The Story of Norway
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Title: The Story of Norway
Author: Hjalmar Hjorth Boyesen
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The Story of Norway
by Hjalmar H. Boyesen
THE STORY OF THE NATIONS
OCTAVO, ILLUSTRATED. PER VOL., $1.50
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G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS NEW YORK AND LONDON
[Illustration]
The Story of the Nations
THE
STORY OF NORWAY
BY
HJALMAR H. BOYESEN
GEBHARD PROFESSOR OF GERMAN IN COLUMBIA COLLEGE, AUTHOR OK "GOETHE &
SCHILLER," "GUNNAR," "IDYLS OF NORWAY," ETC.
NEW YORK & LONDON
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
The Knickerbocker Press
COPYRIGHT BY
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
1886
Press of
G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS
New York
TO
CHRISTIAN BOeRS
KNIGHT OF ST. OLAF, WASA, AND THE NORTH STAR, CONSUL OF
NORWAY AND SWEDEN IN NEW YORK, THIS HISTORY
OF HIS NATIVE LAND IS DEDICATED BY HIS
FRIEND THE AUTHOR
[Illustration]
PREFACE.
It has been my ambition for many years to write a history of Norway,
chiefly because no such book, worthy of the name, exists in the English
language. When the publishers of the present volume proposed to me to
write the story of my native land, I therefore eagerly accepted their
offer. The story, however, according to their plan, was to differ in
some important respects from a regular history. It was to dwell
particularly upon the dramatic phases of historical events, and concern
itself but slightly with the growth of institutions and sociological
phenomena. It therefore necessarily takes small account of proportion.
In the present volume more space is given to the national hero, Olaf
Tryggvesson, whose brief reign was crowded with dramatic events, than to
kings who reigned ten times as long. For the same reason the four
centuries of the Union with Denmark are treated with comparative
brevity. Many things happened, no doubt, during those centuries, but
"there were few deeds." Moreover, the separate history of Norway, in the
time of her degradation, has never proved an attractive theme to Norse
historians, for which reason the period has been generally neglected.
The principal sources of which I have availed myself in the preparation
of the present volume, are Snorre Sturlasson: _Norges Kongesagaer_
(Christiania, 1859, 2 vols.); P. A. Munch: _Det Norske Folks Historie_
(Christiania, 1852, 6 vols.); R. Keyser: _Efterladte Skrifter_
(Christiania, 1866, 2 vols.); _Samlede Afhandlinger_ (1868); J. E. Sars:
_Udsigt over den Norske Historie_ (Christiania, 1877, 2 vols.); K.
Maurer: _Die Bekehrung des Norwegischen Stammes zum Christenthume_
(Muenchen, 1856, 2 vols.), and _Die Entstehung des Islaendischen Staates_
(Muenchen, 1852); G. Vigfusson: _Sturlunga Saga_ (Oxford, 1878, 2 vols.);
and _Um timatal i Islendinga soegum i fornoeld_ (contained in _Safn til
soegu Islands_, 1855); G. Storm: _Snorre Sturlasson's Historieskrivning_
(Kjoebenhavn, 1878); C. F. Allen: _Haandbog i Faedrelandets Historie_
(Kjoebenhavn, 1863); besides a large number of scattered articles in
German and Scandinavian historical magazines. A question which has
presented many difficulties is the spelling of proper names. To adopt in
every instance the ancient Icelandic form would scarcely be practicable,
because the names in their modernized forms are usually familiar and
easy to pronounce, while, in their Icelandic disguises, they are to
English readers nearly unpronounceable, and present a needlessly
forbidding appearance. Where a name has no well-recognized English
equivalent, I have therefore adopted the modern Norwegian form, which
usually differs from the ancient, in having dropped a final letter. Thus
Sigurdr (which with an English genitive would be Sigurdr's) becomes in
modern Norwegian Sigurd, Eirikr, Erik, etc. Those surnames, which are
descriptive epithets, I have translated where they are easily
translatable, thus writing Harold the Fairhaired, Haakon the Good, Olaf
the Saint, etc. Absolute consistency would, however, give to some names
a too cumbrous look, as, for instance, Einar the Twanger of Thamb (Thamb
being the name of his bow), and I have in such instances kept the Norse
name (Thambarskelver).
It is a pleasant duty to acknowledge my indebtedness for valuable
criticism to my friends, E. Munroe Smith, J.U.D., Adjunct Professor of
History in Columbia College, and Hon. Rasmus B. Andersen, United States
Minister to Denmark, without whose kindly aid in procuring books, maps,
etc., the difficulties in the preparation of the present volume would
have been much increased. I am also under obligation to Dr. W. H.
Carpenter, of Columbia College, and to the Norwegian artist, Mr. H. N.
Gausta, of La Crosse, Wis., who has kindly sent me two spirited original
compositions, illustrative of peasant-life in Norway.
HJALMAR H. BOYESEN.
COLUMBIA COLLEGE,
NEW YORK, April 15, 1886.
CONTENTS.
I.
PAGE
WHO WERE THE NORSEMEN? 1-12
The Aryan migrations, 1-3--The physical characteristics of
Norway, 4, 5--Early tribal organization and means of livelihood,
6-10--Sense of independence and aptitude for self-government,
10-12.
II.
THE RELIGION OF THE NORSEMEN 13-24
Theories regarding the origin of the Scandinavian gods, 13-16--The
Eddaic account of the creation of the world and of
man, 16-18--The world-tree Ygdrasil, 18--The _Aesir_, their
functions and their dwellings, 19-23--Loke the Evil-Doer
and his terrible children, 23, 24.
III.
THE AGE OF THE VIKINGS.--ORIGIN OF THE VIKING CRUISES 25-44
The Norsemen launch forth upon the arena of history, 25--The
origin of the viking cruises, 25-27--Kingship among
the Scandinavian tribes, 27, 28--The three periods of the
viking age, 28-30--The contribution of the vikings to the
political life of Europe, 30, 31--Sigfrid of Nortmannia, 31--Godfrey
the Hunter, 31, 32---Charlemagne's prophecy in
regard to the vikings, 32-34--Hasting's stratagem, 34-36--Ragnar,
Asgeir, and Roerek, 36, 37--Thorgisl in Ireland,
38, 39--Olaf the White, 40, 41--The vikings in England,
41--Simeon of Durham's account of the vikings, 42--The
character of the vikings at home and abroad, 43, 44.
IV.
HALFDAN THE SWARTHY 45-51
The descent of the Yngling race, 45--The sacrifices of Aun
the Old, 45--Olaf the Wood-cutter, Halfdan Whiteleg, and
Godfrey the Hunter, 46--Birth of Halfdan the Swarthy, 46
Sigurd Hjort and the _Berserk_ Hake, 47, 48--Halfdan the
Swarthy weds Ragnhild, 48--Ragnhild's dream, 48--King
Halfdan's dream, 49--Birth of Harold the Fairhaired, 49--The
Finn's trick, 50--King Halfdan's death, 51.
V.
HAROLD THE FAIRHAIRED 52-73
Harold the Fairhaired woos Gyda, 52, 53--Harold's vow,
53--Herlaug and Rollaug, 54--Harold's policy toward the
conquered kings, 54, 55--The feudal state, 55--Taxation
and the peasants' loss of allodial rights, 55, 56--Haakon
Grjotgardsson and Ragnvald, Earl of Moere, 56--Kveld-Ulf
and his sons, 56, 57--Erik Eimundsson's invasion of Norway,
57--His meeting with King Harold, 58--The battle of
Hafrs-Fjord, 59--Earl Ragnvald cuts King Harold's hair,
59--Harold marries Gyda, 59, 60--Harold's treachery to
Thorolf Kveld-Ulf's son, 60-62--Kveld-Ulf's vengeance
and migration to Iceland, 62, 63--Duke Rollo in Norway
and France, 64, 65--Emigration of discontented magnates,
65, 66--Snefrid, 67--Queen Ragnhild, 68--Erik Blood-Axe's
feuds with his brothers, 69-71--Guttorm Sindre, 71,
72--Birth of Haakon the Good, 72--Haakon is sent to
Ethelstan, 72, 73--Death of Harold, 73.
VI.
ERIK BLOOD-AXE 74-86
Erik's meeting with Gunhild, 74-76--Erik kills his brothers,
Sigfrid and Olaf, 76--Thorolf, Bald Grim's son, 77--Egil,
Bald Grim's son, kills Baard, 78--Egil kills Berg-Anund,
79, 80--Egil's pole of dishonor, 80--Egil ransoms his head
by a song, 81-85--Erik is exiled, 86.
VII.
HAAKON THE GOOD 87-101
Character of Haakon, 87--Proclaimed king of Norway, 88--Legislative
reforms and restoration of allodium, 89--Signal
fires, 90--First attempt to introduce Christianity, 90-92--Speech
of Asbjoern of Medalhus, 92--The king eats horse-flesh,
92-94--The sons of Erik Blood-Axe make war upon
Norway, 94, 95--Battles of Sotoness and Agvaldsness, 95,
96--Egil Woolsark, 96, 97--Battle of Fraedoe, 96-98--Failure
of attempt to Christianize the country, 98--Battle
of Fitje (Eyvind Scald-Spoiler), 98-101--Death of Haakon
the Good, 101.
VIII.
HAROLD GREYFELL AND HIS BROTHERS 102-114
Unpopularity of the sons of Erik, 102-104--Their characters,
104--Harold Greyfell and Eyvind Scald-Spoiler, 105--Treachery
of Harold toward Earl Sigurd, 105, 106--Independence
of Earl Haakon, 106, 107--Murder of Tryggve
Olafsson, 107, 108--Birth of Olaf Tryggvesson, 108--Adventures
of Aastrid and Thoralf Lousy-Beard, 108-110--Sigurd
Sleva insults Aaluf, 111--Earl Haakon's intrigues in
Denmark, 111, 112--Gold-Harold slays Harold Greyfell,
112--Expulsion of the sons of Erik, 113, 114.
IX.
EARL HAAKON 115-133
Earl Haakon defends Dannevirke, 115, 116--Harold Bluetooth,
117--Haakon's devastations in Sweden and in Viken,
118--Earl Erik and Tiding-Skofte, 119--The funeral feast
of the Jomsvikings, 120, 121--Battle in Hjoerungavaag,
121-125--The Jomsvikings on the log, 125, 126--Haavard
the Hewer, 127--The power and popularity of Earl Haakon,
127, 128--Gudrun Lundarsol, 129--Revolt of the peasants,
130--The earl hides under a pigsty, 130, 131--"Why art
thou so pale, Kark?" 131--Kark murders the earl, 132--Haakon's
character, 132, 133.
X.
THE YOUTH OF OLAF TRYGGVESSON 134-142
Aastrid's flight to Russia, 134, 135--Olaf is sold for a ram,
135--He is taken to Vladimir's court, 135, 136--King
Burislav and Geira, 136, 137--The wooers' market in England,
137--Marriage with Gyda, 137, 138--Olaf's warfare in
England, 138, 139--Thore Klakka tries to entrap Olaf, 139,
140--Return to Norway and proclamation as king, 140-142.
XI.
OLAF TRYGGVESSON 143-172
Olaf Christianizes Viken, 143, 144--Character of old Germanic
Christianity, 144-146--Thangbrand the pugnacious
priest, 147--The chiefs of Haalogaland, 148--Ironbeard
and the peasants of Troendelag, 149, 150--The Yule-tide
feast at Moere, 150-152--Olaf woos Sigrid the Haughty,
152-154--He marries Thyra, 154--Thore Hjort, Eyvind
Kinriva, and Haarek of Thjotta, 154-158--Thangbrand
in Iceland, 158, 159--Olaf's character, 160--Thyra's tears
for her lost possessions, 161--"The Long-Serpent," 161--King
Olaf sails to Wendland, 162, 163--Earl Sigvalde's
treachery, 163--Battle of Svolder, 164-172--King Olaf's
death. 171, 172.
XII.
THE EARLS ERIK AND SWEYN.--IHE DISCOVERY OF VINLAND 173-181
Division of Norway between the victors at Svolder, 173--Erling
Skjalgsson of Sole, 174-176--Earl Erik's character,
176--And attitude toward Christianity, 176, 177--Revival
of the viking spirit, 177--Earl Erik abdicates in favor of his
brother and son, 178, 179--Bjarne Herjulfsson's glimpse of
America, 179--Leif Eriksson's expedition to Vinland, 180,
181--Thorfinn Karlsevne and Gudrid, 181.
XIII.
OLAF THE SAINT 182-224
Birth and childhood of Olaf the Saint, 182, 183--Viking
cruises, 183--Return to Norway, 184--He captures Earl
Haakon, 185--His reception by Aastrid and Sigurd Syr,
186, 187--Family council, 187, 188--Support of the shire-kings,
188--The Troenders recognize Olaf as king, 189--Surprised
by Earl Sweyn in Nidaros, 190--Battle of Nessje,
190, 192--Earl Sweyn's flight and death, 192--Quarrel with
King Olaf the Swede, 193, 194--Bjoern Stallare's mission,
194-196--Speech of Thorgny the Lawman, 196, 197--Olaf
marries Aastrid, 198--Conspiracy of the shire-kings and
their punishments, 199--The play of the sons of Sigurd Syr,
199, 200--Roerek's hard fate, 201--His attempt to murder
Olaf, 202--The attitude of the tribal aristocracy toward
Olaf, 202, 203--Paganism _versus_ Christianity, 204, 205--"Where
are my ancestors?" 205--Olaf's character and appearance,
205-207--Dale-Guldbrand, 207-210--Slaying of
Aasbjoern Sigurdsson, 211--Knut the Mighty bribes the
Norse chieftains, 212, 213--Anund Jacob refuses the bribe,
213, 214--Battle of Helge-aa, 214, 215--Death of Erling
Skjalgsson, 216--Olaf goes to Russia, 217--Bjoern Stallare's
confession, 218--Olaf returns to Norway, 218--His vision,
220, 221--Battle of Sticklestad, 221, 222--Thormod Kolbruna-Scald,
222-224--Burial of St. Olaf, 224.
XIV.
SWEYN ALFIFASSON 225-229
Alfifa and the Norse chiefs, 225--Unpopular and oppressive
laws, 226--King Olaf canonized, 227--Tryggve Olafsson's
defeat, 228--Einar Thambarskelver rebukes Alfifa, 228--Magnus
Olafsson returns from Russia, 229--Expulsion of
Sweyn, 229.
XV.
MAGNUS THE GOOD 230-250
Circumstances of Magnus' birth, 230--Magnus and Harthaknut,
231--Jealousies of the chieftains, 232--Magnus and
Kalf Arnesson at Stiklestad, 233--Sighvat Scald's Lay of
Candor, 234--Sweyn Estridsson rebels, 236, 237--Battle of
Lyrskog's Heath, 237--Thorstein Side-Hall's son, 238--Einar
Thambarskelver's disagreement and reconciliation
with Magnus, 238, 239--Arrival of Harold Sigurdsson, 240--His
adventures abroad, 240-242--Magnus' reception of
Harold, 243--Harold's alliance with Sweyn Estridsson, 244--Agreement
to share the government, 245--The peasant
Toke's speech, 246, 247--Expeditions of Magnus against
Sweyn Estridsson, 247, 247--Death of Magnus the Good,
249, 250.
XVI.
HAROLD HARD-RULER 251-272
The tribal chieftains and the hereditability of the crown,
251, 252--Harold decides to conquer Denmark, 252--Determination
to break the power of the aristocracy, 253--Einar
Thambarskelver's hostility, 254, 255--Harold marries
Thora, 255--St. Hallvard and the founding of Oslo, 256--Burning
of Heidaby, 257--Sweyn's pursuits and Harold's
stratagems, 257-259--Battle of Nis-aa, 259--Peace of
Goetha Elv, 260--Feuds with Einar Thambarskelver, 260,
261--Harold tests the loyalty of the chieftains, 261, 262--Hoegne
Langbjoernsson, 262, 263--Murder of Einar and his
son, 264--Harold's treachery to Kalf Arnesson and Haakon
Ivarsson, 265-267--Arrival of Earl Tostig in Norway, 268--Battles
of Fulford and Stamford Bridge, 268-270--Styrkaar
and the yeoman, 270-272--Position of the Norwegian
Church, 272.
XVII.
OLAF THE QUIET AND MAGNUS HAROLDSSON, 273-284
Olaf and Magnus divide the country, 273--War with Sweyn
Estridsson, 273, 274--Death of Magnus, 274--Character of
Olaf the Quiet, 275, 276--Gradual cessation of viking
cruises, 276, 277--Gradual abolition of serfdom, 278--Vikings
and merchants, 278, 279--Appearance and appointments
of dwellings, 280, 281--Increased splendor of the
court, 281, 282--Establishment of guilds, 282, 283--Skule
Tostigsson, 283--Death of Olaf the Quiet, 284.
XVIII.
MAGNUS BAREFOOT AND HAAKON MAGNUSSON, 285-290
The Troenders proclaim Haakon king, 285--Magnus' expedition
to Scotland and Ireland, 285, 286--Death of
Haakon, 286--Punishment of his partisans, 286, 287--War-like
spirit of Magnus, 287--War with Sweden, 288--War
with Ireland, 289--Death of Magnus in Ulster, 290.
XIX.
EYSTEIN SIGURD THE CRUSADER AND OLAF MAGNUSSON 291-305
Division of the land, 291--Sigurd's crusade, 292, 293--Eystein's
meritorious activity at home, 294--Hostility of the
brothers, 295--The case of Sigurd Ranesson, 295, 296--Borghild
of Dal, 297--The "man-measuring," 297-301--Death
of Eystein, 301--Ottar Birting, 301-303--Arrival of
Harold Gille, 303--Cecilia, 303--Death of Sigurd, 304, 305.
XX.
MAGNUS THE BLIND AND HAROLD GILLE 306-310
Character of Magnus and of Harold, 306--Battle of Fyrileiv,
307--Magnus captured and maimed, 307, 308--Sigurd
Slembedegn, 308--Harold Gille murdered, 309--Burning of
Konghelle by the Wends, 310.
XXI.
THE SONS OF HAROLD GILLE 311-321
The sons of Harold Gille proclaimed kings, 311--Sigurd
Slembedegn allies himself with Magnus the Blind, 311, 312--Inge
Crookback's first experience of war, 312--Battles of
Krokaskogen, 312, and Holmengraa, 313--Sigurd Slembedegn's
fortitude, 313--Arrival of Eystein Haroldsson, 314--Feuds
between the brothers, 314-316--Character and appearance
of Sigurd Mouth, 314-316--Death of Sigurd, 316--Death
of Eystein, 317--Erling Skakke and Gregorius
Dagsson, 318-320--Fall of Inge at Oslo, 320--The cardinal's
visit, 320, 321.
XXII.
HAAKON THE BROAD-SHOULDERED 322-325
Christina bribes the priest, 322--Erling Skakke's intrigues,
323--Seeks aid in Denmark, 323, 324--Battle of Sekken,
324.
XXIII.
MAGNUS ERLINGSSON 326-349
Rebellion of the "Sigurd party," 326, 327--Battle of Ree,
327--Erling's alliance with Archbishop Eystein, 327--Magnus
takes the land in fief from St. Olaf, 327, 328--Magnus
crowned, 328--King Valdemar's expedition to Norway, 328,
329--The rebellion of the Hood-Swains, 329--Battle of
Djursaa, 330--Erling accepts an earldom from Valdemar,
330--Kills his stepson Harold, 332--Eystein Meyla and the
Birchlegs, 333, 334--Childhood and youth of Sverre Sigurdsson,
334-337--Sverre becomes the chief of the Birchlegs,
337--Vicissitudes and adventures of the Birchlegs,
337-341--Battle of Kalvskindet, 341-343--Death of Erling
Skakke, 343--Social revolution inaugurated by Sverre, 343-345--Battle
at Nordness, 346--Warfare between Birchlegs
and Heklungs, 346-348--Battle of Norefjord and death of
Magnus, 348, 349.
XXIV.
SVERRE SIGURDSSON 350-378
A dangerous precedent, 350--Erik Kingsson, 351--The
lawmen and prefects, 351, 352--The new democracy, 352,
353--Rebellion of the Kuvlungs, 353, 354; the Varbelgs,
354; and the Oyeskeggs, 354-357--Sverre's controversy
with the Church, 357, 358--Nicholas Arnesson, 358--Sverre
is put in the ban, 359--Origin of the Bagler party,
360, 361--Nicholas shows the white feather, 361--Treason
of Thorstein Kugad, 362--The Baglers besiege the block-house
in Bergen, 362-365--Burning of Bergen, 365--The
traitor's return, 366--The Papal bull and Sverre's defence,
366-368--The Bagler's defeated at Strindsoe, 369--The
great peasant rebellion, 370-373--Sverre's magnanimity,
374--Aristocracy _versus_ Democracy, 374, 375--Siege and
surrender of Tunsberg, 375, 376--Death of Sverre, 376, 377--His
character, 377, 378.
XXV.
HAAKON SVERRESSON 379-384
Peace with the Church, 379--Popularity of Haakon, 380--Discontent
of the queen-dowager, 381--Abduction of Princess
Christina, 381, 382--The fatal Yule-tide feast, 382,
383--Death of Haakon by poison, 383--Flight of Queen
Margaret, 384.
XXVI.
GUTTORM SIGURDSSON AND INGE BAARDSSON, 385-399
The Bagler troop reorganized under Erling Stonewall, 385--Successful
ordeal, 386--Death of Guttorm Sigurdsson by
poison, 387--Inge Baardsson proclaimed king, 388--Society
disorganized by the civil wars, 388, 389--Unbidden guests
at the bridal feast, 389, 390--Philip Simonsson made king
of the Baglers, 390--Birth and childhood of Haakon
Haakonsson, 391, 392--Compromise of Hvitingsoee, 393--The
intrigues of Haakon Galen, 394, 395--Helge Hvasse
and the boy Haakon, 396, 397--Discontent of the Birchlegs,
398--Death of King Inge, 399.
XXVII.
