so near, that he came quite up to the castle-gate, and pierced the man who stood outside the gate with his sword; and although they used both arrows and stones against him, and he had neither shield nor helmet, nothing could touch him, for he was so skilled in witchcraft that weapon could not wound him. then priest andres took consecrated fire; blew upon it; cut tinder in pieces, and laid it on the fire; and then laid the tinder on the arrow-point, and gave it to asmund. he shot this arrow at the warlock; and the shaft hit so well that it did its business, and the man of witchcraft fell dead. then the heathens crowded together as before, howling and whining dreadfully; and all gathered about their king, on which the christians believed that they were holding a council about retreating. the interpreters, who understood the vindland tongue, heard the chief unibur make the following speech: "these people are brave, and it is difficult to make anything of them; and even if we took all the goods in their town, we might willingly give as much more that we had never come here, so great has been our loss of men and chiefs. early in the day, when we began to assault the castle, they defended themselves first with arrows and spears; then they fought against us with stones; and now with sticks and staves, as against dogs. i see from this that they are in want of weapons and means of defense; so we shall make one more hard assault, and try their strength." it was as he said, that they now fought with stakes; because, in the first assault, they had imprudently used up all their missile weapons and stones; and now when the christians saw the number of their stakes diminishing, they clave each stake in two. the heathens now made a very hot attack, and rested themselves between whiles, and on both sides they were exhausted. during a rest the vindland king rettibur again offered terms, and that they should retain the weapons, clothes, and silver they could carry out of the castle. saemund husfreyja had fallen, and the men who remained gave the counsel to deliver up the castle and themselves into the power of the heathens; but it was a foolish counsel; for the heathens did not keep their promises, but took all people, men, women, and children, and killed all of them who were wounded or young, or could not easily be carried with them. they took all the goods that were in the castle; went into the cross church, and plundered it of all its ornaments. the priest andres gave king rettibur a silver-mounted gilt sceptre, and to his sister's son dunimiz he gave a gold ring. they supposed from this that he was a man of great importance in the town, and held him in higher respect than the others. they took away with them the holy cross, and also the tables which stood before the altar, which sigurd had got made in the greek country, and had brought home himself. these they took, and laid flat down on the steps before the altar. then the heathens went out of the church. rettibur said, "this house has been adorned with great zeal for the god to whom it is dedicated; but, methinks, he has shown little regard for the town or house: so i see their god has been angry at those who defended them." king rettibur gave the priest andres the church, the shrine, the holy cross, the bible, the altar-book, and four clerks (prisoners); but the heathens burnt the castle church, and all the houses that were in the castle. as the fire they had set to the church went out twice, they hewed the church down, and then it burnt like other houses. then the heathens went to their ships with the booty; but when they mustered their people and saw their loss, they made prisoners of all the people, and divided them among the vessels. now priest andres went on board the king's ship with the holy cross, and there came a great terror over the heathens on account of the portentous circumstance which took place in the king's ship; namely, it became so hot that all thought they were to be burnt up. the king ordered the interpreter to ask the priest why this happened. he replied, that the almighty god on whom the christians believed, sent them a proof of his anger, that they who would not believe in their creator presumed to lay hands on the emblem of his suffering; and that there lay so much power in the cross, that such, and even clearer miracles, happened to heathen men who had taken the cross in their hands. the king had the priest put into the ship's boat, and the priest andres carried the holy cross in his grasp. they led the boat along past the ship's bow, and then along the side of the next ship, and then shoved it with a boat-hook in beside the pier. then andres went with the cross by night to solbjorg, in rain and dreadful weather; but brought it in good preservation. king rettibur, and the men he had remaining, went home to vindland, and many of the people who were taken at konungahella were long afterwards in slavery in vindland; and those who were ransomed and came back to norway to their udal lands and properties, throve worse than before their capture. the merchant town of konungahella has never since risen to the importance it was of before this event. . of magnus the blind. king magnus, after he was deprived of sight, went north to nidaros, where he went into the cloister on the holm, and assumed the monk's dress. the cloister received the farm of great hernes in frosta for his support. king harald alone ruled the country the following winter, gave all men peace and pardon who desired it, and took many of the men into his court-service who had been with king magnus. einar skulason says that king harald had two battles in denmark; the one at hvedn isle, and the other at hlesey isle:-- "unwearied champion! who wast bred to stain thy blue-edged weapons red! beneath high hvedn's rocky shore, the faithless felt thy steel once more." and again, thus:-- "on hlesey's plain the foe must quail 'fore him who dyes their shirts of mail. his storm-stretched banner o'er his head flies straight, and fills the foe with dread." . of king harald gille and bishop magnus. king harald gille was a very generous man. it is told that in his time magnus einarson came from iceland to be consecrated a bishop, and the king received him well, and showed him much respect. when the bishop was ready to sail for iceland again, and the ship was rigged out for sea, he went to the hall where the king was drinking, saluted him politely and warmly, and the king received him joyfully. the queen was sitting beside the king. then said the king, "are you ready, bishop, for your voyage?" he replied that he was. the king said, "you come to us just now at a bad time; for the tables are just removed, and there is nothing at hand suitable to present to you. what is there to give the bishop?" the treasurer replies, "sire, as far as i know, all articles of any value are given away." the king: "here is a drinking goblet remaining; take this, bishop; it is not without value." the bishop expressed his thanks for the honour shown him. then said the queen, "farewell, bishop! and a happy voyage." the king said to her, "when did you ever hear a noble lady say so to a bishop without giving him something?" she replies, "sire, what have i to give him?" the king: "thou hast the cushion under thee." thereupon this, which was covered with costly cloth, and was a valuable article, was given to the bishop. when the bishop was going away the king took the cushion from under himself and gave it him, saying, "they have long been together." when the bishop arrived in iceland to his bishop's see, it was talked over what should be done with the goblet that would be serviceable for the king; and when the bishop asked the opinion of other people, many thought it should be sold, and the value-bestowed on the poor. then said the bishop, "i will take another plan. i will have a chalice made of it for this church, and consecrate it, so that all the saints of whom there are relics in this church shall let the king have some good for his gift every time a mass is sung over it." this chalice has since belonged to the bishopric of skalholt; and of the costly cloth with which the cushions given him by the king were covered, were made the choristers' cloaks which are now in skalholt. from this the generous spirit of king harald may be seen, as well as from many other things, of which but a few are set down here. . beginning of sigurd slembidjakn. there was a man, by name sigurd, who was brought up in norway, and was called priest adalbrikt's son. sigurd's mother was thora, a daughter of saxe of vik, a sister of sigrid, who was mother of king olaf magnuson, and of kare, the king's brother who married borghild, a daughter of dag eilifson. their sons were sigurd of austrat and dag. sigurd of austrat's sons were jon of austrat, thorstein, and andres the deaf. jon was married to sigrid, a sister of king inge and of duke skule. this sigurd, in his childhood, was kept at his book, became a clerk, and was consecrated a deacon; but as he ripened in years and strength he became a very clever man, stout, strong, distinguished for all perfections and exercises beyond any of his years,--indeed, beyond any man in norway. sigurd showed early traces of a haughty ungovernable spirit, and was therefore called slembidjakn. he was as handsome a man as could be seen, with rather thin but beautiful hair. when it came to sigurd's ears that his mother said king magnus was his father, he laid aside all clerkship; and as soon as he was old enough to be his own master, he left the country. he was a long time on his travels, went to palestine; was at the jordan river; and visited many holy places, as pilgrims usually do. when he came back, he applied himself to trading expeditions. one winter he was in orkney with earl harald, and was with him when thorkel fostre summarlidason was killed. sigurd was also in scotland with the scottish king david, and was held in great esteem by him. thereafter sigurd went to denmark; and according to the account of himself and his men, he there submitted to the iron ordeal to confirm his paternal descent, and proved by it, in the presence of five bishops, that he was a son of king magnus barefoot. so says ivar ingemundson, in sigurd's song:-- "the holiest five of men alive,-- bishops were they,-- solemnly say, the iron glowing red hot, yet showing no scaith on skin, proves cause and kin." king harald gille's friends, however, said this was only a lie, and deceit of the danes. . sigurd in iceland. it is told before of sigurd that he passed some years in merchant voyages, and he came thus to iceland one winter, and took up his lodging with thorgils odson in saurby; but very few knew where he was. in autumn, when the sheep were being driven into a fold to be slaughtered, a sheep that was to be caught ran to sigurd; and as sigurd thought the sheep ran to him for protection, he stretched out his hands to it and lifted it over the fold dyke, and let it run to the hills, saying, "there are not many who seek help from me, so i may well help this one." it happened the same winter that a woman had committed a theft, and thorgils, who was angry at her for it, was going to punish her; but she ran to sigurd to ask his help, and he set her upon the bench by his side. thorgils told him to give her up, and told him what she had committed; but sigurd begged forgiveness for her since she had come to him for protection, and that thorgils would dismiss the complaint against her, but thorgils insisted that she should receive her punishment. when sigurd saw that thorgils would not listen to his entreaty, he started up, drew his sword, and bade him take her if he dared; and thorgils seeing that sigurd would defend the woman by force of arms, and observing his commanding mien, guessed who he must be, desisted from pursuing the woman, and pardoned her. there were many foreign men there, and sigurd made the least appearance among them. one day sigurd came into the sitting-room, and a northman who was splendidly clothed was playing chess with one of thorads house-servants. the northman called sigurd, and asked him his advice how to play; but when sigurd looked at the board, he saw the game was lost. the man who was playing against the northman had a sore foot, so that one toe was bruised, and matter was coming out of it. sigurd, who was sitting on the bench, takes a straw, and draws it along the floor, so that some young kittens ran after it. he drew the straw always before them, until they came near the house-servant's foot, who jumping up with a scream, threw the chessmen in disorder on the board; and thus it was a dispute how the game had stood. this is given as a proof of sigurd's cunning. people did not know that he was a learned clerk until the saturday before easter, when he consecrated the holy water with chant; and the longer he stayed there the more he was esteemed. the summer after, sigurd told thorgils before they parted, that he might with all confidence address his friends to sigurd slembidjakn. thorgils asked how nearly he was related to him, on which he replies, "i am sigurd slembidjakn, a son of king magnus barefoot." he then left iceland. . of sigurd slembe. when harald gille had been six years (a.d. ), king of norway, sigurd came to the country and went to his brother king harald, and found him in bergen. he placed himself entirely in the king's hands, disclosed who his father was, and asked him to acknowledge their relationship. the king gave him no hasty or distinct reply; but laid the matter before his friends in a conference at a specially appointed meeting. after this conference it became known that the king laid an accusation against sigurd, because he had been at the killing of thorkel fostre in the west. thorkel had accompanied harald to norway when he first came to the country, and had been one of harald's best friends. this case was followed up so severely, that a capital accusation against sigurd was made, and, by the advice of the lendermen, was carried so far, that some of the king's pursuivants went one evening late to sigurd, and called him to them. they then took a boat and rowed away with sigurd from the town south to nordnes. sigurd sat on a chest in the stern of the boat, and had his suspicions that foul play was intended. he was clothed in blue trousers, and over his shirt he had a hood tied with ribands, which served him for a cloak. he sat looking down, and holding his hood-strings; and sometimes moved them over his head, sometimes let them fall again before him. now when they had passed the ness, they were drunk, and merry, were rowing so eagerly that they were not taking notice of anything. sigurd stood up, and went on the boat's deck; but the two men who were placed to guard him stood up also, and followed him to the side of the vessel, holding by his cloak, as is the custom in guarding people of distinction. as he was afraid that they would catch hold of more of his clothes, he seized them both, and leaped overboard with them. the boat, in the meantime, had gone on a long way, and it was a long time before those on board could turn the vessel, and long before they could get their own men taken on board again; and sigurd dived under water, and swam so far away that he reached the land before they could get the boat turned to pursue him. sigurd, who was very swift of foot, hied up to the mountains, and the king's men travelled about the whole night seeking him without finding him. he lay down in a cleft of the rocks; and as he was very cold he took off his trousers, cut a hole in the seat of them, and stuck his head through it, and put his arms in the legs of them. he escaped with life this time; and the king's men returned, and could not conceal their unsuccessful adventure. . treachery towards king harald. sigurd thought now that it would be of no use to seek any help from king harald again; and he kept himself concealed all the autumn and the beginning of the winter. he lay hid in bergen, in the house of a priest. king harald was also in the town, and many great people with him. now sigurd considered how, with his friends' help, he might take the king by surprise, and make an end of him. many men took part in this design; and among them some who were king harald's court-men and chamberlains, but who had formerly been king magnus's court-men. they stood in great favour with the king, and some of them sat constantly at the king's table. on saint lucia's day (december ), in the evening when they proposed to execute this treason, two men sat at the king's table talking together; and one of them said to the king, "sire, we two table-companions submit our dispute to your judgment, having made a wager of a basket of honey to him who guesses right. i say that you will sleep this night with your queen ingerid; and he says that you will sleep with thora, guthorm's daughter." the king answered laughing, and without suspecting in the least that there lay treachery under the question, that he who had asked had lost his bet. they knew thus where he was to be found that night; but the main guard was without the house in which most people thought the king would sleep, viz., that which the queen was in. . murder of king harald. sigurd slembe, and some men who were in his design, came in the night to the lodging in which king harald was sleeping; killed the watchman first; then broke open the door, and went in with drawn swords. ivar kolbeinson made the first attack on king harald; and as the king had been drunk when he went to bed he slept sound, and awoke only when the men were striking at him. then he said in his sleep, "thou art treating me hardly, thora." she sprang up, saying, "they are treating thee hardly who love thee less than i do." harald was deprived of life. then sigurd went out with his helpers, and ordered the men to be called to him who had promised him their support if he should get king harald taken out of the way. sigurd and his men then went on, and took a boat, set themselves to the oars, and rowed out in front of the king's house; and then it was just beginning to be daylight. then sigurd stood up, spoke to those who were standing on the king's pier, made known to them the murder of king harald by his hand, and desired that they would take him, and choose him as chief according to his birth. now came many swarming down to the pier from the king's house; and all with one voice replied, that they would never give obedience or service to a man who had murdered his own brother. "and if thou are not his brother, thou hast no claim from descent to be king." they clashed their weapons together, and adjudged all murderers to be banished and outlawed men. now the king's horn sounded, and all lendermen and courtmen were called together. sigurd and his companions saw it was best for them to get way; and he went northward to north hordaland, where he held a thing with the bondes, who submitted to him, and gave him the title of king. from thence he went to sogn, and held a thing there with the bondes and was proclaimed king. then he went north across the fjords, and most people supported his cause. so says ivar ingemundson:-- "on harald's fall the bondes all, in hord and sogn, took magnus' son. the things swore too they would be true to this new head in harald's stead." king harald was buried in the old christ church. saga of sigurd, inge, and eystein, the sons of harald preliminary remarks. sigurd died a.d. , eystein , and inge . other literature is "morkinskinna" and "fagrskinna." sigurd slembe is the subject of a drama by bjornstjerne bjornson, translated into english by william morton payne, and published by houghton, mifflin & co., boston, . skalds quoted are: kolle, einar skulason, and thorbjorn skakkaskald. . history of kings sigurd and inge. queen ingerid, and with her the lendermen and the court which had been with king harald, resolved to send a fast-sailing vessel to throndhjem to make known king harald's death, and also to desire the throndhjem people to take king harald's son sigurd for king. he was then in the north, and was fostered by sadagyrd bardson. queen ingerid herself proceeded eastward immediately to viken. inge was the name of her son by king harald, and he was then fostered by amunde gyrdson, a grandson of logberse. when they came to viken a borgar-thing was immediately called together, at which inge, who was in the second year of his age, was chosen king. this resolution was supported by amunde and thjostolf alason, together with many other great chiefs. now when the tidings came north to throndhjem that king harald was murdered, the throndhjem people took sigurd, king harald's son, to be the king; and this resolution was supported by ottar birting, peter saudaulfson, the brothers guthorm of reine, and ottar balle, sons of asolf and many other great chiefs. afterwards the whole nation almost submitted to the brothers, and principally because their father was considered holy; and the country took the oath to them, that the kingly power should not go to any other man as long as any of king harald's sons were alive. . of sigurd slembidjakn. sigurd slembe sailed north around stad; and when he came to north more, he found that letters and full powers had arrived before him from the leaders who had given in their allegiance to harald's sons; so that there he got no welcome or help. as sigurd himself had but few people with him, he resolved to go with them to throndhjem, and seek out magnus the blind; for he had already sent a message before him to magnus's friends. now when they came to the town, they rowed up the river nid to meet king magnus, and fastened their land-ropes on the shore at the king's house; but were obliged to set off immediately, for all the people rose against them. they then landed at monkholm, and took magnus the blind out of the cloister against the will of the monks; for he had been consecrated a monk. it is said by some that magnus willingly went with them; although it was differently reported, in order to make his cause appear better. sigurd, immediately after yule (january, a.d. ), went forth with his suite, expecting aid from his relations and magnus's friends, and which they also got. sigurd sailed with his men out of the fjord, and was joined afterwards by bjorn egilson, gunnar of gimsar, haldor sigurdson, aslak hakonson, the brothers bendikt and eirik, and also the court which had before been with king magnus, and many others. with this troop they went south to more, and down to the mouth of raumsdal fjord. here sigurd and magnus divided their forces, and sigurd went immediately westwards across the sea. king magnus again proceeded to the uplands, where he expected much help and strength, and which he obtained. he remained there the winter and all the summer (a.d. ), and had many people with him; but king inge proceeded against him with all his forces, and they met at a place called mynne. there was a great battle, at which king magnus had the most people. it is related that thjostolf alason carried king inge in his belt as long as the battle lasted, and stood under the banner; but thjostolf was hard pressed by fatigue and fighting; and it is commonly said that king inge got his ill health there, and which he retained as long as he lived, so that his back was knotted into a hump, and the one foot was shorter than the other; and he was besides so infirm that he could scarcely walk as long as he lived. the defeat began to turn upon magnus and his men; and in the front rank of his array fell haldor sigurdson, bjorn egilson, gunnar of gimsar, and a great number of his men, before he himself would take to his horse and fly. so says kolle:-- "thy arrow-storm on mynne's banks fast thinn'd the foemen's strongest ranks; thy good sword hewed the raven's feast on mynne's banks up in the east. shield clashed on shield, and bucklers broke under thy battle-axe's stroke; while thou, uncovered, urged the fray, thy shield and mail-coat thrown away." and also this:-- "the king to heaven belonging fled, when thou, in war's quick death-game bred, unpanzered, shieldless on the plain his heavy steel-clad guards hadst slain. the painted shield, and steel-plate mail, before thy fierce attack soon fail, to magnus who belongs to heaven, was no such fame in battle given." magnus fled eastward to gautland, and then to denmark. at that time there was in gautland an earl, karl sonason, who was a great and ambitious man. magnus the blind and his men said, wherever they happened to meet with chiefs, that norway lay quite open to any great chieftain who would attack it; for it might well be said there was no king in the country, and the kingdom was only ruled by lendermen, and, among those who had most sway, there was, from mutual jealousy, most discord. now karl, being ambitious of power, listens willingly to such speeches; collects men, and rides west to viken, where many people, out of fear, submit to him. when thjostolf alason and amunde heard of this, they went with the men they could get together, and took king inge with them. they met earl karl and the gautland army eastward in krokaskog, where there was a great battle and a great defeat, king inge gaining the victory. munan ogmundson, earl karl's mother's brother, fell there. ogmund, the father of munan, was a son of earl orm eilifson, and sigrid, a daughter of earl fin arnason. astrid, ogrnund's daughter, was the mother of earl karl. many others of the gautland people fell at krokaskog; and the earl fled eastward through the forest. king inge pursued them all the way out of the kingdom; and this expedition turned out a great disgrace to them. so says kolle:-- "i must proclaim how our great lord coloured deep red his ice-cold sword; and ravens played with gautland bones, and wolves heard gautlanders' last groans. their silly jests were well repaid,-- in krokaskog their laugh was laid: thy battle power was then well tried, and they who won may now deride." . king eirik's expedition to norway. magnus the blind then went to denmark to king eirik eimune, where he was well received. he offered the king to follow him if he would invade norway with a danish army, and subdue the country; saying, that if he came to norway with his army, no man in norway would venture to throw a spear against him. the king allowed himself to be moved by magnus's persuasions, ordered a levy, and went north to norway with ships; and magnus and his men were with him on this expedition. when they came to viken, they proceeded peacefully and gently on the east side of the fjord; but when the fleet came westward to tunsberg, a great number of king inge's lendermen came against them. their leader was vatnorm dagson, a brother of gregorius. the danes could not land to get water without many of them being killed; and therefore they went in through the fjord to oslo, where thjostolf alason opposed them. it is told that some people wanted to carry the holy halvard's coffin out of the town in the evening when the fleet was first observed, and as many as could took hold of it; but the coffin became so heavy that they could not carry it over the church floor. the morning after, however, when they saw the fleet sailing in past the hofud isle, four men carried the coffin out of the town, and thjostolf and all the townspeople followed it. . the town of oslo burnt. king eirik and his army advanced against the town; and some of his men hastened after thjostolf and his troop. thjostolf threw a spear at a man named askel, which hit him under the throat, so that the spear point went through his neck; and thjostolf thought he had never made a better spear-cast, for, except the place he hit, there was nothing bare to be seen. the shrine of st. halvard, was taken up to raumarike, where it remained for three months. thjostolf went up to raumarike, and collected men during the night, with whom he returned towards the town in the morning. in the meantime king eirik set fire to halvard's church, and to the town, which was entirely burnt. thjostolf came soon after to the town with the men he had assembled, and eirik sailed off with his fleet; but could not land anywhere on that side of the fjord, on account of the troops of the lendermen who came down against them; and wherever they attempted a landing, they left five or six men or more upon the strand. king inge lay with a great number of people into hornborusund, but when he learned this, he turned about southwards to denmark again. king inge pursued him, and took from him all the ships he could get hold of; and it was a common observation among people, that never was so poor an expedition made with so great an armament in another king's dominions. king eirik was ill pleased at it, and thought king magnus and his men had been making a fool of him by encouraging him to undertake this expedition, and he declared he would never again besuch friends with them as before. . of sigurd slembidjakn. sigurd slembidjakn came that summer from the west sea to norway, where he heard of his relation king magnus's unlucky expedition; so he expected no welcome in norway, but sailed south, outside the rocks, past the land, and set over to denmark, and went into the sound. he fell in with some vindland cutters south of the islands, gave them battle, and gained the victory. he cleared eight ships, killing many of the men, and he hanged the others. he also had a battle off the island mon with the vindland men, and gained a victory. he then sailed from the south and came to the eastern arm of the gaut river, and took three ships of the fleet of thorer hvinantorde, and olaf, the son of harald kesia, who was sigurd's own sister's son; for ragnhild, the mother of olaf, was a daughter of king magnus barefoot. he drove olaf up the country. thjostolf was at this time in konungahella, and had collected people to defend the country, and sigurd steered thither with his fleet. they shot at each other, but he could not effect a landing; and, on both sides, many were killed and many wounded. ulfhedin saxolfson, sigurd's forecastle man, fell there. he was an icelander, from the north quarter. sigurd continued his course northwards to viken and plundered far and wide around. now when sigurd lay in a harbour called portyrja on limgard's coast, and watched the ships going to or coming from viken to plunder them, the tunsberg men collected an armed force against him, and came unexpectedly upon them while sigurd and his men were on shore dividing their booty. some of the men came down from the land, but some of the other party laid themselves with their ships right across the harbour outside of them. sigurd ran up into his ship, and rowed out against them. vatnorm's ship was the nearest, and he let his ship fall behind the line, and sigurd rowed clear past, and thus escaped with one ship and the loss of many men. this verse was made upon vatnorm ( ):-- "the water serpent, people say, from portyrja slipped away." endnotes: ( ) vatnorm, the name of this man, means the water-serpent, and appears to have been a favourite name for war-ships also; hence the pun in the lines upon vatnorm.--l. . the murder of beintein. sigurd slembidjakn sailed from thence to denmark; and at that time a man was lost in his ship, whose name was kolbein thorliotson of batald. he was sitting in a boat which was made fast to the vessel, and upset because she was sailing quickly. when they came south to denmark, sigurd's ship itself was cast away; but he got to alaborg, and was there in winter. the summer after (a.d. ) magnus and sigurd sailed together from the south with seven ships, and came unexpectedly in the night to lister, where they laid their ships on the land. beintein kolbeinson, a court-man of king inge, and a very brave man, was there. sigurd and his men jumped on shore at daylight, came unexpectedly on the people, surrounded the house, and were setting fire to the buildings; but beintein came out of a store-house with his weapons, well armed, and stood within the door with drawn sword, his shield before him, helmet on, and ready to defend himself. the door was somewhat low. sigurd asked which of his lads had most desire to go in against beintein, which he called brave man's work; but none was very hurried to make ready for it. while they were discussing this matter sigurd rushed into the house, past beintein. beintein struck at him, but missed him. sigurd turned instantly on beintein; and after exchanging blows, sigurd gave him his death-stroke, and came out presently bearing his head in his hands. they took all the goods that were in the farm-house, carried the booty to their ships, and sailed away. when king inge and his friends, and also kolbein's sons, sigurd and gyrd, the brothers of beintein, heard of beintein's murder, the king sent a great force against sigurd slembe and his followers; and also travelled himself, and took a ship from hakon paulson pungelta, who was a daughter's son of aslak, a son of erling skjalgson of sole, and cousin of hakon mage. king inge drove hakon and his followers up the country, and took all their gear. sigurd stork, a son of eindride of gautdal, and his brother, eirik hael, and andres kelduskit, son of grim of vist, all fled away into the fjords. but sigurd slembe, magnus the blind and thorieif skiappa sailed outside the isles with three ships north to halogaland; and magnus was in winter (a.d. ) north in bjarkey isle with vidkun jonson. but sigurd had the stem and stern-post of his ship cut out, made a hole in her, and sank her in the inner part of egisfjord, and thereafter he passed the winter at tialdasund by gljufrafjord in hin. far up the fjord there is a cave in the rock; in that place sigurd sat with his followers, who were above twenty men, secretly, and hung a grey cloth before the mouth of the hole, so that no person could see them from the strand. thorleif skiappa, and einar, son of ogmund of sand, and of gudrun, daughter of einar arason of reikiaholar, procured food for sigurd during the winter. it is said that sigurd made the laplanders construct two boats for him during the winter up in the fjord; and they were fastened together with deer sinews, without nails, and with twigs of willow instead of knees, and each boat could carry twelve men. sigurd was with the laplanders while they were making the boats; and the laplanders had good ale, with which they entertained sigurd. sigurd made these lines on it:-- "in the lapland tent brave days we spent. under the grey birch tree; in bed or on bank we knew no rank, and a merry crew were we. "good ale went round as we sat on the ground, under the grey birch tree; and up with the smoke flew laugh and joke, and a merry crew were we." these boats were so light that no ship could overtake them in the water, according to what was sung at the time:-- "our skin-sewed fin-boats lightly swim, over the sea like wind they skim. our ships are built without a nail; few ships like ours can row or sail." in spring sigurd and magnus went south along the coast with the two boats which the laplanders had made; and when they came to vagar they killed svein the priest and his two sons. . of sigurd's slembe's campaign. thereafter sigurd came south to vikar, and seized king sigurd's lendermen, william skinnare and thorald kept, and killed them both. then sigurd turned south-wards along the coast, and met styrkar glaesirofa south of byrda, as he was coming from the south from the town of nidaros, and killed him. now when sigurd came south to valsnes, he met svinagrim outside of the ness, and cut off his right hand. from thence he went south to more, past the mouth of the throndhjem fjord, where they took hedin hirdmage and kalf kringluauge. they let hedin escape, but killed kalf. when king sigurd, and his foster-father, sadagyrd, heard of sigurd slembidjakn's proceedings, and what he was doing, they sent people to search for him; and their leader was jon kauda, a son of kalf range. bishop ivar's brother, and besides the priest jon smyril. they went on board the ship the reindeer, which had twenty-two rowing benches, and was one of the swiftest sailing vessels, to seek sigurd; but as they could not find him, they returned north-wards with little glory; for people said that they had got sight of sigurd and his people, and durst not attack them. afterwards sigurd proceeded southwards to hordaland, and came to herdla, where einar, a son of laxapaul, had a farm; and went into hamar's fjord, to the gangdaga-thing. they took all the goods that were at the farm, and a long-ship of twenty-two benches which belonged to einar; and also his son, four years old, who was living with one of his labouring people. some wanted to kill the boy, but others took him and carried him with them. the labouring man said, "it will not be lucky for you to kill the child; and it will be of no use to you to carry him away, for it is my son, and not einar's." and on his word they let the boy remain, and went away. when einar came home he gave the labourer money to the value of two ore of gold, and thanked him for his clever invention, and promised him his constant friendship. so says eirik odson, who first wrote down this relation; and he heard himself einar paulson telling these circumstances in bergen. sigurd then went southward along the coast all the way east to viken, and met fin saudaulfson east at kvildar, as he was engaged in drawing in king inge's rents and duties, and hanged him. then they sailed south to denmark. . of king inge's letter to king sigurd. the people of viken and of bergen complained that it was wrong for king sigurd and his friends to be sitting quietly north in the town of nidaros, while his father's murderer was cruising about in the ordinary passage at the mouth of the throndhjem fjord; and king inge and his people, on the other hand, were in viken in the midst of the danger, defending the country and holding many battles. then king inge sent a letter north to the merchant-town nidaros, in which were these words: "king inge haraldson sends his brother king sigurd, as also sadagyrd, ogmund svipte, ottar birting, and all lendermen, court-men, house-people, and all the public, rich and poor, young and old, his own and god's salutation. the misfortune is known to all men that on account of our childhoods--thou being five, and i but three years of age--we can undertake nothing without the counsel of our friends and other good men. now i and my men think that we stand nearer to the danger and necessity common to us both, than thou and thy friends; therefore make it so that thou, as soon as possible, come to me, and as strong in troops as possible, that we may be assembled to meet whatever may come. he will be our best friend who does all he can that we may be united, and may take an equal part in all things. but if thou refuse, and wilt not come after this message which i send thee in need, as thou hast done before, then thou must expect that i will come against thee with an armament; and let god decide between us; for we are not in a condition to sit here at so great an expense, and with so numerous a body of troops as are necessary here on account of the enemy, and besides many other pressing charges, whilst thou hast half of all the land-tax and other revenues of norway. live in the peace of god!" . ottar birting's speech. then ottar birting stood up in the thing, and first of all answered thus: "this is king sigurd's reply to his brother king inge--that god will reward him for his good salutation, and likewise for the trouble and burden which he and his friends have in this kingdom, and in matters of necessity which effect them both. although now some think there is something sharp in king inge's message to his brother sigurd, yet he has in many respects sufficient cause for it. now i will make known to you my opinion, and we will hear if king sigurd and the other people of power will agree to it; and it is, that thou, king sigurd, make thyself ready, with all the people who will follow thee, to defend thy country; and go as strong in men as possible to thy brother king inge as soon as thou art prepared, in order to assist each other in all things that are for the common good; and may god almighty strengthen and assist you both! now, king, we will have thy words." peter, a son of saudaulf, who was afterwards called peter byrdarsvein, bore king sigurd to the thing. then the king said, "ye must know that, if i am to advise, i will go as soon as possible to my brother king inge." then others spoke, one after the other; but although each began his speech in his own way, he ended with agreeing to what ottar birting had proposed; and it was determined to call together the war-forces, and go to the east part of the country. king sigurd accordingly went with great armament east to viken, and there he met his brother king inge. . fall of magnus the blind. the same autumn (a.d. ) sigurd slembe and magnus the blind came from denmark with thirty ships, manned both with danes and northmen. it was near to winter. when the kings heard of this, they set out with their people eastwards to meet them. they met at hvalar, near holm the grey, the day after martinmas, which was a sunday. king inge and king sigurd had twenty ships, which were all large. there was a great battle; but, after the first assault, the danes fled home to denmark with eighteen ships. on this sigurd's and magnus's ships were cleared; and as the last was almost entirely bare of men, and magnus was lying in his bed, hreidar griotgardson, who had long followed him, and been his courtman, took king magnus in his arms, and tried to run with him on board some other ship. but hreidar was struck by a spear, which went between his shoulders; and people say king magnus was killed by the same spear. hreidar fell backwards upon the deck, and magnus upon him; and every man spoke of how honourably he had followed his master and rightful sovereign. happy are they who have such praise! there fell, on king magnus's ship, lodin saupprud of linustadar, bruse thormodson; and the forecastle-men to sigurd slembidjakn, ivar kolbeinson and halyard faeger, who had been in sigurd slembe's fore-hold. this ivar had been the first who had gone in, in the night, to king harald, and had laid hands on him. there fell a great number of the men of king magnus and sigurd slembe, for inge's men let not a single one escape if they got hold of him; but only a few are named here. they killed upon a holm more than forty men, among whom were two icelanders--the priest sigurd bergthorson, a grandson of mas; the other clemet, a son of are einarson. but three icelanders obtained their lives: namely, ivar skrauthanke, a son of kalf range, and who afterwards was bishop of throndhjem, and was father of the archbishop eirik. ivar had always followed king magnus, and he escaped into his brother jon kauda's ship. jon was married to cecilia, a daughter of gyrd bardson, and was then in king inge's and sigurd's armament. there were three in all who escaped on board of jon's ship. the second was arnbjorn ambe, who afterwards married thorstein's daughter in audsholt; the third was ivar dynta, a son of stare, but on the mother's side of a throndhjem family,--a very agreeable man. when the troops came to know