{"collection":"Northern European Mythology","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/neu/heim/04harfgr.htm","path":"neu/heim/04harfgr.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/neu/heim/04harfgr.htm","text":"HARALD HARFAGER'S SAGA.\n1. HARALD'S STRIFE WITH HAKE AND HIS FATHER GANDALF.\nHarald (1) was but ten years old when he succeeded his father\n(Halfdan the Black). He became a stout, strong, and comely man,\nand withal prudent and manly. His mother's brother, Guthorm, was\nleader of the hird, at the head of the government, and commander\n(`hertogi') of the army. After Halfdan the Black's death, many\nchiefs coveted the dominions he had left. Among these King\nGandalf was the first; then Hogne and Frode, sons of Eystein,\nking of Hedemark; and also Hogne Karuson came from Ringerike.\nHake, the son of Gandalf, began with an expedition of 300 men\nagainst Vestfold, marched by the main road through some valleys,\nand expected to come suddenly upon King Harald; while his father\nGandalf sat at home with his army, and prepared to cross over the\nfiord into Vestfold. When Duke Guthorm heard of this he gathered\nan army, and marched up the country with King Harald against\nHake. They met in a valley, in which they fought a great battle,\nand King Harald was victorious; and there fell King Hake and most\nof his people. The place has since been called Hakadale. Then\nKing Harald and Duke Guthorm turned back, but they found King\nGandalf had come to Vestfold. The two armies marched against\neach other, and met, and had a great battle; and it ended in King\nGandalf flying, after leaving most of his men dead on the spot,\nand in that state he came back to his kingdom. Now when the sons\nof King Eystein in Hedemark heard the news, they expected the war\nwould come upon them, and they sent a message to Hogne Karuson\nand to Herse Gudbrand, and appointed a meeting with them at\nRingsaker in Hedemark.\nENDNOTES:\n(1) The first twenty chapters of this saga refer to Harald's\nyouth and his conquest of Norway. This portion of the saga\nis of great importance to the Icelanders, as the settlement\nof their Isle was a result of Harald's wars. The second\npart of the saga (chaps. 21-46) treats of the disputes\nbetween Harald's sons, of the jarls of Orkney, and of the\njarls of More. With this saga we enter the domain of\nhistory. -- Ed.\n2. KING HARALD OVERCOMES FIVE KINGS.\nAfter the battle King Harald and Guthorm turned back, and went\nwith all the men they could gather through the forests towards\nthe Uplands. They found out where the Upland kings had appointed\ntheir meeting-place, and came there about the time of midnight,\nwithout the watchmen observing them until their army was before\nthe door of the house in which Hogne Karuson was, as well as that\nin which Gudbrand slept. They set fire to both houses; but King\nEystein's two sons slipped out with their men, and fought for a\nwhile, until both Hogne and Frode fell. After the fall of these\nfour chiefs, King Harald, by his relation Guthorm's success and\npowers, subdued Hedemark, Ringerike, Gudbrandsdal, Hadeland,\nThoten, Raumarike, and the whole northern part of Vingulmark.\nKing Harald and Guthorm had thereafter war with King Gandalf, and\nfought several battles with him; and in the last of them King\nGandalf was slain, and King Harald took the whole of his kingdom\nas far south as the river Raum.\n3. OF GYDA, DAUGHTER OF EIRIE.\nKing Harald sent his men to a girl called Gyda, daughter of King\nEirik of Hordaland, who was brought up as foster-child in the\nhouse of a great bonde in Valdres. The king wanted her for his\nconcubine; for she was a remarkably handsome girl, but of high\nspirit withal. Now when the messengers came there, and delivered\ntheir errand to the girl, she answered, that she would not throw\nherself away even to take a king for her husband, who had no\ngreater kingdom to rule over than a few districts. \"And\nmethinks,\" said she, \"it is wonderful that no king here in Norway\nwill make the whole country subject to him, in the same way as\nGorm the Old did in Denmark, or Eirik at Upsala.\" The messengers\nthought her answer was dreadfully haughty, and asked what she\nthought would come of such an answer; for Harald was so mighty a\nman, that his invitation was good enough for her. But although\nshe had replied to their errand differently from what they\nwished, they saw no chance, on this occasion, of taking her with\nthem against her will; so they prepared to return. When they\nwere ready, and the people followed them out, Gyda said to the\nmessengers, \"Now tell to King Harald these my words. I will only\nagree to be his 1awful wife upon the condition that he shall\nfirst, for my sake, subject to himself the whole of Norway, so\nthat he may rule over that kingdom as freely and fully as King\nEirik over the Swedish dominions, or King Gorm over Denmark; for\nonly then, methinks, can he be called the king of a people.\"\n4. KING HARALD'S VOW.\nNow came the messengers back to King Harald, bringing him the\nwords of the girl, and saying she was so bold and foolish that\nshe well deserved that the king should send a greater troop of\npeople for her, and inflict on her some disgrace. Then answered\nthe king, \"This girl has not spoken or done so much amiss that\nshe should be punished, but rather she should be thanked for her\nwords. She has reminded me,\" said he, \"of something which it\nappears to me wonderful I did not think of before. And now,\"\nadded he, \"I make the solemn vow, and take God to witness, who\nmade me and rules over all things, that never shall I clip or\ncomb my hair until I have subdued the whole of Norway, with scat\n(1), and duties, and domains; or if not, have died in the\nattempt.\" Guthorm thanked the king warmly for his vow; adding,\nthat it was royal work to fulfil royal words.\nENDNOTES:\n(1) Scat was a land-tax, paid to the king in money, malt, meal,\nor flesh-meat, from all lands, and was adjudged by the Thing\nto each king upon his accession, and being proposed and\naccepted as king.\n5. THE BATTLE IN ORKADAL.\nAfter this the two relations gather together a great force, and\nprepare for an expedition to the Uplands, and northwards up the\nvalley (Gudbrandsdal), and north over Dovrefjeld; and when the\nking came down to the inhabited land he ordered all the men to be\nkilled, and everything wide around to be delivered to the flames.\nAnd when the people came to know this, they fled every one where\nhe could; some down the country to Orkadal, some to Gaulardal,\nsome to the forests. But some begged for peace, and obtained it,\non condition of joining the king and becoming his men. He met no\nopposition until he came to Orkadal. There a crowd of people had\nassembled, and he had his first battle with a king called\nGryting. Harald won the victory, and King Gryting was made\nprisoner, and most of his people killed. He took service himself\nunder the king, and swore fidelity to him. Thereafer all the\npeople in Orkadal district went under King Harald, and became his\nmen.\n6. KING HARALD S LAWS FOR LAND PROPERTY.\nKing Harald made this law over all the lands he conquered, that\nall the udal property should belong to him; and that the bondes,\nboth great and small, should pay him land dues for their\npossessions. Over every district he set an earl to judge\naccording to the law of the land and to justice, and also to\ncollect the land dues and the fines; and for this each earl\nreceived a third part of the dues, and services, and fines, for\nthe support of his table and other expenses. Each earl had under\nhim four or more herses, each of whom had an estate of twenty\nmarks yearly income bestowed on him and was bound to support\ntwenty men-at-arms, and the earl sixty men, at their own\nexpenses. The king had increased the land dues and burdens so\nmuch, that each of his earls had greater power and income than\nthe kings had before; and when that became known at Throndhjem,\nmany great men joined the king and took his service.\n7. BATTLE IN GAULARDAL.\nIt is told that Earl Hakon Grjotgardson came to King Harald from\nYrjar, and brought a great crowd of men to his service. Then\nKing Harald went into Gaulardal, and had a great battle, in which\nhe slew two kings, and conquered their dominions; and these were\nGaulardal district and Strind district. He gave Earl Hakon\nStrind district to rule over as earl. King Harald then proceeded\nto Stjoradal, and had a third battle, in which he gained the\nvictory, and took that district also. There upon the Throndhjem\npeople assembled, and four kings met together with their troops.\nThe one ruled over Veradal, the second over Skaun, third over the\nSparbyggja district, and the fourth over Eyin Idre (Inderoen);\nand this latter had also Eyna district. These four kings marched\nwith their men against King Harald, but he won the battle; and\nsome of these kings fell, and some fled. In all, King Harald\nfought at the least eight battles, and slew eight kings, in the\nThrondhjem district, and laid the whole of it under him.\n8. HARALD SEIZES NAUMUDAL DISTRICT.