Heimskringla

S >> Snorri Sturlson >> Heimskringla

Pages:
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 | 47 | 48 | 49 | 50 | 51 | 52 | 53 | 54 | 55 | 56 | 57 | 58 | 59 | 60 | 61 | 62 | 63 | 64 | 65 | 66 | 67

The king answers. "Thou must not speak thus, Hjalte; but for this
time I will not take it amiss of thee, as thou dost not know what
people have to avoid here. That fat fellow shall not be called
king in my court, and there is by no means the stuff in him that
people talk of: and thou must see thyself that such a connection
is not suitable; for I am the tenth king in Upsala who, relation
after relation, has been sole monarch over the Swedish, and many
other great lands, and all have been the superior kings over
other kings in the northern countries. But Norway is little
inhabited, and the inhabitants are scattered. There have only
been small kings there; and although Harald Harfager was the
greatest king in that country, and strove against the small
kings, and subdued them, yet he knew so well his position that he
did not covet the Swedish dominions, and therefore the Swedish
kings let him sit in peace, especially as there was relationship
between them. Thereafter, while Hakon Athelstan's foster-son was
in Norway he sat in peace, until he began to maraud in Gautland
and Denmark; on which a war-force came upon him, and took from
him both life and land. Gunhild's sons also were cut off when
they became disobedient to the Danish kings; and Harald Gormson
joined Norway to his own dominions, and made it subject to scat
to him. And we reckon Harald Gormson to be of less power and
consideration than the Upsala kings, for our relation Styrbjorn
subdued him, and Harald became his man; and yet Eirik the
Victorious, my father, rose over Styrbjorn's head when it came to
a trial between them. When Olaf Trygvason came to Norway and
proclaimed himself king, we would not permit it, but we went with
King Svein, and cut him off; and thus we have appropriated
Norway, as thou hast not heard, and with no less right than if I
had gained it in battle, and by conquering the kings who ruled it
before. Now thou canst well suppose, as a man of sense, that I
will not let slip the kingdom of Norway for this thick fellow.
It is wonderful he does not remember how narrowly he made his
escape, when we had penned him in in the Malar lake. Although he
slipped away with life from thence, he ought, methinks, to have
something else in his mind than to hold out against us Swedes.
Now, Hjalte, thou must never again open thy mouth in my presence
on such a subject."

Hjalte saw sufficiently that there was no hope of the king's
listening to any proposal of a peace, and desisted from speaking
of it, and turned the conversation to something else. When
Hjalte, afterwards, came into discourse with the king's daughter
Ingegerd, he tells her his conversation with the king. She told
him she expected such an answer from the king. Hjalte begged of
her to say a good word to the king about the matter, but she
thought the king would listen as little to what she said: "But
speak about it I will, if thou requirest it." Hjalte assured her
he would be thankful for the attempt. One day the king's
daughter Ingegerd had a conversation with her father Olaf; and as
she found her father was in a particularly good humour, she said,
"What is now thy intention with regard to the strife with Olaf
the Thick? There are many who complain about it, having lost
their property by it; others have lost their relations by the
Northmen, and all their peace and quiet; so that none of your men
see any harm that can be done to Norway. It would be a bad
counsel if thou sought the dominion over Norway; for it is a poor
country, difficult to come at, and the people dangerous: for the
men there will rather have any other for their king than thee.
If I might advise, thou wouldst let go all thoughts about Norway,
and not desire Olaf's heritage; and rather turn thyself to the
kingdoms in the East country, which thy forefathers the former
Swedish kings had, and which our relation Styrbjorn lately
subdued, and let the thick Olaf possess the heritage of his
forefathers and make peace with him."

The king replies in a rage, "It is thy counsel, Ingegerd, that I
should let slip the kingdom of Norway, and give thee in marriage
to this thick Olaf. - No," says he, "something else shall first
take place. Rather than that, I shall, at the Upsala Thing in
winter, issue a proclamation to all Swedes, that the whole people
shall assemble for an expedition, and go to their ships before
the ice is off the waters; and I will proceed to Norway, and lay
waste the land with fire and sword, and burn everything, to
punish them for their want of fidelity."