that these three were on board his ship, they took their weapons and assaulted the vessel, and some blows were exchanged, and the whole fleet had nearly come to a fight among themselves; but it came to an agreement, so that jon ransomed his brothers ivar and arnbjorn for a fixed sum in ransom, which, however, was afterwards remitted. but ivar dynta was taken to the shore, and beheaded; for sigurd and gyrd, the sons of kolbein, would not take any mulct for him, as they knew he had been at their brother beintein's murder. ivar the bishop said, that never was there anything that touched him so nearly, as ivar's going to the shore under the axe, and turning to the others with the wish that they might meet in joy here-after. gudrid birger's daughter, a sister of archbishop jon, told eirik odson that she heard bishop ivar say this. . sigurd slembe taken prisoner. a man called thrand gialdkere was the steersman of king inge's ship. it was come so far, that inge's men were rowing in small boats between the ships after those who were swimming in the water, and killed those they could get hold of. sigurd slembe threw himself overboard after his ship had lost her crew, stripped off his armour under the water, and then swam with his shield over him. some men from thrand's vessel took prisoner a man who was swimming, and were about to kill him; but he begged his life, and offered to tell them where sigurd slembe was, and they agreed to it. shields and spears, dead men, weapons, and clothes, were floating all around on the sea about the ships, "ye can see," said he, "a red shield floating on the water; he is under it." they rowed to it immediately, took him, and brought him on board of thrand's ship. thrand then sent a message to thjostolf, ottar, and amunde. sigurd slembe had a tinder box on him; and the tinder was in a walnut-shell, around which there was wax. this is related, because it seems an ingenious way of preserving it from ever getting wet. he swam with a shield over him, because nobody could know one shield from another where so many were floating about; and they would never have hit upon him, if they had not been told where he was. when thrand came to the land with sigurd, and it was told to the troops that he was taken, the army set up a shout of joy. when sigurd heard it he said, "many a bad man will rejoice over my head this day." then thjostolf alason went to where sigurd was sitting, struck from his head a silk hat with silver fringes, and said. "why wert thou so impudent, thou son of a slave! to dare to call thyself king magnus barefoot's son?" sigurd replied, "presume not to compare my father to a slave; for thy father was of little worth compared to mine." hal, a son of the doctor thorgeir steinson, king inge's court-man, was present at this circumstance, and told it to eirik odson, who afterwards wrote these relations in a book, which he called "hryggjarstykke". in this book is told all concerning harald gille and his sons, and magnus the blind, and sigurd slembidjakn, until their deaths. eirik was a sensible man, who was long in norway about that time. some of his narratives he wrote down from hakon mage's account; some were from lendermen of harald's sons, who along with his sons were in all this feud, and in all the councils. eirik names, moreover, several men of understanding and veracity, who told him these accounts, and were so near that they saw or heard all that happened. something he wrote from what he himself had heard or seen. . torture of sigurd slembe. hal says that the chiefs wished to have sigurd killed instantly; but the men who were the most cruel, and thought they had injuries to avenge, advised torturing him; and for this they named beintein's brothers, sigurd and gyrd, the sons of kolbein. peter byrdarsvein would also avenge his brother fin. but the chiefs and the greater part of the people went away. they broke his shin-bones and arms with an axe-hammer. then they stripped him, and would flay him alive; but when they tried to take off the skin, they could not do it for the gush of blood. they took leather whips and flogged him so long, that the skin was as much taken off as if he had been flayed. then they stuck a piece of wood in his back until it broke, dragged him to a tree and hanged him; and then cut off his head, and brought the body and head to a heap of stones and buried them there. all acknowledge, both enemies and friends, that no man in norway, within memory of the living, was more gifted with all perfections, or more experienced, than sigurd, but in some respects he was an unlucky man. hal says that he spoke little, and answered only a few, and in single words, under his tortures, although they spoke to him. hal says further, that he never moved when they tortured him, more than if they were striking a stock or a stone. this hal alleged as proof that he was a brave hero, who had courage to endure tortures; for he still held his tongue, and never moved from the spot. and farther he says, that he never altered his voice in the least, but spoke with as much ease as if he was sitting at the ale-table; neither speaking higher nor lower, nor in a more tremulous voice than he was used to do. he spoke until he gave up the ghost, and sang between whiles parts of the psalm-book, and which hal considered beyond the powers and strength of ordinary men. and the priest who had the church in the neighbourhood let sigurd's body be transported thither to the church. this priest was a friend of harald's sons: but when they heard it they were angry at him, had the body carried back to where it had been, and made the priest pay a fine. sigurd's friends afterwards came from denmark with a ship for his body, carried it to alaborg, and interred it in mary church in that town. so said dean ketil, who officiated as priest at mary church, to eirik; and that sigurd was buried there. thjostolf alason transported magnus the blind's body to oslo, and buried it in halvard's church, beside king sigurd his father. lodin saupprud was transported to tunsberg; but the others of the slain were buried on the spot. . eystein haraldson comes to norway. when the kings sigurd and inge had ruled over norway about six years, eystein, who was a son of harald gille, came in spring from scotland (a.d. ). arne sturla, thorleif brynjolfson, and kolbein hruga had sailed westward over the sea after eystein, accompanied him to norway, and sailed immediately with him to throndhjem. the throndhjem people received him well; and at the eyra-thing of ascension-day he was chosen king, so that he should have the third part of norway with his brothers sigurd and inge. they were at this time in the east part of the country; and men went between the kings who brought about a peace, and that eystein should have a third part of the kingdom. people believed what he said of his paternal descent, because king harald himself had testified to it, and he did not resort to the ordeal of iron. king eystein's mother was called bjadok, and she followed him to norway. magnus was the name of king harald gille's fourth son, who was fostered by kyrpingaorm. he also was chosen king, and got a fourth part of the country; but magnus was deformed in his feet, lived but a short time, and died in his bed. einar skulason speaks of them:-- "the generous eystein money gave; sigurd in fight was quick and brave; inge loved well the war-alarm; magnus to save his land from harm. no country boasts a nobler race the battle-field, or thing, to grace. four brothers of such high pretence the sun ne'er shone upon at once." . murder of ottar birting. after king harald gille's death queen ingerid married ottar birting, who was a lendermen and a great chief, and of a throndhjem family, who strengthened king inge's government much while he was in his childhood. king sigurd was not very friendly to ottar; because, as he thought, ottar always took king inge's side. ottar birting was killed north in the merchant town (nidaros), in an assault upon him in the twilight as he was going to the evening song. when he heard the whistling of the blow he held up his cloak with his hands against it; thinking, no doubt, it was a snowball thrown at him, as young boys do in the streets. ottar fell by the stroke; but his son, alf hrode, who just at the same moment was coming into the churchyard, saw his father's fall, and saw that the man who had killed him ran east about the church. alf ran after him, and killed him at the corner of the choir; and people said that he had good luck in avenging his father, and afterwards was much more respected than he had been before. . beginning of king eystein. king eystein haraldson was in the interior of the throndhjem district when he heard of ottar's murder, and summoned to him the bonde-army, with which he proceeded to the town; and he had many men. ottar's relations and other friends accused king sigurd, who was in the town, of having instigated this deed; and the bondes were much enraged against him. but the king offered to clear himself by the ordeal of iron, and thereby to establish the truth of his denial; and accordingly a peace was made. king sigurd went to the south end of the country, and the ordeal was never afterwards heard of. . beginning of orm the king-brother. queen ingerid had a son to ivar sneis, and he was called orm, and got the surname of king-brother. he was a handsome man in appearance, and became a great chief, as shall be told hereafter. ingerid afterwards married arne of stodreim, who was from this called king's-mate; and their children were inge, nikolas, philip of herdla, and margaret, who was first married to bjorn buk, and afterwards to simon karason. . journey of erling skakke and earl ragnvald. kyrpingaorm and ragnhild, a daughter of sveinke steinarson, had a son called erling. kyrpingaorm was a son of svein sveinson, who was a son of erling of gerd. otto's mother was ragna, a daughter of earl orm eilifson and sigrid, a daughter of earl fin arnason. the mother of earl orm was ragnhild, a daughter of earl hakon the great. erling was a man of understanding, and a great friend of king inge, by whose assistance and counsel erling obtained in marriage christina, a daughter of king sigurd the crusader and queen malmfrid. erling possessed a farm at studla in south hordaland. erling left the country; and with him went eindride unge and several lendermen, who had chosen men with them. they intended to make a pilgrimage to jerusalem, and went across the west sea to orkney. there earl ragnvald and bishop william joined them; and they had in all fifteen ships from orkney, with which they first sailed to the south hebrides, from thence west to valland, and then the same way king sigurd the crusader had sailed to norvasund; and they plundered all around in the heathen part of spain. soon after they had sailed through the norvasund, eindride unge and his followers, with six ships, separated from them; and then each was for himself. earl ragnvald and erling skakke fell in with a large ship of burden at sea called a dromund, and gave battle to it with nine ships. at last they laid their cutters close under the dromund; but the heathens threw both weapons and stones, and pots full of pitch and boiling oil. erling laid his ship so close under the dromund, that the missiles of the heathens fell without his ship. then erling and his men cut a hole in the dromund, some working below and some above the water-mark; and so they boarded the vessel through it. so says thorbjorn skakkaskald, in his poem on erling:-- "the axes of the northmen bold a door into the huge ships' hold hewed through her high and curved side, as snug beneath her bulge they ride. their spears bring down the astonished foe, who cannot see from whence the blow. the eagle's prey, they, man by man, fall by the northmen's daring plan." audunraude, erling's forecastle-man, was the first man who got into the dromund. then they carried her, killing an immense number of people; making an extraordinarily valuable booty, and gaining a famous victory. earl ragnvald and erling skakke came to palestine in the course of their expedition, and all the way to the river jordan. from thence they went first to constantinople, where they left their ships, travelled northwards by land, and arrived in safety in norway, where their journey was highly praised. erling skakke appeared now a much greater man than before, both on account of his journey and of his marriage; besides he was a prudent sensible man, rich, of great family, eloquent, and devoted to king inge by the strictest friendship more than to the other royal brothers. . birth of hakon herdebreid. king sigurd went to a feast east in viken along with his court, and rode past a house belonging to a great bonde called simon. while the king was riding past the house, he heard within such beautiful singing that he was quite enchanted with it, and rode up to the house, and saw a lovely girl standing at the handmill and grinding. the king got off his horse, and went to the girl and courted her. when the king went away, the bonde simon came to know what the object of the king's visit had been. the girl was called thora, and she was simon the bonde's servant-girl. simon took good care of her afterwards, and the girl brought forth a male child (a.d. ), who was called hakon, and was considered king sigurd's son. hakon was brought up by simon thorbergson and his wife gunhild. their own sons also, onund and andreas, were brought up with hakon, and were so dear to him that death only could have parted them. . eystein and the peasants of hising isle. while king eystein haraldson was in viken, he fell into disputes with the bondes of reine and the inhabitants of hising isle, who assembled to oppose him; but he gave them battle at a place called leikberg, and afterwards burnt and destroyed all around in hising; so that the bondes submitted to his will, paid great fines to the king, and he took hostages from them. so says einar skulason:-- "the viken men won't strive again, with words or blows, the king to oppose. none safety found on viken's ground, till all, afraid, pledge and scat paid." and further:-- "the king came near; he who is dear to all good men came down the glen, by leikberg hill. they who do ill, the reine folk, fly or quarter cry." . war expedition of king haraldson. soon after king eystein began his journey out of the country over sea to the west (a.d. ), and sailed first to caithness. here he heard that earl harald maddad's son was in thursa, to which he sailed directly in three small boats. the earl had a ship of thirty banks of oars, and nearly eighty men in her. but they were not prepared to make resistance, so that king eystein was able to board the ship with his men; and he took the earl prisoner, and carried him to his own ship, but the earl ransomed himself with three marks of gold: and thus they parted. einar skulason tells of it thus:-- "earl harald in his stout ship lay on the bright sand in thursa bay; with fourscore men he had no fear, nor thought the norse king was so near, he who provides the eagle's meals in three small boats along-shore steals; and maddad's son must ransom pay for his bad outlook that fair day." from thence king eystein sailed south along the east side of scotland, and brought up at a merchant-town in scotland called aberdeen, where he killed many people, and plundered the town. so says einar skulason:-- "at aberdeen, too, i am told, fell many by our norsemen bold; peace was disturbed, and blue swords broke with many a hard and bloody stroke." the next battle was at hartlepool in the south, with a party of horsemen. the king put them to flight, and seized some ships there. so says einar:-- "at hartlepool, in rank and row, the king's court-men attack the foe. the king's sharp sword in blood was red, blood dropped from every norse spear-head. ravens rejoice o'er the warm food of english slain, each where he stood; and in the ships their thirst was quenched: the decks were in the foe's blood drenched." then he went southwards to england, and had his third battle at whitby, and gained the victory, and burnt the town. so says einar:-- "the ring of swords, the clash of shields, were loud in whitby's peaceful fields; for here the king stirred up the strife.-- man against man, for death or life. o'er roof and tower, rose on high the red wrath-fire in the sky; house after house the red fiend burns; by blackened walls the poor man mourns." thereafter he plundered wide around in england, where stephen was then the king. after this king eystein fought with some cavalry at skarpasker. so says einar:-- "at skarpasker the english horse retire before the norse king's force: the arrow-shower like snow-drift flew, and the shield-covered foemen slew." he fought next at pilavik, and gained the victory. so says einar:-- "at pilavik the wild wolf feeds, well furnished by the king's brave deeds he poured upon the grass-green plain a red shower from the perthmen slain. on westwards in the sea he urges, with fire and sword the country purges: langtown he burns; the country rang, for sword on shield incessant clang." here they burnt langatun, a large village; and people say that the town has never since risen to its former condition. after this king eystein left england in autumn, and returned to norway. people spoke in various ways about this expedition. . of harald's sons. there was good peace maintained in norway in the first years of the government of harald's sons; and as long as their old counsellors were alive, there was some kind of unanimity among them. while inge and sigurd were in their childhood, they had a court together; but eystein, who was come to age of discretion, had a court for himself. but when inge's and sigurd's counsellors were dead,--namely, sadagyrd bardson, ottar birting, amunde gyrdson, thjostolf alason, ogmund svipter, and ogmund denger, a brother of erling skakke (erling was not much looked up to while ogmund lived),--the two kings, inge and sigurd divided their courts. king inge then got great assistance from gregorius dagson, a son of dag eilifson by ragnhild a daughter of skapte ogmundson. gregorius had much property, and was himself a thriving, sagacious man. he presided in the governing the country under king inge, and the king allowed him to manage his property for him according to his own judgment. . habits and manners of harald's sons. when king sigurd grew up he was a very ungovernable, restless man in every way; and so was king eystein, but eystein was the more reasonable of the two. king sigurd was a stout and strong man, of a brisk appearance; he had light brown hair, an ugly mouth; but otherwise a well-shaped countenance. he was polite in his conversation beyond any man, and was expert in all exercises. einar skulason speaks of this:-- "sigurd, expert in every way to wield the sword in bloody fray, showed well that to the bold and brave god always luck and victory gave. in speech, as well as bloody deeds, the king all other men exceeds; and when he speaks we think that none has said a word but he alone." king eystein was dark and dingy in complexion, of middle height, and a prudent able man; but what deprived him of consideration and popularity with those under him were his avarice and narrowness. he was married to ragna, a daughter of nicolas mase. king inge was the handsomest among them in countenance. he had yellow but rather thin hair, which was much curled. his stature was small; and he had difficulty in walking alone, because he had one foot withered, and he had a hump both on his back and his breast. he was of cheerful conversation, and friendly towards his friends; was generous, and allowed other chiefs to give him counsel in governing the country. he was popular, therefore, with the public; and all this brought the kingdom and the mass of the people on his side. king harald gille's daughter brigida was first married to the swedish king inge halsteinson, and afterwards to earl karl sonason, and then to the swedish king magnus. she and king inge haraldson were cousins by the mother's side. at last brigida married earl birger brose, and they had four sons, namely, earl philip, earl knut, folke, and magnus. their daughters were ingegerd, who was married to the swedish king sorkver, and their son was king jon; a second daughter was called kristin, and a third margaret. harald gille's second daughter was called maria, who was married to simon skalp, a son of halkel huk; and their son was called nikolas. king harald gille's third daughter was called margaret, who was married to jon halkelson, a brother of simon. now many things occurred between the brothers which occasioned differences and disputes; but i will only relate what appears to me to have produced the more important events. . cardinal nikolas comes to the country. in the days of harald's sons cardinal nikolas came from rome to norway, being sent there by the pope. the cardinal had taken offence at the brothers sigurd and eystein, and they were obliged to come to a reconciliation with him; but, on the other hand, he stood on the most affectionate terms with king inge, whom he called his son. now when they were all reconciled with him, he moved them to let jon birgerson be consecrated archbishop of throndhjem and gave him a vestment which is called a pallium; and settled moreover that the archbishop's seat should be in nidaros, in christ church, where king olaf the saint reposes. before that time there had only been common bishops in norway. the cardinal introduced also the law, that no man should go unpunished who appeared with arms in the merchant-town, excepting the twelve men who were in attendancce on the king. he improved many of the customs of the northmen while he was in the country. there never came a foreigner to norway whom all men respected so highly, or who could govern the people so well as he did. after some time he returned to the south with many friendly presents, and declared ever afterwards that he was the greatest friend of the people of norway. when he came south to rome the former pope died suddenly, and all the people of rome would have cardinal nikolas for pope, and he was consecrated under the name of adrian; and according to the report of men who went to rome in his days, he had never any business, however important, to settle with other people, but he would break it off to speak with the northmen who desired to see him. he was not long pope, and is now considered a saint. . miracle of king olaf. in the time of harald gille's sons, it happened that a man called haldor fell into the hands of the vindland people, who took him and mutilated him, cut open his neck, took out the tongue through the opening, and cut out his tongue root. he afterwards sought out the holy king olaf, fixed his mind entirely on the holy man, and weeping besought king olaf to restore his speech and health. thereupon he immediately recovered his speech by the good king's compassion, went immediately into his service for all his life, and became an excellent trustworthy man. this miracle took place a fortnight before the last olafsmas, upon the day that cardinal nikolas set foot on the land of norway. . miracles of king olaf on richard. in the uplands were two brothers, men of great family, and men of fortune, einar and andres, sons of guthorm grabard, and brothers of king sigurd haraldson's mother; and they had great properties and udal estates in that quarter. they had a sister who was very handsome, but did not pay sufficient regard to the scandal of evil persons, as it afterwards appeared. she was on a friendly footing with an english priest called richard, who had a welcome to the house of her brothers, and on account of their friendship for him she did many things to please him, and often to his advantage; but the end of all this was, that an ugly report flew about concerning this girl. when this came into the mouth of the public all men threw the blame on the priest. her brothers did the same, and expressed publicly, as soon as they observed it, that they laid the blame most on him. the great friendship that was between the earl and the priest proved a great misfortune to both, which might have been expected, as the brothers were silent about their secret determination, and let nothing be observed. but one day they called the priest to them, who went, expecting nothing but good from them; enticed him from home with them, saying that they intended to go to another district, where they had some needful business, and inviting him to go with them. they had with them a farm-servant who knew their purpose. they went in a boat along the shore of a lake which is called rands lake, and landed at a ness called skiptisand, where they went on shore and amused themselves awhile. then they went to a retired place, and commanded their servant-man to strike the priest with an axe-hammer. he struck the priest so hard that he swooned; but when he recovered he said, "why are ye playing so roughly with me?" they replied, "although nobody has told thee of it before, thou shalt now find the consequence of what thou hast done." they then upbraided him; but he denied their accusations, and besought god and the holy king olaf to judge between them. then they broke his leg-bones, and dragged him bound to the forest with them; and then they put a string around his head, and put a board under his head and shoulders, and made a knot on the string, and bound his head fast to the board. then the elder brother, einar, took a wedge, and put it on the priest's eye, and the servant who stood beside him struck upon it with an axe, so that the eye flew out, and fell upon the board. then he set the pin upon the other eye, and said to the servant, "strike now more softly." he did so, and the wedge sprang from the eye-stone, and tore the eyelid loose. then einar took up the eyelid in his hand, and saw that the eye-stone was still in its place; and he set the wedge on the cheek, and when the servant struck it the eye-stone sprang out upon the cheek-bone. thereafter they opened his mouth, took his tongue and cut it off, and then untied his hands and his head. as soon as he came to himself, he thought of laying the eye-stones in their place under the eyelids, and pressing then with both hands as much as he could. then they carried him on board, and went to a farm called saeheimrud, where they landed. they sent up to the farm to say that a priest was lying in the boat at the shore. while the message was going to the farm, they asked the priest if he could talk; and he made a noise and attempted to speak. then said einar to his brother, "if he recover and the stump of his tongue grow, i am afraid he will get his speech again." thereupon they seized the stump with a pair of tongs, drew it out, cut it twice, and the third time to the very roots, and left him lying half dead. the housewife in the farm was poor; but she hastened to the place with her daughter, and they carried the priest home to their farm in their cloaks. they then brought a priest, and when he arrived he bound all his wounds; and they attended to his comfort as much as they were able. and thus lay the wounded priest grievously handled, but trusting always to god's grace, and never doubting; and although he was speechless, he prayed to god in thought with a sorrowful mind, but with the more confidence the worse he was. he turned his thoughts also to the mild king olaf the saint, god's dear favourite, of whose excellent deeds he had heard so much told, and trusted so much more zealously on him with all his heart for help in his necessity. as he lay there lame, and deprived of all strength, he wept bitterly, moaned, and prayed with a sore heart that the dear king olaf would help him. now when this wounded priest was sleeping after midnight, he thought he saw a gallant man coming to him, who spoke these words, "thou art ill off, friend richard, and thy strength is little." he thought he replied to this assentingly. then the man accosted him again, "thou requirest compassion?" the priest replies, "i need the compassion of almighty god and the holy king olaf." he answered, "thou shalt get it." thereupon he pulled the tongue-stump so hard that it gave the priest pain; then he stroked with his hands his eyes, and legs, and other wounded members. then the priest asked who he was. he looked at him, and said, "olaf, come here from throndhjem;" and then disappeared. but the priest awoke altogether sound, and thus he spoke: "happy am i, and thanks be to the almighty god and the holy king olaf, who have restored me!" dreadfully mishandled as he had been, yet so quickly was he restored from his misfortune that he scarcely thought he had been wounded or sick. his tongue was entire; both his eyes were in their places, and were clear-sighted; his broken legs and every other wound were healed, or were free from pain; and, in short, he had got perfect health. but as a proof that his eyes had been punched out, there remained a white scar on each eyelid, in order that this dear king's excellence might be manifest on the man who had been so dreadfully misused. . king inge and sigurd hold a thing. king eystein and king sigurd had quarrelled, because king sigurd had killed king eystein's court-man harald, the viken man, who owned a house in bergen, and also the priest jon tapard, a son of bjarne sigurdson. on account of this affair, a conference to settle it was appointed in winter in the uplands. the two sat together in the conference for a long time, and so much was known of their conference that all three brothers were to meet the following summer in bergen. it was added, that their conference was to the effect that king inge should have two or three farms, and as much income as would keep thirty men beside him, as he had not health to be a king. when king inge and gregorius heard this report, they came to bergen with many followers. king sigurd arrived there a little later, and was not nearly so strong in men. sigurd and inge had then been nineteen years kings of norway (a.d. ). king eystein came later still from the south than the other two from the north. then king inge ordered the thing to be called together on the holm by the sound of trumpet; and sigurd and inge came to it with a great many people. gregorius had two long-ships, and at the least ninety men, whom he kept in provisions. he kept his house-men better than other lendermen; for he never took part in any entertainment where each guest brings his liquor, without having all his house-men to drink with him. he went now to the thing in a gold-mounted helmet, and all his men had helmets on. then king inge stood up, and told the assembly what he had heard; how his brothers were going to use him, and depose him from his kingdom; and asked for their assistance. the assembled people made a good return to his speech, and declared they would follow him. . of gregorius dagson. then king sigurd stood up and said it was a false accusation that king inge had made against him and his brother, and insisted that gregorius had invented it; and insinuated that it would not be long, if he had his will, before they should meet so that the golden helmet should be doffed; and ended his speech by hinting that they could not both live. gregorius replied, that sigurd need not long so much for this, as he was ready now, if it must be so. a few days after, one of gregorius's house-men was killed out upon the street, and it was sigurd's house-men who killed him. gregorius would then have fallen upon king sigurd and his people; but king inge, and many others, kept him back. but one evening, just as queen ingerid, king inge's mother, was coming from vespers, she came past where sigurd skrudhyrna, a courtman of king inge, lay murdered. he was then an old man, and had served many kings. king sigurd's courtmen, halyard gunnarson, and sigurd, a son of eystein trafale, had killed him; and people suspected it was done by order of king sigurd. she went immediately to king inge, and told him he would be a little king if he took no concern, but allowed his court-men to be killed, the one after the other, like swine. the king was angry at her speech; and while they were scolding about it, came gregorius in helmet and armour, and told the king not to be angry, for she was only saying the truth. "and i am now," says he, "come to thy assistance, if thou wilt attack king sigurd; and here we are, above men in helmets and armour, and with them we will attack where others think the attack may be worst." but the most dissuaded from this course, thinking that sigurd would pay the mulct for the slaughter done. now when gregorius saw that there would be no assault, he accosted king inge thus: "thou wilt frighten thy men from thee in this way; for first they lately killed my house-man, and now thy court-man, and afterwards they will chase me, or some other of thy lendermen whom thou wouldst feel the loss of, when they see that thou art indifferent about such things; and at last, after thy friends are killed, they will take the royal dignity from thee. whatever thy other lendermen may do, i will not stay here longer to be slaughtered like an ox; but sigurd the king and i have a business to settle with each other to-night, in whatever way it may turn out. it is true that there is but little help in thee on account of thy ill health, but i should think thy will should not be less to hold thy hand over thy friends, and i am now quite ready to go from hence to meet sigurd, and my banner is flying in the yard." then king inge stood up, and called for his arms, and ordered every man who wished to follow him to get ready, declaring it was of no use to try to dissuade him; for he had long enough avoided this, but now steel must determine between them. . of king sigurd's fall. king sigurd sat and drank in sigrid saeta's house ready for battle, although people thought it would not come to an assault at all. then came king inge with his men down the road from the smithy shops, against the house. arne, the king's brother-in-law, came out from the sand-bridge, aslak erlendson from his own house, and gregorius from the street where all thought the assault would be worst. king sigurd and his men made many shots from the holes in the loft, broke down the fireplaces, and threw stones on them. gregorius and his men cut down the gates of the yard; and there in the port fell einar, a son of laxapaul, who was of sigurd's people, together with halvard gunnarson, who was shot in a loft, and nobody lamented his death. they hewed down the houses, and many of king sigurd's men left him, and surrendered for quarter. then king sigurd went up into a loft, and desired to be heard. he had a gilt shield, by which they knew him, but they would not listen to him, and shot arrows at him as thick as snow in a snow-shower, so that he could not stay there. as his men had now left him, and the houses were being hewn down, he went out from thence, and with him his court-man thord husfreyja from viken. they wanted to come where king inge was to be found, and sigurd called to his brother king inge, and begged him to grant him life and safety; but both thord and sigurd were instantly killed, and thord fell with great glory. king sigurd was interred in the old christ church out on the holm. king inge gave gregorius the ship king sigurd had owned. there fell many of king sigurd's and king inge's men, although i only name a few; but of gregorius's men there fell four; and also some who belonged to no party, but were shot on the piers, or out in the ships. it was fought on a friday, and fourteen days before saint john the baptist's day (june , ). two or three days after king eystein came from the eastward with thirty ships, and had along with him his brother's son hakon, a son of king sigurd. eystein did not come up to the town, but lay in floruvagar, and good men went between to get a reconciliation made. but gregorius wanted that they should go out against him, thinking there never would be a better opportunity; and offered to be himself the leader. "for thou, king, shalt not go, for we have no want of men." but many dissuaded from this course, and it came to nothing. king eystein returned back to viken, and king inge to throndhjem, and they were in a sort reconciled; but they did not meet each other. . of gregorius dagson. somewhat later than king eystein, gregorius dagson also set out to the eastward and came to his farm bratsberg in hofund; but king eystein was up in the fjord at oslo, and had his ships drawn above two miles over the frozen sea, for there was much ice at that time in viken. king eystein went up to hofund to take gregorius; but he got news of what was on foot, and escaped to thelemark with ninety men, from thence over the mountains, and came down in hardanger; and at last to studla in etne, to erling skakke's farm. erling himself had gone north to bergen; but his wife kristin, a daughter of king sigurd, was at home, and offered gregorius all the assistance he wanted; and he was hospitably received. he got a long-ship there which belonged to erling, and everything else he required. gregorius thanked her kindly, and allowed that she had behaved nobly, and as might have been expected of her. gregorius then proceeded to bergen, where he met erling, who thought also that his wife had done well. . reconciliation of eystein and inge. then gregorius went north to throndhjem, and came there before yule. king inge was rejoiced at his safety, and told him to use his property as freely as his own, king eystein having burnt gregorius's house, and slaughtered his stock of cattle. the ship-docks which king eystein the elder had constructed in the merchant town of nidaros, and which had been exceedingly expensive, were also burnt this winter, together with some good vessels belonging to king inge. this deed was ascribed to king eystein and philip gyrdson, king sigurd's foster-brother, and occasioned much displeasure and hatred. the following summer king inge went south with a very numerous body of men; and king eystein came northwards, gathering men also. they met in the east (a.d. ) at the seleys, near to the naze; but king inge was by far the strongest in men. it was nearly coming to a battle; but at last they were reconciled on these conditions, that king eystein should be bound to pay forty-five marks of gold, of which king inge should have thirty marks, because king eystein had occasioned the burning of the docks and ships; and, besides, that philip, and all who had been accomplices in the deed, should be outlawed. also that the men should be banished the country, against whom it could be proved that they gave blow or wound to king sigurd; for king eystein accused king inge of protecting these men; and that gregorius should have fifteen marks of gold for the value of his property burnt by king eystein. king eystein was ill pleased with these terms, and looked upon the treaty as one forced upon him. from that meeting king inge went eastward to viken, and king eystein north to throndhjem; and they had no intercourse with each other, nor were the messages which passed between them very friendly, and on both sides they killed each other's friends. king eystein, besides, did not pay the money; and the one accused the other of not fulfilling what was promised. king inge and gregorius enticed many people from king eystein; among others, bard standale brynjolfson, simon skalp, a son of halkel huk, halder brynjolfson, jon halkelson, and many other lendermen. . of eystein and inge. two years after king sigurd's fall (a.d. ) both kings assembled armaments; namely, king inge in the east of the country, where he collected eighty ships; and king eystein in the north, where he had forty-five, and among these the great dragon, which king eystein magnuson had built after the long serpent; and they had on both sides many and excellent troops. king inge lay with his ships south at moster isle, and king eystein a little to the north in graeningasund. king eystein sent the young aslak jonson, and arne sturla, a son of snaebjorn, with one ship to meet king inge; but when the king's men knew them, they assaulted them, killed many of their people, and took all that was in the ship belonging to them. aslak and arne and a few more escaped to the land, went to king eystein, and told him how king inge had received them. thereupon king eystein held a house-thing, and told his followers how ill king inge had treated his men, and desired the troops to follow him. "i have," said he, "so many, and such excellent men, that i have no intention to fly, if ye will follow me." but this speech was not received with much favour. halkel huk was there; but both his sons, simon and jon, were with king inge. halkel replied, so loud that many heard him, "let thy chests of gold follow thee, and let them defend thy land." . king eystein's death. in the night many of king eystein's ships rowed secretly away, some of them joining king inge, some going to bergen, or up into the fjords; so that when it was daylight in the morning the king was lying behind with only ten ships. then he left the great dragon, which was heavy to row, and several other vessels behind; and cut and destroyed the dragon, started out the ale, and destroyed all that they could not take with them. king eystein went on board of the ship of eindride, a son of jon morner, sailed north into sogn, and then took the land-road eastwards to viken. king inge took the vessels, and sailed with them outside of the isles to viken. king eystein had then got east as far as fold, and had with him men; but when they saw king inge's force, they did not think themselves sufficiently strong to oppose him, and they retired to the forest. every one fled his own way, so that the king was left with but one man. king inge and his men observed king eystein's flight, and also that he had but few people with him, and they went immediately to search for him. simon skalp met the king just as he was coming out of a willow bush. simon saluted him. "god save you, sire," said he. the king replied, "i do not know if thou are not sire here." simon replied, "that is as it may happen." the king begged him to conceal him, and said it was proper to do so. "for there was long friendship between us, although it has now gone differently." simon replied, it could not be. then the king begged that he might hear mass before he died, which accordingly took place. then eystein laid himself down on his face on the grass, stretched out his hands on each side, and told them to cut the sign of the cross between his shoulders, and see whether he could not bear steel as king inge's followers had asserted of him. simon told the man who had to put the king to death to do so immediately, for the king had been creeping about upon the grass long enough. he was accordingly slain, and he appears to have suffered manfully. his body was carried to fors, and lay all night under the hill at the south side of the church. king eystein was buried in fors church, and his grave is in the middle of the church-floor, where a fringed canopy is spread over it, and he is considered a saint. where he was executed, and his blood ran upon the ground, sprang up a fountain, and another under the hill where his body lay all night. from both these waters many think they have received a cure of sickness and pain. it is reported by the viken people that many miracles were wrought at king eystein's grave, until his enemies poured upon it soup made of boiled dog's flesh. simon skalp was much hated for this deed, which was generally ascribed to him; but some said that when king eystein was taken simon sent a message to king inge, and the king commanded that king eystein should not come before his face. so king sverre has caused it to be written; but einar skulason tells of it thus:-- "simon skalp, the traitor bold, for deeds of murder known of old, his king betrayed; and ne'er will he god's blessed face hereafter see." saga of hakon herdebreid (hakon the broad-shouldered) ( ) preliminary remarks. this saga describes the feud between hakon sigurdson and his uncle inge. the only skald quoted is einar skulason. endnotes: ( ) the period is from a.d. to .