HAAKON HAAKONSSON THE OLD 400-432
Haakon proclaimed king, 400--Rebellion of the Slittungs,
401--Effects of the civil war, 401, 402--The intrigues of
Earl Skule, 402-404--Inga of Varteig carries glowing irons,
404-406--Rebellion of the Ribbungs, 407, 408--Skule's
double-dealing, 408-410--Assembly of notables in Bergen,
410--Bishop Nicholas' hypocrisy, 411--Sigurd Ribbung renews
the rebellion, 412--Haakon's campaign in Vermeland,
412, 413--Duke Skule's leaky ships, 413--Death of Bishop
Nicholas and Sigurd Ribbung, 414--Squire Knut as the
chief of the Ribbungs, 416--Skule's "Crusade," 416, 417--Skule
allies himself with Valdemar the Victorious, 417, 418--Skule
called to account, 418-420--Intrigues at the Roman
Curia, 420, 421--The plot revealed, 421, 422--Skule proclaims
himself king, 423--Battle of Laaka, 424--Skule defeated
at Oslo, 425--Death of Skule, 426, 427--Coronation
of Haakon, 427-429--His power and fame at home and
abroad, 429-431--Expedition to Scotland, and death, 431,
432.
XXVIII.
THE STURLUNGS IN ICELAND 433-441
Snorre Sturlasson's _Heimskringla_, 433, 434--Snorre's parentage
and youth, 434--Character of Snorre, 434--Reykjaholt,
436--Brother feuds, 436--Snorre's visit to Norway, 437--Plots
and counterplots, 437-440--Snorre's death, 440--Sturla
Thordsson, 440, 441.
XXIX.
MAGNUS LAW-MENDER 442-450
Cession of Man and the Shetland Isles to Scotland, 442--Reasons
for and against the cession, 443--Condition of Icelandic
society and submission of the island to Norway, 444--Magnus
as a law-giver, 445-447--The tribal aristocracy
and the court nobility, 447, 448--Concessions to the Church,
448, 449--Degeneracy of the old royal house, 450--Death
of Magnus, 450.
XXX.
ERIK PRIEST-HATER 451-456
The barons increase their power, 451--Quarrels with the
clergy, 452--The false "Maid of Norway," 453--Depredations
of "Little Sir Alf," 453, 454--War with Denmark and
the Hansa, 454, 455--Capture and death of Little Sir Alf,
456--Death of King Erik, 456.
XXXI.
HAAKON LONGLEGS 457-460
Sir Audun's treason, 457--The dukes Erik and Valdemar
458--Complications with Sweden, 459--War with Denmark,
460--Death of Haakon, 460.
XXXII.
MAGNUS SMEK, HAAKON MAGNUSSON, AND OLAF THE YOUNG 461-466
Magnus Smek becomes king of Norway and Sweden, 461--Duchess
Ingeborg's unpopularity, 461, 462--Discontent with
Magnus, 462--Alliance with Valdemar Atterdag, 462, 463--Magnus
deposed in Sweden, 463--Haakon's war with Albrecht
of Mecklenberg, 464--The power of the Hansa in
Norway, 464--Death of Magnus, 465--The Black Death,
465, 466--Olaf the Young, 466.
XXXIII.
NORWAY DURING THE KALMAR UNION 467-474
Margaret unites the three kingdoms, 467-469--The Kalmar
Union, 469, 470--Reasons for its disastrous consequences,
470-472--Death of Margaret, 472--Erik of Pomerania's
misrule and extortions, 472, 473--Christopher of Bavaria,
473, 474.
XXXIV.
THE UNION WITH DENMARK 475-488
The condition of Norway and Denmark during the union
compared, 475, 476--Charles Knuttson elected king of Sweden,
478--Christian I.'s war with Charles Knutsson, 479,
480--Misrule in Norway, 480--The Scottish Isles pawned,
480, 481--King Hans, 481, 482--Christian II.'s accession,
482--His attempt to humble the nobility, 483--The carnage
of Stockholm, 483, 484--His vain appeal to the bourgeoisie,
484, 485--Christian's flight, 485--Frederick I., 485, 486--Struggle
about the succession, 486, 487--Christian III., 487,
488--Norway becomes a province of Denmark, 488.
XXXV.
NORWAY AS A PROVINCE OF DENMARK 489-515
The Reformation introduced, 489, 490--The power of the
Hansa broken, 490-492--Frederick II., 492-494--Christian
IV.'s interest in Norway, 494--The Kalmar War, 495--Participation
in the Thirty Years' War, 495, 496--The
Hannibal's feud, 496--Frederick III.'s disastrous war with
Sweden, 498--Absolutism introduced, 499, 500--Christian
V., 500, 501--Frederick IV.'s accession, 501--The Great
Northern War, 502-504--Tordenskjold, 503, 504--Christian
VI., 506-508--Frederick V, 508--Christian VII., 508-512--The
armed neutrality, 509, 510--Frederick VI. mounts
the throne, 512--War with Sweden, 512, 513--Christian
August as viceroy, 512-514--The Treaty of Paris, 513--Protest
of the Norsemen, 514--Separation from Denmark, 515.
XXXVI.
NORWAY RECOVERS HER INDEPENDENCE 516-538
Christian Frederick as viceroy, 516-518--Constitutional convention
at Eidsvold, 518-520--War with Sweden, 520, 521--Armistice
at Moss, 521--Charles XIII. accepts the constitution,
522--Charles XIV. John becomes king of Norway,
522--His controversies with the _Storthing_, 522-526--Henrik
Wergeland, 526, 527--Count Wedel-Jarlsberg as
viceroy, 527--Oscar I., 528-530--The character of the
Norse peasantry, 528-530--Charles XV., 530, 531--Oscar
II., and the constitutional struggle, 531-534--Impeachment
of the ministry Selmer, 534--"The Pure Flag," 535--Present
condition of Norway and her place among the nations,
536--Literature and science, 536-538.
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE.
STONE AXES FROM THE LATER STONE AGE 5
STONE USED FOR SHAPING INSTRUMENTS 7
STONE HAMMER 7
STONE KNIFE 8
ADZE OF ELK-HORN 9
STONE WEDGE 9
ROCK PICTURE OF A SHIP AT LOeKEBERG 10
ROCK PICTURE AT BORGEN 11
BRONZE SWORD 14
LOOR OR WAR HORN OF BRONZE 15
BRONZE SWORD 7
BUCKLES FROM THE EARLY IRON AGE 19
THE VIKING SHIP RECENTLY UNEARTHED AT SANDEFJORD 26
THE VIKING SHIP, VARIOUS VIEWS OF 29
ST. ANSGARIUS THE APOSTLE OF THE NORTH 33
IRON IMPLEMENT--USE UNKNOWN 35
TWO-EDGED SWORD 37
BUCKLE FROM THE IRON AGE 39
RUIN OF NORSE TOWER AT MOSOe 43
BUCKLE WITH BYZANTINE ORNAMENTATION 51
GILT BUCKLE FOUND AT SKEDSMO 72
CYLINDRICAL MOUNTING IN BRONZE 76
IRON POINT OF SPEAR, IRON CHISEL 84
FRYING-PAN OF BRONZE 89
BREASTPIN OF BRONZE 91
OVAL BRONZE BUCKLE 93
EGIL WOOLSARK'S MONUMENT 96
ORNAMENTAL BRONZE MOUNTING 97
CHURCH AT EGILOe 103
SCISSORS AND ARROW-HEAD OF IRON 107
HAROLD BLUETOOTH 117
RUNESTONE FROM STRAND IN RYFYLKE 121
OBLONG BUCKLE 133
OLAF TRYGGVESSON'S ARRIVAL IN NORWAY 141
OLD NORSE LOOM 145
RUNIC STONE FROM GRAN IN HADELAND 153
INSTRUMENT OF UNKNOWN USE 155
OLD LOOM FROM THE FAEROE ISLANDS 159
CHURCH AT MOSTER ISLAND 167
SHUTTLES OF IRON AND WHALEBONE 175
KNIVES OF IRON FOUND IN HEDEMARK AND HADELAND 208
ST. OLAF FROM DRONTHEIM CATHEDRAL 219
ST. OLAF AND THE TROLDS 223
MAGNUS THE GOOD AND KALF ARNESSON AT STIKLESTAD 235
MARBLE LION FROM THE PIRAEUS 241
POMMEL OF GILT BRONZE FROM THE VIKING AGE 250
THE OLD MAN OF HOY 271
INTERIOR OF ORKHAUGEN 279
HITTERDAL CHURCH 299
VILLAGE DURING FISHING SEASON 315
THE RAFT SUND IN VESTFJORD 331
HORNELEN 339
THORGHAeTTEN 363
HOeNEFOSS 371
HAAKON HAAKONSSON AND HELGE HVASSE 397
WEST FRONT OF DRONTHEIM CATHEDRAL 403
OLD NORSE CAPITALS 409
ON THE SOGNE FJORD 415
A STORM ON THE FJORD 419
NORWEGIAN STABBUR OR STORE-HOUSE 431
HOeRGADAL IN THE NORTH OF ICELAND 435
ALMANNAGJAA WITH THE HILL OF LAWS 439
QUEEN MARGARET 471
CHRISTIAN I. 479
BELT WRESTLING 491
THE NORTH CAPE 493
FREDERICK III., KING OF DENMARK AND NORWAY 497
THE CAPERCAILZIE IN NORWAY 505
CARVED LINTEL, STABBUR, AND BEER-MUGS 507
PEASANTS DANCING 511
PRINCE CHRISTIAN FREDERICK, VICEROY OF NORWAY 517
CHARLES XIV. JOHN (BERNADOTTE) 521
SKEE-RUNNING 525
BRIDE AND GROOM 529
PORTRAIT OF OSCAR II. 533
BJOeRNSTJERNE BJOeRNSON 537
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
THE STORY OF NORWAY.
CHAPTER I.
WHO WERE THE NORSEMEN?
The Norsemen are a Germanic race, and belong, accordingly, to the great
Aryan family. Their next of kin are the Swedes and Danes. Their original
home was Asia, and probably that part of Asia which the ancients called
Bactria, near the sources of the rivers Oxus and Jaxartes. Not only the
Norsemen are supposed to have come from this region, but the ancestors
of all the Aryan nations which now inhabit the greater portion of the
civilized world. Among the first to leave this cradle of nations were
the tribes which settled upon the eastern islands and peninsulas of the
Mediterranean, and, under the name of Hellenes, developed, long before
the Christian era, an art and a literature which are, in some respects,
yet unrivalled. The early Italic tribes, from which sprung in time the
world-empire of Rome, trace their descent from the same ancestry; as do
also the Kelts, who in ancient times inhabited England, Ireland, and
France; the Slavs who settled in the present Russia, Bohemia, and the
northern Turkish provinces; and the Germans, who occupied the great
central regions of the European continent. Among Asiatic nations, the
Iranians inhabiting Persia, and the Hindoos in India, have Aryan blood.
It seems almost incredible that persons differing so widely in
appearance, habits, and disposition, as, for instance, a Hindoo and an
Englishman, should, if you go sufficiently far back, have the same
ancestry. And yet there cannot be the slightest doubt that such is the
case. The question, then, naturally arises: "If they were once alike,
what can have made them so different?" And the answer is: "The climate,
the soil, and the general character of the countries in which they
settled."
The country from which the first Aryans emigrated was mountainous, with
fertile valleys, and an even, temperate climate. There was no excessive
heat to make men drowsy and indolent, nor excessive cold to stunt them
in their growth and paralyze their energies. The earth did not, as in
the tropics, produce a luxurious vegetation which would support the
inhabitants without labor, but it offered sustenance to herds of cattle
which, with the proper care, would supply the simple needs of primitive
men. The race, thus situated, progressed physically as well as mentally,
until it became superior to all the tribes inhabiting the neighboring
regions. War followed, in which the weaker succumbed. The Aryans,
increasing rapidly in numbers, took possession of the conquered
territories, enslaved the indigenous population, or drove it back into
localities where the conditions of life were less favorable. It is not
positively known when the first migration on a large scale took place;
but some scholars have supposed that the Hindoos separated from the
parent race as early as 1500 B.C. The dates of the Greek, Italic,
Keltic, and Slavic migrations are likewise uncertain, and the period
which has been fixed upon for the Aryan occupation of Germany is also
conjectural. The same uncertainty prevails regarding the earliest
history of the Scandinavian tribes; although there is a strong
probability that their invasion of the countries which they now inhabit
must have taken place during the second century preceding the Christian
era. It is not unlikely that they left their Asiatic home simultaneously
with the Germans, with whom they were then almost, if not entirely,
identical, and that their conquering hordes spread northward, subduing
the Finns and Lapps, whom they found in possession of the land, partly
exterminating them, partly forcing them up into the barren mountains of
the extreme North. Among the tribes whose path of conquest was turned in
this direction, the Goths (_Gauter_), the Swedes (_Svear_), and the
Danes (_Daner_) were the most prominent, though several other names are
mentioned, both by native and foreign authors. The name Norseman, or
Northman, is not found among these, because it refers not to any of the
Aryan tribes, but is solely derived from the country in which they
settled. Their country soon became known as Norway (Noregr or Norvegr),
_i. e._, the Northern Way. It is the long strip of territory extending
north and south between the mountain chain Kjoelen, which separates it
from Sweden and the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. It looks on the map like
a big bag slung across the shoulders of Sweden.
It is a wonderful country--this land of the Norsemen. The ocean roars
along its rock-bound coast, and during the long, dark winter the storms
howl and rage, and hurl the waves in white showers of spray against the
sky. Great swarms of sea-birds drift like snow over the waters, and
circle screaming around the lonely cliffs. The aurora borealis flashes
like a huge shining fan over the northern heavens, and the stars glitter
with a keen frosty splendor. But in the summer all this is changed,
suddenly, as by a miracle. Then the sun shines warmly, even within the
polar circle; innumerable wild flowers sprout forth, the swelling rivers
dance singing to the sea, and the birches mingle their light-green
foliage with the darker needles of the pines. In the northern districts
it is light throughout the night, even during the few hours while the
sun dips beneath the horizon; the ocean spreads like a great burnished
mirror under the cloudless sky, the fishes leap, and the gulls and
eider-ducks rock tranquilly upon the shining waters. All along the coast
there are excellent harbors, which are free of ice both winter and
summer. A multitude of islands, some rocky and barren, others covered
with a scant growth of grass and trees, afford hiding-places for ships
and pasturage for cattle. Moreover, long arms of the ocean--the
so-called fiords--penetrate far into the country, and being filled with
water from the gulf-stream which strikes the western coast of Norway,
tend greatly to moderate the climate. About the shores of these fiords
narrow strips of arable land stretch themselves, with many
interruptions, along the edge of the water, and here the early Germanic
settlers built their houses and began their fight for existence. Behind
them and before them the great snow-hooded mountains rose threateningly,
sending down upon them avalanches, floods, and sudden whirlwinds. But,
nothing daunted, they clung to the soil, explored the land and the sea,
and selected the most favorable sites for their permanent dwellings.
[Illustration: STONE AXES FROM THE LATER STONE AGE.]
It is tolerably certain that the Aryan settlers in Norway knew at that
time very little of agriculture, but made their living by hunting,
fishing, and cattle-raising. The huts which they built of logs were rude
contrivances which could be easily torn down and moved. But, as at a
very early period, they began to devote themselves more to the culture
of the ground, their dwellings were made larger, and were built with
greater care. When a horde of warriors invaded a valley their first task
was to clear away the forests which grew dense and dark up over the
mountain sides. Their chieftain then built a _hov_ or temple for the
gods, where sacrifices were made at certain stated times. Whether it was
the chieftain's task to allot to each his share of land, or whether each
one chose according to his own preference, is not known, but the former
is the more probable; for the Norsemen, proud and pugnacious as they
were, subordinated themselves, in historic times, readily to their local
chiefs, and accorded them great honor. This sense of kinship within the
tribe and willing recognition of authority was the more important in
Norway, because the character of the ground there compelled the people
to live far apart on scattered _gaards_ or farms, between which
communication was often difficult. It would therefore have been easy for
the _boender_ or peasants to forget all public concerns and gradually to
lapse into isolation and savagery. But here their Germanic nature, which
had in it the germs of social progress, asserted itself. As the
centuries passed the people were bound more strongly together by common
pursuits and common interests. First of all, their religious observances
brought them together, then the necessity of defence against external
enemies. Life and property were in those days insecure possessions, and
it was only by acting in concert, under the leadership of a valiant
chief, that the scattered peasants could hope to preserve either. Men
had then fiercer and more inflammable passions than they have now, and
only fear of retaliation could teach them self-restraint.
[Illustration: STONE HAMMER.]
[Illustration: STONE USED FOR SHAPING IMPLEMENTS.]
It happened in this way that almost every separate valley in Norway
became a little kingdom by itself. Such a diminutive kingdom was called
a _fylki_. There was not always a king, but a chief there was always,
and sometimes more than one. To the king belonged the leadership in war.
He was in some district called a _jarl_ or earl, though this name came
in later times to mean not an independent ruler, but rather a
land-grave, a royal governor. The king could not tax the peasants for
his support, nor impose any burden upon them which they did not of their
own free choice accept. As a rule, his dignity was inherited by his son,
though the people were at liberty, in case they disapproved of the heir,
to select another. This right was repeatedly exercised in historic
times, both in Sweden and Norway. Sometimes, when the crops failed or
bad weather destroyed their herds, the peasants sacrificed their king to
their gods. All public misfortunes they interpreted as a sign that the
gods were angry, and craved bloody atonement. If the crops were good it
was evident that their king was in favor with the gods.
[Illustration: STONE KNIFE.]
It thus appears that the royal dignity among the early Norsemen was
burdened with unpleasant responsibilities. It involved more duties than
privileges, for, besides commanding in war, the king had also to conduct
the public sacrifices at the great pagan festivals. He was thus priest
as well as king. In fact, as before stated, he built the _hov_ or temple
himself, and it was chiefly his ownership of this, which raised him to a
dignity superior to that of other chieftains. It was by dint of this
same authority that he acted as judge at the _fylkis thing_, or popular
assembly, where all freeman met to consult concerning public and private
affairs. The _fylkis thing_ was neither a parliament nor a court of law,
but both combined. Private quarrels were settled, blood-wites or fines
agreed upon for homicides and other injuries, and resolutions taken
concerning peace and war. It was not a representative assembly, the
members of which were elected by vote, but rather a county meeting
(_shiremote_) where every man who could bear arms had a right to make
himself heard. You would scarcely wonder that where so many fierce and
turbulent warriors were gathered, breaches of the peace were frequent.
But when swords were drawn, it was impossible to judge and deliberate.
Therefore the _fylkis thing_ was hallowed, and to break the peace of the
_thing_ was regarded as the greatest of crimes. If a man killed another,
and publicly proclaimed himself his slayer, the crime could be atoned
for by money (blood-wite) paid to the nearest surviving relative of the
dead man. If the relatives accepted the blood-wite, they were not at
liberty to seek revenge. But in ancient times it was regarded as more
honorable to refuse the money and resort to the sword. If a man slew
another secretly and denied the crime he was held to be a murderer, and
could not offer blood-wite. He was then outlawed, and every man who saw
him was at liberty to slay him.
[Illustration: ADZE OF ELK-HORN.]
[Illustration: STONE WEDGE.]
[Illustration: ROCK PICTURE OF A SHIP AT LOKEBERG IN BOHUSLEN.]
Such were the Norsemen during the first centuries after their
settlement in their present home. In spite of their violence and
proneness to bloodshed, you will yet admit that they had many traits
which were admirable. They could recognize authority, and yet preserve
their sturdy sense of independence. Simple and imperfect as their
_fylkis things_ were, they suffice to show an aptitude for
self-government, and a recognition of the people itself, as the source
of authority. These tall blonde men with their defiant blue eyes, who
obeyed their kings while they had confidence in them, and killed them
when they had forfeited their respect, were the ancestors of the Normans
who under William the Conqueror invaded England, and founded the only
European state which has since reached the highest civilization and the
highest liberty, through slow and even stages of orderly development.
[Illustration: ROCK PICTURE AT BORGEN IN SMAALENENE.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
CHAPTER II.
THE RELIGION OF THE NORSEMEN.
The Icelander Snorre Sturlasson wrote in the thirteenth century a very
remarkable book, called the Heimskringla, or the Sagas of the Kings of
Norway. In this book he says that Odin, the highest god of the Norsemen,
was the chief who first led the Germanic tribes into Europe. He was a
great warrior and was always victorious. Therefore, when he was dead,
the people made sacrifices to him and prayed to him for victory. They
did not believe, however, that he was actually dead, but that he had
returned to his old home in Asia, whence he still watched their fortunes
and occasionally visited them in person. Many tales are told in the
sagas of people who had seen Odin, particularly when a great battle was
to be fought. He was represented as a tall, bearded man with one eye,
and clad as a warrior. He had two brothers, Vile and Ve, and many sons
and daughters who were worshipped like him and became gods and
goddesses. Odin and his children were called _Aesir_, which Snorre says
means Asia-men; and their home _Asgard_, or _Asaheim_, likewise
indicates their Asiatic origin. During their migrations the _Aesir_ came
in contact with another people, called the _Vanir_, with whom, after an
indecisive battle, they formed an alliance. The _Vanir_ then made common
cause with the _Aesir_ and were worshipped like them.
[Illustration: BRONZE SWORD. (Vestergoetland in Sweden.)]
Whether there is any basis of truth in this tradition, is difficult to
determine. We know that primitive nations usually make gods of their
early kings and chieftains, and worship them after death. Every year
that passes makes them look greater and more mysterious. In storms and
earthquakes, in thunder and lightning, they hear their voices and see
the manifestations of their power. More and more they become identified
with the elements which they are supposed to rule; the mighty attributes
of the sun, the sky, and the sea are given to them, and to each is
allotted his particular sphere of action. The chieftain who has been a
valiant warrior in his life-time is supposed to give victory to those
who call upon him. He who has excelled in the arts of peace continues to
rule over the seasons, and to give good crops and prosperity to those
who, by sacrifices, secure his good-will. This may have been the origin
of the Scandinavian gods; although many scholars maintain that they were
from the beginning personifications of the elements, and have never had
an actual existence on earth. But whether they were originally men or
sun-myths, interesting legends have been told about them which may be
worth recounting.