The king was so mad with rage that nobody ventured to say a word,
and she went away. Hjalte, who was watching for her, immediately
went to her and asked how her errand to the king had turned out.
She answered, it turned out as she had expected; that none could
venture to put in a word with the king; but, on the contrary, he
had used threats; and she begged Hjalte never to speak of the
matter again before the king. As Hjalte and Ingegerd spoke
together often, Olaf the Thick was often the subject, and he told
her about him and his manners; and Hjalte praised the king of
Norway what he could, but said no more than was the truth, and
she could well perceive it. Once, in a conversation, Hjalte said
to her, "May I be permitted, daughter of the king, to tell thee
what lies in my mind?"

"Speak freely," says she; "but so that I alone can hear it."

"Then," said Hjalte, "what would be thy answer, if the Norway
king Olaf sent messengers to thee with the errand to propose
marriage to thee?"

She blushed, and answered slowly but gently, "I have not made up
my mind to answer to that; but if Olaf be in all respects so
perfect as thou tellest me, I could wish for no other husband;
unless, indeed, thou hast gilded him over with thy praise more
than sufficiently."

Hjalte replied, that he had in no respect spoken better of the
king than was true. They often spoke together on the same
subject. Ingegerd begged Hjalte to be cautious not to mention it
to any other person, for the king would be enraged against him if
it came to his knowledge. Hjalte only spoke of it to the skalds
Gissur and Ottar, who thought it was the most happy plan, if it
could but be carried into effect. Ottar, who was a man of great
power of conversation, and much beloved in the court, soon
brought up the subject before the king's daughter, and recounted
to her, as Hjalte had done, all King Olaf's excellent qualities.
Often spoke Hjalte and the others about him; and now that Hjalte
knew the result of his mission, he sent those Gautland men away
who had accompanied him, and let them return to the earl with
letters (1) which the king's daughter Ingegerd sent to the earl
and Ingebjorg. Hjalte also let them give a hint to the earl
about the conversation he had had with Ingegerd, and her answer
thereto: and the messengers came with it to the earl a little
before Yule.

ENDNOTES:
(1) This seems the first notice we have in the sagas of written
letters being sent instead of tokens and verbal messages. --
L.

72. OLAF'S JOURNEY TO THE UPLANDS.

When King Olaf had despatched Bjorn and his followers to
Gautland, he sent other people also to the Uplands, with the
errand that they should have guest-quarters prepared for him, as
he intended that winter (A.D. 1018) to live as guest in the
Uplands; for it had been the custom of former kings to make a
progress in guest-quarters every third year in the Uplands. In
autumn he began his progress from Sarpsborg, and went first to
Vingulmark. He ordered his progress so that he came first to
lodge in the neighbourhood of the forest habitations, and
summoned to him all the men of the habitations who dwelt at the
greatest distance from the head-habitations of the district; and
he inquired particularly how it stood with their Christianity,
and, where improvement was needful, he taught them the right
customs. If any there were who would not renounce heathen ways,
he took the matter so zealously that he drove some out of the
country, mutilated others of hands or feet, or stung their eyes
out; hung up some, cut down some with the sword; but let none go
unpunished who would not serve God. He went thus through the
whole district, sparing neither great nor small. He gave them
teachers, and placed these as thickly in the country as he saw
needful. In this manner he went about in that district, and had
300 deadly men-at-arms with him; and then proceeded to Raumarike.
He soon perceived that Christianity was thriving less the farther
he proceeded into the interior of the country. He went forward
everywhere in the same way, converting all the people to the
right faith, and severely punishing all who would not listen to
his word.

73.TREACHERY OF THE UPLAND KINGS.

