Heimskringla
or
The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway
Hakon the Good's Saga
Online Medieval and Classical Library Release #15b
Of Eirik Blood-axe's five years' reign Snorre has no separate saga. He appears not to have been beloved by the people and his queen Gunhild seems to have had a bad influence on him.
Other accounts of Hakon may be found in "Fagrskinna" (chaps. 25-34), "Agrip", "Historia", "Norvegiae", and in "Thjodrek" (chap. 4).
The reader is also referred to "Saxo", "Egla", "Laxdaela", "Kormaks Saga", "Gisle Surssons Saga", "Halfred's Saga", "Floamanna Saga", "Viga Glum's Saga", and to "Landnamabok".
Skald mentioned in this Saga are: -- Glum Geirason, Thord Sjarekson, Guthorm Sindre, Kormak Ogmundson, and Eyvind Skaldaspiller. In the "Egla" are found many poems belonging to this epoch by Egil Skallagrimson.
In "Fagrskinna" is found a poem (not given by Snorre) which Gunhild (his wife) had made on King Eirik after his death, telling how Odin welcomed him to Valhal. The author or skald who composed it is not known, but it is considered to be one of the gems of old Norse poetry, and we here quote it in Vigfusson's translation in his "Corpus Poeticum", vol. i. pp. 260, 261. Gudbrand Vigfusson has filled up a few gaps from "Hakonarmat", the poem at the end of this Saga. We have changed Vigfusson's orthography of names, and brought them into harmony with the spelling used in this work: -- Ed.
"Odin wakes in the morning and cries, as he opens his eyes, with his dream still fresh in his mind: -- `What dreams are these? I thought I arose before daybreak to make Valhal ready for a host of slain. I woke up the host of the chosen. I bade them ride up to strew the benches, and to till up the beer-vats, and I bade valkyries to bear the wine, as if a king were coming. I look for the coming of some noble chiefs from the earth, wherefore my heart is glad.'
"Brage, Odin's counsellor, now wakes, as a great din is heard without, and calls out: -- `What is that thundering? as if a thousand men or some great host were tramping on -- the walls and the benches are creaking withal -- as if Balder was coming back to the ball of Odin?'
"Odin answers: -- `Surely thou speakest foolishly, good Brage, although thou art very wise. It thunders for Eirik the king, that is coming to the hall of Odin.'
"Then turning to his heroes, he cries: -- `Sigmund and Sinfjotle, rise in haste and go forth to meet the prince! Bid him in if it be Eirik, for it is he whom I look for.'
"Sigmund answers: -- `Why lookest thou more for Eirik, the king, to Odin's hall, than for other kings?'
"Odin answers: -- `Because he has reddened his brand, and borne his bloody sword in many a land.'
"Quoth Sigmund: -- `Why didst thou rob him, the chosen king of victory then, seeing thou thoughtest him so brave?'
"Odin answered: -- `Because it is not surely to be known, when the grey wolf shall come upon the seat of the god.'
SECOND SCENE. -- Without Valhal. Sigmund and Sinfjotle go outside the hall and meet Eirik.
"Quoth Sigmund: -- `Hail to thee, Eirik, be welcome here, and come into the hall, thou gallant king! Now I will ask thee, what kings are these that follow thee from the clash of the sword edges?'
"Eirik answers: -- `They are five kings; I will tell thee all their names; I myself am the sixth (the names followed in the song, whereof the rest is lost.)
"Fagrskinna" says "Hakonarmal" was the model of this poem.
1. HAKON CHOSEN KING.
Hakon, Athelstan's foster-son, was in England at the time (A.D.
934) he heard of his father King Harald's death, and he
immediately made himself ready to depart. King Athelstan gave
him men, and a choice of good ships, and fitted him out for his
journey most excellently. In harvest time he came to Norway,
where he heard of the death of his brothers, and that King Eirik
was then in Viken. Then Hakon sailed northwards to Throndhjem,
where he went to Sigurd earl of Hlader who was the ablest man in
Norway. He gave Hakon a good reception; and they made a league
with each other, by which Hakon promised great power to Sigurd if
he was made king. They assembled then a numerous Thing, and
Sigurd the earl recommended Hakon's cause to the Thing, and
proposed him to the bondes as king. Then Hakon himself stood up
and spoke; and the people said to each other, two and two, as
they heard him, "Herald Harfager is come again, grown and young."
The beginning of Hakon's speech was, that he offered himself to
the bondes as king, and desired from them the title of king, and
aid and forces to defend the kingdom. He promised, on the other
hand, to make all the bondes udal-holders, and give every man
udal rights to the land he lived on. This speech met such joyful
applause, that the whole public cried and shouted that they would
take him to be king. And so it was that the Throndhjem people
took Hakon, who was then fifteen years old, for king; and he took
a court or bodyguard, and servants, and proceeded through the
country. The news reached the Uplands that the people in
Throndhjem had taken to themselves a king, who in every respect
was like King Harald Harfager, -- with the difference, that
Harald had made all the people of the land vassals, and unfree;
but this Hakon wished well to every man, and offered the bondes
to give them their udal rights again, which Harald had taken from
them. All were rejoiced at this news, and it passed from mouth
to mouth, -- it flew, like fire in dry grass, through the whole
land, and eastward to the land's end. Many bondes came from the
Uplands to meet King Hakon. Some sent messengers, some tokens;
and all to the same effect -- that his men they would be: and the
king received all thankfully.
2. KING HAKON'S PROGRESS THROUGH THE COUNTRY.
Early in winter (935), the king went to the Uplands, and summoned
the people to a Thing; and there streamed all to him who could
come. He was proclaimed king at every Thing; and then he
proceeded eastward to Viken, where his brother's sons, Trygve and
Gudrod, and many others, came unto him, and complained of the
sorrow and evil his brother Eirik had wrought. The hatred to
King Eirik grew more and more, the more liking all men took to
King Hakon; and they got more boldness to say what they thought.
King Hakon gave Trygve and Gudrod the title of kings, and the
dominions which King Harald had bestowed on their fathers.
Trygve got Ranrike and Vingulmark, and Gudrod, Vestfold; but as
they were young, and in the years of childhood, he appointed able
men to rule the land for them. He gave them the country on the
same conditions as it had been given before, -- that they should
have half of the scat and revenues with him. Towards spring King
Hakon returned north, over the Uplands, to Throndhjem.