--l. . beginning of hakon herdebreid. hakon, king sigurd's son, was chosen chief of the troop which had followed king eystein, and his adherents gave him the title of king. he was ten years old. at that time he had with him sigurd, a son of halvard hauld of reyr, and andreas and onund, the sons of simon, his foster-brothers, and many chiefs, friends of king sigurd and king eystein; and they went first up to gautland. king inge took possession of all the estates they had left behind, and declared them banished. thereafter king inge went to viken, and was sometimes also in the north of the country. gregorius dagson was in konungahella, where the danger was greatest, and had beside him a strong and handsome body of men, with which he defended the country. . of gregorius dagson. the summer after (a.d. ) hakon came with his men, and proceeded to konungahella with a numerous and handsome troop. gregorius was then in the town, and summoned the bondes and townspeople to a great thing, at which he desired their aid; but he thought the people did not hear him with much favour, so he did not much trust them. gregorius set off with two ships to viken, and was very much cast down. he expected to meet king inge there, having heard he was coming with a great army to viken. now when gregorius had come but a short way north he met simon skalp, haldor brynjolfson, and gyrd amundason, king inge's foster-brothers. gregorius was much delighted at this meeting, and turned back with them, being all in one body, with eleven ships. as they were rowing up to konungahella, hakon, with his followers, was holding a thing without the town, and saw their approach; and sigurd of reyr said, "gregorius must be fey to be throwing himself with so few men into our hands." gregorius landed opposite the town to wait for king inge, for he was expected, but he did not come. king hakon put himself in order in the town, and appointed thorliot skaufaskalle, who was a viking and a robber, to be captain of the men in the merchant ships that were afloat in the river; and king hakon and sigurd were within the town, and drew up the men on the piers, for all the townspeople had submitted to king hakon. . king hakon's flight. gregorius rowed up the river, and let the ship drive down with the stream against thorliot. they shot at each other a while, until thorliot and his comrades jumped overboard; and some of them were killed, some escaped to the land. then gregorius rowed to the piers, and let a gangway be cast on shore at the very feet of hakon's men. there the man who carried his banner was slain, just as he was going to step on shore. gregorius ordered hal, a son of audun halson, to take up the banner, which he did, and bore the banner up to the pier. gregorius followed close after him, held his shield over his head, and protected him as well as himself. as soon as gregorius came upon the pier, and hakon's men knew him, they gave way, and made room for him on every side. afterwards more people landed from the ships, and then gregorius made a severe assault with his men; and hakon's men first moved back, and then ran up into the town. gregorius pursued them eagerly, drove them twice from the town, and killed many of them. by the report of all men, never was there so glorious an affair as this of gregorius; for hakon had more than men, and gregorius not full . after the battle, gregorius said to hal audunson, "many men, in my opinion, are more agile in battle than ye icelanders are, for ye are not so exercised as we norwegians; but none, i think, are so bold under arms as ye are." king inge came up soon after, and killed many of the men who had taken part with hakon; made some pay heavy fines, burnt the houses of some, and some he drove out of the country, or treated otherwise very ill. hakon fled at first up to gautland with all his men; but the winter after (a.d. ), he proceeded by the upper road to throndhjem, and came there before easter. the throndhjem people received him well, for they had always served under that shield. it is said that the throndhjem people took hakon as king, on the terms that he should have from inge the third part of norway as his paternal heritage. king inge and gregorius were in viken, and gregorius wanted to make an expedition against the party in the north; but it came to nothing that winter, as many dissuaded from it. . fall of gyrd and havard. king hakon left throndhjem in spring with thirty ships nearly; and some of his men sailed before the rest with seven ships, and plundered in north and south more. no man could remember that there ever before had been plundering between the two towns (bergen and nidaros). jon the son of halkel huk collected the bondes in arms, and proceeded against them; took kolbein ode prisoner, killed every woman's son of them in his ship. then they searched for the others, found them all assembled in seven ships, and fought with them; but his father halkel not coming to his assistance as he had promised, many good bondes were killed, and jon himself was wounded. hakon proceeded south to bergen with his forces; but when he came to stiornvelta, he heard that king inge and gregorius had arrived a few nights before from the east at bergen, and therefore he did not venture to steer thither. they sailed the outer course southwards past bergen, and met three ships of king inge's fleet, which had been outsailed on the voyage from the east. on board of them were gyrd amundason, king inge's foster-brother, who was married to gyrid a sister of gregorius, and also lagman gyrd gunhildson, and havard klining. king hakon had gyrd amundason and havard klining put to death; but took lagman gyrd southwards, and then proceeded east to viken. . of the consultations of king inge. when king inge heard of this he sailed east after them, and they met east in the gaut river. king inge went up the north arm of the river, and sent out spies to get news of hakon and his fleet; but he himself landed at hising, and waited for his spies. now when the spies came back they went to the king, and said that they had seen king hakon's forces, and all his ships which lay at the stakes in the river, and hakon's men had bound the stems of their vessels to them. they had two great east-country trading vessels, which they had laid outside of the fleet, and on both these were built high wooded stages (castles). when king inge heard the preparations they had made, he ordered a trumpet to call a house-thing of all the men; and when the thing was seated he asked his men for counsel, and applied particularly to gregorius dagson, his brother-in-law erling skakke, and other lendermen and ship-commanders, to whom he related the preparations of hakon and his men. then gregorius dagson replied first, and made known his mind in the following words:--"sometimes we and hakon have met, and generally they had the most people; but, notwithstanding, they fell short in battle against us. now, on the other hand, we have by far the greatest force; and it will appear probable to the men who a short time ago lost gallant relations by them, that this will be a good occasion to get vengeance, for they have fled before us the greater part of the summer; and we have often said that if they waited for us, as appears now to be the case, we would have a brush with them. now i will tell my opinion, which is, that i will engage them, if it be agreeable to the king's pleasure; for i think it will go now as formerly, that they must give way before us if we attack them bravely; and i shall always attack where others may think it most difficult." the speech was received with much applause, and all declared they were ready to engage in battle against hakon. then they rowed with all the ships up the river, until they came in sight of each other, and then king inge turned off from the river current under the island. now the king addressed the lendermen again, and told them to get ready for battle. he turned himself especially to erling skakke, and said, what was true, that no man in the army had more understanding and knowledge in fighting battles, although some were more hot. the king then addressed himself to several of the lendermen, speaking to them by name; and ended by desiring that each man should make his attack where he thought it would be of advantage, and thereafter all would act together. . erling's speech. erling skakke replied thus to the king's speech: "it is my duty, sire, not to be silent; and i shall give my advice, since it is desired. the resolution now adopted is contrary to my judgment; for i call it foolhardy to fight under these circumstances, although we have so many and such fine men. supposing we make an attack on them, and row up against this river-current; then one of the three men who are in each half room must be employed in rowing only, and another must be covering with the shield the man who rows; and what have we then to fight with but one third of our men? it appears to me that they can be of little use in the battle who are sitting at their oars with their backs turned to the enemy. give me now some time for consideration, and i promise you that before three days are over i shall fall upon some plan by which we can come into battle with advantage." it was evident from erling's speech that he dissuaded from an attack; but, notwithstanding, it was urged by many who thought that hakon would now, as before, take to the land. "and then," said they, "we cannot get hold of him; but now they have but few men, and we have their fate in our own hands." gregorius said but little; but thought that erling rather dissuaded from an attack that gregorius's advice should have no effect, than that he had any better advice to give. . of hakon's fleet. then said king inge to erling, "now we will follow thy advice, brother, with regard to the manner of attacking; but seeing how eager our counsellors are for it, we shall make the attack this day." erling replied, "all the boats and light vessels we have should row outside the island, and up the east arm of the river, and then down with the stream upon them, and try if they cannot cut them loose from the piles. then we, with the large ships, shall row from below here against them; and i cannot tell until it be tried, if those who are now so furiously warm will be much brisker at the attack than i am." this counsel was approved by all. there was a ness stretched out between their fleet and hakon's, so that they could not see each other. now when hakon and his men, who had taken counsel with each other in a meeting, saw the boat-squadron rowing down the river, some thought king inge intended to give them battle; but many believed they did not dare, for it looked as if the attack was given up; and they, besides, were very confident, both in their preparations and men. there were many great people with hakon: there were sigurd of reyr, and simon's sons; nikolas skialdvarson; eindride, a son of jon mornef, who was the most gallant and popular man in the throndhjem country; and many other lendermen and warriors. now when they saw that king inge's men with many ships were rowing out of the river, hakon and his men believed they were going to fly; and therefore they cut their land-ropes with which they lay fast at the piles, seized their oars, and rowed after them in pursuit. the ships ran fast down with the stream; but when they came further down the river, abreast of the ness, they saw king inge's main strength lying quiet at the island hising. king inge's people saw hakon's ships under way, and believed they were coming to attack them; and now there was great bustle and clash of arms, and they encouraged each other by a great war-shout. hakon with his fleet turned northwards a little to the land, where there was a turn in the bight of the river, and where there was no current. they made ready for battle, carried land-ropes to the shore, turned the stems of their ships outwards, and bound them all together. they laid the large east-country traders without the other vessels, the one above, the other below, and bound them to the long-ships. in the middle of the fleet lay the king's ship, and next to it sigurd's; and on the other side of the king's ship lay nikolas, and next to him endride jonson. all the smaller ships lay farther off, and they were all nearly loaded with weapons and stones. . sigurd of reyr's speech. then sigurd of reyr made the following speech: "now there is hope that the time is come which has been promised us all the summer, that we shall meet king inge in battle. we have long prepared ourselves for this; and many of our comrades have boasted that they would never fly from or submit to king inge and gregorius, and now let them remember their words. but we who have sometimes got the toothache in our conflicts with them, speak less confidently; for it has happened, as all have heard, that we very often have come off without glory. but, nevertheless, it is now necessary to fight manfully, and stand to it with steadiness; for the only escape for us is in victory. although we have somewhat fewer men than they, yet luck determines which side shall have the advantage, and god knows that the right is on our side. inge has killed two of his brothers; and it is obvious to all men that the mulct he intends to pay king hakon for his father's murder is to murder him also, as well as his other relations, which will be seen this day to be his intent. king hakon desired from the beginning no more of norway than the third part, which his father had possessed, and which was denied him; and yet, in my opinion, king hakon has a better right to inherit after his father's brother, king eystein, than inge or simon skalp, or the other men who killed king eystein. many of them who would save their souls, and yet have defiled their hands with such bloody deeds as inge has done, must think it a presumption before god that he takes the name of king; and i wonder god suffers such monstrous wickedness as his; but it may be god's will that we shall now put him down. let us fight then manfully, and god will give us victory; and, if we fall, will repay us with joys unspeakable for now allowing the might of the wicked to prevail over us. go forth then in confidence, and be not afraid when the battle begins. let each watch over his own and his comrade's safety, and god protect us all." there went a good report abroad of this speech of sigurd, and all promised fairly, and to do their duty. king hakon went on board of the great east-country ship, and a shield-bulwark was made around him; but his standard remained on the long-ship in which it had been before. . of king inge's men. now must we tell about king inge and his men. when they saw that king hakon and his people were ready for battle, and the river only was between them, they sent a light vessel to recall the rest of the fleet which had rowed away; and in the meantime the king waited for them, and arranged the troops for the attack. then the chiefs consulted in presence of the army, and told their opinions; first, which ships should lie nearest to the enemy; and then where each should attack. gregorius spoke thus: "we have many and fine men; and it is my advice, king inge, that you do not go to the assault with us, for everything is preserved if you are safe. and no man knows where an arrow may hit, even from the hands of a bad bowman; and they have prepared themselves so, that missiles and stones can be thrown from the high stages upon the merchant ships, so that there is less danger for those who are farthest from them. they have not more men than we lendermen can very well engage with. i shall lay my ship alongside their largest ship, and i expect the conflict between us will be but short; for it has often been so in our former meetings, although there has been a much greater want of men with us than now." all thought well of the advice that the king himself should not take part in the battle. then erling skakke said, "i agree also to the counsel that you, sire, should not go into the battle. it appears to me that their preparations are such, that we require all our precaution not to suffer a great defeat from them; and whole limbs are the easiest cured. in the council we held before to-day many opposed what i said, and ye said then that i did not want to fight; but now i think the business has altered its appearance, and greatly to our advantage, since they have hauled off from the piles, and now it stands so that i do not dissuade from giving battle; for i see, what all are sensible of, how necessary it is to put an end to this robber band who have gone over the whole country with pillage and destruction, in order that people may cultivate the land in peace, and serve a king so good and just as king inge who has long had trouble and anxiety from the haughty unquiet spirit of his relations, although he has been a shield of defence for the whole people, and has been exposed to manifold perils for the peace of the country." erling spoke well and long, and many other chiefs also; and all to the same purpose--all urging to battle. in the meantime they waited until all the fleet should be assembled. king inge had the ship baekisudin; and, at the entreaty of his friends, he did not join the battle, but lay still at the island. . beginning of the battle. when the army was ready they rowed briskly against the enemy, and both sides raised a war-shout. inge's men did not bind their ships together, but let them be loose; for they rowed right across the current, by which the large ships were much swayed. erling skakke laid his ship beside king hakon's ship, and ran the stem between his and sigurd's ship, by which the battle began. but gregorius's ship swung upon the ground, and heeled very much over, so that at first she could not come into the battle; and when hakon's men saw this they laid themselves against her, and attacked gregorius's ship on all sides. ivar, hakon mage's son, laid his ship so that the stems struck together; and he got a boat-hook fastened on gregorius, on that part of his body where the waist is smallest, and dragged him to him, by which gregorius stumbled against the ship's rails; but the hook slipped to one side, or gregorius would have been dragged over-board. gregorius, however, was but little wounded, for he had on a plate coat of armour. ivar called out to him, that he had a "thick bark." gregorius replied, that if ivar went on so he would "require it all, and not have too much." it was very near then that gregorius and his men had sprung overboard; but aslak unge threw an anchor into their ship, and dragged them off the ground. then gregorius laid himself against ivar's ship, and they fought a long while; but gregorius's ship being both higher sided and more strongly manned, many people fell in ivar's ship, and some jumped overboard. ivar was so severely wounded that he could not take part in the fight. when his ship was cleared of the men, gregorius let ivar be carried to the shore, so that he might escape; and from that time they were constant friends. . king hakon's flight. when king inge and his men saw that gregorius was aground, he encouraged his crew to row to his assistance. "it was," he said, "the most imprudent advice that we should remain lying here, while our friends are in battle; for we have the largest and best ship in all the fleet. but now i see that gregorius, the man to whom i owe the most, is in need of help; so we must hasten to the fight where it is sharpest. it is also most proper that i should be in the battle; for the victory, if we win it, will belong to me. and if i even knew beforehand that our men were not to gain the battle, yet our place is where our friends are; for i can do nothing if i lose the men who are justly called the defence of the country, who are the bravest, and have long ruled for me and my kingdom." thereupon he ordered his banner to be set up, which was done; and they rowed across the river. then the battle raged, and the king could not get room to attack, so close lay the ships before him. first he lay under the east-country trading ship, and from it they threw down upon his vessel spears, iron-shod stakes, and such large stones that it was impossible to hold out longer there, and he had to haul off. now when the king's people saw that he was come they made place for him, and then he laid alongside of eindride jonson's ship. now king hakon's men abandoned the small ships, and went on board the large merchant vessels; but some of them sprang on shore. erling skakke and his men had a severe conflict. erling himself was on the forecastle, and called his forecastlemen, and ordered them to board the king's ship; but they answered, this was no easy matter, for there were beams above with an iron comb on them. then erling himself went to the bow, and stayed there a while, until they succeeded in getting on board the king's ship: and then the ship was cleared of men on the bows, and the whole army gave way. many sprang into the water, many fell, but the greater number got to the land. so says einar skulason:-- "men fall upon the slippery deck-- men roll off from the blood-drenched wreck; dead bodies float down with the stream, and from the shores witch-ravens scream. the cold blue river now runs red with the warm blood of warriors dead, and stains the waves in karmt sound with the last drops of the death-wound. "all down the stream, with unmann'd prow, floats many an empty long-ship now, ship after ship, shout after shout, tell that kign hakon can't hold out. the bowmen ply their bows of elm, the red swords flash o'er broken helm: king hakon's men rush to the strand, out of their ships, up through the land." einar composed a song about gregorius dagson, which is called the river-song. king inge granted life and peace to nikolas skialdvarson when his ship was deserted, and thereupon he went into king inge's service, and remained in it as long as the king lived. eindride jonson leaped on board of king inge's ship when his own was cleared of men, and begged for his life. king inge wished to grant it; but havard klining's son ran up, and gave him a mortal wound, which was much blamed; but he said eindride had been the cause of his father's death. there was much lamentation at eindride's death, but principally in the throndhjem district. many of hakon's people fell here, but not many chiefs. few of king inge's people fell, but many were wounded. king hakon fled up the country, and king inge went north to viken with his troops; and he, as well as gregorius, remained in viken all winter (a.d. ). when king inge's men, bergliot and his brothers, sons of ivar of elda, came from the battle to bergen, they slew nickolas skeg, who had been hakon's treasurer, and then went north to throndhjem. king hakon came north before yule, and sigurd was sometimes home at reyr; for gregorius, who was nearly related to sigurd, had obtained for him life and safety from king inge, so that he retained all his estates. king hakon was in the merchant-town of nidaros in yule; and one evening in the beginning of yule his men fought in the room of the court, and in this affray eight men were killed, and many were wounded. the eighth day of yule, king hakon's man alf rode, son of ottar birting, with about eighty men, went to elda, and came in the night unexpectedly on the people, who were very drunk, and set fire to the room; but they went out, and defended themselves bravely. there fell bergliot, ivar's son, and ogmund, his brother, and many more. they had been nearly thirty altogether in number. in winter died, north in the merchant-town, andres simonson, king hakon's foster-brother; and his death was much deplored. erling skakke and inge's men, who were in bergen, threatened that in winter they would proceed against hakon and his men; but it came to nothing. gregorius sent word from the east, from konungahella, that if he were so near as erling and his men, he would not sit quietly in bergen while hakon was killing king inge's friends and their comrades in war north in the throndhjem country. . the conflict upon the piers. king inge and gregorius left the east in spring, and came to bergen; but as soon as hakon and sigurd heard that inge had left viken, they went there by land. when king inge and his people came to bergen, a quarrel arose between haldor brynjolfson and bjorn nikolason. bjorn's house-man asked haldor's when they met at the pier, why he looked so pale. he replied, because he had been bled. "i could not look so pale if i tried, at merely being bled." "i again think," retorted the other, "that thou wouldst have borne it worse, and less manfully." and no other beginning was there for their quarrel than this. afterwards one word followed another, till from brawling they came to fighting. it was told to haldor brynjolfson, who was in the house drinking, that his house-man was wounded down on the pier and he went there immediately. but bjorn's house-men had come there before, and as haldor thought his house-man had been badly treated, he went up to them and beat them; and it was told to bjorn buk that the people of viken were beating his house-men on the pier. then bjorn and his house-men took their weapons, hurried down to the pier, and would avenge their men; and a bloody strife began. it was told gregorius that his relation haldor required assistance, and that his house-men were being cut down in the street; on which gregorius and his men ran to the place in their armour. now it was told erling skakke that his sister's son bjorn was fighting with gregorius and haldor down on the piers, and that he needed help. then he proceeded thither with a great force, and exhorted the people to stand by him; saying it would be a great disgrace never to be wiped out, if the viken people should trample upon them in their own native place. there fell thirteen men, of whom nine were killed on the spot, and four died of their wounds, and many were wounded. when the word came to king inge that gregorius and erling were fighting down on the piers, he hastened there, and tried to separate them; but could do nothing, so mad were they on both sides. then gregorius called to inge, and told him to go away; for it was in vain to attempt coming between them, as matters now stood. he said it would be the greatest misfortune if the king mixed himself up with it; for he could not be certain that there were not people in the fray who would commit some great misdeed if they had opportunity. then king inge retired; and when the greatest tumult was over, gregorius and his men went to nikolas church, and erling behind them, calling to each other. then king inge came a second time, and pacified them; and both agreed that he should mediate between them. when king inge and gregorius heard that king hakon was in viken, they went east with many ships; but when they came king hakon fled from them, and there was no battle. then king inge went to oslo, and gregorius was in konungahella. . munan's death. soon after gregorius heard that hakon and his men were at a farm called saurby, which lies up beside the forest. gregorius hastened there; came in the night; and supposing that king hakon and sigurd would be in the largest of the houses, set fire to the buildings there. but hakon and his men were in the smaller house, and came forth, seeing the fire, to help their people. there munan fell, a son of ale uskeynd, a brother of king sigurd hakon's father. gregorius and his men killed him, because he was helping those whom they were burning within the house. some escaped, but many were killed. asbjorn jalda, who had been a very great viking, escaped from the house, but was grievously wounded. a bonde met him, and he offered the man money to let him get away; but the bonde replied, he would do what he liked best; and, adding that he had often been in fear of his life for him, he slew him. king hakon and sigurd escaped, but many of their people were killed. thereafter gregorius returned home to konungahella. soon after king hakon and sigurd went to haldor brynjolfson's farm of vettaland, set fire to the house, and burnt it. haldor went out, and was cut down instantly with his house-men; and in all there were about twenty men killed. sigrid, haldor's wife, was a sister of gregorius, and they allowed her to escape into the forest in her night-shift only; but they took with them amunde, who was a son of gyrd amundason and of gyrid dag's daughter, and a sister's son of gregorius, and who was then a boy about five years old. . of the fall of gregorius dagson. when gregorius heard the news he took it much to heart, and inquired carefully where they were. gregorius set out from konungahella late in yule, and came to fors the thirteenth day of yule, where he remained a night, and heard vespers the last day of yule, which was a saturday, and the holy evangel was read before him. when gregorius and his followers saw the men of king hakon and sigurd, the king's force appeared to them smaller than their own. there was a river called befia between them, where they met; and there was unsound ice on the river, for there went a stream under the ice from it. king hakon and his men had cut a rent in the ice, and laid snow over it, so that nobody could see it. when gregorius came to the ice on the river the ice appeared to him unsound, he said; and he advised the people to go to the bridge, which was close by, to cross the river. the bonde-troops replied, that they did not know why he should be afraid to go across the ice to attack so few people as hakon had, and the ice was good enough. gregorius said it was seldom necessary to encourage him to show bravery, and it should not be so now. then he ordered them to follow him, and not to be standing on the land while he was on the ice, and he said it was their council to go out upon the dangerous ice, but he had no wish to do so, or to be led by them. then he ordered the banner to be advanced, and immediately went out on the ice with the men. as soon as the bondes found that the ice was unsound they turned back. gregorius fell through the ice, but not very deep, and he told his men to take care. there were not more than twenty men with him, the others having turned back. a man of king hakon's troop shot an arrow at gregorius, which hit him under the throat, and thus ended his life. gregorius fell, and ten men with him. it is the talk of all men that he had been the most gallant lenderman in norway that any man then living could remember; and also he behaved the best towards us icelanders of any chief since king eystein the elder's death. gregorius's body was carried to hofund, and interred at gimsey isle, in a nunnery which is there, of which gregorius's sister, baugeid, was then the abbess. . king inge hears of gregorius's fall. two bailiffs went to oslo to bring the tidings to king inge. when they arrived they desired to speak to the king: and he asked, what news they brought. "gregorius dagson's death," said they. "how came that misfortune?" asked the king. when they had told him how it happened, he said, "they gave advice who understood the least." it is said he took it so much to heart that he cried like a child. when he recovered himself he said, "i wanted to go to gregorius as soon as i heard of haldor's murder; for i thought that gregorius would not sit long before thinking of revenge. but the people here would think nothing so important as their yule feasts, and nothing could move them away; and i am confident that if i had been there, he would either have proceeded more cautiously, or i and gregorius would now have shared one lodging. now he is gone, the man who has been my best friend, and more than any other has kept the kingdom in my hands; and i think it will be but a short space between us. now i make an oath to go forth against hakon, and one of two things shall happen: i shall either come to my death, or shall walk over hakon and his people; and such a man as gregorius is not avenged, even if all were to pay the penalty of their lives for him." there was a man present who replied, "ye need not seek after them, for they intend to seek you." kristin, king sigurd's daughter and king inge's cousin, was then in oslo. the king heard that she intended going away. he sent a message to her to inquire why she wished to leave the town. she thought it was dangerous and unsafe for a female to be there. the king would not let her go. "for if it go well with me, as i hope, you will be well here; and if i fall, my friends may not get leave to dress my body; but you can ask permission, and it will not be denied you, and you will thereby best requite what i have done for you." . of king inge. on saint blasius' day (february , ), in the evening, king inge's spies brought him the news that king hakon was coming towards the town. then king inge ordered the war-horns to call together all the troops up from the town; and when he drew them up he could reckon them to be nearly men. the king let the array be long, but not more than five men deep. then some said that the king should not be himself in the battle, as they thought the risk too great; but that his brother orm should be the leader of the army. the king replied, "i think if gregorius were alive and here now, and i had fallen and was to be avenged, he would not lie concealed, but would be in the battle. now, although i, on account of my ill health, am not fit for the combat as he was, yet will i show as good will as he would have had; and it is not to be thought of that i should not be in the battle." people say that gunhild, who was married to simon, king hakon's foster-brother, had a witch employed to sit out all night and procure the victory for hakon; and that the answer was obtained, that they should fight king inge by night, and never by day, and then the result would be favourable. the witch who, as people say, sat out was called thordis skeggia; but what truth there may be in the report i know not. simon skalp had gone to the town, and was gone to sleep, when the war-shouts awoke him. when the night was well advanced, king inge's spies came to him, and told him that king hakon and his army were coming over the ice; for the ice lay the whole way from the town to hofud isle. . king inge's speech. thereupon king inge went with his army out on the ice, and he drew it up in order of battle in front of the town. simon skalp was in that wing of the array which was towards thraelaberg; and on the other wing, which was towards the nunnery, was gudrod, the king of the south hebudes, a son of olaf klining, and jon, a son of svein bergthor buk. when king hakon and his army came near to king inge's array, both sides raised a war-shout. gudrod and jon gave king hakon and his men a sign, and let them know where they were in the line; and as soon as hakon's men in consequence turned thither, gudrod immediately fled with men; and jon, and a great body of men with him, ran over to king hakon's army, and assisted them in the fight. when this news was told to king inge, he said, "such is the difference between my friends. never would gregorius have done so in his life!" there were some who advised king inge to get on horseback, and ride from the battle up to raumarike; "where," said they, "you would get help enough, even this very day." the king replied, he had no inclination to do so. "i have heard you often say, and i think truly, that it was of little use to my brother, king eystein, that he took to flight; and yet he was a man distinguished for many qualities which adorn a king. now i, who labour under so great decrepitude, can see how bad my fate would be, if i betook myself to what proved so unfortunate for him; with so great a difference as there is between our activity, health, and strength. i was in the second year of my age when i was chosen king of norway, and i am now twenty-five; and i think i have had misfortune and sorrow under my kingly dignity, rather than pleasure and peaceful days. i have had many battles, sometimes with more, sometimes with fewer people; and it is my greatest luck that i have never fled. god will dispose of my life, and of how long it shall be; but i shall never betake myself to flight." . king inge's fall. now as jon and his troop had broken the one wing of king inge's array, many of those who were nearest to him fled, by which the whole array was dispersed, and fell into disorder. but hakon and his men went briskly forwards; and now it was near daybreak. an assault was made against king inge's banner, and in this conflict king inge fell; but his brother orm continued the battle, while many of the army fled up into the town. twice orm went to the town after the king's fall to encourage the people, and both times returned, and went out again upon the ice to continue the battle. hakon's men attacked the wing of the array which simon skalp led; and in that assault fell of king inge's men his brother-in-law, gudbrand skafhogson. simon skalp and halvard hikre went against each other with their troops, and fought while they drew aside past thraelaberg; and in this conflict both simon and halvard fell. orm, the king's brother, gained great reputation in this battle; but he at last fled. orm the winter before had been contracted with ragna, a daughter of nikolas mase, who had been married before to king eystein haraldson; and the wedding was fixed for the sunday after saint blasius's mass, which was on a friday. orm fled east to svithjod, where his brother magnus was then king; and their brother ragnvald was an earl there at that time. they were the sons of queen ingerid and henrik halte, who was a son of the danish king svein sveinson. the princess kristin took care of king inge's body, which was laid on the stone wall of halvard's church, on the south side without the choir. he had then been king for twenty-three years (a.d. - ). in this battle many fell on both sides, but principally of king inge's men. of king hakon's people fell arne frirekson. hakon's men took all the feast and victuals prepared for the wedding, and a great booty besides. . of king hakon and queen kristin. then king hakon took possession of the whole country, and distributed all the offices among his own friends, both in the towns and in the country. king hakon and his men had a meeting in halvard's church, where they had a private conference concerning the management of the country. kristin the princess gave the priest who kept the church keys a large sum of money to conceal one of her men in the church, so that she might know what hakon and his counsellors intended. when she learnt what they had said, she sent a man to bergen to her husband erling skakke, with the message that he should never trust hakon or his men. . of olaf's miracle. it happened at the battle of stiklestad, as before related, that king olaf threw from him the sword called hneiter when he received his wound. a swedish man, who had broken his own sword, took it up, and fought with it. when this man escaped with the other fugitives he came to svithjod, and went home to his house. from that time he kept the sword all his days, and afterwards his son, and so relation after relation; and when the sword shifted its owner, the one told to the other the name of the sword and where it came from. a long time after, in the days of kirjalax the emperor of constantinople, when there was a great body of varings in the town, it happened in the summer that the emperor was on a campaign, and lay in the camp with his army. the varings who had the guard, and watched over the emperor, lay on the open plain without the camp. they changed the watch with each other in the night, and those who had been before on watch lay down and slept; but all completely armed. it was their custom, when they went to sleep, that each should have his helmet on his head, his shield over him, sword under the head, and the right hand on the sword-handle. one of these comrades, whose lot it was to watch the latter part of the night, found, on awakening towards morning, that his sword was gone. he looked after it, and saw it lying on the flat plain at a distance from him. he got up and took the sword, thinking that his comrades who had been on watch had taken the sword from him in a joke; but they all denied it. the same thing happened three nights. then he wondered at it, as well as they who saw or heard of it; and people began to ask him how it could have happened. he said that his sword was called hneiter, and had belonged to king olaf the saint, who had himself carried it in the battle of stiklestad; and he also related how the sword since that time had gone from one to another. this was told to the emperor, who called the man before him to whom the sword belonged, and gave him three times as much gold as the sword was worth; and the sword itself he had laid in saint olaf's church, which the varings supported, where it has been ever since over the altar. there was a lenderman of norway while harald gille's sons, eystein, inge, and sigurd lived, who was called eindride unge; and he was in constantinople when these events took place. he told these circumstances in norway, according to what einar skulason says in his song about king olaf the saint, in which these events are sung. . olaf's miracle in favour of the varings. it happened once in the greek country, when kirjalax was emperor there, that he made an expedition against blokumannaland. when he came to the pezina plains, a heathen king came against him with an innumerable host. he brought with him many horsemen, and many large waggons, in which were large loop-holes for shooting through. when they prepared for their night quarters they drew up their waggons, one by the side of the other, without their tents, and dug a great ditch without; and all which made a defence as strong as a castle. the heathen king was blind. now when the greek king came, the heathens drew up their array on the plains before their waggon-fortification. the greeks drew up their array opposite, and they rode on both sides to fight with each other; but it went on so ill and so unfortunately, that the greeks were compelled to fly after suffering a great defeat, and the heathens gained a victory. then the king drew up an array of franks and flemings, who