Now when the king who at that time ruled in Raumarike heard of
this, he thought it was a very bad affair; for every day came men
to him, both great and small, who told him what was doing.
Therefore this king resolved to go up to Hedemark, and consult
King Hrorek, who was the most eminent for understanding of the
kings who at that time were in the country. Now when these kings
spoke with each other, they agreed to send a message to Gudrod,
the valley-king north in the Gudbrandsdal, and likewise to the
king who was in Hadaland, and bid them to come to Hedemark, to
meet Hrorek and the other kings there. They did not spare their
travelling; for five kings met in Hedemark, at a place called
Ringsaker. Ring, King Hrorek's brother, was the fifth of these
kings. The kings had first a private conference together, in
which he who came from Raumarike first took up the word, and told
of King Olaf's proceedings, and of the disturbance he was causing
both by killing and mutilating people. Some he drove out of the
country, some he deprived of their offices or property if they
spoke anything against him; and, besides, he was travelling over
the country with a great army, not with the number of people
fixed by law for a royal progress in guest-quarters. He added,
that he had fled hither upon account of this disturbance, and
many powerful people with him had fled from their udal properties
in Raumarike. "But although as yet the evil is nearest to us, it
will be but a short time before ye will also be exposed to it;
therefore it is best that we all consider together what
resolution we shall take." When he had ended his speech, Hrorek
was desired to speak; and he said, "Now is the day come that I
foretold when we had had our meeting at Hadaland, and ye were all
so eager to raise Olaf over our heads; namely, that as soon as he
was the supreme master of the country we would find it hard to
hold him by the horns. We have but two things now to do: the one
is, to go all of us to him, and let him do with us as he likes,
which I think is the best thing we can do; or the other is, to
rise against him before he has gone farther through the country.
Although he has 300 or 400 men, that is not too great a force for
us to meet, if we are only all in movement together: but, in
general, there is less success and advantage to be gained when
several of equal strength are joined together, than when one
alone stands at the head of his own force; therefore it is my
advice, that we do not venture to try our luck against Olaf
Haraldson."

Thereafter each of the kings spoke according to his own mind some
dissuading from going out against King Olaf, others urging it;
and no determination was come to, as each had his own reasons to
produce.

Then Gudrod, the valley-king, took up the word, and spoke: -- "It
appears wonderful to me, that ye make such a long roundabout in
coming to a resolution; and probably ye are frightened for him.
We are here five kings, and none of less high birth than Olaf.
We gave him the strength to fight with Earl Svein, and with our
forces he has brought the country under his power. But if he
grudges each of us the little kingdom he had before, and
threatens us with tortures, or gives us ill words, then, say I
for myself, that I will withdraw myself from the king's slavery;
and I do not call him a man among you who is afraid to cut him
off, if he come into your hands here up in Hedemark. And this I
can tell you, that we shall never bear our heads in safety while
Olaf is in life." After this encouragement they all agreed to
his determination.

Then said Hrorek, "With regard to this determination, it appears
to me necessary to make our agreement so strong that no one shall
fail in his promise to the other. Therefore, if ye determine
upon attacking Olaf at a fixed time, when he comes here to
Hedemark, I will not trust much to you if some are north in the
valleys, others up in Hedemark; but if our resolution is to come
to anything, we must remain here assembled together day and
night."

This the kings agreed to, and kept themselves there all
assembled, ordering a feast to be provided for them at Ringsaker,
and drank there a cup to success; sending out spies to Raumarike,
and when one set came in sending out others, so that day and
night they had intelligence of Olaf's proceedings, and of the
numbers of his men. King Olaf went about in Raumarike in
guest-quarters, and altogether in the way before related; but as
the provision of the guest-quarter was not always sufficient,
upon account of his numerous followers, he laid it upon the
bondes to give additional contributions wherever he found it
necessary to stay. In some places he stayed longer, in others,
shorter than was fixed; and his journey down to the lake Miosen
was shorter than had been fixed on. The kings, after taking
their resolution, sent out message-tokens, and summoned all the
lendermen and powerful bondes from all the districts thereabout;
and when they had assembled the kings had a private meeting with
them, and made their determination known, setting a day for
gathering together and carrying it into effect; and it was
settled among them that each of the kings should have 300 (1)
men. Then they sent away the lendermen to gather the people, and
meet all at the appointed place. The most approved of the
measure; but it happened here, as it usually does, that every one
has some friend even among his enemies.

ENDNOTES:
(1) I.e., 360.