3. EIRIK'S DEPARTURE FROM THE COUNTRY.
King Hakon, early in spring, collected a great army at
Throndhjem, and fitted out ships. The people of Viken also had a
great force on foot, and intended to join Hakon. King Eirik also
levied people in the middle of the country; but it went badly
with him to gather people, for the leading men left him, and went
over to Hakon. As he saw himself not nearly strong enough to
oppose Hakon, he sailed (A.D. 935) out to the West sea with such
men as would follow him. He first sailed to Orkney, and took
many people with him from that country; and then went south
towards England, plundering in Scotland, and in the north parts
of England, wherever he could land. Athelstan, the king of
England, sent a message to Eirik, offering him dominions under
him in England; saying that King Harald his father was a good
friend of King Athelstan, and therefore he would do kindly
towards his sons. Messengers passed between the two kings; and
it came to an agreement that King Eirik should take
Northumberland as a fief from King Athelstan, and which land he
should defend against the Danes or other vikings. Eirik should
let himself be baptized, together with his wife and children, and
all the people who had followed him. Eirik accepted this offer,
and was baptized, and adopted the right faith. Northumberland is
called a fifth part of England. Eirik had his residence at York,
where Lodbrok's sons, it was said, had formerly been, and
Northumberland was principally inhabited by Northmen. Since
Lodbrok's sons had taken the country, Danes and Northmen often
plundered there, when the power of the land was out of their
hands. Many names of places in the country are Norwegian; as
Grimsby, Haukfliot, and many others.
4. EIRIK'S DEATH.
King Eirik had many people about him, for he kept many Northmen
who had come with him from the East; and also many of his friends
had joined him from Norway. But as he had little land, he went
on a cruise every summer, and plundered in Scotland, the
Hebrides, Ireland, and Bretland, by which he gathered property.
King Athelstan died on a sick bed, after a reign of fourteen
years, eight weeds, and three days. After him his brother
Jatmund was king of England, and he was no friend to the
Northmen. King Eirik, also, was in no great favour with him; and
the word went about that King Jatmund would set another chief
over Northumberland. Now when King Eirik heard this, he set off
on a viking cruise to the westward; and from the Orkneys took
with him the Earls Arnkel and Erlend, the sons of Earl Torfeinar.
Then he sailed to the Hebrides, where there were many vikings and
troop-kings, who joined their men to his. With all this force he
steered to Ireland first, where he took with him all the men he
could, and then to Bretland, and plundered; and sailed thereafter
south to England, and marauded there as elsewhere. The people
fled before him wherever he appeared. As King Eirik was a bold
warrior, and had a great force, he trusted so much to his people
that he penetrated far inland in the country, following and
plundering the fugitives. King Jatmund had set a king, who was
called Olaf, to defend the land; and he gathered an innumerable
mass of people, with whom he marched against King Eirik. A
dreadfu1 battle ensued, in which many Englishmen fell; but for
one who fell came three in his place out of the country behind,
and when evening came on the loss of men turned on the side of
the Northmen, and many people fell. Towards the end of the day,
King Eirik and five kings with him fell. Three of them were
Guthorm and his two sons, Ivar and Harek: there fell, also,
Sigurd and Ragnvald; and with them Torfeinar's two sons, Arnkel
and Erlend. Besides these, there was a great slaughter of
Northmen; and those who escaped went to Northumberland, and
brought the news to Gunhild and her sons (A.D. 941).
5. GUNHILD AND HER SONS.
When Gunhild and her sons knew for certain that King Eirik had
fallen, after having plundered the land of the King of England,
they thought there was no peace to be expected for them; and they
made themselves ready to depart from Northumberland, with all the
ships King Eirik had left, and all the men who would go with
them. They took also all the loose property, and goods which
they had gathered partly as taxes in England, partly as booty on
their expeditions. With their army they first steered northward
to Orkney, where Thorfin Hausakljufer was earl, a son of
Torfeinar, and took up their station there for a time. Eirik's
sons subdued these islands and Hjaltland, took scat for
themselves, and staid there all the winter; but went on viking
cruises in summer to the West, and plundered in Scotland and
Ireland. About this Glum Geirason sings: --
"The hero who knows well to ride
The sea-horse o'er the foamingtide, --
He who in boyhood wild rode o'er
The seaman's horse to Skanea's shore.
And showed the Danes his galley's bow,
Right nobly scours the ocean now.
On Scotland's coast he lights the brand
Of flaming war; with conquering hand
Drives many a Scottish warrior tall
To the bright seats in Odin's hall.
The fire-spark, by the fiend of war
Fanned to a flame, soon spreads afar.
Crowds trembling fly, -- the southern foes
Fall thick beneath the hero's blows:
The hero's blade drips red with gore,
Staining the green sward on the shore."
6. BATTLE IN JUTLAND.
When King Eirik had left the country, King Hakon, Athelstan's
foster-son, subdued the whole of Norway. The first winter (A.D.
936) he visited the western parts, and then went north, and
settled in Throndhjem. But as no peace could be reasonably
looked for so long as King Eirik with his forces could come to
Norway from the West sea, he set himself with his men-at-arms in
the middle of the country, -- in the Fjord district, or in Sogn,
or Hordaland, or Rogaland. Hakon placed Sigurd earl of Hlader
over the whole Throradhjem district, as he and his father had
before had it under Harald Harfager. When King Hakon heard of
his brother Eirik's death, and also that his sons had no footing
in England, he thought there was not much to fear from them, and
he went with his troops one summer eastward to Viken. At that
time the Danes plundered often in Viken, and wrought much evil
there; but when they heard that King Hakon was come with a great
army, they got out of the way, to Halland; and those who were
nearest to King Hakon went out to sea, and over to Jotland
(Jutland). When the king heard of this, he sailed after them
with all his army. On arriving in Jutland he plundered all
round; and when the country people heard of it, they assembled in
a great body, and determined to defend their land, and fight.
There was a great battle; and King Hakon fought so boldly, that
he went forward before his banner without helmet or coat of mail.
King Hakon won the victory, and drove the fugitives far up the
country. So says Guthorm Sindre, in his song of Hakon: --
"Furrowing the deep-blue sea with oars,
The king pursues to Jutland's shores.
They met; and in the battle storm
Of clashing shields, full many a form
Of goodly warrior on the plain,
Full many a corpse by Hakon slain,
Glutted the ravens, who from far,
Scenting the banquet-feast of war,
Came in black flocks to Jutland's plains
To drink the blood-wine from the veins."
7. BATTLE IN EYRARSUND (THE SOUND).
Then Hakon steered southwards with his fleet to seek the vikings,
and so on to Sealand. He rowed with two cutters into the
Eyrarsund, where he found eleven viking ships, and instantly
attacked them. It ended in his gaining the victory, and clearing
the viking ships of all their men. So says Guthorm Sindre: --
"Hakon the Brave, whose skill all know
To bend in battle storm the bow,
Rushed o'er the waves to Sealand's tongue,
His two war-ships with gilt shields hung,
And cleared the decks with his blue sword
That rules the fate of war, on board
Eleven ships of the Vindland men. --
Famous is Hakon's name since then."
8. KING HAKON'S EXPEDITION TO DENMARK.
Thereafter King Hakon carried war far and wide in Sealand;
plundering some, slaying others, taking some prisoners of war,
taking ransom from others, and all without opposition. Then
Hakon proceeded along the coast of Skane, pillaging everywhere,
levying taxes and ransome from the country, and killing all
vikings, both Danish and Vindish. He then went eastwards to the
district of Gautland, marauded there, and took great ransom from
the country. So says Guthorm Sindre: --
"Hakon, who midst the battle shock
Stands like a firmly-rooted oak,
Subdued all Sealand with the sword:
From Vindland vikings the sea-bord
Of Scania swept; and, with the shield
Of Odin clad, made Gautland yield
A ransom of the ruddy gold,
Which Hakon to his war-men bold
Gave with free hand, who in his feud
Against the arrow-storm had stood."