[Illustration: LOOR OR WAR HORN OF BRONZE. (Skaane.)]
In the beginning of time there were two worlds, Muspelheim, the world of
fire, whose king was Surtur, and Niflheim, the world of frost and
darkness. In Niflheim was the spring Hvergelmer, where dwelt the
terrible dragon Nidhoegger. Between these two worlds was the yawning
chasm Ginnungagap. The spring Hvergelmer sent forth twelve icy rivers,
which were called the Elivagar. These gradually filled up the chasm
Ginnungagap. As the wild waters rushed into the abyss, they froze and
were again thawed by the sparks that were blown from the fiery
Muspelheim. The frozen vapors fell as hoar-frost, and the heat imparted
life to them. They took shape and fashioned themselves into the Yotun or
giant Ymer, from whom descends the evil race of frost-giants.
Simultaneously with Ymer the cow Audhumbla came into being. She licked
the briny hoar-frost, and a mighty being appeared with the shape of a
man. He was large and beautiful, and was named Bure. His son was Boer,
who married the daughter of a Yotun, and got three sons, Odin, Vile, and
Ve. These three brothers slew the Yotun Ymer, and in his blood all the
race of Yotuns was drowned except one couple, from whom a new race of
giants descended. Then Odin and his brothers dragged the huge body of
Ymer into the middle of Ginnungagap, and fashioned from it the world.
Out of the flesh they made the earth, the bones became stones and lofty
mountains, and his blood the sea. From his hair they made the trees, and
from his skull the great vault of the sky. His brain they scattered in
the air, where its fragments yet float about in queer, fantastic shapes,
and are called clouds. The flying sparks from Muspelheim they gathered
up and fashioned them into sun, moon, and stars, which they flung up
against the blue vault of the sky. Then they arranged land and water so
that the ocean flowed round about the entire earth, and beyond the
watery waste they fixed the abode of the Yotuns. This cold and barren
realm beyond the sea is therefore called Utgard or Yotunheim. From the
earth to the sky they suspended a bridge of many colors, which they
named Bifrost or the rainbow. The Yotun woman Night married Delling (the
Dawn) and became the mother of Day, who rode in his shining chariot
across the sky, always followed by his dark mother. The latter drove a
huge black horse named Hrimfaxe, from whose foamy bit dropped the dew
that refreshed the grass during the hours of darkness, while Day's
horse, Skinfaxe, spread from his radiant mane the glorious light over
the earth. It is further told that the heat bred in Ymer's body a
multitude of maggots, which assumed the shapes of tiny men and were
called gnomes or dwarves. They live in caves and mountains, and know of
all the treasures of gold and silver and precious stones in the secret
chambers of the rocks. They also have great skill in the working of
metals, but they cannot endure the light of the sun. Last of all man was
created. One day when the three gods, Odin, Hoener, and Lodur were
walking on the shores of the sea they found two trees, and from these
they made a man and a woman, named Ask and Embla (ash and elm). Odin
gave them the breath of life, Hoener, speech and reason, Lodur, blood and
fair complexions.
[Illustration: BRONZE SWORD. (Sandherred.)]
The old Norsemen conceived of the world as an enormous ash tree, named
Ygdrasil, the three roots of which extend, one to the gods in Asgard,
another to Yotunheim, the third to Niflheim. On the third gnaws
continually the dragon Nidhoegger. In the top of the tree sits an eagle;
among the branches four stags are running; and up and down on the trunk
frisks a squirrel who carries slander and endeavors to make mischief
between the eagle and the dragon. Under the root which stretches to
Yotunheim is the fountain of the wise Yotun Mimer, to whom Odin gave one
of his eyes in return for a draught from his fountain. For whoever drank
from its water became instantly wise. Under the second root of the ash,
which draws its nourishment from heaven, is the sacred fountain of Urd,
whither the gods ride daily over the bridge Bifrost. Here they meet the
three Norns--Urd, Verdande, and Skuld (Past, Present, and Future), the
august goddesses of Fate, whose decrees not even the gods are able to
change. The Norns pour the water of the fountain over Ygdrasil's root,
and thereby keep the world-tree alive. They govern the fates of gods
and men, giving life or death to whomever they please.
[Illustration: BUCKLE FROM THE EARLY IRON AGE. FOUND AT HETLAND IN
STAVANGER AMT.]
Odin dwells with all the other gods in Asgard, where he receives in his
shining hall Valhalla all those who have died by the sword. He is
therefore called Valfather, and those fallen warriors whom he chooses to
be his guests, are known as _einheriar_, _i. e._, great champions.
Valhalla is splendidly decorated with burnished weapons. The ceiling is
made of spears, the roof is covered with shining shields, and the walls
are adorned with armor and coats of mail. Hence the champions issue
forth every day and fight great battles, killing and maiming each other.
But every night they wake up whole and unscathed and return to Odin's
hall, where they spend the night in merry carousing. The maidens of
Odin--the Valkyries, who, before every battle, select those who are to
be slain, wait upon the warriors, fill their great horns with mead, and
give them the flesh of swine to eat.
The great gathering-place of the gods in Asgard is the plains of Ida.
Here is Odin's throne, where he sits looking out over the whole world.
At his side sit the two wolves--Gere and Freke, and on his shoulders the
ravens, Hugin and Munin, who daily fly forth and bear him tidings from
the remotest regions of the earth. If he wishes to travel, he mounts his
eight-footed horse Sleipner, which carries him far and wide with
wonderful speed. When the father of gods and men rides to battle he
wears a helmet of gold and a suit of mail, which shines dazzlingly from
afar. He carries also his spear Gungner, which he sends forth whenever
he wishes to arouse men to warfare and strife. But, besides being the
god of war, Odin also delights in poetry and sage counsel. He is the god
of the scalds or poets; for he had drunk of Suttung's mead, which
imparted the gift of song. He is well skilled in sorcery, and has taught
men the art of writing runes.
Thor, the son of Odin, lives in Thrudvang. He is the strongest of all
the gods, and has an enormous hammer, Mjolner, with which he carries on
a ceaseless warfare against the Yotuns, or mist-giants. He rides in a
cart drawn by two rams across the Gjallar bridge (the resounding
bridge), which leads to Yotunheim, and the rattling of the cart and the
noise of his hammer, as he hurls it at the heads of the fleeing giants,
make the vault of the sky tremble. This is what men call thunder. When
Thor is hungry, he kills his rams and eats their flesh, but he is always
careful to gather up the bones and to throw them back into the skins.
Then, the next morning, the rams are as frisky as ever and ready for
service. Thor has a wife named Sif, whose hair is of gold.
Balder, the good and the beautiful, is also the son of Odin. He is wise
and gentle, and kindness beams from his countenance. His wife is Nanna,
and his dwelling Breidablik.
Njord is ruler of the sea, and can raise storms and calm the waves at
his pleasure. He is of the race of the Vanir, but is yet worshipped as a
god. He is the owner of great wealth, and can give prosperity to those
who obtain his favor. Njord was married to the Yotun woman, Skade, but
was again separated from her. His abode is at Noatun, from which he has
wide view of the sea.
Frey, the son of Njord, rules over the seasons, and gives peace and good
crops. Fields and pastures grow, and the cattle thrive in the sunshine
of his favor. He lives with his wife Gerd in Alfheim. Tyr is the god of
courage, whom men call upon as they are about to go into battle. He has
but one hand, having thrust the other into the mouth of the
Fenris-Wolf, who bit it off. Brage is the god of song, and of vows and
pledges. He has a long beard, and, is possessed of wisdom and eloquence.
When men drained the horn in his honor, they made vows of daring deeds
which they would perform, and called the god to witness that they would
keep them. Many were those who, while drunk, pledged themselves to
foolhardy undertakings, and perished in the attempt to carry them out.
Brage's wife is the ever-young Idun. She has in her keeping the
wonderful apples, which the gods eat to preserve the beauty and vigor of
an eternal youth.
The watchman of the gods is named Heimdal. His senses are so keen that
nothing can escape him. He can see hundreds of miles, and he can hear
the grass grow. When he blows his Gjallar horn (the resounding horn),
its rousing call is heard throughout the world. Heimdal's dwelling is
Himinbjarg at the Bifrost Bridge.
Among gods of less consequence may be mentioned Uller, the step-son of
Thor, who is a master in running on snow-shoes; Forsete, the son of
Balder, who makes peace between those who have quarrelled; Hoeder, the
blind god, who shot Balder; and the silent Vidar.
Foremost among the goddesses is Frigg, the wife of Odin, who dwells in
Fensal. She shields from danger those who call upon her. Freya, the
Northern Venus, is the goddess of beauty. She is the daughter of Njord,
and was forsaken by her husband Odd, and is ever hoping for his return.
She travelled far and wide in search of him, and wept because she could
not find him. Her tears turned into gold, and gold is therefore by the
poets called the tears of Freya. Her chariot, in which she drives over
the sky, is drawn by cats, though at times she flies in the guise of a
swan and visits distant lands. Her necklace, Brising, made by
wonder-working gnomes, is of dazzling splendor. The dwelling of Freya is
Folkvang, and thither ascend the prayers of lovelorn swains and maidens.
Freya's daughter, Hnos, is of marvellous beauty and a sweet disposition.
Her name is still used in the nursery as a pet-name for babes.
The dominion of the sea does not belong entirely to Njord. The Yotun
Aeger rules over the towering waves, and lashes them into fury, until
Njord again curbs them and bids them be still. Yet Aeger is the friend
of the gods, and is at times visited by them in his magnificent
submarine hall, where ale and mead flow abundantly. He is himself
peaceably disposed toward men, but is overruled by his terrible wife
Ran, who with her nine daughters (the waves) causes shipwrecks and draws
the drowned men down to her watery abode.
One dweller in Asgard is still to be mentioned, and that is the evil
Loke, who disturbs the peace of the gods, and will work their final
ruin. He was born among the Yotuns, but gained the confidence of Odin by
his agreeable presence and his fair speech. He delighted in mischief and
loved evil-doing. He had three terrible children--the wolf Fenris, the
world-serpent, and Hel. As these monsters grew up, the gods foresaw that
their presence in Asgard would cause trouble. The wolf Fenris was,
therefore, after having broken the strongest chains, tied with a
magical cord, made of the noise of cats'-paws, women's beard, roots of
mountains, and other equally intangible things. This cord he could not
break. The world-serpent was thrown into the ocean, where it continued
to grow until it encircled all the earth and at last bit its own tail.
Hel was banished to Helheim, where she became the ruler of the dead, and
the goddess of the under-world.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
CHAPTER III.
THE AGE OF THE VIKINGS. THE ORIGIN OF THE VIKING CRUISES.
The Norsemen had up to the middle of the eighth century played no part
in the world's history. Their very existence had been unknown or but
vaguely known to the rest of Europe. But towards the close of the eighth
century they broke like a destructive tempest over the civilized lands,
spreading desolation in their path. When their fast-sailing ships with
two square sails were sighted at the river-mouths, people fled in
terror, and the priests prayed in vain: "Deliver us, O Lord, from the
rage of the Norsemen."
[Illustration: THE VIKING SHIP RECENTLY UNEARTHED AT GOGSTAD, NEAR
SANDEFJORD.]
There were several reasons for this sudden warlike activity on the part
of the Norsemen. They had waged war from immemorial times; because war
was with them the most honorable occupation. As Tacitus says of their
kinsmen, the Germans: "They deemed it a disgrace to acquire by sweat
what they might obtain by blood." But previous to the viking period they
had fought each other. One earl or king made foraging expeditions into
the land of his neighbors, and carried away with him whatever booty he
could lay hands on. But in this perpetual warfare one or the other must
at length become exhausted, and the stronger would be likely to oust or
vanquish the weaker. This was what happened in the north. Large tracts
of land, made up of small conquered kingdoms, were united under one
successful chief, who, of course, made haste to prevent depredations
within his own boundaries. With the growing power of these local kings,
it became more and more risky to attack them, and the field for domestic
warfare thus became constantly narrower. But war was the very condition
of the chieftain's existence among the early Norsemen. His honor was
dependent upon the number of his followers and the splendor of their
equipments, and to gain the means to entertain and to equip them he was
obliged to wage war. When he could no longer do it at home, he
naturally went abroad. It was neither ferocity nor excessive avarice
which impelled him to draw the sword; but the desire to preserve his
honor among men, which, in a warlike state, is merely another form of
the instinct of self-preservation. The high-born chieftain had to make
himself formidable in order to protect his life and property. He had to
live in accordance with his rank, if he wished to live at all. His
men-at-arms were his body-guard as well as his army. He had to behave
royally toward them in order to preserve their good-will; and next to
personal valor, liberality in giving was the first duty of a king. The
king is therefore called the breaker of rings (large solid arm-rings of
gold being used for purposes of payment) and the hater of gold.[A]
[Footnote A: Munch (Det Norske Folk's Historie, 1-124) derives the word
king (old Norse, konungr; Anglo-Saxon, cyning; O. H. German, chuninc and
chunig) from Kun or Kon, meaning race, descent; and interprets the word
as meaning (like Lat., generosus) of high birth or descent.]
There is in the earliest Germanic times no sharp distinction between the
titles "earl" and "king." The viking cruises, however, helped to
establish a distinction. The earl who, having gathered a large number of
warriors about him, went abroad for purposes of conquest, was hailed by
his men as king. A number of vikings, of high birth, assumed the name of
kings, when starting on warlike expeditions; but were known as
sea-kings, in contra-distinction to those who ruled at home over a fixed
domain. The number of these sea-kings increased (for the reasons cited
above) enormously toward the close of the eighth century. They harried
not only the coasts of the neighboring lands, but they crossed the
North Sea and the Baltic, carrying away or slaughtering the inhabitants
and destroying the cities. Churches and monasteries they plundered,
scattering the bones of the saints to the four winds; all that Christian
men held sacred they trod under foot. And yet we must bear in mind that
all we know about these early vikings is derived from the writings of
their enemies, who were smarting under the injury they had done them.
That they were fierce and brutal is credible enough. The warlike state
is in itself brutalizing. It arouses all the slumbering savagery in man,
and smothers his gentler impulses. But certain moral qualities even
their hostile chroniclers concede to them. They admit that the Norse
barbarians were, as a rule, faithful to their oaths and kept their
promises.
Three periods [A] are recognizable in the viking age, though there are,
in point of time, no sharp divisions between them. It would, perhaps, be
more correct to say that there were three kinds of vikings. The first
cruises were more or less tentative and irregular. Chieftains gather
about them crews for a few ships and sail over to England, Denmark, or
Flanders, where they attack a city or a monastery, and return home with
their booty. The second period shows an advance in the art of war and in
military experience. Several vikings attack in company some exposed
point, take possession of it, erect fortifications, and make forays into
the surrounding country. During the third period the Norsemen abandon
their character of pirates and assume the role of conquerors. With
large fleets, counting from one to five hundred ships, they storm and
sack cities, assume the government of the conquered territories, treat,
as regular belligerents, with kings and emperors, and establish
themselves permanently in the conquered land. Of the two first classes
of vikings we have only scattered and unreliable accounts. To go on
viking cruises is a recognized occupation in the Norse sagas, and it was
regarded as a kind of liberal education for a young man of good birth to
spend some years of his youth on such expeditions. His honor was thereby
greatly increased at home, and his position in society assured. Royal
youths of twelve or fifteen years often went abroad as commanders of
viking fleets, in order to test their manhood and accumulate experience
and knowledge of men.
[Footnote A: Sars: "Udsigt over den Norske Historie," 1-90.]
[Illustration: 1.--SIDE VIEW OF THE GOGSTAD VIKING SHIP. 2.--VIKING SHIP
RESTORED. 3.--DETAILS OF VIKING SHIP.]
The third class of vikings, the conquerors, have found their historians
both at home and abroad; and the different narratives, though not
strictly accurate, supplement and correct each other. It is these
conquering vikings who have demonstrated the historic mission of Norway,
and doubly indemnified the world for the misery they brought upon it.
The ability to endure discipline without loss of self-respect, voluntary
subordination for mutual benefit, and the power of orderly organization,
based upon these qualities, these were the contributions of the Norse
vikings to the political life of Europe. The feudal state, which, with
all its defects, is yet the indispensable basis of a higher
civilization, has its root in the Germanic instinct of loyalty--of
mutual allegiance between master and vassal; and the noble spirit of
independence which restrains and limits the power of the ruler, and at a
later stage leads to constitutional government, is even a more
distinctly Norse than Germanic characteristic. While Norway, up under
the pole, has developed a democracy, Germany, coming at too early a
period into contact with Rome, has developed a military despotism under
constitutional forms. The breath of new life which the vikings infused
into history lives to-day in Norway, in England, and in America.
Among the earliest conquests of the Norse vikings was a portion of the
present Sleswick which after them was called Nortmannia. It is possible
that they recognized the sovereignty of the kings of Denmark, though
there is no direct evidence that they regarded themselves as vassals.
The first intelligence we obtain concerning them is that their king
Sigfrid, in the year 777, received hospitably the Saxon chieftain
Widukind, who, when summoned to meet Charlemagne in Paderborn, fled
northward and sought refuge with his Norse co-religionists. This Sigfrid
belonged to the renowned race of the Ynglings, from whom descended
Harold the Fairhaired, and through him a long line of Norwegian kings. A
later king of Nortmannia, who also had great possessions in Norway, was
Gudroed or Godfrey the Hunter. He came, through the friendship of the
Saxons, repeatedly into collision with Charlemagne, and even threatened
to attack the emperor in Aachen. It is told that he was killed by his
own men in the year 809. He had about a year before attacked and slain
the king of Agder, whose daughter Aasa he married. She bore him a son
named Halfdan the Swarthy, but avenged her father's death by inducing
her servant to kill her husband while he was drunk. One of Godfrey's
sons, Erik, carried on an intermittent warfare with Charlemagne's son,
Louis the Pious, sent embassies to Aachen, and in 845, during the reign
of Louis the German, sacked and burned the city of Hamburg. St.
Ansgarius, the apostle of the North, who had been established by the
emperor as archbishop of Hamburg, fled with all his priests; and the
church and the monastery which he had founded were utterly destroyed.
It was not only in his remote northern domains that Charlemagne came in
contact with the vikings. The chronicles of the Monks of St. Gall relate
that he also encountered them in his Mediterranean provinces. Once, as
he was visiting a city in Gallia Narbonensis, some fast-sailing Norse
ships with square sails were seen out in the harbor. Soon a message was
brought to the emperor that the crews had landed and were plundering the
shore. Nobody then knew to what nationality these ships belonged, some
conjecturing that they were Jewish, others African, and again others
that they were British merchant vessels.
"No," said Charlemagne, "these ships are not filled with merchandise,
but with the most pugnacious foes."
Hearing this everybody seized his weapons and hastened to the harbor;
but the vikings had in the meanwhile learned that the emperor was in the
city, and as they were not strong enough to fight with him, they fled
to sea.
[Illustration: ST. ANSGARIUS, THE APOSTLE OF THE NORTH.]
It is related that Charlemagne, as he stood at his window and watched
their flight, wept. Remarking the wonder of his men, he said:
"I do not weep because I fear that these miscreants can do me any harm;
but I am grieved that, while I am alive, they have dared to show
themselves upon this coast; and I foresee with dread all the evil they
will do to my descendants."[A]
[Footnote A: Munch (Det. Norske Folks Historie 1-414) questions the
credibility of this story, because the Norsemen did not show themselves
in the Mediterranean as early as the chronicle here indicates; in fact
not before 800 A.D.]
This story, endowing the emperor with prophetic vision, has a certain
legendary flavor, and may be a monkish invention. Similar prophecies,
dating after the event, are found in other ecclesiastical authors, and
show sufficiently the feeling with which the Norsemen were regarded. It
is especially one typical viking, the renowned Hasting, who figures both
in sacred and profane chronicles. He sailed up the Loire in 841, with a
large fleet, burned the city of Amboise, and besieged Tours. The
inhabitants, however, carried the bones of their patron saint up on the
walls; and, according to the story, by the intervention of the saint,
the vikings were put to flight. In 845, Hasting is reported to have
attacked Paris, in company with Bjoern Ironside, the son of Ragnar
Lodbrok. To the Baltic and even to the shore of the Mediterranean this
fearless marauder extended his ravages, and as success attended his
banner, he grew more daring and determined to lay siege to Rome.
He even aspired to put the imperial crown upon his brow. With as large a
fleet as he could muster he sailed through the Pillars of Hercules, but
before he reached the mouth of the Tiber, a storm drove his ships to the
city of Luna, near Carrara. Being poorly versed in geography, Hasting
mistook this city for Rome, and resolved to capture it by strategem.
[Illustration: IRON IMPLEMENT OF FREQUENT OCCURRENCE; USE UNKNOWN.]
He sent word to the bishop that he was very ill and desired to be
baptized, so that he might die a Christian. The bishop, as well as the
commander of the town, fell into the trap. Delighted at the prospect of
gaining so valuable a convert, they opened the gates and invited the
Norsemen to enter. These, in the meanwhile, declared, that since sending
his message, Hasting had died; and with great pomp they bore his coffin,
followed by a funeral procession of enormous length, into the cathedral
where the bishop stood ready to read the mass for the repose of the
viking's soul. Suddenly, however, as the coffin was deposited before the
altar and the mass commenced, Hasting sprang up, flung away his shroud,
and stood in flashing armor before the astonished populace. His men, at
this signal, also flung off their mourning cloaks and drew their
swords. The bishop and his priests were killed, and blood flowed in
torrents through the sacred aisles. A terrible carnage ensued, and the
city was captured. Having accomplished this enterprise, Hasting
discovered that, while deceiving, he had himself been deceived. It was
not Rome he had taken after all. Whether he accepted this as an omen or
not, he lost his desire to make his entry into the eternal city. Content
with the booty he had accumulated, he turned his prows toward France
where he became the vassal of Charles the Bald, from whom he received
valuable fiefs.[A]
[Footnote A: The Norse Sagas make no mention of Hasting, and Munch
(1-429) gives several reasons for questioning whether he was an
historical character.]
