Heimskringla; Or, The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway
3. KING EIRIK'S EXPEDITION TO NORWAY.
Magnus the Blind then went to Denmark to King Eirik Eimune, where he
was well received. He offered the king to follow him if he would invade
Norway with a Danish army, and subdue the country; saying, that if he
came to Norway with his army, no man in Norway would venture to throw
a spear against him. The king allowed himself to be moved by Magnus's
persuasions, ordered a levy, and went north to Norway with 200 ships;
and Magnus and his men were with him on this expedition. When they came
to Viken, they proceeded peacefully and gently on the east side of the
fjord; but when the fleet came westward to Tunsberg, a great number
of King Inge's lendermen came against them. Their leader was Vatnorm
Dagson, a brother of Gregorius. The Danes could not land to get water
without many of them being killed; and therefore they went in through
the fjord to Oslo, where Thjostolf Alason opposed them. It is told that
some people wanted to carry the holy Halvard's coffin out of the town in
the evening when the fleet was first observed, and as many as could took
hold of it; but the coffin became so heavy that they could not carry
it over the church floor. The morning after, however, when they saw the
fleet sailing in past the Hofud Isle, four men carried the coffin out of
the town, and Thjostolf and all the townspeople followed it.
4. THE TOWN OF OSLO BURNT.
King Eirik and his army advanced against the town; and some of his men
hastened after Thjostolf and his troop. Thjostolf threw a spear at a
man named Askel, which hit him under the throat, so that the spear point
went through his neck; and Thjostolf thought he had never made a better
spear-cast, for, except the place he hit, there was nothing bare to be
seen. The shrine of St. Halvard, was taken up to Raumarike, where it
remained for three months. Thjostolf went up to Raumarike, and collected
men during the night, with whom he returned towards the town in the
morning. In the meantime King Eirik set fire to Halvard's church, and
to the town, which was entirely burnt. Thjostolf came soon after to the
town with the men he had assembled, and Eirik sailed off with his fleet;
but could not land anywhere on that side of the fjord, on account of the
troops of the lendermen who came down against them; and wherever they
attempted a landing, they left five or six men or more upon the strand.
King Inge lay with a great number of people into Hornborusund, but when
he learned this, he turned about southwards to Denmark again. King Inge
pursued him, and took from him all the ships he could get hold of; and
it was a common observation among people, that never was so poor an
expedition made with so great an armament in another king's dominions.
King Eirik was ill pleased at it, and thought King Magnus and his men
had been making a fool of him by encouraging him to undertake this
expedition, and he declared he would never again besuch friends with
them as before.
5. OF SIGURD SLEMBIDJAKN.
Sigurd Slembidjakn came that summer from the West sea to Norway,
where he heard of his relation King Magnus's unlucky expedition; so he
expected no welcome in Norway, but sailed south, outside the rocks, past
the land, and set over to Denmark, and went into the Sound. He fell in
with some Vindland cutters south of the islands, gave them battle, and
gained the victory. He cleared eight ships, killing many of the men, and
he hanged the others.
He also had a battle off the Island Mon with the Vindland men, and
gained a victory. He then sailed from the south and came to the eastern
arm of the Gaut river, and took three ships of the fleet of Thorer
Hvinantorde, and Olaf, the son of Harald Kesia, who was Sigurd's own
sister's son; for Ragnhild, the mother of Olaf, was a daughter of King
Magnus Barefoot. He drove Olaf up the country.
Thjostolf was at this time in Konungahella, and had collected people to
defend the country, and Sigurd steered thither with his fleet. They shot
at each other, but he could not effect a landing; and, on both sides,
many were killed and many wounded. Ulfhedin Saxolfson, Sigurd's
forecastle man, fell there. He was an Icelander, from the north quarter.
Sigurd continued his course northwards to Viken and plundered far
and wide around. Now when Sigurd lay in a harbour called Portyrja on
Limgard's coast, and watched the ships going to or coming from Viken to
plunder them, the Tunsberg men collected an armed force against him,
and came unexpectedly upon them while Sigurd and his men were on shore
dividing their booty. Some of the men came down from the land, but some
of the other party laid themselves with their ships right across the
harbour outside of them. Sigurd ran up into his ship, and rowed out
against them. Vatnorm's ship was the nearest, and he let his ship fall
behind the line, and Sigurd rowed clear past, and thus escaped with one
ship and the loss of many men. This verse was made upon Vatnorm (1):--
"The water serpent, people say,
From Portyrja slipped away."
ENDNOTES: (1) Vatnorm, the name of this man, means the water-serpent,
and appears to have been a favourite name for war-ships also;
hence the pun in the lines upon Vatnorm.--L.
6. THE MURDER OF BEINTEIN.
Sigurd Slembidjakn sailed from thence to Denmark; and at that time a man
was lost in his ship, whose name was Kolbein Thorliotson of Batald.
He was sitting in a boat which was made fast to the vessel, and upset
because she was sailing quickly. When they came south to Denmark,
Sigurd's ship itself was cast away; but he got to Alaborg, and was
there in winter. The summer after (A.D. 1138) Magnus and Sigurd sailed
together from the south with seven ships, and came unexpectedly in
the night to Lister, where they laid their ships on the land. Beintein
Kolbeinson, a court-man of King Inge, and a very brave man, was there.