rode against the heathens, and fought with them; but it went with them as with the others, that many were killed, and all who escaped took to flight. then the greek king was greatly incensed at his men-at-arms; and they replied, that he should now take his wine-bags, the varings. the king says that he would not throw away his jewels, and allow so few men, however bold they might be, to attack so vast an army. then thorer helsifig, who at that time was leader of the varings replied to the king's words, "if there was burning fire in the way, i and my people would run into it, if i knew the king's advantage required it." then the king replied, "call upon your holy king olaf for help and strength." the varings, who were men, made a vow with hand and word to build a church in constantinople, at their own expense and with the aid of other good men, and have the church consecrated to the honour and glory of the holy king olaf; and thereupon the varings rushed into the plain. when the heathens saw them, they told their king that there was another troop of the greek king's army come out upon the plain; but they were only a handful of people. the king says, "who is that venerable man riding on a white horse at the head of the troop?" they replied, "we do not see him." there was so great a difference of numbers, that there were sixty heathens for every christian man; but notwithstanding the varings went boldly to the attack. as soon as they met terror and alarm seized the army of the heathens, and they instantly began to fly; but the varings pursued, and soon killed a great number of them. when the greeks and franks who before had fled from the heathens saw this, they hastened to take part, and pursue the enemy with the others. then the varings had reached the waggon-fortification, where the greatest defeat was given to the enemy. the heathen king was taken in the flight of his people, and the varings brought him along with them; after which the christians took the camp of the heathens, and their waggon-fortification. magnus erlingson's saga. preliminary remarks. with this saga, which describes a series of conflicts, snorre's "heimskringla" ends. king eystein died in , but magnus erlingson continued to reign until his death in . the conflicts continued until the opposition party was led to victory by king sverre. the only skald quoted is thorbjorn skakkaskald. . of magnus erlingson's beginning. when erling got certain intelligence of the determinations of hakon and his counsellors, he sent a message to all the chiefs who he knew had been steady friends of king inge, and also to his court-men and his retinue, who had saved themselves by flight, and also to all gregorius's house-men, and called them together to a meeting. when they met, and conversed with each other, they resolved to keep their men together; and which resolution they confirmed by oath and hand-shake to each other. then they considered whom they should take to be king. erling skakke first spoke, and inquired if it was the opinion of the chiefs and other men of power that simon skalp's son, the son of the daughter of king harald gille, should be chosen king, and jon halkelson be taken to lead the army; but jon refused it. then it was inquired if nikolas skialdvarson, a sister's son of king magnus barefoot, would place himself at the head of the army; but he answered thus:--it was his opinion that some one should be chosen king who was of the royal race; and, for leader of the troops, some one from whom help and understanding were to be looked for; and then it would be easier to gather an army. it was now tried whether arne would let any of his sons, king inge's brothers, be proclaimed king. arne replies, that kristin's son, she was the daughter of king sigurd the crusader, was nearest by propinquity of descent to the crown of norway. "and here is also a man to be his adviser, and whose duty it is to take care of him and of the kingdom; and that man is his father erling, who is both prudent, brave, experienced in war, and an able man in governing the kingdom; he wants no capability of bringing this counsel into effect, if luck be with him." many thought well of this advice. erling replied to it, "as far as i can see or hear in this meeting, the most will rather be excused from taking upon themselves such a difficult business. now it appears to me altogether uncertain, provided we begin this work, whether he who puts himself at the head of it will gain any honour; or whether matters will go as they have done before when any one undertakes such great things, that he loses all his property and possibly his life. but if this counsel be adopted, there may be men who will undertake to carry it through; but he who comes under such an obligation must seek, in every way, to prevent any opposition or enmity from those who are now in this council." all gave assurance that they would enter into this confederacy with perfect fidelity. then said erling, "i can say for myself that it would almost be my death to serve king hakon; and however dangerous it may be, i will rather venture to adopt your advice, and take upon me to lead this force, if that be the will, counsel, and desire of you all, and if you will all bind yourselves to this agreement by oath." to this they all agreed; and in this meeting it was determined to take erling's son magnus to be king. they afterwards held a thing in the town; and at this thing magnus erlingson, then five years old, was elected king of the whole country. all who had been servants of king inge went into his service, and each of them retained the office and dignity he had held under king inge (a.d. ). . king magnus goes to denmark. erling skakke made himself ready to travel, fitted out ships, and had with him king magnus, together with the household-men who were on the spot. in this expedition were the king's relatives,--arne; ingerid, king inge's mother, with her two sons; besides jon kutiza, a son of sigurd stork, and erling's house-men, as well as those who had been gregorius's house-men; and they had in all ten ships. they went south to denmark to king valdemar and buriz heinrekson, king inge's brother. king valdemar was king magnus's blood-relation; for ingebjorg, mother of king valdemar, and malmfrid, mother of kristin, king magnus's mother, were cousins. the danish king received them hospitably, and he and erling had private meetings and consultations: and so much was known of their counsels, that king valdemar was to aid king magnus with such help as might be required from his kingdom to win and retain norway. on the other hand, king valdemar should get that domain in norway which his ancestors harald gormson and svein forked-beard had possessed; namely, the whole of viken as far north as rygiarbit. this agreement was confirmed by oath and a fixed treaty. then erling and king magnus made themselves ready to leave denmark, and they sailed out of vendilskage. . battle of tunsberg. king hakon went in spring, after the easter week, north to throndhjem, and had with him the whole fleet that had belonged to king inge. he held a thing there in the merchant-town, and was chosen king of the whole country. then he made sigurd of reyr an earl, and gave him an earldom, and afterwards proceeded southwards with his followers all the way to viken. the king went to tunsberg; but sent earl sigurd east to konungahella, to defend the country with a part of the forces in case erling should come from the south. erling and his fleet came to agder, and went straight north to bergen, where they killed arne brigdarskalle, king hakon's officer, and came back immediately against king hakon. earl sigurd, who had not observed the journey of erling and his followers from the south, was at that time east in the gaut river, and king hakon was in tunsberg. erling brought up at hrossanes, and lay there some nights. in the meantime king hakon made preparations in the town. when erling and his fleet were coming up to the town, they took a merchant vessel, filled it with wood and straw, and set fire to it; and the wind blowing right towards the town, drove the vessel against the piers. erling had two cables brought on board the vessel, and made fast to two boats, and made them row along as the vessel drove. now when the fire was come almost abreast of the town, those who were in the boats held back the vessel by the ropes, so that the town could not be set on fire; but so thick a smoke spread from it over the town, that one could not see from the piers where the king's array was. then erling drew the whole fleet in where the wind carried the fire, and shot at the enemy. when the townspeople saw that the fire was approaching their houses, and many were wounded by the bowmen, they resolved to send the priest hroald, the long-winded speaker, to erling, to beg him to spare them and the town; and they dissolved the array in favour of hakon, as soon as hroald told them their prayer was granted. now when the array of towns-people had dispersed, the men on the piers were much thinned: however, some urged hakon's men to make resistance: but onund simonson, who had most influence over the army, said, "i will not fight for earl sigurd's earldom, since he is not here himself." then onund fled, and was followed by all the people, and by the king himself; and they hastened up the country. king hakon lost many men here; and these verses were made about it:-- "onund declares he will not go in battle 'gainst earl sigurd's foe, if earl sigurd does not come, but with his house-men sits at home. king magnus' men rush up the street, eager with hakon's troop to meet; but hakon's war-hawks, somewhat shy, turn quick about, and off they fly." thorbjorn skakkaskald also said:-- "the tunsberg men would not be slow in thy good cause to risk a blow; and well they knew the chief could stain the wolves' mouths on a battle-plain. but the town champion rather fears the sharp bright glance of levelled spears; their steel-clad warrior loves no fight where bowstring twangs, or fire flies bright." king hakon then took the land-road northwards to throndhjem. when earl sigurd heard of this, he proceeded with all the ships he could get the seaway north-wards, to meet king hakon there. . of erling and hakon. erling skakke took all the ships in tunsberg belonging to king hakon, and there he also took the baekisudin which had belonged to king inge. then erling proceeded, and reduced the whole of viken in obedience to king magnus, and also the whole country north wheresoever he appeared up to bergen, where he remained all winter. there erling killed ingebjorn sipil, king hakon's lenderman of the north part of the fjord district. in winter (a.d. ) king hakon was in throndhjem; but in the following spring he ordered a levy, and prepared to go against erling. he had with him earl sigurd, jon sveinson, eindride unge, onund simonson, philip peterson, philip gyrdson, ragnvald kunta, sigurd kapa, sigurd hiupa, frirek keina, asbjorn of forland, thorbjorn, a son of gunnar the treasurer, and stradbjarne. . of erling's people. erling was in bergen with a great armament, and resolved to lay a sailing prohibition on all the merchant vessels which were going north to nidaros; for he knew that king hakon would soon get tidings of him, if ships were sailing between the towns. besides, he gave out that it was better for bergen to get the goods, even if the owners were obliged to sell them cheaper than they wished than that they should fall into the hands of enemies and thereby strengthen them. and now a great many vessels were assembled at bergen, for many arrived every day, and none were allowed to go away. then erling let some of the lightest of his vessels be laid ashore, and spread the report that he would wait for hakon, and, with the help of his friends and relations, oppose the enemy there. he then one day called a meeting of the ship-masters, and gave them and all the merchant ships and their steersmen leave to go where they pleased. when the men who had charge of the cargoes, and were all ready to sail away with their goods, some for trade, others on various business, had got leave from erling skakke to depart, there was a soft and favourable wind for sailing north along the coast. before the evening all who were ready had set sail, and hastened on as fast as they could, according to the speed of their vessels, the one vying with the other. when this fleet came north to more, hakon's fleet had arrived there before them: and he himself was there fully engaged in collecting people, and summoning to him the lendermen, and all liable to serve in the levy, without having for a long time heard any news from bergen. now, however, they heard, as the latest news, that erling skakke had laid his ships up in bergen, and there they would find him; and also that he had a large force with him. king hakon sailed from thence to veey, and sent away earl sigurd and onund simonson to gather people, and sent men also to both the more districts. after king hakon had remained a few days at the town he sailed farther, and proceeded to the south, thinking that it would both promote his journey and enable new levies to join him sooner. erling skakke had given leave on sunday to all the merchant vessels to leave bergen; and on tuesday, as soon as the early mass was over, he ordered the warhorns to sound, summoned to him the men-at-arms and the townsmen, and let the ships which were laid up on shore be drawn down into the water. then erling held a house-thing with his men and the people of the levy; told them his intentions; named ship commanders; and had the names called over of the men who were to be on board of the king's ship. this thing ended with erling's order to every man to make himself ready in his berth wherever a place was appointed him; and declared that he who remained in the town after the baekisudin was hauled out, should be punished by loss of life or limb. orm, the king's brother, laid his ships out in the harbour immediately that evening, and many others, and the greater number were afloat before. . of erling skakke. on wednesday, before mass was sung in the town, erling sailed from bergen with all his fleet, consisting of twenty-one ships; and there was a fresh breeze for sailing northwards along the coast. erling had his son king magnus with him, and there were many lendermen accompanied by the finest men. when erling came north, abreast of the fjord district, he sent a boat on shore to jon halkelson's farm, and took nikolas, a son of simon skalp and of maria, harald gille's daughter, and brought him out to the fleet, and put him on board the king's ship. on friday, immediately after matins, they sailed to steinavag, and king hakon, with thirteen ships, was lying in the harbour in the neighbourhood. he himself and his men were up at play upon the island, and the lendermen were sitting on the hill, when they saw a boat rowing from the south with two men in it, who were bending back deep towards the keel, and taking hasty strokes with their oars. when they came to the shore they did not belay the boat, but both ran from it. the great men seeing this, said to each other, "these men must have some news to tell;" and got up to meet them. when they met, onund simonson asked, "have ye any news of erling skakke, that ye are running so fast?" they answered, as soon as they could get out the words, for they had lost their breath, "here comes erling against you, sailing from the south, with twenty-one ships, or thereabouts, of which many are great enough; and now ye will soon see their sails." then said eindride unge, "too near to the nose, said the peasant, when his eye was knocked out." they went in haste now to where the games were playing, and immediately the war-horns resounded, and with the battle-call all the people were gathered down to the ships in the greatest haste. it was just the time of day when their meat was nearly cooked. all the men rushed to the ships, and each ran on board the vessel that was nearest to him, so that the ships were unequally manned. some took to the oars; some raised the masts, turned the heads of the vessels to the north, and steered for veey, where they expected much assistance from the towns. . fall of king hakon. soon after they saw the sails of erling's fleet, and both fleets came in sight of each other. eindride unge had a ship called draglaun, which was a large buss-like long-ship, but which had but a small crew; for those who belonged to her had run on board of other ships, and she was therefore the hindmost of hakon's fleet. when eindride came abreast of the island sek, the baekisudin, which erling skakke himself commanded, came up with her; and these two ships were bound fast together. king hakon and his followers had arrived close to veey; but when they heard the war-horn they turned again to assist eindride. now they began the battle on both sides, as the vessels came up. many of the sails lay midships across the vessels; and the ships were not made fast to each other, but they lay side by side. the conflict was not long before there came disorder in hakon's ship; and some fell, and others sprang overboard. hakon threw over him a grey cloak, and jumped on board another ship; but when he had been there a short time he thought he had got among his enemies; and when he looked about him he saw none of his men nor of his ships near him. then he went into the baekisudin to the forecastle-men, and begged his life. they took him in their keeping, and gave him quarter. in this conflict there was a great loss of people, but principally of hakon's men. in the baekisudin fell nikolas, simon skalp's son; and erling's men are accused of having killed him themselves. then there was a pause in the battle, and the vessels separated. it was now told to erling that hakon was on board of his ship; that the forecastle-men had taken him, and threatened that they would defend him with arms. erling sent men forwards in the ship to bring the forecastle-men his orders to guard hakon well, so that he should not get away. he at the same time let it be understood that he had no objection to giving the king life and safety, if the other chiefs were willing, and a peace could be established. all the forecastle-men gave their chief great credit and honour for these words. then erling ordered anew a blast of the war-horns, and that the ships should be attacked which had not lost their men; saying that they would never have such another opportunity of avenging king inge. thereupon they all raised a war-shout, encouraged each other, and rushed to the assault. in this tumult king hakon received his death-wound. when his men knew he had fallen they rowed with all their might against the enemy, threw away their shields, slashed with both hands, and cared not for life. this heat and recklessness, however, proved soon a great loss to them; for erling's men saw the unprotected parts of their bodies, and where their blows would have effect. the greater part of hakon's men who remained fell here; and it was principally owing to the want of numbers, as they were not enough to defend themselves. they could not get quarter, also excepting those whom the chiefs took under their protection and bound themselves to pay ransom for. the following of hakon's people fell: sigurd kapa, sigurd hiupa, and ragnvald kunta; but some ships crews got away, rowed into the fjords, and thus saved their lives. hakon's body was carried to raumsdal, and buried there; but afterwards his brother, king sverre, had the body transported north to the merchant town nidaros, and laid in the stone wall of christ church south of the choir. . flight of the chiefs of hakon's men. earl sigurd, eindride unge, onund simonson, frirek keina, and other chiefs kept the troop together, left the ships in raumsdal, and went up to the uplands. king magnus and his father erling sailed with their troops north to nidaros in throndhjem, and subdued the country as they went along. erling called together an eyra-thing, at which king magnus was proclaimed king of all norway. erling, however, remained there but a short time; for he thought the throndhjem people were not well affected towards him and his son. king magnus was then called king of the whole country. king hakon had been a handsome man in appearance, well grown, tall and thin; but rather broad-shouldered, on which account his men called him herdebreid. as he was young in years, his lendermen ruled for him. he was cheerful and friendly in conversation, playful and youthful in his ways, and was much liked by the people. . of king sigurd's beginning. there was an upland man called markus of skog, who was a relation of earl sigurd. markus brought up a son of king sigurd mun, who was also called sigurd. this sigurd was chosen king (a.d. ) by the upland people, by the advice of earl sigurd and the other chiefs who had followed king hakon. they had now a great army, and the troops were divided in two bodies; so that markus and the king were less exposed where there was anything to do, and earl sigurd and his troop, along with the lendermen, were most in the way of danger. they went with their troops mostly through the uplands, and sometimes eastwards to viken. erling skakke had his son king magnus always with him, and he had also the whole fleet and the land defence under him. he was a while in bergen in autumn; but went from thence eastward to viken, where he settled in tunsberg for his winter quarters (a.d. ), and collected in viken all the taxes and revenues that belonged to magnus as king; and he had many and very fine troops. as earl sigurd had but a small part of the country, and kept many men on foot, he soon was in want of money; and where there was no chief in the neighbourhood he had to seek money by unlawful ways,--sometimes by unfounded accusations and fines, sometimes by open robbery. . earl sigurd's condemnation. at that time the realm of norway was in great prosperity. the bondes were rich and powerful, unaccustomed to hostilities or violence, and the oppression of roving troops; so that there was soon a great noise and scandal when they were despoiled and robbed. the people of viken were very friendly to erling and king magnus, principally from the popularity of the late king inge haraldson; for the viken people had always served under his banner. erling kept a guard in the town, and twelve men were on watch every night. erling had things regularly with the bondes, at which the misdeeds of sigurd's people were often talked over; and by the representations of erling and his adherents, the bondes were brought unanimously to consider that it would be a great good fortune if these bands should be rooted out. arne, the king's relation, spoke well and long on this subject, and at last severely; and required that all who were at the thing,--men-at-arms, bondes, towns-men, and merchants,--should come to the resolution to sentence according to law earl sigurd and all his troop, and deliver them to satan, both living and dead. from the animosity and hatred of the people, this was agreed to by all; and thus the unheard-of deed was adopted and confirmed by oath, as if a judgment in the case was delivered there by the thing according to law. the priest hroald the long-winded, who was a very eloquent man, spoke in the case; but his speech was to the same purpose as that of others who had spoken before. erling gave a feast at yule in tunsberg, and paid the wages of the men-at-arms at candlemas. . of erling. earl sigurd went with his best troops down to viken, where many people were obliged to submit to his superior force, and many had to pay money. he drove about thus widely higher up the country, penetrating into different districts. but there were some in his troop who desired privately to make peace with erling; but they got back the answer, that all who asked for their lives should obtain quarter, but they only should get leave to remain in the country who had not been guilty of any great offenses against erling. and when sigurd's adherents heard that they would not get leave to remain in the country, they held together in one body; for there were many among them who knew for certain that erling would look upon them as guilty of offences against him. philip gyrdson made terms with erling, got his property back, and went home to his farm; but soon after sigurd's men came there, and killed him. they committed many crimes against each other, and many men were slain in their mutual persecution; but here what was committed by the chiefs only is written down. . erling gets news of earl sigurd. it was in the beginning of lent that news came to erling that earl sigurd intended to come upon him; and news of him came here and there, sometimes nearer, sometimes farther off. erling sent out spies in all quarters around to discover where they were. every evening he assembled all the men-at-arms by the war-horn out of the town; and for a long time in the winter they lay under arms all night, ready to be drawn up in array. at last erling got intelligence that sigurd and his followers were not far distant, up at the farm re. erling then began his expedition out of the town, and took with him all the towns-people who were able to carry arms and had arms, and likewise all the merchants; and left only twelve men behind to keep watch in the town. erling went out of the town on thursday afternoon, in the second week of lent (february ); and every man had two days' provisions with him. they marched by night, and it was late before they got out of the town with the men. two men were with each shield and each horse; and the people, when mustered, were about men. when they met their spies, they were informed that sigurd was at re, in a house called rafnnes, and had men. then erling called together his people; told them the news he had received, and all were eager to hasten their march, fall on them in the houses, or engage them by night. erling replied to them thus:--"it is probable that we and earl sigurd shall soon meet. there are also many men in this band whose handy-work remains in our memories; such as cutting down king inge, and so many more of our friends, that it would take long to reckon them up. these deeds they did by the power of satan, by witchcraft, and by villainy; for it stands in our laws and country rights, that however highly a man may have been guilty, it shall be called villainy and cowardly murder to kill him in the night. this band has had its luck hitherto by following the counsel of men acquainted with witchcraft and fighting by night, and not in the light of day; and by this proceeding have they been victorious hitherto over the chiefs whose heads they have laid low on the earth. now we have often seen, and proved, how unsuitable and improper it is to go into battle in the nighttime; therefore let us rather have before our eyes the example of chiefs better known to us, and who deserve better to be imitated, and fight by open day in regular battle array, and not steal upon sleeping men in the night. we have people enough against them, so few as they are. let us, therefore, wait for day and daylight, and keep together in our array in case they attack us." thereafter the whole army sat down. some opened up bundles of hay, and made a bed of it for themselves; some sat upon their shields, and thus waited the daydawn. the weather was raw, and there was a wet snowdrift. . of earl sigurd's battle array. earl sigurd got the first intelligence of erling's army, when it was already near to the house. his men got up, and armed themselves; but not knowing how many men erling had with him, some were inclined to fly, but the most determined to stand. earl sigurd was a man of understanding, and could talk well, but certainly was not considered brave enough to take a strong resolution; and indeed the earl showed a great inclination to fly, for which he got many stinging words from his men-at-arms. as day dawned, they began on both sides to draw up their battle array. earl sigurd placed his men on the edge of a ridge between the river and the house, at a place at which a little stream runs into the river. erling and his people placed their array on the other side of the river; but at the back of his array were men on horseback well armed, who had the king with them. when earl sigurd's men saw that there was so great a want of men on their side, they held a council, and were for taking to the forest. but earl sigurd said, "ye alleged that i had no courage, but it will now be proved; and let each of you take care not to fail, or fly, before i do so. we have a good battle-field. let them cross the bridge; but as soon as the banner comes over it let us then rush down the hill upon them, and none desert his neighbour." earl sigurd had on a red-brown kirtle, and a red cloak, of which the corners were tied and turned back; shoes on his feet; and a shield and sword called bastard. the earl said, "god knows that i would rather get at erling skakke with a stroke of bastard, than receive much gold." . earl sigurd's fall. erling skakke's army wished to go on to the bridge; but erling told them to go up along the river, which was small, and not difficult to cross, as its banks were flat; and they did so. earl sigurd's array proceeded up along the ridge right opposite to them; but as the ridge ended, and the ground was good and level over the river, erling told his men to sing a paternoster, and beg god to give them the victory who best deserved it. then they all sang aloud "kyrie eleison", and struck with their weapons on their shields. but with this singing men of erling's people slipped away and fled. then erling and his people went across the river, and the earl's men raised the war-shout; but there was no assault from the ridge down upon erling's array, but the battle began upon the hill itself. they first used spears then edge weapons; and the earl's banner soon retired so far back, that erling and his men scaled the ridge. the battle lasted but a short time before the earl's men fled to the forest, which they had close behind them. this was told earl sigurd, and his men bade him fly; but he replied, "let us on while we can." and his men went bravely on, and cut down on all sides. in this tumult fell earl sigurd and jon sveinson, and nearly sixty men. erling lost few men, and pursued the fugitives to the forest. there erling halted his troops, and turned back. he came just as the king's slaves were about stripping the clothes off earl sigurd, who was not quite lifeless. he had put his sword in the sheath, and it lay by his side. erling took it, struck the slaves with it, and drove them away. then erling, with his troops, returned, and sat down in tunsberg. seven days after earl sigurd's fall erling's men took eindride unge prisoner, and killed him, with all his ship's crew. . markus of skog, and sigurd sigurdson. markus of skog, and king sigurd, his foster-son, rode down to viken towards spring, and there got a ship; but when erling heard it he went eastwards against them, and they met at konungahella. markus fled with his followers to the island hising; and there the country people of hising came down in swarms, and placed themselves in markus's and sigurd's array. erling and his men rowed to the shore; but markus's men shot at them. then erling said to his people, "let us take their ships, but not go up to fight with a land force. the hisingers are a bad set to quarrel with,--hard, and without understanding. they will keep this troop but a little while among them, for hising is but a small spot." this was done: they took the ships, and brought them over to konungahella. markus and his men went up to the forest district, from which they intended to make assaults, and they had spies out on both sides. erling had many men-at-arms with him, whom he brought from other districts, and they made attacks on each other in turn. . beginning of archbishop eystein. eystein, a son of erlend himaide, was selected to be archbishop, after archbishop jon's death; and he was consecrated the same year king inge was killed. now when archbishop eystein came to his see, he made himself beloved by all the country, as an excellent active man of high birth. the throndhjem people, in particular, received him with pleasure; for most of the great people in the throndhjem district were connected with the archbishop by relationship or other connection, and all were his friends. the archbishop brought forward a request to the bondes in a speech, in which he set forth the great want of money for the see, and also how much greater improvement of the revenues would be necessary to maintain it suitably, as it was now of much more importance than formerly when the bishop's see was first established. he requested of the bondes that they should give him, for determining law-suits, an ore of silver value, instead of what they had before paid, which was an ore of judgment money, of that kind which was paid to the king in judging cases; and the difference between the two kinds of ore was, that the ore he desired was a half greater than the other. by help of the archbishop's relations and friends, and his own activity, this was carried; and it was fixed by law in all the throndhjem district, and in all the districts belonging to his archbishopric. . of markus and king sigurd. when sigurd and markus lost their ships in the gaut river, and saw they could get no hold on erling, they went to the uplands, and proceeded by land north to throndhjem. sigurd was received there joyfully, and chosen king at an eyra-thing; and many gallant men, with their sons, attached themselves to his party. they fitted out ships, rigged them for a voyage, and proceeded when summer came southwards to more, and took up all the royal revenues wheresoever they came. at this time the following lendermen were appointed in bergen for the defence of the country:--nikolas sigurdson, nokve palson, and several military leaders; as thorolf dryl, thorbjorn gjaldkere, and many others. as markus and sigurd sailed south, they heard that erling's men were numerous in bergen; and therefore they sailed outside the coast-rocks, and southwards past bergen. it was generally remarked, that markus's men always got a fair wind, wherever they wished to sail to. . markus and king sigurd killed. as soon as erling skakke heard that sigurd and markus had sailed southwards, he hastened to viken, and drew together an armed force; and he soon had a great many men, and many stout ships. but when he came farther in viken, he met with a strong contrary wind, which kept him there in port the whole summer. now when sigurd and markus came east to lister, they heard that erling had a great force in viken; so they turned to the north again. but when they reached hordaland, with the intention of sailing to bergen, and came opposite the town, nikolas and his men rowed out against them, with more men and larger ships than they had. sigurd and markus saw no other way of escaping but to row away southwards. some of them went out to sea, others got south to the sound, and some got into the fjords. markus, and some people with him, sprang upon an isle called skarpa. nikolas and his men took their ships, gave jon halkelson and a few others quarter, but killed the most of them they could get hold of. some days after eindride heidafylja found sigurd and markus, and they were brought to bergen. sigurd was beheaded outside of grafdal, and markus and another man were hanged at hvarfsnes. this took place on michaelmas day (september , ), and the band which had followed them was dispersed. . erling and the people of hising isle. frirek keina and bjarne the bad, onund simonson and ornolf skorpa had rowed out to sea with some ships, and sailed outside along the land to the east. wheresoever they came to the land they plundered, and killed erling's friends. now when erling heard that sigurd and markus were killed, he gave leave to the lendermen and people of the levy to return home; but he himself, with his men, set his course eastward across the folden fjord, for he heard of markus's men there. erling sailed to konungahella, where he remained the autumn; and in the first week of winter erling went out to the island hising with his men, and called the bondes to a thing. when the hising people came to the thing, erling laid his law-suit against them for having joined the bands of sigurd and markus, and having raised men against him. assur was the name of one of the greatest of the bondes on the island, and he answered erling on account of the others. the thing was long assembled; but at the close the bondes gave the case into erling's own power, and he appointed a meeting in the town within one week, and named fifteen bondes who should appear there. when they came, he condemned them to pay a penalty of head of cattle; and the bondes returned home ill pleased at this sentence. soon after the gaut river was frozen, and erling's ships were fast in the ice; and the bondes kept back the mulct, and lay assembled for some time. erling made a yule feast in the town; but the hising people had joint-feasts with each other, and kept under arms during yule. the night after the fifth day of yule erling went up to hising, surrounded assur's house, and burnt him in it. he killed one hundred men in all, burnt three houses, and then returned to konungahella. the bondes came then, according to agreement, to pay the mulct. . death of frirek keina and bjarne. erling skakke made ready to sail in spring as soon as he could get his ships afloat for ice, and sailed from konungahella; for he heard that those who had formerly been markus's friends were marauding in the north of viken. erling sent out spies to learn their doings, searched for them, and found them lying in a harbour. onund simonson and ornolf skorpa escaped, but frirek keina and bjarne the bad were taken, and many of their followers were killed. erling had frirek bound to an anchor and thrown overboard; and for that deed erling was much detested in the throndhjem country, for the most powerful men there were relatives of frirek. erling ordered bjarne the bad to be hanged; and he uttered, according to his custom, many dreadful imprecations during his execution. thorbjorn skakkaskald tells of this business:-- "east of the fjord beyond the land, unnoticed by the pirate band, erling stole on them ere they knew, and seized and killed all keina's crew. keina, fast to an anchor bound, was thrown into the deep-blue sound; and bjarne swung high on gallows-tree, a sight all good men loved to see." onund and ornolf, with the band that had escaped, fled to denmark; but were sometimes in gautland, or in viken. . conference between erling and eystein. erling skakke sailed after this to tunsberg, and remained there very long in spring (a.d. ); but when summer came he proceeded north to bergen, where at that time a great many people were assembled. there was the legate from rome, stephanus; the archbishop eystein, and other bishops of the country. there was also bishop brand, who was consecrated bishop of iceland, and jon loptson, a daughter's son of king magnus barefoot; and on this occasion king magnus and jon's other relations acknowledged the relationship with him. archbishop eystein and erling skakke often conversed together in private; and, among other things, erling asked one day, "is it true, sir, what people tell me, that you have raised the value of the ore upon the people north in throndhjem, in the law cases in which money-fees are paid you?" "it is so," said the archbishop, "that the bondes have allowed me an advance on the ore of law casualties; but they did it willingly, and without any kind of compulsion, and have thereby added to their honour for god and the income of the bishopric." erling replies, "is this according to the law of the holy olaf? or have you gone to work more arbitrarily in this than is written down in the lawbook?" the archbishop replies, "king olaf the holy fixed the laws, to which he received the consent and affirmative of the people; but it will not be found in his laws that it is forbidden to increase god's right." erling: "if you augment your right, you must assist us to augment as much the king's right." the archbishop: "thou hast already augmented enough thy son's power and dominion; and if i have exceeded the law in taking an increase of the ore from the throndhjem people, it is, i think, a much greater breach of the law that one is king over the country who is not a king's son, and which has neither any support in the law, nor in any precedent here in the country." erling: "when magnus was chosen king, it was done with your knowledge and consent, and also of all the other bishops here in the country." archbishop: "you promised then, erling, that provided we gave our consent to electing magnus king, you would, on all occasions, and with all your power, strengthen god's rights." erling: "i may well admit that i have promised to preserve and strengthen god's commands and the laws of the land with all my power, and with the king's strength; and now i consider it to be much more advisable, instead of accusing each other of a breach of our promises, to hold firmly by the agreement entered into between us. do you strengthen magnus in his dominion, according to what you have promised; and i will, on my part, strengthen your power in all that can be of advantage or honour." the conversation now took a more friendly turn; and erling said, "although magnus was not chosen king according to what has been the old custom of this country, yet can you with your power give him consecration as king, as god's law prescribes, by anointing the king to sovereignty; and although i be neither a king, nor of kingly race, yet most of the kings, within my recollection, have not known the laws or the constitution of the country so well as i do. besides, the mother of king magnus is the daughter of a king and queen born in lawful wedlock, and magnus is son of a queen and a lawfully married wife. now if you will give him royal consecration, no man can take royalty from him. william bastard was not a king's son; but he was consecrated and crowned king of england, and the royalty in england has ever since remained with his race, and all have been crowned. svein ulfson was not a king's son in denmark, and still he was a crowned king, and his sons likewise, and all his descendants have been crowned kings. now we have here in norway an archiepiscopal seat, to the glory and honour of the country; let us also have a crowned king, as well as the danes and englishmen." erling and the archbishop afterwards talked often of this matter, and they were quite agreed. then the archbishop brought the business before the legate, and got him easily persuaded to give his consent. thereafter the archbishop called together the bishops, and other learned men, and explained the subject to them. they all replied in the same terms, that they would follow the counsels of the archbishop, and all were eager to promote the consecration as soon as the archbishop pleased. . king magnus's consecration. erling skakke then had a great feast prepared in the king's house. the large hall was covered with costly cloth and tapestry, and adorned with great expense. the court-men and all the attendants were there entertained, and there were numerous guests, and many chiefs. then king magnus received the royal consecration from the archbishop eystein; and at the consecration there were five other bishops and the legate, besides a number of other clergy. erling skakke, and with him twelve other lendermen, administered to the king the oath of the law; and the day of the consecration the king and erling had the legate, the archbishop, and all the other bishops as guests; and the feast was exceedingly magnificent, and the father and son distributed many great presents. king magnus was then eight years of age, and had been king for three years. . king valdemar's embassy. when the danish king valdemar heard the news from norway that magnus was become king of the whole country, and all the other parties in the country were rooted out, he sent his men with a letter to king magnus and erling, and reminded them of the agreement which erling had entered into, under oath, with king valdemar, of which we have spoken before; namely, that viken from the east to rygiarbit should be ceded to king valdemar, if magnus became the sole king of norway. when the ambassadors came forward and showed erling the letter of the danish king, and he heard the danish king's demand upon norway, he laid it before the other chiefs by whose counsels he usually covered his acts. all, as one man, replied that the danes should never hold the slightest portion of norway; for never had things been worse in the land than when the danes had power in it. the ambassadors of the danish king were urgent with erling for an answer, and desired to have it decided; but erling begged them to proceed with him east to viken, and said he would give his final answer when he had met with the men of most understanding and influence in viken. . erling and the people of viken. erling skakke proceeded in autumn to viken, and stayed in tunsberg, from whence he sent people to sarpsborg to summon a thing ( ) of four districts; and then erling went there with his people. when the thing was seated erling made a speech in which he explained the resolutions which had been settled upon between him and the danish king, the first time he collected troops against his enemies. "i will," said erling, "keep faithfully the agreement which we then entered into with the king, if it be your will and consent, bondes, rather to serve the danish king than the king who is now consecrated and crowned king of this country." the bondes replied thus to erling's speech: "never will we become the danish king's men, as long as one of us viken men is in life." and the whole assembly, with shouts and cries, called on erling to keep the oath he had taken to defend his son's dominions, "should we even all follow thee to battle." and so the thing was dissolved. the ambassadors of the danish king then returned home, and told the issue of their errand. the danes abused erling, and all northmen, and declared that evil only proceeded from them; and the report was spread, that in spring the danish king would send out an army and lay waste norway. erling returned in autumn north to bergen, stayed there all winter, and gave their pay to his people. endnotes: ( ) this reference to a thing of the people in the affairs of the country is a striking example of the right of the things being recognised, in theory at least, as fully as the right of our parliaments in later times.