summer, joined the king here. They came from Frekey-
sund, and brought the king tidings that Earl Hakoii, and
many lendermen with him, had come in the morning to
Frekeysund with a large force; "and they will end thy
days, sire, if they have strength enough." Now the king
sent his men up to a hill that was near ; and when they
came to the top, and looked northwards to Bjarney
Island, they perceived that a great armament of many
ships was coming from the north, and they hastened back
to the king with this intelligence. The king, who was
lying there with only twelve ships, ordered the war-horn
to sound, the tents to be taken down on his ships, and they
took to their oars. When they were quite ready, and
were leaving the harbour, the bonde army sailed north
around Thiotande with twenty-five ships. The king then
steered inside of Nyrfe Island, and inside of Hundsver.
Now when King Olaf came right abreast of Borgund, the

563



W/£ HEIilSKRIXGLA

ship which Aslak had steered came out to meet him, and
when they found the king told him the tidings, — that
\'igleik Arnason had killed Aslak Fitiaskalle, because he
had killed Erling Skjalgson. The king took this news
Ncry angrily, but could not delay his voyage on account
of the enemy and he sailed in by Vegsund and Skot,
There some of his people left him; among others, Kalf
.\rnason, with many other lendermen and ship command-
ers, who all went to meet Earl Hakon. King Olaf, how-
ever, proceeded on his W'ay without stopping until he came
to Todar fjord, whei^e he brought up at Valdai, and
landed from his ship. He had then five ships w^ith him,
which he drew up upon the shore, and took care of their
sails and materials. Then he set up his land-tent upon
a point of land called Suit, wdiere there are pretty flat
fields, and set up a cross Hear to the point of land. A
bonde, by name Bruse, w^ho dwelt there in More, and
was chief over the valley, came down to King Olaf, to-
gether with many other bondes, and received him well,
and according to his dignity; and he w^as friendly, and
pleased with their reception of him. Then the king asked
if there was a passable road up in the country from the
valley to Lesjar; and Bruse replied, that there w^as an
urd in the valley called Skerfsurd not passable for man
or beast. King Olaf answers, "That we must try, bonde,
and it will go as God pleases. Come here in the morning
with your yoke, and come yourself with it, and let us
then see. when we come to the sloping precipice, what
chance there may be, and if w^e cannot devise some means
of coming over it with horses and pjeople."

564



SAGA OF OLAF UARALDSON



189. CLEARING OF TllK UKD.



Now when day broke the bondes drove down with their
yokes, as the king had told them. The clothes and weap-
ons were packed upon horses, but the king and all the
people went on foot. He went thus until he came to a
place called Krosbrekka, and when he came up upon the
hill he rested himself, sat down there a while, looked down
over the fjord, and said, "A difficult expedition ye have
thrown upon my hands, ye lendermen, who have now
changed your fealty, although but a little while ago ye
were my friends and faithful to me." There are now two
crosses erected upon the bank on which the king sat.
Then the king mounted a horse, and rode without stop-
ping up the valley, until he came to the precipice. Then
the king asked Bruse if there was no summer hut of cat-
tle-herds in the neighbourhood, where they could remain.
He said there was. The king ordered his land-tent to
be set up, and remained there all night. In the morning
the king ordered them to drive to the urd, and try if they
could get across it with the waggons. They drove there,
and the king remained in the meantime in his tent. To-
wards evening the king's court-men and the bondes came
back, and told how they had had a very fatiguing labour,
without making any progress, and that there never could
be a road made that they could get across ; so they con-
tinued there the second night, during which, for the whole
night, the king was occupied in prayer. As soon as he
observed day dawning he ordered his men to drive again
to the urd. and try once more if they could get across it
with the waggons; but they went very unwillingly, say-

