Heimskringla

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18. KING HAKON OFFERS SACRIFICES.

The harvest thereafter, towards the winter season, there was a
festival of sacrifice at Hlader, and the king came to it. It had
always been his custom before, when he was present at a place
where there was sacrifice, to take his meals in a little house by
himself, or with some few of his men; but the bondes grumbled
that he did not seat himself in his high-seat at these the most
joyous of the meetings of the people. The earl said that the
king should do so this time. The king accordingly sat upon his
high-seat. Now when the first full goblet was filled, Earl
Sigurd spoke some words over it, blessed it in Odin's name, and
drank to the king out of the horn; and the king then took it, and
made the sign of the cross over it. Then said Kar of Gryting,
"What does the king mean by doing so? Will he not sacrifice?"
Earl Sigurd replies, "The king is doing what all of you do, who
trust to your power and strength. He is blessing the full goblet
in the name of Thor, by making the sign of his hammer over it
before he drinks it." On this there was quietness for the
evening. The next day, when the people sat down to table, the
bondes pressed the king strongly to eat of horse-flesh (1); and
as he would on no account do so, they wanted him to drink of the
soup; and as he would not do this, they insisted he should at
least taste the gravy; and on his refusal they were going to lay
hands on him. Earl Sigurd came and made peace among them, by
asking the king to hold his mouth over the handle of the kettle,
upon which the fat smoke of the boiled horse-flesh had settled
itself; and the king first laid a linen cloth over the handle,
and then gaped over it, and returned to the high-seat; but
neither party was satisfied with this.

ENDNOTES:
(1) This eating of horse-flesh at these religious festivals was
considered the most direct proof of paganism in the
following times, and was punished by death or mutilation by
Saint Olaf. It was a ceremony apparently commemorative of
their Asiatic origin and ancestors.

19. FEAST OF THE SACRIFICE AT MORE.

The winter thereafter the king prepared a Yule feast in More, and
eight chiefs resolved with each other to meet at it. Four of
them were from without the Throndhjem district -- namely, Kar of
Gryting, Asbjorn of Medalhus, Thorberg of Varnes, and Orm from
Ljoxa; and from the Throndhjem district, Botolf of Olvishaug,
Narfe of Staf in Veradal, Thrand Hak from Egg, and Thorer Skeg
from Husaby in Eyin Idre. These eight men bound themselves, the
four first to root out Christianity in Norway, and the four
others to oblige the king to offer sacrifice to the gods. The
four first went in four ships southwards to More, and killed
three priests, and burnt three churches, and then they returned.
Now, when King Hakon and Earl Sigurd came to More with their
court, the bondes assembled in great numbers; and immediately, on
the first day of the feast, the bondes insisted hard with the
king that he should offer sacrifice, and threatened him with
violence if he refused. Earl Sigurd tried to make peace between
them, and brought it so far that the king took some bits of
horse-liver, and emptied all the goblets the bondes filled for
him without the sign of the cross; but as soon as the feast was
over, the king and the earl returned to Hlader. The king was
very ill pleased, and made himself ready to leave Throndhjem
forthwith with all his people; saying that the next time he came
to Throndhjem, he would come with such strength of men-at-arms
that he would repay the bondes for their enmity towards him.
Earl Sigurd entreated the king not to take it amiss of the
bondes; adding, that it was not wise to threaten them, or to make
war upon the people within the country, and especially in the
Throndhjem district, where the strength of the land lay; but the
king was so enraged that he would not listen to a word from
anybody. He went out from Throndhjem, and proceeded south to
More, where he remained the rest of the winter, and on to the
spring season (A.D. 950); and when summer came he assembled men,
and the report was that he intended with this army to attack the
Throndhjem people.

20. BATTLE AT OGVALDSNES.

But just as the king had embarked with a great force of troops,
the news was brought him from the south of the country, that
King Eirik's sons had come from Denmark to Viken and had driven
King Trygve Olafson from his ships at Sotanes, and then had
plundered far and wide around in Viken, and that many had
submitted to them. Now when King Hakon heard this news, he
thought that help was needed; and he sent word to Earl Sigurd,
and to the other chiefs from whom he could expect help, to hasten
to his assistance. Sigurd the earl came accordingly with a great
body of men, among whom were all the Throndhjem people who had
set upon him the hardest to offer sacrifice; and all made their
peace with the king, by the earl's persuasion. Now King Hakon
sailed south along the coast; and when he came south as far as
Stad, he heard that Eirik's sons were come to North Agder. Then
they advanced against each other, and met at Kormt. Both parties
left their ships there, and gave battle at Ogvaldsnes. Both
parties had a great force, and it was a great battle. King Hakon
went forward bravely, and King Guthorm Eirikson met him with his
troop, and they exchanged blows with each other. Guthorm fell,
and his standard was cut down. Many people fell around him. The
army of Eirik's sons then took flight to their ships and rowed
away with the loss of many a man. So says Guthorm Sindre: --