Many other vikings are mentioned in chronicles of later date, who by
their incessant attacks upon the coasts, taxed the energy of the weak
Carolingian kings to the utmost. One of them, named Ragnar, is said to
have plundered Paris in 845, and another, named Asgeir, had four years
earlier sacked and burned Rouen and the monastery Jumieges. He spent
eleven years ravaging the coasts of France, and finally, in 851, sailed
up the Seine, destroyed the monastery Fontenelle and burned Beauvois. On
his return to the sea he was defeated by the French, and had to hide
with his men in the woods, but succeeded in recapturing his ships and
making good his escape. Of a third one, Roerek, it is told that about the
year 862 he accepted Christianity, without, as it appears, experiencing
any perceptible change of heart. After having ravaged Dorestad and
Nimwegen, two flourishing cities on the Rhine, and having defended
himself heroically against King Lothair, the younger, he made peace
(873) with Louis the German, and refrained from further depredations.
[Illustration: TWO-EDGED SWORD. HILT OF SILVER AND BRONZE.]
There is a certain uniformity in the deeds of the vikings, whether they
be Norsemen or Danes, which makes further description superfluous. Only
a few of their more daring enterprises may be briefly alluded to.
To Ireland the Norsemen had been attracted at a comparatively early
period. In the last decade of the eighth century they destroyed the
monastery of Iona or Icolmkill, and between the years 810 and 830 they
spread terror and devastation along the entire coast. In the year 838
they sailed with one hundred and twenty ships up to Dublin and conquered
the city, under the leadership of Thorgisl, who still lives in Irish
song and story under the names of Turges and Turgesius.
"After many sharp fights," says an old author,[A] "he conquered in a
short time all Ireland, and erected, wherever he went, high
fortifications of masonry with deep moats, of which many ruins are yet
to be seen in the country." At last he fell in love with the daughter of
Maelsechnail, king in Meath, and demanded of him that he should send her
to him, attended by fifteen young maidens. Thorgisl promised to meet her
with the same number of high-born Norsemen on an island in Loch Erne.
But instead of maidens Maelsechnail sent fifteen beardless young men,
disguised as women and armed with daggers. When Thorgisl arrived he was
attacked by these and slain. On a previous occasion Maelsechnail had
asked Thorgisl what he should do to get rid of some strange and
injurious birds that had got into the country. "Destroy their nests,"
said Thorgisl. Accordingly Maelsechnail began at once to destroy the
Norse castles, while the Irish slew or chased away the Norsemen.
[Footnote A: Giraldus Cambrensis, _De Topogr. Hiberniae_, cap. 37. Quoted
from Munch, 1-438.]
[Illustration: BUCKLE FROM THE IRON AGE.]
It appears probable that Thorgisl's reign in Ireland lasted from 838 to
846, although a much longer period is given by the above-quoted
chronicler. A more enduring sway over the country was gained by the
Norse sea-king Olaf the White, who belonged to the great Yngling race.
In 852 a company of Danish vikings had possession of Dublin; but Olaf
defeated them and compelled them to send him hostages. He then
established himself in the city, built castles, and taxed the
surrounding country. Two other Norsemen, the brothers Sigtrygg and Ivar,
founded about the same time kingdoms--the former in Waterford, the
latter in Limerick--without, however, being able to compete with Olaf in
splendor and power. The dominion of the Norsemen in Dublin is said to
have lasted for three hundred and fifty years. From Irish sources a
somewhat different account is derived of these remarkable events. It is
told that the Norsemen often sailed up the rivers, not as warriors, but
as peaceful merchants, and that the Irish found it advantageous to trade
with them. They thus gained considerable possessions in the cities, and
when the vikings came there was already a party in the larger cities who
favored them and made their conquests easy.
From Dublin Olaf the White made two cruises to Scotland, laid siege to
Dumbarton, sailed southward to England, plundering and ravaging, and
returned to Dublin with two hundred ships laden with precious booty. The
Orkneys, the Hebrides, and the Faroe Isles were also, during this
period, repeatedly visited by the vikings, and even to Iceland
expeditions were made, which did not, however, result in permanent
settlement. The Irish hermits and pious monks, who had retired from the
world into the Arctic solitude, were disturbed in their devotions by the
unwelcome visitors, and the majority returned to Ireland, while some are
said to have remained until the island was regularly settled by the
Norsemen.
To England the Norsemen went for the first time with hostile intent in
787. During the reign of King Beorthric in Wessex a small flock of
vikings landed in the neighborhood of Dorchester, killed some people,
and were driven away again. The Anglo-Saxon chronicle [A] relates the
incident in these words:
[Footnote A: _Monum. Hist. Brit._, pp. 336, 337. Quoted from Munch, i.,
416.]
"In this year (787) King Beorthric married Eadburg, daughter of King
Offa. In those days came for the first time Northmen and ships from
Heredhaland. The _gerefa_ (commander) rode down to them and wished to
drive them to the king's dwelling. For he knew not who they were; but
they slew him there. These were the first ships belonging to Danish men
which visited England."
It is noticeable that the ships are said in the same breath to have
belonged to Northmen and to Danes, and it is obvious that the chronicler
supposes the terms to be synonymous. The Heredhaland from which the men
came was in all probability Hardeland in Jutland, where the Norsemen had
at that time a colony.
The next attack of which we have an account was directed against the
coast of Northumberland, and took place in the year 794. The monk
Simeon of Durham,[A] who lived in the beginning of the twelfth century,
writes as follows:
[Footnote A: Simeon of Durham, _Monum. Hist. Brit._, p. 668. Quoted from
Munch, i., 417.]
"The heathen came from the northern countries to Britain like stinging
wasps, roamed about like savage wolves, robbing, biting, killing not
only horses, sheep, and cattle, but also priests, acolytes, monks, and
nuns. They went to Lindisfarena church, destroying every thing in the
most miserable manner, and trod the sanctuary with their profane feet,
threw down the altars, robbed the treasures of the church, killed some
of the brothers, carried others away in captivity, mocked many and flung
them away naked, and threw some into the ocean. In 794 they harried King
Ecgfridh's harbor, and plundered the monastery of Donmouth. But St.
Cuthbert did not permit them to escape unpunished; for their chieftain
was visited with a cruel death by the English and, a short time after,
their ships were destroyed by a storm, and many of them perished; a few
who swam ashore were killed without pity."
It is an odd circumstance that while an incessant stream of Norse
vikings, during the first half of the ninth century, poured southward,
devastating the shores of the Baltic and the Mediterranean, only a
comparatively small number found their way to England. We hear in the
Sagas of many individual warriors who visited the Saxon kings in England
and took service under them, and of several who sailed up the Thames and
put an embargo on the trade of the river, capturing every ship that
ventured into their clutches. But as a field for conquest they left
England (probably not from any fraternal consideration) to their
kinsmen, the Danes, while they themselves turned their attention to
France, Ireland, and the isles north of Scotland. In the Hebrides, the
Orkneys, the Shetland Islands, and the Faeroe Isles, their descendants
are still living, and Norse names are yet frequent.
[Illustration: RUIN OF NORSE TOWER AT MOSOe, SHETLAND ISLANDS.]
Another notable circumstance in connection with the vikings is, that
the very men whom foreign chroniclers describe as stinging wasps and
savage wolves, and of whom the greatest atrocities are related during
their sojourn abroad, became, as a rule, after their return home, men of
weight and influence, with respect for tradition and law--men who,
according to the standard of the time, were moral and honorable. There
were exceptions, of course, but they go to prove the rule. The
explanation is not far to seek. Religion in those days was tribal, and
morality had no application outside the tribe. Every people is the
chosen people of its own god or gods. As the Jews divided humanity into
Jews and Gentiles, and the Greeks into Greeks and barbarians, so the
Norsemen retaliated towards Jews and Greeks, by including them with all
other nations in the Norse equivalent for barbarians. English, Irish,
and Germans, often men of high birth, were constantly brought to Norway
by the vikings as thralls, bartered and sold and forced to menial tasks.
No law extended its protection to them; and yet maltreatment of thralls
was, both in Iceland and Norway, regarded as unworthy of a freeman. For
all that, the vikings were children of their age, and practised only the
rude morality which their religion prescribed. The humanitarian
sentiment which regards all men as brethren and creatures of the same
God is a comparatively modern growth, and it would be unfair to judge
the old Norsemen by any such advanced standard. It is therefore quite
credible that the vikings may have been guilty of deeds abroad which
they would not have committed at home.
[Illustration]
CHAPTER IV.
HALFDAN THE SWARTHY.
The Yngling race traced its ancestry from the god Frey. Snorre
Sturlasson, in his famous work, "The Sagas of the Kings of Norway,"[A]
mentions a long line of kings who were descended from Fjoelne, a son of
Frey, and reigned in Sweden having their residence in Upsala. Yngve was
one of the god's surnames, and Yngling means a descendant of Yngve. One
of the Ynglings, named Aun the Old, sacrificed every ten years one of
his sons to Odin, having been promised that for every son he sacrificed,
ten years should be added to his life. When he had thus slain seven
sons, and was so old that he had to be fed like an infant, his people
grew weary of him and saved the eighth son, whom he was about to
sacrifice. Ingjald Ill-Ruler, when he took the kingdom on the death of
his father Anund, sixth in descent from Aun the Old, made a great
funeral feast, to which he invited all the neighboring kings. When he
rose to drink the Brage goblet,[B] he vowed that he would increase his
kingdom by one half toward all the four corners of the heavens, or die
in the attempt. As a preliminary step he set fire to the hall, burned
his guests, and took possession of their lands. When he died, about the
middle of the seventh century, he was so detested by his people that
they would not accept his son, nor any of his race, as his successor.
The son, whose name was Olaf, therefore gathered about him as many as
would follow him, and emigrated to the great northern forests, where he
felled the trees, gained much arable lands, and thereby acquired the
nickname The Wood-cutter.[C] He and his people became prosperous, and a
great influx of the discontented from the neighboring lands followed. In
fact, so great was the number of immigrants that the country could not
feed them, and they were threatened with famine. This they attributed,
however, to the fact that Olaf was not in the favor of the gods, and
they sacrificed him to Odin.
[Footnote A: "The Heimskringla, or the Sagas of the Kings of Norway," by
the Icelander Snorre Sturlasson, was written in the twelfth century, and
continued by his nephew Sturla Thordsson, is the principal source of the
history of Norway up to the middle of the thirteenth century.]
[Footnote B: The toast to the god Brage.]
[Footnote C: Tretelgja.]
His son, Halfdan Whiteleg,[A] was a great warrior. He conquered
Raumarike in Norway and the great and fertile district called Vestfold,
west of the fjord called Folden (now the Christiania Fjord). Here he
founded a famous temple in Skiringssal, which soon became a flourishing
trading station and a favorite residence of the Norwegian kings. The
third in descent from him was the great viking Godfrey the Hunter, who
waged war against Charlemagne, and Godfrey's son was Halfdan the
Swarthy.
[Footnote A: Hvitbein.]
Halfdan was but a year old in 810 when his father was killed. At the
age of eighteen, he assumed the government of Agder, which he inherited
from his maternal grandfather. By warfare and by marriage he also
increased the great possessions he had received from his father, and,
was, beyond dispute, the mightiest king in all Norway. It is told of him
that he was a man of great intelligence, who loved justice and truth. He
gave laws which he himself kept and compelled every one else to keep. In
order that no one should with impunity tread the law under foot, he
fixed a scale of fines which offenders should pay in accordance with
their birth and dignity. This code was the so-called Eidsiva-Law, which
had great influence in politically uniting the southern districts of
Norway which Halfdan had gathered under his sway.
About King Halfdan's second marriage a story is told, which, whether
originally true or not, has obviously been the subject of legendary
adornment. It runs as follows:
There was a king in Ringerike whose name was Sigurd Hjort. He was a
large and strong man. He had a daughter named Ragnhild, who was very
beautiful, and a son named Guttorm. While Sigurd Hjort was out hunting
he was attacked by the _berserk_ [A] Hake and thirty men. He fought
desperately, and slew twelve of his assailants, and cut off Hake's hand,
but in the end he had to bite the dust. The berserk then rode to his
house and carried away Ragnhild and Guttorm, besides much valuable
property. He determined to marry Ragnhild and would have done so at
once, if his wound had not grown constantly more painful. At Yule-tide,
when King Halfdan came to feast in Hedemark, he heard of the outrage and
resolved to punish it. He sent one of his trusted warriors, named Haarek
Gand, with a hundred armed men to Hake's house; they arrived in the
early morning before any one was awake. They set sentinels at all the
doors, then broke into the sleeping-rooms and carried off Sigurd Hjort's
children and the stolen goods. Then they set fire to the house and
burned it up. Hake escaped, but seeing Ragnhild drive gayly away over
the ice with King Halfdan's men, he threw himself upon his sword and
perished. Halfdan the Swarthy became enamored of Ragnhild, as soon as he
saw her, and made her his wife.
[Footnote A: Berserks or berserkir were champions of extraordinary
strength, who in battle were possessed with a sanguinary fury which made
them irresistible. Many of them were reputed to be were-wolves, and to
be invulnerable.]
While Queen Ragnhild was with child she dreamed marvellous dreams. Once
she seemed to be standing in the garden, trying to take a thorn out of
her chemise, but the thorn grew in her hand until it was like a long
spindle--the one end of which struck root in the earth, while the other
shot up into the air. Presently it looked like a big tree, and it grew
bigger and bigger and taller and taller, until she stood in its shade
and her eye could scarcely reach to the top of it. The lower part of the
tree was red as blood; further up the trunk was green and fair, and the
branches were radiantly white like snow. They were, however, of very
unequal size, and it seemed to her that they spread out over the whole
kingdom of Norway.
King Halfdan was much puzzled at hearing this dream, and perhaps a
little jealous too. Why was it that his wife had such remarkable dreams,
while he had none? He consulted a wise man as to the cause of this, and
was by him advised to sleep in a pig-sty; then he would be sure to have
remarkable dreams. The king did as he had been told, and dreamed that
his hair was growing very long and beautiful. It fell in bright locks
about his head and shoulders, but the locks were of unequal length and
color; some seemed like little curly knots just sprouting from his
scalp, while others hung down over his back, even unto the waist. But
one lock there was that was brighter and more beautiful than all the
rest.
The king related this dream to his sage friend, who interpreted it to
mean that a mighty race of kings should spring from him, and that his
descendants, though some of them should attain to great glory, should be
unequal in fame. But one of them should be greater and more glorious
than all the rest. The longest and brightest lock, says Snorre, was
supposed to indicate Olaf the Saint.
When her time came, the queen bore a son who was named Harold. He grew
rapidly in stature as in intelligence, and was much liked by all men. He
was fond of manly sports and won admiration by his strength and his
beauty. His mother loved him much, while his father often looked upon
him with disfavor. Of his childhood many tales are told which cannot lay
claim to credibility. Thus, it is said, that once, while King Halfdan
was celebrating Yule-tide on Hadeland, all the dishes and the ale
suddenly disappeared from the table. The guests went home, and the king,
full of wrath, remained sitting. In order to find out who had dared thus
to trifle with his dignity, he seized a Finn, who was a sorcerer, and
tormented him. The Finn appealed to Harold, who, contrary to his
father's command, rescued him and followed him to the mountains. After a
while, they came to a place where a chieftain was having a grand feast
with his men. There they remained until spring, and when Harold was
about to take his leave, his host said to him: "Your father took it much
to heart that I took some meat and beer away from him last winter; but
for what you did to me I will reward you with glad tidings. Your father
is now dead, and you will go home and inherit his kingdom. But some day
you will be king of all Norway."
[Illustration: BUCKLE WITH BYZANTINE ORNAMENTATION, FOUND AT HOEN IN
EKER.]
When Harold returned home, he found that the chieftain had spoken the
truth. His father had been drowned while driving across the ice on the
Randsfjord (860). He was mourned by all his people; for there had been
good crops during his reign, and he had been a wise ruler and much
beloved. When it was rumored that he was to be buried in Ringerike, the
men of Hadeland and of Raumarike came and demanded that the corpse be
given to them for burial. For they believed that the favor of the gods
would rest upon the district where the king's barrow was. At last they
agreed to divide the body into four parts. The men of Ringerike kept the
trunk; the head was buried at Skiringssal in Vestfold; and the rest was
divided between Hadeland and Hedemark. For a long time, sacrifices were
made upon these barrows, and King Halfdan was worshipped as a god.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
CHAPTER V.
HAROLD THE FAIRHAIRED (860-930).
Harold was only ten years old when his father died, and the kings whom
Halfdan had conquered thought that the chance was now favorable for
recovering what they had lost. But Harold's guardian Guttorm, his
mother's brother, conducted the government with power and ability, and
assisted his nephew in his efforts to put down his enemies. A long
series of battles was fought in which Harold was usually victorious. It
was but natural that the young king, flushed with success, should
resolve to extend his domain. He knew that there was no king in Norway
whose power and resources were equal to his own, and the determination
to conquer the whole country may therefore have naturally ripened in his
mind. Snorre, however, tells a different story, and as it is a very
pretty one, it may be worth repeating.
There was a maid named Gyda, the daughter of King Erik of Hoerdaland; she
was being fostered by a rich yeoman in Valders. When Harold heard of her
beauty, he sent his men to her and asked her to become his mistress. The
maid's eyes flashed with anger while she listened to this message, and
throwing her head back proudly she answered: "Tell your master that I
will not sacrifice my maidenly honor for a king who has only a few
counties to rule over. Strange it seems to me that there is no king here
who can conquer all Norway, as King Erik has conquered Sweden and King
Gorm Denmark."[A]
[Footnote A: King Gorm had not at that time conquered Denmark.]
The messengers, amazed at her insolence, warned her to give a more
conciliatory answer. King Harold was surely good enough for her, they
thought; but she would not listen to them. When, at last, they took
their leave, she followed them out and said:
"Give this message from me to King Harold. I will promise to become his
wedded wife, on this condition, that he shall for my sake conquer all
Norway, and rule over it as freely as King Erik rules over Sweden and
King Gorm over Denmark. For only then can he be called the king of a
people."[B]
[Footnote B: Tjodkonungr.]
When the messengers returned, they advised the king to break the girl's
pride by sending them to take her by force. But the king answered: "This
maid has not spoken ill and does not deserve to be punished. On the
contrary, she deserves much thanks for her words. She has put something
into my mind, of which I wonder that it has not occurred to me before.
But this I now solemnly vow, and call God to witness who made me and
rules over all, that I will not cut or comb my hair until the day when I
shall have conquered all Norway; or if I do not, I shall die in the
attempt."
Guttorm praised Harold for these words, saying, that he had spoken like
a king.
In accordance with his promise, the young king now set about the task
which he had undertaken. He went northward with an army and conquered
Orkdale and Troendelag, the district about the Drontheim Fjord. In
Naumdale, north of Drontheim, there were two kings named Herlaug and
Rollaug. The former, when he heard of Harold's march of conquest, built
a great barrow, into which he entered with eleven of his men and had it
closed behind him. Rollaug, his brother, ordered his royal high-seat to
be carried to the top of a hill, and an earl's seat to be placed below,
at the foot of the hill. He seated himself in the royal seat, but when
he saw Harold approaching, he rolled from the king's seat into the
earl's seat, thereby declaring himself to be King Harold's vassal.
Harold tied a sword about his waist, hung a shield about his neck, and
made him Earl of Naumdale.
Wherever he went, Harold pursued the same policy. The old kings who
acknowledged his overlordship he reinstated as his earls in their former
dominions. Those who opposed him be killed or maimed. The earls were
really governors or representatives of the king's authority. They
administered justice in the king's name, and collected taxes, of which
they were entitled to keep one third on condition of entertaining sixty
warriors, subject to the king's command. Each earl had under him four or
more _hersir_ (sub-vassals), who held in fief a royal estate, of an
income of twenty marks, on condition of keeping twenty warriors ready to
serve the king. It will be seen that the feudal principle was the basis
of Harold's state. He deprived the peasants of their allodium, and
declared all land to be the property of the king. The cultivators of the
soil, from having been free proprietors, became the tenants of the king,
and in so far as they were permitted to retain their inherited estates,
derived this privilege no more from allodial but from feudal right. It
followed that the king could levy a tax on all land, and that every man
who refused to pay the tax forfeited his title. Also a personal tax,
which the peasants derisively called the nose-tax (because it was levied
in every household according to the number of noses), is said to have
been exacted by Harold, and to have caused much dissatisfaction. It is
added that many of the former kings who accepted earldoms from him,
found themselves in a better position, both financially and as to
authority, than they had been before. And this is scarcely to be
wondered at. Their royal title had conferred upon them no rights except
such as their people voluntarily conceded to them, and their chief
privilege amounted to a usage rather than a right to assume command in
war, and conduct the public sacrifices. Still it was only in rare cases
that they were willing to exchange this shadowy authority for the real
power which Harold, by right of conquest, conferred upon them.
A still greater antagonism did the introduction of the feudal land
tenure arouse among the free yeomanry, who in their fierce independence
could not endure any relation of enforced obedience and subordination.
Therefore rebellions against the royal authority, on a smaller or
greater scale, were of constant occurrence during the first half of
Harold's reign, and there are even indications that they continued much
longer. Many of his provinces he had to conquer twice, and it was only
the enormous odds in his favor, and the promptness and severity of his
punishments, which at length forced the disloyal to accept his sway. It
required an energy and resolution such as his to make a nation of all
these scattered, predatory, and often mutually hostile tribes; and his
uniform and systematic policy, as well as his uncompromising sternness,
in dealing with resistance, show that he was fully conscious of the
magnitude of his task.