King Hakon returned back in autumn with his army and an immense
booty; and remained all the winter (A.D. 946) in Viken to defend
it against the Danes and Gautlanders, if they should attack it.
9. OF KING TRYGVE.
In the same winter King Trygve Olafson returned from a viking
cruise in the West sea, having before ravaged in Ireland and
Scotland. In spring (A.D. 946) King Hakon went north, and set
his brother's son, King Trygve, over Viken to defend that country
against enemies. He gave him also in property all that he could
reconquer of the country in Denmark, which the summer before
King Hakon had subjected to payment of scat to him. So says
Guthorm: --
"King Hakon, whose sharp sword dyes red
The bright steel cap on many a head,
Has set a warrior brave and stout
The foreign foeman to keep out, --
To keep that green land safe from war
Which black Night bore to dwarf Annar (1).
For many a carle whose trade's to wield
The battle-axe, and swing the shield,
On the swan's ocean-skates has come,
In white-winged ships, across the foam, --
Across the sea, from far Ireland,
To war against the Norseman's land."
ENDNOTES:
(1) The dwarf Annar was the husband of Night, and Earth was
their daughter. -- L.
10. OF GUNHILD S SONS.
King Harald Gormson ruled over Denmark at that time. He took it
much amiss that King Hakon had made war in his dominions, and the
report went that he would take revenge; but this did not take
place so soon. When Gunhild and her sons heard there was enmity
between Denmark and Norway, they began to turn their course from
the West. They married King Eirik's daughter, Ragnhild, to
Arnfin, a son of Thorfin Hausakljufer; and as soon as Eirik's
sons went away, Thorfin took the earldom again over the Orkney
Islands. Gamle Eirikson was somewhat older than the other
brothers, but still he was not a grown man. When Gunhild and her
sons came from the westward to Denmark, they were well received
by King Harald. He gave them great fiefs in his kingdom, so that
they could maintain themselves and their men very well. He also
took Harald Eirikson to be his foster-son, set him on his knee,
and thereafter he was brought up at the Danish king's court.
Some of Eirik's sons went out on viking expeditions as soon as
they were old enough, and gathered property, ravaging all around
in the East sea. They grew up quickly to be handsome men, and
far beyond their years in strength and perfection. Glum Geirason
tells of one of them in the Grafeld song: --
"I've heard that, on the Eastland coast,
Great victories were won and lost.
The king, whose hand is ever graced
With gift to skald, his banner placed
On, and still on; while, midst the play
Of swords, sung sharp his good sword's sway
As strong in arm as free of gold,
He thinn'd the ranks of warriors bold."
Then Eirik's sons turned northwards with their troops to Viken
and marauded there; but King Trygve kept troops on foot with
which he met them, and they had many a battle, in which the
victory was sometimes on one side, and sometimes on the other.
Sometimes Eirik's sons plundered in Viken, and sometimes Trygve
in Sealand and Halland.
11. KING HAKON AS A LAW-GIVER.
As long as Hakon was king in Norway, there was good peace between
the bondes and merchants; so that none did harm either to the
life or goods of the other. Good seasons also there were, both
by sea and land. King Hakon was of a remarkably cheerful
disposition, clever in words, and very condescending. He was a
man of great understanding also, and bestowed attention on law-
giving. He gave out the Gula-thing's laws on the advice of
Thorleif Spake (the Wise); also the Frosta-thing's laws on the
advice of Earl Sigurd, and of other Throndhjem men of wisdom.
Eidsiva-thing laws were first established in the country by
Halfdan the Black, as has before been written.
12. THE BIRTH OF EARL HAKON THE GREAT.
King Hakon kept Yule at Throndhjem, and Earl Sigurd had made a
feast for him at Hlader. The night of the first day of Yule the
earl's wife, Bergljot, was brought to bed of a boy-child, which
afterwards King Hakon poured water over, and gave him his own
name. The boy grew up, and became in his day a mighty and able
man, and was earl after his father, who was King Hakon's dearest
friend.
13. OF EYSTEIN THE BAD.
Eystein, a king of the Uplands, whom some called the Great, and
some the Bad, once on a time made war in Throndhjem, and subdued
Eyna district and Sparbyggia district, and set his own son Onund
over them; but the Throndhjem people killed him. Then King
Eystein made another inroad into Throndhjem, and ravaged the land
far and wide, and subdued it. He then offered the people either
his slave, who was called Thorer Faxe, or his dog, whose name was
Saur, to be their king. They preferred the dog, as they thought
they would sooner get rid of him. Now the dog was, by
witchcraft, gifted with three men's wisdom; and when he barked,
he spoke one word and barked two. A collar and chain of gold and
silver were made for him, and his courtiers carried him on their
shoulders when the weather or ways were foul. A throne was
erected for him, and he sat upon a high place, as kings are used
to sit. He dwelt on Eyin Idre (Idre Isle), and had his mansion
in a place now called Saurshaug. It is told that the occasion of
his death was that the wolves one day broke into his fold, and
his courtiers stirred him up to defend his cattle; but when he
ran down from his mound, and attacked the wolves, they tore him
into pieces. Many other extraordinary things were done by this
King Eystein against the Throndhjem people, and in consequence of
this persecution and trouble, many chiefs and people fled and
left their udal properties.
14. JAMTALAND AND HELSINGJALAND.
Ketil Jamte, a son of Earl Onund of Sparabu, went eastward across
the mountain ridge, and with him a great multitude, who took all
their farm-stock and goods with them. They cleared the woods,
and established large farms, and settled the country afterwards
called Jamtaland. Thorer Helsing, Ketil's grandson, on account
of a murder, ran away from Jamtaland and fled eastward through
the forest, and settled there. Many people followed, and that
country, which extends eastward down to the seacoast, was called
Helsingjaland; and its eastern parts are inhabited by Swedes.
Now when Harald Harfager took possession of the whole country
many people fled before him, both people of Throndhjem and of
Naumudal districts; and thus new settlers came to Jamtaland, and
some all the way to Helsingjaland. The Helsingjaland people
travelled into Svithiod for their merchandise, and thus became
altogether subjects of that country. The Jamtaland people,
again, were in a manner between the two countries; and nobody
cared about them, until Hakon entered into friendly intercourse
with Jamtaland, and made friends of the more powerful people.
Then they resorted to him, and promised him obedience and payment
of taxes, and became his subjects; for they saw nothing but what
was good in him, and being of Norwegian race they would rather
stand under his royal authority than under the king of Sweden:
and he gave them laws, and rights to their land. All the people
of Helsingjaland did the same, -- that is, all who were of
Norwegian race, from the other side of the great mountain ridge.