\nNorth in Naumudal were two brothers, kings, -- Herlaug and\nHrollaug; and they had been for three summers raising a mound or\ntomb of stone and lime and of wood. Just as the work was\nfinished, the brothers got the news that King Harald was coming\nupon them with his army. Then King Herlaug had a great quantity\nof meat and drink brought into the mound, and went into it\nhimself, with eleven companions, and ordered the mound to be\ncovered up. King Hrollaug, on the contrary, went upon the summit\nof the mound, on which the kings were wont to sit, and made a\nthrone to be erected, upon which he seated himself. Then he\nordered feather-beds to be laid upon the bench below, on which\nthe earls were wont to be seated, and threw himself down from his\nhigh seat or throne into the earl's seat, giving himself the\ntitle of earl. Now Hrollaug went to meet King Harald, gave up to\nhim his whole kingdom, offered to enter into his service, and\ntold him his whole proceeding. Then took King Harald a sword,\nfastened it to Hrollaug's belt, bound a shield to his neck, and\nmade him thereupon an earl, and led him to his earl's seat; and\ntherewith gave him the district Naumudal, and set him as earl\nover it ((A.D. 866)). (1)\nENDNOTES:\n(1) Before writing was in general use, this symbolical way of\nperforming all important legal acts appears to have entered\ninto the jurisprudence of all savage nations; and according\nto Gibbon, chap. 44, \"the jurisprudence of the first Romans\nexhibited the scenes of a pantomime; the words were adapted\nto the gestures, and the slightest error or neglect in the\nforms of proceeding was sufficient to annul the substance of\nthe fairest claims.\" -- Ed.\n9. KING HARALD'S HOME AFFAIRS.\nKing Harald then returned to Throndhjem, where he dwelt during\nthe winter, and always afterwards called it his home. He fixed\nhere his head residence, which is called Lade. This winter he\ntook to wife Asa, a daughter of Earl Hakon Grjotgardson, who then\nstood in great favour and honour with the king. In spring the\nking fitted out his ships. In winter he had caused a great\nfrigate (a dragon) to be built, and had it fitted-out in the most\nsplendid way, and brought his house-troops and his berserks on\nboard. The forecastle men were picked men, for they had the\nking's banner. From the stem to the mid-hold was called rausn,\nor the fore-defence; and there were the berserks. Such men only\nwere received into King Harald's house-troop as were remarkable\nfor strength, courage, and all kinds of dexterity; and they alone\ngot place in his ship, for he had a good choice of house-troops\nfrom the best men of every district. King Harald had a great\narmy, many large ships, and many men of might followed him.\nHornklofe, in his poem called \"Glymdrapa\", tells of this; and\nalso that King Harald had a battle with the people of Orkadal, at\nOpdal forest, before he went upon this expedition.\n\"O'er the broad heath the bowstrings twang,\nWhile high in air the arrows sang.\nThe iron shower drives to flight\nThe foeman from the bloody fight.\nThe warder of great Odin's shrine,\nThe fair-haired son of Odin's line,\nRaises the voice which gives the cheer,\nFirst in the track of wolf or bear.\nHis master voice drives them along\nTo Hel -- a destined, trembling throng;\nAnd Nokve's ship, with glancing sides,\nMust fly to the wild ocean's tides. --\nMust fly before the king who leads\nNorse axe-men on their ocean steeds.\"\n10. BATTLE AT SOLSKEL\nKing Harald moved out with his army from Throndhjem, and went\nsouthwards to More. Hunthiof was the name of the king who ruled\nover the district of More. Solve Klofe was the name of his son,\nand both were great warriors. King Nokve, who ruled over\nRaumsdal, was the brother of Solve's mother. Those chiefs\ngathered a great force when they heard of King Harald, and came\nagainst him. They met at Solskel, and there was a great battle,\nwhich was gained by King Harald (A.D. 867). Hornklofe tells of\nthis battle: --\n\"Thus did the hero known to fame,\nThe leader of the shields, whose name\nStrikes every heart with dire dismay,\nLaunch forth his war-ships to the fray.\nTwo kings he fought; but little strife\nWas needed to cut short their life.\nA clang of arms by the sea-shore, --\nAnd the shields' sound was heard no more.\"\nThe two kings were slain, but Solve escaped by flight; and King\nHarald laid both districts under his power. He stayed here long\nin summer to establish law and order for the country people, and\nset men to rule them, and keep them faithful to him; and in\nautumn he prepared to return northwards to Throndhjem. Ragnvald\nEarl of More, a son of Eystein Glumra, had the summer before\nbecome one of Harald's men; and the king set him as chief over\nthese two districts, North More and Raumsdal; strengthened him\nboth with men of might and bondes, and gave him the help of\nships to defend the coast against enemies. He was called\nRagnvald the Mighty, or the Wise; and people say both names\nsuited him well. King Harald came back to Throndhjem about\nwinter.\n11. FALL OF KINGS ARNVID AND AUDBJORN.\nThe following spring (A.D. 868) King Harald raised a great force\nin Throndhjem, and gave out that he would proceed to South More.\nSolve Klofe had passed the winter in his ships of war, plundering\nin North More, and had killed many of King Harald's men;\npillaging some places, burning others, and making great ravage;\nbut sometimes he had been, during the winter, with his friend\nKing Arnvid in South More. Now when he heard that King Harald\nwas come with ships and a great army, he gathered people, and was\nstrong in men-at-arms; for many thought they had to take\nvengeance of King Harald. Solve Klofe went southwards to\nFirdafylke (the Fjord district), which King Audbjorn ruled over,\nto ask him to help, and join his force to King Arnvid's and his\nown. \"For,\" said he, \"it is now clear that we all have but one\ncourse to take; and that is to rise, all as one man, against King\nHarald, for we have strength enough, and fate must decide the\nvictory; for as to the other condition of becoming his servants,\nthat is no condition for us, who are not less noble than Harald.\nMy father thought it better to fall in battle for his kingdom,\nthan to go willingly into King Harald's service, or not to abide\nthe chance of weapons like the Naumudal kings.\" King Solve's\nspeech was such that King Audbjorn promised his help, and\ngathered a great force together and went with it to King Arnvid,\nand they had a great army. Now, they got news that King Harald\nwas come from the north, and they met within Solskel. And it was\nthe custom to lash the ships together, stem to stem; so it was\ndone now. King Harald laid his ship against King Arnvid's, and\nthere was the sharpest fight, and many men fell on both sides.\nAt last King Harald was raging with anger, and went forward to\nthe fore-deck, and slew so dreadfully that all the forecastle men\nof Arnvid's ship were driven aft of the mast, and some fell.\nThereupon Harald boarded the ship, and King Arnvid's men tried to\nsave themselves by flight, and he himself was slain in his ship.\nKing Audbjorn also fell; but Solve fled. So says Hornklofe: --\n\"Against the hero's shield in vain\nThe arrow-storm fierce pours its rain.\nThe king stands on the blood-stained deck,\nTrampling on many a stout foe's neck;\nAnd high above the dinning stound\nOf helm and axe, and ringing sound\nOf blade and shield, and raven's cry,\nIs heard his shout of `Victory!'\"\nOf King Harald's men, fell his earls Asgaut and Asbjorn, together\nwith his brothers-in-law, Grjotgard and Herlaug, the sons of Earl\nHakon of Lade. Solve became afterwards a great sea-king, and\noften did great damage in King Harald's dominions.\n12. KING VEMUND BURNT TO DEATH.\nAfter this battle (A.D. 868) King Harald subdued South More; but\nVemund, King Audbjorn's brother, still had Firdafylke. It was\nnow late in harvest, and King Harald's men gave him the counsel\nnot to proceed south-wards round Stad. Then King Harald set Earl\nRagnvald over South and North More and also Raumsdal, and he had\nmany people about him. King Harald returned to Throndhjem. The\nsame winter (A.D. 869) Ragnvald went over Eid, and southwards to\nthe Fjord district. There he heard news of King Vemund, and came\nby night to a place called Naustdal, where King Vemund was living\nin guest-quarters. Earl Ragnvald surrounded the house in which\nthey were quartered, and burnt the king in it, together with\nninety men. The came Berdlukare to Earl Ragnvald with a complete\narmed long-ship, and they both returned to More. The earl took\nall the ships Vemund had, and all the goods he could get hold of.\nBerdlukare proceeded north to Throndhjem to King Harald, and\nbecame his man; and dreadful berserk he was.\n13. DEATH OF EARLS HAKON, AND ATLE MJOVE.\nThe following spring (A.D. 869) King Harald went southwards with\nhis fleet along the coast, and subdued Firdafylke. Then he\nsailed eastward along the land until he came to Vik; but he left\nEarl Hakon Grjotgardson behind, and set him over the Fjord\ndistrict. Earl Hakon sent word to Earl Atle Mjove that he should\nleave Sogn district, and be earl over Gaular district, as he had\nbeen before, alleging that King Harald had given Sogn district to\nhim. Earl Atle sent word that he would keep both Sogn district\nand Gaular district, until he met King Harald. The two earls\nquarreled about this so long, that both gathered troops. They\nmet at Fialar, in Stavanger fiord, and had a great battle, in\nwhich Earl Hakon fell, and Earl Atle got a mortal wound, and his\nmen carried him to the island of Atley, where he died. So says\nEyvind Skaldaspiller: --\n\"He who stood a rooted oak,\nUnshaken by the swordsman's stroke,\nAmidst the whiz of arrows slain,\nHas fallen upon Fjalar's plain.