--l. . letters of the throndhjem people. the same winter (a.d. ) some danish people came by land through the uplands, saying they were to go, as was then the general practice, to the holy king olaf's festival. but when they came to the throndhjem country, they went to many men of influence, and told their business; which was, that the danish king had sent them to desire their friendship, and consent, if he came to the country, promising them both power and money. with this verbal message came also the danish king's letter and seal, and a message to the throndhjem people that they should send back their letters and seals to him. they did so, and the most of them received well the danish king's message; whereupon the messengers returned back towards lent. erling was in bergen; and towards spring erling's friends told him the loose reports they had heard by some merchant vessels that had arrived from throndhjem, that the throndhjem people were in hostility openly against him; and had declared that if erling came to throndhjem, he should never pass agdanes in life. erling said this was mere folly and idle talk. erling now made it known that he would go to unarheim to the gangdag-thing; and ordered a cutter of twenty rowing benches to be fitted out, a boat of fifteen benches, and a provision-ship. when the vessels were ready, there came a strong southerly gale. on the thursday of the ascension week, erling called his people by sound of trumpet to their departure; but the men were loath to leave the town, and were ill inclined to row against the wind. erling brought his vessels to biskupshafn. "well," said erling, "since ye are so unwilling to row against the wind, raise the mast, hoist the sails, and let the ship go north." they did so, and sailed northwards both day and night. on wednesday, in the evening, they sailed in past agdanes, where they found a fleet assembled of many merchant vessels, rowing craft, and boats, all going towards the town to the celebration of the festival,--some before them, some behind them--so that the townspeople paid no attention to the long-ships coming. . erling and the people of throndhjem. erling came to the town just as vespers was being sung in christ church. he and his men ran into the town, to where it was told them that the lenderman, alf rode, a son of ottar birting, was still sitting at table, and drinking with his men. erling fell upon them; and alf was killed, with almost all his men. few other men were killed; for they had almost all gone to church, as this was the night before christ's ascension-day. in the morning early, erling called all the people by sound of trumpet to a thing out upon evrar. at the thing erling laid a charge against the throndhjem people, accusing them of intending to betray the country, and take it from the king; and named bard standale, pal andreason, and razabard, who then presided over the town's affairs, and many others. they, in their defence, denied the accusation; but erling's writer stood up, produced many letters with seals, and asked if they acknowledged their seals which they had sent to the danish king; and thereupon the letters were read. there was also a danish man with erling who had gone with the letters in winter, and whom erling for that purpose had taken into his service. he told to these men the very words which each of them had used. "and you, razabard, spoke, striking your breast; and the very words you used were, 'out of this breast are all these counsels produced.'" bard replied, "i was wrong in the head, sirs, when i spoke so." there was now nothing to be done but to submit the case entirely to the sentence erling might give upon it. he took great sums of money from many as fines, and condemned all those who had been killed as lawless, and their deeds as lawless; making their deaths thereby not subject to mulct. then erling returned south to bergen. . king valdemar's expedition to norway. the danish king valdemar assembled in spring (a.d. ) a great army, and proceeded with it north to viken. as soon as he reached the dominions of the king of norway, the bondes assembled in a great multitude. the king advanced peacefully; but when they came to the mainland, the people shot at them even when there were only two or three together, from which the ill-will of the country people towards them was evident. when they came to tunsberg, king valdemar summoned a hauga-thing; but nobody attended it from the country parts. then valdemar spoke thus to his troops: "it is evident that all the country-people are against us; and now we have two things to choose: the one to go through the country, sword in hand, sparing neither man nor beast; the other is to go back without effecting our object. and it is more my inclination to go with the army to the east against the heathens, of whom we have enough before us in the east country, than to kill christian people here, although they have well deserved it." all the others had a greater desire for a foray; but the king ruled, and they all returned back to denmark without effecting their purpose. they pillaged, however, all around in the distant islands, or where the king was not in the neighbourhood. they then returned south to denmark without doing anything. . erling's expedition to jutland. as soon as erling heard that a danish force had come to viken, he ordered a levy through all the land, both of men and ships, so that there was a great assemblage of men in arms; and with this force he proceeded eastward along the coast. but when he came to lidandisnes, he heard that the danish army had returned south to denmark, after plundering all around them in viken. then erling gave all the people of the levy permission to return home; but he himself and some lendermen, with many vessels, sailed to jutland after the danes. when they came to a place called dyrsa, the danes who had returned from the expedition lay there with many ships. erling gave them battle, and there was a fight, in which the danes soon fled with the loss of many people; and erling and his men plundered the ships and the town, and made a great booty, with which they returned to norway. thereafter, for a time, there was hostility between norway and denmark. . erling's expedition to denmark. the princess krisfin went south in autumn (a.d. ) to denmark, to visit her relation king valdemar, who was her cousin. the king received her kindly, and gave her fiefs in his kingdom, so that she could support her household well. she often conversed with the king, who was remarkably kind towards her. in the spring following (a.d. ) kristin sent to erling, and begged him to pay a visit to the danish king, and enter into a peace with him. in summer erling was in viken, where he fitted out a long-ship, manned it with his finest lads, and sailed (a single ship) over to jutland. when he heard that the danish king valdemar was in randaros, erling sailed thither, and came to the town just as the king sat at the dinner-table, and most of the people were taking their meal. when his people had made themselves ready according to erling's orders, set up the ship-tents, and made fast the ship, erling landed with twelve men, all in armour, with hats over their helmets, and swords under their cloaks. they went to the king's lodging, where the doors stood open, and the dishes were being carried in. erling and his people went in immediately, and drew up in front of the high-seat. erling said, "peace and safe conduct we desire, king, both here and to return home." the king looked at him, and said, "art thou here, erling?" he replies, "here is erling; and tell us, at once, if we shall have peace and safe conduct." there were eighty of the king's men in the room, but all unarmed. the king replies, "peace ye shall have, erling, according to thy desire; for i will not use force or villainy against a man who comes to visit me." erling then kissed the king's hand, went out, and down to his ship. erling stayed at randaros some time with the king, and they talked about terms of peace between them and between the countries. they agreed that erling should remain as hostage with the danish king; and that asbjorn snara, bishop absalon's brother, should go to norway as hostage on the other part. . king valdemar and erling. in a conference which king valdemar and erling once had together. erling said, "sire, it appears to me likely that it might lead to a peace between the countries if you got that part of norway which was promised you in our agreement; but if it should be so, what chief would you place over it? would he be a dane?" "no," replied the king; "no danish chief would go to norway, where he would have to manage an obstinate hard people, when he has it so easy here with me." erling: "it was on that very consideration that i came here; for i would not on any account in the world deprive myself of the advantage of your friendship. in days of old other men, hakon ivarson and fin arnason, came also from norway to denmark, and your predecessor, king svein, made them both earls. now i am not a man of less power in norway than they were then, and my influence is not less than theirs; and the king gave them the province of halland to rule over, which he himself had and owned before. now it appears to me, sire, that you, if i become your man and vassal, can allow me to hold of you the fief which my son magnus will not deny me, by which i will be bound in duty, and ready, to undertake all the service belonging to that title." erling spoke such things, and much more in the same strain, until it came at last to this, that erling became valdemar's man and vassal; and the king led erling to the earl's seat one day, and gave him the title of earl, and viken as a fief under his rule. earl erling went thereafter to norway, and was earl afterwards as long as he lived; and also the peace with the danish king was afterwards always preserved. earl erling had four sons by his concubines. the one was called hreidar, the next ogmund; and these by two different mothers: the third was called fin; the fourth sigurd: these were younger, and their mother was asa the fair. the princess kristin and earl erling had a daughter called ragnhild, who was married to jon thorbergson of randaberg. kristin went away from the country with a man called grim rusle; and they went to constantinople, where they were for a time, and had some children. . beginning of olaf. olaf, a son of gudbrand skafhaug, and maria, a daughter of king eystein magnuson, were brought up in the house of sigurd agnhot in the uplands. while earl erling was in denmark (a.d. ), olaf and his foster-father gathered a troop together, and many upland people joined them; and olaf was chosen king by them. they went with their bands through the uplands, and sometimes down to viken, and sometimes east to the forest settlements; but never came on board of ships. now when, earl erling got news of this troop, he hastened to viken with his forces; and was there in summer in his ships, and in oslo in autumn (a.d. ) and kept yule there. he had spies up the country after this troop, and went himself, along with orm, the king-brother, up the country to follow them. now when they came to a lake called.... .... ( ) they took all the vessels that were upon the lake. endnotes: ( ) the name of the lake not given. . of erling. the priest who performed divine service at a place called rydiokul, close by the lake, invited the earl to a feast at candlemas. the earl promised to come; and thinking it would be good to hear mass there, he rowed with his attendants over the lake the night before candlemas day. but the priest had another plan on hand. he sent men to bring olaf news of earl erling's arrival. the priest gave erling strong drink in the evening, and let him have an excessive quantity of it. when the earl wished to lie down and sleep, the beds were made ready in the drinking-room; but when they had slept a short time the earl awoke, and asked if it was not the hour for matins. the priest replied, that only a small part of the night was gone, and told him to sleep in peace. the earl replied, "i dream of many things to-night, and i sleep ill." he slumbered again, but awoke soon, and told the priest to get up and sing mass. the priest told the earl to sleep, and said it was but midnight. then the earl again lay down, slept a little while, and, springing out of bed, ordered his men to put on their clothes. they did so; took their weapons, went to the church, and laid their arms outside while the priest was singing matins. . battle at rydiokul. as olaf got the message in the evening, they travelled in the night six miles, which people considered an extraordinarily long march. they arrived at rydiokul while the priest was still singing mass, and it was pitch-dark. olaf and his men went into the room, raised a war-shout, and killed some of the earl's men who had not gone to the early mass. now when erling and his men heard the war-shout, they ran to their weapons, and hastened down to their ships. olaf and his men met them at a fence, at which there was a sharp conflict. erling and his men retreated along the fence, which protected them. erling had far fewer men, and many of them had fallen, and still more were wounded. what helped earl erling and his men the most was, that olaf's men could not distinguish them, it was so dark; and the earl's men were always drawing down to their ships. are thorgeirson, father of bishop gudmund fell there, and many other of erling's court-men. erling himself was wounded in the left side; but some say he did it himself in drawing his sword. orm the king-brother was also severely wounded; and with great difficulty they escaped to their ships, and instantly pushed off from land. it was generally considered as a most unlucky meeting for olaf's people, as earl erling was in a manner sold into their hands, if they had proceeded with common prudence. he was afterwards called olaf the unlucky; but others called his people hat-lads. they went with their bands through the uplands as before. erling again went down to viken to his ships, and remained there all summer. olaf was in the uplands, and sometimes east in the forest districts, where he and his troop remained all the next winter (a.d. ). . battle at stangar. the following spring the hat-lads went down to viken, and raised the king's taxes all around, and remained there long in summer. when earl erling heard this, he hastened with his troops to meet them in viken, and fell in with them east of the fjord, at a place called stangar; where they had a great battle, in which erling was victorious. sigurd agnhot, and many others of olaf's men, fell there; but olaf escaped by flight, went south to denmark, and was all winter (a.d. ) in alaborg in jutland. the following spring olaf fell into an illness which ended in death, and he was buried in the maria church; and the danes call him a saint. . harald's death. king magnus had a lenderman called nikolas kufung, who was a son of pal skaptason. he took harald prisoner, who called himself a son of king sigurd haraldson and the princess kristin, and a brother of king magnus by the mother's side. nikolas brought harald to bergen, and delivered him into earl erling's hands. it was erling's custom when his enemies came before him, that he either said nothing to them, or very little, and that in all gentleness, when he had determined to put them to death; or rose with furious words against them, when he intended to spare their lives. erling spoke but little to harald, and many, therefore, suspected his intentions; and some begged king magnus to put in a good word for harald with the earl; and the king did so. the earl replies, "thy friends advise thee badly. thou wouldst govern this kingdom but a short time in peace and safety, if thou wert to follow the counsels of the heart only." earl erling ordered harald to be taken to nordnes, where he was beheaded. . eystein eysteinson and the birkebeins. there was a man called eystein, who gave himself out for a son of king eystein haraldson. he was at this time young, and not full grown. it is told of him that he one summer appeared in svithjod, and went to earl birger brosa, who was then married to brigida, eystein's aunt, a daughter of king harald gille. eystein explained his business to him, and asked their assistance. both earl birger and his wife listened to him in a friendly way, and promised him their confidence, and he stayed with them a while. earl birger gave him some assistance of men, and a good sum for travelling expenses; and both promised him their friendship on his taking leave. thereafter eystein proceeded north into norway (a.d. ), and when he came down to viken people flocked to him in crowds; and eystein was there proclaimed king, and he remained in viken in winter. as they were very poor in money, they robbed all around, wherefore the lendermen and bondes raised men against them; and being thus overpowered by numbers, they fled away to the forests and deserted hill grounds, where they lived for a long time. their clothes being worn out, they wound the bark of the birch-tree about their legs, and thus were called by the bondes birkebeins. they often rushed down upon the settled districts, pushed on here or there, and made an assault where they did not find many people to oppose them. they had several battles with the bondes with various success; and the birkebeins held three battles in regular array, and gained the victory in them all. at krokaskog they had nearly made an unlucky expedition, for a great number of bondes and men-at-arms were assembled there against them; but the birkebeins felled brushwood across the roads, and retired into the forest. they were two years (a.d. - ) in viken before they showed themselves in the northern parts of the country. . birkebeins, king eystein, and skakke. magnus had been king for thirteen years when the birkebeins first made their appearance. they got themselves ships in the third summer (a.d. ), with which they sailed along the coast gathering goods and men. they were first in viken; but when summer advanced they proceeded northwards, and so rapidly that no news preceded them until they came to throndhjem. the birkebeins' troop consisted principally of hill-men and elfgrims, and many were from thelemark; and all were well armed. their king, eystein, was a handsome man, and with a little but good countenance; and he was not of great stature, for his men called him eystein meyla. king magnus and earl erling were in bergen when the birkebeins sailed past it to the north; but they did not hear of them. earl erling was a man of great understanding and power, an excellent leader in war, and an able and prudent ruler of the country; but he had the character of being cruel and severe. the cause of this was principally that he never allowed his enemies to remain in the country, even when they prayed to him for mercy; and therefore many joined the bands which were collected against him. erling was a tall strong-made man, somewhat short-necked and high-shouldered; had a long and sharp countenance of a light complexion, and his hair became very grey. he bore his head a little on one side; was free and agreeable in his manners. he wore the old fashion of clothes,--long body-pieces and long arms to his coats, foreign cloak, and high shoes. he made the king wear the same kind of dress in his youth; but when he grew up, and acted for himself, he dressed very sumptuously. king magnus was of a light turn of mind, full of jokes; a great lover of mirth, and not less of women. . of nikolas. nikolas was a son of sigurd hranason and of skialdvor, a daughter of brynjolf ulfalde, and a sister of haldor brynjolfson by the father's side, and of king magnus barefoot by the mother's side. nikolas was a distinguished chief, who had a farm at ongul in halogaland, which was called steig. nikolas had also a house in nidaros, below saint jon's church, where thorgeir the scribe lately dwelt. nikolas was often in the town, and was president of the townspeople. skialdvor, nikolas's daughter, was married to eirik arnason, who was also a lenderman. . of eirik and nikolas. as the people of the town were coming from matins the last day of marymas (september th), eirik came up to nikolas, and said, "here are some fishermen come from the sea, who report that some long-ships are sailing into the fjord; and people conjecture that these may be the birkebeins. it would be advisable to call the townspeople together with the war-horns, to meet under arms out on eyrar." nikolas replies, "i don't go after fishermen's reports; but i shall send out spies to the fjord, and in the meantime hold a thing to-day." eirik went home; but when they were ringing to high mass, and nikolas was going to church, eirik came to hint again, and said, "i believe the news to be true; for here are men who say they saw them under sail; and i think it would be most advisable to ride out of town, and gather men with arms; for it appears to me the townspeople will be too few." nikolas replies, "thou art mixing everything together; let us first hear mass, and then take our resolution." nikolas then went into the church. when the mass was over eirik went to nikolas, and said, "my horses are saddled; i will ride away." nikolas replies, "farewell, then: we will hold a thing to-day on the eyrar, and examine what force of men there may be in the town." eirik rode away, and nikolas went to his house, and then to dinner. . the fall of nikolas. the meat was scarcely put on the table, when a man came into the house to tell nikolas that the birkebeins were roving up the river. then nikolas called to his men to take their weapons. when they were armed nikolas ordered them to go up into the loft. but that was a most imprudent step; for if they had remained in the yard, the townspeople might have come to their assistance; but now the birkebeins filled the whole yard, and from thence scrambled from all sides up to the loft. they called to nikolas, and offered him quarter, but he refused it. then they attacked the loft. nikolas and his men defended themselves with bow-shot, hand-shot, and stones of the chimney; but the birkebeins hewed down the houses, broke up the loft, and returned shot for shot from bow or hand. nikolas had a red shield in which were gilt nails, and about it was a border of stars. the birkebeins shot so that the arrows went in up to the arrow feather. then said nikolas, "my shield deceives me." nikolas and a number of his people fell, and his death was greatly lamented. the birkebeins gave all the towns-people their lives. . eystein proclaimed king. eystein was then proclaimed king, and all the people submitted to him. he stayed a while in the town, and then went into the interior of the throndhjem land, where many joined him, and among them thorfin svarte of snos with a troop of people. when the birkebeins, in the beginning of winter (a.d. ), came again into the town, the sons of gudrun from saltnes, jon ketling, sigurd, and william, joined them; and when they proceeded afterwards from nidaros up orkadal, they could number nearly men. they afterwards went to the uplands, and on to thoten and hadaland, and from thence to ringerike, and subdued the country wheresover they came. . the fall of king eystein. king magnus went eastward to viken in autumn with a part of his men and with him orm, the king's brother; but earl erling remained behind in bergen to meet the berkebeins in case they took the sea route. king magnus went to tunsberg, where he and orm held their yule (a.d. ). when king magnus heard that the birkebeins were up in re, the king and orm proceeded thither with their men. there was much snow, and it was dreadfully cold. when they came to the farm they left the beaten track on the road, and drew up their array outside of the fence, and trod a path through the snow with their men, who were not quite in number. the birkebeins were dispersed here and there in other farms, a few men in each house. when they perceived king magnus's army they assembled, and drew up in regular order; and as they thought their force was larger than his, which it actually was, they resolved to fight; but when they hurried forward to the road only a few could advance at a time, which broke their array, and the men fell who first advanced upon the beaten way. then the birkebeins' banner was cut down; those who were nearest gave way and some took to flight. king magnus's men pursued them, and killed one after the other as they came up with them. thus the birkebeins could never form themselves in array; and being exposed to the weapons of the enemy singly, many of them fell, and many fled. it happened here, as it often does, that although men be brave and gallant, if they have once been defeated and driven to flight, they will not easily be brought to turn round. now the main body of the birkebeins began to fly, and many fell; because magnus's men killed all they could lay hold of, and not one of them got quarter. the whole body became scattered far and wide. eystein in his flight ran into a house, and begged for his life, and that the bonde would conceal him; but the bonde killed him, and then went to king magnus, whom he found at rafnnes, where the king was in a room warming himself by the fire along with many people. some went for the corpse, and bore it into the room, where the king told the people to come and inspect the body. a man was sitting on a bench in the corner, and he was a birkebein, but nobody had observed him; and when he saw and recognised his chief's body he sprang up suddenly and actively, rushed out upon the floor, and with an axe he had in his hands made a blow at king magnus's neck between the shoulders. a man saw the axe swinging, and pulled the king to a side, by which the axe struck lower in the shoulder, and made a large wound. he then raised the axe again, and made a blow at orm, the king-brother, who was lying on a bench, and the blow was directed at both legs; but orm seeing the man about to kill him, drew in his feet instantly, threw them over his head, and the blow fell on the bench, in which the axe stuck fast; and then the blows at the birkebein came so thick that he could scarcely fall to the ground. it was discovered that he had dragged his entrails after him over the floor; and this man's bravery was highly praised. king magnus's men followed the fugitives, and killed so many that they were tired of it. thorfin of snos, and a very great number of throndhjem people, fell there. . of the birkebeins. the faction which called itself the birkebeins had gathered together in great numbers. they were a hardy people, and the boldest of men under arms; but wild, and going forward madly when they had a strong force. they had few men in their faction who were good counsellors, or accustomed to rule a country by law, or to head an army; and if there were such men among them who had more knowledge, yet the many would only allow of those measures which they liked, trusting always to their numbers and courage. of the men who escaped many were wounded, and had lost both their clothes and their arms, and were altogether destitute of money. some went east to the borders, some went all the way east to svithjod; but the most of them went to thelemark, where they had their families. all took flight, as they had no hope of getting their lives from king magnus or earl erling. . of king magnus erlingson. king magnus then returned to tunsberg, and got great renown by this victory; for it had been an expression in the mouths of all, that earl erling was the shield and support of his son and himself. but after gaining a victory over so strong and numerous a force with fewer troops, king magnus was considered by all as surpassing other leaders, and that he would become a warrior as much greater than his father, earl erling, as he was younger. source: http://www.archive.org/details/sagahalfredsigs veitgoog saga of halfred the sigskald saga of halfred the sigskald _a northern tale of the tenth_ _century_ by felix dahn. translated by sophie f. e. veitch. alexander gardner, paisley; and paternoster row, london. . contents. page chapter i., chapter ii., chapter iii., chapter iv., chapter v., chapter vi., chapter vii., chapter viii., chapter ix., chapter x., chapter xi., chapter xii., chapter xiii., chapter xiv., chapter xv., chapter xvi., chapter xvii., chapter xviii., chapiter xix., postscript, saga of halfred the sigskald. chapter i. nigh upon fifty winters ago, there was growing up in the north a boy named halfred. in iceland, on the hamund fjord, stood the splendid hall of his father, hamund. at that time, so the heathen people believe, elves and goblins still moved about freely among the northern nations. and many say that an elf, who had been friendly to the powerful hamund, drew near to the shield cradle of the boy halfred, and for his first food laid wild honey upon his lips, and said-- "victory shall be thine in harping-- victory shall be thine in singing-- sigskald shall all nations name thee." but this is a mere idle tale of the heathen people. and halfred grew, and was strong and beautiful. he sat often alone on the cliffs, and listened how the wind played in rifts in the crags, and he would fain have tuned his harp to the same strain, and because he could not do it he was filled with fury. and when this fury swept over his forehead the veins in his temples swelled, and there came a red darkness before his eyes. and then his arm sometimes did that whereof his head knew nothing. when his father died halfred took the seat of honour in the hall. but he took no heed to preserve or improve his inheritance. he gave himself up to harp playing and feats of arms. he devised a new strain in singing, "halfred's strain," which greatly charmed all who heard it, and in which none could imitate him. and in hatchet throwing, not one of the men of iceland could equal him. he dashed his hammer through three shields, and at two ships' lengths he would not miss with its sharp edge a finger broad arrow shaft. his mind was now set upon building a dragon ship, strong and splendid, worthy of a viking, wherein he might make voyages, to harry or levy toll upon island and mainland, or to play his harp in the halls of kings. and through many an anxious night he considered how he should build his ship, and could devise no plan. yet the image of the ship was always before his eyes, as it must be, with prow and stem, with board and bow; and instead of a dragon it must carry a silver swan on the prow. and when, one morning, he came out of the hall, and looked out over the fjord, towards the north, there, from the south-south-east, came floating into hamund's bay a mighty ship, with swelling sails. then halfred and his house-churls seized their weapons, and hurried out either to drive away or welcome the sailors. ever nearer drove the ship, but neither helmet nor spear flashed on board, and though they shouted through the trumpet all was still. then halfred and his followers sprang into the boat, and rowed to the great ship, and saw that it was altogether empty, and climbed on board. and this was the most splendid dragon ship that ever spread sail on the salt seas. but instead of a dragon it bore a silver swan upon the prow. and moreover also, halfred told me, the ship was in all things the same as the image he had seen in his night and day dreams; forty oars in iron rowlocks, the deck pavillioned with shields, the sails purple-striped, the prow carved with runes against breakers, and the ropes of sea-dogs' skin. and the high-arched silver wings of the swan were ingeniously carved, and the wind rushed through them with a melodious sound. and halfred sprang up to the seat of honour on the upper-deck, upon which lay spread a purple royal mantle, and a silver harp, with a swan's head, leaned against it. and halfred said-- "singing swan shalt thou be called, my ship; singing and victorious shalt thou sail." and many said the elf who had given him his name had sent the singing swan to him. but that is an idle tale of the heathen people. for it has often happened that slightly anchored ships have broken away in storms, while the seamen were carousing ashore. chapter ii. and forthwith it became known that halfred had armed the best of his house churls, and his followers, with good weapons, to set forth as a viking to conquer, and as a skald to sing. and over the whole of iceland, and the islands all around, there was much talk about the singing swan, which "oski"[ ] himself--that is the god of the heathen people--had sent to halfred hamundson. "he is the son of oski; nothing shall miscarry with him, be it man's hate, or woman's love, in sword thrusts, or in harp playing; great treasure and rich skald rewards shall he win, and his gentle hand can take and spend, but keep nothing." and now there came many, drawn to him by the wish to be his sailing comrades, even from the furthest islands of the western sea, so that he could have manned seven ships. he manned, however, only the singing swan, with three hundred men whom he chose himself, and with them he set sail upon the sea. and now there would be much which might be told about the great victories which halfred won, through many long years, with hammer and harp, on all the seas from mikilgard--which the latins call byzantium--even to the island of hibernia, in the far west. and of all these feats and victories, voyages and minstrelsy, and contests of arms and harp playing, had i, as a child by the cloister hearth, heard the skalds sing, and wandering guests recount, long before i looked into halfred's sea-grey eyes. for during the long time that he was wholly lost sight of, and the singing swan had vanished in flames, and all people held halfred for dead, the skalds composed many songs about him. but that was later. at that time halfred thus roamed about everywhere, singing and triumphing, winning fights at sea, and contests in palaces. and because he was victor over all the skalds in singing competitions, the people named him "sigskald," and from that, the heathen people, prophesying backwards, invented, perhaps, that fable about the elf which had given him honey, and his name, in the cradle. and he amassed great spoils, and many hundred rings of red gold, and gave them all away again to his sailing comrades. and yet he still heaped up rich hords upon the singing swan; and brought also much treasure to hamund's hall, where he was wont to pass the winter. and he splendidly improved the hall, and built over against it a great mead hall, in which a thousand men could drink: and six steps led to the seat of honour in the mead hall. but the most costly thing among all his spoils was a candelabrum--"lampas" the greeks call it--half as high as a man, of pure gold, with seven flaming arms, which far away, in the land of greece, he had borne away from a marble city that he had burned. and this treasure halfred himself prized highly, who otherwise cared nothing for gold. and at the yule feast, and the midsummer feast, and at all high festivals, it must stand close before him upon the table, with its sevenfold flame. but that at which everyone wondered most was, that all people who saw halfred, and heard him sing, seemed to be forced to be friendly to him. it often happened that even the skalds whom he vanquished in song contests, themselves conceived great love for him, and praised his strains more than their own. but this is truly the most incredible thing that can be told of skalds. compared to this it is a small thing that a wooer whom he had supplanted in a woman's favour should become his friend and blood brother. but that was later. and, indeed, because everything seemed miraculous, those heathen people invented that legend that he was the son of oski, and that therefore neither men's wrath nor maiden's pride could withstand him; that a god was throned upon his forehead, who dazzled all eyes; with many more such fables. above all they say that his smile could conquer all hearts, as the midsummer sun melts the ice. and about this also they tell a story. that is, that once, in the depth of winter, he found at the foot of snaeja-tjoell, a little maiden of five years old, nearly frozen to death. she had strayed from her mother's cottage, and could not find the way back. and although halfred was very weary, and had many followers with him, he sent them all nevertheless alone to the hall, took the child himself upon his shoulder, and travelled many stages further, always tracking the tiny footprints of the little maiden, who had fallen fast asleep, until he found her mother's cottage. and he laid the child in the mother's arms, and she woke and smiled. and the mother wished for him, as a reward, that he should smile henceforth like a child that sees its mother again. and this also had oski granted to him. but this is a mere idle tale of the heathen people; for there is no oski; and no heathen gods; and perchance also no[ ] .... i say that he carried the child back himself, carefully, to the mother. many a viking would only, from compassion, have thrust her deeper in the snow; the best would have given her to one of his followers to carry to the hall. but to carry her back, himself, through the snow, to her mother, that would no viking have done that i know; above all when he was tired and hungry. i say, then, in halfred there was great goodness of heart, such as is generally wont to be found alone in innocent children; and therefore his smile was heart-winning, as is a child's smile. and out of this, therefore, have the heathen people invented that gift of oski. for that he did carry the child to the mother, that i certainly, myself, fully and undoubtingly believe of halfred. and i would be the last not to believe it of him. nevertheless he could become suddenly very wrathful, when the veins in his temples swelled. then, often, if any enemy roused him by defiance, he would dash, blindly raging, among the spears, like a berseker. over and above all this, they tell many tales of the god-like gifts which made maidens love him. but that is not a miracle, as it comes very near being that a conquered singer should love him. for he possessed a brilliant noble countenance, which no one forgot who had once seen it, and a heart-winning soft, yet powerful voice. he avoided rude jesting; and he could always divine what was the peculiar charm of every fair maiden's beauty; and he knew how to put it to her as a riddle, over which she herself had long been vainly pondering. but other riddles, also, he knew well how to find out. chapter iii. and thus had halfred now, for many years, roamed about as a viking and as a skald, and had won fame and red gold; and once more he again celebrated the yule feast at home in his hall. and there were very many hundred men assembled there in the mead hall which he had fitted up. all his sailing comrades, and very many icelanders, and many foreign guests, from austrvegr, and even from hylmreck, and dyflin, on the western sea. among them also the skald, vandrad, from tiunderland. and the bragi cup[ ] passed round, and many men vowed vows thereon, and many a one pledged himself to daring deeds, which he would perform before midsummertide, or die. halfred also, as well as the guests, had drunk a great deal of mead; more than he was wont to drink, as he himself, afterwards, earnestly told me. and this also the heathen point to in him as a miraculous gift of his father oski; that he could drink far far more than other men, in fact--and they hold him therein very lucky--as many horns full as he chose, without the heron of forgetfulness[ ] sweeping through his dizzied brain. but this is foolishly said, for even i can scare away the heron, if i, after each draught, think quietly to myself, and do not propose many toasts; for such attract the heron. halfred had now certainly emptied many horns; but as yet he had vowed no vow. silent and grave he sat in the seat of the honour, as befitted the host; exhorted the tardy drinkers--there were not however many of them--by sending the cup bearer to them, with the drinking horn; and smiled quietly, when many a one vowed vows which he would never fulfil. then arose from his seat vandrad the skald, from tiunderland, and stood upon the second step of the dais, and spoke. halfred had vanquished him five times, and yet the skald was a faithful loving friend to him-- "vows have here been now vowed by many guests of small worth. but halfred, the lord of the mead hall, still holds his thoughts hidden. i laud him, most lofty, no vows hath he need of, his name may content him. yet i miss in the mead hall one thing to the mighty, to the man is awanting a maiden to wife. what rapture if only, from the high seat of honour, the horn to us, downward, the dazzling white hand of the nobly born princess, harthild, should hold." all the guests kept silence when vandrad had spoken. halfred looked proudly down upon him, and very gently, he told me later, he felt the veins in his temples swell, as, smiling, he asked the skald--but it was the smile of a king, not a child's smile-- "and what then of harthild, her beauty and fame, canst thou here sound the praise, in halfred's mead hall?" then said vandrad-- "for all that thou knowest, thou far roaming viking, hast thou never heard harthild's descent and renown proclaimed on the harp? from upsala's ancient deep rooted stem the maiden is sprung. hartstein the haggard, men call her father, the powerful monarch of far spreading fame. his daughter close guarded he haughtily holds; all wooers rejecting, who cannot excel him in throwing the hammer. and no less the maiden all men avoideth, man-like her own mood. with good cause she boasteth herself in deep riddles above all the skalds skilful to be. 