"The king's voice waked the silent host
Who slept beside the wild sea-coast,
And bade the song of spear and sword
Over the battle plain be heard.
Where heroes' shields the loudest rang,
Where loudest was the sword-blade's clang,
By the sea-shore at Kormt Sound,
Hakon felled Guthorm to the ground."

Now King Hakon returned to his ships, and pursued Gunhild's sons.
And both parties sailed all they could sail, until they came to
East Adger, from whence Eirik's sons set out to sea, and
southwards for Jutland (A.D. 950). Guthorm Sindre speaks of it
in his song: --

"And Guthorm's brothers too, who know
So skilfully to bend the bow,
The conquering hand must also feel
Of Hakon, god of the bright steel, --
The sun-god, whose bright rays, that dart
Flame-like, are swords that pierce the heart.
Well I remember how the King
Hakon, the battle's life and spring,
O'er the wide ocean cleared away
Eirik's brave sons. They durst not stay,
But round their ships' sides hung their shields
And fled across the blue sea-fields."

King Hakon returned then northwards to Norway, but Eirik's sons
remained a long time in Denmark.

21. KING HAKON'S LAWS.

King Hakon after this battle made a law, that all inhabited land
over the whole country along the sea-coast, and as far back from
it as the salmon swims up in the rivers, should be divided into
ship-raths according to the districts; and it was fixed by law
how many ships there should be from each district, and how great
each should be, when the whole people were called out on service.
For this outfit the whole inhabitants should be bound whenever a
foreign army came to the country. With this came also the order
that beacons should be erected upon the hills, so that every man
could see from the one to the other; and it is told that a
war-signal could thus be given in seven days, from the most
southerly beacon to the most northerly Thing-seat in Halogaland

22. CONCERNING EIRIK'S SONS.

Eirik's sons plundered much on the Baltic coasts and sometimes,
as before related, in Norway; but so long as Hakon ruled over
Norway there was in general good peace, and good seasons, and he
was the most beloved of kings. When Hakon had reigned about
twenty years in Norway (A.D. 954), Eirik's sons came from Denmark
with a powerful army, of which a great part consisted of the
people who had followed them on their expeditions; but a still
greater army of Danes had been placed at their disposal by King
Harald Gormson. They sailed with a fair wind from Vendil, and
came to Agder; and then sailed northwards, night and day, along
the coast. But the beacons were not fired, because it had been
usual to look for them lighted from the east onwards, and nobody
had observed them from the east coast; and besides King Hakon had
set heavy penalties for giving false alarm, by lighting the
beacons without occasion. The reason of this was, that ships of
war and vikings cruised about and plundered among the outlying
islands, and the country people took them for Eirik's sons, and
lighted the beacons, and set the whole country in trouble and
dread of war. Sometimes, no doubt, the sons of Eirik were there;
but having only their own troops, and no Danish army with them,
they returned to Denmark; and sometimes these were other vikings.
King Hakon was very angry at this, because it cost both trouble
and money to no purpose. The bondes also suffered by these false
alarms when they were given uselessly; and thus it happened that
no news of this expedition of Eirik's sons circulated through the
land until they had come as far north as Ulfasund, where they lay
for seven days. Then spies set off across Eid and northwards to
More. King Hakon was at that time in the island Frede, in North
More, at a place called Birkistrand, where he had a dwelling-
house, and had no troops with him, only his bodyguard or court,
and the neighbouring bondes he had invited to his house.