565



THE HEIMSKRINGLA

ing nothing could be gained by it. When they were gone
the man who had charge of the king's kitchen came, and
said there were only two carcasses of young cattle remain-
ing of provision : "Although you, sire, have 400 men, and
there are 100 bondes besides." Then the king ordered
that he should set all the kettles on the fire, and put a
little bit of meat in each kettle, which was done. Then
the king went there, and made the sign of the cross over
each kettle, and told them to make ready the meat. The
king then went to the urd called Skerfsurd, where a road
should be cleared. When the king came all his people
were sitting down, quite worn out with the hard labour.
Bruse said, "I told you, sire, but you would not believe
me, that we could make nothing of this urd. The king
laid aside his cloak, and told them to go to work once
more at the urd. They did so, and now twenty men could
handle stones which before 100 men could not move from
the place; and thus before midday the road was cleared
so well that it was as passable for men, and for horses
with packs, as a road in the plain fields. The king, after
this, went down again to where the meat was, which
place is called Olaf's Rock. Near the rock is a spring, at
which Olaf washed himself; and therefore at the present
day, when the cattle in the valley are sick, their illness is
made better by their drinking at this well. Thereafter
the king sat down to table with all the others ; and when
he was satisfied he asked if there was any other sheeling
on the other side of the urd, and near the mountains,
where* they could pass the night. Bruse said there was
3uch a sheeling, called Groningar; but that nobody could

566



SAG.l OF OLAP IIARALDSON

pass ihc night there on account of witchcraft, and evil
beings who were in the sheeHng. Then the king said
they must get ready for their journey, as he wanted to be
at the sheehng for the night. Then came the kitchen-
master to the king, and tells that there was come an ex-
traordinary supply of provisions, and he did not know
wdiere it had come from, or how. The king thanked
God for this blessing, and gave the bondes wdio drove
down again to their valley some rations of food, but re-
mained himself all night in the sheeling. In the middle
of the night, wdiile the people were asleep, there was heard
in the cattle- fold a dreadful cry, and these w^ords : "Now
Olaf's prayers are burning me," says the spirit, "so that
I can no longer be in my habitation ; now must I fly, and
never more come to this fold." When the king's people
awoke in the morning the king proceeded to the moun-
tains, and said to Bruse, "Here shall now a farm be
settled, and the bonde wdio dwells here shall never want
what is needful for the support of life; and never shall
his crop be destroyed by frost, although the crops be
frozen on the farms both above it and below it." Then
the king proceeded over the mountains, and came to a
farm called Einby, where he remained for the night.
King Olaf had then been fifteen years king of Norway
(1015-1020), including the year both he and Svein were
in the country, and this year we have now been telling
about. It was, namely, a little past Yule wdien the king
left his ships and took to the land, as before related. Of
this portion of his reign the priest Are Thorgilson the
Wise was the first who wrote : and he was both faithful

567



THE HEIMSKRINGLA

in his story, of a good memory, and so old a man that he
could rememljer the men, and had heard their accounts,
who were so old that through their age they could re-
member these circumstances as he himself wrote them in
his books, and he named the men from whom he received
his information. Otherwise it is generally said that King
Olaf had been fifteen years king of Norway when he fell ;
but they who say so reckon to Earl Svein's government,
the last year he was in the country, for King Olaf lived
fifteen years afterwards as king.

190. — olaf's prophecies.

When the king had been one night at Lesjar he pro-
ceeded on his journey with his men, day by day ; first
into Gudbrandsdal, and from thence out to Hedemark.
Now it was seen who had been his friends, for they fol-
lowed him ; but those who had served him with less fidel-
ity separated from him, and some showed him even indif-
ference, or even full hostility, which afterwards was ap-
parent ; and also it could be seen clearly in many Up-
land people that they took very ill his putting Thorer
to death, as before related. King Olaf gave leave to re-
turn home to many of his men who had farms and children
to take care of; for it seemed to iheni uncertain what
safety there might be for the families and property of
those who left the country with him. Then the king ex-
plained to his friends his intention of leaving the country,
and going first east into Svithjod, and there taking his
determination as to where he should go; but he let his
friends know his intention to return to the country, and

568



SAGA OF OLAl' IIARALDSON

regain his kingdom, if God should grant liim longer life;
and he did not conceal his expectation that the people of
Korway would again return to their fealty to him. "I
think," says he, "that Earl Hakon will have Norway but
a short time under his power, which many w ill not think
an extraordinary expectation, as Earl Hakon has had but
little luck against me: but probably few ]ieople will trust
to my prophecy, that Canute the Great will in the course
of a few years die, and his kingdoms vanish ; and there will
be no risings in favour of his race." \\'hen the king had
ended his speech, his men prepared themselves for their
departure. The king, with the troop that followed him,
turned east to Eid forest. And there were along with
him the Queen Astrid ; their daughter Ulfhild; Magnus,
King Olaf's son; Ragnvald Brusason ; the three sons of
Arne, Thorberg, Fin, and Arne, with many lendermen ;
and the king's attendants consisted of many chosen men.
Bjorn the marshal got leave to go home, and he went to
his farm, and many others of the king's friends returned
home with his permission to their farms. The king
begged them to let him know the events which might
happen in the country, and which it might be important
for him to know : and now the king proceeded on his
way.