'breaker of men's wits' in dread and in envy, they call her in nordland. to every wooer who fain her proud spirit in wedlock would bind, tells she the same close sealed riddle; for none--not the wisest-- has ever yet solved it. then scornfully laughing, with her sharp scissors, --for so runs the statute-- to shame him, she sheareth from the hero his hair." then halfred's temple veins swelled fearfully. he shook back the thick black locks which flowed down even to his shoulders, and drained off a deep drinking horn. then he sprang from his seat, and seized the bragi cup, on which vows were wont to be vowed. once more he paused, set down the bragi cup again, and asked-- "but skald, say now, quickly, --oft hast thou seen her-- this men avoider. beautiful is she? this breaker of men's wits, would the bride's wreath become her?" vandrad replied-- "nor soft nor gentle, is she, nor lovely, but proud and stately stands her tall form. nor could another carry so fitly the crown of a king." then halfred again took up the bragi cup, strode forward to the highest step which led to his seat of honour, and paused where exactly in the centre was burned into the oaken floor a circle, in red runes, so small that a man could only tread therein with one foot. halfred kneeled down, planted his left foot within the circle, and lifted the bragi cup in his right hand, high above his head. and all were very eager to hear what he would now say; for this was the strongest, the most solemn form in which vow could be vowed. and halfred said-- "ere yet the on coming midsummer tide shall sink in the sea, will i bring harthild, the daughter of hartstein, here as my wife, to dwell in my hall, or hold me shall hell. "her wit-breaking sayings will i lay bare, her runic riddles will i unfold. unshamed, and unshaven, these black locks shake freely. her man-despising maiden mood quelling, my wedded wife will force her to be. the breaker of men's wits will i break in. a right noble heir of all that i own she shall here, in my hall, soon cherish, my son. and softly shall sing him to sleep with the songs of his father's great deeds, or hold me shall hell." thus ended the yule feast, at that time; for all the guests started up from their seats with a great uproar, in a confused throng, and drank to halfred, and shouted that this was the best and most admirable vow which in the memory of man had been vowed in the north. and the tumult was so great that halfred had to command silence from the dais, and very soon to send round the parting cup to the uproarious heroes. and halfred told me that when, under the light of the stars, he crossed the court to his dwelling-house, he repented of his vow. not because he feared king hartstein's hammer-throwing, or dreaded his daughter's riddle. but because it is always wiser for a man to see a maiden, before he determines to make her his wife. chapter iv. and so soon as the austr-vogen was free from ice, the singing swan sailed towards svearike, and through numberless perils into the great sea which lies to the south and east of upland; and from thence she followed a river, as far as there was floating depth, upwards towards tiunderland, and to upsala. and many will now believe that halfred had a great struggle and much difficulty to overcome king hartstein and his daughter, and will expect to hear how it came to pass. but there is nothing to tell; for everything went easily and quickly with him, according to his wishes, which the heathen people again boasted had been thus arranged by oski. king hartstein was, in general, a flinty-hearted man, full of suspicion, and short of speech. when, however, he saw halfred, and called to him as he entered his hall, and drew near to the throne, and asked him--"stranger, what desirest thou in tiunderland, and of king hartstein?"--and when halfred, with that smile which oski had bestowed upon him, looked into the fierce eyes, and joyously replied--"the best will i have that tiunderland and king hartstein possess--his daughter." then the grim old man was at once won, and in his secret heart he wished that halfred might be his son-in-law. and then they went out to the court for the hammer-throwing, and the king threw well, but halfred threw far better, and thus the first trial was won. "harder will thou find the second," said the old man, and led halfred to the skemma, the chamber of the women, where the breaker of men's wits, in a shining dark blue mantle, sat among her maidens, a head taller than any of them. and they say that when halfred entered the chamber, and his glance fell upon her, a hot tremor passed over her, and a sudden glow dyed her cheeks crimson, and confused her. certain it is that with a golden spindle, with which she had played rather than spun, she pricked her finger, and let it fall with a clatter. but sudha, the foremost of her maidens, the captive daughter of the king of halogaland, who sat at her right hand, picked up the spindle, and held it. and many interpreted this later, as a bad omen. at the time, however, it was hardly observed. and vandrad the skald said later to halfred, that the woman had been elf-struck at the first sight of him: but he thereupon said earnestly--"it had been better had i been elf-struck at sight of her; but i remained unwounded." and forthwith king hartstein assembled all his courtiers, and the women of the castle, and the guests, in the hall, for the riddle solving. and harthild arose from the arm chair at his right hand, and her face grew crimson as she looked at halfred, which--as they declare--had never before happened to her at the challenging of her riddle. she paused for a space, looked downwards, then again upon halfred, and now with searching and defiant eyes. and she began-- "what is held in valhalla? what is hidden in hell? what hammers in hammer? and heads the strong helm? what begins the host slaughter? what closes a sigh? and what holds in harthild the head and the heart?" then she would have seated herself, as was her wont after giving out the riddle; but struck by terror she remained standing, and grasped the arm of the chair; for halfred, without any reflecting, stretched his right hand towards her, and spoke-- "hast thou nothing harder, haughty one, hidden? then wreathe thy proud head for hymen in haste, for what's held in valhalla, what's hidden in hell, what hammers in hammer, and heads the strong helm, what begins the host slaughter, and closes a sigh, what harthild the haughty the head and the heart holds, what hovers deep hidden in high thoughts of her heart, and what here has halfred to proud harthild holpen, 'tis the sacred rune the hero's own h." then harthild sank pale with rage in her chair, and covered her head with her veil. but when hartstein, her father, drew near amidst loud cries of astonishment from the listeners in the hall, and would have drawn the veil from her face, she sprang up vehemently, threw back the veil--and they saw that she had wept--and cried in a harsh voice-- "well has thou solved the hidden riddle. with mighty wit hast won a wife, woe to thee if tenderly thou usest her not!" all kept silence, uneasy at these threatening unloving words. halfred at length broke the stillness, he threw back his head, and shook his black locks, and laughed--"i will risk that! king hartstein, this very day will i pay thee the bride's dower. when prepare we the bridal feast?" chapter v. king hartstein, however, wished for delay, until hartvik and eigil should have returned from a campaign. then their reception feast and the marriage could be celebrated together. hartvik was the king's son, and harthild's own brother; and eigil was son to the king's brother, and harthild's cousin. and he would willingly have taken harthild away as his wife, but she had said to him, "if thou failest to solve my riddle, thy shorn locks will cause thee affliction; and if thou solvest my riddle, and i become thy wife, that will cause thee still deeper affliction, for no love for thee dwells in my heart: and woe to him who without love wins me for his wife." then eigil sadly gave it up, although he was a good riddle solver. and when hartvik and eigil were returned there soon grew to be a great friendship between halfred and hartvik, and halfred and eigil, and both loved him so well that they said they would lay down their lives for him. and this between halfred and hartvik is no great wonder, because halfred always won all men's hearts. but it may well astonish many that eigil also should thus love him, who still cherished as much love to harthild as formerly; and who yet clearly saw, as all who had eyes could see, that the harsh maiden was quite filled with love to halfred. and jealousy does not often allow it to be admitted that the nightingale has a more charming voice than the carrion crow. hartvik and egil, however, loved halfred so dearly that they begged him to receive them as his blood brothers. and on the day before the wedding feast was prepared, therefore, hartvik and eigil became halfred's blood brethren. they stood with him, as the heathen people do, under a strip of turf, which was lifted on spear points above their heads, the two ends still cleaving to the ground, and they mixed the blood which flowed from gashes in their right arms down upon the black earth beneath their feet. and therewith they vowed their heads for ever to the infernal gods if ever one of the blood brothers should desert the other, in danger or in need. and so strongly does this oath bind, that even against his own kith and kin, yea even against his own father, must one blood brother stand by the other, even until death. chapter vi. on the day after the wedding, however, halfred rode alone into the pine wood. he said he wished to think, and he refused harthild, who would have ridden with him, and also his blood brethren. darkly harthild looked after him as he rode out of the court. but sudha, the beautiful daughter of the king of halogaland, also looked after him from an overhanging window, and slowly stroked her blue black hair back from her temples. vandrad the skald, however, who often staid at hartstein's court, and who was there at that time, had long cherished love for sudha. and he had often begged her freedom from king hartstein, but in vain; the stern man had always denied him. and heretofore she had not listened unwillingly when he sang. but when in these days he drew near to her, and spoke of a song which he had composed in her praise, she turned away and said--"on the lips of one only have the gods laid honey." and when in the evening halfred returned from the pinewood towards the royal castle, he was leading his weary horse by the bridle, for the moon shone but fitfully through storm-rent clouds, there sat upon the runic-stone hard by the road a closely veiled woman, and she cried to him and said-- "halfred hamundson, whereof on the first day of thy marriage, ridest thou alone in the pinewood?" "if thou knowest that, o wise vala," said halfred, pausing--and he heaved a sigh--"then knowest thou more than halfred hamundson." "i will tell thee," replied the veiled one. "thou hast sought a woman, and found what is nigher to a man, rough, harsh, and devoid of charm. the singing swan hath paired thee with the vulture's brood. thou chosest the hard flint stone, near to it lay glowing at thy feet the rose, exhaling fragrance towards thee." then halfred sprang upon his horse, and cried to the veiled one-- "nobler hold i it in a woman to be too cold, than too ardent." and he dashed away. and only once, as he told me, he looked back. so beautiful, he said, had she never before been, in the full light of day, as now in the moonlight, her black eyes glittered--for she had torn off her head covering--and she called after him by his name, "halfred," and her blue-black hair fluttered round her in the night wind like a ghostly veil. chapter vii. and when the depth of winter was passed, and the spring was come, halfred sent a message to upsala, to king hartstein, that at the midsummer tide dame harthild should bear a child. and the wise women had thrown runic rods over her seven times, and had learned each time by unerring signs that the child should be a son. and already was his name chosen, "sigurd sigskaldson." and halfred bade the king, and hartvik and eigil, and vandred the skald, and all the people from the castle at upsala, as many as the ships would hold, to be his guests at hamund's hall, twenty nights before the midsummer tide. and there, at the birth and naming of the boy, a great feast should be held, such as had never before been held in iceland. and king hartstein gave answer that he and all his people, as many as twelve ships could carry, would come as bidden, to the feast. thus at the beginning of the month of roses came king hartstein, and hartvik, and eigil, and many hundred men from the castle at upsala; and people from all parts of tiunderland. and among the women who came also, the first that descended from the ship was sudha. she had begged that she might come, out of longing to see harthild. and again there was close friendship between halfred and his blood-brethren, hartvik and eigil. they shared their table and bread and salt. thus they waited the birth of the heir of the hall, on the midsummer day, and made ready a great feast in the mead hall. rich hangings of silken and woven stuffs which halfred had borne away from the islands of greece were spread upon the wooden walls of the drinking hall; the floor was strewn deep with rushes and clean straw, and the tables and benches were set out in two long rows, and one cross row. on all the pillars of the walls were hung curiously interlaced weapons, which the viking had gathered from boarded ships, stormed castles, and victorious battlefields. but on sideboards around were set out the many cups and horns of gold, silver, bronze, amber, and precious horn, which the sigskald had won, by singing in the halls of kings. but straight before halfred towered the lofty candalabrum from greece, with its seven flaming arms. eigil and hartvik were to sit on his left hand, the guests from tiunderland and the other strangers on the long benches to the right, the house churls and islanders on the long benches to the left of the dais. and the most honoured guests had even cushions for the back, brought from a pillared marble house which had been burnt on the coast of rumaberg. the women, however, were not to come into the hall, but to tarry with harthild, and await her hour in the chamber of the women. this was all splendidly ordered, and halfred himself told me that never, neither as guest nor as host, had he seen such magnificent festival preparations. two days before the feast, as halfred, wearied with the summer heat, lay upon his couch after the mid-day meal, sudha glided softly through the doorway, and stood before him, and spoke-- "halfred, skill in song, victory and fame have been thine for twenty years. a wife hast thou had for one year--an heir shalt thou have but now. but never hast thou known freya's gift--love's fulness-- contradict me not--thine eye shuns dame harthild's seeking glance; and when thou dreamingly sweepest the strings of thy harp, thou gazest not in dame harthild's cold hard face, but upwards towards the stars. halfred, not in the clouds dwelleth that for which thou yearnest. not from the stars shall it float down upon thee; upon the earth it wanders, it is a woman, who with love's charm, with woman's magic, can subdue the singing swan-- woe to thee if thou never findest her-- what though thou win all fame with sword and harp--the best is still denied thee. askest thou what maketh me so wise, and withal so daring? love, love's fulness for thee, thou rich yet poor sigskald. behold, i am but a woman--a captive--but i tell thee there is heroism even for women. i have sworn by the infernal gods, as i crossed thy threshold, that here, in iceland, i will win thy love, or die." then halfred arose from his couch, and spoke-- "wisdom and madness mingled hast thou spoken. there speaks from thee more than sudha. there speaks a soul stricken of the gods. horror and compassion seize upon me. i will demand thy freedom from king hartstein. then journey homewards to halagoland. there mayest thou find happiness in the arms of some valiant hero. but here, let dame harthild's rights and hearth be sacred unto thee. disturb not her happiness." and he seized his spear and strode out. but sudha cried after him, so that he still heard her--"her happiness? long has she divined her misery. soon shall she clearly perceive, the haughty one, that she is more unspeakably wretched than sudha." then, the evening of the same day, she called to her vandrad the skald, who still always cherished great love for her, to the well in the court, as though she would beg him to draw up for her from the depth the heavy water bucket. this did vandrad later, when dying, himself tell halfred. but when he had raised the bucket to the edge of the well, she lightly laid a finger on his bare arm, and said-- "vandrad, come hither to-night, just when the star oervandil is mirrored in this well. thou shall tell me all that formerly came to pass here, about that oath on the bragi cup." vandrad considered within himself, and he looked doubtingly at her. then she said--"vandrad, i swear to thee by [ ]freya's throat jewels that i will become thy wife when i leave this island. wilt thou now come and tell me all?" then vandrad swore to do what she required. chapter viii. and now the midsummer feast was magnificently celebrated in the hall. and there were full a thousand guests within the hall; but many hundreds of the servants and bondmen were camped round about the building, in the open air. besides the guests from svearike, there had come from all the neighbouring coasts and islands many jarl's and great chieftains. thus from distant iceland, the kings konal, and kiartan from dyflin; from zealand the danish jarl hako, and sveno from lethra; then from west gothaland the three brothers, arnbiorn, arngeir, and arnolfr; jarls of the western goths. there had long been a blood feud, which had been but newly allayed with blood money, between these three, and the two brothers princes of east gothaland, helge and helgrimr. and these two, and the other three, would only come with a strong well-armed following, when they understood that their adversaries had also been bidden to halfred's feast. and halfred had taken care that the followers of the princes of west gothaland should be lodged to the right, and those of east gothaland to the left, at the back of the hall, in huts of pinewood. and a wooden wall with strongly closed doors divided the two encampments. but also from other vallies of svearik, besides tiunderland, from tronland, from herjadel, jeutland, and helsingaland, had come many guests, who had often of old been enemies to the people from tiunderland. the feast, however, proceeded most joyously from daybreak even until the night. and when within the hall, and without, where the foreign servants were encamped, many fires and pine torches were kindled--before halfred burned the seven armed candelabrum--it was at first a right jovial sun fire-feast. the men, swinging and emptying the drinking horns, sprang over the flames, and the skalds, in songs which they composed at the moment they rose, vied with each other in praises of halfred and his deeds with hammer and harp, and of the singing swan, and the hall, and the feast. and all the foreign kings also proclaimed that never had they seen so lordly a midsummer feast celebrated, neither at home, nor in the halls of any other host. halfred sat with a joyful heart in the seat of honour. he signed to his harp-bearer to bring him his silver harp, for he wished at the last, to requite the laudations of the skalds and the praises of the guests with thanks and a song of welcome.... and then began that catastrophe which was to overwhelm halfred and his house, and the men of tiunderland, and all the guests, and many other men and women, altogether strange and far away, who had never even seen or heard of halfred and harthild, in blood and fire. that is to say, the great door of the hall, exactly opposite to the seat of honour opened, and dame harthild strode in. haughtily erect she walked, her head thrown back. a long black mantle was wrapped around her head and neck and breast, and her whole body; it floated trailing after her, like the curling wave behind a ship's stern. and halfred said to one it seemed to him, then, as if the most fearful of the fates was striding through the hall. straight up the hall she passed, followed by sudha and her women, her glance fixed upon halfred. slowly, silently, she ascended the six steps of the dais, and paused straight before halfred at the table. only the heavy candelabrum stood between the two. but all the men in the hall sat speechless, and gazed up at the black woman, who looked like a dark thunder cloud. "halfred hamundson," she began--and her voice was loud, yet toneless--"answers i demand to two questions, before these ten hundred hearers in thy hall. lie not to me." the blood rose to halfred's brow, and he felt his temple veins throb heavily. "if i speak or act," he said to himself, "i know neither what i should say nor do. therefore i will keep silence and do nothing." but harthild, with her left hand pressed upon her thigh, continued--"didst thou, in that first night, when i held thy hand firm upon my girdle, and asked thee if thou lovedst me, say yes or no? answer me sigskald. i and the gods know about that." "yes," said halfred, and knitted his brows. "and is it true, as vandrad the skald has sworn, that here, in this hall, at the yule feast, after many horns of mead, thou didst vow, as a wanton wager, that before the midsummer tide, thou would break in the breaker of men's wits like a stubborn horse, and that to make good these boasting words thou camest to tiunderland, and remained, as thou didst lament, unwounded at sight of me." "speak the truth--lie not again--a thousand listeners hear thee--thou lordly son of oski--is it so?" then halfred raged in his inmost heart, but he constrained himself, and replied firmly and distinctly-- "it is as thou hast said." then harthild drew herself up yet higher, and like two serpents flashed, glances of fearful hatred from her eyes, as she spoke-- "so be thou accursed, from the crown of thy head to the sole of thy foot, thou who hast deceived and disgraced a hapless woman; cursed be thy proud thoughts--madness shall strike them; cursed be thy false eyes--blindness shall smite them; cursed be thy lying ups--they shall wither and smile no more; cursed be thy flattering voice--it shall be dumb; thy house and thy hall shall perish in flames--the singing swan shall burn; thy hand shall be crippled--thy hammer not strike--thy harp shall shatter; victory shall be denied thee in battle and in song; nothing shall any more delight thee, in which of yore thou hast rejoiced; the sun of spring--the flowers of the forest--the fire of wine--the blackbird's song--the greeting of the evening star--sleepless shall roll thy groaning head, and if slumber draws near to thee it shall be with stifling dreams. yet a twofold curse shall rend ye both, if thou winnest again a woman's love. in madness and disease shall she perish whom thou lovest more than thy soul. but the son whom i, wretched one, must bear, shall be his mother's avenger upon his father. liar's son, scoundrel's son, harthild's vengeance shall his name be. and one day, villain, shall he smite thee, as here, to shame thee before all men, my hand now strikes thee in the face." and she lifted high her outspread right hand, and aimed a blow over the table at halfred's head. halfred sprang up, and to avert such a disgrace threw up his left arm. then he struck the heavy seven flaming candalabrum; with a crash the metal fell with all its flaming arms upon dame harthild's breast and body, and then upon the ground. as though struck by lightning stood the woman all in flames--mantle and hair blazed up. at once the fire caught the straw thickly strewn upon the floor. "king hartstein, avenge thy unhappy child," shrieked harthild, in agony. she believed that in rage halfred had hurled the candalabrum upon her. the king believed the same, and whilst halfred grasped at the blazing woman to rescue her, kling hartstein with a cry of "down thou scoundrel," struck him a sharp sword stroke on the forehead, so that he fell stunned. and with a second blow he would have slain him, had not eigil and hartvik sprung up and quickly borne away their blood brother. thus it came to pass that from the very outset halfred could neither avert nor control this catastrophe--he alone could have done it. now, however, the burning woman and the flaming straw filled everyone with sudden frenzy. the people from tiunderland rose up in fury when they saw their king's daughter fall flaming on the crackling straw; and halfred's comrades drew their swords when they saw their lord fall bleeding. and flame and smoke, shrieks of women, and avenging shouts of men filled the hall. then broke loose a fighting and devastation in the hall so gigantic, say the heathen people, that the like shall never be seen again until the twilight of the gods, when all demons and giants, goblins and elves, gnomes, menkind, and pigmies, shall slay each other, and heaven, earth and hell shall perish in flames. harthild in her burning clothes, was carried out by her shrieking women. one only was missing. sudha sprang through flames and arms to where halfred lay on his blood-brethren's knees. "dead," she cried; "slain by sudha. then share we death, if not life." and she drew halfred's dagger from his belt, and plunged it in her own breast. "slain halfred! by my babbling tongue. sudha slain!" cried vandrad the skald. "i will avenge thee, halfred." and he tore a casting spear from the trophies hanging on the flame-wreathed wooden pillars, and hurled it whistling at the temples of king hartstein, so that he fell dead. wildly shouted the people of tiunderland, and their near kindred from west gothaland, for vengeance for harthild and king hartstein. and the jarl ambiorn, from west gothaland, seized in both hands a heavy brazen double-handled tankard, and dashed it down on vandrad's forehead, so that he fell. but when the princes from east gothaland saw this, that their mortal foes aided the men from upsala, then they fell, helgi and helgrimr, with furious blows upon both their old enemies, and the guests from upsala. and now could none any longer give a thought to extinguishing the blazing straw upon the floor, or the quickly burning silken and woollen hangings on the walls or the wooden pillars, up which tongues of flame were creeping. for blindly now flew spears and axes, and golden and silver drinking horns; and many who would have striven for peace, or trodden out the flames, had fallen, struck down by both sides. "must we alone stand idle among the strange guests at this bloody midsummer feast?" said the danish jarl hako, to the irish king konal, "so that the skalds shall taunt us as drink valiant but battle shy. we have an old strife about stolen horses. let us fight it out here, thou irish greenpeak!" "thou drunkard of zealand," was the answer, "i will quench for ever thy thirst and thy reviling;" and he struck his broad short irish knife through his teeth into his throat. then sveno, his brother, fell furiously upon the irish king, and their followers, danes and irish, fought by themselves their own battle in the forefront of the hall, and thus blocked up the door, so that no one could escape from the hall into the open air. and those who had no weapons tore down the trophies from the pillars, or hurled about the heavy drinking horns, and even the flaming beams and blocks which already fell from the ceiling, and instead of shields they defended themselves with the tables. and all wildly mingled fought the people of tiunderland and iceland, of westgothaland and eastgothaland, of zealand and ireland. and hardly did anyone know who was friend or foe; and many, many men sank down, wounded or burnt. and at last the flames had burst through the roof, and shot blazing up towards heaven. and as the wind from above blew down upon the swelling hangings on the walls, they flashed up suddenly in a brighter blaze. and now the highest beam fell with a crash; and thereupon rang out a sound as though forty harp strings had all at once uttered their dying wail. and it was even so, for the beam had severed in twain halfred's silver harp, which lay close by his head. at this wailing harp cry halfred opened his eyes, and looked around him, and all the truth broke upon him. he sprang up and shouted threateningly through slaughter and flames--hartvik and eigil protected him with shield and sword-- "hold! peace, peace in the hall! magic has frenzied us all! quench, quench the fire which devours us all!" and so great was his power over friends and foes that for a moment all paused. then hark! from without there thundered on the hindmost door of the hall heavy axe strokes, and the cry-- "halfred, halfred, save thy house! save the singing swan!" with a crash the door fell inwards, and new devastation was seen, which kindled afresh the momentarily smothered battle fury in the hall. halfred looked through the doorway. the house of his forefathers, and the ships in the harbour, and the singing swan were all wrapped in flames. the followers of the princes of westgothaland, who were lodged in the pine huts, had first heard the din of battle, and seen the flames in the hall. "to the rescue--to the rescue of our lords," they shouted, tore down the wooden wall that divided them from the mead hall, and hurried to their aid. but then there threw themselves upon them, to hinder them, their hostile neighbours, the followers of the princes of eastgothaland, who being too weak to hold the open field, retreated partly into halfred's dwelling house, partly to their ships in the fjord. with shouts of triumph the victors followed, crowded with the fugitives into halfred's dwelling house, and stormed the ships in the bay; and dwelling house and ships were suddenly wrapped in flames, either set on fire by the combatants, or ignited by sparks and burning splinters, borne by the strong south wind from the roof of the mead hall. halfred threw one glance at his shattered harp, and the burning house of his fathers; then he grasped his hammer firmer, and cried-- "come hither to me all halfred's comrades. quit the hall. save the swan!" and with a mighty onslaught, swinging his hammer round his head, he burst through the ranks of the men who had already renewed the battle in the hall. hartvik and eigil followed on his track, and many of his own people, and also of the enemy. but those who did not leave the drinking hall with him were almost all at once numbered with the dead. for with a heavy crash, close behind halfred, fell the whole burning roof into the hall. halfred glanced back in his rapid course. high upwards shot the blaze, mingling with sound of shrieks from hundreds slain. then all was silent in the midsummer feast hall. halfred rushed on, followed by friends and foes, past his father's house. he saw the flames creeping up the pillars; within rose the din of raging conflict; on the threshold lay a slaughtered servant girl. soon halfred and his comrades reached the bay, where the battle surged around the high-decked ships. many were burning. many dragon's heads seemed to vomit fire and smoke. around the singing swan, however, raged the battle most furiously. in dense masses the enemy thronged round her, wading, swimming, in boats and on rafts, they crowded on; others hurled spears and arrows from the shore at her defenders, and more than one burning arrow had struck and set fire to her. the left wing of the ingeniously carved swan was on fire; tongues of fire were creeping up ropes and sails--just as halfred arrived they caught the mast. then grief and fury seized upon him. his temple veins swelled almost to the size of a child's finger. "quench, quench the flames! all hands on deck! save the swan! cut the anchor-cable. put out to sea. fight no more. i will fight for you all." his faithful followers obeyed him. the seamen left off fighting, and laboured only to quench the flames, in which also they soon succeeded, as no more arrows flew from the land, and the foe were forced to leave the ship. for halfred raged furiously, as none had ever seen him fight. with a loud battle-cry he sprang upon the people of westgothaland and tiunderland, and struck them down one after another. loyally aided him hartvik and eigil, his blood brethren, and spared not even their own countrymen and kindred; but thought rather on the blood oath which bound them more closely to halfred than to their own kinsmen. and the foe fell back before halfred and his comrades, from the open field into the dwelling house, which was half burned down, and barricaded it. and thus he stormed his own house, in which the people from westgothaland had before overcome the house churls and the east goths, and slain them all. yet a whole hour lasted the conflict. there halfred, on the threshold of his house, slew the danish jarl sveno, the last chieftain of the enemy who still lived, and pressed into the house with his men. the people from westgothaland, zealand, and tiunderland, defended themselves like bears at bay. but at last they were all slain. and from thence halfred returned to the mead hall, which was still glowing, and searched who there still lived. but there, also, all were dead. and they found the bodies of king hartstein, and sudha, and of the dane hako, and the two irishmen, konal and kiartan, of the eastgothic prince helge--helgrimr had fallen on board ship--and of arngeir and arnbiorn--arnolfr had been slain in the dwelling house--and they found vandrad the skald at the point of death. then he told halfred how sudha had prevailed upon him to speak, and begged him to forgive him the death of so many heroes. and halfred held his hand until he was dead. but dame harthild's body they did not find, although many of her women lay burnt or slain in the dwelling-house. but many bodies were so burnt and charred they could not be recognised. and then they turned their search to the ships. and all the ships of the foreign guests were burnt, and all those of the icelanders which lay in the bay. for at the last, by reason of halfred's furious attack, no one had thought any more about extinguishing them. and halfred, with his trumpet, hailed the singing swan, which floated saved in the moonlight, and went on board with his little troop. and there lay slain many hundreds of halfred's icelanders, the foreign guests, however, who had come to the midsummer feast, lay all all dead, save only hartvik and eigil. and halfred counted when he called all hands before the mast still seventy men alive. all the rest had fallen in that one midsummer night. and there fell after that wild tumult an awful stillness upon land and sea. and sad and silent floated the singing swan, with scorched sails, upon the fjord. chapter ix. and halfred has sunk into deep deep silence. since the fight had ended, and he had heard vandrad's dying words, he had not spoken a word. but when it was full daylight the singing swan drew near the land, and the men came ashore. silently halfred signed to his sailing comrades to carry out all the bodies from the drinking hall, the dwelling-house, and the ships; and to collect them altogether on the shore. he had seven funeral piles erected, and upon these all the dead were burned with their weapons. the ashes, however, of friends and foes halfred ordered them to mingle. and these he poured himself into a great stone-lined grave which he had had dug on the shore, hard by the water line. and he had earth heaped thickly upon them, and a huge black block of stone which had once been thrown out of hekla rolled thereon. and this cost many days work. but halfred spoke not. and all through the nights he sat upon the grave and looked now upwards to the stars of the summer night, now downwards rigidly upon the earth, and the stone grave. and gently gently he oftimes shook his head. but he spoke no word. and when after seven nights the sun arose, hartvik and eigil drew near to him, as he sat upon the stone, and then hartvik spoke-- "halfred, my blood brother, a great calamity has befallen to thee, to me, to us. father and sister and many friends have i lost, and eigil has also lost many who were dear to him. we must bear it, all three. come, halfred, sigskald, arouse thyself! this silence and brooding is evil. dwelling-house and mead hall the fire has burnt--the axe will build them up. harps, there are many still upon the earth, and the singing swan spreads out her hardly singed pinions. come, halfred, drink! here i have brought thee from the greek spoils of the singing swan a cup of chios wine, which thou ever lovedst. drink, speak, and live!" halfred stood up with a sigh, took the cup from hartvik's hand, and poured the wine slowly upon the grave; the earth drank it greedily in. "come hither again about midnight. then will i give ye an answer. i cannot even yet think clearly. once more will i ask the gods who dwell in the stars if they even yet deny me an answer." and he sat down again upon the stone, and covered his face with his hands. and when about midnight the two came, halfred pointed towards the heavens-- "there are so many thousand thousand stars, but they are all dumb to me. unceasingly, for seven days and nights, have i asked myself, and asked the stars, wherefore have the gods allowed this awful thing to happen? is it a crime that i vowed a vow, such as many which are vowed in the north? hundreds of women had heard it without resentment. is it my crime that dame harthild was differently minded? and it was no lie that i bore love to her, on that night. love's fulness truly it was not--as sudha named it. that may be. never knew i love's fulness. and be it so. if the gods hate me for an evil deed, wherefore do they not punish me alone? wherefore let others--so many others--suffer and atone for _my_ sin? wherefore should king hartstein perish, and many other princes, and thousands of men from all coasts and islands? wherefore should dame harthild perish, whom they would have avenged, and our unborn son? how have all these sinned? answer me, ye two, if ye know more than do i and the stars?" but his blood brethren were silent, and halfred continued-- "yet there must be gods! who has else bound the giants, calmed the sea, levelled the earth, arched the heavens, and strewn the stars? who else guides the battle? and how, after death, come mighty heroes to valhalla, and the evil to the dark serpent hell? for that awful fearful thought which already from afar has come darkly into my mind, that perhaps no gods live! i will think it no more. there must be gods. i cannot cannot think otherwise, and my throbbing brain is driven to frenzy. and if there are gods, they must be also good, and wise, and mighty, and just. else it would be indeed yet more frightful to think that beings, mightier and wiser than mankind, delighted in the misery of men, like an evil urchin who for sport impales a captured beetle. this, therefore, one dare not think,--neither, indeed,--that there are no gods, or that there are evil gods. and therefore will i in devout submission endure this awful calamity, waiting till, in the course of years, i guess this riddle also. so hard an one was never yet set before me. but ye, ye faithful ones, who stood by me to the death, and spared not your own kindred, and have lost your nearest through me; ye will i never forsake, all my life long; and great gratitude will i bear ye, and my dearest shall ye be for evermore. for ye alone will i live." then spake hartvik-- "not thus must thou speak, halfred. the harp thou shalt again strike victoriously, the hammer shalt thou again joyously wield under the blue heavens of greece. the blood of the vine shalt thou quaff, and a woman more enchanting than----" then halfred sprang up from the black stone-- "silence, hartvik: thou blasphemest. who is stricken so heavily as i, by the hatred of the gods, who live and are just, he stands as a lightning-blasted tree by the way. birds sing not upon it, the dew moistens it not, the sun kisses it not. how should i sing and laugh, drink and kiss, through whom hath fallen upon so many thousand men and women utter destruction, or the sorrow of death for evermore? no, otherwise have i vowed to myself. long did i doubt if i still could live, after such a calamity as the gods have laid upon this head, and i could not, did i not believe in good gods, and tarry for the solving of this riddle. but joy and happiness have no more part in halfred hamundson. i renounce them for ever." and he kneeled down, and took from his breast pouch a leathern bottle, which was filled with white ashes. and slowly he strewed them all over his long flowing black locks, and his face, and breast, and body. "hear me, ye good all ruling gods, and ye glittering all seeing stars of heaven; and of