\nThere, by the ocean's rocky shore,\nThe waves are stained with the red gore\nOf stout Earl Hakon Grjotgard's son,\nAnd of brave warriors many a one.\"\n14. HARALD AND THE SWEDISH KING EIRIK.\nKing Harald came with his fleet eastward to Viken and landed at\nTunsberg, which was then a trading town. He had then been four\nyears in Throndhjem, and in all that time had not been in Viken.\nHere he heard the news that Eirik Eymundson, king of Sweden, had\nlaid under him Vermaland, and was taking scat or land-tax from\nall the forest settlers; and also that he called the whole\ncountry north to Svinasund, and west along the sea, West\nGautland; and which altogether he reckoned to his kingdom, and\ntook land-tax from it. Over this country he had set an earl, by\nname Hrane Gauzke, who had the earldom between Svinasund and the\nGaut river, and was a mighty earl. And it was told to King\nHarald that the Swedish king said he would not rest until he had\nas great a kingdom in Viken as Sigurd Hring, or his son Ragnar\nLodbrok, had possessed; and that was Raumarike and Vestfold, all\nthe way to the isle Grenmar, and also Vingulmark, and all that\nlay south of it. In all these districts many chiefs, and many\nother people, had given obedience to the Swedish king. King\nHarald was very angry at this, and summoned the bondes to a Thing\nat Fold, where he laid an accusation against them for treason\ntowards him. Some bondes defended themselves from the\naccusation, some paid fines, some were punished. He went thus\nthrough the whole district during the summer, and in harvest he\ndid the same in Raumarike, and laid the two districts under his\npower. Towards winter he heard that Eirik king of Sweden was,\nwith his court, going about in Vermaland in guest-quarters.\n15. HARALD AT A FEAST OF THE PEASANT AKE.\nKing Harald takes his way across the Eid forest eastward, and\ncomes out in Vermaland, where he also orders feasts to be\nprepared for himself. There was a man by name Ake, who was the\ngreatest of the bondes of Vermaland, very rich, and at that time\nvery aged. He sent men to King Harald, and invited him to a\nfeast, and the king promised to come on the day appointed. Ake\ninvited also King Eirik to a feast, and appointed the same day.\nAke had a great feasting hall, but it was old; and he made a new\nhall, not less than the old one, and had it ornamented in the\nmost splendid way. The new hall he had hung with new hangings,\nbut the old had only its old ornaments. Now when the kings came\nto the feast, King Eirik with his court was taken into the old\nhall; but Harald with his followers into the new. The same\ndifference was in all the table furniture, and King Eirik and his\nmen had the old-fashioned vessels and horns, but all gilded and\nsplendid; while King Harald and his men had entirely new vessels\nand horns adorned with gold, all with carved figures, and shining\nlike glass; and both companies had the best of liquor. Ake the\nbonde had formerly been King Halfdan the Black s man. Now when\ndaylight came, and the feast was quite ended, and the kings made\nthemselves ready for their journey, and the horses were saddled,\ncame Ake before King Harald, leading in his hand his son Ubbe, a\nboy of twelve years of age, and said, \"If the goodwill I have\nshown to thee, sire, in my feast, be worth thy friendship, show\nit hereafter to my son. I give him to thee now for thy service.\"\nThe king thanked him with many agreeable words for his friendly\nentertainment, and promised him his full friendship in return.\nThen Ake brought out great presents, which he gave to the king,\nand they gave each other thereafter the parting kiss. Ake went\nnext to the Swedish king, who was dressed and ready for the road,\nbut not in the best humour. Ake gave to him also good and\nvaluable gifts; but the king answered only with few words, and\nmounted his horse. Ake followed the king on the road and talked\nwith him. The road led through a wood which was near to the\nhouse; and when Ake came to the wood, the king said to him, \"How\nwas it that thou madest such a difference between me and King\nHarald as to give him the best of everything, although thou\nknowest thou art my man?\" \"I think\" answered Ake, \"that there\nfailed in it nothing, king, either to you or to your attendants,\nin friendly entertainment at this feast. But that all the\nutensils for your drinking were old, was because you are now old;\nbut King Harald is in the bloom of youth, and therefore I gave\nhim the new things. And as to my being thy man, thou art just as\nmuch my man.\" On this the king out with his sword, and gave Ake\nhis deathwound. King Harald was ready now also to mount his\nhorse, and desired that Ake should be called. The people went to\nseek him; and some ran up the road that King Eirik had taken, and\nfound Ake there dead. They came back, and told the news to King\nHarald, and he bids his men to be up, and avenge Ake the bonde.\nAnd away rode he and his men the way King Eirik had taken, until\nthey came in sight of each other. Each for himself rode as hard\nas he could, until Eirik came into the wood which divides\nGautland and Vermaland. There King Harald wheels about, and\nreturns to Vermaland, and lays the country under him, and kills\nKing Eirik's men wheresoever he can find them. In winter King\nHarald returned to Raumarike, and dwelt there a while.\n16. HARALD'S JOURNEY TO TUNSBERG.\nKing Harald went out in winter to his ships at Tunsberg, rigged\nthem, and sailed away eastward over the fiord, and subjected all\nVingulmark to his dominion. All winter he was out with his\nships, and marauded in Ranrike; so says Thorbjorn Hornklofe: --\n\"The Norseman's king is on the sea,\nTho' bitter wintry cold it be. --\nOn the wild waves his Yule keeps he.\nWhen our brisk king can get his way,\nHe'll no more by the fireside stay\nThan the young sun; he makes us play\nThe game of the bright sun-god Frey.\nBut the soft Swede loves well the fire\nThe well-stuffed couch, the doway glove,\nAnd from the hearth-seat will not move.\"\nThe Gautlanders gathered people together all over the country.\n17. THE BATTLE IN GAUTLAND.\nIn spring, when the ice was breaking up, the Gautlanders drove\nstakes into the Gaut river to hinder King Harald with his ships\nfrom coming to the land. But King Harald laid his ships\nalongside the stakes, and plundered the country, and burnt all\naround; so says Horn klofe: --\n\"The king who finds a dainty feast,\nFor battle-bird and prowling beast,\nHas won in war the southern land\nThat lies along the ocean's strand.\nThe leader of the helmets, he\nWho leads his ships o'er the dark sea,\nHarald, whose high-rigged masts appear\nLike antlered fronts of the wild deer,\nHas laid his ships close alongside\nOf the foe's piles with daring pride.\"\nAfterwards the Gautlanders came down to the strand with a great\narmy, and gave battle to King Harald, and great was the fall of\nmen. But it was King Harald who gained the day. Thus says\nHornklofe: --\n\"Whistles the battle-axe in its swing\nO'er head the whizzing javelins sing,\nHelmet and shield and hauberk ring;\nThe air-song of the lance is loud,\nThe arrows pipe in darkening cloud;\nThrough helm and mail the foemen feel\nThe blue edge of our king's good steel\nWho can withstand our gallant king?\nThe Gautland men their flight must wing.\"\n18. HRANE GAUZKE'S DEATH.\nKing Harald went far and wide through Gautland, and many were the\nbattles he fought there on both sides of the river, and in\ngeneral he was victorious. In one of these battles fell Hrane\nGauzke; and then the king took his whole land north of the river\nand west of the Veneren, and also Vermaland. And after he turned\nback there-from, he set Duke Guthorm as chief to defend the\ncountry, and left a great force with him. King Harald himself\nwent first to the Uplands, where he remained a while, and then\nproceeded northwards over the Dovrefjeld to Throndhjem, where he\ndwelt for a long time. Harald began to have children. By Asa he\nhad four sons. The eldest was Guthorm. Halfdan the Black and\nHalfdan the White were twins. Sigfrod was the fourth. They were\nall brought up in Throndhjem with all honour.\n19. BATTLE IN HAFERSFJORD.\nNews came in from the south land that the people of Hordaland and\nRogaland, Agder and Thelemark, were gathering, and bringing\ntogether ships and weapons, and a great body of men. The leaders\nof this were Eirik king of Hordaland; Sulke king of Rogaland, and\nhis brother Earl Sote: Kjotve the Rich, king of Agder, and his\nson Thor Haklang; and from Thelemark two brothers, Hroald Hryg\nand Had the Hard. Now when Harald got certain news of this, he\nassembled his forces, set his ships on the water, made himself\nready with his men, and set out southwards along the coast,\ngathering many people from every district. King Eirik heard of\nthis when he same south of Stad; and having assembled all the men\nhe could expect, he proceeded southwards to meet the force which\nhe knew was coming to his help from the east. The whole met\ntogether north of Jadar, and went into Hafersfjord, where King\nHarald was waiting with his forces. A great battle began, which\nwas both hard and long; but at last King Harald gained the day.