191. KING OLAI^ PROCEEDS TO RUSSIA.

It is to be related of King Olaf's journey, that he went
first from Norway eastward through Eid forest to Verm-
aland, then to Vatnsby, and through the forests in which
there are roads, until he came out in Nerike district. There
dwelt a rich and powerful man in that part called Sig-

569



THE HEIMSKRINGLA

tryg, who had a son, Ivar, who afterwards became a dis-
tinguished person. Olaf stayed with Sigtryg all spring
(1029) : and when summer came he made ready for a
journey, procured a ship for himself, and without stop-
ping went on to Russia to King Jarisleif and his queen
Ingegerd ; but his own queen Astrid, and their daughter
Ulfhild, remained behind in Svithjod, and the king took
his son IMagnus eastward with him. King Jarisleif re-
ceived King Olaf in the kindest manner, and made him
the ofifer to remain with him, and to have so much land
as was necessary for defraying the expense of the en-
tertainment of his followers. King Olaf accepted this
offer thankfully, and remained there. It is related that
King Olaf was disting\iished all his life for pious habits,
and zeal in his prayers to God. But afterwards, when
he saw his own power diminished, and that of his adver-
saries augmented, he turned all his mind to God's service;
for he was not distracted by other thoughts, or by the
labour he formerly had upon his hands, for during all
the time he sat upon the throne he was endeavouring to
promote what was most useful : and first to free and pro-
tect the country from foreign chiefs' oppressions, then to
convert the people to the right faith ; and also to estab-
lish law and the rights of the country, which he did 5y
letting justice have its wa}^ and punishing evil-doers.

192 — CAUSES OE THE REVOLT AGAINST KING OLAF.

It had been an old custom in Norway that the sons
of lendermen, or other great men, went out in war-ships
to gather property, and they marauded both in the coun-

570



SAGA OF OLAP HARALDSOM

try and out of the country. lUit alter King- Olaf came to
the sovereignty he protected tlie country, so that he abol-
ished all plundering there; and even if they were the sons
of powerful men who committed any depredation, or did
what the king considered against law, he did not spare
them at all, hut they must suffer in life or limbs; and no
man's entreaties, and no offer of money-penalties, could
help them. So says Sigvat : —



"They who on viUing cruises drove
With pifts of red gold often strove
To buy their safety — but our chief
Had no compassion for the thief.

And he also says: —

"Great king ! whose sword on many

a field
Food to the wandering wolf did

yield,
And then the thief and pirate band
Swept wholly off by sea and laud —
Oood king! who for the people's sake
Set hands and feet upon a stake,
When plunderers of great name and

bold
Harried the country as of old.



He made the bravest lose his head
Who robbed at sea, and pirates led ;
And his just sword gave peace to all,
Sparing no robber, great or small."



The country's guardian showed his

might
When oft he made his just sword

bite
Through many a viking's ueck and

hair.
And never would the guilty spare.
King Magnu.s' father, I must say.
Did many a good deed in his day.
Olaf the Thick was stern and stout.
Much good his victories brought out."



He punished great and small with equal severity, which
appeared to the chief people of the country too severe;
and animosity rose to the highest when they lost relatives
by the king's just sentence, although they w^re in reality
guilty. This was the origin of the hostility of the great
men of the country to King Olaf, that they could not
bear his just judgments. He again would rather re-
nounce his dignity than omit righteous judgment. The
accusation against him, of being stingy with his money,
was not just, for he was a most generous man towards his
friends ; but that alone was the cause of the discontent
raised against him, that he appeared hard and severe in



571



THE HEIMSKRINGLA

his retributions. Besides, King Canute offered great
sums of money, and the great chiefs were corrupted by
this, and by his offering them greater dignities than they
had possessed before. The inchnations of the people,
also, were all in favour of Earl Hakon, who was much
beloved by the country folks when he ruled the country
before.