15. HAKON SPREADS CHRISTIANITY.
King Hakon was a good Christian when he came to Norway; but as
the whole country was heathen, with much heathenish sacrifice,
and as many great people, as well as the favour of the common
people, were to be conciliated, he resolved to practice his
Christianity in private. But he kept Sundays, and the Friday
fasts, and some token of the greatest holy-days. He made a law
that the festival of Yule should begin at the same time as
Christian people held it, and that every man, under penalty,
should brew a meal of malt into ale, and therewith keep the Yule
holy as long as it lasted. Before him, the beginning of Yule, or
the slaughter night, was the night of mid-winter (Dec. 14), and
Yule was kept for three days thereafter. It was his intent, as
soon as he had set himself fast in the land, and had subjected
the whole to his power, to introduce Christianity. He went to
work first by enticing to Christianity the men who were dearest
to him; and many, out of friendship to him, allowed themselves to
be baptized, and some laid aside sacrifices. He dwelt long in
the Throndhjem district, for the strength of the country lay
there; and when he thought that, by the support of some powerful
people there, he could set up Christianity he sent a message to
England for a bishop and other teachers; and when they arrived in
Norway, Hakon made it known that he would proclaim Christianity
over all the land. The people of More and Raumsdal referred the
matter to the people of Throndhjem. King Hakon then had several
churches consecrated, and put priests into them; and when he came
to Throndhjem he summoned the bondes to a Thing, and invited them
to accept Christianity. They gave an answer to the effect that
they would defer the matter until the Frosta-thing, at which
there would be men from every district of the Throndhjem country,
and then they would give their determination upon this difficult
matter.
16. ABOUT SACRIFICES.
Sigurd, earl of Hlader, was one of the greatest men for
sacrifices, and so had Hakon his father been; and Sigurd always
presided on account of the king at all the festivals of sacrifice
in the Throndhjem country. It was an old custom, that when there
was to be sacrifice all the bondes should come to the spot where
the temple stood and bring with them all that they required while
the festival of the sacrifice lasted. To this festival all the
men brought ale with them; and all kinds of cattle, as well as
horses, were slaughtered, and all the blood that came from them
was called "hlaut", and the vessels in which it was collected
were called hlaut-vessels. Hlaut-staves were made, like
sprinkling brushes, with which the whole of the altars and the
temple walls, both outside and inside, were sprinkled over, and
also the people were sprinkled with the blood; but the flesh was
boiled into savoury meat for those present. The fire was in the
middle of the floor of the temple, and over it hung the kettles,
and the full goblets were handed across the fire; and he who made
the feast, and was a chief, blessed the full goblets, and all the
meat of the sacrifice. And first Odin's goblet was emptied for
victory and power to his king; thereafter, Niord's and Freyja's
goblets for peace and a good season. Then it was the custom of
many to empty the brage-goblet (1); and then the guests emptied a
goblet to the memory of departed friends, called the remembrance
goblet. Sigurd the earl was an open-handed man, who did what was
very much celebrated; namely, he made a great sacrifice festival
at Hlader of which he paid all the expenses. Kormak Ogmundson
sings of it in his ballad of Sigurd: --
"Of cup or platter need has none
The guest who seeks the generous one, --
Sigurd the Generous, who can trace
His lineage from the giant race;
For Sigurd's hand is bounteous, free, --
The guardian of the temples he.
He loves the gods, his liberal hand
Scatters his sword's gains o'er the land-"
ENDNOTES:
(1) The brage-goblet, over which vows were made. -- L.
17. THE FROSTA-THING.
King Hakon came to the Frosta-thing, at which a vast multitude of
people were assembled. And when the Thing was seated, the king
spoke to the people, and began his speech with saying, -- it was
his message and entreaty to the bondes and householding men, both
great and small, and to the whole public in general, young and
old, rich and poor, women as well as men, that they should all
allow themselves to be baptized, and should believe in one God,
and in Christ the son of Mary and refrain from all sacrifices and
heathen gods; and should keep holy the seventh day, and abstain
from all work on it, and keep a fast on the seventh day. As soon
as the king had proposed this to the bondes, great was the murmur
and noise among the crowd. They complained that the king wanted
to take their labour and their old faith from them, and the land
could not be cultivated in that way. The labouring men and
slaves thought that they could not work if they did not get meat;
and they said it was the character of King Hakon, and his father,
and all the family, to be generous enough with their money, but
sparing with their diet. Asbjorn of Medalhus in the Gaulardal
stood up, and answered thus to the king's proposal: --
"We bondes, King Hakon, when we elected thee to be our king, and
got back our udal rights at the Thing held in Throndhjem, thought
we had got into heaven; but now we don't know whether we have
really got back our freedom, or whether thou wishest to make
vassa1s of us again by this extraordinary proposal that we should
abandon the ancient faith which our fathers and forefathers have
held from the oldest times, in the times when the dead were
burnt, as well as since that they are laid under mounds, and
which, although they were braver than the people of our days, has
served us as a faith to the present time. We have also held thee
so dear, that we have allowed thee to rule and give law and right
to all the country. And even now we bondes will unanimously hold
by the law which thou givest us here in the Frosta-thing, and to
which we have also given our assent; and we will follow thee, and
have thee for our king, as long as there is a living man among us
bondes here in this Thing assembled. But thou, king, must use
some moderation towards us, and only require from us such things
as we can obey thee in, and are not impossible for us. If,
however, thou wilt take up this matter with a high hand, and wilt
try thy power and strength against us, we bondes have resolved
among ourselves to part with thee, and to take to ourselves some
other chief, who will so conduct himself towards us that we can
freely and safely enjoy that faith that suits our own
inclinations. Now, king, thou must choose one or other of these
conditions before the Thing is ended."
The bondes gave loud applause to this speech, and said it
expressed their will, and they would stand or fall by what had
been spoken. When silence was again restored, Earl Sigurd said,
"It is King Hakon's will to give way to you, the bondes, and
never to separate himself from your friendship." The bondes
replied, that it was their desire that the king should offer a
sacrifice for peace and a good year, as his father was want to
do; and thereupon the noise and tumult ceased, and the Thing was
concluded. Earl Sigurd spoke to the king afterwards, and advised
him not to refuse altogether to do as the people desired, saying
there was nothing else for it but to give way to the will of the
bondes; "for it is, as thou hast heard thyself, the will and
earnest desire of the head-people, as well as of the multitude.
Hereafter we may find a good way to manage it." And in this
resolution the king and earl agreed (A.D. 950).
18. KING HAKON OFFERS SACRIFICES.
The harvest thereafter, towards the winter season, there was a
festival of sacrifice at Hlader, and the king came to it. It had
always been his custom before, when he was present at a place
where there was sacrifice, to take his meals in a little house by
himself, or with some few of his men; but the bondes grumbled
that he did not seat himself in his high-seat at these the most
joyous of the meetings of the people. The earl said that the
king should do so this time. The king accordingly sat upon his
high-seat. Now when the first full goblet was filled, Earl
Sigurd spoke some words over it, blessed it in Odin's name, and
drank to the king out of the horn; and the king then took it, and
made the sign of the cross over it. Then said Kar of Gryting,
"What does the king mean by doing so? Will he not sacrifice?"
