Heimskringla; Or, The Chronicle of the Kings of Norway
there were many powerful men. Proposals of agreement then passed between
Gunhild's sons and Earl Sigurd,
or they got no scat from the Throndhjem
country; and at last an agreement was concluded between the kings and
the earl, and confirmed by oath. Earl Sigurd was to get the same power
in the Throndhjem land which he had possessed under King Hakon, and on
that they considered themselves at peace. All Gunhild's sons had the
character of being penurious; and it was said they hid their money in
the ground. Eyvind Skaldaspiller made a song about this:--
"Main-mast of battle! Harald bold!
In Hakon's days the skald wore gold
Upon his falcon's seat; he wore
Rolf Krake's seed, the yellow ore
Sown by him as he fled away,
The avenger Adils' speed to stay.
The gold crop grows upon the plain;
But Frode's girls so gay (1) in vain
Grind out the golden meal, while those
Who rule o'er Norway's realm like foes,
In mother earth's old bosom hide
The wealth which Hakon far and wide
Scattered with generous hand: the sun
Shone in the days of that great one,
On the gold band of Fulla's brow,(2)
On gold-ringed hands that bend the bow,
On the skald's hand; but of the ray
Of bright gold, glancing like the spray
Of sun-lit waves, no skald now sings--
Buried are golden chains and rings."
Now when King Harald heard this song, he sent a message to Eyvind to
come to him, and when Eyvind came made a charge against him of being
unfaithful. "And it ill becomes thee," said the king, "to be my enemy,
as thou hast entered into my service." Eyvind then made these verses:--
"One lord I had before thee, Harald!
One dear-loved lord! Now am I old,
And do not wish to change again,--
To that loved lord, through strife and pain,
Faithful I stood; still true to Hakon,--
To my good king, and him alone.
But now I'm old and useless grown,
My hands are empty, wealth is flown;
I am but fir for a short space
In thy court-hall to fill a place."
But King Harald forced Eyvind to submit himself to his clemency. Eyvind
had a great gold ring, which was called Molde, that had been dug up out
of the earth long since. This ring the King said he must have as the
mulet for the offence; and there was no help for it. Then Eyvind sang:--
"I go across the ocean-foam,
Swift skating to my Iceland home
Upon the ocean-skates, fast driven
By gales by Thurse's witch fire given.
For from the falcon-bearing hand
Harald has plucked the gold snake band
My father wore--by lawless might
Has taken what is mine by right."
Eyvind went home; but it is not told that he ever came near the king
again.
ENDNOTES: (1) Menja and Fenja were strong girls of the giant race, whom
Frode bought in Sweden to grind gold and good luck to him;
and their meal means gold.--L.
(2) Fulla was one of Frig's attendants, who wore a gold band on
the forehead, and the figure means gold,--that the sun
shone on gold rings on the hands of the skalds in Hakon's
days.--L.
2. CHRISTIANITY OF GUNHILD'S SONS.
Gunhild's sons embraced Christianity in England, as told before; but
when they came to rule over Norway they made no progress in spreading
Christianity--only they pulled down the temples of the idols, and cast
away the sacrifices where they had it in their power, and raised great
animosity by doing so. The good crops of the country were soon wasted in
their days, because there were many kings, and each had his court about
him. They had therefore great expenses, and were very greedy. Besides,
they only observed those laws of King Hakon which suited themselves.
They were, however, all of them remarkably handsome men--stout, strong,
and expert in all exercises. So says Glum Geirason, in the verses he
composed about Harald, Gunhild's son:--
"The foeman's terror, Harald bold,
Had gained enough of yellow gold;
Had Heimdal's teeth (1) enough in store,
And understood twelve arts or more."
The brothers sometimes went out on expeditions together, and sometimes
each on his own account. They were fierce, but brave and active; and
great warriors, and very successful.
ENDNOTES: (1) Heimdal was one of the gods, whose horse was called
Gold-top; and the horse's teeth were of gold.
3. COUNCILS BY GUNHILD AND HER SONS.
Gunhild the King-mother, and her sons, often met, and talked together
upon the government of the country. Once Gunhild asked her sons what
they intended to do with their kingdom of Throndhjem. "Ye have the title
of king, as your forefathers had before you; but ye have little land or
people, and there are many to divide with. In the East, at Viken, there
are Trygve and Gudrod; and they have some right, from relationship, to
their governments. There is besides Earl Sigurd ruling over the whole
Throndhjem country; and no reason can I see why ye let so large a
kingdom be ruled by an earl, and not by yourselves. It appears wonderful
to me that ye go every summer upon viking cruises against other lands,
and allow an earl within the country to take your father's heritage from
you. Your grandfather, whose name you bear, King Harald, thought it
but a small matter to take an earl's life and land when he subdued all
Norway, and held it under him to old age."
Harald replied, "It is not so easy, mother, to cut off Earl Sigurd as
to slay a kid or a calf. Earl Sigurd is of high birth, powerful in
relations, popular, and prudent; and I think if the Throndhjem people
knew for certain there was enmity between us, they would all take his
side, and we could expect only evil from them. I don't think it would
be safe for any of us brothers to fall into the hands of the Throndhjem
people."