23. OF EGIL ULSERK.

The spies came to King Hakon, and told him that Eirik's sons,
with a great army, lay just to the south of Stad. Then he called
together the most understanding of the men about him, and asked
their opinion, whether he should fight with Eirik's sons,
although they had such a great multitude with them, or should set
off northwards to gather together more men. Now there was a
bonde there, by name Egil Ulserk, who was a very old man, but in
former days had been strong and stout beyond most men, and a
hardy man-at-arms withal, having long carried King Harald
Harfager's banner. Egil answered thus to the king's speech, --
"I was in several battles with thy father Harald the king, and he
gave battle sometimes with many, sometimes with few people; but
he always came off with victory. Never did I hear him ask
counsel of his friends whether he should fly -- and neither shalt
thou get any such counsel from us, king; but as we know we have a
brave leader, thou shalt get a trusty following from us." Many
others agreed with this speech, and the king himself declared he
was most inclined to fight with such strength as they could
gather. It was so determined. The king split up a war-arrow,
which he sent off in all directions, and by that token a number
of men was collected in all haste. Then said Egil Ulserk, -- "At
one time the peace had lasted so long I was afraid I might come
to die the death of old age (1), within doors upon a bed of
straw, although I would rather fall in battle following my chief.
And now it may so turn out in the end as I wished it to be."

ENDNOTES:
(1) In all the sagas of this pagan time, the dying on a bed of
sickness is mentioned as a kind of derogatory end of a man
of any celebrity. -- L.

24. BATTLE AT FREDARBERG.

Eirik's sons sailed northwards around Stad; as soon as the wind
suited; and when they had passed it, and heard where King Hakon
was, they sailed to meet him. King Hakon had nine ships, with
which he lay under Fredarberg in Feeysund; and Eirik's sons had
twenty ships, with which they brought up on the south side of the
same cape, in Feeysund. King Hakon sent them a message, asking
them to go upon the land; and telling them that he had hedged in
with hazel boughs a place of combat at Rastarkalf, where there is
a flat large field, at the foot of a long and rather low ridge.
Then Eirik's sons left their ships, and went northwards over the
neck of land within Fredarberg, and onward to Rastarkalf. Then
Egil asked King Hakon to give him ten men with ten banners, and
the king did so. Then Egil went with his men under the ridge;
but King Hakon went out upon the open field with his army, and
set up his banner, and drew up his army, saying, "Let us draw up
in a long line, that they may not surround us, as they have the
most men." And so it was done; and there was a severe battle,
and a very sharp attack. Then Egil Ulserk set up the ten banners
he had with him, and placed the men who carried them so that they
should go as near the summit of the ridge as possible, and
leaving a space between each of them. They went so near the
summit that the banners could be seen over it, and moved on as if
they were coming behind the army of Eirik's sons. Now when the
men who stood uppermost in the line of the troops of Eirik's sons
saw so many flying banners advancing high over the edge of the
ridge, they supposed a great force must be following, who would
come behind their army, and between them and their ships. They
made each other acquainted with what was going on in a loud
shout, and the whole took to flight; and when the king saw it,
they fled with the rest. King Hakon now pushes on briskly with
his people, pursuing the flying, and killing many.

5. OF KING GAMLE.

When Gamle Eirikson came up the ridge of the hill he turned
round, and he observed that not more people were following than
his men had been engaged with already, and he saw it was but a
stratagem of war; so he ordered the war-horns to be blown, his
banner to be set up, and he put his men in battle order. On
this, all his Northmen stood, and turned with him, but the Danes
fled to the ships; and when King Hakon and his men came thither,
there was again sharp conflict; but now Hakon had most people.
At last the Eirik's sons' force fled, and took the road south
about the hill; but a part of their army retreated upon the hill
southwards, followed by King Hakon. There is a flat field east
of the ridge which runs westward along the range of hills, and is
bounded on its west side by a steep ridge. Gamle's men retreated
towards this ground; but Hakon followed so closely that he killed
some, and others ran west over the ridge, and were killed on that
side of it. King Hakon did not part with them till the last man
of them was killed.

26. KING GAMLE AND ULSERK FALL.

Gamle Eirikson fled from the ridge down upon the plain to the
south of the hill. There he turned himself again, and waited
until more people gathered to him. All his brothers, and many
troops of their men, assembled there. Egil Ulserk was in front,
and in advance of Hakon's men, and made a stout attack. He and
King Gamle exchanged blows with each other, and King Gamle got a
grievous wound; but Egil fell, and many people with him. Then
came Hakon the king with the troops which had followed him, and a
new battle began. King Hakon pushed on, cutting down men on both
sides of him, and killing the one upon the top of the other. So
sings Guthorm Sindre: --

"Scared by the sharp sword's singing sound,
Brandished in air, the foe gave ground.
The boldest warrior cannot stand
Before King Hakon's conqueringhand;
And the king's banner ever dies
Where the spear-forests thickest rise.
Altho' the king had gained of old
Enough of Freyja's tears of gold (1),
He spared himself no more than tho'
He'd had no well-filled purse to show."