Earl Sigurd replies, "The king is doing what all of you do, who
trust to your power and strength. He is blessing the full goblet
in the name of Thor, by making the sign of his hammer over it
before he drinks it." On this there was quietness for the
evening. The next day, when the people sat down to table, the
bondes pressed the king strongly to eat of horse-flesh (1); and
as he would on no account do so, they wanted him to drink of the
soup; and as he would not do this, they insisted he should at
least taste the gravy; and on his refusal they were going to lay
hands on him. Earl Sigurd came and made peace among them, by
asking the king to hold his mouth over the handle of the kettle,
upon which the fat smoke of the boiled horse-flesh had settled
itself; and the king first laid a linen cloth over the handle,
and then gaped over it, and returned to the high-seat; but
neither party was satisfied with this.
ENDNOTES:
(1) This eating of horse-flesh at these religious festivals was
considered the most direct proof of paganism in the
following times, and was punished by death or mutilation by
Saint Olaf. It was a ceremony apparently commemorative of
their Asiatic origin and ancestors.
19. FEAST OF THE SACRIFICE AT MORE.
The winter thereafter the king prepared a Yule feast in More, and
eight chiefs resolved with each other to meet at it. Four of
them were from without the Throndhjem district -- namely, Kar of
Gryting, Asbjorn of Medalhus, Thorberg of Varnes, and Orm from
Ljoxa; and from the Throndhjem district, Botolf of Olvishaug,
Narfe of Staf in Veradal, Thrand Hak from Egg, and Thorer Skeg
from Husaby in Eyin Idre. These eight men bound themselves, the
four first to root out Christianity in Norway, and the four
others to oblige the king to offer sacrifice to the gods. The
four first went in four ships southwards to More, and killed
three priests, and burnt three churches, and then they returned.
Now, when King Hakon and Earl Sigurd came to More with their
court, the bondes assembled in great numbers; and immediately, on
the first day of the feast, the bondes insisted hard with the
king that he should offer sacrifice, and threatened him with
violence if he refused. Earl Sigurd tried to make peace between
them, and brought it so far that the king took some bits of
horse-liver, and emptied all the goblets the bondes filled for
him without the sign of the cross; but as soon as the feast was
over, the king and the earl returned to Hlader. The king was
very ill pleased, and made himself ready to leave Throndhjem
forthwith with all his people; saying that the next time he came
to Throndhjem, he would come with such strength of men-at-arms
that he would repay the bondes for their enmity towards him.
Earl Sigurd entreated the king not to take it amiss of the
bondes; adding, that it was not wise to threaten them, or to make
war upon the people within the country, and especially in the
Throndhjem district, where the strength of the land lay; but the
king was so enraged that he would not listen to a word from
anybody. He went out from Throndhjem, and proceeded south to
More, where he remained the rest of the winter, and on to the
spring season (A.D. 950); and when summer came he assembled men,
and the report was that he intended with this army to attack the
Throndhjem people.
20. BATTLE AT OGVALDSNES.
But just as the king had embarked with a great force of troops,
the news was brought him from the south of the country, that
King Eirik's sons had come from Denmark to Viken and had driven
King Trygve Olafson from his ships at Sotanes, and then had
plundered far and wide around in Viken, and that many had
submitted to them. Now when King Hakon heard this news, he
thought that help was needed; and he sent word to Earl Sigurd,
and to the other chiefs from whom he could expect help, to hasten
to his assistance. Sigurd the earl came accordingly with a great
body of men, among whom were all the Throndhjem people who had
set upon him the hardest to offer sacrifice; and all made their
peace with the king, by the earl's persuasion. Now King Hakon
sailed south along the coast; and when he came south as far as
Stad, he heard that Eirik's sons were come to North Agder. Then
they advanced against each other, and met at Kormt. Both parties
left their ships there, and gave battle at Ogvaldsnes. Both
parties had a great force, and it was a great battle. King Hakon
went forward bravely, and King Guthorm Eirikson met him with his
troop, and they exchanged blows with each other. Guthorm fell,
and his standard was cut down. Many people fell around him. The
army of Eirik's sons then took flight to their ships and rowed
away with the loss of many a man. So says Guthorm Sindre: --
"The king's voice waked the silent host
Who slept beside the wild sea-coast,
And bade the song of spear and sword
Over the battle plain be heard.
Where heroes' shields the loudest rang,
Where loudest was the sword-blade's clang,
By the sea-shore at Kormt Sound,
Hakon felled Guthorm to the ground."
Now King Hakon returned to his ships, and pursued Gunhild's sons.
And both parties sailed all they could sail, until they came to
East Adger, from whence Eirik's sons set out to sea, and
southwards for Jutland (A.D. 950). Guthorm Sindre speaks of it
in his song: --
"And Guthorm's brothers too, who know
So skilfully to bend the bow,
The conquering hand must also feel
Of Hakon, god of the bright steel, --
The sun-god, whose bright rays, that dart
Flame-like, are swords that pierce the heart.
Well I remember how the King
Hakon, the battle's life and spring,
O'er the wide ocean cleared away
Eirik's brave sons. They durst not stay,
But round their ships' sides hung their shields
And fled across the blue sea-fields."
King Hakon returned then northwards to Norway, but Eirik's sons
remained a long time in Denmark.
21. KING HAKON'S LAWS.
King Hakon after this battle made a law, that all inhabited land
over the whole country along the sea-coast, and as far back from
it as the salmon swims up in the rivers, should be divided into
ship-raths according to the districts; and it was fixed by law
how many ships there should be from each district, and how great
each should be, when the whole people were called out on service.
For this outfit the whole inhabitants should be bound whenever a
foreign army came to the country. With this came also the order
that beacons should be erected upon the hills, so that every man
could see from the one to the other; and it is told that a
war-signal could thus be given in seven days, from the most
southerly beacon to the most northerly Thing-seat in Halogaland
22. CONCERNING EIRIK'S SONS.
Eirik's sons plundered much on the Baltic coasts and sometimes,
as before related, in Norway; but so long as Hakon ruled over
Norway there was in general good peace, and good seasons, and he
was the most beloved of kings. When Hakon had reigned about
twenty years in Norway (A.D. 954), Eirik's sons came from Denmark
with a powerful army, of which a great part consisted of the
people who had followed them on their expeditions; but a still
greater army of Danes had been placed at their disposal by King
Harald Gormson. They sailed with a fair wind from Vendil, and
came to Agder; and then sailed northwards, night and day, along
the coast. But the beacons were not fired, because it had been
usual to look for them lighted from the east onwards, and nobody
had observed them from the east coast; and besides King Hakon had
set heavy penalties for giving false alarm, by lighting the
beacons without occasion. The reason of this was, that ships of
war and vikings cruised about and plundered among the outlying
islands, and the country people took them for Eirik's sons, and
lighted the beacons, and set the whole country in trouble and
dread of war. Sometimes, no doubt, the sons of Eirik were there;
but having only their own troops, and no Danish army with them,
they returned to Denmark; and sometimes these were other vikings.