It would be tedious to enumerate the battles he fought and the victories
he won. With every year that passed he approached nearer to his goal--to
be the ruler of all Norway. Many of the mightiest men in the land who
had hitherto held aloof now offered him their services, and were glad to
accept honors at his hands. Among these were the earl Haakon
Grjotgardsson of Haalogaland, and Ragnvald, late earl of Moere, who was
the father of Duke Rollo of Normandy, and through William the Conqueror
the ancestor of the kings of England. Ragnvald was a brave and sagacious
man, who assisted the king with counsel and with deeds, and became his
most intimate friend and adviser.
Less readily did the men of the great Rafnista family accept Harold's
overtures. Kveld-Ulf (Night-Wolf) pleaded old age, when the king sent
messengers to him, requesting him to enter his service. This was the
more disappointing to Harold, because he had counted on Kveld-Ulf's
using the great influence which he wielded, in his favor. He sent
messengers once more and offered Kveld-Ulf's son, Bald Grim, high
dignities if he would become his vassal. But Bald Grim replied that he
would accept no dignity which would raise him in rank above his father.
Then the king's patience was exhausted, and he would have resorted to
other arguments than verbal ones, if Kveld-Ulf's brother-in-law, Oelve
Nuva, had not interceded in his behalf. Oelve finally obtained the old
chieftain's consent to have his second son Thorolf enter the king's
service if he saw fit. Thorolf was then out on a viking cruise with
Oelve's brother, Eyvind Lambe, but he was expected home in the autumn.
On their return, both accepted Harold's offer and became his men.
Thorolf particularly rose rapidly in the king's favor, on account of his
intelligence, beauty, and courtly manners. The old Kveld-Ulf, however,
looked with suspicion upon their friendship, and hinted that he expected
that nothing good would come of it.
The kings of Sweden had from of old had claims on that part of Norway
which is called Viken.[A] Also Vermeland, which since the days of Olaf
the Woodcutter had belonged to the Ynglings, was declared to be an
integral part of Sweden, and the Swedish king, Erik Eimundsson, seized
the opportunity, while Harold was occupied with his conquests in the
north, to invade the latter province, besides Ranrike and portions of
Vingulmark.
[Footnote A: Viken was the country about the present Christiania Fjord,
and was divided into Vestfold, Vingulmark, and Ranrike (the present
Bohuslen in Sweden).]
When these tidings reached Harold, he hastened southward, fined and
punished those of the peasants who had promised allegiance to his enemy,
and finally went northward to Vermeland where, by a singular
coincidence, he met the Swedish king at a great feast given by the
mighty yeoman Aake. Probably to avoid bloodshed, the two kings and their
warriors were entertained in separate buildings; but while Harold and
his men were lodged in the new mansion and made to eat and drink out of
new horns and precious dishes, Erik's party were made to enjoy their
cheer in an old building, and their horns and dishes, though artfully
wrought, were not new. When the time came for leaving, Aake brought his
son to Harold and begged him to take him into his service. At this Erik
grew very wroth and rode away. Aake hastened to accompany him; and when
asked why he had made such a difference in the entertainment, he replied
that it was because Erik was old, while Harold was young.
"Thou must indeed remember that thou art my man," said King Erik.
"When thou sayest that I am thy man," answered the yeoman, "then I may
say with equal right that thou art my man."
This answer so angered the king that he drew his sword and killed Aake.
Harold, when he heard of his death, pursued his slayer but did not
succeed in overtaking him.
The princes and chieftains who had opposed Harold had, so far,
accomplished nothing but their own ruin. Those who still retained their
lands concluded that separately they could never hope to prevail
against him, and they therefore united and met the conqueror in 872 with
a great fleet in the Hafrs-Fjord.[A] The war-horns were blown, and King
Harold's ship was foremost, wherever the fight was hottest. In its prow
stood Thorolf, the son of Kveld-Ulf, who fought with splendid bravery,
and the brothers Oelve Nuva and Eyvind Lambe. The issue seemed long
doubtful, and many of the king's best men were slain; spears and stones
rained down in showers, and the arrows flew hissing through the air. At
last, Harold's _berserks_, seized with a wild fury, stormed forward, and
boarded the enemies' ships. The carnage was terrible, and one by one the
chieftains fell or fled. King Harold here won (as the sagas relate) one
of the greatest battles that was ever fought in Norway; and there was
from this day no longer any formidable opposition to him. Among the many
who were wounded at Hafrs-Fjord was Thorolf, and in fact all who had
stood before the mast in the king's ship, except the _berserks_. The
scald Thorbjoern Hornklove made a song about the victory, fragments of
which are still extant.
[Footnote A: Hafrs-Fjord is a little fjord in Jaederen, west of the
present city of Stavanger]
At a feast which shortly after the battle was given in his honor,
Harold's hair was cut by Ragnvald, the earl of Moere, and all marvelled
at its beauty. While he had formerly been called Harold Lufa, _i. e._,
the Frowsy-headed, he was now named Harold the Fairhaired. Having now
accomplished what he had set out to do, he married Gyda. The romance is,
however, spoiled by the fact that he had some years before married
Aasa, the daughter of the earl, Haakon [A] Grjotgardsson, and had by her
three sons--Halfdan the White, Halfdan the Swarthy, and Sigfrid. The
sons Gyda bore him were named Guttorm, Haarek, and Gudroed.
[Footnote A: The letter _aa_ in Norwegian (Icelandic _a_) is pronounced
like the English _aw_ in _hawk_. Haakon is therefore pronounced Hawkon;
Aasa, Awsa, etc. The modern Icelanders pronounce the sound like _ou_ in
_out_, _rout_. They say Houkon, Hourek, etc.]
In his relations with men Harold was no more faithful than in his
relations with women. He was a man of indomitable will and courage,
sagacious and far-seeing; shunning no means for the accomplishment of
his ends. He could not, however, endure the characteristics in others
which he valued in himself. When his jealousy was once aroused, it was
not easily again allayed. As is the manner of tyrants, he was apt to
humiliate those the most whom he had most exalted, and his suspicion
often fell upon those who least deserved it. The first victim of his
jealousy was Thorolf, the son of Kveld-Ulf, who, after the battle of
Hafrs-Fjord, had stood especially high in his favor.
Thorolf had by a wealthy marriage and by inheritance accumulated a large
fortune and lived in princely style. His liberality and winning exterior
made him hosts of friends, and his thrift and ability procured him the
means to practise a magnificent hospitality. The king had made him his
_sysselmand_, or bailiff, in Haalogaland, and Thorolf particularly
distinguished himself by the energy and shrewdness which he displayed
in collecting the tax from the Finns, who, as a rule, were not anxious
to make contributions to the royal treasury. During a journey which
Harold made through Haalogaland, Thorolf made a feast for him, the
splendor of which had never been equalled in those parts of the country.
There were in all eight hundred guests--five hundred of whom Thorolf had
invited, while three hundred were the attendants of the king. To the
astonishment of his host, Harold sat, dark and silent, in the high-seat,
and seemed ill-pleased with the efforts that were made to entertain him.
Toward the end of the feast he repressed his ill-humor, however, and
when his host at parting presented him with a large dragon-ship with
complete equipment, he seemed much pleased. Nevertheless, it was not
long before he deprived him of his office as royal bailiff, then
espoused the cause of his enemies, and used all sorts of contemptible
slanders as a pretext for attacking him on his estate, Sandness, and
burning his house. When Thorolf broke out through the burning wall, he
was received with a hail-storm of spears. Seeing the king he rushed
toward him, with drawn sword, and cut down his banner-bearer; then, when
his foe was almost within reach of his sword, fell, crying: "By three
steps only I failed." It was said that Harold himself gave him his
death-wound, and he later avowed himself as his slayer to the old
Kveld-Ulf. When he saw his former friend lying dead at his feet, he
looked sadly at him; and when a man passed him who was busy bandaging a
slight wound, he said: "That wound Thorolf did not give thee; for
differently did weapons bite in his hands. It is a great pity that such
men must perish."
When Kveld-Ulf heard of his son's death, his grief was so great that he
had to go to bed. But when he heard that it was the king who had slain
him, and that he had fallen prone at his slayer's feet, he got up and
was well content. For when a dying man fell on his face, it was a sign
that he would be avenged. In the meanwhile, being far from powerful
enough to attack Harold openly, the old man gathered all his family and
his goods and set out for Iceland; but lingered long along the coast of
Norway, in the hope of finding some one of Harold's race upon whom he
could wreak vengeance. In this he was successful. The two sons of
Guttorm, Harold's uncle and former guardian, were sailing northward with
two of the king's men. These Bald Grim and Kveld-Ulf attacked, killed
the king's cousins, and captured the ship. Then, wild with exultation,
Bald Grim mounted the prow and sang:
Now is the Hersir's vengeance
On the king fulfilled.
Wolf and eagle tread on
Yngling's children.
Seaward swept flew Halvard's
Lacerated corpse,
And the eagle's beak
Tears Snarfare's wounds.
From that time forth, there was a blood-feud between the Yngling race
and Kveld-Ulf's descendants, and the famous saga of Egil, Bald Grim's
son, tells of a long chain of bloody deeds which all had their origin in
the king's treachery to Thorolf.
Kveld-Ulf and Bald Grim were not the only chieftains who sought refuge
abroad from Harold's oppression. After the battle of Hafrs-Fjord, when
the king proceeded with uncompromising rigor to enforce the feudal
system, several thousand men, many of whom belonged to the noblest
families of the land, crossed the sea, and found new homes in the
Orkneys and the Hebrides, whence again many found their way to Iceland.
A great number also sailed direct for the latter country, and the
so-called Landnama book (the Domesday Book of Iceland) has preserved the
names, and, at times, bits of the history of the most important original
settlers. Much as we may sympathize with the indomitable spirit which
made these men sacrifice home and country for a principle, there is also
another view of the case which has to be considered. Harold the
Fairhaired was founding a state, which would support a higher
civilization than could possibly be developed among a loose
agglomeration of semi-hostile tribes. The idea of a national unity,
which was the inspiration of his work, required the enforcement of an
organic system which to the independent chieftains must have appeared
extremely oppressive. The payment of taxes, which to the citizen of the
modern state is not apt to appear humiliating, seemed to the Norse
chieftains unworthy of a freeman. When Harold commanded them to refrain
from robbing and plundering expeditions within the confines of his
kingdom, they felt outraged, and could see no reason why they should
submit to such unwarrantable curtailment of time-honored privileges.
One of them, Rolf, or Rollo, son of the king's friend, Ragnvald, Earl of
Moere, defied the order, made _strand-hug_ [A] in Viken, and was declared
an outlaw. Neither his father's influence, nor his mother's prayers,
could save him. Just on account of his high birth, Harold was determined
to make an example of him.
[Footnote A: Strand-hug was an enforced provisioning of the viking fleet
from the nearest inhabited country. It was the common practice of
vikings to make strand-hug, wherever they might happen to be.]
Rollo is known in the Norse sagas as Rolf the Walker, because he was so
tall and heavy that no horse could carry him. With a large number of
followers he sailed southward to France, and after having harried the
country for several years, made in 912 a compromise with King Charles
the Simple, by which he was to accept Christianity and receive a large
province in fief for himself and his descendants. This province was
named Normandy; and has played a large role in the history of the world.
It is told of Rollo that when he was requested to kiss the king's foot
in token of fealty, he answered: "I will never bend my knee before any
man; nor will I kiss any one's foot." After much persuasion, however, he
permitted one of his men to perform the act of homage for him. His proxy
stalked sullenly forward, and pausing before the king, who was on
horse-back, seized his foot and lifted it to his lips. By this manoeuvre,
the king came to make a somersault, at which there was great laughter
among the Norsemen. Rollo did literally, like the poor boy in the fairy
tale, marry the princess and get half the kingdom. For, it is told,
that Charles gave him for a bride his daughter Gisla, who, however, died
childless. He ruled his duchy with a rod of iron; and he must have
learned a useful lesson from King Harold, for it is said that he
restrained robbery with a firm hand, and hanged the robbers. So great
was the public security in his day, that the peasants could leave their
ploughs and tools in the field over night without fear of losing them.
Rollo's son was William Longsword, who was the father of Richard the
Fearless, who again had a son of his own name. This latter Richard,
surnamed the Good, had a son named Rollo, or Robert [A] the Magnificent,
who was the father of William the Conqueror.
[Footnote A: The first Duke Rollo had, when he was baptized, assumed the
name Robert.]
The emigration of the discontented yeomen and chieftains removed the
last obstacle to the organization of Harold's feudal state. According to
an approximately accurate calculation, about eight hundred heads of
families went with their households to Iceland, to the Scottish isles,
and to Jemteland, leaving behind them estates which were promptly
confiscated by the king. Those who endeavored to sell their lands met
with small success; for to buy the property of emigrants was considered
as an act hostile to the king. Great wealth was thus accumulated in
Harold's hands, and the means of rewarding his friends at the expense of
his enemies were at his disposal. The emigrants were, therefore, doubly
instrumental in cementing the state which they had endeavored to
destroy. A large number of officials were needed to superintend the
great landed estates, and Harold chose these from his immediate
dependents. The so-called Aarmaend were merely superintendents or
stewards, who took charge of the crown lands, and forwarded to the king
his share of the income. They were often thralls or freedmen, and were
looked down upon by the yeomanry as their inferiors. The earls, on the
other hand, who belonged to the old tribal aristocracy, held their land
in fief, and were, in a limited sense, proprietors, though their sons
could not, by any absolute right, claim to inherit them. It was,
however, the custom to continue such estates from father to son. The
third class of property was the land which the yeomanry had formerly
held by allodial right, and which they now held with as much security
and right of inheritance, as the king's nominal tenants. As long as they
paid their taxes, it was of course in the king's interest to leave them
unmolested.
It was natural that with his great wealth Harold should keep a court of
exceptional splendor. He was fond of song and story and always kept
scalds about him who sang his praise and glorified his deeds. He could
be generous when the occasion demanded, and would then scatter his gold
with royal liberality. But in little things he was reputed to be mean;
and it was a common complaint among his courtiers that they did not get
enough to eat. Some legends recounted by Snorre show that with all his
stern inflexibility toward men, he was easily deceived by women. Thus,
it is related that once, while he was at a Yule-tide feast, in
Guldbrandsdale, a Finn came to him and persuaded him to accompany him
to his tent. There he showed the king a girl named Snefrid, whose beauty
made a great impression upon him. He chatted with her for a while; then
drank a goblet of mead which the Finn brought him. No sooner had he
swallowed the liquid than he became so enamoured of Snefrid that he
refused to leave her, and demanded that she should that very day become
his wife. He loved her with such abandonment and passion that he
neglected the government and lived only for her. She bore him five sons
in rapid succession, and then died. Harold's grief knew no bounds. He
refused to have her buried, but sat staring at her beautiful corpse,
night and day. For, oddly enough, it is told that Snefrid's beauty
remained unchanged after death, and there was no sign of decay. All the
king's men feared that he had lost his reason, and one of them finally
persuaded him, on some pretext, to have the corpse moved. But the very
instant it was touched, the most hideous change occurred. The flesh
turned blue, and a terrible stench filled the room. The king then
recovered his reason, and ordered the body to be burned. But when it was
placed on the pyre, snakes, adders, toads, and horrible creeping things
teemed in and about it, so that no one could endure the sight of it.
Then Harold comprehended that he had been the victim of sorcery; and he
grew so angry that he chased away from him the children Snefrid had
borne him. And yet, strangely enough, it was this branch which endured
the longest, and from which a long line of kings descended. The names
of Snefrid's sons were Sigurd Rise (Giant), Gudroed Ljome, Halfdan
Haalegg (Longlegs), and Ragnvald Rettilbeine.
The only one of King Harold's wives who was of royal birth was Ragnhild,
the daughter of King Erik the Younger in South Jutland. She replied,
when he first sent messengers to woo her, that she would not marry the
mightiest king in all the world, if she had to put up with one thirtieth
part of his affection. To a second message she replied that she would
marry King Harold if he would put away all his other wives. This he
consented to do, and made Ragnhild his queen. She lived, however, only
three years after her marriage; and Harold then took back several of his
former wives and mistresses. Ragnhild had left him one son, Erik, whom
he loved the most of all his children.
Marriage was entirely a civil contract during the days of Germanic
paganism and was in no wise associated with religion or religious
ceremonies. It was an easy thing for a husband to obtain a divorce from
his wife, but it was customary to go through with this formality before
marrying a second. Open polygamy, as practised by Harold, was contrary
to custom and must have been regarded with reprobation by the people.
For all that, Harold was, during the latter part of his reign, a popular
ruler and well beloved both by yeomanry and chieftains.
As his children grew up, Harold began to reap some of the disadvantages
of his scattered family relations. His sons, having different mothers,
and having been fostered by yeomen in different parts of the country,
could scarcely be strongly conscious of their kinship. They were jealous
of each other, and particularly jealous of the mighty earls who sat like
little kings upon their estates ruling over land and people. It was to
give vent to this feeling that Halfdan Longlegs and Gudroed Ljome,
without any warning, attacked Ragnvald, the Earl of Moere, and burned him
up with sixty of his men. When Harold heard of this dastardly deed, he
gathered an army and resolved to punish his sons. Gudroed, who had taken
possession of the earldom after Ragnvald, surrendered without fighting,
while Halfdan Longlegs sailed with three ships for the Orkneys, where he
chased away Turf-Einar, the son of the Earl of Moere, and made himself
king of the islands. Turf-Einar returned, however, surprised Halfdan,
and put him to death in a barbarous manner. Although Halfdan had been a
rebel against the king's authority, and Turf-Einar in slaying him had
avenged his own father, Harold had no choice but to wreak vengeance upon
the slayer of his son. He accordingly sailed with a fleet for the
Orkneys, opened negotiations with Turf-Einar, and accepted as
"blood-atonement" sixty marks in gold. Whether it was on the same
occasion that he made a cruise to Scotland, harrying the coast, is
perhaps, doubtful. His chief purpose, as on a previous cruise in the
same waters, was to break up the various nests of vikings, who from this
convenient retreat made frequent attacks upon the coast of Norway during
the summer months.
A fertile cause of disagreement among Harold's sons was their jealousy
of Erik, whom their father conspicuously favored. When he was twelve
years old, Erik was given five ships to command, and with a choice crew
went on viking cruises. Much did the old king delight in hearing the
tales of his prowess, and the daring enterprises in which he had played
a part. The ominous surname "Blod-Oexe" (Blood-Axe) which the lad
acquired by his deeds in battle only endeared him the more to his
father. It was his love of this favorite son which induced him in his
fiftieth year (900) to commit an act, whereby he virtually undid the
great work of his life and brought misery upon unborn generations. He
called a _thing_ or general assembly of the people, probably at
Eidsvold, and made all his sons kings, on condition that they should,
after his death, acknowledge Erik as their overlord. To each he gave a
province to govern, permitting him to keep one third of the revenues for
himself, leaving one third for the earls, and sending one third to the
sovereign. The royal title should be inherited by all his direct
descendants in the male line, legitimate or illegitimate birth making no
difference. To the sons of his daughters he gave earldoms. In this
disastrous act of Harold, making no distinction between legitimate and
illegitimate children, lies the germ of the civil wars and terrible
internecine conflicts which ravaged the kingdom he had established and
exhausted its powers, until for four hundred years it sank out of sight,
and its name seemed to have been blotted out from among the nations. It
seems incredible that the wisdom and energy which had built up a great
state could be coupled with the unwisdom and the weakness which in the
end broke it down again. Harold evidently looked upon the royal office
as a piece of personal property which he had by his sword acquired, and
which all his male descendants had an equal right to inherit. At the
same time he must, after the experience he had had with his sons, have
known them too well to suppose that they would peacefully acquiesce in
his decision, living together in fraternal unity. If he cherished any
illusion, Erik lost no time in dispelling it. He first killed Ragnvald
Rettilbeine, the son of Snefrid, because he was said to be a sorcerer.
Next he attacked his brother Bjoern the Merchant (Farmand) because he
declined to pay him tribute, killed him and plundered his house. Halfdan
the Swarthy (Svarte) in Drontheim resolved to avenge this outrage,
concluding that none of Harold's sons were safe, as long as Erik was
permitted, with impunity, to take the law into his own hands. While Erik
was feasting at the farm, Selven, Halfdan surrounded the house and set
fire to it. Erik succeeded in escaping with four men, and he hastened
southward to complain to his father. King Harold, it is told, was
greatly incensed, collected his fleet and sailed to Drontheim, where
Halfdan, though with an inferior force, stood ready to meet him. The
battle was about to begin, when the scald, Guttorm Sindre, reminded the
two kings of a promise they had made him. Once he had sung a song in
their honor, and as he refused all the gifts they offered him, they both
swore that whatever he should ask of them, they would fulfil. "Now," he
said, "I have come to claim the guerdon of my song."
Hard as it was, they could not break their royal promise. Peace was
made, and father and son separated. Halfdan was permitted to keep his
province, but had to vow solemnly that he would henceforth make no
hostile demonstration against Erik. For all that the hatred between the
two lasted, though curbed for a while by the fear of the king.
[Illustration: GILT BUCKLE FOUND AT SKEDEMO IN NEDENES AMT.]
When Harold was nearly seventy years old, he took for his mistress Thora
of Moster, who on account of her great height was surnamed Moster-stang
(Moster-pole). She bore him a son who was named Haakon. Much
dissatisfaction was there among the king's other sons when this
late-comer made his appearance, and he would probably not have grown to
manhood, if an incident had not occurred which removed him beyond their
reach. The story told by Snorre in this connection is full of interest,
but sounds incredible. Once, it is told, messengers arrived from King
Ethelstan in England, bringing a precious sword to King Harold, who
accepted it and returned thanks.
"Now," said the messengers, "thou hast taken the sword, as our king
wished, and thou art therefore his sword-taker or vassal."
Harold was angry at having been thus tricked, but did not molest the
messengers. The next year, however, he sent his young son Haakon with an
embassy to Ethelstan. They found the king in London, and were well
received by him. The spokesman of the embassy then placed the boy,
Haakon, on Ethelstan's knee, saying, "King Harold begs thee to foster
this child of his servant-maid."