\nThere King Eirik fell, and King Sulke, with his brother Earl\nSote. Thor Haklang, who was a great berserk, had laid his ship\nagainst King Harald's, and there was above all measure a\ndesperate attack, until Thor Haklang fell, and his whole ship was\ncleared of men. Then King Kjotve fled to a little isle outside,\non which there was a good place of strength. Thereafter all his\nmen fled, some to their ships, some up to the land; and the\nlatter ran southwards over the country of Jadar. So says\nHornklofe, viz.: --\n\"Has the news reached you? -- have you heard\nOf the great fight at Hafersfjord,\nBetween our noble king brave Harald\nAnd King Kjotve rich in gold?\nThe foeman came from out the East,\nKeen for the fray as for a feast.\nA gallant sight it was to see\nTheir fleet sweep o'er the dark-blue sea:\nEach war-ship, with its threatening throat\nOf dragon fierce or ravenous brute (1)\nGrim gaping from the prow; its wales\nGlittering with burnished shields, (2) like scales\nIts crew of udal men of war,\nWhose snow-white targets shone from far\nAnd many a mailed spearman stout\nFrom the West countries round about,\nEnglish and Scotch, a foreign host,\nAnd swordamen from the far French coast.\nAnd as the foemen's ships drew near,\nThe dreadful din you well might hear\nSavage berserks roaring mad,\nAnd champions fierce in wolf-skins clad, (3)\nHowling like wolves; and clanking jar\nOf many a mail-clad man of war.\nThus the foe came; but our brave king\nTaught them to fly as fast again.\nFor when he saw their force come o'er,\nHe launched his war-ships from the shore.\nOn the deep sea he launched his fleet\nAnd boldly rowed the foe to meet.\nFierce was the shock, and loud the clang\nOf shields, until the fierce Haklang,\nThe foeman's famous berserk, fell.\nThen from our men burst forth the yell\nOf victory, and the King of Gold\nCould not withstand our Harald bold,\nBut fled before his flaky locks\nFor shelter to the island rocks.\nAll in the bottom of the ships\nThe wounded lay, in ghastly heaps;\nBacks up and faces down they lay\nUnder the row-seats stowed away;\nAnd many a warrior's shield, I ween\nMight on the warrior's back be seen,\nTo shield him as he fled amain\nFrom the fierce stone-storm's pelting rain.\nThe mountain-folk, as I've heard say,\nNe'er stopped as they ran from the fray,\nTill they had crossed the Jadar sea,\nAnd reached their homes -- so keen each soul\nTo drown his fright in the mead bowl.\"\nENDNOTES:\n(1) The war-ships were called dragons, from being decorated with\nthe head of a dragon, serpent, or other wild animal; and the\nword \"draco\" was adopted in the Latin of the Middle Ages to\ndenote a ship of war of the larger class. The snekke was\nthe cutter or smaller war-ship. -- L.\n(2) The shields were hung over the side-rails of the ships. --\nL.\n(3) The wolf-skin pelts were nearly as good as armour against\nthe sword.\n20. HARALD SUPREME SOVEREIGN IN NORWAY.\nAfter this battle King Harald met no opposition in Norway, for\nall his opponents and greatest enemies were cut off. But some,\nand they were a great multitude, fled out of the country, and\nthereby great districts were peopled. Jemtaland and\nHelsingjaland were peopled then, although some Norwegians had\nalready set up their habitation there. In the discontent that\nKing Harald seized on the lands of Norway, the out-countries of\nIceland and the Farey Isles were discovered and peopled. The\nNorthmen had also a great resort to Hjaltland (Shetland Isles)\nand many men left Norway, flying the country on account of King\nHarald, and went on viking cruises into the West sea. In winter\nthey were in the Orkney Islands and Hebrides; but marauded in\nsummer in Norway, and did great damage. Many, however, were the\nmighty men who took service under King Harald, and became his\nmen, and dwelt in the land with him.\n21. HARALD'S MARRIAGE AND HIS CHILDREN.\nWhen King Harald had now become sole king over all Norway, he\nremembered what that proud girl had said to him; so he sent men\nto her, and had her brought to him, and took her to his bed. And\nthese were their children: Alof -- she was the eldest; then was\ntheir son Hrorek; then Sigtryg, Frode, and Thorgils. King Harald\nhad many wives and many children. Among them he had one wife,\nwho was called Ragnhild the Mighty, a daughter of King Eirik,\nfrom Jutland; and by her he had a son, Eirik Blood-axe. He was\nalso married to Svanhild, a daughter of Earl Eystein; and their\nsons were Olaf Geirstadaalf, Bjorn and Ragnar Rykkil. Lastly,\nKing Harald married Ashild, a daughter of Hring Dagson, up in\nRingerike; and their children were, Dag, Hring, Gudrod Skiria,\nand Ingigerd. It is told that King Harald put away nine wives\nwhen he married Ragnhild the Mighty. So says Hornklofe: --\n\"Harald, of noblest race the head,\nA Danish wife took to his bed;\nAnd out of doors nine wives he thrust, --\nThe mothers of the princes first.\nWho 'mong Holmrygians hold command,\nAnd those who rule in Hordaland.\nAnd then he packed from out the place\nThe children born of Holge's race.\"\nKing Harald's children were all fostered and brought up by their\nrelations on the mother's side. Guthorm the Duke had poured\nwater over King Harald's eldest son and had given him his own\nname. He set the child upon his knee, and was his foster-father,\nand took him with himself eastward to Viken, and there he was\nbrought up in the house of Guthorm. Guthorm ruled the whole land\nin Viken and the Uplands, when King Harald was absent.\n22. KING HARALD'S VOYAGE TO THE WEST.\nKing Harald heard that the vikings, who were in the West sea in\nwinter, plundered far and wide in the middle part of Norway; and\ntherefore every summer he made an expedition to search the isles\nand out-skerries (1) on the coast. Wheresoever the vikings heard\nof him they all took to flight, and most of them out into the\nopen ocean. At last the king grew weary of this work, and\ntherefore one summer he sailed with his fleet right out into the\nWest sea. First he came to Hjaltland (Shetland), and he slew all\nthe vikings who could not save themselves by flight. Then King\nHarald sailed southwards, to the Orkney Islands, and cleared them\nall of vikings. Thereafter he proceeded to the Sudreys\n(Hebrides), plundered there, and slew many vikings who formerly\nhad had men-at-arms under them. Many a battle was fought, and\nKing Harald was always victorious. He then plundered far and\nwide in Scotland itself, and had a battle there. When he was\ncome westward as far as the Isle of Man, the report of his\nexploits on the land had gone before him; for all the inhabitants\nhad fled over to Scotland, and the island was left entirely bare\nboth of people and goods, so that King Harald and his men made no\nbooty when they landed. So says Hornklofe: --\n\"The wise, the noble king, great\nWhose hand so freely scatters gold,\nLed many a northern shield to war\nAgainst the town upon the shore.\nThe wolves soon gathered on the sand\nOf that sea-shore; for Harald's hand\nThe Scottish army drove away,\nAnd on the coast left wolves a prey.\"\nIn this war fell Ivar, a son of Ragnvald, Earl of More; and King\nHarald gave Ragnvald, as a compensation for the loss, the Orkney\nand Shetland isles, when he sailed from the West; but Ragnvald\nimmediately gave both these countries to his brother Sigurd, who\nremained behind them; and King Harald, before sailing eastward,\ngave Sigurd the earldom of them. Thorstein the Red, a son of\nOlaf the White and of Aud the Wealthy, entered into partnership\nwith him; and after plundering in Scotland, they subdued\nCaithness and Sutherland, as far as Ekkjalsbakke. Earl Sigurd\nkilled Melbridge Tooth, a Scotch earl, and hung his head to his\nstirrup-leather; but the calf of his leg were scratched by the\nteeth, which were sticking out from the head, and the wound\ncaused inflammation in his leg, of which the earl died, and he\nwas laid in a mound at Ekkjalsbakke. His son Guthorm ruled over\nthese countries for about a year thereafter, and died without\nchildren. Many vikings, both Danes and Northmen, set themselves\ndown then in those countries.\nENDNOTES:\n(1) Skerries are the uninhabited dry or halt-tide rocks of a\ncoast. -- L.\n23. HARALD HAS HIS HAIR CLIPPED.\nAfter King Harald had subdued the whole land, he was one day at\na feast in More, given by Earl Ragnvald. Then King Harald went\ninto a bath, and had his hair dressed. Earl Ragnvald now cut his\nhair, which had been uncut and uncombed for ten years; and\ntherefore the king had been called Lufa (i.e., with rough matted\nhair). But then Earl Ragnvald gave him the distinguishing name\n-- Harald Harfager (i.e., fair hair); and all who saw him agreed\nthat there was the greatest truth in the surname, for he had the\nmost beautiful and abundant head of hair.\n24. ROLF GANGER DRIVEN INTO BANISHMENT.