King Hakon was very angry at this, because it cost both trouble
and money to no purpose. The bondes also suffered by these false
alarms when they were given uselessly; and thus it happened that
no news of this expedition of Eirik's sons circulated through the
land until they had come as far north as Ulfasund, where they lay
for seven days. Then spies set off across Eid and northwards to
More. King Hakon was at that time in the island Frede, in North
More, at a place called Birkistrand, where he had a dwelling-
house, and had no troops with him, only his bodyguard or court,
and the neighbouring bondes he had invited to his house.
23. OF EGIL ULSERK.
The spies came to King Hakon, and told him that Eirik's sons,
with a great army, lay just to the south of Stad. Then he called
together the most understanding of the men about him, and asked
their opinion, whether he should fight with Eirik's sons,
although they had such a great multitude with them, or should set
off northwards to gather together more men. Now there was a
bonde there, by name Egil Ulserk, who was a very old man, but in
former days had been strong and stout beyond most men, and a
hardy man-at-arms withal, having long carried King Harald
Harfager's banner. Egil answered thus to the king's speech, --
"I was in several battles with thy father Harald the king, and he
gave battle sometimes with many, sometimes with few people; but
he always came off with victory. Never did I hear him ask
counsel of his friends whether he should fly -- and neither shalt
thou get any such counsel from us, king; but as we know we have a
brave leader, thou shalt get a trusty following from us." Many
others agreed with this speech, and the king himself declared he
was most inclined to fight with such strength as they could
gather. It was so determined. The king split up a war-arrow,
which he sent off in all directions, and by that token a number
of men was collected in all haste. Then said Egil Ulserk, -- "At
one time the peace had lasted so long I was afraid I might come
to die the death of old age (1), within doors upon a bed of
straw, although I would rather fall in battle following my chief.
And now it may so turn out in the end as I wished it to be."
ENDNOTES:
(1) In all the sagas of this pagan time, the dying on a bed of
sickness is mentioned as a kind of derogatory end of a man
of any celebrity. -- L.
24. BATTLE AT FREDARBERG.
Eirik's sons sailed northwards around Stad; as soon as the wind
suited; and when they had passed it, and heard where King Hakon
was, they sailed to meet him. King Hakon had nine ships, with
which he lay under Fredarberg in Feeysund; and Eirik's sons had
twenty ships, with which they brought up on the south side of the
same cape, in Feeysund. King Hakon sent them a message, asking
them to go upon the land; and telling them that he had hedged in
with hazel boughs a place of combat at Rastarkalf, where there is
a flat large field, at the foot of a long and rather low ridge.
Then Eirik's sons left their ships, and went northwards over the
neck of land within Fredarberg, and onward to Rastarkalf. Then
Egil asked King Hakon to give him ten men with ten banners, and
the king did so. Then Egil went with his men under the ridge;
but King Hakon went out upon the open field with his army, and
set up his banner, and drew up his army, saying, "Let us draw up
in a long line, that they may not surround us, as they have the
most men." And so it was done; and there was a severe battle,
and a very sharp attack. Then Egil Ulserk set up the ten banners
he had with him, and placed the men who carried them so that they
should go as near the summit of the ridge as possible, and
leaving a space between each of them. They went so near the
summit that the banners could be seen over it, and moved on as if
they were coming behind the army of Eirik's sons. Now when the
men who stood uppermost in the line of the troops of Eirik's sons
saw so many flying banners advancing high over the edge of the
ridge, they supposed a great force must be following, who would
come behind their army, and between them and their ships. They
made each other acquainted with what was going on in a loud
shout, and the whole took to flight; and when the king saw it,
they fled with the rest. King Hakon now pushes on briskly with
his people, pursuing the flying, and killing many.
5. OF KING GAMLE.
When Gamle Eirikson came up the ridge of the hill he turned
round, and he observed that not more people were following than
his men had been engaged with already, and he saw it was but a
stratagem of war; so he ordered the war-horns to be blown, his
banner to be set up, and he put his men in battle order. On
this, all his Northmen stood, and turned with him, but the Danes
fled to the ships; and when King Hakon and his men came thither,
there was again sharp conflict; but now Hakon had most people.
At last the Eirik's sons' force fled, and took the road south
about the hill; but a part of their army retreated upon the hill
southwards, followed by King Hakon. There is a flat field east
of the ridge which runs westward along the range of hills, and is
bounded on its west side by a steep ridge. Gamle's men retreated
towards this ground; but Hakon followed so closely that he killed
some, and others ran west over the ridge, and were killed on that
side of it. King Hakon did not part with them till the last man
of them was killed.
26. KING GAMLE AND ULSERK FALL.
Gamle Eirikson fled from the ridge down upon the plain to the
south of the hill. There he turned himself again, and waited
until more people gathered to him. All his brothers, and many
troops of their men, assembled there. Egil Ulserk was in front,
and in advance of Hakon's men, and made a stout attack. He and
King Gamle exchanged blows with each other, and King Gamle got a
grievous wound; but Egil fell, and many people with him. Then
came Hakon the king with the troops which had followed him, and a
new battle began. King Hakon pushed on, cutting down men on both
sides of him, and killing the one upon the top of the other. So
sings Guthorm Sindre: --
"Scared by the sharp sword's singing sound,
Brandished in air, the foe gave ground.
The boldest warrior cannot stand
Before King Hakon's conqueringhand;
And the king's banner ever dies
Where the spear-forests thickest rise.
Altho' the king had gained of old
Enough of Freyja's tears of gold (1),
He spared himself no more than tho'
He'd had no well-filled purse to show."
When Eirik's sons saw their men falling all round, they turned
and fled to their ships; but those who had sought the ships
before had pushed off some of them from the land, while some of
them were still hauled up and on the strand. Now the sons of
Eirik and their men plunged into the sea, and betook themselves
to swimming. Gamle Eirikson was drowned; but the other sons of
Eirik reached their ships, and set sail with what men remained.
They steered southwards to Denmark, where they stopped a while,
very ill satisfied with their expedition.
ENDNOTES:
(1) Freyja's husband was Od; and her tears, when she wept at the
long absence of her husband, were tears of gold. Od's
wife's tears is the skald's expression here for gold --
understood, no doubt, as readily as any allusion to Plutus
would convey the equivalent meaning in modern poetry. -- L.
27. EGIL ULSERK'S BURIAL-GROUND.
King Hakon took all the ships of the sons of Eirik that had been
left upon the strand, and had them drawn quite up, and brought on
the land. Then he ordered that Egil Ulserk, and all the men of
his army who had fallen, should be laid in the ships, and covered
entirely over with earth and stones. King Hakon made many of the
ships to be drawn up to the field of battle, and the hillocks
over them are to be seen to the present day a little to the south
of Fredarberg. At the time when King Hakon was killed, when Glum
Geirason, in his song, boasted of King Hakon's fall, Eyvind
Skaldaspiller composed these verses on this battle: --
"Our dauntless king with Gamle's gore
Sprinkled his bright sword o'er and o'er:
Sprinkled the gag that holds the mouth
Of the fell demon Fenriswolf (1).
Proud swelled our warriors' hearts when he
Drove Eirik's sons out to the sea,
With all their Guatland host: but now
Our warriors weep -- Hakon lies low!"
High standing stones mark Egil Uslerk s grave.