Ethelstan angrily drew his sword, as if he would kill the child; but the
spokesman said: "Now that thou hast once put him upon thy knee, thou
mayst murder him, if it please thee; but thereby hast thou not slain all
King Harold's sons."
To foster another man's child was in Norway regarded as an
acknowledgment of inferiority; and Harold had thus repaid Ethelstan in
his own coin. There are, however, several circumstances which make the
story suspicious. In the first place Ethelstan and his ancestors had had
too severe an experience of Norsemen and Danes to wish to challenge the
mightiest of them by a wanton insult; and again, it is more credible
that Harold sent his youngest son out of the country for his own
safety,[A] than in order to play an undignified trick upon a foreign
king. At all events, Haakon was treated with the greatest kindness by
the English king, and won his affection.
[Footnote A: See Munch, i., 591.]
When Harold the Fairhaired was eighty years old, he felt no longer able
to bear the burden of the government. He therefore led Erik to his royal
high-seat, and abdicated in his favor. Three years later he died (933),
after having ruled over Norway for seventy-three years.
[Illustration]
CHAPTER VI.
ERIK BLOOD-AXE (930-935).
While Harold's despotism had been civilizing and, on the whole,
beneficent, that of Erik Blood-Axe was disorganizing and destructive.
With him the old turbulent viking spirit ascended the throne. Power
meant with him the means of gratifying every savage impulse. Brave he
was, delighting in battle; cruel and pitiless; and yet not without a
certain sense of fairness and occasional impulses of generosity. In
person he was handsome, of stately presence, but haughty and taciturn.
Unhappily he married a woman who weakened all that was good in him and
strengthened all that was bad. Queen Gunhild possessed a baneful
influence over him during his entire life. She was cruel, avaricious,
and treacherous, and was popularly credited with all the ill deeds which
her husband committed. There are strange legends about her, attributing
to witchcraft the power she had over every one who came in contact with
her. According to Snorre, Erik met her in Finmark, whither she had been
sent by her parents to learn sorcery. For the Finns were in those days
credited with a deep knowledge of the black art. The two sorcerers with
whom she was staying were both determined to marry her, and like the
princess in the fairy-tale, she concealed Prince Erik in her tent, and
begged him to rid her of her troublesome suitors. This, in spite of many
difficulties, Erik did, carried Gunhild away to his ships, and made her
his wife. She was, it is said, small of stature, insinuating, and of
extraordinary beauty; but she was the evil genius of her husband, egging
him on to deeds of treachery and violence which made him detested by his
people. It was in great part the disfavor with which she was regarded
which raised rebels against Erik's authority in various parts of the
country and brought popular support to his brothers in their endeavor to
cast off his yoke. In spite of his father's efforts, Erik's sovereignty
had not been universally recognized, and no sooner was King Harold dead
than Halfdan the Swarthy declared himself to be sovereign in Troendelag
and Olaf [A] in Viken. A few years after that, however, Halfdan died
suddenly, and the rumor said that he had been poisoned by Queen Gunhild.
The men of Troendelag then chose his brother Sigfrid for their king, and
Erik found his kingdom gradually shrinking both from the north and the
south. Being prepared for an attack from Erik, Sigfrid and Olaf
determined to join their forces, and to complete all arrangements, the
former went to visit the latter in Tunsberg. When Erik heard of this, he
went in haste to the town with a large number of men, and surprised and
killed both his brothers. Olaf's son Tryggve escaped, however, and was
kept in concealment, as long as Erik was master in the land.
[Footnote A: Olaf was the son of King Harold and Svanhild, a daughter of
Earl Eystein of Hedemark and Vestfold.]
[Illustration: CYLINDRICAL MOUNTING OF BRONZE PROBABLY FOR THE SHAFT OF
A SPEAR. FOUND NEAR STAVANGER.]
Erik had now killed four of his brothers, if not five, and it was the
common opinion that Gunhild would not rest until she had exterminated
all the race of Harold the Fairhaired outside of her husband's line.
While Erik was a youth, he had made the acquaintance of an Icelander
named Thorolf, the son of Skallagrim (Bald Grim) and nephew of Thorolf
Kveld-Ulf's son, whom King Harold had treacherously slain. This Thorolf,
like his uncle and namesake, was a tall and handsome man, of fine
presence and winning manners. He had made Erik a present of a ship, very
beautifully built and decorated, and had thereby gained his friendship.
In return Erik had obtained from his father permission for Thorolf to
remain unmolested in the country. The handsome Icelander made many
friends in Norway, among whom two mighty men named Thore Herse and Bjoern
the Yeoman. When he returned to Iceland he brought with him, as a gift
from the king to his father, an axe with a handle of precious
workmanship. But Bald Grim, though he received his son well, treated
King Erik's gift with contempt, and finally, when Thorolf again made a
cruise to Norway, he sang an insulting verse and begged to have it
reported to Erik. The axe he also wished to have returned. Thorolf, who
was determined not to revive the ancient feud, threw the axe into the
ocean, and conveyed his father's thanks and greeting to the king. If he
had had his way, the blood-feud would have been at an end. But he had a
younger brother named Egil,[A] who insisted upon bearing him company,
and he soon fanned the dying embers into flame.
[Footnote A: Pronounced _Agil_, "g" hard, as in gimlet, gilt, etc.]
Egil was the very incarnation of the old untamable Norse spirit, the
turbulent and indomitable individualism, which is incapable of
considering any but personal aims, and of submitting to any kind of
discipline. Like his father, Bald Grim, he was large of stature,
swarthy, and ill-favored, and displayed in his childhood a fierce and
revengeful spirit, but also a rare gift of song, which, no less than his
foolhardy deeds, brought him fame during his long and adventurous
career.
The two brothers arrived safely in Norway and became the guests of Thore
Herse, between whose son Arinbjoern and Egil a warm friendship sprung up.
While Thorolf went to be married to Aasgerd, the daughter of Bjoern the
Yeoman, Egil was forced by a severe illness to remain at home. When he
became convalescent, he accompanied one of Thore's overseers to a royal
steward named Baard, and met there King Erik and Queen Gunhild. Baard,
in his zeal to please the king, neglected the Icelander, and when the
latter became unruly, at a hint from the queen, mixed soporific herbs in
his beer. Egil's suspicion was aroused, however, and he poured out the
beer and killed Baard. Then he ran for his life, swam out to an island
in the fjord, and when the island was searched, killed some of those who
had been sent to find him; whereupon he made his escape in their boat.
Although King Erik was very angry, he accepted the atonement in money
which Thore Herse offered for Baard's death, and was persuaded to allow
Egil to remain in the land. Queen Gunhild was much incensed at his
forgiving spirit, and asked if he counted the slaying of Baard as
naught; to which the king replied: "For ever thou art egging me on to
violence; but my word, once given, I cannot break."
As no persuasions availed, Gunhild made up her mind to use some one else
as the instrument of her retaliation. It is told that she had been fond
of Baard, whom Egil had slain; but as he was a man of low birth, it was
scarcely this personal fondness, but rather a sense of outraged dignity
which impelled her to persevere in her plans of vengeance. At a great
sacrificial feast, at the temple of Gaule, she made her brother, Eyvind
Skreyja, promise to kill one of Bald Grim's sons; but as no chance
presented itself, he slew instead one of Thorolf's men; in return for
which he was outlawed by Erik, as a _vargr [=i] veum_--_i. e._, wolf in the
sanctuary. The two brothers now went on viking cruises, took service
under Ethelstan, in England, and fought under his standard a great
battle, in which Thorolf fell. Egil now married his widow, Aasgerd, and
returned with her to Iceland. He had then been abroad for twelve years.
Hardly had he settled down, however, when he learned that his
father-in-law, Bjoern the Yeoman, was dead, and that one of Gunhild's
favorites named Berg-Anund, had taken possession of his property. He
therefore lost no time in returning to Norway, and with his friend
Arinbjoern's aid pleaded his case at the _Gulathing_, in the presence of
the king and queen. But the _thing_ broke up in disorder, and Egil had
to sail back to Iceland without having accomplished his purpose.
Considerations of prudence had, however, no weight with him, and before
long he started for the third time for Norway, surprised Berg-Anund, and
killed not only him, but the king's son Ragnvald, who was his guest. In
order to add insult to injury, he mounted a cliff, and raised what was
called a shame-pole, or pole of dishonor, to Gunhild and the king. On
the top of the pole he put the head of a dead horse, while he called out
in a loud voice: "This dishonor do I turn against all the
land-spirits [A] that inhabit this land, so that they may all stray on
wildering ways, and none of them may chance or hit upon his home, until
they shall have chased King Erik and Gunhild from the land."
[Footnote A: The land-spirits were _genii loci_; the alliterative
formula which Egil pronounced was supposed to have magic power.]
Thereupon he cut these words, in runes, into the pole, and sailed back
to Iceland. It seemed, too, as if the curse took effect. For when Erik
had been four years upon the throne, his youngest brother, Haakon,
landed in Troendelag, and the following year was made king. The news ran
like wildfire through the country, and was everywhere received with
jubilation. Erik made a desperate effort to raise an army, but the
people turned away from him, and he was obliged to flee with his wife
and children, and a few followers. Among those who remained faithful to
him was Egil's friend, Arinbjoern. He now sailed about as a viking,
harrying the coasts of Scotland and England, and finally accepted a
portion of Northumberland in fief from King Ethelstan, on condition of
defending the country against Norse and Danish vikings. It was also
stipulated that he should be baptized and accept Christianity. Although
the different sagas which deal with Erik's later life give somewhat
conflicting accounts, it is obvious that he was no more popular in
England than he had been in Norway. It appears that he was once, or
probably twice, expelled from Northumberland, but again returned. By a
most singular chance, a tempest here drove his mortal enemy right into
his clutches.
Egil, it is told, was restless and discontented at home; and the common
belief was that Gunhild by sorcery had stolen his peace of mind. He
wandered uneasily along the strand and looked out for sails, and took no
pleasure in his wife and children. Finally, when he could stay at home
no longer, he equipped a ship and sailed southward to England. He was
shipwrecked at the mouth of the Humber, lost his ship, but saved himself
and his thirty warriors. From people whom he met, he learned that Erik
Blood-Axe ruled over the country; and knowing that there was slight
chance of escape, he rode boldly into York and sought his friend
Arinbjoern. Together they went to Erik, who inquired of Egil how he could
be so foolish, as to expect any thing but death at his hands. Gunhild,
when she saw him demanded impatiently, that he should be killed on the
spot. She had thirsted so long for his blood; she could not endure a
moment's delay in her hotly-desired vengeance. Erik, however, granted
the Icelander a respite until the next morning; Arinbjoern begged him, as
a last bid for life, to spend the night in composing a song in honor of
Erik. This Egil promised; and Arinbjoern had food and drink brought to
him and bade him do his best. Being naturally anxious, he went to his
friend in the night and asked him how the song was progressing. Egil
replied that he had not been able to compose a line, because there was a
swallow sitting in the window whose incessant screaming disturbed him,
and he could not chase it away. Arinbjoern darted out into the hall, and
caught a glimpse of a woman, who ran at the sight of him. At that very
instant, too, the swallow disappeared. To prevent her from returning,
Arinbjoern seated himself outside of Egil's door and kept watch through
the night. For he knew that the swallow was none other than the queen,
who by sorcery had assumed the guise of the bird.
The next morning Egil had finished his song and committed it to memory.
Arinbjoern now armed all his men, and went with Egil and his warriors to
the king's house. He reminded Erik of his fidelity to him, when others
had forsaken him, and asked, as a reward for his services, that his
friend's life be spared. Gunhild begged him to be silent; and the king
made no response. Then Arinbjoern stepped forward and declared that Egil
should not die, until he and his last man were dead.
"At that price," answered the king, "I would not willingly buy Egil's
death, although, he has amply deserved whatever I may do to him."
Suddenly, when the king had spoken, Egil began to recite with a clear,
strong voice, and instantly there was silence in the hall. This is a
portion of his song:
[Illustration: IRON CHISEL FOUND IN AAMOT PARISH, OESTERDALEN.]
[Illustration: IRON POINT OF A SPEAR WITH INLAID WORK OF SILVER, FOUND
AT NESNE, IN NORDLAND.]
Westward I sailed o'er the sea.
Vidrar [A] himself gave me
The ichor of his breast,[B]
And with joy I roamed.
As the ice-floes broke,[C]
Forth I launched the oak;[D]
For my mind's hull [E]
Of thy praise was full.
For thy fame, O king,
Made me fain to sing;
And to England's shore,
Odin's mead [F] I bore.
Lo, in Erik's praise,
Loud my voice I raise.
May my song resound
The wide earth around.
List to me, my king,
Well remembering
What I sing to thee
Now, unquailingly.
For the world knows well
How men round thee fell;
Glad has Odin seen
The field where thou hast been.
Burst the shield and bayed
Deep the battle-blade.
At its ruddy draught
The Valkyrias laughed.[G]
Lo, the sword-stream swayed
Like a wild cascade.
O'er the fields away
Rang the steel's strong lay.
Men with eager feet
Sprang their foe to meet;
None thy band knew save
Heroes true and brave.
For in heart and frame
Bright burned valor's flame;
'Neath their thund'ring tread
Shook the earth with dread.
'Mid the weapons' clank
Men in death-throes sank:
From the heaps of slain
Rose thy fame amain.
[Footnote A: Odin.]
[Footnote B: The gift of song.]
[Footnote C: In the spring.]
[Footnote D: The ship.]
[Footnote E: Literally: In my mind's ship (_i. e._, in my breast) bore I
this draught of praise.]
[Footnote F: Odin's mead is the gift of poetry.]
[Footnote G: The maids of Odin, the choosers of the slain, the
Valkyrias, had to keep watch of Erik, to receive the souls of the many
whom he slew, and conduct them to Valhalla.]
Erik sat immovable while Egil sang, watching his face narrowly. When the
song was at an end, the king said: "The song is excellent, and I have
now considered what I will do for Arinbjoern's sake. Thou, Egil, shalt
depart hence unharmed; because I will not do the dastardly deed to kill
a man who gave himself voluntarily into my power. But from the moment
thou leavest this hall, thou shalt never come before my eyes again, nor
before the eyes of my sons. Nor is this to be regarded as a
reconciliation between thee and me or my sons and kinsmen." Thus Egil
bought his head by his song, and the song is therefore called
"Hoefudlausn," or "The Ransom of the Head."
Egil then took his leave, visited Ethelstan once more; went to Norway
and had many adventures, before he returned to Iceland, where he died
between 990 and 995. He was then over ninety years old.[A] Another of
his poems, called Sonartorek, "The Loss of the Son," is the most
beautiful poem in the Icelandic language.
[Footnote A: His life is minutely related in Saga Egils
Skallagrims-sonar.]
Erik Blood-Axe remained in England and suffered many vicissitudes of
fate, until he fell in battle in 950 or 954. He is repeatedly mentioned
by the English chroniclers under the name of Erik Haroldson. After his
death Gunhild had a _draapa_ composed in his honor, an interesting
fragment of which is still extant. She then went to Denmark with her
sons, and was well received by the Danish king, Harold Bluetooth
(Blaatand), the son of Gorm the Old.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
CHAPTER VII.
HAAKON THE GOOD (935-961).
Haakon, though he was outwardly his father's image, did not resemble him
in spirit. He was of a conciliatory nature, amiable, and endowed with a
charm of manner which won him all hearts. It is said that his
foster-father had given him the counsel at parting never to sit glum at
the festal board, and it is obvious that he took the lesson to heart.
When he landed in Troendelag, people flocked about him, and he won the
chieftains for his cause by friendliness and promises which he
afterwards conscientiously kept. He took part in the games of the young,
and in the serious discussions of the old, excelled in all manly sports,
and won admiration no less by his beauty than by his intelligence and
generous disposition. The rumor of his arrival spread like fire in
withered grass, and people said that old King Harold had come back once
more to his people, gentler and more generous than before, but no less
mighty and beautiful.
The first chieftain whose influence Haakon sought to enlist in his
behalf was the powerful Sigurd, Earl of Hlade, who had been the friend
and protector of his mother, and the guardian of his infancy. The earl
received him well, and promised to support his claims to the kingdom.
With this view he called, in Haakon's name, a great meeting of the
peasants in Troendelag, and made a speech in which he denounced the
cruelty of Erik Blood-Axe and declared his allegiance to Haakon. When
the earl had finished, Haakon arose and offered, in case the peasants
would make him their king, to restore to them their allodium, of which
his father had deprived them. This announcement was received with great
rejoicing; and from all parts of the plain came cries of homage and
approval. Amid joyful tumult Haakon was made king, and immediately
started southward with a large train of warriors. Wherever he went, the
people flocked about him and offered him allegiance. The Oplands [A]
followed the example of Troendelag, and in Viken both chieftains and
peasants eagerly espoused his cause. As already related, Erik made a
desperate attempt to gather an army, and, failing in this, fled with his
family and a few faithful followers to the Orkneys, and thence to
England.
[Footnote A: See map.]
It was consistent with Haakon's conciliatory disposition that he did not
molest or depose his nephews, Gudroed Bjoernsson and Tryggve Olafsson, but
confirmed them as kings in Viken. It appears, however, that, nominally
at least, they recognized his overlordship. Other sons and grandsons of
Harold the Fairhaired he met with the same friendliness, giving to each
what he considered to be his due. As soon as peace was thus established,
and there was no one left to dispute his power, Haakon devoted himself
energetically to the improvement of the internal administration of his
kingdom. He divided the country into _Thing-Unions_, or judicial
districts, and by the aid of wise and experienced men greatly improved
the laws. One famous code, called the Gulathings-law, has particularly
shed lustre upon his name, and the enlargement and improvement of the
Frostathings-law is also, by some of the sagas, attributed to him. The
only radical change which he introduced was the breaking up of his
father's feudal state, by the restoration of the allodium to the
peasants. But this one change necessitated many others. When the king
relinquished his right to tax the land, he thereby deprived himself of
the ability to keep an army, and had to consign, in part, to the
peasants themselves the defence of their respective districts. It was
naturally the sea-coast which was most exposed to attack; and in the
absence of all but the most primitive means of communication it became
possible for an enemy to ravage long stretches of land, before the
intelligence of his presence reached the king. In order to remedy this,
Haakon ordered _varder_ or signal-fires to be lighted, at fixed
intervals, all along the coast at the approach of an enemy; but he
partly counteracted the good effect of the reform by the severe
punishment with which he threatened those who, without adequate cause,
lighted the _varder_. In order to obtain the means to defend the coast,
he divided it into marine districts, each of which was bound, on demand,
to place a fully manned and equipped ship of war at the disposal of the
king. This was, of course, but another form of taxation, but was less
distasteful to the peasants, because its purpose and necessity were
obvious, and no degrading dependence was implied, since the people had
again become the free possessors of the soil. Nevertheless there are
indications that the personal tax, derisively called the nose-tax, which
had been introduced by Harold, was continued, at least for a while, by
Haakon; as it is expressly stated that his first ships of war were built
by the income of the nose-tax.
[Illustration: FRYING PAN OF BRONZE WITH IRON HANDLE. FROM THE VIKING
AGE.]
Having arranged the military and judicial affairs of his kingdom, Haakon
turned his attention to a matter which he had long had at heart. He had
been christened in his childhood in England, and was an earnest votary
of the Christian religion. But, coming, as he did, to the kingdom of his
father, not as a conqueror, but as a candidate for the people's favor,
he did not venture at once to attack the national faith. His friend,
Earl Sigurd of Hlade, was a fanatical adherent of the Asa-faith, and
Haakon might have counted on his enmity rather than his support, if he
had exhibited an ill-considered zeal for the displacement of the old by
a new religion. Haakon, therefore, temporized, and it was not until the
fifteenth or sixteenth year of his reign (950-951), when his unbonded
popularity seemed to warrant any venture, that he took a decisive step
in behalf of Christianity. He sent to England for a bishop and a number
of priests, and published a decree, forbidding the people to sacrifice
to the old gods, and demanding of them that they should accept the faith
in Christ. He called upon the peasants to meet him at Drontheim, where
he repeated his demand. But the peasants refused to declare themselves;
and begged the king to have the matter legally settled at the
_Frosta-thing_. Here there was a great concourse of people; and when the
assembly had been called to order, Haakon rose and in an earnest and
dignified speech begged the peasants to forsake the old heathen gods who
were but wood and stone, and to believe in the one living God and be
baptized in His name. An ominous murmur ran through the crowd at these
words, and the peasant Aasbjoern of Medalhus arose and answered in these
words:
[Illustration: BREAST-PIN OF BRONZE. FOUND AT BY IN LOITEN.]
"When thou, King Haakon, didst call thy first assembly here in
Drontheim, and we took thee for our king, we believed that heaven itself
had descended upon us; but now we do not know whether it was liberty we
gained, or whether thou wishest to make us thralls once more, by thy
strange demand that we shall forsake the faith which our fathers and all
their forefathers have had before us. * * * They were sturdier men than
we are; and yet their faith has done well enough for us. We have learned
to love thee well, and we have allowed thee to share with us the
administration of law and justice. Now, we peasants have firmly
determined and unanimously agreed to keep the laws which thou didst
propose here at the _Frosta-thing_, and to which we gave our assent. We
all wish to follow thee, and to have thee for our king, as long as a
single one of us peasants is alive--if only thou, king, wilt show
moderation, and not demand of us things in which we cannot follow thee,
and which it would be unseemly for us to do. But if thou hast this
matter so deeply at heart that thou wilt try thy might and strength
against ours, then we have resolved to part from thee and take another
chieftain who will aid us in freely exercising the religion which
pleases us. Choose now, O king, between these two conditions, before the
assembly has dispersed."
[Illustration: OVAL BRONZE BUCKLE.]