74. MUTILATING OF THE UPLAND KINGS.

Ketil of Ringanes was at this meeting. Now when he came home in
the evening he took his supper, put on his clothes, and went down
with his house-servants to the lake; took a light vessel which he
had, the same that King Olaf had made him a present of, and
launched it on the water. They found in the boat-house
everything ready to their hands; betook themselves to their oars,
and rowed out into the lake. Ketil had forty well-armed men with
him, and came early in the morning to the end of the lake. He
set off immediately with twenty men, leaving the other twenty to
look after the ship. King Olaf was at that time at Eid, in the
upper end of Raumarike. Thither Ketil arrived just as the king
was coming from matins. The king received Ketil kindly. He said
he must speak with the king in all haste; and they had a private
conference together. There Ketil tells the king the resolution
which the kings had taken, and their agreement, which he had come
to the certain knowledge of. When the king learnt this he called
his people together, and sent some out to collect riding-horses
in the country; others he sent down to the lake to take all the
rowing-vessels they could lay hold of, and keep them for his use.
Thereafter he went to the church, had mass sung before him, and
then sat down to table. After his meal he got ready, and
hastened down to the lake, where the vessels were coming to meet
him. He himself went on board the light vessel, and as many men
with him as it could stow, and all the rest of his followers took
such boats as they could get hold of; and when it was getting
late in the evening they set out from the land, in still and calm
weather. He rowed up the water with 400 men, and came with them
to Ringsaker before day dawned; and the watchmen were not aware
of the army before they were come into the very court. Ketil
knew well in what houses the kings slept, and the king had all
these houses surrounded and guarded, so that nobody could get
out; and so they stood till daylight. The kings had not people
enough to make resistance, but were all taken prisoners, and led
before the king. Hrorek was an able but obstinate man, whose
fidelity the king could not trust to if he made peace with him;
therefore he ordered both his eyes to be punched out, and took
him in that condition about with him. He ordered Gudrod's tongue
to be cut out; but Ring and two others he banished from Norway,
under oath never to return. Of the lendermen and bondes who had
actually taken part in the traitorous design, some he drove out
of the country, some he mutilated, and with others he made peace.
Ottar Black tells of this: --

"The giver of rings of gold,
The army leader bold,
In vengeance springs
On the Hedemark kings.
Olaf the bold and great,
Repays their foul deceit --
In full repays
Their treacherous ways.
He drives with steel-clad hand
The small kings from the land, --
Greater by far
In deed of war.
The king who dwelt most north
Tongueless must wander forth:
All fly away
In great dismay.
King Olaf now rules o'er
What five kings ruled before.
To Eid's old bound
Extends his ground.
No kings in days of yore
E'er won so much before:
That this is so
All Norsemen know."

King Olaf took possession of the land these five kings had
possessed, and took hostages from the lendermen and bondes in it.
He took money instead of guest-quarters from the country north of
the valley district, and from Hedemark; and then returned to
Raumarike, and so west to Hadaland. This winter (A.D. 1018) his
stepfather Sigurd Syr died; and King Olaf went to Ringerike,
where his mother Asta made a great feast for him. Olaf alone
bore the title of king now in Norway.

75. KING OLAF'S HALF-BROTHERS.

It is told that when King Olaf was on his visit to his mother
Asta, she brought out her children, and showed them to him. The
king took his brother Guthorm on the one knee, and his brother
Halfdan on the other. The king looked at Guthorm, made a wry
face, and pretended to be angry at them: at which the boys were
afraid. Then Asta brought her youngest son, called Harald, who
was three years old, to him. The king made a wry face at him
also; but he looked the king in the face without regarding it.
The king took the boy by the hair, and plucked it; but the boy
seized the king's whiskers, and gave them a tug. "Then," said
the king, "thou wilt be revengeful, my friend, some day." The
following day the king was walking with his mother about the
farm, and they came to a playground, where Asta's sons, Guthorm
and Halfdan, were amusing themselves. They were building great
houses and barns in their play, and were supposing them full of
cattle and sheep; and close beside them, in a clay pool, Harald
was busy with chips of wood, sailing them, in his sport along the
edge. The king asked him what these were; and he answered, these
were his ships of war. The king laughed, and said, "The time may
come, friend, when thou wilt command ships."

Then the king called to him Halfdan and Guthorm; and first he
asked Guthorm, "What wouldst thou like best to have?"

"Corn land," replied he.

"And how great wouldst thou like thy corn land to be?"

"I would have the whole ness that goes out into the lake sown
with corn every summer." On that ness there are ten farms.

The king replies, "There would be a great deal of corn there."
And, turning to Halfdan, he asked, "And what wouldst thou like
best to have?"

"Cows," he replied.

"How many wouldst thou like to have?"

"When they went to the lake to be watered I would have so many,
that they stood as tight round the lake as they could stand."

"That would be a great housekeeping," said the king; "and therein
ye take after your father."