\nEarl Ragnvald was King Harald's dearest friend, and the king had\nthe greatest regard for him. He was married to Hild, a daughter\nof Rolf Nefia, and their sons were Rolf and Thorer. Earl\nRagnvald had also three sons by concubines, -- the one called\nHallad, the second Einar, the third Hrollaug; and all three were\ngrown men when their brothers born in marriage were still\nchildren Rolf became a great viking, and was of so stout a growth\nthat no horse could carry him, and wheresoever he went he must go\non foot; and therefore he was called Rolf Ganger. He plundered\nmuch in the East sea. One summer, as he was coming from the\neastward on a viking's expedition to the coast of Viken, he\nlanded there and made a cattle foray. As King Harald happened,\njust at that time, to be in Viken, he heard of it, and was in a\ngreat rage; for he had forbid, by the greatest punishment, the\nplundering within the bounds of the country. The king assembled\na Thing, and had Rolf declared an outlaw over all Norway. When\nRolf's mother, Hild heard of it she hastened to the king, and\nentreated peace for Rolf; but the king was so enraged that here\nentreaty was of no avail. Then Hild spake these lines: --\n\"Think'st thou, King Harald, in thy anger,\nTo drive away my brave Rolf Ganger\nLike a mad wolf, from out the land?\nWhy, Harald, raise thy mighty hand?\nWhy banish Nefia's gallant name-son,\nThe brother of brave udal-men?\nWhy is thy cruelty so fell?\nBethink thee, monarch, it is ill\nWith such a wolf at wolf to play,\nWho, driven to the wild woods away\nMay make the king's best deer his prey.\"\nRolf Ganger went afterwards over sea to the West to the Hebrides,\nor Sudreys; and at last farther west to Valland, where he\nplundered and subdued for himself a great earldom, which he\npeopled with Northmen, from which that land is called Normandy.\nRolf Ganger's son was William, father to Richard, and grandfather\nto another Richard, who was the father of Robert Longspear, and\ngrandfather of William the Bastard, from whom all the following\nEnglish kings are descended. From Rolf Ganger also are descended\nthe earls in Normandy. Queen Ragnhild the Mighty lived three\nyears after she came to Norway; and, after her death, her son and\nKing Harald's was taken to the herse Thorer Hroaldson, and Eirik\nwas fostered by him.\n25. OF THE FIN SVASE AND KING HARALD.\nKing Harald, one winter, went about in guest-quarters in the\nUplands, and had ordered a Christmas feast to be prepared for him\nat the farm Thoptar. On Christmas eve came Svase to the door,\njust as the king went to table, and sent a message to the king to\nask if he would go out with him. The king was angry at such a\nmessage, and the man who had brought it in took out with him a\nreply of the king's displeasure. But Svase, notwithstanding,\ndesired that his message should be delivered a second time;\nadding to it, that he was the Fin whose hut the king had promised\nto visit, and which stood on the other side of the ridge. Now\nthe king went out, and promised to go with him, and went over the\nridge to his hut, although some of his men dissuaded him. There\nstood Snaefrid, the daughter of Svase, a most beautiful girl; and\nshe filled a cup of mead for the king. But he took hold both of\nthe cup and of her hand. Immediately it was as if a hot fire\nwent through his body; and he wanted that very night to take her\nto his bed. But Svase said that should not be unless by main\nforce, if he did not first make her his lawful wife. Now King\nHarald made Snaefrid his lawful wife, and loved her so\npassionately that he forgot his kingdom, and all that belonged to\nhis high dignity. They had four sons: the one was Sigurd Hrise;\nthe others Halfdan Haleg, Gudrod Ljome and Ragnvald Rettilbeine.\nThereafter Snaefrid died; but her corpse never changed, but was\nas fresh and red as when she lived. The king sat always beside\nher, and thought she would come to life again. And so it went on\nfor three years that he was sorrowing over her death, and the\npeople over his delusion. At last Thorleif the Wise succeeded,\nby his prudence, in curing him of his delusion by accosting him\nthus: -- \"It is nowise wonderful, king, that thou grievest over\nso beautiful and noble a wife, and bestowest costly coverlets and\nbeds of down on her corpse, as she desired; but these honours\nfall short of what is due, as she still lies in the same clothes.\nIt would be more suitable to raise her, and change her dress.\"\nAs soon as the body was raised in the bed all sorts of corruption\nand foul smells came from it, and it was necessary in all haste\nto gather a pile of wood and burn it; but before this could be\ndone the body turned blue, and worms, toads, newts, paddocks, and\nall sorts of ugly reptiles came out of it, and it sank into\nashes. Now the king came to his understanding again, threw the\nmadness out of his mind, and after that day ruled his kingdom as\nbefore. He was strengthened and made joyful by his subjects, and\nhis subjects by him and the country by both.\n26. OF THJODOLF OF HVIN, THE SKALD.\nAfter King Harald had experienced the cunning of the Fin woman,\nhe was so angry that he drove from him the sons he had with her,\nand would not suffer them before his eyes. But one of them,\nGudrod Ljome, went to his foster-father Thjodolf of Hvin, and\nasked him to go to the king, who was then in the Uplands; for\nThjodolf was a great friend of the king. And so they went, and\ncame to the king's house late in the evening, and sat down\ntogether unnoticed near the door. The king walked up and down\nthe floor casting his eye along the benches; for he had a feast\nin the house, and the mead was just mixed. The king then\nmurmured out these lines: --\n\"Tell me, ye aged gray-haired heroes,\nWho have come here to seek repose,\nWherefore must I so many keep\nOf such a set, who, one and all,\nRight dearly love their souls to steep,\nFrom morn till night, in the mead-bowl?\"\nThen Thjodolf replies: --\n\"A certain wealthy chief, I think,\nWould gladly have had more to drink\nWith him, upon one bloody day,\nWhen crowns were cracked in our sword-play.\"\nThjodolf then took off his hat, and the king recognised him, and\ngave him a friendly reception. Thjodolf then begged the king not\nto cast off his sons; \"for they would with great pleasure have\ntaken a better family descent upon the mother's side, if the king\nhad given it to them.\" The king assented, and told him to take\nGudrod with him as formerly; and he sent Halfdan and Sigurd to\nRingerike, and Ragnvald to Hadaland, and all was done as the king\nordered. They grew up to be very clever men, very expert in all\nexercises. In these times King Harald sat in peace in the land,\nand the land enjoyed quietness and good crops.\n27. OF EARL TORFEINAR'S OBTAINING ORKNEY.\nWhen Earl Ragnvald in More heard of the death of his brother Earl\nSigurd, and that the vikings were in possession of the country,\nhe sent his son Hallad westward, who took the title of earl to\nbegin with, and had many men-at-arms with him. When he arrived\nat the Orkney Islands, he established himself in the country; but\nboth in harvest, winter, and spring, the vikings cruised about\nthe isles plundering the headlands, and committing depredations\non the coast. Then Earl Hallad grew tired of the business,\nresigned his earldom, took up again his rights as an allodial\nowner, and afterwards returned eastward into Norway. When Earl\nRagnvald heard of this he was ill pleased with Hallad, and said\nhis son were very unlike their ancestors. Then said Einar, \"I\nhave enjoyed but little honour among you, and have little\naffection here to lose: now if you will give me force enough, I\nwill go west to the islands, and promise you what at any rate\nwill please you -- that you shall never see me again.\" Earl\nRagnvald replied, that he would be glad if he never came back;\n\"For there is little hope,\" said he, \"that thou will ever be an\nhonour to thy friends, as all thy kin on thy mother's side are\nborn slaves.\" Earl Ragnvald gave Einar a vessel completely\nequipped, and he sailed with it into the West sea in harvest.\nWhen he came to the Orkney Isles, two vikings, Thorer Treskeg and\nKalf Skurfa, were in his way with two vessels. He attacked them\ninstantly, gained the battle, and slew the two vikings. Then\nthis was sung: --\n\"Then gave he Treskeg to the trolls,\nTorfeinar slew Skurfa.\"\nHe was called Torfeinar, because he cut peat for fuel, there\nbeing no firewood, as in Orkney there are no woods. He\nafterwards was earl over the islands, and was a mighty man. He\nwas ugly, and blind of an eye, yet very sharp-sighted withal.\n28. KING EIRIK EYMUNDSON'S DEATH.\nDuke Guthorm dwelt principally at Tunsberg, and governed the\nwhole of Viken when the king was not there. He defended the\nland, which, at that time, was much plundered by the vikings.\nThere were disturbances also up in Gautland as long as King Eirik\nEymundson lived; but he died when King Harald Harfager had been\nten years king of all Norway.\n29.GUTHORM'S DEATH IN TUNSBERG.\nAfter Eirik, his son Bjorn was king of Svithjod for fifty years.\nHe was father of Eirik the Victorious, and of Olaf the father of\nStyrbjorn. Guthorm died on a bed of sickness at Tunsberg, and\nKing Harald gave his son Guthorm the government of that part of\nhis dominions and made him chief of it.