193. OF JOKUIv BARDSON.

Earl Hakon had sailed with his fleet from Throndhjem,
and gone south to More against King Olaf, as before re-
lated. Now when the king bore away, and ran into the
fjord, the earl followed him thither; and then Kalf Arna-
son came to meet him, with many of the men who had de-
serted King Olaf. Kalf was well received. The earl
steered in through Todar fjord to Valdai, where the king
had laid up his ships on the strand. He took the ships
which belonged to the king, had them put upon the water
and rigged, and cast lots, and put commanders in charge
of them according to the lots. There was a man called
Jokul, who was an Icelander, a son of Bard Jokulson of
Vatnsdal ; the lot fell upon Jokul to command the Bison,
which King Olaf himself had commanded. Jokul made
these verses upon it : —

"Mine is the lot to take the helm My girl will never hear the tiding.

Which Olaf owned, who owned the Till o'er the wild wave I come riding

realm ; In Olaf's ship, who loved his gold,

Prom Suit King Olaf's ship to steer And lost his ships with wealth un-
(111 luck I dread on his reindeer). told."

We may here shortly tell what happened a long time
after, — that this Jokul fell in with King Olaf's men in
the island of Gotland, and the king ordered him to be

572



SAGA OF OLAF HARALDSON

taken out to be beheaded. A willow twig accordingly
was plaited in with his hair, and a man held him fast by
it. Jokul sat down upon a bank, and a man swung the
axe to execute him ; but Jokul hearing the sound, raised
his head, and the blow struck him in the head, and made
a dreadful wound. As the king saw it would be his
death-wound, he ordered them to let him lie with it. Jokul
raised himself up, and he sang: —

"My hard fate I mourn, — My wounds burn sore ;

Alas ! my wounds burn, But I suiter still more

My red wounds are gaping. From the king's angry word.

My life-blood escaping. Than his sharp-biting sword."

194. OF KALF ARNASON.

Kalf Arnason went with Earl Hakon north to Thrond-
hjem, and the earl invited him to enter into his service.
Kalf said he would first go home to his farm at Eggja,
and afterwards make his determination; and Kalf did so.
When he came home he found his wife Sigrid much irri-
tated ; and she reckoned up all the sorrow inflicted on her,
as she insisted, by King Olaf. First, he had ordered her
first husband Olver to be killed. "And now since," says
she, "my two sons ; and thou thyself, Kalf, wert present
when the}- were cut off, and which I little expected from
thee." Kalf says, it was much against his will that
Thorer was killed. "I offered money-penalty for him."
says he ; "and when Grjotgard w^as killed I lost my brother
Arnbjorn at the same time." She replies, "It is well
thou hast suffered this from the king; for thou mayest
perhaps avenge him, although thou wilt not avenge my
injuries. Thou sawest how thy foster-son Thorer was
killed, with all the regard of the king for thee." She
IS 573



THE HEIMSKRINGLA

frequently brought out such vexatious speeches to Kalf,
to which he often answered angrily ; but yet he allowed
himself to be persuaded by her to enter into the earl's
service, on condition of renewing his fiefs to him. Sigrid
sent word to the earl how far she had brought the matter
with Kalf. As soon as the earl heard of it, he sent a mes-
sage to Kalf that he should come to the town to him.
Kalf did not decline the invitation, but came directly to
Nidaros, and waited on the earl, who received him kindly.
In their conversation it was fully agreed upon that Kalf
should go into the earl's service, and should receive great
fiefs. After this Kalf returned home, and had the
greater part of the interior of the Throndhjem country
under him. As soon as it was spring Kalf rigged out a
ship that belonged to him, and when she was ready he
put to sea, and sailed west to England ; for he had heard
that in spring King Canute was to sail from Denmark to
England, and that King Canute had given Harald, a son
of Thorkel the High, an earldom in Denmark. Kalf
Arnason went to King Canute as soon as he arrived in
England. Bjarne Gullbrarskald tells of this : —

"King Olaf eastward o'er the sea Whilst thou — the truth I still will

To Russia's monarch had to flee ; say.

Our Harald's brother ploughed the Nor fear nor favour can me sway —

main. Thou to King Canute hastened fast.

And furrowed white its dark-blue As soon as Olaf's luck was past."

plain.