men-kind upon earth, hartvik and eigil, my blood brethren! here i renounce, on account of the awful calamity which i have drawn down upon wife and child, and many hundred friends and strangers, i renounce for ever happiness and joy, song, wine, and the love of women. to the dead alone, slain for my crime, with whose ashes i here cover myself upon their grave mound, do i belong; and among the living, to my faithful blood brethren. and if i break this solemnly sworn vow, then be dame harthild's curse wholly fulfilled." and the stars and his friends in silence heard his vow. chapter x. and halfred kept his word. year after year passed away--he told me he no longer knew how often. meanwhile midsummer returned--and halfred lived a life which was as a living death. hartvik and eigil commanded the singing swan, and ruled their sailing comrades. they chose the design, the port, and the course of their voyages. halfred without word, wish, or choice, let everything be. only, when the south wind grew too strong for hartvik's hand, halfred strode silently to the helm, and steered until the sea was calm again. also, when vikings attacked the ship, halfred had forbidden that the singing swan, either by sea or land, should do harm to any--and the danger became overwhelming, halfred silently--he raised the battle cry no more--grasped his hammer, and dashed among the enemy until they gave way. but he wielded his hammer only with his left hand--his shield he had laid aside--and neither with helmet nor mail did he protect his head and breast. and throughout the whole year he wore the garment which on that midsummer night smoke, flame and blood had darkly dyed. when the singing swan drew near the land--the black flame marks on the wings none were allowed to efface--and hartvik and eigil and the sailors went to the halls of kings, halfred stayed lying upon deck, and kept guard over the ship. and he drank only water out of a cup of the bitter juniperwood. eigil brought once, from a king's halls where the sigskald of yore had often been a guest, a splendid golden harp, which the queen, in greeting to her old friend, had sent as a present. but as the ship turned out of the bay the harp, with a light rush, glided into the sea. and once halfred lay at midsummer in iceland, on the shore by the black stone--for every midsummer night he spent alone there, his friends must remain on the ship--and looked very very sad. for his face had grown very pale. then there came a woman, and a wonderfully beautiful maiden, who was her daughter, and stood before him; and he turned away his face, but the mother spoke-- "i know thee, even yet, halfred sigskald. i can never forget thy face, although the smile of oski no longer plays thereon, and though the furrows on thy brow are deeply scored as with a plough. this maiden dids't thou, fifteen years ago, lay in my arms a sleeping child. see how beautiful she has become, as no other in all iceland. and this wreath of summer flowers has she twined for thee. set it upon thy pale brow, and thou shalt be healed, for gratitude has woven it." then halfred sprang up, took the wreath from the beautiful blushing maiden's hand, lifted with mighty force the huge block upwards, threw the wreath under it, and let the black stone fall heavily in its place again. the mother and maiden, weeping, departed. and during these years halfred spoke hardly to any, save hartvik and eigil, and to them only when he must. and what he said was weak and mournful. and his voice had become very low. and he was very kind to everyone, above all to those below him. and often in the night the sailors heard him sigh, and turn himself upon the straw bed upon the deck, where always, even in the cold winter, he lay under the stars. and they heard him often speak when there was no one at hand with whom he could talk. and at table he rested his head upon his left hand, and kept his eyes cast downwards, or looked into the far far distance. and he almost never complained, only he often shook his head gently, and pressed very very often his left hand upon his breast, and said many times-- "the fresh air of heaven shuns me. i cannot breathe. if i will breathe i must sigh. my heart is almost crushed." and hartvik and eigil said one to the other--"he is ill." and once, when they sailed to greece, hartvik secretly called a physician--they are very skilful there--and the physician watched halfred many days and nights, and said-- "it is a heavy malady under which this poor man suffers. "and many have already quietly died of it, or sunk into madness. "we call it 'melancholy.'" chapter xi. and the singing swan sailed again into the western seas, in the late spring and early summer, at the time which the latins call "mensus madius." and because of the long voyage the provisions were exhausted, and the ship also needed rest and repairing. and halfred's blood brethren said to him, when they came into the waters of the island of hibernia-- "both men and stores need caring for: we will land at king thorul's sea castle, and provide all that we need on board. far famed is king thorul's hall; there they have great skill on the harp. come with us to the city; rejoice thy heart in human fellowship, for there thou cans't not, as heretofore, lie upon the ship. even to the singing swan will many people come, workmen and traders, and thou wouldst not be alone under thy stars. shall we not steer for the green island?" and halfred nodded, and hartvik joyfully turned the helm sharp to the west. when, however, they saw the towers of thorul's hall rise from the waves in the morning light, halfred, with his own hand, lowered the smaller boat, which lay fastened on the deck near the helm, and said-- "when ye have rejoiced yourselves at king thorurs court, and have provided for the ship, seek me, after twenty nights, on yonder small rocky island." and he took arrow, and bow, and fishing hook, sprang into the boat, and rowed to the island. but, the singing swan sailed further to the west. and halfred landed upon the small rocky island; he found a fitting bay, and drew his boat high up upon the white sand of the shore. and then there came floating to him on the air something which was strange and yet well known to him. only under the golden stars of greece and rome had he ever heretofore enjoyed the intoxication of such fragrance. there is, that is to say, a flower of the delicate hue of a maiden's cheek, "rosa" the latins call it, and its fragrance is as the kiss of pure maiden lips. and this flower had the roman heroes, so long as they were powerful in these western lands, carefully tended in their houses and gardens. long since, however, had the roman heroes vanished, their stately dwellings were abandoned and ruined, their gardens grown wild. and wild also had grown the maiden tinted flower which they call rosa, and had spread all over the island, and flourished luxuriantly everywhere, and breathed forth a strong intoxicating perfume. on these small islands which lie round about the great western island of hibernia, the air is always mild; the snow seldom there remains lying on the land, and only slightly, and for a short time are the streams frozen. and the singing birds which elsewhere retreat before the frost, rest for the winter in these retreats, where meadows, shrubs, and trees, remain green even in the severest seasons. for it rains often there, and moist is the breath of the billows rolling around. and the heathen people, therefore, call these islands "baldur's islands," for baldur they name the god of the spring dawning. and as halfred climbed up the hill from the shore, all the underwood and sweet-springing thorns were in full bloom; white thorn and red thorn and black thorn and the wild roses. and also the many splendid fruit trees which the roman heroes had brought with them from the south and the east, were in full bloom. and from every shrub and tree resounded the sweet tones of the grey brown singing bird, which the latins call "luscinia," the greeks "philomela," but we, the "nightingale." and halfred strode upwards and inland, by the side of a clear rapid stream, which flowed over white pebbles, through light green copsewood. on the height he came to a transparent copse of alders, young beeches, and slender white birches. there lovely broad-winged butterflies flitted over the beautiful flowers in the sunny glades. deep in the thicket sang the thrush. the tops and pliant boughs of the birches nodded and waved. and then there came to him, borne on the morning wind, yet other sounds than the song of the nightingale, far clearer and softer, as from the lightly-touched strings of a harp; but which sounded far more beautiful than any harp playing, either of his own or any other skald, which he had ever heard. and from high above, as if from heaven, the tones appeared to come. halfred followed the sounds, which powerfully moved and allured him. no sound since the last dying shriek of his harp had reached his soul through his ears. these harp tones aroused his soul. he believed that elves or bragi, the song god, were harping in the air. he wished not to scare the singer, but to listen. softly he passed on, choosing his steps; the wood-grass betrayed him not, for it was soft, long, and thick. he had now come quite near to the sound, yet still he saw not the singer. cautiously he parted the thick white thorn bushes, and perceived then a small green mound, upon which stood in a circle six beeches. but the seventh, the tallest, stood in the centre, and towered above them all; and around its trunk wound an ornamental staircase made of white wood; and made of the same white wood there was a slight platform fitted in where the broad branches of the beech spread themselves out. the railing of both staircase and platform was ingeniously carved. from this airy bower floated down the wonderful tones. halfred drew nearer, and spied through the branches and the crevices of the platform. his heart throbbed high with amazement, awe, and yearning. there he saw the player. on the railing leaned a boy who was wonderfully beautiful, so beautiful, halfred said to me, that never had he seen such beauty upon earth--so beautiful as the elves must be, in which the heathen people believe. he was altogether white--his slender face was white as the stone which the greeks call "alabaster;" the folded garment which reached from his neck to his knees was white, and white were the leathern shoes upon his feet. but the eyes and hair of the boy were like gold. and halfred said to me that the eyes were the golden brown of the eagle's eyes. in the shining hair, however, which a net of the same colour confined, instead of a hat, played hither and thither, bright sun-tinted gleams, as though a sunbeam had lost itself therein, and now vainly sought to find an outlet. and the boy played upon a small three-sided stringed instrument, such as only the skalds of hibernia carry, and played a wholly unknown melody. and he played and sang so beautifully, that halfred had never yet heard such playing and singing; mournful and yet blissful at the same time, was the melody, like the pain of yearning, which yet for no pleasure of the earth would the heart resign. and halfred told me that for the first time since that midsummer night a warm breath passed again over his soul. and the beautiful boy in the airy bower enchained his eyes, and the mournful yearning song entranced his soul. and for the first time, for many, many years, his breast could heave with a full drawn breath. and tears filled his eyes, and restored and healed him, and made him young once more, like cool dew upon the heath after a burning sun. and at the close of every two lines the words of the song rang harmoniously together, like--and yet again not altogether entirely like--as though two voices sought each other in sound and echo. or as when man and woman, one and yet two, are folded together in a kiss. the boy sang in the soft lisping irish language, which halfred well knew. but that closing concord had he never heard, and it resounded far more pleasingly upon the ear than did the dead consonant staves of the skalds. and this was the boy's song,-- "on light slender branches blowing white rose yearns through may's young bloom-- sun god, 'tis for thee i'm glowing, when wilt thou, thy bright face showing, quaff full deep my fresh perfume? when wilt thou, for ardour sighing, greet my flowers in trembling bliss? come, and must i rue thee dying, leave within my chalice lying, fiery sweet, thy fervid kiss." here closed the boy's song and playing with a clear resounding chord on the strings. and as soon as he ceased, and had hung his harp on the boughs, lo! there came flying from the nearest shrub two snow-white doves, which lighted one on the right, the other on the left shoulder of the boy, who smiling stroked their heads, and slowly, thoughtfully, with stately, and yet almost timed step, came down the white wooden stairs, and stood upon the beautiful flowery turf of the greenwood glade. halfred dreaded that he might terrify the gentle harper if he stepped suddenly out of the thicket before him. therefore he called to him first, from a distance, in a soft voice, slowly drawing nearer. "hail, gentle boy! if thou art mortal, may the gods be gracious to thee. if thou art thyself a god, or as i surmise one of the light elves, then be not ungracious to me, a mortal man." then the boy turned slowly towards him, without seeming to be terrified, or even surprised, and as halfred now drew nearer, he said in a melodious vibrating voice-- "welcome, halfred. art thou come at last? i have tarried long for thee." and he offered him both hands; the glance of the golden eyes sinking deep into halfred's soul. halfred, however, dared not to touch those hands. he felt, from the very depths of his being, a quickening warmth uprise, and send rippling through body and soul a quiver of delight--of joy in surpassing beauty--but also of holy awe, as in the presence of gods or spirits; for he had no longer any doubt that it was no earthly being who stood before him. voice and breath almost failed him as he asked-- "who hath proclaimed to thee halfred's coming, and name!" "the moonlight." "then art thou indeed, as i had already perceived, the prince of the light elves, to whom moon and stars speak words. be gracious to me, o loveliest of the gods." then the boy smiled. "i am a child of earth, like thyself, halfred. draw nearer. take my hands." "but who art thou, if thou art mortal!" asked halfred, still hesitating. "thoril, king thorul's orphan grandchild." "and wherefore dwellest thou here alone, on this small island, as though hidden, and not in king thorul's hall?" "he dreamed thrice that danger threatened me, in the month when the wild roses blow; a strange ship which should come into his harbour would carry me away, never to be seen again. "to render me quite safe against this danger he sent me here to this small outlying island, at which, because of its circling cliffs, no ship can land. only moëngal, his ancient armour-bearer, and his wife, my foster-mother, are with me; yonder, in that small wooden house, behind the beech mound, we live. but so long as the dear lord shines, and the gay butterflies flit over the flowers, i tarry here in hidden airy bower." "but, thou wonderful boy, if thou art really a child of earth, how could the moon reveal to thee my coming and my name?" "i sleep not in the moonlight, because it entices me out and upwards. it lifts me by force from my couch, and upwards to itself. with closed eyes, they say, i wander then away on the narrowest ridges of the roof; and far away, through forest and mountain, i see what shall happen in the future, and the distance. "carefully they guarded me, therefore, in the king's hall. but here, the clear moon looks freely through the rifts in our cottage roof. "and i saw, seven nights ago, a ship, with a swan on the prow, that drew nearer and nearer. on the deck lay sleepless a dark-bearded man, with a noble countenance. 'halfred,' his two friends called him. "and ever nearer floated the sailing swan. but when, one cloudy night, the moon shone not upon my pillow, and my eyes could not see the ship, and the man, then yearning seized upon me for that noble countenance. and i laid my pillow and my head, since then, ever carefully under the full flood of the moonlight. and night after night i gazed again on that lofty forehead and these palid temples. "but still more beautiful and lordly art thou, than thy dream picture; and never have i seen a man to equal thee." "but thou," cried halfred, seizing both the singer's hands, "art like baldur in spring beauty, gentle boy. "never have i seen such perfect charm in youth or in maiden. like sunshine upon chilled limbs, like chios wine through parched throat, flows thy beauty through my eyes deep into my soul. thou art as the blackbird's song and the wood flowers: as the evening star in golden clouds; thou art as the most wonderful song which ever resounded from the lips of a skald; thyself, as thou livest and movest, thou art pure poetry. "o thoril, golden boy, how gentle thou art! how thou hast quickened my grief-worn heart. o thoril, leave me never again! "take up once more thy magic harp; uplift once more that sweet song, which has awakened my soul from the sleep of death. "o come, let me lay my heavy head upon thy knee, and gaze in thy sunny wondrous face, while thou tunest thy harp, and playest and singest." and thus they both did. and trustfully flew one of the doves from thoril's hand to halfred's broad shoulder, and cooed lovingly to the other. and when the song was ended, halfred seized again the two hands of the boy, and drew them slowly slowly over his forehead, and his moist eyes. and it all was as it stands written in the sacred books of the jews, of the king full of sadness and heaviness, who could only be healed by the harp-playing of the son of jesse. chapter xii. and this lasted many days; and upon halfred's forehead the lines and furrows disappeared, one after another. and once more he could draw a deep full breath without sighing. and he carried his head again proudly erect, when he did not purposely bend down to look into the golden eyes of the boy, which ever again and again he did. and so much did halfred dread to lose thoril again, that he never left his side the live-long day. and because thoril's couch and sleeping chamber were, as he said, so small that halfred could not share them, he lay before the door upon the threshold. nevertheless he still could not sleep; but now, because with ardent yearning he listened to the breathing of the sleeper. and with the earliest dawn of morning he would rouse thoril from sleep and his sleeping chamber. and it seemed as if the old gift of oski was given back to halfred, the winning of all hearts. for the two guardians of the boy, who full of mistrust had seen the strange man approach their cottage, holding thoril's hand--the ancient moëngal had rushed at him with a spear--were at once gentle and won, when he begged, with the old smile of oski--"let me be healed at thoril's golden eyes." but on the thirtieth day--the time when the singing swan should come for him was long passed, but halfred thought not of that--the two went out with hooks and lines to catch fish. for moëngal's provisions were exhausted. in the midst of the island lay a dark lake, surrounded by steep high cliffs. but from the lake a streamlet flowed to the open sea. in a small boat they could row upon this lake, and down the streamlet to the sea. and there were many splendid fish called silver salmon in the lake, and in the stream, and even down in the salt sea. and halfred and thoril rowed over the lake the whole morning, and laid ground hooks and nets. and when, towards mid-day, the heat burned more and more fiercely down upon them, halfred said-- "come away from this shadeless depth. there above, on the cliff, i see falling the glittering spray of a silver rill--amidst alders, amidst wild roses it springs. there above, it is cool and shady. easily shall we find a grotto in the rock. i long for that fresh spring water. and there above, to the left, nod dark sweet berries--they quench the thirst, and young boys love them. let us climb up. i will gladly aid thee." and slowly they climbed the steep face of the cliff. thoril now aided, now followed by halfred. then there floated to them, half-way up to the fountain, a strong perfume from a hollow linden tree, like wine, but it was wild honey which the wood-bees had gathered there. and thoril dipped his forefinger deep in the bright thick mixture, and laid it upon halfred's lips, and smiled at him, and said-- "take it. it is very sweet." and most enchanting he looked. then halfred exclaimed-- "such honey, so say the people, the gods have laid upon my lips. try if it is true." and he suddenly clapped thoril's head, which was bent down towards him, with both hands, and kissed him on his full lips. then both started asunder. a burning glow shot through halfred's frame. but thoril turned away his face, quivering slightly, and rapidly climbed up the cliff. halfred paused, and drew a deep breath-- then he followed. "see, thoril," cried halfred halting, "this cavern, hollowed by the elves in the rock. the thick thorn bushes, with the perfumed red flowers, almost hide the entrance; and see there, how the brown nightingale on her nest guards the small doorway, and how the honey bees swarm around. here will we stop and rest as we descend, when we have drunk above." but thoril made no answer, and climbed more quickly upwards. they had still some fifty paces to climb upwards to the edge of the cliff whence the spring water fell in silver spray. halfred was surprised that henceforward the boy went steadily on, turning his back to him, and if he sought to aid him in climbing, held on his course without looking round. fiercely beat the noontide down upon the cliff; all around was deep silence; only blue flies darted buzzing through the sunshine, and from high in the heavens sounded often the shrill cries of soaring falcons, which with outspread pinions circled over their heads. they had now mounted so high that far away over the small island they could see, on three sides, beneath and around them, the blue sea appear. and the sea encircled the blooming island with its dark steel-blue arm, like a mail-clad hero a blooming women. but from the far west drew near a white sail. at last they had reached the height. thoril stood above, hard by the waterfall, where scarcely could a pair of human feet find standing room upon the wet slippery crumbling stone. beneath him, some five feet lower, halfred halted, and looked towards him. "give me to drink, i am parched with thirst," he cried to him. and thoril drew from his fishing pouch a curved, silvery shining, mother of pearl shell. he raised himself on tiptoe, filled the shell to the brim, and turned to reach it down to halfred. then his foot slipped on the polished stone, vainly he tried to save himself, spreading out his arms on the bare rock wall. halfred saw him falling downwards, straight upon himself, and opened wide his strong arms to receive the light burden. but lo!--a miracle. in the rapid fall the buckle broke which fastened over the breast thoril's white linen garment; wide outspreading, down over the shoulders, fell the garment; at the same moment fell the net which confined the golden hair--a rich flood of waving tresses spread themselves over the shining neck and swelling breast. "a woman art thou? a maiden?" shouted halfred exultingly. "thanks to ye, o stars. yes; this is love's fullness." and the beautiful maiden hid her glowing cheeks in halfred's neck. with a few strides he bore his light burden down to the grotto they had passed in climbing, and bending the branches of the rose bushes aside placed her safely within its shelter. the nightingale, which there sat singing on her nest, flew only to a short distance; and then returned and sang and warbled unceasingly. and the bees flew humming among the wild roses. and when the crimson glow of the evening sun shone over the island halfred and thoril descended the cliff. and now the girl's face was infinitely more beautiful than of yore. she wore her hair no longer in the net, but waving freely, so that like a mantle spun of threads of sunny gold it covered her from her throat to her knees. and instead of the lost buckle a small spray of the thorn bush, with a full blown rose, fastened her garment over the breast. thus, hand in hand, they descended to the lake, and then thora took from the boat her three-sided harp, and thus they wandered down by the streamlet which flowed from the lake to the sea, and on to the bay, towards the west. and the ship, which from the west had held her course towards the island, was the singing swan. there, at a short distance, she now lay at anchor in the bay; her sails shining brightly in the evening light. and the ship's boat glided over the water towards the shore, to bring halfred and the smaller boat, rowed by hartvik and eigil. and the blood brethren sprang on shore, and marvelled greatly, when they saw halfred stand there, hand in hand with a wonderfully beautiful woman. silently their glances questioned him. but halfred spoke, twining his arms round the slender girl-- "this is thora the golden-eyed. king thorul's daughter. "she was hidden from me here, and clad in boy's clothing that i might not find her. "nevertheless i have found her, according to the course of the stars and the will of the gods--love her as myself--for she is my wife." chapter xiii. and now it was very wonderful to see what a wholly different man halfred had became since he had won thora. he threw off his tattered clothing, and clad himself in the most costly royal raiment of scarlet and rich gold, which lay stored away as a special treasure among the spoils of the singing swan. he quaffed the sparkling chios wine from a silver cup, and eagerly pledged thora in freya's love. he played often upon her harp, and sang new songs far more beautiful and ardent, and moving according to a melody which he invented, and called "thora's melody." and his youth seemed to be given back to him, for the deep furrows vanished from his forehead, his eyes, which had always been cast down, as though he revolved the past, or his own thoughts, now looked brightly upwards again, and around his lips again played joyously the smile of oski. and he stirred not night or day from his young wife's side; and was never weary of stroking her long golden hair, or looking deep into her golden joyfully glistening eyes. but in the night he often held her high aloft in his arms, and silently showed her to the silent stars. and he had himself seized the helm, to turn the singing swan towards the south, for he said, "thora shall see the islands of the blest, in the blue grecian waters, where marble statues, white and slender as herself, look out from among evergreen laurels." and the flame marks on the swan's wings were effaced, and mast and spars must always be wreathed with flowers, for thora loved flowers. but the young wife had eyes for halfred alone. she spoke but few words; but with sweet smiles she often whispered-- "yes, verily, thou art the son of heaven. mortal men, such as i have often seen in my father's hall, could never be at once so strong and so gentle. thou art like the sea a furious irresistible god, and withal a lovely dreaming child." and when she glided across the ship, all in snow white garments, and with her golden flowing hair, the men on the rowing benches sat with oars suspended, and hartvik, at the helm, forgot to guide the ship's course, and followed her steps with wondering eyes. and when they drew near to land, and the people saw her hovering on the wings of the singing swan--where she loved to stand--they brought offerings of flowers, for they believed that frigg, or freya, had sailed in to visit them. and halfred told me that she grew more beautiful from day to day. and in this wise passed four times seven nights. and halfred was so infatuated and absorbed in thora, that he did not in the least observe what was brewing among the sailors, or how his blood brethren, who held themselves aloof from him, whispered together. he heard once, as he remembered afterwards that hartvik whispered to eigil, "no i tell thee. he will never do it himself, or by free will. therefore the physician must by force burn out the wound from the sufferer." he neither noticed nor understood these words. but soon afterwards he understood them. one clear moonlight night halfred and thora had already sought their couch in their chamber between the decks, from whence a small gangway and flight of steps led upwards, and thora had fallen asleep. ere halfred fell asleep however, it seemed to him as though he detected that the singing swan was, very slowly certainly, but perceptibly turning. she groaned, as though resisting the pressure of the helm; and he thought that he heard, through the open gangway, the sound of many steps upon the deck, and of whispering voices, and now and again of weapons clashing. instinctively he glanced towards the head of the couch; where his hammer hung, guarding his bride's pillow. the loop was empty. the hammer was missing. quickly, but lightly, so as not to wake the sleeper, he sprang up the narrow stairs. he was just in time. hartvik and eigil were in the act to close the small trap door, which fastened over the gangway with a bolt, and thus confine the pair between decks. there, now, stood halfred, his right foot on the deck, his left on the highest step. hartvik and eigil started up, and drew back a pace. hartvik was leaning upon halfred's hammer. the ship's crew stood armed in a half circle behind him. the helm also was surrounded by armed men, and had been turned. the ship no longer sailed towards the south-east, but held west north-west, and the sails were half-reefed. "what do ye here my blood brethren?" said halfred, softly--for he thought of thora--and was more amazed than angry. "are ye mad, or have ye grown faithless." for a while all were silent, startled at halfred's sudden appearance, whom they had believed to be sleeping soundly by thora's side. but hartvik recovered and spoke-- "it is not we who are mad, or have grown faithless, but thou, our unhappy brother, under magic spell. we would have accomplished what must be done without it being possible for thee to hinder it. thou shouldst only have trodden the deck again, when, against thine own will, thou wert restored to health. "now, however, since thou hast too soon learnt this, hear what we, thy blood brethren and the most of those on board, assembled in ship's council, last night resolved--resolved for thy weal, although many opposed it, and would first have spoken with thee. submit thyself peaceably, for it is unalterable as the course of the stars, and although thou art very strong, halfred hamundson, bethink thee, thou art weaponless, and we are seventy." halfred was silent. fearfully swelled his temple veins; but he thought of thora. "she sleeps," he whispered. "say softly what ye have to say. i listen." "halfred, our dear blood brother," continued hartvik softly. "thou liest spell bound in the toils of a woman who--i will verily not revile her, for i love her more ardently than my own heart's blood--whatever she may be, a mortal woman undoubtedly is not. "here works one of the strongest spells which ever witchcraft wove, and ever befooled the senses of men. "i blame her not as do many of our comrades. "she can do no otherwise. this is her very nature. "she is in truth an elfin woman, or what the irish call their white half goddesses. "in the old sagas it is told that there are such magic women, who, whether they will or not, wherever they come, bewitch the eyes and hearts of all men. in herjadal lived such an one, seventy years ago, and there was no peace in the land until they had hung a mill stone about her neck, and sunk her where the fjord is deepest. "that this woman is no mortal woman can any one see who only looks once in her white face, through which all the veins shine blue, and in the selfish glittering golden eyes. this alone were enough, without that which many among us have seen; how, lately, when the moon was full, she rose unperceived from thy side, and floated up upon deck and with closed eyes danced up and down upon the slightest wing feathers of the singing swan, like an elf in the moon rays. and when the moon went behind a cloud she glided just as lightly down to thee. "but this is the smallest part of her magic. "not thee alone has her beauty ensnared. she hath so crazed all the ship's crew that they forget work and duty to gaze after her as she floats along. "yes, even among us, blood friends, hath she kindled frightful sinister thoughts against thee, and against each other. i, who care not for women, and eigil, who never thought of any woman save my burnt sister, we have lately by night confessed to each other that this silent white elf woman hath so fearfully crazed our senses, that each of us has already wished thy death, yes, would even have contrived it, in order to win this golden haired enchantress. "and when we confessed these same thoughts to each other, we were filled with shame. "yet nevertheless each of us has plotted the death of the other. "there must be an end of this. "this slender sorceress shall not make men murderers in their thoughts, who have stood together through fire and blood. "we will not throw her overboard, as many of the crew in superstitious terror advise. where would be the use? she would swim like a sea bird on the tops of the waves. but we will bear her back to the lonely island, where no eye of man can see her, and where no doubt wise gods had banished her. we would all possess her, and none shall have what each covets." frightfully throbbed the veins in halfred's temples, in his rage. "the first," he said, quite softly, through his gnashing teeth, "the first who lifts a hand, ay even a look towards her, i will tear his false heart from his living body." and so frightfully threatening was his face to behold that hartvik and all the armed men drew back a couple of paces. but eigil stepped forward again, and spoke in a louder voice than hartvik had used. "halfred, give way. we have sworn it. we will compel thee." "ye compel me!" cried halfred, also now in a louder voice. "murder and revolt on board the singing swan! what saith the viking code? like a dog shall he hang by the neck at the mast head who secretly stirs up disobedience to the ship's lord." "to the ship's lord, yes, when madness crazes him not," shouted eigil again. "darest thou to speak of rights, halfred hamundson? "only because madness and magic excuse thee, have we not long since asserted our rights against thee: thou, who every word and bond of right hast broken. we demand our rights. but thou hast no right to that woman. "hast thou forgotten, perjurer, that bloodstained midsummer night on hamunds fjord? of that, in truth, thou hast not spoken, since, like a love sick boy, thou hast doted on this slender sorceress. "thou hast forgotten it, but the seamen who sail by yonder spot, they see with horror the huge black heckla stone which there hides an awful catastrophe, and covers a fearful curse. but huge and heavy as it is, it cannot bury it. demanding vengeance the shades of many thousand dead arise, who lie there, through thy crime, and with whom thou hast broken faith and oath. "for how did'st thou swear in that night? "here i renounce, on account of the awful calamity which i have drawn down upon wife and child, and many hundred friends and strangers, i renounce for ever happiness and joy, song, wine, and the love of women. to the dead alone, slain for my crime, with whose ashes i here cover myself on their grave mound, do i belong, and among the living to my faithful blood-brethren. and if i break this solemnly-sworn vow, then be dame harthild's curse wholly fulfilled." "but thou carest no more for gods or men, no more for us thy blood-brethren, who stood by thee to the death; who kept faith with thee against our own kindred; who defended thy head against king hartstein's sword when thou layest defenceless as a child upon our knees; who for thee have slain our nearest kindred; for thee have given up sister and beloved. "her also, whose voluptuous lips have kissed forgetfulness upon thy forehead, even her also has thy selfishness forgotten; for thou wilt bring destruction upon her, as surely as the gods hear curses, and chastise perjury. "doubtless thou hast never told the white armed enchantress what a fearful curse thou, with each kiss, art drawing down nearer and nearer upon her head." "silence, raven," cried halfred, threateningly, paling with rage and dread. but eigil continued, "who knows if the golden eyes would not turn shuddering from thee did she know that upon thy head rests the curse of the wedded wife, burned through thee--of thy unborn murdered son. and thou hast exposed her as well as thyself to the fearful sentence--it will be fulfilled, for unerring is such deadly hate: "'cursed be thy proud thoughts--madness shall strike them; "'cursed be thy false eyes--blindness shall smite them; "'cursed be thy lying lips--they shall wither and smile no more; "'yet a twofold curse shall rend thee both, if thou winnest again a woman's love. "'in madness and disease shall she perish whom thou lovest more than thy soul.'" here sounded a faint soul-harrowing moan from the open gangway. "thou here!" cried eigil, and paused. halfred turned. there behind him stood thora, not white as in general, but with crimson glowing head, like a poppy, her eyes gazing wildly upwards towards the moon and stars. suddenly she uplifted both arms on high, as though to avert from halfred's head some fearful stroke from the clouds. then, once more, a faint but heart piercing moan, and she fell forwards upon her face, like a crushed flower. blood flowed from her mouth. halfred would have quickly raised her, but lifeless lay the slight form on his arms. "dead," cried halfred, "murdered! and ye have murdered her!" he let slip the ice-cold form, wrenched with one tremendous spring forwards his hammer from hartvik, and swinging it on high, with one stroke of his arm brought it crashing down upon the heads of both his blood-brethren, so that brains, blood, and fragments of skulls were scattered all around. with that deed began a slaughter on board the singing swan like that of the midsummer night; only it was much shorter, because there were fewer to slay. it seemed to halfred as though his temple veins had burst. he felt, instead of brains, only boiling blood in his head; he tasted blood in his mouth, he saw only red blood before his eyes. without choosing, without asking who was for or against him, he sprang into the thickest of the crowd of armed men, seized man after man by the throat with his left hand, and shattered their skulls with the broad side of his hammer. he did not in the least perceive that a handful of men stood by him. he did not notice the many wounds he received on arms, face, and hands, in close combat with his despairing foes. he raged on and slew, until all whom he could see before him lay dead and silent upon the deck. then he turned, still brandishing his hammer, and shouted-- "who besides halfred still breathes on this accursed ship?" then he saw that some six men of those who had aided him kneeled behind him. they had formed, with their shields, a half circle round thora's body, and had turned off many a spear which would have reached the form of the white sorceress. halfred perceived this. "stand up," he said, with his left arm wiping away the blood and sweat from his forehead, and the white foam from his lips. he thrust the blood stained hammer into his belt, and kneeled beside thora, pillowing on his breast her face, which had become whiter than ever before. "it was too much to bear and to hear at once. the frightful hailstones of this curse have struck the white rose too heavily." then she opened her eyes, and murmured, "not for me, only for thee, have the horrors of this curse overwhelmed me." "she lives! she lives! praise to you, ye gracious gods," exulted halfred, "it could not be that she should die for the crimes of others. she must be healed, as surely as the gods live. had thora perished for mine, for other men's guilt; with this hammer must i have slain all the gods." and tenderly and softly, as a mother a sick child, the mighty man raised his young wife in both arms, and bore her, treading softly, down the steps. but once more before she left the deck, thora opened her eyes. she saw halfred stained all over with blood. she recognised, by their armour and clothing, the bodies of hartvik and eigil, with frightfully shattered heads. she saw the whole deck strewn with dead. she saw that only very few of the ship's crew were left, and shuddering, shrinking, she closed her eyes again. chapter xiv. but halfred kneeled day and night beside her couch. he held her languid hand; he listened to her faint breathing; he kissed from her lips the small drops of blood which often gathered there. he had the board which closed the gangway between the decks taken away, and heaven and the stars shone down upon thora's pillow. when the day had gone ill, and much blood had flowed, and she fell asleep with the falling night, then he would mount a few steps, draw his hammer from his belt, and threaten the stars with furious words. "if ye let her die for others' guilt, then woe to you, ye gods, woe to all who live." but had the sufferer gained strength, and smiled lovingly and peacefully on him; then this same ferocious man mounted upon the deck, kneeled down, and cried with outstretched arms, and tear-choked voice, "praise, praise, to you, ye gracious gods! i knew it, verily, that ye live and rule justly, and would not let her die for others' guilt." and if the day wavered between good and evil, between fear and hope, then he paced the narrow chamber with hasty steps and murmured inaudibly, "are there gods! are there gods! are there gracious gods?" and he believed that thora heard this not, because she slept. but she lay often awake, with closed eyes, and understood it all, and it troubled her sorely, in waking and dreaming. and halfred now told her, at her mute request, all about dame harthild, and the curse, and how all had happened. when he had ended she murmured shuddering, "much has been fulfilled! if yet more should be fulfilled, unhappy halfred." it seemed, however, that thora was better. and halfred resolved at once to carry her upon deck, that she might breathe the fresh air, and again behold the beauty of sea and heaven. and he had the deck carefully cleansed from all traces of the horrible fight, and ordered the sailors, the day before, to run into a coast which was bright with summer flowers, and commanded a whole mountain of flowers, as he said, to be piled upon the ship, for he would have her laid upon a hill of flowers. and the men obeyed; and the whole deck was so thickly strewn with flowers that nowhere was a bit of wood visible. and close by the mast rose a swelling couch of perfumed