\n30. EARL RAGNVALD BURNT IN HIS HOUSE.\nWhen King Harald was forty years of age many of his sons were\nwell advanced, and indeed they all came early to strength and\nmanhood. And now they began to take it ill that the king would\nnot give them any part of the kingdom, but put earls into every\ndistrict; for they thought earls were of inferior birth to them.\nThen Halfdan Haleg and Gudrod Ljome set off one spring with a\ngreat force, and came suddenly upon Earl Ragnvald, earl of More,\nand surrounded the house in which he was, and burnt him and sixty\nmen in it. Thereafter Halfdan took three long-ships, and fitted\nthem out, and sailed into the West sea; but Gudrod set himself\ndown in the land which Ragnvald formerly had. Now when King\nHarald heard this he set out with a great force against Gudrod,\nwho had no other way left but to surrender, and he was sent to\nAgder. King Harald then set Earl Ragnvald's son Thorer over\nMore, and gave him his daughter Alof, called Arbot, in marriage.\nEarl Thorer, called the Silent, got the same territory his father\nEarl Ragnvald had possessed.\n31. HALFDAN HALEG'S DEATH.\nHalfdan Haleg came very unexpectedly to Orkney, and Earl Einar\nimmediately fled; but came back soon after about harvest time,\nunnoticed by Halfdan. They met and after a short battle Halfdan\nfled the same night. Einar and his men lay all night without\ntents, and when it was light in the morning they searched the\nwhole island and killed every man they could lay hold of. Then\nEinar said \"What is that I see upon the isle of Rinansey? Is it\na man or a bird? Sometimes it raises itself up, and sometimes\nlies down again.\" They went to it, and found it was Halfdan\nHaleg, and took him prisoner.\nEarl Einar sang the following song the evening before he went\ninto this battle: --\n\"Where is the spear of Hrollaug? where\nIs stout Rolf Ganger's bloody spear!\nI see them not; yet never fear,\nFor Einar will not vengeance spare\nAgainst his father's murderers, though\nHrollaug and Rolf are somewhat slow,\nAnd silent Thorer sits add dreams\nAt home, beside the mead-bowl's streams.\"\nThereafter Earl Einar went up to Halfdan, and cut a spread eagle\nupon his back, by striking his sword through his back into his\nbelly, dividing his ribs from the backbone down to his loins, and\ntearing out his lungs; and so Halfdan was killed. Einar then\nsang: --\n\"For Ragnvald's death my sword is red:\nOf vengeance it cannot be said\nThat Einar's share is left unsped.\nSo now, brave boys, let's raise a mound, --\nHeap stones and gravel on the ground\nO'er Halfdan's corpse: this is the way\nWe Norsemen our scat duties pay.\"\nThen Earl Einar took possession of the Orkney Isles as before.\nNow when these tidings came to Norway, Halfdan's brothers took it\nmuch to heart, and thought that his death demanded vengeance; and\nmany were of the same opinion. When Einar heard this, he sang:\n--\n\"Many a stout udal-man, I know,\nHas cause to wish my head laid low;\nAnd many an angry udal knife\nWould gladly drink of Eina's life.\nBut ere they lay Earl Einar low, --\nEre this stout heart betrays its cause,\nFull many a heart will writhe, we know,\nIn the wolf's fangs, or eagle's claws.\"\n32. HARALD AND EINAR RECONCILED.\nKing Harald now ordered a levy, and gathered a great force, with\nwhich he proceeded westward to Orkney; and when Earl Einar heard\nthat King Harald was come, he fled over to Caithness. He made\nthe following verses on this occasion: --\n\"Many a bearded man must roam,\nAn exile from his house and home,\nFor cow or horse; but Halfdan's gore\nIs red on Rinansey's wild shore.\nA nobler deed -- on Harald's shield\nThe arm of one who ne'er will yield\nHas left a scar. Let peasants dread\nThe vengeance of the Norsemen's head:\nI reck not of his wrath, but sing,\n`Do thy worst! -- I defy thee, king! --'\"\nMen and messages, however, passed between the king and the earl,\nand at last it came to a conference; and when they met the earl\nsubmitted the case altogether to the king's decision, and the\nking condemned the earl Einar and the Orkney people to pay a fine\nof sixty marks of gold. As the bondes thought this was too heavy\nfor them to pay, the earl offered to pay the whole if they would\nsurrender their udal lands to him. This they all agreed to do:\nthe poor because they had but little pieces of land; the rich\nbecause they could redeem their udal rights again when they\nliked. Thus the earl paid the whole fine to the king, who\nreturned in harvest to Norway. The earls for a long time\nafterwards possessed all the udal lands in Orkney, until Sigurd\nson of Hlodver gave back the udal rights.\n33. DEATH OF GUTHORM AND HALFDAN THE WHITE.\nWhile King Harald's son Guthorm had the defence of Viken, he\nsailed outside of the islands on the coast, and came in by one\nof the mouths of the tributaries of the Gaut river. When he lay\nthere Solve Klofe came upon him, and immediately gave him battle,\nand Guthorm fell. Halfdan the White and Halfdan the Black went\nout on an expedition, and plundered in the East sea, and had a\nbattle in Eistland, where Halfdan the White fell.\n34. MARRIAGE OF EIRIK.\nEirik, Harald's son, was fostered in the house of the herse\nThorer, son of Hroald, in the Fjord district. He was the most\nbeloved and honoured by King Harald of all his sons. When Eirik\nwas twelve years old, King Harald gave him five long-ships, with\nwhich he went on an expedition, -- first in the Baltic; then\nsouthwards to Denmark, Friesland, and Saxland; on which\nexpedition he passed four years. He then sailed out into the\nWest sea and plundered in Scotland, Bretland, Ireland, and\nValland, and passed four years more in this way. Then he sailed\nnorth to Finmark, and all the way to Bjarmaland, where he had\nmany a battle, and won many a victory. When he came back to\nFinmark, his men found a girl in a Lapland hut, whose equal for\nbeauty they never had seen. She said her name was Gunhild, and\nthat her father dwelt in Halogaland, and was called Ozur Tote.\n\"I am here,\" she said, \"to learn sorcery from two of the most\nknowing Fins in all Finmark, who are now out hunting. They both\nwant me in marriage. They are so skilful that they can hunt out\ntraces either upon the frozen or the thawed earth, like dogs; and\nthey can run so swiftly on skees that neither man nor beast can\ncome near them in speed. They hit whatever they take aim at, and\nthus kill every man who comes near them. When they are angry the\nvery earth turns away in terror, and whatever living thing they\nlook upon then falls dead. Now ye must not come in their way;\nbut I will hide you here in the hut, and ye must try to get them\nkilled.\" They agreed to it, and she hid them, and then took a\nleather bag, in which they thought there were ashes which she\ntook in her hand, and strewed both outside and inside of the hut.\nShortly after the Fins came home, and asked who had been there;\nand she answered, \"Nobody has been here.\" \"That is wonderful,\"\nsaid they, \"we followed the traces close to the hut, and can find\nnone after that.\" Then they kindled a fire, and made ready their\nmeat, and Gunhild prepared her bed. It had so happened that\nGunhild had slept the three nights before, but the Fins had\nwatched the one upon the other, being jealous of each other.\n\"Now,\" she said to the Fins, \"come here, and lie down one on each\nside of me.\" On which they were very glad to do so. She laid an\narm round the neck of each and they went to sleep directly. She\nroused them up; but they fell to sleep again instantly, and so\nsoundly the she scarcely could waken them. She even raised them\nup in the bed, and still they slept. Thereupon she too two great\nseal-skin bags, and put their heads in them, and tied them fast\nunder their arms; and then she gave a wink to the king~s men.\nThey run forth with their weapons, kill the two Fins, and drag\nthem out of the hut. That same night came such a dreadful\nthunder-storm that the could not stir. Next morning they came to\nthe ship, taking Gunhild with them, and presented her to Eirik.\nEirik and his followers then sailed southwards to Halogaland and\nhe sent word to Ozur Tote, the girl's father, to meet him. Eirik\nsaid he would take his daughter in marriage, to which Ozur Tote\nconsented, and Eirik took Gunhild and went southwards with her\n(A.D. 922).\n35. HARALD DIVIDES HIS KINGDOM.