Then the king says to Harald, "And what wouldst thou like best to
have?"

"House-servants."

"And how many wouldst thou have?"

"Oh! so many I would like to have as would eat up my brother
Halfdan's cows at a single meal."

The king laughed, and said to Asta, "Here, mother, thou art
bringing up a king." And more is not related of them on this
occasion.

76. THE DIVISION OF THE COUNTRY.

In Svithjod it was the old custom, as long as heathenism
prevailed, that the chief sacrifice took place in Goe month at
Upsala. Then sacrifice was offered for peace, and victory to the
king; and thither came people from all parts of Svithjod. All
the Things of the Swedes, also, were held there, and markets, and
meetings for buying, which continued for a week: and after
Christianity was introduced into Svithjod, the Things and fairs
were held there as before. After Christianity had taken root in
Svithjod, and the kings would no longer dwell in Upsala, the
market-time was moved to Candlemas, and it has since continued
so, and it lasts only three days. There is then the Swedish
Thing also, and people from all quarters come there. Svithjod is
divided into many parts. One part is West Gautland, Vermaland,
and the Marks, with what belongs to them; and this part of the
kingdom is so large, that the bishop who is set over it has 1100
churches under him. The other part is East Gautland, where there
is also a bishop's seat, to which the islands of Gotland and
Eyland belong; and forming all together a still greater
bishopric. In Svithjod itself there is a part of the country
called Sudermanland, where there is also a bishopric. Then comes
Westmanland, or Fiathrundaland, which is also a bishopric. The
third portion of Svithjod proper is called Tiundaland; the fourth
Attandaland; the fifth Sialand, and what belongs to it lies
eastward along the coast. Tiundaland is the best and most
inhabited part of Svithjod, under which the other kingdoms stand.
There Upsala is situated, the seat of the king and archbishop;
and from it Upsala-audr, or the domain of the Swedish kings,
takes its name. Each of these divisions of the country has its
Lag-thing, and its own laws in many parts. Over each is a
lagman, who rules principally in affairs of the bondes: for that
becomes law which he, by his speech, determines them to make law:
and if king, earl, or bishop goes through the country, and holds
a Thing with the bondes, the lagmen reply on account of the
bondes, and they all follow their lagmen; so that even the most
powerful men scarcely dare to come to their Al-thing without
regarding the bondes' and lagmen's law. And in all matters in
which the laws differ from each other, Upsala-law is the
directing law; and the other lagmen are under the lagman who
dwells in Tiundaland.

77. OF THE LAGMAN THORGNY.

In Tiundaland there was a lagman who was called Thorgny, whose
father was called Thorgny Thorgnyson. His forefathers had for a
long course of years, and during many kings' times, been lagmen
of Tiundaland. At this time Thorgny was old, and had a great
court about him. He was considered one of the wisest men in
Sweden, and was Earl Ragnvald's relation and foster-father.

78. MEETING OF RAGNVALD AND INGEGERD.

Now we must go back in our story to the time when the men whom
the king's daughter Ingegerd and Hjalte had sent from the east
came to Earl Ragnvald. They relate their errand to the earl and
his wife Ingebjorg, and tell how the king's daughter had oft
spoken to the Swedish king about a peace between him and King
Olaf the Thick, and that she was a great friend of King Olaf; but
that the Swedish king flew into a passion every time she named
Olaf, so that she had no hopes of any peace. The Earl told Bjorn
the news he had received from the east; but Bjorn gave the same
reply, that he would not turn back until he had met the Swedish
king, and said the earl had promised to go with him. Now the
winter was passing fast, and immediately after Yule the earl made
himself ready to travel with sixty men, among whom where the
marshal Bjorn and his companions. The earl proceeded eastward
all the way to Svithjod; but when he came a little way into the
country he sent his men before him to Upsala with a message to
Ingegerd the king's daughter to come out to meet him at
Ullaraker, where she had a large farm. When the king's daughter
got the earl's message she made herself ready immediately to
travel with a large attendance, and Hjalte accompanied her. But
before he took his departure he went to King Olaf, and said,
"Continue always to be the most fortunate of monarchs! Such
splendour as I have seen about thee I have in truth never
witnessed elsewhere, and wheresoever I come it shall not be
concealed. Now, king, may I entreat thy favour and friendship in
time to come?"