When Eirik's sons saw their men falling all round, they turned
and fled to their ships; but those who had sought the ships
before had pushed off some of them from the land, while some of
them were still hauled up and on the strand. Now the sons of
Eirik and their men plunged into the sea, and betook themselves
to swimming. Gamle Eirikson was drowned; but the other sons of
Eirik reached their ships, and set sail with what men remained.
They steered southwards to Denmark, where they stopped a while,
very ill satisfied with their expedition.

ENDNOTES:
(1) Freyja's husband was Od; and her tears, when she wept at the
long absence of her husband, were tears of gold. Od's
wife's tears is the skald's expression here for gold --
understood, no doubt, as readily as any allusion to Plutus
would convey the equivalent meaning in modern poetry. -- L.

27. EGIL ULSERK'S BURIAL-GROUND.

King Hakon took all the ships of the sons of Eirik that had been
left upon the strand, and had them drawn quite up, and brought on
the land. Then he ordered that Egil Ulserk, and all the men of
his army who had fallen, should be laid in the ships, and covered
entirely over with earth and stones. King Hakon made many of the
ships to be drawn up to the field of battle, and the hillocks
over them are to be seen to the present day a little to the south
of Fredarberg. At the time when King Hakon was killed, when Glum
Geirason, in his song, boasted of King Hakon's fall, Eyvind
Skaldaspiller composed these verses on this battle: --

"Our dauntless king with Gamle's gore
Sprinkled his bright sword o'er and o'er:
Sprinkled the gag that holds the mouth
Of the fell demon Fenriswolf (1).
Proud swelled our warriors' hearts when he
Drove Eirik's sons out to the sea,
With all their Guatland host: but now
Our warriors weep -- Hakon lies low!"

High standing stones mark Egil Uslerk s grave.

ENDNOTES:
(1) The Fenriswolf. one of the children of Loke. begotten with a
giantess, was chained to a rock, and gagged by a sword
placed in his mouth, to prevent him devouring mankind.
Fenriswolf's gag is a skaldic expression for a sword. -- L.

28. NEWS OF WAR COMES TO KING HAKON.

When King Hakon, Athelstan's foster-son, had been king for
twenty-six years after his brother Eirik had left the country, it
happened (A.D. 960) that he was at a feast in Hordaland in the
house at Fitjar on the island Stord, and he had with him at the
feast his court and many of the peasants. And just as the king
was seated at the supper-table, his watchmen who were outside
observed many ships coming sailing along from the south, and not
very far from the island. Now, said the one to the other, they
should inform the king that they thought an armed force was
coming against them; but none thought it advisable to be the
bearer of an alarm of war to the king, as he had set heavy
penalties on those who raised such alarms falsely, yet they
thought it unsuitable that the king should remain in ignorance of
what they saw. Then one of them went into the room and asked
Eyvind Finson to come out as fast as possible, for it was very
needful. Eyvind immediately came out and went to where he could
see the ships, and saw directly that a great army was on the way;
and he returned in all haste into the room, and, placing himself
before the kind, said, "Short is the hour for acting, and long
the hour for feasting." The king cast his eyes upon him, and
said, "What now is in the way?" Eyvind said --

"Up king! the avengers are at hand!
Eirik's bold sons approach the land!
The Judgment of the sword they crave
Against their foe. Thy wrath I brave;
Tho' well I know 'tis no light thing
To bring war-tidings to the king
And tell him 'tis no time to rest.
Up! gird your armour to your breast:
Thy honour's dearer than my life;
Therefore I say, up to the strife!"

Then said the king, "Thou art too brave a fellow, Eyvind, to
bring us any false alarm of war." The others all said it was a
true report. The king ordered the tables to be removed, and then
he went out to look at the ships; and when it could be clearly
seen that these were ships of war, the king asked his men what
resolution they should take -- whether to give battle with the
men they had, or go on board ship and sail away northwards along
the land. "For it is easy to see," said he, "that we must now
fight against a much greater force than we ever had against us
before; although we thought just the same the last time we fought
against Gunhild's sons." No one was in a hurry to give an answer
to the king; but at last Eyvind replied to the king's speech: --

"Thou who in the battle-plain
Hast often poured the sharp spear-rain!
Ill it beseems our warriors brave
To fly upon the ocean wave:
To fly upon the blue wave north,
When Harald from the south comes forth,
With many a ship riding in pride
Upon the foaming ocean-tide;
With many a ship and southern viking, --
Let us take shield in hand, brave king!"