\nWhen King Harald was fifty years of age many of his sons were\ngrown up, and some were dead. Many of them committed acts of\ngreat violence in the country, and were in discord among\nthemselves. They drove some of the king's earls out of their\nproperties, and even killed some of them. Then the king called\ntogether a numerous Thing in the south part of the country, and\nsummoned to it all the people of the Uplands. At this Thing he\ngave to all his sons the title of king, and made a law that his\ndescendants in the male line should each succeed to the kingly\ntitle and dignity; but his descendants by the female side only to\nthat of earl. And he divided the country among them thus: --\nVingulmark, Raumarike, Vestfold and Thelamark, he bestowed on\nOlaf, Bjorn, Sigtryg, Frode, and Thorgils. Hedemark and\nGudbrandsdal he gave to Dag, Hring, and Ragnar. To Snaefrid's\nsons he gave Ringerike, Hadeland, Thoten, and the lands thereto\nbelonging. His son Guthorm, as before mentioned, he had set over\nthe country from Glommen to Svinasund and Ranrike. He had set\nhim to defend the country to the East, as before has been\nwritten. King Harald himself generally dwelt in the middle of\nthe country, and Hrorek and Gudrod were generally with his court,\nand had great estates in Hordaland and in Sogn. King Eirik was\nalso with his father King Harald; and the king loved and regarded\nhim the most of all his sons, and gave him Halogaland and North\nMore, and Raumsdal. North in Throndhjem he gave Halfdan the\nBlack, Halfdan the White, and Sigrod land to rule over. In each\nof these districts he gave his sons the one half of his revenues,\ntogether with the right to sit on a high-seat, -- a step higher\nthan earls, but a step lower than his own high-seat. His king's\nseat each of his sons wanted for himself after his death, but he\nhimself destined it for Eirik. The Throndhjem people wanted\nHalfdan the Black to succeed to it. The people of Viken, and the\nUplands, wanted those under whom they lived. And thereupon new\nquarrels arose among the brothers; and because they thought their\ndominions too little, they drove about in piratical expeditions.\nIn this way, as before related, Guthorm fell at the mouth of the\nGaut river, slain by Solve Klofe; upon which Olaf took the\nkingdom he had possessed. Halfdan the White fell in Eistland,\nHalfdan Haleg in Orkney. King Harald gave ships of war to\nThorgils and Frode, with which they went westward on a viking\ncruise, and plundered in Scotland, Ireland, and Bretland. They\nwere the first of the Northmen who took Dublin. It is said that\nFrode got poisoned drink there; but Thorgils was a long time king\nover Dublin, until he fell into a snare of the Irish, and was\nkilled.\n36. DEATH OF RAGNVALD RETTILBEINE.\nEirik Blood-axe expected to be head king over all his brothers\nand King Harald intended he should be so; and the father and son\nlived long together. Ragnvald Rettilbeine governed Hadaland, and\nallowed himself to be instructed in the arts of witchcraft, and\nbecame an area warlock. Now King Harald was a hater of all\nwitchcraft. There was a warlock in Hordaland called Vitgeir; and\nwhen the king sent a message to him that he should give up his\nart of witchcraft, he replied in this verse: --\n\"The danger surely is not great\nFrom wizards born of mean estate,\nWhen Harald's son in Hadeland,\nKing Ragnvald, to the art lays hand.\"\nBut when King Harald heard this, King Eirik Blood-axe went by his\norders to the Uplands, and came to Hadeland and burned his\nbrother Ragnvald in a house, along with eighty other warlocks;\nwhich work was much praised.\n37. DEATH OF GUDROD LJOME.\nGudrod Ljome was in winter on a friendly visit to his foster-\nfather Thjodolf in Hvin, and had a well-manned ship, with which\nhe wanted to go north to Rogaland. It was blowing a heavy storm\nat the time; but Gudrod was bent on sailing, and would not\nconsent to wait. Thjodolf sang thus: --\n\"Wait, Gudrod, till the storm is past, --\nLoose not thy long-ship while the blast\nHowls over-head so furiously, --\nTrust not thy long-ship to the sea, --\nLoose not thy long-ship from the shore;\nHark to the ocean's angry roar!\nSee how the very stones are tost\nBy raging waves high on the coast!\nStay, Gudrod, till the tempest's o'er --\nDeep runs the sea off the Jadar's shore.\"\nGudrod set off in spite of what Thjodolf could say: and when they\ncame off the Jadar the vessel sunk with them, and all on board\nwere lost.\n38. KING BJORN KAUPMAN'S DEATH.\nKing Harald's son, Bjorn, ruled over Vestfold at that time, and\ngenerally lived at Tunsberg, and went but little on war\nexpeditions. Tunsberg at that time was much frequented by\nmerchant vessels, both from Viken and the north country, and also\nfrom the south, from Denmark, and Saxland. King Bjorn had also\nmerchant ships on voyages to other lands, by which he procured\nfor himself costly articles, and such things as he thought\nneedful; and therefore his brothers called him Farman (the\nSeaman), and Kaupman (the Chapman). Bjorn was a man of sense and\nunderstanding, and promised to become a good ruler. He made a\ngood and suitable marriage, and had a son by his wife, who was\nnamed Gudrod. Eirik Blood-axe came from his Baltic cruise with\nships of war, and a great force, and required his brother Bjorn\nto deliver to him King Harald's share of the scat and incomes of\nVestfold. But it had always been the custom before, that Bjorn\nhimself either delivered the money into the king's hands, or sent\nmen of his own with it; and therefore he would continue with the\nold custom, and would not deliver the money. Eirik again wanted\nprovisions, tents, and liquor. The brothers quarrelled about\nthis; but Eirik got nothing and left the town. Bjorn went also\nout of the town towards evening up to Saeheim. In the night\nEirik came back after Bjorn, and came to Saeheim just as Bjorn\nand his men were seated at table drinking. Eirik surrounded the\nhouse in which they were; but Bjorn with his men went out and\nfought. Bjorn, and many men with him, fell. Eirik, on the other\nhand, got a great booty, and proceeded northwards. But this work\nwas taken very ill by the people of Viken, and Eirik was much\ndisliked for it; and the report went that King Olaf would avenge\nhis brother Bjorn, whenever opportunity offered. King Bjorn lies\nin the mound of Farmanshaug at Saeheim.\n39. RECONCILIATION OF THE KINGS.\nKing Eirik went in winter northwards to More, and was at a feast\nin Solve, within the point Agdanes; and when Halfdan the Black\nheard of it he set out with his men, and surrounded the house in\nwhich they were. Eirik slept in a room which stood detached by\nitself, and he escaped into the forest with four others; but\nHalfdan and his men burnt the main house, with all the people who\nwere in it. With this news Eirik came to King Harald, who was\nvery wroth at it, and assembled a great force against the\nThrondhjem people. When Halfdan the Black heard this he levied\nships and men, so that he had a great force, and proceeded with\nit to Stad, within Thorsbjerg. King Harald lay with his men at\nReinsletta. Now people went between them, and among others a\nclever man called Guthorm Sindre, who was then in Halfdan the\nBlack's army, but had been formerly in the service of King\nHarald, and was a great friend of both. Guthorm was a great\nskald, and had once composed a song both about the father and the\nson, for which they had offered him a reward. But he would take\nnothing; but only asked that, some day or other, they should\ngrant him any request he should make, which they promised to do.\nNow he presented himself to King Harald, brought words of peace\nbetween them, and made the request to them both that they shou1d\nbe reconciled. So highly did the king esteem him, that in\nconsequence of his request they were reconciled. Many other able\nmen promoted this business as well as he; and it was so settled\nthat Halfdan should retain the whole of his kingdom as he had it\nbefore, and should let his brother Eirik sit in peace. After\nthis event Jorun, the skald-maid, composed some verses in\n\"Sendibit\" (\"The Biting Message\"): --\n\"I know that Harald Fairhair\nKnew the dark deed of Halfdan.\nTo Harald Halfdan seemed\nAngry and cruel.\"\n40. BIRTH OF HAKON THE GOOD.\nEarl Hakon Grjotgardson of Hlader had the whole rule over\nThrondhjem when King Harald was anywhere away in the country; and\nHakon stood higher with the king than any in the country of\nThrondhjem. After Hakon's death his son Sigurd succeeded to his\npower in Throndhjem, and was the earl, and had his mansion at\nHlader. King Harald's sons, Halfdan the Black and Sigrod, who\nhad been before in the house of his father Earl Hakon, continued\nto be brought up in his house. The sons of Harald and Sigurd\nwere about the same age. Earl Sigurd was one of the wisest men\nof his time, and married Bergljot, a daughter of Earl Thorer the\nSilent; and her mother was Alof Arbot, a daughter of Harald\nHarfager. When King Harald began to grow old he generally dwelt\non some of his great farms in Hordaland; namely, Alreksstader or\nSaeheim, Fitjar, Utstein, or Ogvaldsnes in the island Kormt.\nWhen Harald was seventy years of age he begat a son with a girl\ncalled Thora Mosterstang, because her family came from Moster.\nShe was descended from good people, being connected with Kare\n(Aslakson) of Hordaland; and was moreover a very stout and\nremarkably handsome girl. She was called the king's servant-\ngirl; for at that time many were subject to service to the\nking who were of good birth, both men and women. Then it was the\ncustom, with people of consideration, to choose with great care\nthe man who should pour water over their children, and give them\na name. Now when the time came that Thora, who was then at\nMoster, expected her confinement, she would to King Harald, who\nwas then living at Saeheim; and she went northwards in a ship\nbelonging to Earl Sigurd. They lay at night close to the land;\nand there Thora brought forth a child upon the land, up among the\nrocks, close to the ship's gangway, and it was a man child. Earl\nSigurd poured water over him, and called him Hakon, after his own\nfather, Hakon earl of Hlader. The boy soon grew handsome, large\nin size, and very like his father King Harald. King Harald let\nhim follow his mother, and they were both in the king's house as\nlong as he was an infant.