Sigurd and his men jumped on shore at daylight, came unexpectedly on the
people, surrounded the house, and were setting fire to the buildings;
but Beintein came out of a store-house with his weapons, well armed, and
stood within the door with drawn sword, his shield before him, helmet
on, and ready to defend himself. The door was somewhat low. Sigurd asked
which of his lads had most desire to go in against Beintein, which he
called brave man's work; but none was very hurried to make ready for
it. While they were discussing this matter Sigurd rushed into the house,
past Beintein. Beintein struck at him, but missed him. Sigurd turned
instantly on Beintein; and after exchanging blows, Sigurd gave him his
death-stroke, and came out presently bearing his head in his hands.
They took all the goods that were in the farm-house, carried the booty
to their ships, and sailed away. When King Inge and his friends, and
also Kolbein's sons, Sigurd and Gyrd, the brothers of Beintein, heard of
Beintein's murder, the king sent a great force against Sigurd Slembe and
his followers; and also travelled himself, and took a ship from Hakon
Paulson Pungelta, who was a daughter's son of Aslak, a son of Erling
Skjalgson of Sole, and cousin of Hakon Mage. King Inge drove Hakon and
his followers up the country, and took all their gear. Sigurd Stork,
a son of Eindride of Gautdal, and his brother, Eirik Hael, and Andres
Kelduskit, son of Grim of Vist, all fled away into the fjords. But
Sigurd Slembe, Magnus the Blind and Thorieif Skiappa sailed outside the
isles with three ships north to Halogaland; and Magnus was in winter
(A.D. 1139) north in Bjarkey Isle with Vidkun Jonson. But Sigurd had the
stem and stern-post of his ship cut out, made a hole in her, and sank
her in the inner part of Egisfjord, and thereafter he passed the winter
at Tialdasund by Gljufrafjord in Hin. Far up the fjord there is a cave
in the rock; in that place Sigurd sat with his followers, who were above
twenty men, secretly, and hung a grey cloth before the mouth of the
hole, so that no person could see them from the strand. Thorleif
Skiappa, and Einar, son of Ogmund of Sand, and of Gudrun, daughter of
Einar Arason of Reikiaholar, procured food for Sigurd during the winter.
It is said that Sigurd made the Laplanders construct two boats for him
during the winter up in the fjord; and they were fastened together with
deer sinews, without nails, and with twigs of willow instead of knees,
and each boat could carry twelve men. Sigurd was with the Laplanders
while they were making the boats; and the Laplanders had good ale, with
which they entertained Sigurd. Sigurd made these lines on it:--
"In the Lapland tent
Brave days we spent.
Under the grey birch tree;
In bed or on bank
We knew no rank,
And a merry crew were we.
"Good ale went round
As we sat on the ground,
Under the grey birch tree;
And up with the smoke
Flew laugh and joke,
And a merry crew were we."
These boats were so light that no ship could overtake them in the water,
according to what was sung at the time:--
"Our skin-sewed Fin-boats lightly swim,
Over the sea like wind they skim.
Our ships are built without a nail;
Few ships like ours can row or sail."
In spring Sigurd and Magnus went south along the coast with the two
boats which the Laplanders had made; and when they came to Vagar they
killed Svein the priest and his two sons.
7. OF SIGURD'S SLEMBE'S CAMPAIGN.
Thereafter Sigurd came south to Vikar, and seized King Sigurd's
lendermen, William Skinnare and Thorald Kept, and killed them both. Then
Sigurd turned south-wards along the coast, and met Styrkar Glaesirofa
south of Byrda, as he was coming from the south from the town of
Nidaros, and killed him. Now when Sigurd came south to Valsnes, he met
Svinagrim outside of the ness, and cut off his right hand. From thence
he went south to More, past the mouth of the Throndhjem fjord, where
they took Hedin Hirdmage and Kalf Kringluauge. They let Hedin escape,
but killed Kalf. When King Sigurd, and his foster-father, Sadagyrd,
heard of Sigurd Slembidjakn's proceedings, and what he was doing, they
sent people to search for him; and their leader was Jon Kauda, a son of
Kalf Range. Bishop Ivar's brother, and besides the priest Jon Smyril.
They went on board the ship the Reindeer, which had twenty-two rowing
benches, and was one of the swiftest sailing vessels, to seek Sigurd;
but as they could not find him, they returned north-wards with little
glory; for people said that they had got sight of Sigurd and his people,
and durst not attack them. Afterwards Sigurd proceeded southwards to
Hordaland, and came to Herdla, where Einar, a son of Laxapaul, had a
farm; and went into Hamar's fjord, to the Gangdaga-thing. They took all
the goods that were at the farm, and a long-ship of twenty-two benches
which belonged to Einar; and also his son, four years old, who was
living with one of his labouring people. Some wanted to kill the boy,
but others took him and carried him with them. The labouring man said,
"It will not be lucky for you to kill the child; and it will be of no
use to you to carry him away, for it is my son, and not Einar's." And on
his word they let the boy remain, and went away. When Einar came home he
gave the labourer money to the value of two ore of gold, and thanked him
for his clever invention, and promised him his constant friendship.
So says Eirik Odson, who first wrote down this relation; and he heard
himself Einar Paulson telling these circumstances in Bergen. Sigurd then
went southward along the coast all the way east to Viken, and met Fin
Saudaulfson east at Kvildar, as he was engaged in drawing in King Inge's
rents and duties, and hanged him. Then they sailed south to Denmark.