Loud shouts of approval greeted this speech; and it was, for a while,
impossible for any one to make himself heard. At last, when the tempest
had subsided, Earl Sigurd of Hlade, probably after consultation with
Haakon, rose and said that the king would yield to the wishes of the
peasants and would not part with their friendship. Encouraged by this
first concession, the peasants now demanded that the king should
participate in their sacrifices and preside at the sacrificial feast.
Much against his will, Haakon was again induced to yield, but tried to
pacify his conscience by making the sign of the cross over the horn
consecrated to Odin. During the following year he was also compelled to
eat horse-flesh at the Yule-tide sacrifice, and to omit the sign of the
cross when drinking the toasts of the heathen gods. Full of wrath he
departed, intimating that he would soon come back with an army large
enough to punish the Troenders for the humiliation they had put upon him.
There is little doubt that he would have carried out this threat, if
external enemies had not directed his energies in another direction.
The sons of Erik Blood-Axe had, after their father's death, sought
refuge with King Harold Bluetooth in Denmark. The two elder, Gamle and
Guttorm, had roamed about as vikings, ravaged the coasts of Norway and
the lands about the Baltic, while the third son, Harold, was adopted by
his namesake, the Danish king, and received his education at his court.
They were all valiant warriors, but were much governed by their shrewd
and cruel mother, Gunhild. They naturally cherished no good-will toward
their uncle Haakon, who had dispossessed them of their kingdom; and
while they were not yet strong enough to wage regular war, they seized
every opportunity to annoy and harass him. They fought many battles with
Tryggve Olafsson, who, as king in Viken, was charged with the defence of
the southern coast, and were sometimes victorious and sometimes
vanquished. In the year 952, when Tryggve was absent, Haakon took
occasion to deliver an effective blow at the Danish vikings who were
infesting this part of the country (though the sons of Erik were not
this time among them), pursued them southward, and harassed the coasts
of Jutland and the Danish isles. It appears, however, that this mode of
retaliation did not permanently discourage the vikings, and as long as
Harold Bluetooth showed open hostility against Norway, by espousing the
cause of Gunhild and her sons, it is quite natural that the warlike zeal
and rapacity of the Danes should be directed against the neighboring
kingdom. It is obvious, too, that Haakon, by his attack upon Danish
soil, gave a more personal character to the animosity which the Danish
king entertained toward him, and Gunhild lost no time in profiting by
this change of feeling. From this time forth her sons appear no longer
as warlike adventurers, bent upon private vengeance, but as commanders
of fleets and armies, and formidable pretenders to the Norwegian throne.
In 953 they defeated Tryggve Olafsson at Sotoness, and compelled him to
abandon his ships and save himself by flight. When the news of this
disaster reached Haakon, he hastily made peace with the Troenders who had
forced him to sacrifice, and called upon Earl Sigurd to aid him with all
the ships and men at his command. Earl Sigurd promptly obeyed and sailed
southward to meet the king. At Agvaldsness they overtook the sons of
Gunhild and vanquished them in a hotly contested battle. Haakon slew
with his own hand his nephew Guttorm Eriksson, and cut down his
standard. The surviving brothers fled with the remnants of their army to
Denmark, and kept the peace for two years. But in 955 they returned once
more with a largely increased force and surprised King Haakon at Fraedoe
in Nordmoere. The signal fires had not been lighted, and no intelligence
of the presence of the enemy had reached the king until it was too late.
He asked his men whether they preferred to stay and fight or avoid
battle, until they had gathered a sufficient force. To this an old
peasant named Egil Uldsaerk (Woolsark) made answer: "I have been in many
battles with thy father, King Harold. Sometimes he fought with a
stronger and sometimes with a weaker foe. But he was always victorious.
Never have I heard him ask counsel of his friends as to whether he
should run; nor will we give thee such counsel. For we think that we
have in thee a brave chieftain, and trusty aid shalt thou receive from
us."
[Illustration: EGIL WOOLSARK'S MONUMENT OR BAUTASTONE AT FREINESS.]
When the king praised these words and declared himself ready to fight,
Egil cried out joyously: "In this long season of peace I have been
afraid that I should die of old age on the straw of my bed--I who never
asked any thing better than to follow my chieftain and die in battle!
Now, at last, I shall have my wish fulfilled."
[Illustration: ORNAMENTAL BRONZE MOUNTING.]
As soon as the sons of Erik had landed, the battle commenced. They had
six men for every one of King Haakon's. Seeing that the odds were so
heavily against his lord, Egil Woolsark took ten standard-bearers aside
and stole up a slope of land in the rear of Gamle Eriksson's
battle-array. He made them march with long intervals, so that only the
tops of their standards could be seen above the slope, and not the men
themselves. The Danes, spying the waving banners, supposed that a fresh
force was coming to cut them off from their ships, and they raised a
great cry and fled. It was in vain that Gamle, who had discovered the
stratagem, shouted with a loud voice commanding them to stay. Panic had
seized them, and their commander himself was swept away with the
hurrying mass, until he reached the beach, where he made a final stand.
Here Egil Woolsark attacked him and received his death-wound after a
desperate conflict. Haakon too rushed in upon Gamle, who defended
himself bravely, but having received terrible wounds, threw himself into
the ocean and was drowned. The other brothers swam to their ships and
returned to Denmark.
This victory secured peace to Norway for six years. Haakon had thus an
opportunity to resume his efforts to Christianize the country. But his
experience of the peasants' temper had apparently discouraged him.
Personally he remained a Christian, and induced many of his friends to
forsake the heathen faith. He lacked, however, the uncompromising vigor
and the burning zeal of a martyr and propagandist. He preferred gentle
to harsh measures, and shrank from antagonizing those who had been
faithful to him in time of need. It is probable, too, that the counsel
of his friend, Earl Sigurd, tended to cool his ardor, by emphasizing the
political phase of the religious question. The result of this
conciliatory policy, in connection with the good crops which prevailed
during his reign, was to make King Haakon universally beloved. It is
doubtful if a king has ever sat upon the throne of Norway who has been
closer to the hearts of the people. Therefore, as an expression of their
affection for him, they named him Haakon the Good.
In the twenty-sixth year of his reign (961) Haakon was summering with
his men-at-arms on his estate Fitje in Hoerdaland. A large number of
guests were with him, among whom the scald Eyvind Skaldespilder
(Scald-Spoiler),[A] who was on his mother's side a great-grandson of
Harold the Fairhaired. The king was seated at the breakfast-table, when
the sentinels saw a large fleet of ships sailing in through the fjord.
They called the scald Eyvind aside, and begged him to decide whether
those were not hostile ships. Eyvind sprang into the hall where the king
was sitting, and sang a verse, announcing the approach of the sons of
Erik. Haakon arose and looked at the ships. Then he turned to his men
and said: "Here many ships are coming against us, and our force is but
small. It is plainly to be seen that we shall have to fight against
heavier odds than ever before; for the sons of Gunhild come with a
larger force to-day than on previous occasions. Loath I am to bring my
best men into too great a danger; and loath I am, too, to flee, unless
wise men decide that it would be foolhardy to await the foe."
[Footnote A: Skaldespilder means waster or spoiler of scalds, because no
other scald could bear comparison with him.]
Eyvind Scald-Spoiler replied in verse that it would ill befit a man like
King Haakon to flee from the sons of Gunhild. "Manly speech is that, and
in accordance with my mind," answered the king; and when the other
warriors with one accord clamored for battle, he put on his armor,
buckled his sword about his loins, and seized spear and shield. On his
head he wore a golden helmet which flashed in the sun. Beautiful he was
to behold, with his mild and noble countenance, and his bright hair
streaming down over his shoulders. Upon the fields without he arranged
his men in battle array, and raised his standards. The sons of Erik
disembarked with a large army, commanded by the third of the brothers,
Harold, and his two uncles, Eyvind Skreyja and Alf Askman. The battle
which now commenced was wild and bloody. The army of the sons of Gunhild
was six times as numerous as that of King Haakon. But Haakon, knowing
his Norsemen well, did not lose heart. Wherever the fight was hottest,
there flashed his golden helmet. He joked with Eyvind, the scald, when
he passed him, and improvised a verse in reply to the one with which he
was greeted. The fiercer the conflict grew, the higher rose the king's
spirits. At last, when the heat oppressed him, he flung away his armor
and stormed forward at the head of his men. The supply of spears and
arrows soon ran short, and the hostile ranks clashed together and
fought, hand to hand, with their swords. The shining helmet made the
king very conspicuous, and Eyvind Scald-Spoiler noticed that it served
as a target for the Danish spears. He therefore took a hood and pulled
it over the helmet. Eyvind Skreyja, who was just rushing forward to meet
the king, thereby lost sight of him, and he cried out: "What has become
of the king of the Norsemen? Does he hide himself, or is he afraid? No
more do I see the golden helmet?" "Keep on as thou art steering, if thou
wishest to find the king of the Norsemen," shouted Haakon, and throwing
away his shield, seized his sword with both hands, and sprang forward
where all could see him. Eyvind Skreyja bounded forward with uplifted
sword, but one of the king's men caught the blow upon his shield, and in
the same instant Haakor, cleft Eyvind's head and neck down to the
shoulders. The example of their king fired the Norsemen's courage,
while the fall of their greatest champion brought confusion to the
Danes. The former charged with renewed fury, while the latter were
pressed down to the beach, and leaped into the ocean; many were killed
or drowned, but a few, including Harold Eriksson, saved themselves by
swimming, and were picked up by the ships. While pursuing the fleeing
foe, Haakon was hit in his right arm by a peculiarly shaped arrow, and
all efforts to staunch the blood proved in vain. It was said that
Gunhild had bewitched this arrow and given it to her chamberlain, with
the charge that he should shoot it off against King Haakon. As night
approached, the king grew weaker and weaker, and fainted repeatedly. One
of his friends offered to take his body over to England, when he was
dead, so that he might be buried in Christian soil. But Haakon replied:
"I am not worthy of it. I have lived like a heathen, and therefore it is
meet that I should be buried like a heathen."
Thus died Haakon the Good and, as the saga says, was mourned alike by
friends and foes. His last act before dying was to send a ship after the
sons of Gunhild, and beg them to come back and take the kingdom; for he
had himself no sons, and his only daughter, Thora, could not, according
to the law, succeed to the throne.
Eyvind Scald-Spoiler made a song in King Haakon's honor, called
_Haakonarmaal_, in which he praised his virtues and described his
reception in Valhalla.
[Illustration]
CHAPTER VIII.
HAROLD GRAYFELL AND HIS BROTHERS (961-970).
The sons of Gunhild lost no time in taking possession of the kingdom of
their fathers. It was not, however, the entire Norway to which they
succeeded, but only the middle districts. In Viken, Tryggve Olafsson and
Gudroed Bjoernsson, both grandsons of Harold the Fairhaired, ruled as
independent kings, and in Troendelag Earl Sigurd, of Hlade, refused to
acknowledge the supremacy of the race of Erik Blood-Axe. Undoubtedly the
brothers were only biding their time until they should be strong enough
to punish these contemptuous rebels; but so bitter was the feeling
against them, even in the provinces which they nominally ruled, that
they had all they could do in maintaining their authority within the
narrow limits which had from the beginning been assigned to them. One of
the chief causes of their unpopularity was their dependence upon the
Danish king, by whose aid they had gained the kingdom, and to whom they
apparently stood in a relation of vassalage. As a consequence of this,
they took no pains to gain the favor of the Norwegian people, but
surrounded themselves with a great throng of Danish warriors who
constituted their court and the main-stay of their strength. Very
unfortunate, too, was the influence which their mother Gunhild exercised
over them. Scarcely had she returned to Norway, when she resumed her
baneful activity, egging her sons on to cruel and treacherous deeds, by
which they forfeited the people's respect and undermined their own
power. Misfortune had not taught her caution, nor had age softened the
fierce malignity of her temper.
[Illustration: CHURCH AT EGILOe, OR EGIL'S ISLAND (ONE OF THE ORKNEYS);
SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN BUILT BEFORE THE VIKING AGE.]
The oldest surviving brother, Harold, surnamed Graafeld (Grayfell)
resembled, in appearance his father, Erik Blood-Axe. He was haughty,
avaricious, and revengeful; tall of stature, finely built, and of lordly
presence, but for all that a weak and vacillating character. He lacked
entirely that kindliness and _bonhommie_ which had made his uncle Haakon
the Good beloved of all the people. Of the other brothers we have no
definite knowledge; they seem, however, all to have inherited their
share of the traits which made their parents odious. Two of them, Gudroed
and Sigurd Sleva, proved themselves worthy sons of the malicious
Gunhild. The others are usually spoken of collectively, and their names
are variously given.
It may have been the sense of his unpopularity which induced Harold
Grayfell to make overtures to the former courtiers of King Haakon.
Several of them, it appears, entered his service, but felt themselves
ill at ease among the foreign warriors who enjoyed his favor and
confidence. Jealousies and petty bickerings were the order of the day;
every allusion to King Haakon's virtues gave offence, and when the song
of Eyvind Scald-Spoiler, praising his former lord, reached the king's
ears, he exclaimed angrily: "You love King Haakon yet, and it is best
that you follow him and become his men."
The men then departed, not suddenly, but one by one, and made the names
of the sons of Gunhild still more detested throughout the land. Eyvind
Scald-Spoiler in a noble verse refused to be King Harold's court poet,
and after his departure made a song in which he compared Haakon with
Harold, much to the latter's disadvantage. There was in that year (962)
a great dearth of food in the land; crops and fisheries failed, and the
cattle had to be fed with leaf-buds instead of grass. In some districts
snow fell in the middle of summer. The people who believed that the gods
had sent these evil times because of their anger at the kings, gave vent
to their discontent in loud murmuring. Harold Grayfell and his brothers,
it appears, had been baptized in their youth in England and were
nominally Christians. They refrained from sacrificing, and broke down
and destroyed many heathen temples. But they made no effort to enlighten
the people regarding the new religion; and probably considered questions
of faith as being of small moment. Surrounded, as they were, by enemies
on all sides, their first ambition was naturally to re-conquer the
kingdom which Harold the Fairhaired had bequeathed to their father. It
became, therefore, a political necessity to break the power of Earl
Sigurd of Hlade, as well as of Tryggve Olafsson and Gudroed Bjoernsson in
Viken. To do this in open warfare was out of the question; and Gunhild,
therefore, persuaded her sons to resort to treachery. By flattery and
promises, Harold bribed Grjotgard Haakonsson, a younger brother of Earl
Sigurd, to send him word when a favorable opportunity should present
itself for killing the earl. At the same time the king sent messengers
with gifts and friendly assurances to the intended victim, but failed
for awhile to lead him into any trap. At last, when these repeated
protestations of friendship had, perhaps, made him relax his vigilance,
Harold Grayfell and his brother Erling, having received notice from
Grjotgard, surprised the earl in the night, while he was away from home,
and burned him and all his retinue. By this deed, however, they raised
up against themselves an enemy who proved more dangerous to them than
the one they had slain. Earl Sigurd's son, Haakon, was twenty-five years
old, when his father died, and a man splendidly equipped in body and
mind. He was a great warrior, handsome in person, sagacious, resolute,
and friendly and affable in his demeanor. His family was, in some
respect, as good as any king's; for he belonged to the old tribal
aristocracy which had maintained its authority in Troendelag from the
earliest Germanic times. When he was born, King Haakon the Good, who
happened just then to be his father's guest, had poured water upon his
head and given him his own name.
When the intelligence of Earl Sigurd's death reached him, Haakon called
the Troenders together, and a great multitude responded to his summons.
They clamored for vengeance upon the treacherous sons of Gunhild,
confirmed Haakon in the dignity which his father had possessed, and
declared themselves ready to follow him. With a great fleet he sailed
out of the Drontheim fiord; but the sons of Gunhild fled southward and
did not venture to give battle. The Troenders, having given their
allegiance to Earl Haakon, refused to pay taxes to Harold Grayfell, who,
after some indecisive fights, was compelled virtually to recognize his
rival's independence. Haakon, however, was well aware what such a
concession must have cost the haughty king, and he knew, too, that his
independence would last only so long as he was able to defend it. With a
view to strengthening his position, he therefore formed an alliance with
the two kings in Viken, which only had the effect of speedily bringing
down upon the latter the vengeance of Gunhild's sons. Harold Grayfell
and his brother Gudroed made a pretence of quarrelling, and feigned a
furious hostility to each other. A viking cruise which they were about
to undertake together was accordingly deferred, and Gudroed, complaining
of his brother's conduct, sent a friendly message to Tryggve Olafsson,
begging him to accompany him on his cruise. Tryggve accepted the
invitation, and on arriving at the appointed place of meeting was foully
murdered with all his men. King Gudroed Bjoernsson (the son of Bjoern the
Merchant) was about the same time surprised at a banquet by Harold
Grayfell, and slain after a desperate resistance. After these exploits,
Harold and Gudroed re-united and took possession of Viken. They hastened
to King Tryggve's dwelling in the hope of exterminating his whole race.
But Tryggve's widow, Aastrid, anticipating their intention, had fled
with her foster-father, Thorolf Luse-skjegg, (Lousy-Beard), and a few
attendants. She was then with child, and on a little islet in the Rand's
fiord, where she was hiding, she bore her son Olaf Tryggvesson. Wherever
she went Gunhild's spies pursued her. Hearing that she had borne a son,
the wily queen spared no effort to get her in her power. During the
entire summer Aastrid was compelled to remain on the solitary islet,
venturing out only in the night, and hiding among the underbrush in the
daytime. When toward autumn the nights began to grow darker, she went
ashore with her attendants, travelling only when the darkness protected
them. After many hardships she reached her father Erik Ofrestad's estate
in the Oplands; but even here the wily Gunhild left her no peace. A man
named Haakon was despatched with thirty armed attendants to search for
her and her child; but Erik of Ofrestad got news of their mission in
time to send his daughter and grandson away. Disguised as beggars,
Aastrid and Thoralf Lousy-Beard travelled on foot from farm to farm, and
came toward evening to the house of a man named Bjoern. They asked for
food and shelter, but were rudely driven away by the inhospitable
peasant. At a neighboring farm, however, they were kindly received by a
peasant named Thorstein. Gunhild's emissaries, having searched in vain
at Ofrestad, got on the track of the fugitives, and learned at the house
of Bjoern that a handsome woman in poor attire, bearing a babe in her
arms, had applied for shelter early in the evening. This conversation
one of Thorstein's servants happened to overhear, and on arriving home,
related it to his master. Thorstein immediately, with loud chiding and
pretended wrath, roused the supposed beggars from their sleep, and drove
them out into the night. This he did in order to deceive the servants
and other listeners. But when Aastrid and Thoralf were well under way,
he told them that Gunhild's hired assassins had arrived at the
neighboring farm, and that his only desire was to save them. He also
gave them a trusted attendant who could show them the best hiding-places
in the forest. At the shores of a lake they concealed themselves among
the tall bulrushes.
[Illustration: SCISSORS AND ARROW-HEADS OF IRON.]
Thorstein, in the meanwhile, sent their pursuers in the opposite
direction, and led them a dance through forest and field in a vain
search for the fugitives. The next night, when Haakon and his men had
given up the search, he sent food and clothes to Aastrid, and furnished
her with an escort to Sweden, where she found a place of refuge with a
friend of her father's named Haakon the Old. Gunhild, however, was not
to be discouraged. She sent two embassies to King Erik of Sweden,
demanding the surrender of Olaf Tryggvesson, and received each time
permission to capture the child, without interference on the part of the
king. But Haakon the Old was a mighty man, and determined to defend his
guests. The threats of Gunhild's embassador did not frighten him. While
the latter was speaking, a half-witted thrall, named Buste, seized a
dung-fork, and rushed at him, threatening to strike. The embassador,
fearing to be soiled, took to his heels, and was pursued by the thrall.
How the queen received him on his return is not recorded.
Of the internal enemies of Gunhild's sons, Earl Haakon of Hlade now
alone remained; and it was not an unnatural desire on their part to
reduce him to subjection. Anticipating, as usual, their action, the earl
was on the look-out for them; but having ascertained the size of their
fleets, he saw the hopelessness of his cause, and forthwith sailed to
Denmark, where he was well received by King Harold Bluetooth (964). It
will thus be seen that the friendship between Harold Grayfell and the
Danish king had not endured the strain of diverging interests. The
former, as soon as he felt secure in his power, refused to recognize the
latter's claim to Viken, and paid him no taxes. Harold Bluetooth,
therefore, allied himself with Earl Haakon, the bitterest enemy of the
sons of Gunhild, hoping, by his aid, to regain his lost dominion. What
particularly encouraged him in this expectation was the continued
dearth which prevailed in Norway, and the resulting unpopularity of the
kings which, with every year, grew more pronounced. It was of no avail
that Harold Grayfell almost every summer went on viking cruises, gaining
a great fame as a warrior and bringing home rich treasures. The people
hated him only less than they hated his mother Gunhild. An exploit of
his brother Sigurd Sleva aroused a demonstration of wrath which came
near culminating in open rebellion. Sigurd Sleva had paid a visit to a
mighty yeoman named Klypp Thorsson, and had, in the absence of the
master of the house, been hospitably received by his beautiful wife
Aaluf. He had become enamoured of his hostess, and had grievously
insulted her. Klypp, on his return, learned what had occurred; and swore
to avenge the shame which had been brought upon him by Gunhild's son.
When Harold Grayfell and Sigurd, in the autumn of 964, held a _thing_ at
Vors, they were attacked by the enraged peasants, and had to save
themselves by flight. Klypp, with a number of his friends, pursued
Sigurd, slew him with his own hand, and was himself slain by one of
Sigurd's men.
Earl Haakon, who, from his Danish retreat, watched the events in Norway,
heard these tidings with satisfaction. The sudden check which his
ambition had received had made him ill, and for some time he appeared
listless, refusing to eat and drink, or to communicate with anybody. But
when his plans of vengeance were matured, he rose from his bed, strode
forth with his old vigor, and proceeded to weave a complicated net of
intrigues. Harold Bluetooth had at that time a difficulty with his
nephew Gold-Harold, who demanded a share in the government; and, having
confidence in the sagacity of the earl, he asked his advice. The earl
saw here his opportunity, and had no scruple in availing himself of it.