Now when Kalf came to King Canute the king re-
ceived him particularly well, and had many conversa-
tions with him. Among other things, King Canute, in
a conference, asked Kalf to bind himself to raise a war-
fare against King Olaf, if ever he should return to the
country. "And for which," says the king, "I will give

574



SAGA or OLAP 1 1 AR AIDS ON

thee the carltl-m. and place tliee to rule over Norway;
and my relatimi llalcon shall come to me, which will suit
him hetter, for he is so honourable and trustworthy that
I believe he would not even throw a spear against the per-
son of King Olaf if he came back to the country." Kalf
lent his ear to what the king proposed, for he had a great
desire to attain this high dignity; and this conclusion was
settled upon between King Canute and Kalf. Kalf then
prepared to return home, and on his departure he re-
ceived splendid presents from King Canute. Bjarne the
skald tells of these circumstances : —

"Sprung from old carls ! — to Eng- For when thy course was bent for

land's lord home.

Thou owesl many a thankful word (Although that luck is not yet come,)

For many a gift : if all be true, 'That Norway should be thine,' 'tis

Thy interest haa been kept iu view ; said,

The London king a promise made.

Kalf thereafter returned to Norway, and came to his
farm.

195. — OF THE DEATH OF EARL HAKON.

Earl Hakon left the country this summer (1029), and
went to England, and when he came there was well re-
ceived by the king. The earl had a bride in England, and
he travelled to conclude this marriage, and as he intended
holding his wedding in Norway, he came to procure those
things for it in England which it was difficult to get in
Norway. In autumn he made ready for his return, but
it was somewhat late before he was clear for sea ; but at
last he set out. Of his voyage all that can be told is,
that the vessel was lost, and not a man escaped. Some
relate that the vessel was seen north of Caithness in the
evening in a heavy storm, and the wind blowing out of

575



THE HEIMSKRINGLA

Pentland Firth. They who believe this report say the
vessel drove out among the breakers of the ocean; but
with certainty people knew only that Earl Hakon was
missing- in the ocean, and nothing belonging to the ship
ever came to land. The same autumn some merchants
came to Norway, who told the tidings that were going
through the country of Earl Hakon being missing; and
all men knew that he neither came to Norway nor to
England that autumn, so that Norway that winter was
without a head.

19G. OF BJORN THE MARSHAL.

Bjorn the marshal sat at home on his farm after his
parting from King Olaf. Bjorn was a celebrated man;
therefore it was soon reported far and wide that he had
set himself down in quietness. Earl Hakon and the other
chiefs of the country heard this also, and sent persons with
a verbal message to Bjorn. When the messengers ar-
rived Bjorn received them well ; and afterwards Bjorn
called them to him to a conference, and asked their busi-
ness. He who was their foreman presented to Bjorn the
salutations of King Canute, Earl Hakon, and of several
chiefs. "King Canute," says he, "has heard much of
thee, and that thou hast been long a follower of King
Olaf the Thick, and hast been a great enemy of King
Canute; and this he thinks not right, for he will be thy
friend, and the friend of all worthy men, if thou wilt
turn from thy friendship to King Olaf and become his
enemy. And the only thing now thou canst do is to seek
friendship and protection there where it is most readily

576



SAGA OF OLAF HARALDSON

tn be found, and which all men in this northern world
think it most honourable to be favoured with. Ye who
have followed Olaf the Thick should consider how he is
now separated from you; and that now ye have no aid
;i,L;ainst King Canute and his men, whose lands ye plun-
dered last summer, and whose friends ye murdered.
Therefore ye ought to accept, with thanks, the friendship
which the king offers you ; and it would become you bet-
ter if you offered money even in mulct to obtain it."

When he had ended his speech Bjorn replies, "I wish
now to sit quietly at home, and not to enter into the service
of any chief."

The messenger answers, "Such men as thou art are
just the right men to serve the king; and now I can tell
thee there are just two things for thee to choose, — either
to depart in peace from thy property, and wander about
as thy comrade Olaf is doing ; or, which is evrdently better,
to accept King Canute's and Earl Hakon's friendship, be-
come their man, and take the oaths of fealty to them.
Receive now thy reward." And he displayed to him
a large bag full of English money.

Bjorn was a man fond of money, and self-interested ;
and when he saw the silver he was silent, and reflected
with himself what resolution he should take. It seemed
to him much to abandon his property, as he did not think
it probable that King Olaf would ever have a rising in liis
favour in Norway. Now when the messenger saw that
Bjorn's inclinations were turned towards the money, he
threw down two thick gold rings, and said, ''Take the