ENDNOTES:
(1) The Fenriswolf. one of the children of Loke. begotten with a
giantess, was chained to a rock, and gagged by a sword
placed in his mouth, to prevent him devouring mankind.
Fenriswolf's gag is a skaldic expression for a sword. -- L.
28. NEWS OF WAR COMES TO KING HAKON.
When King Hakon, Athelstan's foster-son, had been king for
twenty-six years after his brother Eirik had left the country, it
happened (A.D. 960) that he was at a feast in Hordaland in the
house at Fitjar on the island Stord, and he had with him at the
feast his court and many of the peasants. And just as the king
was seated at the supper-table, his watchmen who were outside
observed many ships coming sailing along from the south, and not
very far from the island. Now, said the one to the other, they
should inform the king that they thought an armed force was
coming against them; but none thought it advisable to be the
bearer of an alarm of war to the king, as he had set heavy
penalties on those who raised such alarms falsely, yet they
thought it unsuitable that the king should remain in ignorance of
what they saw. Then one of them went into the room and asked
Eyvind Finson to come out as fast as possible, for it was very
needful. Eyvind immediately came out and went to where he could
see the ships, and saw directly that a great army was on the way;
and he returned in all haste into the room, and, placing himself
before the kind, said, "Short is the hour for acting, and long
the hour for feasting." The king cast his eyes upon him, and
said, "What now is in the way?" Eyvind said --
"Up king! the avengers are at hand!
Eirik's bold sons approach the land!
The Judgment of the sword they crave
Against their foe. Thy wrath I brave;
Tho' well I know 'tis no light thing
To bring war-tidings to the king
And tell him 'tis no time to rest.
Up! gird your armour to your breast:
Thy honour's dearer than my life;
Therefore I say, up to the strife!"
Then said the king, "Thou art too brave a fellow, Eyvind, to
bring us any false alarm of war." The others all said it was a
true report. The king ordered the tables to be removed, and then
he went out to look at the ships; and when it could be clearly
seen that these were ships of war, the king asked his men what
resolution they should take -- whether to give battle with the
men they had, or go on board ship and sail away northwards along
the land. "For it is easy to see," said he, "that we must now
fight against a much greater force than we ever had against us
before; although we thought just the same the last time we fought
against Gunhild's sons." No one was in a hurry to give an answer
to the king; but at last Eyvind replied to the king's speech: --
"Thou who in the battle-plain
Hast often poured the sharp spear-rain!
Ill it beseems our warriors brave
To fly upon the ocean wave:
To fly upon the blue wave north,
When Harald from the south comes forth,
With many a ship riding in pride
Upon the foaming ocean-tide;
With many a ship and southern viking, --
Let us take shield in hand, brave king!"
The king replied, "Thy counsel, Eyvind, is manly, and after my
own heart; but I will hear the opinion of others upon this
matter." Now as the king's men thought they discerned what way
the king was inclined to take, they answered that they would
rather fall bravely and like men, than fly before the Danes;
adding, that they had often gained the victory against greater
odds of numbers. The king thanked them for their resolution, and
bade them arm themselves; and all the men did so. The king put
on his armour, and girded on his sword Kvernbit, and put a gilt
helmet upon his head, and took a spear (Kesja) in his hand, and a
shield by his side. He then drew up his courtmen and the bondes
in one body, and set up his banner.
29. THE ARMAMENT OF EIRIK'S SONS.
After Gamle's death King Harald, Eirik's son, was the chief of
the brothers, and he had a great army with him from Denmark. In
their army were also their mother's brothers, -- Eyvind Skreyja,
and Alf Askman, both strong and able men, and great man slayers.
The sons of Eirik brought up with their ships off the island, and
it is said that their force was not less than six to one, -- so
much stronger in men were Eirik's sons.
30. KING HAKON'S BATTLE ARRAY.
When King Hakon had drawn up his men, it is told of him that he
threw off his armour before the battle began. So sings Eyvind
Skaldaspiller, in Hakmarmal: --
"They found Blorn's brother bold
Under his banner as of old,
Ready for battle. Foes advance, --
The front rank raise the shining lance:
And now begins the bloody fray!
Now! now begins Hild's wild play!
Our noble king, whose name strikes fear
Into each Danish heart, -- whose spear
Has single-handed spilt the blood
Of many a Danish noble, -- stood
Beneath his helmet's eagle wing
Amidst his guards; but the brave king
Scorned to wear armour, while his men
Bared naked breasts against the rain
Of spear and arrow, his breast-plate rung
Against the stones; and, blithe and gay,
He rushed into the thickest fray.
With golden helm, and naked breast,
Brave Hakon played at slaughter's feast."
King Hakon selected willingly such men for his guard or court-men
as were distinguished for their strength and bravery, as his
father King Harald also used to do; and among these was Thoralf
Skolmson the Strong, who went on one side of the king. He had
helmet and shield, spear and sword; and his sword was called by
the name of Footbreadth. It was said that Thoralf and King Hakon
were equal in strength. Thord Sjarekson speaks of it in the poem
he composed concerning Thoralf: --
"The king's men went with merry words
To the sharp clash of shields and flame swords,
When these wild rovers of the sea
At Fitlar fought. Stout Thoralf he
Next to the Northmen's hero came,
Scattering wide round the battle flame
For in the storm of shields not one
Ventured like him with brave Hakon."
When both lines met there was a hard combat, and much bloodshed.
The combatants threw their spears and then drew their swords.
Then King Hakon, and Thoralf with him, went in advance of the
banner, cutting down on both sides of them. So says Eyvind
Skaldaspiller: --
"The body-coats of naked steel,
The woven iron coats of mail,
Like water fly before the swing
Of Hakon's sword -- the champion-king.
About each Gotland war-man's head
Helm splits, like ice beneath the tread,
Cloven by the axe or sharp swordblade,
The brave king, foremost in the fight,
Dyes crimson-red the spotless white
Of his bright shield with foemen's gore. --
Amidst the battle's wild uproar,
Wild pealing round from shore to shore."
31. FALL OF SKREYJA AND ASKMAN.
King Hakon was very conspicuous among other men, and also when
the sun shone his helmet glanced, and thereby many weapons were
directed at him. Then Eyvind Finson took a hat and put it over
the king's helmet. Now Eyvind Skreyja called out, "Does the king
of the Norsemen hide himself, or has he fled? Where is now the
golden helmet?" Then Eyvind, and his brother Alf with him,
pushed on like fools or madmen. King Hakon shouted to Eyvind,
"Come on as thou art coming, and thou shalt find the king of the
Norsemen." So says Eyvind Skaldaspiller: --
"The raiser of the storm of shields,
The conqueror in battle fields, --
Hakon the brave, the warrior's friend,
Who scatters gold with liberal hand,
Heard Skreyja's taunt, and saw him rush,
Amidst the sharp spears' thickest push,
And loudly shouted in reply --
`If thou wilt for the victory try,
The Norseman's king thou soon shall find!
Hold onwards, friend! Hast thou a mind!"