He dissuaded the king from killing his nephew, because such a deed would
arouse indignation and alienate the great party in Denmark, who desired
to see Gold-Harold on the throne. Far better would it be if he employed
Gold-Harold to punish Harold Grayfell and his brothers, and in the end
reward him with the throne of Norway. Thereby the king would increase
his own power, and convert a dangerous rival into a friend and ally.
This advice seemed good to Harold Bluetooth, and after some persuasion
he found courage to act upon it. He sent a friendly message to his
foster-son, Harold Grayfell, inviting him to come and take possession of
his old fief in Denmark, the income of which he might, indeed, need
during the hard times that prevailed in Norway. Harold Grayfell, after
some vacillation, accepted this invitation, and sailed to Denmark with
three ships and two hundred and forty men; but no sooner had he set foot
upon Danish soil than he was attacked by Gold-Harold, who slew him and
nearly all his men.
This was the first act in the drama which Earl Haakon had planned. The
second contained a surprise. The earl went to Harold Bluetooth, and
represented to him that his nephew, as king of Norway, would become a
more dangerous rival than he had been before; and frankly offered to
kill him, if the king would promise not to avenge his death.
Furthermore, he demanded, as his reward, the kingdom of Norway in fief,
under the overlordship of the king. All this seemed very tempting to
Harold Bluetooth; and like all weak and vicious men, he made objections
only for the purpose of having them overcome. In the end he gave his
consent; and Gold-Harold was immediately attacked and killed by Earl
Haakon. With a large army the two conspirators now sailed for Norway,
and won the whole country without striking a blow. So great was the
hatred of Gunhild and her sons, that not a man drew his sword in their
defence. The two surviving brothers, Gudroed and Ragnfred, made a
pretence of resistance, rallying a few followers about them; but did not
venture to give battle. Seeing the hopelessness of their cause, they
fled with their mother to the Orkneys (965). Ragnfred, however, returned
the following year with a considerable fleet, largely made up of vikings
who had gathered about him, and fought an indicisive battle with Earl
Haakon. He even succeeded in reconquering four of the northwestern
shires. For nearly a year Haakon made no effort to expel him. It was not
until the spring of 967, that he felt himself strong enough to appeal to
arms once more; and this time Ragnfred and his brother Gudroed, who in
the meantime had joined him, were defeated at Dingeness, and driven into
exile. According to the most reliable accounts, they went to Scotland,
but continued for several years to harass the coast of Norway by sudden
attacks. They were, however, no longer sufficiently formidable to cause
the earl any serious inconvenience, although he was not slow to seize
upon their attacks as a pretext for discontinuing the payment of the tax
which he had pledged to the Danish king. Gunhild died, in all
probability, either in Scotland or the Orkneys, although one of the
sagas relates, that she was enticed to Denmark by Harold Bluetooth,
under promise of marriage, and at his command drowned in a swamp
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
CHAPTER IX.
EARL HAAKON (970-995).
By his daring intrigue Earl Haakon had attained the goal of his desires.
He had avenged his father's death, humiliated his enemies, and gained a
power far beyond that of any of his ancestors. With a nature like his,
however, no goal is final. The ease with which he had managed Harold
Bluetooth and his nephew--using them as tools for his own ends--had, no
doubt, inspired him with a supreme confidence in his ability, and a
corresponding contempt of those whose shrewdness was inferior to his
own. The purpose therefore soon matured in his mind to repudiate his
obligations to the Danish king, and make himself the independent ruler
of Norway. The opportunity for carrying this purpose into effect soon
presented itself. The Emperor Otto I. of Germany, who claimed
sovereignty over Denmark, died in 973, and was succeeded by his young
son, Otto II. Harold Bluetooth, who had always resented the emperor's
claim, even though he was forced to recognize it, made extensive
preparations for a campaign against Otto II., and sent messengers to his
vassal, Earl Haakon, commanding him to come to his aid with all the
forces at his disposal. Earl Haakon, whatever his inclinations may have
been, did not deem it advisable to disobey, and in the spring of the
year 975 sailed southward with a large fleet and army. He did duty for a
while in defending the wall of Dannevirke, and actually beat the emperor
in a great battle. Then, feeling that his task had been accomplished, he
boarded his ships and prepared to sail homeward. The emperor, however,
hearing that Dannevirke was deserted by its defenders, returned for a
second attack, and forced his way into Jutland. Whether Harold Bluetooth
fought with him does not appear. We only know that he accepted a
humiliating peace, reaffirming his vassalage, and, according to a
creditable source, promising to introduce the Christian religion, both
in his own kingdom and in Norway. It is probable that both Harold and
his son, Sweyn Forkbeard, had been baptized before, but continued in
their hearts to be devoted to the Asa faith. It was scarcely zeal for
Christianity, but fear of the emperor, which induced Harold to send for
Earl Haakon and force him to accept baptism and to promise to convert
his countrymen to the new religion. It is strange that a man as shrewd
as Haakon, after his recent desertion of Dannevirke, should have obeyed
this summons. In all likelihood the victorious battle which he had
fought gave him confidence in his power to justify himself; and there
may also have been circumstances connected with the affair which changed
its aspect to contemporaries. It is not inconceivable, however, that he
really wished for a plausible pretext for rebellion, and deliberately
took his chances.
[Illustration: HAROLD BLUETOOTH.]
With a ship-load of priests Haakon departed from this fateful meeting
with the Danish king. But no sooner was he out of Harold's sight, than
he put his priests ashore, and began to harry on both sides of the
Sound. On the rocky cliffs of Gautland he made a grand sacrificial
feast, to counteract the effect of his recent baptism, and stood
watching for a response from the old gods, that they looked upon him
with favor, and would give him success in the war he was about to
undertake. Then two ravens came and followed his ships, "clucking"
loudly. The ravens were the birds of Odin, and Haakon saw in their
flight a happy augury. A warlike fury seems now to have possessed him.
With a recklessness which in so prudent a man is inconceivable (except
under high religious excitement), he burned his ships, landed with his
army on the coast of Sweden, and marched northward, ravaging the land
with fire and sword. A broad track of blood and desolation followed his
destructive progress. Even in the Norwegian province Viken, which Harold
Bluetooth had given to Sweyn Forkbeard, he continued his devastations in
pure wantonness, as if to advertise his defiance of the Danish king and
all that belonged to him. From Viken he took his way overland to
Drontheim, where he henceforth lived as an independent sovereign; though
for some reason he refrained from assuming the royal title.
It was probably some time before Harold Bluetooth could raise an army
strong enough to pursue the earl and defeat him in his own stronghold.
There is some doubt, however, whether his campaign to Norway, for the
purpose of punishing his rebellious vassal, took place in 976 or two or
three years later. Following Haakon's example, he laid the land waste,
killing and burning every thing in his path. In Laerdal in Sogn, he left
only five houses unburned. When, however, Earl Haakon sailed southward
to meet him with a numerous fleet, the king suddenly lost his courage,
set sail, and made for home. It is said that Harold Bluetooth had on
that occasion no less than twelve hundred ships.
Earl Haakon had now peace for some years. He had, as soon as he had
conquered the sons of Gunhild, married the beautiful Thora, daughter of
the powerful chieftain Skage Skoftesson: and had by her two sons, Sweyn
and Heming, and a daughter, Bergljot. Considerably older than these
children, was the earl's illegitimate son, Erik, who, according to one
account, was born when his father was but fifteen years old. There is,
however, good reason for questioning this statement. Erik was a stubborn
and turbulent youth, who could not be induced to respect the authority
of his father. When he was ten or eleven years old, he got into a
dispute with Haakon's brother-in-law Tiding-Skofte, about the right to
anchor his ship next to the earl's. Tiding-Skofte, who was a great
favorite of the earl's, had been especially granted this privilege and
was inclined to insist upon it. To avenge this insult Erik watched his
chance and slew him a year later. He thereby incurred the hostility of
his father, and fled to Viken, where Sweyn Forkbeard gave him a cordial
reception.
It was scarcely to be expected that Harold Bluetooth should quietly
accept the humiliation which Earl Haakon had put upon him. He was,
indeed, getting too old himself to measure strength again with his
powerful antagonist; and he therefore delegated the task of punishing
him to his friends and allies. Among the latter were the celebrated
Jomsvikings, who lived at Jomsborg, on the island of Wollin, at the
mouth of the river Oder. These vikings were a well-disciplined company
of pirates, who made war their exclusive business, living by rapine and
plunder. They were bound by very strict laws to obey their chief, to
spurn death and danger, to aid each other, and to endure pain
uncomplainingly. Like the Italian condottieri, they were willing to
serve any master with whom their chief could make satisfactory
arrangements. For women they professed contempt, and no woman was
permitted to enter their burgh. These formidable marauders Harold
Bluetooth endeavored to stir up against his rebellious vassal. At a
funeral feast which their chief, Earl Sigvalde, made in honor of his
father, a great throng of warriors were present; the ale and mead flowed
abundantly, and there was much good cheer in the hall. When Earl
Sigvalde rose to drink the toast to Brage, he vowed that before three
winters were past he would kill Earl Haakon or expel him from his realm,
or himself die in the attempt. The other vikings, not wishing to be
outdone by their chief, made vows scarcely less daring; and the
enthusiasm rose to such a pitch that no achievement seemed beyond their
strength. When they woke up the next morning, the affair wore a
slightly different aspect; but having once promised, they could not
retreat. So they made a virtue of necessity, and prepared in haste for
the attack. The rumor of their vows had, however, preceded them, and
reached Erik, the son of Earl Haakon. Disregarding his father's
hostility, he hurried northward to Drontheim with all the men he could
gather, and placed them at the disposal of the earl. The Jomsvikings, in
the meanwhile, occupied themselves in plundering the coasts of Norway,
sailing slowly northward with a well-manned fleet of sixty ships. The
number of their warriors was between seven and eight thousand. They met
Earl Haakon and his sons Erik, Sweyn, Sigurd, and Erling at
Hjoerungavaag in Soendmoere. The earl had one hundred and eighty ships,
the majority of which were inferior in size and equipment to those of
his enemies; and according to a probable calculation, his force amounted
to ten or eleven thousand men. So many men and ships had scarcely ever
before been seen together in the North, and the sagas relate that the
fight in Hjoerungavaag (986) was the greatest battle that has ever been
fought in Norway.
[Illustration: RUNESTONE FROM STRAND IN RYFYLKE. THE INSCRIPTION WHICH
IS IN THE OLDEST NORSE RUNES READS AS FOLLOWS: I, HAGUSTALD, BURIED IN
THIS HILL MY SON, HADULAIK.]
As Earl Haakon saw the first of the Jomsvikings sailing up the sound, he
disposed his own ships in battle-array. He gave his oldest son Erik
command of the right wing, placed Sweyn on the left, and himself
commanded the centre. Opposite to Sweyn were the ships of the famous
Jomsviking Vagn Aakesson, whose impetuosity and daring had made him
dreaded far and wide. The young Earl Sweyn was no match for such an
antagonist, and after a gallant resistance he began to retreat. His
brother Erik, seeing the imminent danger, rowed around to his wing,
drove Vagn back, and forced his brother to resume his position. Then he
hastened back to his own wing, and came just in time to check the
progress of Bue the Big (Digre), who commanded the corresponding wing of
the Jomsvikings. The battle now grew furious, and the carnage on both
sides was tremendous. The spears and arrows fell in rattling showers
about Earl Haakon, as he stood in the prow of his ship, and so many hit
him that his shirt of mail was torn into strips, and he was forced to
throw it away. The ships of the vikings were higher than those of the
Norsemen, and the advantage which this afforded the former told at
first heavily against the latter. Then, it is told, Earl Haakon suddenly
disappeared, and the legend relates that he took his youngest son
Erling, went ashore with him, and sacrificed him to the gods for
victory. Instantly the skies grew black, and a violent hail-storm beat
down, pelting the faces of the Jomsvikings and almost blinding them.
Every grain of hail, says the saga, weighed two ounces. Some even
declared that they saw the maidens of Odin, the Valkyrias, Thorgerd and
Irp, standing in the prow of Earl Haakon's ship, sending forth a
deadlier hail of unerring arrows. The Jomsvikings fought half blindly,
fell on the slippery decks in a slush of blood and melting hail, but in
spite of the twilight and confusion yet held their own. Then suddenly
their chief, Earl Sigvalde, turned and fled. Vagn Aakesson, who saw him,
cried out in a frenzy of rage: "Why dost thou flee, thou evil hound, and
leave thy men in the lurch? That shame shall cling to thee all thy
days." Earl Sigvalde made no reply; and it was well for him that he did
not; for in the same instant a spear was hurled forth from Vagn's hand,
transfixing the man at the helm. A moment before Vagn had seen his
chieftain there, and it was for him the spear was intended. Confusion
now became general; and all Earl Sigvalde's men, seeing that his
standard was gone, fell out of line and fled. At last only Vagn Aakesson
and Bue the Big were left. Earl Haakon pulled up alongside the ship of
the latter and a combat ensued, which, in wildness and fury, has
scarcely a parallel in the records of the sagas. Two great champions of
the Jomsvikings, Haavard the Hewer (Huggende) and Aslak Rock-skull
(Holmskalle), vaulted over the gunwale of the earl's ship and made
tremendous havoc, until an Icelander seized an anvil which was used for
sharpening the weapons and dashed it against Aslak's head, splitting his
skull. Haavard had both his feet cut off, but fought on furiously,
standing on his knees. The spears whizzed about the earl's ears and the
arrows flew past him with their angry twang. His men fell and the
Jomsvikings were pressing forward. Then, in the nick of time, came his
son Erik, and, with a throng of his men, boarded the galley of Bue the
Big. In their first onset Bue received a terrible cut across the nose.
"Now," he cried, "I fear the Danish maidens will no more kiss me." Then,
seeing that resistance was vain, he seized two chests full of gold and
shouted: "Overboard all Bue's men," and leaped into the sea. Vagn
Aakesson's galley was likewise boarded, and there was a repetition of
former scenes of carnage. When all but thirty of his men were dead he at
last surrendered. The captives were brought ashore and ordered to sit
down in a row upon a long log. Their feet were tied together with a
rope, while their hands remained free. One of Earl Erik's men, Thorkell
Leira, whom Vagn at that memorable funeral feast had promised to kill,
was granted the privilege to reciprocate the intended favor toward Vagn.
With his axe uplifted he rushed at the captives, and, beginning at one
end of the log, struck off one head after another. He meant to keep Vagn
until the last, in order to increase his agony. But Vagn sat chatting
merrily with his men; and there was much joking and laughter.
"We have often disputed," said one, "as to whether a man knows of any
thing when his head is off. That we can now test, for if I am conscious,
after having lost my head, I will stick my knife into the earth."
When his turn came all sat watching with interest. But his knife fell
from his nerveless grasp, and there was no trace of consciousness. One
of the vikings on the log seemed particularly in excellent spirits. He
laughed and sang, as he saw the bloody heads of his comrades rolling
about his feet. Just at that moment Earl Erik approached and asked him
if he would like to live.
"That depends," answered the viking, "upon who it is who offers me
life."
"He offers who has the power to do it," said the earl; "Earl Erik
himself."
"Then I gladly accept," the viking replied.
The next in order, as the executioner walked up to him, made an
equivocal pun, which, however, pleased Earl Erik so well that he set him
free. Eighteen had now been beheaded and two pardoned. The twenty-first
was a very young man with long, beautiful hair and a handsome
countenance. As Thorkell Leira paused before him he twisted his hair
into a coil and begged him not to soil it with his blood. In order to
humor him, Thorkell told one of the bystanders to take hold of the coil
while he struck off the head. The man consented; but just as the axe
was descending, the Jomsviking pulled his head violently back, and the
obliging assistant had both his hands cut off.
"Some of the Jomsvikings are alive yet," he cried, as he raised his head
laughing.
Earl Erik, who had witnessed this scene, asked him his name.
"I am said to be a son of Bue," he answered.
"Very likely is that," said the earl; "do you wish to live?"
"What other choice have I?" asked the young viking.
When Thorkell Leira observed that Earl Erik was in a forgiving mood, he
grew very wroth. Fearing that he might be thwarted in his vengeance on
Vagn Aakesson, he sprang past the remaining men and, with his axe raised
above his head, rushed toward his enemy. One of the men on the log,
however, seeing his chief's danger, flung himself forward so that
Thorkell stumbled over his body and dropped his axe. Instantly Vagn was
on his feet, seized the axe and dealt Thorkell such a blow that the axe
went through the neck, and the blade was buried in the earth. Thus Vagn
Aakesson was the only one of the Jomsvikings who accomplished what he
had vowed to do. Earl Erik, full of admiration of his feat, now had his
bonds removed and gave him his liberty. The other prisoners who were yet
alive were also set free at the earl's command.
Not far from the spot where this occurred sat Earl Haakon with many of
his chieftains. Suddenly the loud twang of a bow-string was heard, and
in the same instant Gissur the White, from Valders, who sat next to the
earl and was more magnificently dressed than he, fell dead, pierced by
an arrow. Many men hastened down to the ship whence the arrow had come,
and found Haavard the Hewer, who, half dazed with loss of blood, stood
on his knees with his bow in his hands. "Tell me, lads," he said, "did
any one fall over there at the tree?"
He was told that Gissur the White had fallen.
"Then I was not so much in luck as I had hoped," he remarked; "for that
arrow was meant for the earl."
It was plain that the favorable result of this great battle was due
chiefly to the intrepidity and circumspection of Earl Erik. His father
would perhaps have recognized this fact, if the son had not apparently
superseded his authority in sparing the life of so important a man as
Vagn Aakesson without consultation with the commander-in-chief. He did
not, however, venture to disregard Earl Erik's pardon, but loudly
expressed his discontent, and parted from his son in anger. Vagn
followed his rescuer southward, and became his familiar friend and
companion.
Earl Haakon's power was now so well confirmed that no one ventured to
dispute his supremacy. Crops and fisheries were good. The people enjoyed
many years of peace and contentment. The earls of the Orkneys paid
Haakon tribute, as if he had been a king, and a king he was in every
thing except the name. His family had always been associated with the
ancient temple and earldom of Hlade; and it was a matter of pride with
him to retain his ancestral dignity. This is significant when we
consider how he was in all things a man of the old dispensation. At a
time when heathenism was slowly crumbling away, and the faith in the old
gods was losing its hold upon the upper classes, Haakon was a devout and
sincere heathen. The continual intercourse of Norway with England and
the lands of the South had half imperceptibly weakened the old
superstitions and made the legends of Odin and Thor appear to many like
nursery tales which grown-up men could scarcely be expected to believe.
Repudiation of all supernaturalism and a proud reliance upon his own
good sword was at this time characteristic of the Norse viking, who
prided himself upon his knowledge of the world and his deeds in distant
lands. For all that the Asa faith as later events will prove, had yet a
sufficient number of sincere believers to make the progress of the new
faith slow and sanguinary. Nevertheless so atrocious an act as the
sacrifice of one's own child could not have failed to arouse indignation
even among the worshippers of Odin and Thor. Such horrors were tolerated
far back in the gloom of primeval antiquity, but must have been felt in
the tenth century as a hideous anachronism. How much Earl Haakon's
heathen fanaticism contributed to his downfall is difficult to
determine. The sacrifice of Erling during the battle with the
Jomsvikings, though it was generally regarded as a fact, was not the
original cause of the rebellion which cost the earl his throne and his
life. The vices by which he forfeited his early popularity were of a
kind which assert their sway over men, irrespective of religions.
In the year 995 Earl Haakon was travelling in Gauldale, collecting
taxes. His son Erlend, of whom he was very fond, lay with some ships out
in the fiord, waiting to receive the treasure. One evening the earl sent
a company of thralls to the house of the powerful peasant Brynjulf,
commanding him to send him his wife, who was renowned for her beauty.
Brynjulf refused, and the earl in great anger sent the thralls back with
this message to the indignant husband, that he had the choice between
death and the surrender of his wife. The peasant was obliged to yield,
and with a heavy heart let his wife depart with the thralls. But no
sooner was she gone than he recovered his manhood and swore vengeance.
He summoned the inhabitants of the valley from far and near, and told
them of the shame the earl had put upon him. All promised him their
help, and resolved to hold themselves in readiness, awaiting the first
opportunity for attacking the daring profligate. The earl, in the
meanwhile, being quite ignorant of their designs, played into their
hands. Very soon after his adventure with Brynjulf's wife, he sent a
message of similar purport to Orm Lyrgja, whose wife Gudrun, on account
of her beauty, was surnamed "Lundarsol" (the Sun of Lunde).[A] Orm, who
was a man of great authority in his valley, sent word to all his
neighbors, and after having feasted the earl's thralls, in order to
detain them, refused to comply with their demand. Gudrun, who saw them
depart, cried jeeringly after them: "Give the earl my greeting, and
tell him that I will not go to him unless he sends Thora of Rimul to
fetch me." Thora of Rimul was one of the earl's mistresses, whom his
favor had made rich and powerful.
[Footnote A: Lund means a grove, and her name might thus be rendered:
"The Sun of the Grove."]
War-summons was now sent from farm to farm and a great band of armed
peasants came together, and marched toward Medalhus where Haakon was
staying. He sent in haste a message to his son Erlend, to meet him at
Moere, whither he intended to go, as soon as the army of the peasants had
dispersed. Then his time for vengeance would be at hand. In the
meanwhile he would be obliged to dismiss his men and hide, until the
excitement should have subsided. With a single thrall named Kark, whom
he had received as tooth-gift [A] and who had been his playmate in his
boyhood, he fled across the Gaul river, rode his horse into a hole, and
left his cloak upon the ice, in order that his pursuers might believe
that he had been drowned. Then he hastened to his mistress, Thora of
Rimul, who hid him and the thrall in a deep ditch under her pigsty.
Food, candles, and bedclothes, were given them, whereupon the ditch was
covered with boards and earth, and the pig
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