light wood-grass, and all the loveliest wood flowers, so high that it reached to halfred's breast. over this he spread a rich white linen mantle, and laid the heavily breathing form upon it. and again the moon was full, as on that night of the battle on the ship. but many storm-rent clouds were still driving across the heavens, and the sailing disk of the moon had not pierced through them. and it was midsummer night. the first that halfred had not spent by the black heckla stone in iceland. thora had fallen asleep upon her flowers. halfred had covered her with his own mantle. and he sat close by the flower hill, and looked into the noble, pale, all bloodless face, and then quietly before him again. "ye have done all things well, ye merciful dwellers in the stars above. ye have requited me, for that i never altogether doubted ye. i will not again question with ye, wherefore ye have ordained for me this second fearful thing, that i should be forced to slay my dear blood-brethren, and so many of the ship's crew. "because ye have saved this wonderful flower, and have not suffered her guiltless, to perish for other's guilt, for ever will i bless ye. "and a song of praise will i compose for you, ye merciful and gracious gods; such as never yet has resounded to your praise. thanks to you, ye gracious gods!" and thus musing he fell asleep; for it was many many nights since he had slept. then a piercing cry awoke him, which seemed to ring from the stars. "halfred." it fell upon his ear from high above. he started up from slumber, and looked upwards. there he saw what filled him with horror. the full moon had, while he slept, pierced the clouds, and shone with full radiance upon thora's face. now halfred saw her, standing swaying, high on the slender cross-spars, many many feet above his head. like a white ghost she shone in the moonlight; her widely opened eyes looked out into her future; her right hand she stretched, as though warding off, into the night. she did not hold fast by the slender towering mast, on whose giddying height naught else save the seabird, tossing, rested. and yet she stood firmly erect; but in her face was despairing woe. "o halfred," she wailed, in a low tone of heart-rending anguish, "o halfred--how distracted thy looks--how fearfully tangled hair and beard! ah! how thine eye rolls--and half naked--like a berseker, in shaggy wolf's skin. and how stained thou art with the blood of guiltless men. and why threatenest thou the fair-haired shepherd the light-hearted boy? beware--beware the sling--guard thyself--turn thy head--the swing whistles--the stone flies--o halfred--thine eye." and bending far forward she stretched, as though she would protect, both arms into the air. now she must fall--so it seemed. "fall not, thora!" cried halfred upwards. then, as though lightning struck, swift as an arrow, with a wild shriek, she fell downwards from the giddy height of the mast. the white forehead struck upon the deck, her head and golden hair were bathed in blood. "thora! thora!" cried halfred, and raised her up, and looked into her eyes. then he fell senseless with her upon his face among the flowers--for she was dead. chapter xv. when halfred raised himself again--he had already long since recovered consciousness, but not the power to rise--the sun was fast going down. he called the six seamen, who had held themselves shyly aloof in the stern and lower deck, and spoke, but his voice, he himself told me, sounded strange to him like that of another person. "she is dead. slain for the sins of others. "there are no gods. "were there gods i must have dashed out the brains of all of them, one by one, with this hammer. "the whole world, heaven and sea, and hell, i must have burned with consuming fire. "nothing should any longer be, since thora no longer is. "the world can i not destroy. "but the ships, and all that is upon it, i will burn--a great funereal pile for thora. "do as i say to ye." and he embedded with gentle hands, the dead thora in the flower mound, so that almost nothing of her form and clothing were to be seen. and by his orders the six men were obliged to bring upon deck all the weapons, treasures, clothing, and provisions, which were stored in the hold of the singing swan. and halfred heaped them around the mast upon the flower mound, and purple clothing, linen cloth, silken stuff, golden vessels, and soft cushions, he piled up all round about. then he poured ship's tar over all, and covered it with withered brushwood, and dry chips from the kitchen. and he ordered all sail to be set--a strong warm south wind was blowing-- then he mounted upon the upper deck, and overlooked all. and he nodded his head, well satisfied. and then he descended to the kitchen, to bring up a burning brand. when he came up again he found that the sailors had lowered the two ship's boats, the larger and the smaller boat, they lay tossing by the boat ropes, to the right and left of the singing swan. "hasten, my lord," cried one of the seamen to him; "so soon as thou hast thrown the torch, to spring into a boat; for rapidly, in this gale, will the singing swan flame up, and easily might the fire seize the boats, and cause both thee and all of us to perish." halfred looked with staring eyes at the man "would ye still live, after ye have seen this? "think ye that i will live without thora? after the guiltless for other's,--for my crime,--hath died? "no, with me shall ye all on this ship burn--truly a worthless funeral pile for thora." "thou shalt not destroy us, guiltless. forbid it, gods!" cried the man, and sprang upon halfred, to wrest the firebrand from him. but with a fearful blow of his fist halfred struck him down upon the deck. laughing shrilly, he shouted, "gods! who dare still to believe in gods, when thora, guiltless, has died? "there are no gods, i tell ye. "were there gods, i must have slain them all. "and i will slay, as my deadly enemy, whosoever declares that he still believes in gods." furiously he brandished the firebrand in his left hand, the hammer in his right, and cried to the trembling sailors-- "choose--if ye believe that there are gods, then i will strike ye down like this too forward comrade. "but if ye renounce the gods, then may ye live, and depart, and bear witness everywhere that there are no gods. "are there gods?" shouted the maniac, drawing near to the trembling men. "no, my lord; there are no gods," cried the men, and fell upon their knees. "then go--and leave me alone to my own will." quickly the seamen descended into the larger boat on the left. halfred, however, stuck the hammer in his belt, and strode with rapid steps hither and thither upon the deck, and set fire to mast and sail, and purple clothing and carved work, and to the neck of the swan on the prow-wailing, the wind passed once more through the curved wings of the swan. the strong south wind fanned the crackling flames; quickly was the ship, on all sides, wrapped in a glowing blaze. the sails streamed like fiery wings from the mast. silently, with folded arms, halfred sat upon the upper deck, his eyes rigidly fixed upon the flower mound. swift as an arrow flew the burning ship before the wind. the fire had rapidly consumed the dried wood grass, and thora's form and face were fully visible. then halfred saw how the scorching flames seized upon thora's long floating golden hair. "that was the last thing," he said to me, "that i saw for a long time." in unutterable anguish he sprang up, and rushed all along the burning ship, straight through the flames, to thora, he sprang upon the flower mound to embrace the body. then he felt a frightful blow upon his head, and left eye. the half burned mast had fallen with a crash upon him; he was dashed upon his face among the flowers and the flames, and darkness closed over him. chapter xvi. when halfred again awoke he lay in the bottom of a small boat, which drove over the open sea. his hammer lay at his right hand. a cruise of water stood at his left hand. two oars were in the stem of the boat. halfred started up to look around him. then he perceived that he could only see with difficulty what was on his left side. he felt for his left eye, and found a bleeding cavity. a splinter of the mast had struck it out, and a stabbing pain beat through his brain, which he said never again left him as long as he lived. he looked at his body. in charred rags his burnt clothing hung upon him. far in the distance he saw a craft which he recognized as the larger boat of the singing swan. the singing swan herself had disappeared; but away to the south there lay a cloud of vapour and smoke over the sea. the boat in which halfred stood he recognised as the smaller boat of the singing swan. evidently his sailing comrades had dragged the half-burned maniac from the burning ship, and saved him. they had abandoned him to the gods whom he had blasphemed, and in whom they believed, to be saved by them, or perish. but no more fellowship would they have with a man stricken by the heaviest of curses--madness. for mad halfred was, from the hour when he sprang into the flames, and the mast struck him, until shortly before his death. therefore could he only tell me very little of all that in the meantime happened either to, or through him. but what he did tell me, here i faithfully write down. but many many years must he have wandered in madness. he told me, moreover, that he saw only before his eyes how thora fell from the mast; and how the flames seized her head and hair. and that he could only think one single thought. "there are no gods. were there gods i must have slain them. "so must i slay all human beings who believe in gods; for blotted out from the earth shall be the name and remembrance of the gods." and he could not die until he had slain the last man who still believed in the gods. and thus he journeyed all about, everywhere, in his small ship; landed in bays and upon islands, lived upon game which he hunted, or upon domestic animals which he found in the fields, upon roots and wild berries from the woods, upon eggs of sea-birds, and mussels from the rocks. and often the storm waves broke high over his boat, and shattered her planks. but she sank not, nor was he drowned. and one day he saw he was wholly naked, the last charred rags had fallen from him. he was chilled, and when he met a wolf in the wood, he ran after him so long that he overtook him, slew him with his hammer, took off his skin, and hung it round his loins. and thus he roamed and sailed, half naked, all about the north. and none recognised in the maniac berseker, halfred sigskald, the son of oski. and he told me that when he chanced upon mankind, whither they were many or few, he sprang upon them, and shouted to them his question. "are there gods?" and if they said "yes," or as the most did, gave him no answer, then he slew them all with his hammer. but if they said "no," as also many did--for it was already rumoured throughout the whole north, that a naked giant wandered through all lands with this question, whom the people called "god destroyer"--or if they took to flight, then he let them live. and often, from dread, the peasants and the women gave him fruit, bread, milk, and other food. many however bound themselves in a league to go out and slay him, as a wild beast. but they could not stand before the fury and strength of the maniac. he killed the bold, the timorous fled. he slept hardly at all at night, therefore they could not surprise him in his sleep. once, when he spent the night in the bam of a peasant, who had previously renounced the gods, with all his household, the people from the court barricaded the straw-filled bam, and set fire to it. but halfred burst through the roof, dashed through the flames and arrows, which could not pierce his body, and slew them all with his hammer. and this maniac wandering endured many years. and sea storms, and burning suns, and autumn frosts, and winter ice, beat upon halfred's half-naked body. and his hair and beard stood out like a mane around him. but no longer dark, as when of yore he trod, as a wooer. king harstein's courts--but snow white. in a single night--the night when thora died--his hair had become white. chapter xvii. and after many years he came sailing in his rotten boat over the seas which play around the island of caledonia. he landed, seized his hammer, and strode upwards to a steep rocky hill, on which sheep and goats were grazing. it was early morning, in the time when roses begin to bloom. mist floated over the sea, and upon the cliffs. then halfred saw the shepherd standing above, on the cliff's edge; and he played a lovely melody upon his shepherd's pipe. and at first he doubted whether he should ask this shepherd boy his question about the gods, for he left women and boys unquestioned. and this shepherd seemed to him but a boy. but as he climbed nearer to him he saw that the shepherd carried a spear, and a shepherd's sling, with which to kill wolves. and the shepherd lad believed that this was a robber or a berseker coming against him and his sheep. and he chose out of his leather pouch a sharp heavy stone, and laid it in his sling, and held it ready to cast it. halfred held his left hand over the eye that remained to him, and looked upward with difficulty, dazzled, for just then the sun broke out through the mist clouds exactly above the head of the shepherd, who thus saw clearly the figure of the half naked man, with tangled floating hair and beard, who now raising the hammer threateningly ascended the hill. upon a slab of stone, under a great ash tree, he stopped, and cried to the shepherd-- "are there gods, shepherd boy? sayest thou yes, then thou must die." "gods, there are not," replied the shepherd, in a clear voice, "but wise men have taught me there lives one almighty triune god, creator of heaven and earth." the man with the hammer paused for a moment as if meditating. such an answer had he never received. soon, however, he sprang threateningly upwards again. preventing him, however, the shepherd swung his sling; whirring flew the sharp stone; it was a sharp hard three-edged flint stone--i had carefully reserved it for some great peril--and alas! alas--woe is me, only too truly did it strike. without a sound halfred fell, where he stood, on his back under the ash tree, himself like to a suddenly felled tree. with a few bounds the shepherd reached the prostrate form, cautiously holding his spear before him, lest the enemy should suddenly spring up again. for it might be that he only artfully feigned to be wounded. as he drew nearer, however, he saw that it was no deceit, but rather evident truth. blood streamed over the fallen man's right cheek, and in the cavity of the right eye stuck the sharp flint stone. but pity mingled with dread seized upon the shepherd, as he gazed in the fearful mighty face of the man who lay mute at his feet. never before had he seen so splendid a face; at once so noble, and so sad. and superstitious fear overcame him, if it might not be the chief of the heathen gods, odhin, the one-eyed, who in the semblance of this wanderer with the white beard had appeared to him. but soon he felt yet deeper sympathy and compassion, for the wounded man in a weak voice began:-- "whosoever thou mayest be, who hast cast this stone, receive the thanks, o shepherd boy, of a world and woe weary man. thou hast taken from me the light of the second eye also. i need no longer to see men-kind and the heavens. neither of them have i understood for a long time. and soon shall i pass to where questions are no more asked, and curses no more cursed. i thank thee, whosoever thou mayest be. thou hast of all living beings--save one--done the best for halfred hamundson." then with a loud cry i threw my spear on one side, fell upon my knees, embraced the pale bleeding head, and cried:-- "halfred, halfred, my father, forgive, forgive me!--i am the murderer-- and thy son--" now ye who shall one day unroll this parchment--pause at this place, and look upwards to the sun, if it is day, and to the stars, if it is night, and ask with halfred--"are there gods?" for i, i, who secretly and in dread write these pages during the night hours, i am the shepherd boy, halfred's son, who have slain him. and the gods, or the christian god, have allowed it to come to pass that the son has blinded and murdered the father. i wept hot tears upon my dear father's pale forehead. but he turned his head, as though he would see me, and said-- "it is hard that the curse must be so wholly fulfilled upon me, that i must be entirely blinded before death. "fain would i have looked closely into thy face, my dear son. "now i know not if the golden cloud i saw spread about thy head was thy hair or the sun rays. "thou seemedst to me fair to look upon, my boy. "but tell me, how do they call thee? "have they verily, at thy birth, named thee liarson scoundrelson harthildsvengeance? and how did it happen that thou camest into life. i believed dame harthild burned in the dwelling house." then i laid my dear father's head upon my knees, and dried with the long yellow hair i was at that time still allowed to wear, the blood from his cheek, and told him all. how my mother would not be carried from the burning mead hall back into the dwelling house, but rather on to one of the ships of her father. how from thence, when the battle and the flames threatened dwelling house and ships, she was borne by her women and the sailors into a boat, and therein rowed out upon the fjord. how in the boat she had forthwith given birth to a son, but died herself; and ere she died had laid her hand upon my head, and said-- "not liarson--not scoundrelson--not harthildsvengeance shall he be named--no; fridgifa sigskaldson."[ ] "she was right in that," said halfred. "thou hast aided the sigskald to peace at last." and how after she was dead the fearful battle and burning on shore scared the sailors and women still further out to sea. and how the small boat was almost sunk by the fury of a storm from the west, and all the bondmen and women were washed overboard by the waves, save one rower, and a bond maiden, who hid the infant under the stern seat. and how, at last, christian priests, who were sailing out to convert the heathen people, picked up the half starved wanderers, and brought all three hither, to the island of the holy columban; and cleansed both the two, and the infant, with the water of baptism. and how the two, my foster parents, told me all that they knew about my father, and mother, up to the time of the burning of the mead hall. and how the two were never weary of lauding to me my father's glory in battle and song. and how the monks of saint columban, as i grew, would have me taught to read and write; but i loved far better to go out with the hunters and shepherds of the monastery, and liked to draw targets on the parchment leaves for my little cross-bow. and how, at length, they declared me unfit for books, when with my small bolt i had pierced through and through a costly picture which on the gold ground of a thumb broad margin represented the whole of the passion, and promoted me with a sound thrashing to be herd boy of the monastery. and how for many years, since my foster parents were dead, i had kept the sheep of the monastery; and my sole pleasure therein had been in fighting with the bears, the wolves, and the eagles, that attacked the lambs. or in playing upon my shepherd's pipe, or in listening to the roar of the sea and the forest. and halfred laid my head upon his broad breast, and folded both his arms around it, and laid his hand upon it, and was still and silent for a long time. and i brought him water to drink from the fountain, and milk from my flock; and would have drawn the stone from the wound, but he said-- "leave it, my dear son--the end draws near. "but i feel the band taken away from my brain, which for many many years has pressed upon it. "and all becomes clear and bright to my thoughts. i can see inwardly again how all has been, now that i can no longer see outward things. "and for thee, and for myself, before i die, i will set forth clearly and exactly how all has been. give me once again milk from thy flock to drink." and i gave him to drink, and he laid his head again upon my knee, and began to tell me, quite clearly and distinctly, all that had come to pass since that midsummer night. and from his lips have i learned all, onward from that midsummer night, which in the earlier pages of this book i have written out. and much have i also learned from him, of those earlier times of which my foster parents could know nothing. and i have kept it all in faithful remembrance. and as the evening fell he came to the end of his account, and he said, "lay my face so that once more the sun shall shine upon it. fain would i feel the dear lord once again." and i did as he commanded. and he breathed deeply, and said: "it must certainly be spring. a perfume of wild roses floats to me." and i told him that he lay under a blooming rose-bush. and then a blackbird raised his sweet song from the bush. "thus i hear once more the blackbird's evening song," said halfred. "now farewell all. sun and sea, forest and stars of heaven, wild rose perfume, and songs of birds; and farewell to thee, my dear son. i thank thee that thou hast released me from madness, and an evil life. "i can, to requite thee, as all my heritage, leave thee only this hammer. guard it faithfully. "whether there be gods--i know not. methinks that men can never search it out. but i tell thee, my son, whether gods live or not, hammer throwing, and harp playing, and sunshine, and the kiss of woman, these are the rewards of life. "mayest thou win a wife who is but a faint reflection of thora. "then hail to thee, my son! "bury me here, where mingles the roar of the forest and the sea. "farewell my dear son. dame harthild's curse thou hast turned for me into a blessing." and he died. the blackbird ceased singing in the bush. and as the sun sank, one warm full flood of his rays streamed full upon that mighty face. thus died the son of oski. chapter xviii. when now my dear father was dead, whom i myself had slain, i wept bitterly, and lay all night by the side of the dead. and when the sun again arose i considered what i should now do. at first i thought i would drive the flock to the monastery, which lay some six stages distant, and relate all to the monks, and confess how i had, all unwittingly, slain my own father; and beg for absolution for myself, and for a christian grave for my dear father. but i bethought me that the monks would not bury my father with christian honours, since he had died a heathen. and neither would they allow me to burn him, after the custom of the heathen people, because the heathen gods would thus be brought much into remembrance. and they would certainly throw him, unhonoured, into the sea, as they had already done to a heathen from zealand. so i resolved to be silent about it all, and not to betray my dear dead father to the priests. and thus could i neither confess the death blow, nor receive counsel respecting my guiltless crime. and from thence was the beginning of my freeing my mind from the monks and their creed. and i knew, quite near, of a cavern, which was known only to me, for it had a very small entrance, and i had only discovered it because i had followed a stone marten which had slipped into it. a fallen block of stone concealed the entrance, and i found many ashes and remnants of bones within the spacious cavern, which opened towards the sea. in early days, no doubt, the heathen scots had burnt their dead here. thither i carried, not without much difficulty, my dear dead father, and set him upright in the cavern, his face turned towards the sea. the roots of the oaks and ashes which waved above the cavern, penetrated through the stone downwards almost to his head. above him roared the forest, before him roared the sea. there did i place my dear father, and rolled the stone again to the entrance. but even his hammer, his only possession, i dared not keep. even should i tell the monks i had found it, or bought it from sailors--they would not have left it with me, for strong heathen victory runes were engraved on the haft. so i laid then the hammer also close to the right hand of the dead. "guard it for me, dear father," i said, "till i need it again. then will i fetch it." but from that hour there came a great change over my disposition. that which had most delighted me, to fight for my sheep with wolves, bears, and birds of prey--that attracted me no more. rather the question which had driven my dear father even to madness, if there be a god, or gods? and how it could be that such fearful things should come to pass as are here set down in this history, from the vow upon the bragi cup, on to this great horror, that the son had slain his own father. these questionings seized upon me, and would not let me rest, any more than my dear father. and as my dear father of yore looked up to the stars, and implored the heathen gods for enlightenment, so also did i look up to the stars for illumination, praying to christ and the saints. but to me also the heavens were dumb. then i said to myself--"here on the sheep pastures, and from the roar of the sea, and from the light of the stars, wilt thou find no answer all thy life long, any more than thy dear father. "but in the books of the monks, the latin ones and those others, with the crinkled runic flourishes, lie hidden all holy and worldly wisdom. "and when thou can'st read them, all will be clear to thee in heaven and upon earth." and so i took leave of my dear father, gathered my sheep together, and drove them to the monastery. "art thou gone mad, irenæus?" asked the porter, as he opened the door for me and my bleating charge, "that thou drivest home before shearing time. they will scourge thee again." "i was mad," i replied, "but now i will become a scholar. now another may scare the wolves. i will learn greek." and thus i also said to the good abbot aelfrik, before whom i was at once led for chastisement. but he said-- "lay the scourge aside. perchance the boy, who has always been a heathenish worldly saul, has become suddenly a paul, through the grace of the holy columban. he shall have his wish. if he holds to it--then it is a work of the saints. if his zeal flags, then it is a wile of satan, and he shall go out again to his sheep." but i kept silence, and said nothing about the reason for which i wished to learn. and my zeal did not flag, and i learned latin and greek, and read all the books that they had in the monastery, the christian ones of the church fathers, which they call theology, and many heathen ones, of the old world wisdom, which they call philosophy. and i soon perceived that often, in one church father, was found just the contrary of what was in another church father. and that aristotle reviled plato, and that cicero tried to make sense of it all, and could not. and after that i, in three, four years, had read through all the books which they had in the monastery, and had contended all night long with all the monks in the monastery, i knew no more of that which i wished to know than on the day when i had buried my dear father. the old good-natured fat abbot aelfrik however--he was of noble race, and had formerly been a warrior at the court of the scottish king, and loved me--often said to me, "give up these searchings fridgifa"--for he willingly called me by my heathen name when we were alone. "thou must believe, not question. and drink often, between whiles good ale or wine, and sing a song to the harp"--for he had taught me harp playing, in which i had great delight, and which he loved much, and everyone said that none could play the harp like me in all scotland; "and forget not either often to throw the lance at the target in the monastery garden. much book reading withers the body." and i remembered that my dear father's last words had been just the same. and often and often i stole away to my dear father's hill, brought forth the hammer, exercised myself in hammer throwing by star light, and sat then for hours before the cavern, and listened to the roar of wind, wood, and wave. and now it often seemed to me as if, in such moods, i came nearer to the truth than through all the books of the christian priests, and heathen philosophers. and i almost believe i shall not stay much longer in the monastery. especially since, lately, a skald from halogaland visited the monastery, and told of the life at the court of king harald; of his lordly royal hall, in which twenty skalds by turns play the harp. and how the boldest heroes ever willingly enter his service. and how year by year his warlike expeditions are crowned with victory. and of gunnlôdh, his wonderfully beautiful golden-haired daughter, who pledges the bravest heroes and the best skalds in the horn. since then, my inclination no longer turns towards psalm-singing and vigils. but certainly they will not easily let me leave the monastery. for because i can write latin and greek well, aaron, the new abbot, the italian, who has succeeded the good peace-loving aelfrik, makes me unceasingly write out manuscripts, which they then sell for a great price, in britain, and even in germany. and aaron is very sharp upon my track, because i seem to him to lack true christian zeal. and did he know that upon these parchment sheets, whereupon i ought to have written out, for the seventeenth time, the treatise of lactantius "de mortibus persecutorum," i have, by night, written out the history of my dear father--it would not pass without many days' fasting, and some score of penitential psalms. lately he actually threatened me to have "some one" scourged, who ever again came too late for the hora. that "someone" was i. for i had just begun to write about the battle on the singing swan, and could not tear myself away from it when the hora bell called. but ere the son of halfred the sigskald endures scourging on the back,--rather will i slay aaron and all his italian monks. but for slaying i need something different from this copying style. * * * * * thus far had i written by good friday. for a long while could i not contrive to write further. for the hatred, jealousy, and mistrust of aaron and his hangers-on--there are many of his italian countrymen come with him from rumaberg--grow constantly greater. he has forbidden me to write by night. only by day, and in the library, no longer in my cell, may i write. and the transcript of lactantius i am to deliver to him on the appointed parchment by whitsuntide, on pain of seven days' fasting. my resentment increases against this priestly tyranny. only rarely, and by stealth, can i get at these pages. also i can only with great difficulty reach my dear father's hill. they track my lonely wanderings. it will soon come to open war. at any rate i will provide myself with a sure weapon. * * * * * with difficulty did i, yesterday evening, in the sleeve of my frock, bring my dear father's hammer into the monastery. i have hidden it in the outer court, but where--that i do not trust even to these pages. i think much over the question of my dear father, and i believe that soon i shall find the truth. * * * * * for three days i could not write at all. the skald from king harald's court has again been a guest in the monastery. i have made him tell me all about the life at that court. it is just as in my dear father's days. certainly king harald and all his courtiers are heathens, and their warlike expeditions are mostly against christian kings and bishops. but that does not make me waver in my purpose, which is firmly resolved. he told me much about gunnlôdh. in twenty nights a ship of king harald's will sail again into the harbour from... * * * * * i know now the answer to halfred's question. there are no heathen gods. but neither is there any christian god, who, almighty, all merciful, all wise, allowed that the father should be slain by the son. rather, that only happens upon earth which is necessary, and what men do and do not, that must they do and not do; as the north wind must bring cold, the south wind warmth; and as the stone thrown must fall to the earth. why must it fall? no one knows. but it must. but men should not sigh and question and despair, rather rejoice in hammer throwing and harp playing, in sunshine and greek wine, and in the beauty of women. for that is a lie that it is a sin to long for a beautiful woman. otherwise must the human race die out; if all become so devout as no more to long for a woman. and the dead are dead, and no longer living. otherwise had the shade of my dear father long since appeared to me, at my earnest entreaty. of what alone, however, man should believe; of that i will speak hereafter. without fear shall he live, and without hope shall he die. in this monastery, however, will i remain no longer than----. chapter xix. thus far had he written, the god forsaken brother irenæus. here fell the righteous judgment of heaven upon him. i, aaron of perusia, called by the grace of god to feed these lambs of the holy columban, had also the grace given to me to drive the diseased sheep from the flock. long was i on the track of him and his worldly, heathenish, sinful, ungodly, yea god-blaspheming doings; his guilty conscience had rightly boded this. step by step i had him watched by italian brethren, full of godly zeal, without his observing it. the most pious of them, brother ignatius of spoletum, succeeded in winning his confidence--for stupidly unsuspicious are they--these barbarians--through often allowing him to entertain him with harp playing, irenæus begged from him one day some ink powder from his store, as he had used up his appointed portion, and from the "head of the pharisees"--thus the shameless sinner termed his abbot and chief shepherd--could not obtain fresh supplies, without delivering over what he had written with the former supply. brother ignatius at once, as was his pious obligation, told all to me, his abbot. but the ink powder he gave to him, with that wisdom of the serpent which is well pleasing to god in his priests. soon thereafter the sinner set out again upon one of those secret expeditions which have ever been his wont, remaining out the whole night when some errand had allowed him to escape from the monastery. i never forbade him to go out, for i hoped through one of these secret expeditions, most easily to discover his hidden doings. i sent, spies after him every time; but every time he suddenly and mysteriously disappeared among the wooded crags along the shore. this time i myself sent him out, and as soon as he had left the monastery court i at once made a most rigorous search through the whole of his cell. there at last i found, after much labour, these blasphemous pages, written very small, in his accursed graceful handwriting, and artfully hidden in a crevice between two stone slabs of the floor. i took the devil's work with me, and read and read, with growing horror. so much sin, so much worldliness, so much heathenish delight in fighting and singing, in drinking and carnal love, so much, finally, of doubt, of unbelief, of naked blasphemy, had, under the roof of the holy columban, under my pastoral staff, grown up, and been written out! abhorrence seized upon me, and holy indignation. forthwith i summoned the italian brethren to special secret council and judgment. i pointed out to them the deadly poison of these writings, which indeed were full of the seven deadly sins; and the unanimous sentence was pronounced. first, three hundred lashes with the scourge; then immuring in the chastisement cell, with vinegar, water, and bread, until repentant contrition and the fullest amendment were made manifest. impatiently we awaited the return of the accursed sinner. with the vesper bell he entered the door of the monastery court. immediately i placed myself before the door, shot the iron bolt, and called forward the italian brethren. the greater number, the anglo-saxons, who were well disposed towards the blasphemer, on account of his sinful harp playing, and lukewarm in zeal for the lord, i had before collected in the refectory, and locked up until the offender should be secured. hastily the italians came, and behind them several armed bondmen of the monastery. then, in place of all accusation, i held up these pages before the miserable wretch, and pronounced the agreed upon sentence. then, ere we were aware, the god-detested criminal sprang with lightning speed to the cistern in the court, and drew forth from behind it a frightful horrible hammer. "dear hammer of halfred, aid his son today," he cried in a threatening voice. and the next thing was--it seemed to me as though the heavens fell upon my head and neck--i sank upon the ground. only after a long while did i awake again. then i lay upon my bed, a man given up, and the brethren from italy lamented around my couch; and recounted that the furious samson had, with a second blow, shattered the bolt on the door, and made his escape. the monastery servants, indeed, followed him, and several of the brethren, led by brother ignatius. but when the fugitive suddenly turned, and slew the foremost of the pursuers, one of the monastery servants, who would have seized him, with the frightful hammer, and struck down brother ignatius, severely wounded, the others gave up the pursuit. at once he again disappeared, as always, among the cliffs and woods. never have we seen him since, although from the very day of my awakening i had him carefully searched for all along the coast. the cavern of which these accursed pages speak could we not find. i would have had the bones of the old heathen murderer thrown into the sea. probably the son concealed himself there, until he could leave the island on some ship. i however, in consequence of the blow from his hammer, which shattered my shoulder and collar bone, on one side, have to suffer all my life long from a hideous twist of the neck, which is exceedingly prejudicial to the dignity of an abbot. this sinful book of abominations however, i sent to rome, to the holy bishop, with the question, whether we should burn it, or preserve it, to aid in tracing and convicting the escaped monk, should we succeed in capturing him again? for a long long time came no answer. but after many many years the book came back from rome, with the command to keep it--only the blasphemous passages therein were erased--and as a warning example to others, was the abbot of st. columban to append to these pages an account from an accompanying letter of the archbishop adaldag of hamburg, of how dreadful a fate had, through the righteous judgments of god, ended this apostate's sinful life of the highest earthly enjoyment; which he--this may console us--will doubtless have to expiate in the eternal torments of hell. from the archbishop's letter it appeared there could be no doubt that our perjured brother, irenæus, is none other than one who, in all the courts of the north, has been for many years celebrated as a warrior and singer, and crowned with all earthly fame and happiness, jarl sigurd halfredson; who appeared suddenly at the court of king harald of halogaland--none knew whence he came--with one of the skalds of the king, and through hammer throwing, and harp playing, soon won for himself such renown that king harald gave him three castles, the command of all his armies, and his daughter gunnlôdh in marriage. but king harald was the most furious christian hater, and the bitterest opposer of the gospel in all the north. and for long years jarl sigurd led the troops of king harald, and always led them to victory. the lord at that time tried his own with severe affliction. he had turned his face from them, and the vassals of the bishops, and of the christian princes of the north, could not stand before jarl sigurd, and his dreaded hammer. but the end of this man of blood was horrible, and therefore it has been--by the command of the holy father--copied from the letter of the archbishop, as a fearful warning to all who read these pages. as he, that is to say, after once more in a great battle overthrowing the bishop's troops, was pursuing them in sinful joy, and shouting "victory, victory!" he was mortally wounded by an arrow in the breast. king harald caused his heathen priests and the skalds to draw near to the right side of the death bed, to console him with songs of valhalla. the wounded man waved them away with his hand. then drew near, on the other side of the dying, three christian priests, who had been made prisoners in the battle, and would have given him the holy last sacrament, if he acknowledged the lord. indignantly the godless sinner repulsed them with his arm. and when king harald, astonished, asked him in whom then he believed, if not in the heathen gods, nor in the white christ? he laughed and said--"i believe in myself, and my strength. kiss me once more, gunnlôdh, and give me greek wine in a golden cup." and he kissed her, and drank, and said-- "glorious it is to die in victory"--and died. but he remained unhonoured and unburied by heathen priests and christians, since he had defiantly rejected both. so then it is certain and set forth as a warning to all--but to us a righteous consolation--that the god accursed soul of this most blasphemous of all sinners must burn in hell for ever and ever--amen. postscript. what i here wrote down, years since, as my belief concerning the fate, after death, of this abandoned sinner, has been fully confirmed by a delightful testimony. that is to say, brother ignatius--who lately died--and certainly in great sanctity--was before his death honoured by a wonderful vision. saint columban, himself, in a dream, led him by the hand into hell, and there he saw, in the deepest pit of sulpher, brother irenæus, burning whole and entire. but upon his left shoulder blade, on the spot where he struck me, his abbot, sat an infernal raven, and hacked unceasingly through the shoulder even to his blaspheming heart. of this has brother ignatius assured us before his death. and therefore have i hereunto add this also, about the raven and the shoulder blade, in order that all who read these pages, but especially the disciples of the holy columban in this monastery, may learn the chastisement which awaits him who lifts heart and hand against his soul's shepherd, the abbot. amen. footnotes: [footnote : "oski," in reality one of the special forms of odin, is, in the scandinavian mythology, the god who fulfils all the desires of men.] [footnote : here the parchment is pierced through, and with different ink three crosses are signed over the burnt out part.] [footnote : cup sacred to bragi, the god of poetry. at the yule feast the heathen were wont, while the bragi cup was passing round, to pledge themselves by vows to the performance of deeds of special danger or renown. they swore upon the bragi cup, or upon the boar's head, which was the principal dish of the feast.] [footnote : a poetical expression of the edda for the beginning of drunkenness.] [footnote : "brisingamene," the necklace of freya, the goddess of love, was the symbol of female charm and attraction.] [footnote : _i.e._ peacebringer.]