It was also but a short space of time before Eyvind did come up
swinging his sword, and made a cut at the king; but Thoralf
thrust his shield so hard against Eyvind that he tottered with
the shock. Now the king takes his sword Kvernbit with both
hands, and hewed Eyvind through helm and head, and clove him down
to the shoulders. Thoralf also slew Alf Askman. So says Eyvind
Skaldaspiller: --
"With both his hands the gallant king
Swung round his sword, and to the chin
Clove Eyvind down: his faithless mail
Against it could no more avail,
Than the thin plank against the shock
When the ship's side beats on the rock.
By his bright sword with golden haft
Thro' helm, and head, and hair, was cleft
The Danish champion; and amain,
With terror smitten, fled his men."
After this fall of the two brothers, King Hakon pressed on so
hard that all men gave way before his assault. Now fear came
over the army of Eirik's sons, and the men began to fly; and King
Hakon, who was at the head of his men, pressed on the flying, and
hewed down oft and hard. Then flew an arrow, one of the kind
called "flein", into Hakon's arm, into the muscles below the
shoulder; and it is said by many people that Gunhild's shoe-boy,
whose name was Kisping, ran out and forwards amidst the confusion
of arms, called out "Make room for the king-killer," and shot
King Hakon with the flein. Others again say that nobody could
tell who shot the king, which is indeed the most likely; for
spears, arrows, and all kinds of missiles flew as thick as a
snow-drift. Many of the people of Eirik's sons were killed, both
on the field of battle and on the way to the ships, and also on
the strand, and many threw themselves into the water. Many also,
among whom were Eirik's sons, got on board their ships, and rowed
away as fast as they could, and Hakon's men after them. So says
Thord Sjarekson: --
"The wolf. the murderer, and the thief,
Fled from before the people's chief:
Few breakers of the peace grew old
Under the Northmen's king so bold.
When gallant Hakon lost his life
Black was the day, and dire the strife.
It was bad work for Gunhild's sons,
Leading their pack of Hungry Danes
From out the south, to have to fly,
And many a bonde leave to die,
Leaning his heavy wounded head
On the oar-bench for feather-bed.
Thoralf was nearest to the side
Of gallant Hakon in the tide
Of battle; his the sword that best
Carved out the raven's bloody feast:
Amidst the heaps of foemen slain
He was named bravest on the plain."
32. HAKON'S DEATH.
When King Hakon came out to his ship he had his wound bound up;
but the blood ran from it so much and so constantly, that it
could not be stopped; and when the day was drawing to an end his
strength began to leave him. Then he told his men that he wanted
to go northwards to his house at Alreksstader; but when he came
north, as far as Hakonarhella Hill, they put in towards the land,
for by this time the king was almost lifeless. Then he called
his friends around him, and told them what he wished to be done
with regard to his kingdom. He had only one child, a daughter,
called Thora, and had no son. Now he told them to send a message
to Eirik's sons, that they should be kings over the country; but
asked them to hold his friends in respect and honour. "And if
fate," added he, "should prolong my life, I will, at any rate,
leave the country, and go to a Christian land, and do penance for
what I have done against God; but should I die in heathen land,
give me any burial you think fit." Shortly afterwards Hakon
expired, at the little hill on the shore-side at which he was
born. So great was the sorrow over Hakon's death, that he was
lamented both by friends and enemies; and they said that never
again would Norway see such a king. His friends removed his body
to Saeheim, in North Hordaland, and made a great mound, in which
they laid the king in full armour and in his best clothes, but
with no other goods. They spoke over his grave, as heathen
people are used to do, and wished him in Valhal. Eyvind
Skaldaspiller composed a poem on the death of King Hakon, and on
how well he was received in Valhal. The poem is called
"Hakonarmal": --
"In Odin's hall an empty place
Stands for a king of Yngve's race;
`Go, my valkyries,' Odin said,
`Go forth, my angels of the dead,
Gondul and Skogul, to the plain
Drenched with the battle's bloody rain,
And to the dying Hakon tell,
Here in Valhal shall he dwell.'
"At Stord, so late a lonely shore,
Was heard the battle's wild uproar;
The lightning of the flashing sword
Burned fiercely at the shore of Stord.
From levelled halberd and spearhead
Life-blood was dropping fast and red;
And the keen arrows' biting sleet
Upon the shore at Stord fast beat.
"Upon the thundering cloud of shield
Flashed bright the sword-storm o'er the field;
And on the plate-mail rattled loud
The arrow-shower's rushing cloud,
In Odin's tempest-weather, there
Swift whistling through the angry air;
And the spear-torrents swept away
Ranks of brave men from light of day.
"With batter'd shield, and blood-smear'd sword
Slits one beside the shore of Stord,
With armour crushed and gashed sits he,
A grim and ghastly sight to see;
And round about in sorrow stand
The warriors of his gallant band:
Because the king of Dags' old race
In Odin's hall must fill a place.
"Then up spake Gondul, standing near
Resting upon her long ash spear, --
`Hakon! the gods' cause prospers well,
And thou in Odin's halls shalt dwell!'
The king beside the shore of Stord
The speech of the valkyrie heard,
Who sat there on his coal-black steed,
With shield on arm and helm on head.
"Thoughtful, said Hakon, `Tell me why
Ruler of battles, victory
Is so dealt out on Stord's red plain?
Have we not well deserved to gain?'
`And is it not as well dealt out?'
Said Gondul. `Hearest thou not the shout?
The field is cleared -- the foemen run --
The day is ours -- the battle won!'
"Then Skogul said, `My coal-black steed,
Home to the gods I now must speed,
To their green home, to tell the tiding
That Hakon's self is thither riding.'
To Hermod and to Brage then
Said Odin, `Here, the first of men,
Brave Hakon comes, the Norsemen's king, --
Go forth, my welcome to him bring.'
"Fresh from the battle-field came in,
Dripping with blood, the Norsemen'a king.
`Methinks,' said he, great Odin's will
Is harsh, and bodes me further ill;
Thy son from off the field to-day
From victory to snatch away!'
But Odin said, `Be thine the joy
Valhal gives, my own brave boy!'
"And Brage said, `Eight brothers here
Welcome thee to Valhal's cheer,
To drain the cup, or fights repeat
Where Hakon Eirik's earls beat.'
Quoth the stout king, 'And shall my gear,
Helm, sword, and mail-coat, axe and spear,
Be still at hand! 'Tis good to hold
Fast by our trusty friends of old.'
"Well was it seen that Hakon still
Had saved the temples from all ill (1);
For the whole council of the gods
Welcomed the king to their abodes.
Happy the day when men are born
Like Hakon, who all base things scorn. --
Win from the brave and honoured name,
And die amidst an endless fame.
"Sooner shall Fenriswolf devour
The race of man from shore to shore,
Than such a grace to kingly crown
As gallant Hakon want renown.
Life, land, friends, riches, all will fly,
And we in slavery shall sigh.
But Hakon in the blessed abodes
For ever lives with the bright gods."
ENDNOTES:
(1) Hakon, although a Christian, appears to have favoured the
old religion, and spared the temples of Odin, and therefore
a place in Valhal is assigned him. -- L.