Then said Gunhild, "We shall go to work another way, and not put
ourselves forward. Harald and Erling shall come in harvest to North
More, and there I shall meet you, and we shall consult together what is
to be done." This was done.
4. GUNHILD'S SONS AND GRJOTGARD.
Earl Sigurd had a brother called Grjotgard, who was much younger, and
much less respected; in fact, was held in no title of honour. He had
many people, however, about him, and in summer went on viking cruises,
and gathered to himself property. Now King Harald sent messengers to
Throndhjem with offers of friendship, and with presents. The messengers
declared that King Harald was willing to be on the same friendly terms
with the earl that King Hakon had been; adding, that they wished the
earl to come to King Harald, that their friendship might be put on a
firm footing. The Earl Sigurd received well the king's messengers and
friendly message, but said that on account of his many affairs he could
not come to the king. He sent many friendly gifts, and many glad and
grateful words to the king, in return for his friendship. With this
reply the messengers set off, and went to Grjotgard, for whom they had
the same message, and brought him good presents, and offered him King
Harald's friendship, and invited him to visit the king. Grjotgard
promised to come and at the appointed time he paid a visit to King
Harald and Gunhild, and was received in the most friendly manner. They
treated him on the most intimate footing, so that Grjotgard had
access to their private consultations and secret councils. At last the
conversation, by an understanding between the king and queen, was turned
upon Earl Sigurd; and they spoke to Grjotgard about the earl having kept
him so long in obscurity, and asked him if he would not join the king's
brothers in an attack on the earl. If he would join with them, the
king promised Grjotgard that he should be his earl, and have the same
government that Sigurd had. It came so far that a secret agreement was
made between them, that Grjotgard should spy out the most favourable
opportunity of attacking by surprise Earl Sigurd, and should give King
Harald notice of it. After this agreement Grjotgard returned home with
many good presents from the king.
5. SIGURD BURNT IN A HOUSE IN STJORADAL
Earl Sigurd went in harvest into Stjoradal to guest-quarters, and from
thence went to Oglo to a feast. The earl usually had many people about
him, for he did not trust the king; but now, after friendly messages
had passed between the king and him, he had no great following of people
with him. Then Grjotgard sent word to the king that he could never
expect a better opportunity to fall upon Earl Sigurd; and immediately,
that very evening, Harald and Erling sailed into Throndhjem fjord with
several ships and many people. They sailed all night by starlight, and
Grjotgard came out to meet them. Late in the night they came to Oglo,
where Earl Sigurd was at the feast, and set fire to the house; and burnt
the house, the earl, and all his men. As soon as it was daylight, they
set out through the fjord, and south to More, where they remained a long
time.
6. HISTORY OF HAKON, SIGURD'S SON.
Hakon, the son of Earl Sigurd, was up in the interior of the Throndhjem
country when he heard this news. Great was the tumult through all the
Throndhjem land, and every vessel that could swim was put into the
water; and as soon as the people were gathered together they took Earl
Sigurd's son Hakon to be their earl and the leader of the troops, and
the whole body steered out of Throndhjem fjord. When Gunhild's sons
heard of this, they set off southwards to Raumsdal and South More; and
both parties kept eye on each other by their spies. Earl Sigurd was
killed two years after the fall of King Hakon (A.D. 962). So says Eyvind
Skaldaspiller in the "Haleygjatal":--
"At Oglo, as I've heard, Earl Sigurd
Was burnt to death by Norway's lord,--
Sigurd, who once on Hadding's grave
A feast to Odin's ravens gave.
In Oglo's hall, amidst the feast,
When bowls went round and ale flowed fast,
He perished: Harald lit the fire
Which burnt to death the son of Tyr."
Earl Hakan, with the help of his friends, maintained himself in the
Throndhjem country for three years; and during that time (A.D. 963-965)
Gunhild's sons got no revenues from it. Hakon had many a battle with
Gunhild's sons, and many a man lost his life on both sides. Of this
Einar Skalaglam speaks in his lay, called "Vellekla," which he composed
about Earl Hakon:--
"The sharp bow-shooter on the sea
Spread wide his fleet, for well loved he
The battle storm: well loved the earl
His battle-banner to unfurl,
O'er the well-trampled battle-field
He raised the red-moon of his shield;
And often dared King Eirik's son
To try the fray with the Earl Hakon."
And he also says:--
"Who is the man who'll dare to say
That Sigurd's son avoids the fray?
He gluts the raven--he ne'er fears
The arrow's song or flight of spears,
With thundering sword he storms in war,
As Odin dreadful; or from far
He makes the arrow-shower fly
To swell the sail of victory.
The victory was dearly bought,
And many a viking-fight was fought
Before the swinger of the sword
Was of the eastern country lord."
And Einar tells also how Earl Hakon avenged his father's murderer:--
"I praise the man, my hero he,
Who in his good ship roves the sea,
Like bird of prey, intent to win
Red vengeance for his slaughtered kin.
From his blue sword the iron rain
That freezes life poured down amain
On him who took his father's life,
On him and his men in the strife.
To Odin many a soul was driven,--
To Odin many a rich gift given.
Loud raged the storm on battle-field--