\n41. KING ATHELSTAN'S MESSAGE\nAt this time a king called Aethelstan had taken the Kingdom of\nEngland. He was called victorious and faithful. He sent men to\nNorway to King Harald, with the errand that the messengers should\npresent him with a sword, with the hilt and handle gilt, and also\nthe whole sheath adorned with gold and silver, and set with\nprecious jewels. The ambassador presented the sword-hilt to the\nking, saying, \"Here is a sword which King Athelstan sends thee,\nwith the request that thou wilt accept it.\" The king took the\nsword by the handle; whereupon the ambassador said, \"Now thou\nhast taken the sword according to our king's desire, and\ntherefore art thou his subject as thou hast taken his sword.\"\nKing Harald saw now that this was an insult, for he would be\nsubject to no man. But he remembered it was his rule, whenever\nanything raised his anger, to collect himself, and let his\npassion run off, and then take the matter into consideration\ncoolly. Now he did so, and consulted his friends, who all gave\nhim the advice to let the ambassadors, in the first place, go\nhome in safety.\n42. HAUK'S JOURNEY TO ENGLAND.\nThe following summer King Harald sent a ship westward to England,\nand gave the command of it to Hauk Habrok. He was a great\nwarrior, and very dear to the king. Into his hands he gave his\nson Hakon. Hank proceeded westward tn England, and found King\nAthelstan in London, where there was just at the time a great\nfeast and entertainment. When they came to the hall, Hauk told\nhis men how they should conduct themselves; namely, that he who\nwent first in should go last out, and all should stand in a row\nat the table, at equal distance from each other; and each should\nhave his sword at his left side, but should fasten his cloak so\nthat his sword should not be seen. Then they went into the hall,\nthirty in number. Hauk went up to the king and saluted him, and\nthe king bade him welcome. Then Hauk took the child Hakon, and\nset it on the king's knee. The king looks at the boy, and asks\nHauk what the meaning of this is. Hauk replies, \"Herald the king\nbids thee foster his servant-girl's child.\" The king was in\ngreat anger, and seized a sword which lay beside him, and drew\nit, as if he was going to kill the child. Hauk says, \"Thou hast\nborne him on thy knee, and thou canst murder him if thou wilt;\nbut thou wilt not make an end of all King Harald's sons by so\ndoing.\" On that Hauk went out with all his men, and took the way\ndirect to his ship, and put to sea, -- for they were ready, --\nand came back to King Harald. The king was highly pleased with\nthis; for it is the common observation of all people, that the\nman who fosters another's children is of less consideration than\nthe other. From these transactions between the two kings, it\nappears that each wanted to be held greater than the other; but\nin truth there was no injury, to the dignity of either, for each\nwas the upper king in his own kingdom till his dying day.\n43. HAKON, THE FOSTER-SON OF ATHELSTAN, IS BAPTIZED.\nKing Athelstan had Hakon baptized, and brought up in the right\nfaith, and in good habits, and all sorts of good manners, and he\nloved Hakon above all his relations; and Hakon was beloved by all\nmen. He was henceforth called Athelstan's foster-son. He was an\naccomplished skald, and he was larger, stronger and more\nbeautiful than other men; he was a man of understanding and\neloquence, and also a good Christian. King Athelstan gave Hakon\na sword, of which the hilt and handle were gold, and the blade\nstill better; for with it Hakon cut down a mill-stone to the\ncentre eye, and the sword thereafter was called the Quernbite\n(1). Better sword never came into Norway, and Hakon carried it\nto his dying day.\nENDNOTES:\n(1) Quern is the name of the small hand mill-stones still found\nin use among the cottars in Orkney, Shetland, and the\nHebrides. This sword is mentioned in the Younger Edda.\nThere were many excellent swords in the olden time, and many\nof them had proper names.\n44. EIRIK BROUGHT TO THE SOVEREIGNTY.\nWhen King Harald was eighty years of age (A.D. 930) he became\nvery heavy, and unable to travel through the country, or do the\nbusiness of a king. Then he brought his son Eirik to his\nhigh-seat, and gave him the power and command over the whole\nland. Now when King Harald's other sons heard this, King Halfdan\nthe Black also took a king's high-seat, and took all Throndhjem\nland, with the consent of all the people, under his rule as upper\nking. After the death of Bjorn the Chapman, his brother Olaf\ntook the command over Vestfold, and took Bjorn's son, Gudrod, as\nhis foster-child. Olaf's son was called Trygve; and the two\nfoster-brothers were about the same age, and were hopeful and\nclever. Trygve, especially, was remarkable as a stout and strong\nman. Now when the people of Viken heard that those of Hordaland\nhad taken Eirik as upper king, they did the same, and made Olaf\nthe upper king in Viken, which kingdom he retained. Eirik did\nnot like this at all. Two years after this, Halfdan the Black\ndied suddenly at a feast in Throndhjem and the general report was\nthat Gunhild had bribed a witch to give him a death-drink.\nThereafter the Throndhjem people took Sigrod to be their king.\n45. KING HARALD'S DEATH.\nKing Harald lived three years after he gave Eirik the supreme\nauthority over his kingdom, and lived mostly on his great farms\nwhich he possessed, some in Rogaland, and some in Hordaland.\nEirik and Gunhild had a son on whom King Harald poured water, and\ngave him his own name, and the promise that he should be king\nafter his father Eirik. King Harald married most of his\ndaughters within the country to his earls, and from them many\ngreat families are descended. Harald died on a bed of sickness\nin Hogaland (A.D. 933), and was buried under a mound at Haugar in\nKarmtsund. In Haugesund is a church, now standing; and not far\nfrom the churchyard, at the north-west side, is King Harald\nHarfager's mound; but his grave-stone stands west of the church,\nand is thirteen feet and a half high, and two ells broad. One\nstone was set at head and one at the feet; on the top lay the\nslab, and below on both sides were laid small stones. The grave,\nmound, and stone, are there to the present day. Harald Harfager\nwas, according to the report of men~of knowledge, or remarkably\nhandsome appearance, great and strong, and very generous and\naffable to his men. He was a great warrior in his youth; and\npeople think that this was foretold by his mother's dream before\nhis birth, as the lowest part of the tree she dreamt of was red\nas blood. The stem again was green and beautiful, which\nbetokened his flourishing kingdom; and that the tree was white at\nthe top showed that he should reach a grey-haired old age. The\nbranches and twigs showed forth his posterity, spread over the\nwhole land; for of his race, ever since. Norway has always had\nkings.\n46. THE DEATH OF OLAF AND OF SIGROD.\nKing Eirik took all the revenues (A.D. 934), which the king had\nin the middle of the country, the next winter after King Harald's\ndecease. But Olaf took all the revenues eastward in Viken, and\ntheir brother Sigrod all that of the Throndhjem country. Eirik\nwas very ill pleased with this; and the report went that he would\nattempt with force to get the sole sovereignty over the country,\nin the same way as his father had given it to him. Now when Olaf\nand Sigrod heard this, messengers passed between them; and after\nappointing a meeting place, Sigrod went eastward in spring to\nViken, and he and his brother Olaf met at Tunsberg, and remained\nthere a while. The same spring (A.D. 934), King Eirik levied a\ngreat force, and ships and steered towards Viken. He got such a\nstrong steady gale that he sailed night and day, and came faster\nthan the news of him. When he came to Tunsberg, Olaf and Sigrod,\nwith their forces, went out of the town a little eastward to a\nridge, where they drew up their men in battle order; but as Eirik\nhad many more men he won the battle. Both brothers, Olaf and\nSigrod, fell there; and both their grave-mounds are upon the\nridge where they fell. Then King Eirik went through Viken, and\nsubdued it, and remained far into summer. Gudrod and Trygve fled\nto the Uplands. Eirik was a stout handsome man, strong, and very\nmanly, -- a great and fortunate man of war; but bad-minded,\ngruff, unfriendly, and silent. Gunhild, his wife, was the most\nbeautiful of women, -- clever, with much knowledge, and lively;\nbut a very false person, and very cruel in disposition. The\nchildren of King Eirik and Gunhild were, Gamle, the oldest; then\nGuthorm, Harald, Ragnfrod, Ragnhild, Erling, Gudrod, and Sigurd\nSleva. All were handsome, and of manly appearance (1).\nENDNOTES:\n(1) Of Eirik, his wife, and children, see the following sagas.","title":"HARALD HARFAGER'S SAGA","type":"page"}