The king replied, "Thy counsel, Eyvind, is manly, and after my
own heart; but I will hear the opinion of others upon this
matter." Now as the king's men thought they discerned what way
the king was inclined to take, they answered that they would
rather fall bravely and like men, than fly before the Danes;
adding, that they had often gained the victory against greater
odds of numbers. The king thanked them for their resolution, and
bade them arm themselves; and all the men did so. The king put
on his armour, and girded on his sword Kvernbit, and put a gilt
helmet upon his head, and took a spear (Kesja) in his hand, and a
shield by his side. He then drew up his courtmen and the bondes
in one body, and set up his banner.

29. THE ARMAMENT OF EIRIK'S SONS.

After Gamle's death King Harald, Eirik's son, was the chief of
the brothers, and he had a great army with him from Denmark. In
their army were also their mother's brothers, -- Eyvind Skreyja,
and Alf Askman, both strong and able men, and great man slayers.
The sons of Eirik brought up with their ships off the island, and
it is said that their force was not less than six to one, -- so
much stronger in men were Eirik's sons.

30. KING HAKON'S BATTLE ARRAY.

When King Hakon had drawn up his men, it is told of him that he
threw off his armour before the battle began. So sings Eyvind
Skaldaspiller, in Hakmarmal: --

"They found Blorn's brother bold
Under his banner as of old,
Ready for battle. Foes advance, --
The front rank raise the shining lance:
And now begins the bloody fray!
Now! now begins Hild's wild play!
Our noble king, whose name strikes fear
Into each Danish heart, -- whose spear
Has single-handed spilt the blood
Of many a Danish noble, -- stood
Beneath his helmet's eagle wing
Amidst his guards; but the brave king
Scorned to wear armour, while his men
Bared naked breasts against the rain
Of spear and arrow, his breast-plate rung
Against the stones; and, blithe and gay,
He rushed into the thickest fray.
With golden helm, and naked breast,
Brave Hakon played at slaughter's feast."

King Hakon selected willingly such men for his guard or court-men
as were distinguished for their strength and bravery, as his
father King Harald also used to do; and among these was Thoralf
Skolmson the Strong, who went on one side of the king. He had
helmet and shield, spear and sword; and his sword was called by
the name of Footbreadth. It was said that Thoralf and King Hakon
were equal in strength. Thord Sjarekson speaks of it in the poem
he composed concerning Thoralf: --

"The king's men went with merry words
To the sharp clash of shields and flame swords,
When these wild rovers of the sea
At Fitlar fought. Stout Thoralf he
Next to the Northmen's hero came,
Scattering wide round the battle flame
For in the storm of shields not one
Ventured like him with brave Hakon."

When both lines met there was a hard combat, and much bloodshed.
The combatants threw their spears and then drew their swords.
Then King Hakon, and Thoralf with him, went in advance of the
banner, cutting down on both sides of them. So says Eyvind
Skaldaspiller: --

"The body-coats of naked steel,
The woven iron coats of mail,
Like water fly before the swing
Of Hakon's sword -- the champion-king.
About each Gotland war-man's head
Helm splits, like ice beneath the tread,
Cloven by the axe or sharp swordblade,
The brave king, foremost in the fight,
Dyes crimson-red the spotless white
Of his bright shield with foemen's gore. --
Amidst the battle's wild uproar,
Wild pealing round from shore to shore."

31. FALL OF SKREYJA AND ASKMAN.

King Hakon was very conspicuous among other men, and also when
the sun shone his helmet glanced, and thereby many weapons were
directed at him. Then Eyvind Finson took a hat and put it over
the king's helmet. Now Eyvind Skreyja called out, "Does the king
of the Norsemen hide himself, or has he fled? Where is now the
golden helmet?" Then Eyvind, and his brother Alf with him,
pushed on like fools or madmen. King Hakon shouted to Eyvind,
"Come on as thou art coming, and thou shalt find the king of the
Norsemen." So says Eyvind Skaldaspiller: --